MORGAN HONORED AS THE JOURNALISM TEACHER OF YEAR

ADVANCE -- Jan Morgan, Advance High School yearbook adviser, has been named Missouri Journalism High School Teacher of the Year by the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association and Missouri Journalism Education Association.

Morgan, The Advancer yearbook adviser, has been teaching for 21 years, 16 of those years spent teaching journalism.

Morgan is past adviser for the school newspaper. In addition to her teaching position, Morgan is a reporter, columnist and photographer for the Advance Statesman newspaper.

Advance High School Principal Jim Simpson, in his letter to MIPA supporting Morgan for Teacher of the Year, said, "Mrs. Morgan is not only an excellent and capable teacher, but also single-handedly created the framework at our school to consistently produce award-winning yearbooks. She created the journalism class and inspired the best and brightest students to be enthusiastic about journalism."

She helped organize Southeast Missouri Scholastic Publications Association. The Advance Improvement Corporation named her 1991 Advance Citizen of the Year for her journalistic work in the community. She has also been featured in the Southeast Missourian newspaper as 1991 featured teacher from Advance schools.

Morgan has taught all three of her own children, Sid, Babette and Rhett. Two of them have succeeded in journalism careers.

This year's Advancer student editor, Libby Elfrink, said, "Mrs. Morgan has learned to change with the times and keeps the yearbook staff up to date on current trends and publishing methods. When she took over the journalism department, she had to teach herself photography and developing techniques. For several years she used her own camera to teach her students because the school did not have one.

"She went to the school board and asked them to purchase a desktop publishing system for the journalism class. They agreed, and Mrs. Morgan took night classes for six months to familiarize herself with desktop publishing.

"There are non eight-hour days for Mrs. Morgan," Elfrink added. "She shares not only her talents, but even her home with the students. When deadlines get close, you can always find some students working away at Mrs. Morgan's house."

Morgan received a master's degree in English in 1984 from Southeast Missouri State University. She received her bachelor's degree in secondary education in 1971 and her journalism certification in 1972 from Southeast and a certification in library science from Southeast in 1982.