The Flind Middle Schools Writing Inservice Project grew out of the conviction that improving students' writing was a matter not of increased emphasis on sentence structure, grammar, or form, but rather of a change in the thinking about how writing should be taught. The project grew from a brief conference to a two-year commitment on the part of leaders (a University of Michigan faculty member and a Flint Community Schools staff consultant), teachers, and students. In after school workshops teachers were asked to adopt a writing process model that moved students through a full gamut of steps and stages in composing. Project leaders visited all the classrooms involved, not to evaluate, but to interact with students and teachers when the students were involved in writing and to offer individual help. Each workshop focused on a different phase of the writing process (creating the accepting environment, drafting, revision, etc.), and teachers discussed their successes and problems, worked on their own writing, and collected notes. In the second year modeling techniques were used extensively in the classroom, and there was more peer feedback about revision and editing, as well as publication of student writing. The project was a success, probably because of the university/school district collaboration and the workshop/classroom visit structure. (NKA)