Palo Duro Students to Showcase Regional History at WT Event

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — Palo Duro High School students will reveal hidden Panhandle stories at a June 18 event held by West Texas A&M University’s Route 66 Writing Project.

Twenty-one Palo Duro students and teachers, plus three WT teacher candidates, will present their discoveries about local places, history and culture through live storytelling, poetry performances, research presentations and cultural artifact displays, said Dr. Shanna Peeples, WT’s Dr. John O’Brien Distinguished Chair in Education in the Department of Education in the Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences.

“This will be a dynamic event that combines the intimacy of live storytelling with visual presentations, creating an engaging experience that brings Panhandle heritage to life,” said Peeples, director of the Route 66 Writing Project.

The event, which is open to the public, will begin at 1 p.m. June 18 in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus.

Peeples and Dr. Monica Hart, associate professor of English in the Department of English, Philosophy and Modern Languages in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities, won a Killgore Faculty Research Grant through WT in 2024 to research how students would benefit from writing about their home region, or place-based writing.

“Our preliminary data shows increased student engagement in writing, stronger connections to the local community, and enhanced collaboration between WT teacher candidates and experienced education,” Hart said. “The students come away with a deeper understanding of their region’s identity, and connections are strengthened between the University and regional schools and communities.”

WT teacher candidates, who soon will be entering the workforce in Region 16 and elsewhere, facilitated writing workshops and collaborated with mentor teachers to guide students through place-based research and storytelling techniques.

The program has been piloted on the WT campus to allow students to experience campus life and connect with specialists in the use of historical sources. Peeples and Hart recently won a $25,000 grant from the Amarillo Area Foundation to bring the project to other schools in the region.

Students work directly with curators and archivists from the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, as well as collections specialists from WT’s Cornette Library, to access sources and learn about regional history.

“These collaborations proved to be highly engaging for students, who gained deep insights into local heritage through expert guidance,” Peeples said.

The Route 66 Writing Project supports educators, students and community members in exploring the power of writing to reflect lived experiences, strengthen local voices, and build meaningful connections across generations and geographies. Through writing, research and experiential learning, the project aims to cultivate a sense of place-based identity and a sense of connection to the region and cultures that have been shaped by Route 66.

Other recent initiatives have included a summer retreat for regional-serving University faculty and an arts-based writing camp co-created with local youth.

Serving the Texas Panhandle, encouraging regionally impactful research, and being responsive to its needs are key maxims of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $165 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT, a Regional Research University, is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Photo: Dr. Monica Hart, center, leads Palo Duro High School students and others in an exercise for West Texas A&M University's Route 66 Writing Project.

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