Constance Wyrick - 2009 Fellow

Tuscumbia High School, Tuscumbia MO

District: Miller County R-III
Grades: 9-12
P.O. Box 1, 525 School RD
Tuscumbia, MO 65082

Constance (Connie) Wyrick has taught in rural Missouri public schools for 36 years, and currently teaches at Tuscumbia High School. Wyrick received her Bachelor of Science Education in Biology from Northeast Missouri State University, and conducted her graduate studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Wyrick does not describe teaching as her job, but as her passion. She views herself as a lifelong learner, and aims for her students to become dynamic learners, as well. Wyrick is involved in several professional organizations. She is both a SSP Fellow and a District Director of the Missouri Academy of Science, is affiliated with the Missouri State Teachers Association, and is a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international honor society of women educators. Wyrick is active in her community as a Red Cross swim instructor, and a Sunday school teacher in her home church. She is married to Kenny Wyrick, and has two sons and four grandchildren. Connie and her husband reside near Tuscumbia (population of 240) on ten acres in the country, and enjoy picking wild berries, hunting morels, and fishing with family and friends.

The SSP Fellows Program at her school is known as “QUASARS,” which stands for Quest for Understanding and Awareness through Students Actively Researching Science. The program is both an Honors Research Program and a part of the actual science curriculum, and engages students in grades 9-12. Students in the program are given the opportunity to work with mentors as they develop their research plan and conduct their research. The students are expected to present their research orally (PowerPoint presentation at the Missouri Academy of Science), visually (poster presentation at the Regional Science Fair) and written (paper presentation). In addition, the program has an elementary education science exploration outreach which is presented by the students in the program to children K-8 throughout the community.