Project Director:	Dixie Goswami, Strom Thurmond Institute, Clemson University
	Project Co-Directors:	Chris Benson, Strom Thurmond Institute, Clemson University; Margaret Cintorino, Fair Haven Union High School, Castleton, VT; Marjorie Kleinneiur, Lake Highlands Junior High School, Dallas, TX.

Writing for the Community, one of the major programs of Write to Change, is an informal network of teachers, students, and out-of-school partners from a dozen states who are engaged in community writing projects that involve students as co-managers, co-teachers, and co-authors. Members of the network share information and resources.

Plans are underway to establish a virtual conference site for Writing for the Community on the Internet, including Web Pages for projects, discussion areas, and the development and exchange of information electronically.

Writing for the Community is intended for all students and teachers, for all of us must learn to read technical public documents critically, understanding what they mean and what they imply if we are to make informed decisions about matters of urgency (local, national, and international). Participants have opportunities to gather and evaluate information from people, databases, books--all kinds of sources. Project participants become advocates for clear, comprehensible writing, and in the process, learn to produce it themselves.

Writing for the Community, is intended to create for children and young people genuine communities of learning. Through these projects funded by Write to Change, youth develop their abilities to read and write as they accomplish talks that are meaningful to them and their communities.

Writing for the Community, provides teachers, community members, and young people with chances to participate actively in the life of their communities, and to acquire the skills that lead to active, transformative literacy. Information about Writing for the Community is available upon request from Carolyn Benson.

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