Her name is Barbara Christian but to those who know and love her she has always been Ms. Barb.

A fixture at the Community School of Davidson since it was originally called the Children’s Community School many years ago, Ms. Barb started as the middle school science teacher before coming to the high school in 2012. She currently teaches AP Earth Science and Earth Science and is retiring after the 2022-2023 school year.

By way of background, Ms. Barb graduated from the Miami University of Ohio before coming to Davidson. Her first job was with the Mecklenburg County Engineering Department at the landfills. There were three at the time and her role was to record what was being dumped into each site – legal and illegal waste such as tires and oil drums. She worked there for three months before transferring in the department to a different position in downtown Charlotte. 

“I think part of the reason I got hired was that they had just gotten their new computer,” said Barbara Christian. “So I got to train on that and train other people.”

At the end of that summer, she received a recommendation from her master’s advisor regarding a position as a lecturer at UNC Charlotte. She applied and was awarded the job after presenting to a board of professors her master’s thesis on discovering a new mineral.

She worked there for three years and cherished the opportunity to get out in nature.

“Any time there was a field trip I would volunteer to help. It was a great way for me to learn North Carolina geology,” she said.

After teaching in geology labs, she met the regional groundwater supervisor and was offered a position at his field office. A year later, when her supervisor left his position for a more lucrative role at a consulting firm, she was promoted to the regional groundwater supervisor, a position she held twelve years before electing to remain home to raise her son.

As he was getting ready to go to kindergarten, Ms. Barb reflected and realized one of the things she most enjoyed was going to schools and sharing her research through hands-on activities. It was then she made the decision that led to her longtime teaching path.

“So, I went back to UNC Charlotte and got my teaching license,” said Christian.

Then she applied to the Children’s Community School. After her student teaching year, she was hired as the sixth and seventh-grade science teacher. She worked in that position until a position at the high school came open in 2012. She was asked to move up to the high school and she accepted. And now, more than a decade later, she is leaving the high school classroom for the last time. 

When asked about her favorite parts about teaching, Christian said, “With the earth science students, since many of them are in ninth grade, helping them make the transition from middle school to high school is very rewarding. With the AP environmental class, I get to see them make the transition to college-level classes. To see AP students look back on the class and knowing they developed skills is truly wonderful.”

While she will definitely miss the subject matter, it is the human connection that will create the biggest void. 

“I will miss the people the most,” Christian said. “CSD has such a wonderful community built here and I’ll miss both the students and the teachers.”

After this school year, Ms. Barb will still be involved in the AP Earth Science world through AP Classroom, a training program that immerses new APES teachers in the course curriculum, resources and labs. She will become one of 25-30 national AP consultants. 

“I am excited to share what CSD has become successful with others,” she said. “(AP Classroom) gives me a very nice venue to share out the good things we’ve been doing.”

Once she is retired, she hopes to stay involved in CSD by helping new science teachers next year and is excited to have time to herself, too.

“The very first thing I’m looking forward to is not setting my alarm clock,” she said with a laugh.

Along with sleeping later, she is excited to travel with her husband, a retired Davidson College professor, and spend more time with her family. Ms. Barb looks forward to visiting her grandkids and daughter in Alabama and sons in Maine and New York City.

“I can’t wait to be more involved with my family than I’ve been able to,” Christian said. “And I believe next year’s students will be in good hands.”

In her nearly two decades at CSD, Christian has made a huge impact on the students.

Noah Watson (‘25) said, “I love hearing her stories in class. APES is hard but I think Ms. Barb did a great job with it.”

“I think it’s a bummer that the upcoming sophomores taking APES and the freshmen taking Earth Science won’t get her [Christian],” said Mateo Wright (‘25).

The next chapter of Barbara Christian’s life will be different but exciting and while CSD is happy for her, she will be missed.