“This year we have yet another teacher who is a role model not only for our students but for other teachers in our district,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D). “She has gone above and beyond her normal teaching duties to elevate student voices and inspire her students.”
Each year, educators across the city compete for top honors, including a $7,500 check and a chance to compete for the National Teacher of the Year award in a contest run by the Council of Chief State School Officers. Mr. Barkley, who teaches English and other classes to students new to the United States, was greeted with applause and bright pompoms waved by students.
“This is a great honor,” she said in a room filled with teachers, staff and several students. “My students are changemakers. My students are leaders. …This is really about them and for them.”
Before coming to Cardozo, Berkley taught reading and writing in English and Spanish to adults in grades four through nine. in El Salvador. In 2014, she received an invitation from the new International Academy of Cardoso. This academy focuses on the needs of a growing number of recently immigrant students.
“When I first started, most of my students were from El Salvador, so it was a perfect transition back to my home country,” she said. Over the years, we have seen an increasing number of students from Guatemala, Honduras, Laos, Vietnam, and Cameroon. She has been teaching some children bused by red state governors from near the southern border.
Many of Berkeley’s students come to her classroom with specific challenges. Some have been separated from their families. Some came to this country for the first time and had no formal schooling. They carry trauma from their home countries. D.C. Superintendent Christina Grant said Berkeley “has been a steward, a guide, a light and a force on their journey” into the U.S. education system.
Since arriving in the 2014-2015 school year, Barclay has taught “hundreds” of immigrant students, she said. In addition to English, she also teaches classes on human rights and social activism.
“It’s not just the language, it’s a whole new place, and seeing students come here to advocate for themselves and their communities and become leading organizers and change agents in our community. is really exciting to me. And doing and saying all of that in a new language is very exciting,” Barclay said. “I like seeing them feel empowered and like they belong here.”
Outside of the classroom, Berkley has hosted social identity workshops and supported youth campaigns to help immigrants access mental health resources.
“We don’t have mental health providers to care for undocumented youth,” she says. “We need more bilingual service providers.”
Students who attended the ceremony spoke of Mr. Barkley’s kindness and support. Wedad Yassin, the school’s vice principal for English language learner instruction, said in his nomination of Berkley that her leadership has “cultivated a positive school culture and a nationally recognized program for newly arrived immigrant students.” contributed to.”
In addition to the $7,500 prize, which she says is for the benefit of her students, Barkley said she will receive $5,000 to travel to national conferences and workshops during her one-year term as Teacher of the Year. .
The Washington, D.C., Office of the Inspector General of Education also named four finalists for the award. Chad Harris teaches music at Stanton Elementary School. Kenna Allison, biology teacher at Washington Latin Public Charter School; Rabia Harris teaches physical science and robotics at Ida B. Wells Middle School. and Aneesa Blount, a kindergarten teacher at Van Ness Elementary School.