The National Writing Project envisions a future where every person is an accomplished writer, engaged learner, and active participant in a digital, interconnected world. In service of that vision, our mission is to focus the knowledge, expertise, and leadership of our nation's educators on sustained efforts to improve writing and learning for all learners, and to use writing for powerful purposes that build a better future. Our network was created through the brilliance and energy of our nation’s extraordinary educators in pursuit of that mission, and we honor their work.

As 2020 draws to a close, our nation has had to acknowledge the need for change. We end the year with the pandemic designated as “out of control” in more than 40 states; we face unprecedented challenges to our democratic and Constitutional order; and in the face of economic dislocation, we wonder how to act on our commitments to a more just and anti-racist society.

But we also look forward to having an educator in the White House and the day when we can return to schools safely and with fresh eyes.

Among the things we acknowledged this year is the observation that our schools, our curricula, our policy, and practices have too often served to propagate white supremacy, sort and track young people in markedly different futures, and provide intellectual cover for inequality. In many ways, our young people have told us that their schools do not support them in pursuing important and ambitious work that expands their interests and connections to the wider world. This must change. There can be no more important focus for the talents and leadership of our nation’s teachers than to work toward building a just, democratic, antiracist future for all our nation’s children.

And so, as we look toward 2021 in our local Writing Project sites and across our national network, we call ourselves to service and hold ourselves accountable. To our colleagues working toward this vision, we are your partner. To the communities and families our Writing Project sites serve, we stand with you. To the writers and journalists practicing our core discipline in the face of great challenges, we see you and the work you do. To our nation’s youth, we will be your ally in building a just, healthy, and peaceful future.

Let’s work together to create lasting change.