LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Holly Bearden was nominated anonymously.

Ms. Bearden fosters a positive classroom environment by promoting and modeling effective teamwork and communication skills with her students daily. They frequently work in partners and groups, so collaboration is a significant factor in her classroom operations. She finds it essential to promote equal opportunities for all students and to encourage them to share their ideas and questions, while also ensuring they feel seen and heard when sharing and collaborating in class.

As a science teacher, lab supplies are always essential in her classroom. She has been fortunate in terms of reusable lab supplies, and so her most pressing needs are items that would help her with daily classroom management and organization. This year, her goal for herself is to stay on top of having her copies prepped and ready for her classes ahead of time in case a student will be absent and needs their work in advance. This will be facilitated by a rolling cart with enough drawers to accommodate five days of the week for the two classes she teaches.

During her first year of teaching, she was awarded the Page Educators grant, which she used to purchase cow eyes for classroom dissections and flexible seating options. She has also been awarded the Carroll EMC Bright Ideas Grant to purchase interactive STEM equipment. For the 2022-2023 school year, she was chosen as the Times-Georgian People's Choice Junior High Teacher of the Year in the Carroll County Area.