This month’s teacher spotlight is Barbara Soelberg! Barbara currently works as an Elementary Math Coach and CMI Specialist at Davis School District and previously taught grades 2-6. She has been involved in Education for over 25 years. Her nominator wrote “Barbara has influenced the mathematical thinking within both elementary schools (South Clearfield and Crestview Elementary) to the point where teachers and students love math. ...She’s positive, uplifting, engaging, and always willing to help teachers and students to ensure that they are successful!”
Barbara appreciates many wonderful teachers who inspired her to love education. They helped her develop an interest in all types of exploring and learning. When she is not teaching, she likes to travel, hike and bike in the outdoors, play with her grandkids, and create through painting and quilting.
She thinks it is important for teachers to empower students and to help them identify and choose math tools that work for them, as well as help students build confidence in their abilities to solve problems. She feels great satisfaction and “celebrates” when a student’s face lights up as they finally grasp a difficult concept, or even better, when they teach someone else how they did it.
Barbara enjoys collaborating with others to encourage positive educational practices and policies. She has benefited a great deal from participating in the Utah K-12 Mathematics Leadership and Coaching Institute and the 8x8 Math Teacher Leader Program. She says, “It is truly a delight for me to work with teachers of all grades, with varying experiences, backgrounds, and interests. I can take what we work on back to my schools to help other teachers be more successful in their teaching of mathematics.
On behalf of the Utah State Board of Education, we would like to thank Barbara for her outstanding contributions to Mathematics Education in Utah.