Wheeling Middle School teacher Tiffany Barnes, seen here running the Ogden Newspapers Half Marathon Classic in May, was named West Virginia’s Teacher of the Year Tuesday night. (File Photo)

WHEELING — Wheeling Middle School special education teacher Tiffany Barnes is the 2026 West Virginia Teacher of the Year.

Barnes received the honor during ceremonies Tuesday night at the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston.

“I am completely just dumbfounded,” Barnes said. “Also, I couldn’t be any more excited. It just seems surreal to go to work and do something I love every day. To be rewarded for it is something I wouldn’t have expected.”

A resident of Martins Ferry, Barnes brings a multi-faceted experience to the classroom. She is a two-time Iraq War veteran with the U.S. Army Military Police. She went on to earn 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.

Barnes began her career in Ohio County Schools as a substitute aide and cook. She then earned her teaching and autism certifications and now teaches full time in the autism classroom at Wheeling Middle School.

Barnes is also noted for her athletic ability, honed by her years in the military. She works as a certified personal trainer and performance enhancement specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

On Memorial Day weekend, she participated in the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend while decked out in camouflage and carrying the American flag. Most notably, she wore a backpack adorned with the photos of fallen comrades she knew who were either killed in action or who were victims of post-traumatic stress disorder after returning home.

She acknowledged that 10 years ago, she never would have envisioned herself in this position. She was working in the classroom with students at that time but was also working toward her certification in autism education.

Barnes is the mother of three children. She has a 16-year-old son, as well as another boy and a girl who are 10-year old twins.

“I had three kids, lived 40 minutes from work and was finishing graduate school to get my licensure,” she noted. “I would be doing my homework and my practicum, and my alarm would be going off and I hadn’t been to bed yet. It was a crazy ride for sure.”

But one positive note was that her children got to see that hard work pays off, Barnes continued.

“They get to see that when you work as hard as you (can) — especially at something you love doing — It pays off always,” she said.

Barnes planned to spend Tuesday night in Charleston and to report to the West Virginia Board of Education office today to be briefed on her duties as teacher of the year.

“I know it requires a lot of inspiring others,” she said, noting there are not a lot of special education teachers. “… There needs to be more. I am hoping I could get that charge going.

“It is hard, but it isn’t as intimidating as you think it is if you choose love and remember that nobody wakes up in the morning hoping to have struggles and disabilities. That’s never a choice. They (students) are not giving you a hard time. They are having a hard time. Having that perspective allows you to know it isn’t their fault. If you just love them, they know that, and a connection can happen.”

She believes in “regulation before rigor,” “love first, teach next” and “connection over curriculum.”

“Students have bad days, and I know when I have a bad day my brain doesn’t work the way I want it to,” Barnes said. “It’s hard to make decisions, or even make turns driving. When kids are having a bad day, you can’t expect them to be able to think or even learn.

“We have to make connections with them to understand who they are and what they need. We have to understand enough to make them feel comfortable enough to make a mistake without feeling judged.”

She noted there wasn’t a single teacher at Wheeling Middle School that “didn’t help me to get to where I am at this moment.”

“All of our teachers do more than 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are 24/7,” she said. “When we are not at work, we are worried about work because it’s a lifestyle. I am proud to represent them, but I feel as if this could be a group effort – every teacher in my school would be teacher of the year. We all work as hard as we can and love these kids as much as we can.”

Central office staff from Ohio County Schools were on hand with Barnes in Charleston.

“We are so incredibly proud of Tiffany Barnes,” Ohio County Schools Superintendent Kim Miller said. “She embodies every amazing characteristic of what it means to be a teacher. Both our county and state are better because of ‘Miss Tiff’ and teachers like her. She amazes us every single day.”

Barnes will next represent West Virginia when state teachers of the year from across the nation are honored next spring in Washington, D.C. At that gathering, the “National Teacher of the Year” will be announced.