College of Education and Human Development

Richard Kent

Professor Emeritus of Literacy
rich.kent@maine.edu

Shibles Hall
University of Maine
Orono, Maine 04469-5766

Bio: Richard Kent, professor emeritus of literacy in the School of Learning and Teaching at the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development, retired in 2021. He is also director emeritus of the Maine Writing Project, a site of the National Writing Project. Throughout his career, Kent has focused on student-staffed writing centers (grades 6-12), athletes’ writing, and literacy portfolios in the high school English classroom. He is the author of 19 books, including “Writing on the Bus: Using Athletic Team Notebooks and Journals to Advance Learning and Performance in Sports,” “Teaching the Neglected ‘R’: Rethinking Writing Instruction in Secondary Schools” (with Thomas Newkirk), “Room 109: The Promise of a Portfolio Classroom,” and “A Guide to Creating Student-Staffed Writing Centers, Grades 6-12,” the Book of the Year in 2006 for the International Writing Centers Association, an assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English.

In January 2018, Kent helped launch the Secondary School Writing Centers Association and serves on the founding advisory board. He has served as a leading force in the high school writing center field, creating and managing three resource websites, including WCenters. His book, A Guide to Creating Student-Staffed Writing Centers, revised (2017), is a primary text in the high school writing center field.

Kent has studied athletes’ writing and its affect on training and performance. As the leader in the field, he has collaborated with the National Writing Project and co-authored athletic team notebooks and journals with Olympic gold medalists, US Olympic and National Team coaches, NCAA coaches, and academics. He works with athletic teams, coaches, athletes, schools, and colleges; he created and manages the resource website, WritingAthletes.

A former high school English teacher, athletic coach, and writing center director, Rich served as Maine’s 1993 Teacher of the Year and in 1994 received the National Educator Award. He’s been a high school administrator, the founding executive director of the Rumford Learning Center, and a teacher-educator in inner city Los Angeles. Along with his education books, he’s the author of two young adult novels and a chapbook of poetry.

Education
Ph.D. in Education, Curriculum & Instruction (writing), 2002, Claremont Graduate University
M.A. Studies, Middlebury College
M.A. Studies, University of Maine
B.S., 1976, University of Southern Maine

Courses taught at UMaine

• EHD 472: Teaching Writing
• ERL 540: Seminar in Writing in Schools and Colleges
• ERL 553: Seminar in Teacher-Research
• ERL 590: Seminar in Nonfiction Writing
• ERL 590: Seminar in Poetry Writing
• EDG 657: Writing Practicum

Sample publications

Books

• Kent, R. (2019). Writing Our Games: Using Team Notebooks and Athletes’ Journals. Charleston, SC: Blackbaud K-12.
• Kent, R. (2017). A Guide to Creating Student-Staffed Writing Centers, Grades 6-12, revised. New York, NY: Peter Lang & Berkeley, CA: National Writing Project. Recipient: Outstanding Scholarship in a Book Award, International Writing Centers Association (IWCA Book of the Year).
• Kent, R. (2012). Writing on the Bus: Using Athletic Team Notebooks and Journals to Advance Learning and Performance in Sports. New York, NY: Peter Lang and Berkeley, CA: National Writing Project.
• Newkirk, T. & Kent. R., Eds. (2016, 6th printing). Teaching the Neglected “R”: Rethinking Writing Instruction in Secondary Classrooms. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Kent. R. (2000). Beyond Room 109: Developing Independent Study Projects. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Kent. R. (1997). Room 109: The Promise of a Portfolio Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Novels

• Kent, R. (1994). The Mosquito Test. Mt. Desert, ME: Windswept House, 1994.
• Kent, R. (1985). Play On! Mt. Desert, ME: Windswept House, 1985.

Podcasts

• Writing Our Games. (May 13, 2019). Charleston, SC: Blackbaud K-12
• “UMaine Professor: Writing Boosts Performance of Maine’s Student-Athletes.” (June 1, 2016). Maine Public
• Writing on the Bus. (June 12, 2012), Berkeley, CA: National Writing Project

Poetry

• Kent, R. (1981). Entering Weld. Brunswick, ME: Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. (MWPA Grant Award).

Visit Rich’s websites
Writing Athletes: www.writingathletes.com
High School Writing Centers: www.wcenters.com
Secondary Writing Center Resource: guest.portaportal.com/wcenters
Writing & the Teaching of Writing Resource: guest.portaportal.com/umwrite
National Writing Project Resource Website for Secondary Writing Centers: www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource_topic/writing_centers
Writing the Dance: www.writingthedance.com
One Dog’s Writer (personal blog): baileykent.blogspot.com