Mr. Charlie Barnard came to Williamson Elementary School for the 2022-23 school year and is one of our newest 4th Grade Teachers.
Mr. Barnard comes to WCS after more than a decade of teaching at Geneva City School District. Prior to teaching, he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in History and Public Policy from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and worked for 8 years as a preventative case worker and supervisor for the Seneca County Division of Human Services.
After those 8 years working in social services, Mr. Barnard realized he wanted to continue to help people and children in need — but in a different way.
“With the social work, I didn’t feel like I was getting enough time to spend with the kids,” Mr. Barnard said. “I was getting to them too late. I felt like teaching would give me more time to make an actual difference in someone’s life.”
He went back to school in 2008 for his Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and Special Education from Nazareth College. For more than a decade since then, Mr. Barnard worked as an AIS (Academic Intervention Services) teacher at Geneva.
With a wife and two young daughters now, Mr. Barnard was excited to make a switch and join the Williamson School District this year. Having a classroom of his own and a chance to work with a new group of students is something he’s already really enjoying.
“I was really excited about the opportunity to experience a whole new teaching environment — to get to embed myself into a whole new community and a whole new teaching family,” he said. “Halfway through my career, I knew it would be nice to have a new start, teach the way I like and build relationships with the kids in a new environment.”
