Ridgeview Teacher Wins County Middle School Teacher of the Year

Barbara Bell is no average teacher. Known as "Madame Bell" by her students, Bell teaches French to sixth and seventh graders at Ridgeview Charter School and recently was chosen as Fulton County’s Middle School Teacher of the Year.

Each spring, Fulton County schools are invited to nominate outstanding educators based on teacher, staff and parent input. These professionals are then evaluated a second time through application review and live observation, and one Elementary, Middle and High school Teacher of the Year is announced. These three teachers will serve as examples to their Fulton County colleagues for the next academic year.

An Atlanta native, Bell is a graduate of Centennial High School and Agnes Scott College and is also a certified French translator. 

“In my classroom, I strive to balance structure with the knowledge that learning a language requires risk-taking, talking, movement, and sometimes controlled chaos," Bell explained.

She added, “[Students] know that my French class is a place where we play games, sing songs, act, compete, draw, create, share, laugh, and think. I like to show them that I’m not afraid to sing or act a little silly. I get their attention, and I want them to know that their teacher is willing to take risks and they should be too.”

Bell also believes that educators must be positive role models, mentors and guides if they want to reach and teach students. 

Going above and beyond her in-school duties, Bell has instituted a partner program with students at College Paul Valery, a middle school in Metz, France located in the economic heart of the northeastern Lorraine region. With her counterpart, English teacher Virginie Masson, she has created a pen pal program and together they are developing a plan for videoconferencing. Bell has also established a relationship with Georgia Tech’s French satellite campus in Metz for possible lab visits and tutoring opportunities for College Paul Valery students.

A formal recognition gala will be held next fall to celebrate the Teacher of the Year accomplishments as well as those of other employees of the year who were selected by their local school communities.