Mary Washington alumna’s commitment to elementary education helps aspiring teachers launch their careers
Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 discovered her calling to become an elementary school teacher when she was in fifth grade. Earning a bachelor’s degree from Mary Washington helped her reach that goal – and dedicate her life to supporting future educators and public education in Virginia.
“It was a career that I knew I could do well,” said Barbara, who taught students in second through fifth grade in Richmond area public schools for nearly four decades.
Barbara wanted to ensure that education students at the University of Mary Washington could reach their own goals of becoming teachers, so she created the Mann College of Education Scholarship and the Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 Virginia Educator Award. For years, she’d return to campus each spring to bestow the award on a promising student in UMW’s College of Education (COE). Barbara also recently established the Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 Washington Scholarship, which will provide full tuition, fees, and housing and dining to a selected student and is renewable up to four years.
“I’ve always loved reading and learning, and I hope to share that passion with my future students,” said McKayla Steeves ’27, who earned the Mann College of Education Scholarship, one of nearly 30 students who’ve benefited from Barbara’s gifts to Mary Washington over the years. “This contribution makes a real difference in my education and allows me to continue working toward my dream of making a positive impact in the lives of students.”
Barbara decided on her career at an early age because of the wonderful teachers who made an impact on her, including her grandmother and her father, who taught high school chemistry and mathematics before enlisting in the Army and becoming a career officer.
Her family moved across the country and overseas throughout her childhood, leading Barbara to attend 12 different schools. She met longtime friend and Mary Washington classmate Anne Meade Clagett ’66, whose family was also in the military, when they both enrolled at McLean High School in Virginia during their junior year.
“We knew what it was like to always be the new kid,” said Anne, recalling that Barbara’s parents and her brother, Jim, moved to Italy around the time they started college. “When she got to Mary Washington, she truly felt like it was home.”
Barbara took several education and psychology courses in college but never had the chance to manage a classroom until her first job. She began her career in rural and inner-city schools in Alabama, and moved to Virginia Beach when she got married, where she was granted a provisional teaching license.
Determined, she spent the next nine years working evenings and weekends to earn a master’s degree in elementary education, with a concentration in reading diagnosis and remediation, and a post-graduate collegiate professional certificate through Old Dominion University. She then took a job with the public school system in Chesterfield County, Virginia, where she spent the rest of her career.
“My principal saw me coming and said, ‘Have I got a class for you!’” Barbara told UMW students when she came to campus as COE’s Educator-in-Residence in 2013.
She recalled how she helped her third graders who were struggling with reading by borrowing resources from colleagues and the school library and spending hours copying reading materials every night after work. With the help of parents and classroom aides, she and her students wrote and illustrated stories and created their own books. She read to them every day and met them at their level, helping to increase their confidence to become better readers.
“If you work hard and do what you love, the kids can feel it,” Barbara said. “And they’ll learn. If you have expertise, and it’s meaningful, you can teach anything with nothing.”
But she realized educators required more resources and support to help their students thrive. Her own first-grade teacher became a mentor, encouraging Barbara to get involved in the Virginia Education Association. She served on the organization’s board for many years, advocating for teachers across the Commonwealth, and later joined VEA Retired.
She has also remained committed to her alma mater through her generous gifts and as a past member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors and numerous reunion committees, which earned her the Frances Liebenow Armstrong ’36 Service Award in 2016.
“Barbara has been a fierce advocate for Virginia teachers,” said College of Education Dean Pete Kelly, who worked with Barbara when she served on the COE Advisory Board. “I greatly benefited from her wise counsel, and our students have truly benefited from her generosity over the years.”
Like the ones she spoke with as COE’s Educator-in-Residence. When she summed up her lifetime of dedication and advocacy more than a decade ago, she wished them similar success in their own careers.
“You’re smart, you’re educated,” she said, “and you’re going to make those who came before you proud.”
Learn more about establishing scholarships, including Washington and Alvey scholarships, and how private support makes a difference in the lives of UMW students who receive scholarships, research fellowships, and internship grants. Find scholarship opportunities that are available to UMW students, including Washington and Alvey scholarships.
-Article written by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04
