Barrow Named March Super Star Teacher

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Montgomery County High School teacher Melissa Barrow started her week off with excitement on Monday, March 11, as she was presented with the Greater Vidalia Chamber Super Star Teacher award during class.

“When a group of people walked in my classroom with smiles and balloons I was a little confused!” Barrow explained with a laugh. “But I am so thankful to the Greater Vidalia Chamber for celebrating teachers!”

The Greater Vidalia Chamber began the Super Star Teacher award as a new initiative to honor on a monthly basis the extraordinary teachers who go above and beyond the call of duty, and ultimately, impact lives.

The program is overseen by Chamber Director of Operations Amber O’Connor, who spoke on the opportunity. “The Chamber is excited to be able to offer this program to our community! We couldn’t think of a more deserving group of professionals in our workplace to be recognized for their dedication to students and their community,” she remarked.

“A Super Star Teacher demonstrates excellence in leadership in their classroom along with motivation for their students. They show a high level of commitment to not only their students but their community,” O’Connor added.

Students, parents, and other community members have the opportunity to nominate teachers for the award monthly; those nominations are then turned in to sponsors of the award who select each month’s Super Star Teacher. Once selected, Chamber staff, sponsors, and school administrators work together to surprise the honorees with the award and prizes.

Barrow received two nominations for the award — one of which came from one of her own students who accompanied the group to surprise the teacher.

“I have had Mrs. Barrow’s classes for all of my four years of high school and can honestly say that she is one of the most effective and influential teachers I have ever had,” Montgomery County High School Ssenior Ansleigh Randolph’s nomination read. “Whether it be coming up with new and engaging ways to help students understand the content we learn in her class, or making sure that her students are truly doing well in not only her class but in their lives outside of school as well, Mrs. Barrow is well respected and loved by every student that enters her classroom! Without her I would not have developed a love of history, and I definitely would not look forward to class as I do now!”

In addition to this, an anonymous nomination was submitted for Barrow. That submission was also read during the presentation. “Mrs. Barrow succeeds at not only encouraging her students in academics, but in helping them gain confidence in themselves and their futures as well,” it stated. “She builds lasting and impactful relationships with her students, which allows her to joke with them while also helping to guide them into further building their character.”

The nomination continued, “Mrs. Barrow genuinely loves and cares for her students, and even checks on them outside of school when issues arise. Recently, one of her students was struggling with a racing heart issue, and Mrs. Barrow not only checked on her daily inside and outside the classroom, but also did everything possible to help the student during an episode, even down to taking her own watch off and putting it on the student to monitor her heart rate. We love Mrs. Barrow and are grateful for all the kindness and life lessons she has shown the students at MCHS!”

Barrow reacted to these nominations and the award, as she remarked, “I enjoy teaching kids to think for themselves. To me, the most important thing I can do is help make kids good citizens and good tax payers! So to have a student enjoy my teaching enough to nominate me for an award is much appreciated.”

She added, “Ansleigh is the type of student who is eager to learn and use that knowledge, and she shares my sense of humor! Also, we have a wonderful administration and Board of Education who protect our instructional time and provide us with the materials we need to be successful. Thank you again Greater Vidalia Chamber, Ansleigh, and the writer of the anonymous letter! What a wonderful community we share!”

Montgomery County Superintendent Stan Rentz also spoke about Barrow, as he shared the school system is proud of her accomplishment. “ When I think about Mrs. Melissa Barrow and what she means to Montgomery County Schools, the first thing that really comes to mind is relationships,” he emphasized. “If you talk to any of her students, you will hear how concerned she is about every single one of them. Obviously, she’s a great content person but she goes way above and beyond, and makes a difference in the lives of students. That’s really what teaching is all about.”

Barrow has 20 years of experience in education, and has taught at schools in Pelham, McIntosh County, and Brunswick. She even met her husband, Montgomery County Middle/ High School Principal Scott Barrow, through education, as she was working as a substitute teacher at Wheeler County Schools while he was also teaching there. She has taught at Montgomery County High School for 8 years, and currently teaches American Government, World History, U.S. History, Personal Finance, and Economics.

Nominations have already closed for the April Super Star Teacher Award, which will be presented within the coming weeks.