Barbara Sims loves first graders because first graders love everything.

“In first grade, they still love school and they love everything they do at school,” Sims said.

Sims said first grade is the time when students really start to blossom as writers and readers, and when there is seldom a dull moment.

“It is an age where children bring excitement and enthusiasm to everything they do,” Sims said of her students.

As a first-grader at Statham Elementary in Barrow County, Sims was as eager to learn as the children she now teaches. She may, however, have been a bit more extroverted than some of her quieter students.

“I was outgoing and precocious in first grade, but, then, I have always been outgoing and precocious,” she said, laughing heartily.

Sims has spent 20 years in education, and most of that time has been in a first-grade classroom. Her outgoing personality hasn’t dimmed after two decades of teaching, and her energy has certainly not waned.

Her enthusiasm and energy continue to impress her fellow teachers. She was recently voted the first-ever Teacher of the Year for the newly-opened High Shoals Elementary School.

It may be the first time Sims has been the TOTY at High Shoals, but it is not the first time she has garnered the top-teacher honor. She was also voted a TOTY at Oconee’s Rocky Branch Elementary and at Kennedy Elementary in Barrow County.

It is a safe bet that few educators have, in 20 years, been voted TOTY at three different schools, but Sims has not let the multiple honors go to her head. As humble as she is energetic, she said “it would be an honor just to be nominated” for Teacher of the Year at any of the schools where she has taught.

Few successful teachers fail to cite past teachers, friends, and family for helping them choose and succeed in their careers, and Sims is no exception. She decided she wanted to teach in fourth grade because she wanted to inspire students just the way her fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Williams, inspired her.

She also cites her mother’s ongoing support in helping her be the best teacher possible. She said her mother cheered her on while she got her undergraduate degree at UGA, and her Masters and Specialist degrees at Piedmont College.

Her best friend, Kanya, is another strong source of support. Her friend is also a teacher, and is always there to lend a sympathetic ear.

“Teaching can be hard, and sometimes you get frustrated,” Sims admitted. “Kanya is a person who is able to empathize and sympathize with me because she understands the stresses of teaching.”

Her friend, she said, also understands that a teacher’s job does not stop when she turns out the classroom lights at the end of the day.

“Even when I am out shopping, I am thinking about my children,” she said. “I look around a store and think to myself, ‘What do I see that I can bring to my classroom to help my children learn and to make learning more exciting?’’

Mary Anne Carroll is a reporter for The Oconee Leader. She can be reached at 706-310-1104 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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