Teacher’s Aide Earns an ‘A’ as School’s Angel

As Barbara Barnhart steered her wheelchair into Room 15 at Lowman Special Education Center in North Hollywood on a recent Friday, Fernando, a young student, grabbed her hand and shouted, “Hi, Barbara, hi, Barbara!”

“This is my fan club,” Barnhart said with a smile, as she gratefully accepted a flurry of kisses from two other enthusiastic students.

Barnhart’s fan club is extensive. From teachers to parents, to Lowman Principal Helen Hartel, the word used most frequently to describe the popular school aide is “angel.”

So it was a surprise to no one except Barnhart, 26, that she was selected as a 1996 Angel of the Year Awards recipient for her volunteerism.

“Barbara’s a role model for students,” Hartel said. “You know they love her; you can tell through their body language. Their eyes light up when she enters a room. She’s had a tremendous influence on them.”

To Barnhart, whose premature birth resulted in cerebral palsy and a lifetime in a wheelchair, working with the students and staff at Lowman gives her life meaning.

“I want to make people aware that they needn’t be afraid of disabled people,” she said. “My biggest pleasure working here is knowing that I have made an impact on a child’s life.”

The road from disabled student to teacher’s aide has not been an easy one for Barnhart.

She enrolled at Lowman, a Los Angeles Unified School District facility that serves severely disabled students, at age 4, where she remained for eight years. She was eventually “mainstreamed”--moved into regular classes--at Cleveland High School in Reseda for a short time, which she claims was an eye-opening experience for her and the students and teachers who grew to respect her abilities.

Barnhart graduated with a straight-A average from Reseda’s Miller High School in 1991. She achieved this even after a long absence from school, when she underwent several operations to alleviate the constant pain she suffered after corrective surgery on her spine.

The soft-spoken graduate landed a volunteer job with a United Cerebral Palsy after-school program, where she spent four years working one-on-one with young students. When that job ended, Barnhart faced unemployment and depression.

“Barbara felt worthless,” said Barnhart’s mother, Candy. “After lots of door-slamming, she was wondering if she was valuable.”

Lowman School changed all that.

Wanting to “give back to the school that gave me so much,” Barnhart asked for and was given a volunteer position, whose duties include teacher’s aide, grant-writing (she donated her $250 Angel Award to the center) and staff development, among other projects.

Barnhart manages to live independently on her small disability check in a condo her parents purchased several years ago. With her parents’ constant support and a county van to transport her to and from work, she believes she has carved out a satisfying life built on community service.

“I can’t say my life’s been hard,” she said as she navigated her wheelchair down a hallway at Lowman. “I’ve been lucky. I have a very supportive family and friends who have guided me along the way and in the right direction. I’ve had my struggles, but my life’s been good.”

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