Some of you who visit the website are former (or current) students of mine from Grant MacEwan or U of A. and to you, a very special 'hello.' I have really enjoyed the relationships I have been privileged to share with you. Others of you are teachers I have worked with in schools or met through the various consortia and conventions. Thank you for the interest you have shown in my work and the opportunities I have had to work with you and your students. Some of you are checking things out for the first time and I hope you will find something of interest here...

I established this website in answer to various requests for print information about the sessions, workshops and embedded professional development I deliver in schools. The material that follows here is simply copied from some of the session descriptions in flyers and convention programs regarding presentations I have done in the past. A great deal of the work I do is custom designed for individual schools and school districts. This makes it difficult to share here in any kind of meaningful way.

The longest project I have designed was a three-year AISI project with two K-6 schools to improve writing school-wide. This was a combination of workshops with teachers, consultations with administrators and lead teachers, and student instruction (teachers in attendance) as we explored through the guided writing approach various genres and prepared for the Provincial Achievement Tests. The schools won the Julius Buski Leadership Award for the project which achieved really solid results in terms of school-wide writing improvement.

The shortest contract I have executed was in the role of "back-up keynote" at a national live video conference on literacy where I would address the local audience if the technology failed. In this instance I ended up doing nothing at all! More typically I may work with a particular school or division up to ten days throughout a school year or a full week as a writer-in-residence. I also provide one or two-day inservice in jurisdictions or schools, as well as sessions for the consortia and, on occasion, of my own workshops. I'll post those here in advance of the dates.

Lessons for Guided Writing was published by Scholastic Inc. in October of 2008. Currently I am working on two manuscripts for Scholastic. One has the working title of Guided Writing and Non-Fiction Texts, and the other focuses on struggling writers. I have a busy year ahead doing sessions for the consortia and conventions as well as school bookings and a high school literacy project. If you are interested in talking to me about consulting work or professional development please contact me at home (780) 968-0697 or by e-mail at maryesullivan@telus.net.

I especially love doing the classroom embedded PD work because it keeps me engaged with kids and that means it keeps me learning. The challenges surrounding literacy are endlessly fascinating and I relish every opportunity to be involved in them! Have a great year!