WS Chronicle

Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree

Give Nathaniel Barber a committed faculty and students eager to excel, and he will produce glowing results.

Before his retirement last year, he had logged nearly 40-years in education. Over that time, Barber was tried and tested. As a principal, he was tasked with leading schools with less than stellar academic reputations. Undeterred, Barber achieved success by implementing a culture of high expectations.

He began his career as an English teacher at Anderson High; he later taught at West. By 1989, Barber was an assistant principal – first at Glenn and later at Parkland and Ibraham.

He was put in charge of his own school in 1999 when he became principal of North Hills Elementary, a school that many had written off, partly because its student body was nearly exclusively black and Hispanic. But naysayers would eat their words.

Under Barber’s guidance, student achievement exploded. By 2006, North Hills was the only Equity-Plus school in the county to meet state and federal growth marks. Substantial improvement in test scores earned North Hills Piedmont Triad Signature School designations and the rare distinction of being a National No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School.

When the principalship at Carver High opened in 2009, the superintendent personally turned to Barber to work his magic. He did not disappoint. Carver’s End-of-Course test scores rose more than 12 percent, growth the school had not seen in the seven years prior.

Barber’s winning formula includes relying on his many community connections for school projects and partnerships. At St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church, where he is a Deacon, he has been heavily involved with the church’s Boy Scouts Troop. He is also a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha. For dedicating his life to the betterment of young people, The Chronicle and the community are proud to honor Nathaniel Barber with a Lifetime Achievement Award.