Dr. Jane Frick\u2019s mission throughout her 40-year career at Missouri Western has been to improve writing skills, and as an English professor and director of the Prairie Lands Writing Project, her impact and influence have been felt by hundreds of students and teachers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really, really like teaching,\u201d she says, especially the intellectual conversation that often comes alive in the classroom. She said she enjoys seeing students\u2019 writing change over the course of the semester as they become more insightful and analytical when they are challenged. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Along with her teaching, Jane, who retired in June, served as department chair in the department of English, foreign languages and journalism from 1982-2000. Since 2006, she has served as the program coordinator for the Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing and the Master of Applied Science in Assessment, writing option. Along the way, she even compiled a popular bibliography, \u201cWomen Writers Along the River.\u201d<\/p>\n
But perhaps her greatest legacy will be her work as director of the Prairie Lands Writing Project, a position she has held since 1999.<\/p>\n
In 1987, Norma Bagnall, professor emerita of English, received a grant of $10,000 to begin the St. Joseph Writing Project, where Missouri Western partnered with the St. Joseph School District to offer professional development opportunities for area K-16 teachers in order to improve the writing skills of their students. It was part of the National Writing Project from the start.<\/p>\n
In 1996, English Professor Judy Martin became the director of the program when Norma retired. The next year, the name was changed to Prairie Lands Writing Project to reflect that the program was now working with teachers throughout the region and not just in St. Joseph. When Judy became the full-time director of Missouri Western\u2019s Center for Excellence in Teaching in 1999, Jane took over the directorship of the PLWP.<\/p>\n
Jane said she was surprised at how much she enjoyed her new role. \u201cWhen I became director, I took it on because no one else was available in the department. I was surprised how invigorating it was for me to work with teachers,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has been a tremendous learning experience for me.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0From the time Jane became director in 1999 through 2011, PLWP had received grants from the National Writing Project and the state totaling more than $700,000, and in 2010-11, the project provided 70 activities and programs to 1,309 K-16 teachers or students in 32 area counties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Along with several workshops for area teachers with topics ranging from working with technology to improve learning, to copyright issues, PLWP has also conducted an annual summer Invitational Institute every year but two since PLWP began at Missouri Western.<\/p>\n
Teachers who are invited to participate in the Institute meet one Saturday each in April, May and June, four weeks in June and July, and one Saturday in September. The Institute, called \u201cthe cornerstone of the National Writing Project\u2019s teachers-teaching-teachers professional development model,\u201d offers reading, research, writing, teacher demonstration, and reflection activities to help participants improve and enhance their knowledge about current issues and developments in the fields of literacy, rhetoric and composition, and school reform.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeachers who participate (in the Invitational Institute) talk about how it\u2019s life-changing for them professionally,\u201d Jane said. \u201cThey like networking, sharing ideas, and improving their skills. Research shows if they get involved in this, they stay in teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 200 area teachers have participated in the Institute, Jane said. \u201cWhat is unique about us is that we collaborate across the grade levels,\u201d noting that the program is for teachers kindergarten through college.<\/p>\n
The Institute is part of Missouri Western\u2019s Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing and the Master of Applied Science in Assessment, writing option. PLWP has always offered graduate credit for the Institute, but until Missouri Western was allowed to offer graduate degrees, the certificate was awarded by Northwest Missouri State University. The Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing became the first graduate degree awarded at Missouri Western when Deb Schwebach \u201974, earned it in 2007.<\/p>\n
Jane said she enjoyed working with area teachers, especially her former students. \u201cI\u2019m really sad about leaving those personal connections.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that she is retired, she and her husband, Lyman, plan to travel and visit their two sons and their families in Colorado and California. And, of course, her retirement plans include writing. \u201cI might have to start a blog,\u201d Jane says with a smile. \u00a0<\/p>\n
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