Dr. Ward is a teacher-education instructor at Missouri State University–West Plains
Dr. Jane Ward knows the importance of rural education. Ward, a veteran teacher from south-central Missouri, has served decades of students — from young children to college-aged — some who teach and lead others in rural Ozarks districts themselves.
“It’s the hub of everything that goes on,” she says of rural schools. “If you lose a school, you lose the community connections.”
Ward was the very first Rural Education Fellow with Rural Schools Collaborative, and serves with the Koshkonong School Betterment Foundation, both entities tied to the CFO. She also advises the district’s Youth Empowerment Program chapter.
That commitment to rural education is rooted in lived experience. Ward grew up near Alton and worked at the local Head Start while completing her degree. That Oregon County seat is where she became an elementary teacher in 1985 and later taught special education, served as a Parents As Teachers educator and was a school counselor.
Those roles led her to join Missouri State University’s Springfield Teacher Education Completion Program. Now 25 years strong, the program allows students to complete a bachelor’s degree at MSU–West Plains, a two-year college, helping students avoid extended travel to other communities. More than 700 students have graduated from the program.
Ward also teaches elementary education degree courses, and mentors and monitors student teachers. The program focuses on elementary education which some graduates use as a pathway to teach other subjects.
“It’s been great for rural areas,” Ward says. “This is a magnet for people, especially nontraditional students who wanted all their lives to be a teacher but were place-bound with family responsibilities.”
Who inspires you? Send your suggestions of individuals moving the needle in your community to Kaitlyn McConnell, the CFO's writer in residence, at kmcconnell@cfozarks.org.
