Ashley Fryer
Columbia County School District Teacher of the Year
2021-2022

Riverside Middle - Special Education Teacher

­­­Dr. Patty McDonald is a native of Louisville, Georgia, where she graduated from Jefferson County High School in 1998. She attended Georgia Southern University where she earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Middle Grades Education, Masters of Middle Grades Education, Education Specialist in Teaching and Learning, and Doctor of Education degrees. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA with her Ed.S. and Ed.D. degrees and is a member of Pi Lamda Theta. Her dissertation and doctoral research focused on disability and difference, and her dissertation is entitled “Difference, Disability, and Imagination.”

Dr. McDonald serves on the Region 2 Advisory Council for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and is currently in her 19^th year of teaching. She previously taught at Wrens Middle School, Columbia Middle School, and Thomas County Middle School before coming to Riverside Middle School. She was named Wrens Middle Teacher of the Year for the 2004 2005 school year, Columbia Middle Teacher of the year for the 2008- 2009 and 2012-2013 school years, and Columbia County Teacher of the Year for the 2013-14 school year.

Dr. McDonald teaches children with special needs in grades 6-8 at Riverside Middle and is certified in Georgia in 14 areas of education. When asked why she loves what she does, Dr. McDonald said, “Children with special needs are simply amazing. Each of my students bring a unique and dynamic perspective of this world into my classroom, and I am committed to appreciating and validating each one. Each of my students has immeasurable gifts and abilities that we work together to maximize and celebrate. In this way, my students push me to challenge my own limitations and understandings of the world by challenging me to see and understand things differently. We work together to build compassion and tolerance, and we learn together what that means. My students hold me accountable to be the best version of me every day, and I love that they bring out my best. Each of my children are so unique and beautiful in his/her own way, and I love discovering who they are as individuals and watching them evolve into independent and confident young adults.”

Dr. McDonald is married to Johnny McDonald Jr., and they have one daughter, Bailey Jo. She attends St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church and resides in Evans.

Baker Place Elementary - STEM Encore Teacher

Marie Blindauer is an enthusiastic and highly qualified Georgia science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) endorsed educator with over 16 years of experience. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Augusta State University, a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Augusta State University, and an Education Specialist in Curriculum and Instruction from Augusta State University.

As a STEM encore teacher, she instructs all students in grades kindergarten through fifth at Baker Place Elementary School. She affords her students opportunities to make learning personally relevant and aids them in the development of 21st-century skills by engaging them in project-based and problem-based units designed to simulate real-world experiences.

Blindauer's collaboration skills with her peers and industry leaders in her community, people-centered nature, and eagerness to embrace student-centered out-the-box learning have afforded her numerous opportunities for innovation in her classroom and schools.

For Blindauer, the delight in teaching extends far beyond the creative delivery of a standards-based curriculum; she views her role as a teacher as an opportunity to help students to discover their passions, talents, and gifts. She desires to capitalize on students’ curiosity and interests and help them realize their value as members of our community and their capabilities to impact the world positively.

Stevens Creek Elementary -
5th Grade Math Teacher

Mrs. Mandy Carter is a Martinez native that teaches in the same district in which she grew up. She currently resides in Graniteville, South Carolina, with her husband, Tyler, and their two furbabies, Ollie and Pippi.

Ms. Carter is beginning her 13^th year of teaching with Columbia County School District, where she currently teaches 5^th grade math at Stevens Creek Elementary.

Mrs. Carter is a graduate of Augusta University, and says she enjoyed participating in several of the school's study abroad programs during her undergraduate and graduate programs. She has experienced schools and curriculums in Ecuador, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, New Zealand, and Australia. She enjoys working with children each and every day to mold them into mathematicians that enjoy learning and thinking outside the box!

Grovetown Middle -
Media Specialist

Jennifer Barefoot has been a teacher for 19 years, and 18 of those have been spent in service to Grovetown Middle School.

Prior to moving into the Learning Commons, Ms. Barefoot taught 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade Language Arts and Social Studies, and is currently in her 7th year as the school's Media Specialist. Ms. Barefoot is the Columbia County School District's very first Media Specialist to earn a Top Five Finalist position in the Teacher of the Year competition.

Ms. Barefoot holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Middle Grades Education from Augusta University, formerly known as Augusta State. She also holds a School Library Media certification from Georgia Southern University.

As a media specialist, Ms. Barefoot says she has the unique opportunity to support and enrich the lives of students, teachers, and her school community. Her greatest accomplishment and source of pride, she says, is knowing how her role helps contribute to the success of those she serves.