I've been in public education in New Mexico for over thirty years, including 10 years in the secondary system and the past 23 years in the community college system.

I've seen a lot of magic bullets in professional development come and go--you know--that one thing that will fix all the problems in the school system from pre-k on up. Those quick fix, magic bullets have come and gone, most of them long forgotten.

National Writing Project is not one of those passing fads. It is the REAL THING. It places public school reform where it belongs--in the hands of good teachers. There have always been good teachers and they have always been the key to changing schools for the better from the inside out. It is the simple and elegant solution and probably our best hope for real change. We must not give up on that right now. In this time of difficult politics and economic crisis, we need NWP more than ever.

Vicki Holmsten
Bisti Writing Project Director
San Juan College
Farmington, New Mexico