Beth Barkley, a teacher at Cardozo Education Campus who is known for her work with migrant students, won the honor of D.C.’s teacher of the year. News4’s Mark Segraves spoke to her and her students about the accomplishment.
D.C.’s 2024 teacher of the year is an educator who works with children who arrived in the District on buses full of migrants.
Beth Barkley, a teacher at Cardozo Education Campus, in Columbia Heights, received the honor on Wednesday as the District has spent nearly $50 million in the past year on housing and services to thousands of migrants.
Barkley has taught at the school for the past eight years. One of her main responsibilities is teaching Spanish-speaking students who arrived on migrant buses from Texas and Arizona.
“All of our students deserve opportunity and being treated with dignity and respect, regardless of where they come from,” she said at the podium.
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Barkley is a favorite among students.
“I always appreciate it, and I feel so grateful. I feel so happy in my heart because of her, because she's one of the greatest teachers," one 11th grader said.
The announcement comes a year after Mayor Muriel Bowser set up D.C.’s Office of Migrant Services to handle the influx of migrants. Since then, about 386 young people who arrived in D.C. on the buses have enrolled in DC Public Schools.
Barkley spoke on Wednesday about the need for more support for undocumented students.
“We've been fighting for years for our undocumented students to have access to mental health support," she said. “Many of them have experienced a lot of trauma in their home countries.”
The award comes with a check for $7,500, which Barkley said she plans to use as seed money for scholarships to help undocumented students pay for higher education.
"Welcome our students with love. They're a part of our community. They're leaders and change-makers in our community, and D.C. is a great city because they’re a part of it,” Barkley added.
