Ms. Jessica Fraser
Room B213
507-582-3568 ext. 4362

Language Arts Teacher

Concurrent Instructor, Riverland

Education Minnesota Southland President


Welcome! This is my eighth year teaching Language Arts at Southland, and my fifth year teaching College Composition concurrently through Riverland Community College. 

College I earned an Associate of Arts degree from Kirkwood College in 1999, and I graduated from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in English and Education.

Experience I have over nineteen years of experience as a teacher, working in many different Minnesota schools, including Friedell Middle School, Apple Valley Area Learning Center, and Faribault High School. Most recently before I came to Southland I spent four years at Rochester Off Campus Charter High School, now called Rosa Parks.  

Professional Development To keep up-to-date with my professional knowledge and my teaching skills, I attend workshops, conferences, in-service meetings, college classes, and seminars. I read professional books and collaborate with my fellow teachers. I am currently earning my master's degree in English through Minnesota State University, Mankato.

How I Got Here This photo shows me at age ten. Growing up I was a lonely kid, and books were my escape. I lived in the worlds authors created with their words. I lived in a Little House on the Prairie with Laura Ingalls, and in The Chronicles of Narnia I met talking animals and used magic to win battles against evil. I explored The Secret Garden and shivered in an attic with The Little Princess, and I traveled across England to rescue The Hundred and One Dalmatians.

During high school, I was always reading ahead in English assignments, or reading a novel in class. My teachers were surprised when they called on me; even though it looked like I wasn't paying attention, I knew the answers. My teachers believed in me. They told me, "You can do anything." I remember many of them, and I am grateful for what they did for me and all of their students.

When it came to deciding what to be when I grew up, teaching was for me. I graduated in 2002 from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and Education. I moved to Minnesota that summer, and since then I have taught students of every age, from preschool to twelfth grade. I have taught in big schools and small ones. I have worked and lived in the same community, and I have commuted to reach my classroom.

I am not lonely anymore, and I can help kids who struggle like I did. Today is a lot different from when I was ten...books aren't the only form of escape. Now most kids have mobile devices, with music and games and videos and social media sites. I want to make sure they don't get lost, so I'm going to be someone who tells them, "You can do anything," and teach them the skills they need to do it.

Home & Family I grew up in Algona, Iowa, and my most of family members still live in Iowa, in Algona and Des Moines. I am the oldest child, and I have several siblings, as well as several nieces and nephews. I have a grown-up son named Blake who is twenty-eight. He lives in Petoskey, Michigan, with his cat Lemon. My first year teaching at Southland, I lived in Faribault, and I drove here every day. That was A LOT of time in the car. I moved to Adams in 2016, and then to Le Roy in 2018, where I live with my sweetheart Ben and his children. Max is in ninth grade and Ayla is in seventh grade. We have two cockatiels; I have had, Petey, the gray bird, since 2006, and Jasper, the yellow bird, since 2010.