My goal has always been to be the best teacher I can be, and I’m honored to receive this recognition for work that I’m passionately committed to: early childhood education. Recognition challenges and energizes me to reach for new goals, which hopefully inspires others. This award will open avenues of communication with other educators and the public about how to promote student achievement through science and environmental education. I can’t wait to get started and reach for the next star!

Barbara Bickford-Wilcox Cocoa, FL | K-6, Science, 2012

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Barbara Wilcox has primarily taught kindergarten for 16 years in Brevard County. Previously, she has taught kindergarten at Tropical Elementary School for 1 year, Endeavour Elementary  for 10 years, Golfview Elementary and Saturn Elementary. Barbara believes that the world is our classroom and has been awarded more than $100,000 in grant funding to implement hands-on experiences for students. She implemented Garden Learning Days, which designated Endeavour Elementary as a Florida School Garden winner for 6 years straight. Barbara has presented at Florida Service-Learning and Florida’s Raising Youth Voices conferences in multiple years. She is a firm believer in service-learning and has won multiple awards in service, science, and character education. She initiated and sponsored Tropical Elementary’s Environmental Club. Barbara has supervised student interns. Barbara is a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society for women educators and has chaired the Leadership Committee for the past 2 years. Barbara has a B.S. in liberal arts and an M.Ed. in elementary education from the University of Central Florida. She is certified in kindergarten through sixth education and is a National Board Certified Teacher.

Know a great teacher like Barbara Bickford-Wilcox?