Local educator wins teacher of the year
Barnes will spend much of the 2011-2012 school year serving as ambassadors for public education and the teaching profession.
And the winner is Dr. Gay F. Barnes, a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), who teaches first grade at Horizon Elementary School in the Madison City School System.
Near the end of the live broadcast event of the 2011 Alabama Stars in Education Awards, State Superintendent of Education Joseph B. Morton announced the coveted title of Alabama Teacher of the Year. With the title, Barnes assumes the role of official spokesperson and representative for teachers in Alabama for the next year. The awards ceremony, which honors all of the district finalists for Teacher of the Year, is held annually in celebration of these teachers’ dedication to education in Alabama public schools.
Barnes is a 20-year veteran of the teaching profession. She has taught first-graders for six years at Horizon Elementary. She earned a Ph.D. in reading/literacy education from Alabama A&M University, Education Specialist and M.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB), and a B.A. in elementary education from the University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH).
Since earning her first degree, Barnes has taught reading; multi-age classes; first, second, third and fourth grades; a college freshmen class for struggling readers; and a university class for pre-service teachers. Her passion for helping struggling readers hits close to home: three of her children are dyslexic and have specific learning disabilities.
“When a child who has been puzzling over a concept for days suddenly has the magical ‘Ah Ha!’ moment – and for that child in that instant, the learning is all her own – I am rewarded,” Barnes said.
The selection process for Alabama’s Teacher of the Year begins at the school system level. Each school system can nominate an elementary and secondary teacher at the district level. One elementary teacher and one secondary teacher are selected from each of the eight state Board of Education districts.
Barnes will spend much of the 2011-2012 school year serving as ambassadors for public education and the teaching profession. Barnes automatically becomes Alabama’s nominee for National Teacher of the Year.
