My name is Josie Barnhart, and I’m running for the New Hanover County school board.

I was raised in a loving lower-middle-class family with 5 kids in Florida. I was homeschooled for part of my elementary years and attended public school in middle school and high school. I knew I wanted to be a mom and a teacher since I was in second grade. I am a proud product of the public school system. I graduated from High School with honors from the International Baccalaureate Program and received my IB diploma in 2006. In the fall I attended the University of Central Florida on a full academic scholarship to fulfill my life-long dream of becoming an educator. My passion and dedicated focus allowed me to graduate early in December 2009 with honors.

My Experience as an Educator

After college, I accepted a position in Florida in a title 1 elementary school as a reading coach, working with small groups of struggling readers. I then moved to Texas to accept a position as an Inquiry-Based Mathematics teacher at a Title 1 middle school. My job was to help kids reach their full potential. Every single day in my classroom, my kids knew that I would be there to help them through any problems they encountered. Each of my classes had differentiation stations so that no child was left behind, which made me realize the beauty of education, that children learn at very different paces and we are able to tailor our teaching styles and methods to support them.

Let’s Make New Hanover Schools Great

I have been involved in NHCS since my daughter started kindergarten in 2020 and have actively engaged with the Board of Education as well as my local school staff. I believe in order to have the best results people need to be willing to put in the time and effort to make that happen. I was called to run for the school board to help be the change I want to see for our staff and students. Throughout my campaign, I will continue to engage and advocate for our kids and staff so that positive, effective change can occur. As I continue to support our staff and my own children in their education journey I would love the opportunity to help ALL THE KIDS of New Hanover County reach their full academic potential. I want to work with staff, parents and the community to better help represent our voices.

I would appreciate your support and vote in the November 2022 election.