TECUMSEH ­— Small groups of fifth-graders clustered around tables in Carrie Barden’s classroom at Tecumseh Middle School on a recent March morning, carefully testing water samples and comparing results.

Moving from table to table, Barden paused to answer questions and encourage students as they recorded their observations.

Moments like these — hands-on lessons that spark curiosity — are a regular part of her classroom. But Barden says teaching today often begins before the curriculum even starts.

“There’s no sense trying to teach fractions if a student hasn’t had food in 24 hours,” she said.

Barden, a fifth-grade math and science teacher at Tecumseh Middle School, was recently named Region 8 Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Department of Education, representing a six-county region that includes Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe and Washtenaw counties.

She is one of 10 educators statewide selected as Regional Teachers of the Year for 2026-27. The program recognizes outstanding educators and gives them the opportunity to advise state leaders through the Michigan Teacher Leadership Advisory Council while also competing for Michigan Teacher of the Year. She received word on Feb. 17 that she had been selected.

“I am honored to serve in this position and represent my school, my district, my county, and my colleagues throughout all of Region 8,” she said. “It really represents so many people I work with — our staff, families, volunteers and community members who help make these projects possible.”

Tecumseh Middle School principal Kris Hoag nominated Barden for the honor.

“She is solid,” Hoag said. “She’s as good as they get. Not only is her classroom amazing, but she also connects personally with her students and then connects her students to the community.”

Hoag pointed to her work with the TMS Builders Club, a student-led service club for middle schoolers sponsored by Kiwanis International. Hoag said Barden also was instrumental in organizing the school’s annual veterans’ breakfast and the postcards of thanks the students send out to veterans, as well as the Rake a Difference campaign for seniors in the local neighborhoods.

“I’m so proud of her,” Hoag said. “She has had a lot of impact at the middle school and she is going to be a great voice as well at the state level. She has a lot of good ideas to share.”

After 25 years in Tecumseh Public Schools, Barden has learned that teaching rarely begins with fractions or science experiments.

“Teachers are doing all sorts of things,” she said. “Making sure kids have clothes. Making sure kids are fed. Making sure they have their glasses because some students are coming without eyeglasses. Some don’t even have a place to sleep at night. We can’t help them learn until their social and emotional needs have been met.”

Those realities of the modern classroom are part of what drives Barden in her work with students.

“Middle school is such a unique and important time in a student’s life,” she said. “While I love teaching math and science with my team-teaching partner, what I value most is helping students see themselves as part of something bigger than just the classroom. I enjoy guiding them as they discover their potential and find their voice, especially through service learning projects that connect them to the broader community.”

Barden team-teaches with colleague Katie Hartle, sharing responsibility for about 60 fifth-grade students. While Barden focuses on math and science, Hartle teaches English language arts and social studies. The pair plan lessons together and remain in constant communication about their students.

“Fifth grade is a great transition between elementary school and middle school,” Barden said. “It’s that bridge between one teacher and switching classes every hour. Team teaching allows us to really know our students and their families.”

Barden’s approach to education has also been shaped by her own life experience. A 1997 graduate of Tecumseh High School who grew up in Macon Township, she now lives with her own family in the farmhouse that once belonged to her grandparents.

She attended Central Michigan University planning to study business, but switched to teacher education after her first year.

“It just seemed like the best fit,” she said.

When her younger son was diagnosed with autism at age 2 — at a time when insurance coverage for services in Michigan was limited — Barden found herself advocating for resources and navigating unfamiliar systems.

The experience changed her perspective.

“It made me a better teacher and a better human,” she said. “It helps me reach parents who may be struggling to accept that their child is having difficulties. I can talk to them not just as a teacher, but as a mom.”

For Barden, the rewards of teaching rarely appear on standardized tests or report cards.

Instead, they come years later — in a graduation open house invitation from a former student, a conversation with a family in the grocery store, or a handwritten note that reminds her she made a difference.

One recent note came from a student.

“She wrote that I helped her find her voice,” Barden said.

“That’s something you can’t measure on a report card — but it’s something that matters.”