Project ARETE and the English Festival, two programs sponsored by the English Department of Youngstown State University, are described in this report. The programs bring together university and public school teachers of all grade levels to reward students for reading and writing outside the classroom, assess student writing, renew classroom teaching, and expand professional participation. Included in this report are: (1) an essay, "Youngstown State University: The English Festival and Project ARETE," by Barbara Brothers et al.; and (2) the "Teacher to Teacher" manual for composition instruction in the Youngstown and Mahoning County schools by Gratia Murphy and Gary Salvner. Chapters of the manual deal with the following topics: assumptions about teaching writing; assessment: purposes and practices; the trait of purpose; the trait of direction; the trait of ideas; the trait of style; and the trait of presentation. An assessment primer for teachers is appended along with newsletters describing the project. These programs earned an honorable mention in the G. Theodore Mitau Award for Innovation and Change in Higher Education. They also earned a bronze medal in 1985 from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education for High School/College Partnerships. (SM)