Two hundred universities across the country are bases for the National Writing Project, and George Mason University is one of the oldest and most active of them. That will change as a result of the spending bill signed into law on April 15. Cuts to programs designed to improve the quality of our teachers — the single biggest factor in the quality of a child’s education — are short-sighted economies at a time when our country needs to invest in the future of our children. Other teacher-improvement programs arguably as deserving as the NWP saw their funding cut as well: Reading is Fundamental, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and Teach for America. But none has the depth and breadth of the NWP, nor its connection to colleges.