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Wheeling Middle School special education teacher Tiffany Barnes recently received a big check, literally and figuratively, for her triumph as West Virginia Teacher of the Year.
The Horace Mann Education Corp. came to her school right before holiday break with an oversized check in the amount of $5,000. (She got a smaller, actual check, too.)
And what was she planning to do with that new found financial boost? As always, Barnes was thinking about her students.
That money was going to a sensory room Barnes is designing for her students. It's another way that Barnes is looking out for the children she works with every day.
And it's one of the many reasons Barnes earned her prestigious award. She said working with special education students isn't just a job. It's her calling, something that's easy to see for the people who work with her.
"Her heart is unbelievable," Wheeling Middle Principal Rich McCardle said.
And she wants to motivate other teachers as well. As she travels the state, she'll offer a message of connecting with your kids.
"Connection is everything," she said. "If a student doesn't feel connected, they're not going to learn. So it's important to take the extra time to love them and connect with them and get to know them on a personal level."