BOLD Students to Staff
From student to staff, Jodi Sorrells, Ashley Bailey, and Bethaney Barber have come full circle, returning to serve the Barrow County School System community that helped shape them.
Jodi Sorrells, a 1996 graduate of Winder-Barrow High School, now serves as the Instructional Coach at Kennedy Elementary School.
“Being an educator in the Barrow County community is something I am incredibly grateful for. I grew up in Barrow County and attended Bethlehem Elementary School, Winder-Barrow Middle School, and Winder-Barrow High School, graduating in 1996. After becoming an educator, I was fortunate enough to return to my community and spend 21 years as a classroom teacher, at Kennedy Elementary School. For the past four years, I have had the privilege of serving KES as the Instructional Coach, bringing my total career in education to 25 years. Barrow County means so much to me, and the people in this community have played an important role in shaping who I am. I was blessed with so many wonderful teachers who influenced my educational experience—not only in the classroom, but through the lessons they taught me about relationships, perseverance, kindness, and community. Those experiences have stayed with me throughout my career and continue to influence the educator I am today,” said Sorrells.
Bethaney Barber, a 2010 graduate of Winder-Barrow High School, now serves the Westside Middle School community as a sixth-grade science teacher.
“I know firsthand the impact that educators in this community can have, because I was once on the receiving end of it. Now I have the opportunity to be that person for someone else,” said Barber.
Ashley Bailey, a 2001 graduate of Winder-Barrow High School, now serves as an Instructional Coach at Arts & Innovation Magnet Program.
“From a student at Holsenbeck Elementary, to Winder-Barrow Middle School, to a proud graduate of Winder-Barrow High School, Barrow County Schools has been my home for a lifetime. Now, in my 21st year serving as an educator and Instructional Coach for the AIM Program, I am honored to give back to the school system that helped shape who I am. This community invested in me, and it is a privilege to invest in the success, growth, and future of its students every day,” said Bailey.
Thank you to our BOLD alumni who have chosen to return home and pour their talents into the Barrow County School System.