Wildcat Writers links students from Tucson high schools and University of Arizona composition courses in a collaborative writing partnership.
Are you a high school instructor, UA instructor, high school student, or UA student?
Click to learn more!
Applications for the 2012-2013 school year are no longer being accepted. Please join us next year!
Our Goals
1. Teachers will better understand and address the gap between high school and college writing.
2. Students will develop stronger motivation for and understanding of college writing.
3. High school participants will connect to UA and college life, and university participants will connect to the vibrant community of Tucson.
2. Students will develop stronger motivation for and understanding of college writing.
3. High school participants will connect to UA and college life, and university participants will connect to the vibrant community of Tucson.
Our History
Wildcat Writers began as a single partnership between Desert View High School teacher Liz Denbo and UA graduate teaching assistant Anna Varley in fall 2004. These two teachers linked their English classes, offering their students a chance to interact and share writing. The goal was to provide a sense of continuinty and community between secondary and higher education, as well as opportunity for civic engagement, collaboration, and exploration of education issues and college life. Anna later worked with Anne-Marie Hall, the director of UA's writing program, to extend this opportunity to other teachers, and the official program was born. As Wildcat Writers continued to grow under the direction of graduate student Jenna Vinson, the program received temporary support from Minority Student Affairs and the Tucson Gear Up Project, allowing us to expand greatly, and the program evolved to become a full year partnership, with teachers planning in the fall and linking classes in the spring. Now embedded firmly in the writing program and several local high schools, Wildcat Writers continues to develop based on the creative input from teacher participants. We look forward to another engaging year of collaboration, and we invite you to join us.
