The National Writing Project Supports Silver International

By Flor Torres
     Silver International is getting a $1000 grant from the National Writing Project in California to help with its printing costs.
     According Dr. Barbara Bass, the co-director of the Maryland Writing Project, the National Writing Project is sending the money to Silver International because “they believe it is a wonderful combination of teacher/student collaboration and outreach to promote ELL [English Language Learner] issues.” Also they believe Silver International is a good model for others.
     The National Writing is Project is a network of over 185 sites across the United States and around the world. The Maryland Writing Project is part of the National Writing Project. “The National Writing Project seeks to improve the teaching of writing at all levels of education, kindergarten through university,” Dr. Bass said.
     According to Mr. Bellino, the advisor of Silver International, he and Dr. Bass applied for the grant to help Silver International. “Silver International is different from most other school newspapers because it publishes the writing of English language learners in many different schools in the United States and in other countries,” Mr. Bellino said. “But it’s very expensive.”
     To print Silver International. it costs $3000 a year. Silver International prints 4,200 copies for each issue and it prints three issues a year. Silver International doesn’t get any money from the school system and it doesn’t sell advertisements. It gets money from subscription sales, donations, and fundraising projects. For example, sometimes the Silver International staff members sell pizza after school.
     In addition to the money to help print Silver International, the Maryland Writing Project received money to be used by Mr. Bellino to give presentations at teachers’ conferences to help others learn about Silver International.