Wheeling Middle School teacher Tiffany Barnes has been named one of five finalists for the West Virginia Department of Education’s State Teacher of the Year award.

Barnes teaches special education at Wheeling Middle. She holds a professional teaching certification endorsed in Multi-categorical Special Education (Pre-K-Adult), Autism and Reading Specialist.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies from American Military University and a Master of Education in Reading from West Liberty University. In addition to her teaching credentials, Barnes is a certified personal trainer and performance enhancement specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

A two-time Iraq War veteran with the U.S. Army Military Police, Barnes is the founder and coach of the Girls on the Run Heart and Sole team at Wheeling Middle School and initiated the Wreaths Across America program at two local cemeteries. She has established the school’s annual Autism Acceptance 5K race to support special education classrooms throughout Ohio County.

She is an active member of Team Red, White & Blue, where she honors fallen soldiers by running half-marathons with a full rucksack, gas mask and flags along with members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, West Virginia Education Association and Kappa Delta Pi.

Barnes joins Buffalo High English teacher Brooke Davis, Capon Bridge Middle School math teacher Amber Hibbard, Big Elm Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Renee Powell and East Lynn Elementary School second-grade teacher Nicole Pratt as finalists.

The WVDE will honor all School Service Personnel of the Year and Teacher of the Year finalists and name the 2026 winners during a ceremony at the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston on Tuesday, Sept. 9. The Northern Panhandle has another finalist in the mix, as John Marshall High School custodian Keith Wright is a finalist for state School Service Personnel of the Year.