Following nominations and two rounds of voting by the teachers, social studies teacher Melody Barger was named Teacher of the Year for the 2025-26 school year.

“I was so thrilled,” said social studies department head Bob McKitrick. “I had been nominating her for Teacher of the Year for the past three years, and then finally, she got it. And when [it] was announced, I was just as happy for her as I would have been if I had gotten it myself.”

Barger teaches many social studies classes, including the freshman history class United States and World History 2, History of St. Louis, Psychology, and AP Psychology. 

“When I moved to the high school from the middle school, I intentionally wanted to teach ninth graders because I had that eighth-grade experience and I knew I could help students transition to the high school,” said Barger.

An important part of Barger’s social studies curriculum is field trips. Her AP Psychology students get a chance to see the dissection of sheep brains and visit the Saint Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center, her History of Saint Louis students get to see places around the city, and her United States and World History 2 students get to visit the Holocaust Museum.

“I believe in a thing called place-based education,” said Barger. “I think you learn more if you’re immersed in the environment that you’re learning about. I think they’re more real-world, authentic experiences.”

Barger also works hard to keep students engaged while they are in the classroom, putting forth a lot of effort and energy to enhance students’ learning experiences.

“One of her teaching styles is that she likes to connect stories,” said senior Leslie Ford. “I had her for AP psych, and she connects real life situations and her real life situations, and teaches us through that rather than just teaching through the book.”

A lot of passion for the classes she teaches comes from her own interests. For example, she used to take her own children on field trips around St. Louis, and has a deep connection to the city.

“I have a really big passion about my city and the history of it,” said Barger. “In high school, my family would [go to] areas around Saint Louis and [go on] trips and stuff. In college, I took classes that had to do with Saint Louis. My whole senior seminar in college was about Saint Louis, so I’m really excited that I get to teach that and hopefully let students experience that ‘our city is pretty cool, right?’”

Barger also has an interest in mental health. She is the one who started the Mental Health Matters hoodies, raising over a thousand dollars for Youth in Need. She also has a degree in counseling. 

“I really care about people,” said Barger. “Being abnormal, being weird is normal. So mental health isn’t just like, ‘oh, somebody has a mental health issue.’ We all have mental health issues. And at any given time, we need to make sure we’re taking care of us in order to be the best person that we can be. And so I guess I like to support that for my kids, because I feel like… I’m looking at them as a whole person.”

Barger demonstrates this both in and out of the classroom by always making sure her students feel supported. 

“She’s a chill teacher who connects with all of her students,” said Ford. “There’s not a student that she leaves out. She makes sure all of her students are feeling included and everything like that… She’ll go up to you, she says hi in the hallways, even if you aren’t her student.”

Her strong dedication and energy put towards her school, her students, her community, and her teaching are what make her this year’s Teacher of the Year.

“She’s been teaching for 38 years, which is longer than most people teach,” said McKitrick. Most people retire at 30 years, and so she’s taught eight years longer than the normal person. So I think that really speaks to her commitment to education and her commitment to kids. And so I can’t tell you how thrilled and excited I am that she won.”