Fran Sharer is the Virginia Beach public schools director of instruction.Her career started when she was 35. She had been a naval line officer and a newspaper reporter and she had only planned to teach while she was in Virgina Beach.

“I think most of what my students have taught me is that they know I genuinely care about each one and that I want each to learn to the best of his/her ability….students always react in a positive fashion.  The other thing my students taught me early on….how to stay in the digital age!” Sharer said.

Sharer’s proudest moment in journalism was helping to create an Intensive Journalistic Writing course in Virginia Beach that helped their AP Language students do even better on their AP tests.

“I knew the power of combining journalistic writing with AP requirements and standards would be a win/win for the students,” Sharer said.

Although Sharer’s students do not attend national journalism conventions, because of lack of funds, they do attend Richmond workshops and such.

“Why teach journalism?  Because ALL NONFICTION is where our interest rests…you at your age, and me at mine.  I was a reader of newspapers and newsmagazines even before I majored in English and Journalism.  We didn’t have TV when I lived on the ranch in New Mexico so the printed word was important to me.  I think teaching journalism, especially the ethics of the business, is so very important in our less than ethical world today.  I emphasized clarity, correctness, honesty, and ethics when teaching at the high school level,” Sharer said.