Staff Member of the Month: Jason Barnett

Math teacher Jason Barnett is December’s Staff Member of the Month at FCHS. Barnett has taught for 17 years, nine of them at Fluvanna.

He graduated from Longwood College with a degree in Mathematics. When asked what inspired him to become a teacher, Barnett said, “I had a few teachers in high school that really stood out and had an impact on me. I did not go to college to become a teacher, but realized that I could do the same for others as they had done for me.”

Barnett added that he has always enjoyed math, and since he did well in his Statistics class in college, he decided that math couldn’t be that hard to teach.

Aside from teaching math, Barnett also coaches the FCHS JV boys’ basketball team. His favorite thing about coaching is “being able to strategically move players around to try and outsmart someone else’s game plan.”

Barnett said he likes coaching due to its similarity to teaching. “I like being able to teach someone something that could be helpful to them in a game and have them actually apply it without any direction. It’s pretty cool to see,” he said.

While he loves coaching, especially its rewarding aspects, Barnett acknowledges it definitely comes with challenges. One of his biggest challenges as a coach is winning. “The outcome of a game does not define what it is you may be able to do for a student or athlete on a day in and day out basis,” said Barnett. “There are a lot of people that put a lot of emphasis on winning, but sometimes there is a greater goal in mind. No one wants to win more than I do, but sometimes there are more rewarding situations than just a win,” he said.

Barnett is married to Liz Barnett who teaches third grade at Carysbrook Elementary. They have two daughters and a son, all attending Fluvanna County Public Schools. His oldest daughter Claire is in eighth grade and attends FCHS.