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McKinley Teacher Wins Grant to Teach Writing

Posted on: Tuesday, 31 January 2006, 18:00 CST

McKinley teacher wins grant to teach writing

Billie J. Smith, chairman of the English department at McKinley High School, is one of six teachers awarded a grant for the teaching of writing, the College Board said Monday in a news release.

The grants, available to teachers in grades six to 12, recognize teachers with innovative methods that inspire and develop their students writing skills.

According to the College Board, Smith guided her students to write poetry and make journal entries about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

She plans to use the grant to help her students interview storm survivors, visit and photograph New Orleans, and create an anthology of writing to document what Smith describes as the loss and renewal, the past and the future of our lives and our region.

Smith is a teacher consultant for the National Writing Project and the Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project.

She and the other honorees will be recognized Feb. 9 at the College Boards Southern Regional Forum in Orlando, Fla.

They will each receive $2,000.

Their commitment is clearly reflected in the confidence they are building in their students, who are developing lifelong skills of incredible value, said Bob Costas, for whom the grant is named and who has performed public service on behalf of the National Commission on Writing.

Source: Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.

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