Standard+10

**Standard 10 - Teachers Are Connected With Other Teachers and the Community ** The teacher fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger community to support pupil learning and well-being and acts with integrity, fairness and in an ethical manner.

** Evidence 1 ** The Milwaukee Writing Project Wikispace, Blog, and Website. Milwaukee Writing Project Blogspot Milwaukee Writing Project Wikispace Milwaukee Writing Project Website

**Rationale** A local offshoot of the National Writing Project, The Milwaukee Writing Project is a professional development resource aimed at urban teachers who desire to improve the writing skills of their students. After participating as a learner in the writing project’s Summer Institute in 2005, I was invited to take on the role of the project’s technology liaison. In the years since, I have been committed to instructing teachers on best practice use of technology in the writing process as well as creating and maintaining several sites for past and present members to connect. The website serves as a location for teachers to check on our latest activities and professional development opportunities. The blogspot provides a place for participants to enter dialogue regarding questions, problems, and successes that they experience in their classrooms. And, finally, the wikispace is and ever-morphing site designed to share the latest advancements in technology and their application to writing.

The role of technology liaison and the creation of these sites are significant to my development as a teacher. To begin, they provided an opportunity for me to collaborate, share ideas, and interact with members of my own peer group. These relationships are crucial to my professional growth as I am regularly in touch with colleagues who are anxious to communicate the latest research findings in the field of education. Additionally, the development and maintenance of the three different sites has increased my comfort level with using each as a means of communication and professional support. As a result, I have begun to experiment with using similar methods in my own classroom.

As for student outcomes, hard data is difficult to collect. Nonetheless, I know that keeping myself on top of the latest research and in conversation with my colleagues allows me to maintain a style of teaching that is fresh and rooted in best practice.

The Milwaukee Writing Project specifically targets teachers of urban populations. As a result, a considerable amount of time is dedicated to the understanding the Milwaukee community. Teachers are taught to teach writing through the lens of social justice and much time is given to its study. Additionally, activities are designed to be used with children who come from urban environments thereby increasing chances for student success in the classroom.
 * 10.K.2 The teacher understands how factors in the students’ environment outside of school (e.g. family circumstances, community environments, health, and economic conditions) may influence students’ lives and learning. **

One focus of the Milwaukee Writing Project is writing across the content areas. This is grounded in the idea that students should write to learn as opposed to learning to write. By this token, the school can become an environment of literacy regardless of the class. Students can and should be writing in math, science, music, social studies, and even gym. This consistency across the content areas can result in a productive learning environment with a collective focus.
 * 10.S.1 The teacher participates in collegial activities designed to make the entire school a productive learning environment. **

The fact that I have been a part of the Milwaukee Writing Project for the past five years demonstrates my ongoing commitment to collaborating with other professionals. It is this collaboration that brings professionals together around the common goals and ideas that will improve student learning environments.
 * 10.D.5 The teacher is willing to work with other professionals to improve the overall learning environment for students. **

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