The UH Mānoa College of Education Hawaiʻi Writing Project (HWP) was awarded $25,000 by the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation to support Investing in Teachers, Honoring Student Voices: The Hawaiʻi Writing Project Young Writers Camp.
Under the direction of Associate Professor Stephanie Buelow and Professor Charlotte Frambaugh-Kritzer, in the School of Teacher Education (STE), the Young Writer’s Camp will expand the services offered by HWP, thus enhancing literacy leadership among educators and providing direct writing enrichment opportunities for students.
“HWP is fortunate to have a team of like-minded individuals who believe in the power of writing to transform both teachers and students,” Buelow said. “For years, we’ve dreamed of broadening our reach to include a Young Writers Camp, creating a space where K–12 students can develop their voices and grow as writers. Thanks to the generosity of the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, the HWP will implement a two-phase plan to invest in both educators and students across Hawaiʻi.”
Each summer, the HWP offers an Invitational Summer Institute (ISI) to provide professional development for educators to develop their identity as writers, knowledge and skills as teachers of writing, and literacy leadership skills. This summer, HWP will introduce a Teacher Consultant model, which is a foundational element of the National Writing Project (NWP) model
Teacher Consultants will engage teachers in the ISI in coaching cycles under the guidance of Frambaugh-Kritzer and Buelow. These Teacher Consultants will then take on a leadership role in summer 2026, supporting a newly developed Advanced Summer Institute (ASI). A key component of the ASI is the launch of the Young Writers Camp–a free writing summer program for K–12 students.
“While the ISI has been a cornerstone of teacher professional development for over 40 years, this new initiative marks a significant expansion, allowing HWP to provide direct services to K–12 students for the first time,” Buelow said. “Through this grant, HWP will not only strengthen literacy leadership among educators but also foster a new generation of confident, capable young writers.”
A state affiliate of the National Writing Project (NWP), comprised of a nationwide network of teachers, university faculty, researchers, writers, and community educators, HWP embraces the vision of advancing writing and the teaching of writing and investing in educators and students.
