Jackson County member Adena Barnette has been named the state’s top history teacher, according to a news release from the West Virginia Department of Education.

Our history certainly isn’t perfect. My job as a teacher is to help my students become aware of varied and complicated historical events. I want them to use the knowledge they gain in my classes to understand and address the issues we’re facing today,” Barnette said. That desire to make an impact on her students led Barnette to be selected as WV’s 2021 History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Dr. Sonya White, teaching and learning officer at the WV State Board of Education, said it was a prestigious award for both Barnette and Jackson County Schools when presenting the plaque.

Have a colleague we should highlight for their good work? Let us know at jveres@wvea.org. Put Kudo! in the subject line.