THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501190162
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
ELIZABETH CITY PRISCILLA BARNES has wanted to be an educator all her life.
``It was because of a sixth grade teacher I had,'' Barnes, 39, said last week. ``I said I wanted to be just like her. I'm still trying.
Barnes, a native of Murfreesburo, spent 16 years as a teacher assistant in the Northampton County Schools. In 1990 she took the plunge and enrolled at Elizabeth City State University to become a teacher.
Now in her senior year and embarking on her student teaching semester at P.W. Moore Elementary, Barnes has gone above and beyond the normal duties of an entering student teacher.
In December, Barnes won a $550 grant from the National Education Association. She used the Community Learning Through America's Schools grant to buy math and science materials for the 58 third-graders at P.W. Moore.
The equipment, which includes games, mini-science kits and dinosaur kits, is part of an effort ``to let them see that math and science is not all 'brain-pulling,' as one little girl said,'' Barnes explained. ``It can be fun.''
The school's two third-grade teachers each received a V-Tech Pre Computer 1000, a gadget that quizzes kids on subjects such as history, math and spelling.
Barnes, who must now evaluate how the new materials affect the children's attitudes toward math and science, says the gifts went over well.
``Oh, my goodness,'' Barnes said. ``You just would not believe the difference.
``They just don't have that negative attitude. They were so excited.''
Barnes is president of ECSU's chapter of the Student North Carolina Association of Educators, and she's secretary for the state group. She said she decided to seek the grant after attending a conference in Rapid City, S.D.
Barnes was one of three delegates from the state and the only one from east of Raleigh to attend the conference, which gave advice on how to find and apply for grants.
``I just decided to try it, try my hand at it,'' Barnes said. ``At first I was a little apprehensive about it, because I knew there was a lot of paperwork involved.''
But the late Eloise Roberts, a professor and adviser at ECSU, encouraged her to try.
Barnes spent a week filling out eight pages of questions on the grant application, detailing her plans for the money and how she intended to evaluate the outcome. She said her proposal, which originally sought $1,000, may have been the only one submitted from North Carolina.
``It was well worth it, believe me,'' Barnes said.
P.W. Moore teacher Linda Coleman, who will work with Barnes this semester, also is excited about the grant.
``We've used a lot of materials already,'' Coleman said. ``It works right in with what we're doing in the classroom.''
Coleman also is impressed with Barnes. ``She's a wonderful person, very, very knowledgeable of what she's doing. Creative, bright, enthusiastic, everything that we need in a teacher.''
Barnes, now in her last semester, is majoring in elementary education with a minor in social science. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Priscilla Barnes won a $550 grant from the National Education
Association that she used to buy math and science materials for the
58 third-graders at P. W. Moore Elementary School.
by CNB