Tamra McCarthy

2025 Ken Haycock Award Recipient

Tamra McCarthy is the Teacher Librarian at James Enochs High School, a comprehensive public high school in Modesto, California. In her first year as librarian, Tamra has led a transformative redesign of the library space—creating a vibrant, inclusive cultural hub that fosters collaboration, creativity, and student well-being. She has been a dedicated educator at Enochs since the school opened in 2006 and brings over 25 years of experience as a high school English and journalism teacher.

Tamra is nationally recognized for her work in scholastic journalism, having built the Wingspan yearbook program into a legacy publication honored with multiple NSPA Pacemaker and CSPA Crown Awards. Her students have earned more than 150 individual journalism accolades. Her own contributions have been celebrated with the JEA Lifetime Achievement Award (2025), JEA Commended Yearbook Adviser (2025), NSPA Pioneer Award (2022), JEA Medal of Merit (2022), CSPA National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year, Special Recognition (2021), California League of High Schools Teacher of the Year for Modesto (2016), JEA Distinguished Adviser (2013), and JEA Rising Star (2011).

As a librarian, Tamra is committed to amplifying underrepresented perspectives through thoughtful collection development and programming that supports literacy development for all students—especially reluctant readers. Her graduate research focused on the use of graphic novels to engage visually oriented learners, and she continues to advocate for equitable access, inclusive resources, and innovative strategies that meet the diverse and evolving needs of her student population.