Septima P. Clark Academy students say their teacher Ms. Grace Barry has a unique approach.  She keeps them engaged, focused, and comfortable and mixes in a little comedy, while they excel in a rigorous classroom setting. Some even call her class life changing. We're on James Island for Cool School Teacher of the Week. Ms. Grace Barry is in her fifth year at Clark Academy, an academic alternative program in Charleston County School District. The 80 students at Clark are still enrolled in their zoned high schools but have small class sizes and more individualized instruction. Students apply to attend Clark. When News 2 visited Ms. Barry's class, students were engaged in a discussion about the play '12 Angry Men.' "To me, education is the building of a person. Education is power. I love it here. This environment is so small and intimate. The small environment allows me to really build connections with every single human being in the building, even if I don't teach a kid this semester, I at least know them and have a passing knowledge of them. We're the only one that is entirely voluntary. No one gets placed here," says Barry. Barry says she always wanted to be a teacher and began her career at Clark after the pandemic in 2020. In that time, she has earned prestigious awards and top recognition. She says, "Clark Academy is just as rigorous as any other school in the district. Just because it's an alternative program, doesn't mean they're getting a lesser education. For me, there is this really strong sense of how do I help these kids. Not just as learners, but as people. How do I enable them to feel competent and proud of themselves? I'm such a lion for this school. I kind of joke that I'm little Miss Clark Academy because I'll walk into a room, and I'll say, have you heard about the good things going on at Clark Academy?"  Clark Academy principal Corey McDonald says, "She's very passionate about her students. She cares about them and their success. She works really hard to make sure they get what they need and have what they need. She builds great relationships.  Kids love her class.  She's always willing to have an open door and accept them in. She's great." Barry says she believes all students can be successful. "There really should never be a discrepancy between kindness and rigor. My kids can always talk to me. My kids can always approach me. I'm not a friend, but I'm friendly. I draw strong boundaries with them, but just because I'm kind and funny and humorous, doesn't mean I don't care about their education." During the summer, Barry teaches at the Juvenile Detention Center and she is an adjunct professor at The Citadel. She describes her teaching style as sort of a comedy routine. Barry says, "I like to joke that I'm a stand-up comic to trick my audience into learning. Kids don't really notice at first that I'm being a little ridiculous on purpose. I play it up because I want their attention, and once I have their attention, then I can get them engaged. They often don't realize that they just think I'm very very weird when they first meet me, and then they realize 'Oh wait', she's playing us because now we're learning, and we didn't even realize their learning. But at the same time, I'm very intentional in everything I do. I consider myself to be just as rigorous as anyone else in the district. 10th-grade student Ginuwin Bowles says, "She always makes the atmosphere way funnier, and very jokey, and I can actually feel comfortable. I feel like Ms. Barry has more of an actual emotional connection with all of her students. She doesn't treat us like just students. She treats us as actual friends. We can actually talk to her. She's really funny. I like her a lot. She's one of my favorite teachers."  9th-grade student Danell Decaire says, "She's a very good teacher. She's sweet." Senior Shaquan Washington says, Ms. Barry helped him develop a love for reading and changed his life. "She makes English fun. She makes me engaged. She made me start reading books. Everything she does she makes sure it's fun and we're engaged. If we're not engaged, she's not going to do it.  She changed me a lot, her and Mrs. Hilton. I didn't take things seriously at one point in time.  They changed my whole perspective of school."  Barry says, "I'm not just here to teach them where commas go. I'm here to teach them how to think critically about the world, and not just take what's in front of them at face value. I'm here to teach them they are worth something. They are valuable, and people want them in their lives, and their thoughts are worth something to me. The best teachers in my life have not just been teachers that teach me how to write an essay very well. They teach me to write an essay because I have something to say, and I always want my kids to know they have something to say." If you would like to nominate a Cool School, principal, or teacher, send an email to Octavia Mitchell at [email protected].