ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia public schools are getting a new push on writing. The Georgia Department of Education announced Tuesday that it has launched Georgia Writes, a statewide professional learning program aimed at helping teachers teach students to write well.
The department built the program with Heggerty, a company that sells literacy lessons and teacher training. It follows several years of state spending on reading instruction, and State School Superintendent Richard Woods said in the announcement that reading and writing skills grow together, so classroom writing practice also makes students better readers and thinkers.
The training is free and runs as a 13-part series. About 4,400 Georgia teachers had enrolled so far, and department officials said the idea grew out of teachers around the state asking for more help with writing lessons.
Principals and district leaders go first. Their sessions cover creating a writing culture in a building, coaching teachers, studying student work and data, and making writing a regular part of literacy lessons in every subject. Classroom-focused sessions for teachers come after that.
Sessions are recorded, and the department is supplying facilitator guides and other materials so districts can repeat the training on their own. The series began in June and continues through March 2027, and the department said it will contact schools and districts directly about joining.
State education leaders said writing is not limited to English class. It can help a student explain a science concept, analyze a historical event or show the reasoning behind a math answer.
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