The faculty of Cedar Ridge High School recently voted to award the 2012-2013 Cedar Ridge Teacher of the Year award to English teacher Melinda Barnhardt, who is in her fifth year teaching at the school. She was selected from a list of four finalists that included exceptional children teachers Nicole Lester and Teresa Sisco and science teacher Pat Howes.

Barnhardt said she was grateful to even be considered for the award, that “the significance of the award is the people who voted” and that she is honored to teach alongside such “inspirational coworkers” on a daily basis.

Barnhardt has taught many different classes during her relatively short time at Cedar Ridge, including English, SAT prep, freshman seminar, and one semester of Spanish, which she says “terrified” her. She says that she would enjoy the chance to teach creative writing sometime but could grow as a teacher and as a person from teaching any class.

 Her favorite class to teach is English IV, as she enjoys helping seniors prepare for their futures. She has several words of wisdom for the graduating senior class, advising seniors to “finish strong, take time to find yourself, and not worry about making mistakes.” She cites her inspiration to teach as an adolescent literature class that she took in college, which gave her a fresh perspective on teaching and education. 

Students at Cedar Ridge know and love Mrs. Barnhardt for her upbeat and passionate teaching style. She says that her goal as a teacher is to encourage open-mindedness and “bring energy and enthusiasm into the classroom and to try and transfer passion and motivation to my students.” She also tries to follow a “new dawn, new day” philosophy, attempting to give every day a fresh start.

Congratulations to Mrs. Barnhardt, the 2012-2013 Cedar Ridge Teacher of the Year!