Home News JACKSON CREEK TEACHER WINS NATIONAL TEACHING OF WRITING AWARD

JACKSON CREEK TEACHER WINS NATIONAL TEACHING OF WRITING AWARD

10/7/2022

Jacqui Witherspoon, a second grade teacher at Jackson Creek Elementary School, is the latest recipient of the 2022 Donald H. Graves Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Writing. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) selected Witherspoon for her successful classroom strategies in teaching writing in early childhood and elementary grades.

In her reflective essay submitted to NCTE, she wrote, “When I could not find a way to grab my scholars’ attention enough to make them want to write more than a few sentences in response to a writing prompt, I had to really engage in some self–introspection. I had to shift my thinking from using writing prompts created by people or companies who do not know my scholars who were primarily Black, Latinx, and Asian Indian to using the knowledge obtained from my class about their interests, their lives, and their families.”

Witherspoon says she is working hard to model her classroom after the beliefs of Mr. Graves, who throughout his career, challenged teachers to let their students’ interests and needs guide instruction.

Jackson Creek Principal Dr. Sabina Mosso-Taylor says the award celebrates many of Witherspoon’s efforts and accomplishments. "We are incredibly proud and thrilled that Mrs. Witherspoon was awarded the Donald Graves Writing Award. She works diligently to teach writing to her 2nd-grade students in culturally relevant ways that connect their lived experiences to the curriculum,” said Dr. Mosso-Taylor.

Witherspoon is in her 11th year of teaching and her sixth year in Richland Two. For four years, she taught in Sumter School District and one in Richland School District One. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in early childhood education from the University of South Carolina Upstate and a Master's Degree in literacy studies from Coker University.

According to the NTCE, Witherspoon gained in-depth knowledge on teaching through a focus on issues of race, ethnicity, language diversity, and socioeconomic status while building a deep and profound appreciation for marginalized communities, whose histories and heritage are often distorted and omitted from curricula.

This award annually recognizes teachers in grades K-6 who, through the teaching of writing, demonstrate an understanding of student improvement in writing. Witherspoon is the second teacher in Richland Two to win this award. In 2020, Rice Creek Elementary School teacher Kaitlin Jones received this recognition.