Eligibility<\/h2>\n
Nominees must:<\/p>\n
- \n
- be teachers of writing in public or private schools in grade 1-12 in the state of West Virginia<\/li>\n
- have at least one year, full-time teaching experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Self-nominations will not be accepted. Teachers, administrators, and supervisors from grades 1-12 are invited to make a nomination by completing the online form found below. The deadline for nominations is December 9, 2025.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
Submission Materials<\/h2>\n
Nominees will be notified by December 20, 2025<\/strong>\u00a0and invited to submit documentation for this award. Candidates who accept the nomination will submit documentation by January 30, 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Submission materials include:<\/p>\n
- \n
- an original lesson plan for a writing assignment reflective of the values and practices of the candidate<\/li>\n
- 2-3 artifacts of student work that capture elements of the lesson<\/li>\n
- a 300-500 word essay on the values and practices that inform the candidate\u2019s teaching of writing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Submit all materials in a single Word or PDF document.<\/p>\n
Evaluation Process<\/h2>\n
A Selection Committee composed of teacher-leaders of the Central West Virginia Writing Project will evaluate the submissions and decide who will receive the Laura Tracy Baisden Award for Exemplary Teaching of Writing. The winner will be notified by email in early April 2026 and be recognized at Young Writers Day which is set for May 8, 2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Please direct questions to:
\nDr. Stephanie Burdette
\nCo-Director, Central West Virginia Writing Project
\nWest Virginia State University,
\n304-545-9040
\nstephanie.burdette@wvstateu.edu<\/a><\/p>\nLaura Tracy Baisden Award for Exemplary Teaching of Writing<\/h2>\n
The West Virginia writing community lost a friend and advocate in 2018 with the untimely passing of Laura Tracy Baisden. During her two decades as a Logan County educator and member of the National Writing Project, Ms. Baisden touched countless lives with her generosity, compassion, and dedication to the craft of writing. The Central WV Writing Project wishes to celebrate the life and work of Laura Tracy Baisden by establishing a memorial award that will recognize an exemplary teacher of writing within West Virginia. The award will be presented annually at West Virginia Young Writers Day.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The 2026 Recipient of the Laura Tracy Baisden Award for Exemplary Teaching of Writing<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/cwvwp\/files\/IMG_8078-300x300.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMichelle Wolfe<\/strong><\/p>\n
Michelle Wolfe is a high school English teacher at East Hardy High School in Hardy County. She earned her B.A. in English Education from Shepherd University (2009) and her M.A. in Education\u2013English from Grand Canyon University (2021). With 17 years of teaching experience, Mrs. Wolfe currently teaches dual-credit English 101 and 102, sophomore English, senior English, and Grow Your Own education courses. She has also taught creative writing and AP Language and Composition.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Wolfe is National Board Certified and a recipient of the Milken Educator Award. She is passionate about supporting students as readers and writers and cultivating their growing understanding of the power of words to illuminate their own experiences and the experiences of others. She strives to nurture curiosity, creativity, compassion, and empathy in her classroom.<\/p>\n
The 2025 Recipient of the Laura Tracy Baisden Award for Exemplary Teaching of Writing<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/cwvwp\/files\/Head-Shot-2025-217x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDr. Allyson Perry<\/p>\n
Allyson Perry has taught at Barrackville Elementary Middle School in Marion County since 2014. Currently, she teaches 8th grade English Language Arts and West Virginia Studies. In 2018, she earned National Board Certification in English Language Arts-Early Adolescence, and in 2022, she graduated with her Ed.S. and Ed.D. degrees in Curriculum and Instruction with an area of emphasis in literacy\u00a0from Marshall University.<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\nIn addition to teaching, Dr. Perry sponsors the Student Council and Y-Teens as well as coordinates the Young Writers Contest, the VFW Patriot’s Pen Contest, Spelling Bee, and Social Studies Fair at Barrackville. For Marion County Schools, she has mentored new teachers, participated in textbook adoptions, and published curriculum maps. She also has led professional development sessions aimed at fostering growth in reading and writing, especially in the content areas.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAt the state level, Dr. Perry has worked with both the Central West Virginia Writing Project (CWVWP) at Marshall University and the National Writing Project site at West Virginia University (NWP@WVU). Over the years, she has participated in their educator institutes, judged Young Writers submissions, presented at conferences, and led professional workshops across the state. She is grateful that both organizations have given her the opportunity to share her passion with other educators in order to advance students’ reading and writing skills.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe 2024 Recipient of the Laura Tracy Baisden Award for Exemplary Teaching of Writing<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/cwvwp\/files\/Screen-Shot-2024-05-07-at-8.36.50-PM-253x300.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSarah Smith<\/strong><\/p>\n
Mrs. Sarah Smith has been a teacher at her alma mater, Parkersburg South High School, for the past eleven years. She teaches Freshmen English and Senior Advanced Placement\/Dual Credit Literature & Composition. She also helps sponsor the school\u2019s Key Club. Sarah earned both her bachelor\u2019s degree in Secondary English Education and her master\u2019s degree in Curriculum & Instruction from Ohio Valley University in Vienna, WV. In addition to being certified to teach English 5-12, she also holds a Library Media Specialist certification. In her classroom, Sarah is especially passionate about promoting literature by living authors, giving students choice, and using visual art as a means of strengthening writing skills. She credits her mom with cultivating her enthusiasm for literature from a very young age and really feels like it has shaped who she is as both a teacher and person. Sarah lives in Wood County with her two young sons and husband; in addition to spending time with them, she enjoys sports, reading, nature, and true crime podcasts.<\/p>\n
The 2023 Recipient of the Laura Tracy Baisden Award for Exemplary Teaching of Writing<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/cwvwp\/files\/thumbnail_Award-Pic-23-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDr. MG Gainer<\/strong><\/p>\n
Dr. MG Gainer teaches at Calhoun County Middle High School at Mt. Zion, WV, after 20 years slightly north in Pennsylvania. Living and teaching high school in the same county she grew up in provides a strange juxtaposition of past and present. She is the Faculty Senate President for her building, serves on her building and county leadership teams, and assists other teachers with Teams and writing across the curriculum tasks.<\/p>\n
Her bachelor\u2019s in education comes from Glenville State University. At the encouragement of her professors there, she embarked on a massive graduate school adventure. Her Master\u2019s and Doctoral degrees in English come from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
She lives in Calhoun County with her family, where she takes too many pictures of her dog and writes poetry to explain life to herself and anyone interested. She tries to live life by two tenets:\u00a0 people who aren\u2019t helping don\u2019t get to complain and leave things better than you found them. Having been on the picket line for higher education and now public education, she knows the work must continue if a strong, affordable education is to remain available to all students.\u00a0 It seems full circle to return to the state where she was introduced to the labor movement by a puppet show about Mother Jones that visited her elementary school.<\/p>\n
The 2022 Recipient of the Laura Tracy Baisden Award for Exemplary Teaching of Writing<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/cwvwp\/files\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-6.27.04-AM-300x177.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe 2021 Recipient of the Laura Tracy Baisden Award for Exemplary Teaching of Writing<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/cwvwp\/files\/adrinfisher-225x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAdrin Fisher teaches at her alma mater, Fairmont Senior High School. This is her twenty-third year of teaching English. Thousands of students, ranging from grades 7 through 12, have come through her classroom over the years. She currently teaches English 12, Dual-Enrollment College English, and AP Literature and Composition.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Fisher achieved her National Board Certification in 2012, won the Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award in 2014, and was a finalist for State Teacher of the Year in 2018. Last year she was given the Writing Excellence Award by the NWP at WVU for her blogs on the WVCTE website.<\/p>\n
At Fairmont Senior, she has raised money for the humanitarian organization Nuru International, founded a Black History Month Read-In, and co-advised National Honor Society. For the past several years, she has led an English Department PLC that focuses on continuous improvement. The after-school student book club she co-founded, \u201cThe Book Was Better Club,\u201d has successfully weathered the pandemic by moving to virtual meetings.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Fisher most enjoys being with her family, walking in the woods, and reading, reading, reading.<\/p>\n
The 2020 Recipient of the Laura Tracy Baisden Award for Exemplary Teaching of Writing<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/cwvwp\/files\/2020photoofwinner-4-300x169.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/cwvwp\/files\/2019-winner-of-baisden-172x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n