JANS – Teach Plus has announced that Johnson Elementary teacher Barquita Stanton has been selected as one of 18 teacher leaders who will participate in a national leadership opportunity with the 2024 Teach Plus National Policy Advisory Board (NPAB). As a Teach Plus Change Agent Alumna, Stanton continues to work alongside current Teach Plus Agent members in Mississippi to share her knowledge and experience in the program.
Stanton is described as an outstanding member of Teach Plus Mississippi’s SEL Change Agent Network and has often shared her experience and advice for their Delta Change Agents. As an NPAB member, Stanton will help craft Teach Plus’s national policy agenda and will also meet with federal policymakers both in Congress and at the U.S. Department of Education.
Stanton has taught within the Jackson Public School District for five years. She started teaching as a first and second grade teacher at Van Winkle Elementary in 2018. Stanton then became a teacher at Johnson Elementary in 2020 where she taught third grade English for three years and now teaches fourth grade English. Her dedication and hard work in the classroom have not gone unnoticed, as she has received various accolades for showing excellence in the classroom. Most recently, in 2021-2022, she was awarded Teacher of the Year at Johnson Elementary.
Additionally, Stanton has taken on leadership roles outside of the classroom. She served as a Teach Plus Agent, emphasizing incorporating Social Emotional Awareness in classrooms. Stanton initiated a project called JES C.A.R.E.S, which stands for Changing Attitudes, Refining Emotional Security. In 2022, she traveled to New York to share her project with teachers nationwide.
Stanton pursued her passion for working with young children and obtained her Bachelor of Arts from Tougaloo College in 2018. Currently, she is a candidate for a Master of Arts in Teaching Secondary Education to be conferred in the spring of 2024 at Belhaven University. Overall, Stanton is thrilled to represent, not only the national level, but also the state of Mississippi while serving on the National Policy Advisory Board with Teach Plus.
