Ms. Barrett is an IB teacher that exemplifies her profession

By Catherine DaMoude Senior, Longview

High

Throughout my high school career, various people on the Longview High School campus have influenced me. As a student in the International Baccalaureate Programme, I have had the privilege of making strong relationships with my teachers and counselors because of the tight-knit IB community. However, one teacher has significantly impacted my life through her kindness and patience. Amy Barrett is not only a remarkable teacher, but she is also an exceptional role model for young men and women. Because Ms. Barrett creates a friendly environment in her classroom, I find myself having the desire to learn and succeed in her class.

Inside the classroom, Ms. Barrett provides her classes with rigorous work

FOREST |Continued from page 5 he has taught me, I would not have learned the principles that guide my life today.

One of the qualities I admire most about Coach Wilson is his ability to see the potential within a student. He does not just look at the physical qualities of a player; instead, he looks at their heart. I am not the biggest nor strongest player on the team, but I work hard and am determined to improve my skills. From day one, Coach Wilson saw those qualities in me and looked for ways to help me succeed on the field. He let me try various positions to see where I could best help the team and gave me a chance to lead my teammates. He has taught me that noticing and developing the potential within a person, whether on the team or in my community, can have a tremendous impact on an individual.

Coach Wilson has shown my teammates and me that we are not just football players. We are also a family. This unity in our team is inspired by the relationship Coach Wilson has with his father. Coach Wilson’s father is at every game and occasionally will attend our practices, watching our development while also supporting his son. Without knowing or to prepare her students for college. Being in her Environmental Systems and Societies class during my junior and senior years taught me the importance of time management, communication, and critical thinking. Although her work is challenging and complex, her ability to help students understand the content is remarkable. Through her teaching, she inspires students in her class like me. Ms. Barrett has motivated me to be more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Her class has even influenced me to be the president of the LHS Environmental Club, a club that helps create an environmental spark in students’ lives. She inspires me to remain hardworking, for it will benefit me for the rest of my life.

Ms. Barrett’s teaching, however, is not the only factor that makes her remarkable. She deeply cares about her students and genuinely wants them to even trying, Coach Wilson and his father demonstrate the importance of being there for each other no matter the circumstance. When I began playing football in sixth grade, I did not have strong friendships or relationships with my teammates. However, after two and a half years, I have come to know my fellow team members on a personal level and have grown to understand that we are not just teammates; instead, we are a family. Because of Coach Wilson, I now have brothers I can rely upon. succeed. She openly discusses how her classroom is a safe place for students. One time, I decided to discuss with her the challenges that I was facing in my life. I remember how she looked at me, so sincere and warmhearted, and said, “I am sorry.” Somehow she knew the perfect words to say to me when I felt no one could understand the conflict within my life. Her words and facial expressions were so sympathetic and concerned. At that moment, I knew that Ms. Barrett was one of the most special and genuine people I have encountered.

Throughout my life, I have played various sports and have had many different coaches but never one like Coach Wilson. He not only leads by example both on and off the field, but he also cares about his players and the young men they are becoming. He is kind and encouraging and holds us to a higher standard, allowing us to grow and develop into better players and people. Through these character qualities, Coach Wilson has pushed me to my limit, developed my potential, and showed me the importance of family. Clearly, through the impact Coach Wilson has had on every player he coaches, he is more than just a great coach; he is a true lamplighter!

Because of her ability not only to inspire students academically but also to inspire them personally, Ms. Barrett is more than deserving to receive the honor of this year’s Lamplighter Award. I am blessed to have Ms. Barrett as my teacher, for I will always remember her encouraging and uplifting words throughout my life.

EARLY |Continued from page 10 looked at me; I was nervous and felt like I did not belong. Because I had been out of school for a month, I missed a lot of instruction and tests. I felt like school was a lost cause. Ms. Williams helped me regain my confidence, not only in school but also in my personal life as she pushed me to keep trying. I kept trying no matter how many times I failed because she reminded me that success would come. If I have a bad day or even a good day, I know that Ms. Williams will always be there cheering me on. Her encouragement is one of my biggest motivations and always will be.

Ms. Williams deserves the Lamplighter Award because she is not just an educator or the school counselor; she is and always will be my hope. When things are dark, she is one I run to. She is my family, my best friend, and sometimes even my mom if I need her. Sometimes I wonder what kind of girl I would be if she had not taken a chance on me and seen the potential in me that I did not see in myself.

Ms. Williams would be the ideal person for this award. She is the light of my life and my biggest cheerleader.

A part of your past.

Since 1996, the Great Rewards for Great Ideas Grant Program has funded 770 grants, returning $827,092.75 to LISD’s classrooms and enabling innovative teachers, counselors, librarians, and nurses to create new educational programs or to enhance existing ones so that they can provide the best instruction possible to all students. These grants have funded programs and projects for students of all ability levels in a variety of disciplines. In addition to strengthening academics, the grants have also funded projects in music, art, technology, character education, health and physical education, guidance and counseling, gifted and talented education, career education, and STEM and STEAM education.

The Longview ISD Foundation, Inc. has funded 50 Campus Initiative Grants for a total of $151,265.68 since 2008. The Foundation believes that this grant program, targeting overall campus improvement, complements the Foundation’s annual Great Rewards for Great Ideas Program. The Foundation believes that this grant program, targeting overall campus improvement, complements the Foundation’s annual Great Rewards for Great Ideas Program.

The Foundation has funded fourteen John W. Harrison, Jr. Academic Field Trip Grants for fourth and fifth grade and middle school students for $61,733.74 since fall 2019.Through its three grant programs, the Longview ISD Foundation has returned a grand total of $1,040,092.19 to LISD classrooms and campuses in its twenty-eight-year history. With the Lamplighter Awards, the Longview ISD Foundation pays tribute to students and the educators who are special to them in their school lives and invites the community to celebrate those dedicated, nurturing educators. To celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Lamplighter Awards, the Foundation asked students to remember a special educator who holds a magical place in their hearts and minds because he or she exhibits one of the twenty characteristics past Lamplighter Award student honorees think educators should possess and write essays about those educators.

Those characteristics are:

• Possessing knowledge of the subject he or she teaches

• Displaying kindness or compassion

• Making learning interesting and fun

• Accepting all students

• Believing in students and wanting them to succeed

• Creating a sense of family in the classroom

• Encouraging students, especially when students struggle to learn

• Inspiring students to learn

• Having high expectations for students, demanding the best from students, pushing students to go beyond their comfort zones, or never giving up on students

• Helping students when they experience problems at school or in their personal lives when appropriate

• Spreading happiness to students and making students feel good about themselves and others

• Going beyond the classroom to educate students, perhaps in UIL events or other school competitions

• Displaying patience and giving one-on-one attention

• Teaching students how to study or be organized

• Treating students with respect

• Being a good listener

• Serving as a role model

• Understanding when students don’t understand and working to make the subject or skill understandable to all students

• Helping students find their academic passions and encouraging them to pursue those passions

• Expecting good behavior from all students, forgiving of students who have made bad choices, or refusing to accept a student’s bad behavior that in turn made the student become a better person.

Through the generosity of Lamplighter Award sponsors, the Longview ISD Foundation raises funds for the annual Great Rewards for Great Ideas, the Campus Initiative Grant Program, the John W. Harrison, Jr. Academic Field Trip Grant, and continuing education scholarships to LISD educators who are pursuing advanced training and/or certification to enhance their classroom teaching. Because of generous donations from Lobo alumni and friends of the Longview Independent School District to the Lobo Memorial Scholarship, the Foundation annually awards $1,000 scholarships to Longview High School seniors.