Instructor and part-time division director of developmental education and English as a Second Language
Not only does Barbara Johnson get the reward of seeing her developmental education students overcome personal struggles to learn, her peers rewarded her with a teacher-of-the-year award at a recent conference.
Johnson, an instructor and part-time division director of developmental education and English as a Second Language for Colorado Mountain College’s Aspen Campus, was caught unaware when the award was announced.
“It was pretty surprising, since I’m so new,” Johnson said. She has held her current position since January. “I hardly expected an award.”
Johnson was given the award at the Aug. 6-7 Colorado Adult Education Professional Association conference at the Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center in Breckenridge.
CAEPA helps professionals in adult education and family literacy through professional development, advocacy and resource sharing.
Johnson was nominated for the award by Margaret Maxwell, instructional chair for the Aspen Campus.
“She’s just a pretty amazing person,” Maxwell said.
Among the qualities Maxwell said Johnson has that helped earn her the honor was her sound pedagogical, or instructional, practices.
Johnson and her husband, Rick, the instructional chair for the Aspen Campus, moved to Silt from Michigan when Rick went to work for Colorado Mountain College. In Michigan, the Johnsons were jointly chief executive officers at Louhelen Baha’i School in Davison.
Barbara Johnson, who has a doctorate degree in developmental education and ESL, said her work has always been rewarding.
“It brings a lot of joy,” she said. “The students are magnificent, and it’s so rewarding to see them learn and see themselves as part of a betterment of the world. Some of them have to overcome some significant obstacles to do this work.”