The program is also authorized to award grants for classroom research projects conducted by elementary and secondary school teachers. NWP sites and the national office train over 100,000 teachers each year. There are currently no grants awarded to individual teachers using Federal funds. While an independent organization, NWP is affiliated with the OERI-sponsored National Center for the Study of Writing and Literacy at the University of California at Berkeley. Federal funds may be used for no more than 50 percent of the cost of the programs run by NWP contractors, and no more than 10 percent of the Federal share of total funding may be used by NWP or any contractor for administrative costs.
Local sites provide programs for teachers in nearby school districts and postsecondary institutions.
The legislation permits NWP to use up to 5 percent of its annual Federal funding for competitive grants to K-12 teachers to conduct classroom research on improving the teaching of writing. NWP has not elected to conduct such a competition, and no such awards have been made. NWP has established and maintains a national advisory board, as required by the legislation. In 1992-93, NWP trained 147,804 teachers. The program views the current legislation as permitting virtually no latitude in modifying this assistance relationship or in changing and improving program management.