With pressures from NCLB intensifying due to low test scores in subgroups including special education, the authors' district, like many others, approached students not as individuals but as rigid categories: "poor," "Hispanic," "African American," "disabled," or "regular"--a category particularly insulting to any student not included in it by…

Describes the implementation of a content area writing program in a middle school. Observes that many teachers were resistant to the task and passed their frustration on to the English teachers. However, most were pleased with the improvement in students' writing due to the increase in the amount of required writing. (SRT)