NEWPORT — Barbara Walton-Faria didn’t start out as a teacher. She was an oceanographer who often found herself at sea conducting research.

Then the day came when she wanted to start a family and be on land more often. And she felt the pull of the classroom.

“I think teaching is something a lot of people always think they would like to do,” said Walton-Faria, who lives in Middletown with her husband and teenage son.

It turns out she’s quite good at it. So good, in fact, that 16 years later the science teacher at Thompson Middle School has been named Newport’s 2009 Teacher of the Year, an annual award to honor the contributions of the city’s most talented faculty members. She will now be entered in a contest to be named the Rhode Island teacher of the year.

“She is always involved in a lot of different activities,” said Supt. John Ambrogi, who visited her classroom recently to deliver the surprise news.

Walton-Faria has been involved with leadership, staff development and training, and statewide curriculum development.

“What’s more important is how she engages kids in the classrooms,” Ambrogi said. “She just brings an excitement to the science program at Thompson. At the end of the day, you can have all of the outside activities and all of the degrees, but unless you bring excitement and learning into the classroom you shouldn’t be considered a teacher of the year.”

Ambrogi praised Walton-Faria for her leadership in starting a quarterly honors luncheon to recognize students excelling in academics. She also sends her students postcards on their birthday.

Walton-Faria is also proud of leading an effort to develop an advisory program in which twice a week, during the school day, small groups of students meet with an adviser for activities aimed at improving relations between students and discouraging bullying.

In the classroom, Walton-Faria says she is better able to come up with hands-on activities thanks to her subject matter and her years working at SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation).

“That’s my background and that’s my love and that’s something I try to bring back to the class,” she said.

rsalit@projo.com