Barbero is Biddle School Teacher
September 2, 2021
Hayle Barbero is the new teacher at Biddle School. The two-classroom rural school has a total of four kids this year, composing students in first through fourth grades, as well as four pre-school age children who are taught separately by Holly Rumph.
Hayle grew up in Broadus, graduating from PRCDHS in 2015, going on to attain an Associates degree from Miles Community College, where she was the class Valedictorian. She then moved on to attain a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from Western Governor's University. Barbero, along with her husband Dave, have two kids of their own, Quinn, age 4, and Mallory, age 2.
We spoke with Hayle about her new role in teaching the youth of rural Powder River County. "I've always loved kids, but never really considered becoming a teacher until I took a class as a cross-age tutor my senior year of high school, in Mrs. Lambert's class, who was teaching 5th grade at the time." In the cross-age tutor program, Broadus high school students are matched with elementary students for a period over the course of a semester, where they help tutor the younger students and nurture their learning skills. Hayle enjoyed the tutoring position so much that she decided to concentrate her goals on becoming a teacher, and never looked back!
Barbero conducted her student teaching with the Broadus 5th grade in the fall of 2020, a class now taught by Mrs. Zellers. Last spring following graduation from college, Barbero continued on with the 5th grade as a teacher's aide, and when the position opened up in Biddle, Hayle jumped at the chance.
The format for teaching in rural schools is a bit different than in Broadus, Hayle told us. She described a typical day in Biddle: "We begin our day with the students all working together, where we discuss subjects such as the weather and the date. From there, we'll divide the two older students (3rd and 4th grade) up from the two 1st graders, and I'll work on a subject like math with the two 1st graders while the older kids work on their math problems on a tablet, then switch around."
Besides the additional student/teacher time afforded by the small class size, rural school students have opportunities not afforded to larger schools. For example, last week the Biddle School kids spent their PE time taking swimming lessons in Gillette.
"I'm really loving it so far," Hayle told us. "The kids have been great, and the parents have been great. I'm happy to be here!"
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