The Summer Institute brings together teachers from across the Lowcountry, in all grade levels and all disciplines, for several weeks of reading, writing, research, and practice. Participants, selected on the basis of an application and a personal interview, meet each day to write, discuss their writing, read about and discuss effective ways to teach writing and use writing as a learning tool, research writing topics of their choice, and improve their teaching practices by leading or taking part in demonstrations of effective teaching practices. Participants earn six hour of graduate credit; a federal grant covers the cost of tuition and books.