LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Margo Phariss was nominated by her colleague, Kimberly Morin.

"I have to start by saying that anyone who has met Margo Phariss has met the one woman who will do what she can to support you," explains Morin. "Margo has a heart for students as well as educators. She is constantly taking classes to find new ways of helping her teachers ease their burdens while becoming better teachers. I watch her tirelessly and sacrificially mentor teachers as well as students. She gives her own time and money to tutor students and meet with teachers on weekends and evenings. I genuinely have not seen anyone as dedicated as she is." 
 
Mrs. Phariss has worked her entire adult life in education. She started as a 2nd/3rd-grade teacher before moving to the middle school as a Title One teacher and teaching coach. She left the classroom because she saw a need to help teachers and students. Teachers are fighting an uphill battle and burning out faster than they can keep up. Mrs. Pharris has come along to help stop that cycle. She is an encourager and source of strength for her district. 

Mrs. Phariss has mentored many first-year teachers, helping them with classroom management and new teaching techniques. She has helped them implement her district's PBIS program and has personally taken on the CICO system, building relationships with students that some have felt difficult to manage. Mrs. Phariss takes the 5:1 ratio seriously, not only with students, but with peers. When correction takes place, she always builds the person up before and after to help them see this as something to strive for and not a punishment. 

"Margo loves our students and staff, so she strives to bring out the best in people and helps them want to raise their bars higher," said Morin. "Without Margo, I cannot imagine what our school and district would be like. Margo is a LifeChanger. She has changed my life, that's for sure."