Ms. Jess Fraser


English Language Arts Teacher, Southland

College Composition Concurrent Instructor, Riverland

I have over twenty years of experience as a teacher, working in many different Minnesota schools. To keep up-to-date with my professional knowledge and my teaching skills, I attend workshops and conferences, read professional books, and collaborate with my fellow teachers. This will be my ninth year teaching Language Arts at Southland, and my sixth year teaching College Composition concurrently through Riverland Community College. 


I earned an Associate of Arts degree from Kirkwood College in 1999. I graduated from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in English and Education. I earned my master's degree in Literature and English Studies through Minnesota State University, Mankato, in 2023.



This photo shows me at age ten. As a kid, 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.