Lennard High School teacher Sharon Gilmore-Barton in her classroom. The area teacher has been nominated for an Excellence in Education Award by the Hillsborough Education Foundation. An awards banquet will be held in Tampa on March 23. Mitch Traphagen photo.
The school day was nearing an end at Lennard High School, and Sharon Gilmore-Barton had a smile on her face. Not because it was the end of the day or a Friday, but simply because there is something inside her that drives her to optimism, happiness and to inspire success. She began as a volunteer, earned her master’s degree and is now doing what she loves.
She describes it as a gift from God. But it is a gift much larger than she may know; her smile, her attitude, her willingness to take on task after task, project after project — some likely thankless — is then likewise God’s gift to her students, the parents and the community.
Gilmore-Barton makes a difference in this world, whether with one student, a classroom full of students, or an entire sports team, at a time.
The School District of Hillsborough County is the third largest in Florida and the eighth largest in the United States. Given the size of the district, with more than 200,000 students, it is difficult to stand out. But the moment of meeting Sharon Gilmore-Barton, it is easy to see that she does, indeed, stand out.
Last December, the Hillsborough Education Foundation named her a finalist for the Excellence in Education Awards. On March 23, the winners will be announced during a banquet at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa. Gilmore-Barton is among three from the district nominated for an award as the Instructional Support Employee of the Year by the Foundation.
“I’m blessed,” she said in her classroom at Lennard High School last week. “I just thank the Lord. He’s the one who created me and without Him I could not do it. And even if I could, I would not have the attitude I have.”
Her attitude, revealed by her eyes and smile, is that of sunshine, commitment and integrity, all with a certain pragmatism. But mostly there is a clear dedication, a determination, to work for her students.
“It’s not about me, it’s not about the adults here,” she said. “It’s about the kids here, and that’s where my focus has been.”
With her husband in the U.S. Army, she arrived in the Tampa Bay area with her family nine years ago. One of her children attended Lennard High School and, with a long interest in sports, she decided to volunteer her time toward a booster club for the then-new school. Today, she is president of the Athletic Booster Club, and that organization now has $10,000 in funds to be used toward helping the school’s various sports programs. She is also a volunteer with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, sponsors the Junior Class Council and coordinates teams for Relay For Life.
Sharon Gilmore-Barton is not the type of woman to kick back with her feet up. Although it was Friday and the school day was ending, she would be at the school for many hours yet. She had organized a kickball tournament and would be attending a pep rally later in the day.
With her volunteer work in her newly adopted home, she decided to first seek her bachelor’s degree and then went on to earn a master’s degree. She finished the two-year master’s program in a single year. She began substitute teaching and before long, just four years ago, was hired by Lennard as an instruction support teacher. She now has a class of her own.
In that time, there have been many successes and a few surprises for the 49-year-old teacher, a member of The Crossing Church.
“There has been lots of praying!” she said with a laugh.
The students, staff members at Lennard and even members of the community have high praise for her. It is admiration that she returns to all.
“My principal is wonderful,” she said, referring to Lennard High Principal Mary Freitas. “She really cares, and she shows it. She talks to us. I really appreciate that.”
But her focus remains on the students, both in the classroom and in her volunteer work. Her husband also volunteers his time as an assistant coach or wherever needed: “He could be volunteering in the concession stand,” Sharon said. As students filed in to buy bags of chips as part of a Relay For Life fundraiser, she talked about her outlook.
“It’s a different era,” she said. “You just have to know how to approach kids. You just have to know how to talk to them. If you talk to them more with love than with discipline, most kids today will respect you. They have to know that you care. This generation is smarter — they know who cares and who doesn’t. They know who they can talk to.”
Sharon Gilmore-Barton is the kind of teacher who will one day begin receiving letters from her students, thanking her for having a positive influence in their lives. She stands out in every conceivable way. She has humility, she has compassion, she is smart and she has understanding, particularly toward her students. While she acknowledges that it’s possible that not every single kid can be saved and become a success story, it likely wouldn’t be her to give up on any one of them.
“Maybe you can’t save every kid,” she said. “But kids learn. I know one that left school but now he works and is going to night school.”
On March 23, Gilmore-Barton will attend a banquet at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts as a finalist for an Excellence in Education Award. She will be accompanied by one of the success stories.
“One of the turnaround students I’ve had — he has been chosen as a turnaround student,” she began. “He asked me to attend the banquet with him, so I’m going with him. We didn’t know if he was going to make it, but he’s a senior and he’s going to graduate.”
Somehow she likely did know that he would make it. She has optimism and she has faith. And that is a gift that extends far beyond her classroom.
