Hartselle teacher finalist for state teacher of the year

Apr. 26—HARTSELLE — There was no place like home for Kim Jared, the Hartselle native and Barkley Bridge Elementary gifted teacher who started her teaching career more than 30 years ago at the same elementary school she attended.

The same principal Jared had as a student hired her at F.E. Burleson in 1991. Since then, Jared has inspired several of her students to pursue careers in education and this year has been named one of the state's top 16 finalists for Alabama Teacher of the Year.

"I think this is the most rewarding career I could have," Jared said. "I have had the most wonderful experience through my personal children in the school system, and the kids that I've been able to teach and hopefully have a positive impact on."

In addition to being named as this year's teacher of the year at Barkley Bridge Elementary, where she's taught since the school opened in 1995, Jared was also named District VII Elementary Teacher of the Year by the state. District VII includes Lauderdale, Colbert, Lawrence, Morgan, Franklin, Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Walker, Winston and parts of Jefferson and Tuscaloosa Counties.

As a student at F.E. Burleson, Jared remembers, her fourth grade teacher Jane Ann Fields was the first person who inspired her to imagine a career in teaching.

"She just made me feel like the only person in her classroom," Jared said. "She was the first person who made me think, 'I might want to do this.'"

The teachers in Hartselle, including her sixth grade English teacher Sabrina Odin, continued to ignite her passion for education.

By the time Jared graduated from Hartselle High School in 1987, she knew she had to teach. She enrolled at Calhoun Community College then finished her degree at Athens State University.

She started her teaching career at F.E. Burleson and taught with the same teachers who taught her. The experience, she said, was surreal at first. Two veteran teachers, Sarah Ann Evans and Anne Knowlton, guided her. When Barkley Bridge opened in 1995, the three of them moved to teach at the new school.

"I've had super mentors over the years," Jared said. "I learned a lot more from them than I think I did in college."

Their lessons? Don't take yourself too seriously. And if you don't get everything in your lesson plan accomplished, remember that the kids will be OK. It's the relationships that are important.

Jared benefited from mentors, and now she is mentoring others. Ashley Hodges, a student in Jared's 1993 third grade class at F.E. Burleson, became a student teacher under Jared in 2008. Now, Hodges teaches kindergarten down the hall at Barkley Bridge.

Hodges remembers Jared as the first teacher to pick up on her difficulty with reading.

"She knew that I was smart, and that I could pick up on things, but it was just taking me a little longer," Hodges said. "She even tutored me in the summer because the following year I was diagnosed with dyslexia."

After the pair spent hours working on reading together, Hodges knew she wanted to be a teacher like Jared.

"I wanted to be just like her," Hodges said. "It's neat now because she and I are both very tall. People mistake me in the hall — if they're behind me — for her, and I think that's the ultimate compliment." — A 'second mom'

Macie Harbin, a student in Jared's 2009 third grade class at Barkley Bridge, also decided to pursue teaching because of Jared.

"It was a classroom that everyone wanted to go into," Harbin said. "It was a classroom where you felt like your second mom was in there teaching you. You knew that she cared about you, and then on top of that, you knew that you were going to have fun that day no matter what you were doing."

Harbin, who is currently student teaching at Barkley Bridge, said Jared's classes were high energy and full of enrichment. She said turning their school common area into a rain forest during Jared's class is one of her elementary school highlights.

"When I look at it with my teacher eyes, I cannot imagine the amount of prep that goes into that," Harbin said. "It seems almost impossible she was able to do everything that she did. She wore so many hats, but she wore them so well."

When Harbin had to leave Jared's class after third grade, she broke out in tears. Lucky for her, Jared had just completed her gifted certification at the University of Alabama, and Harbin still got to learn from Jared one day a week through fourth and fifth grade.

"I'm going to school to be a gifted teacher," Harbin said. "I'm literally following in her footsteps."

Jared attributes her success to the people who make up the school district. She said Tina Towers and Laura Lamb, the previous and current principals of Barkley Bridge, respectively, have made the school a wonderful place to work.

"Hartselle City Schools has always supported all their teachers," Jared said. "I've never asked for anything that I needed for my classroom that they didn't try to find a way for me to get. If you want to do something, and you feel it's important for your kids and your community, they will find a way."

Other educators who inspired her include Wanda McAbee, who helped Jared develop her gifted teaching philosophy, and Susan Hayes, who was instrumental in developing Barkley Bridge's STEM education as a Project Lead the Way school.

The State Board of Education and State Department of Education will narrow down the top 16 Teacher of the Year finalists to a top four in May.

"There's so many great teachers around that it could have been many other people," Jared said. "It just happened to be me this time. It was a very nice honor. I'm very happy, and I was very surprised."

— audrey.johnson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2437.