Inspire Academic Coaching

My name is Valerie Byars, and I have been an educator since 1997. For 28 years, I was an army wife, which allowed me to work in various schools, including traditional public, charter, private, and religious schools. I am a certified 6-12 Social Studies educator and have taught just about every course in the Social Sciences at all levels. I am also certified with a proven track record of student success as an Advanced Placement teacher of US Government & Politics, Psychology, and European History. In addition to classroom teaching, I have served as a Dean of Students, Department Chair, new teacher mentor, student advisor, and a member of the Instructional Leadership Team. My broad experience has blessed me with the opportunity to work with students of all ability levels and from diverse backgrounds. My favorite aspect of my job throughout my career has been building relationships with and mentoring students. So many students find navigating their academic careers completely overwhelming. During my time as a classroom teacher, our classroom mantra when students were feeling stressed about something we were doing in class was, “Mrs. Byars always takes care of us.” I worked hard to establish relationships with my students where they knew this mantra was true, allowing them to do their best work. I excel at helping students break things down into manageable parts to perform at their highest levels while managing stress. Over the years, I have helped students with college applications, the college search process, writing skills, time management, organization skills, and study skills. I genuinely care about my students as whole people and not merely their academics. I obtained my Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the College of Charleston in 1994. My first few years out of college were spent working in social services.