Area school divisions have crowned their top teachers, celebrating efforts to help students and fellow faculty members pivot to the virtual classroom over the past year.
The region’s teachers of the year are:
Ashley Bland, at right (Photo by Jay Paul)
Richmond: Ashley Bland, instructional technology resource teacher at John B. Cary Elementary School
Raegen Dinelli, holding flowers (Photo courtesy Raegen Dinelli)
Chesterfield: Raegen Dinelli, instructional designer at Clover Hill Elementary School
Stacie Taylor (Photo courtesy Stacie Taylor)
Hanover: Stacie Taylor, instructional technology resource teacher at Bell Creek Middle School and the Hanover County Online School
Eric Byers, at left (Photo courtesy Eric Byers)
Henrico: Eric Byers, earth science teacher at Highland Springs High School
These teachers were commended for helping to ensure their colleagues were prepared to guide students through virtual learning. RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras says Bland was instrumental during last year’s shift to online instruction, adding in a news release that she “continually [goes] out of her way to ensure that everyone around her has what they need to be successful.”
“I love [the students] so much, I love what I do, and I hope to serve RPS for years to come,” Bland said after being surprised with the announcement in May.
Dinelli, Chesterfield’s elementary school teacher of the year, says she focused on finding ways to make technology less intimidating for students, parents and teachers.
“She was creative, inventive and resourceful, helping make the transition as easy as possible,” Chesterfield Superintendent Dr. Merv Daugherty said in a release.
Taylor, who has spent nearly two decades as a Hanover teacher, called the achievement a team effort and says, “the incredible flexibility, perseverance and compassion our students, parents and community members have shown” was integral to their success.
“[Working] with the students every day is truly what makes teaching worth it,” Henrico’s Byers says.
Bland, Byers, Dinelli and Taylor now will be among those competing to be Virginia’s Region 1 Teacher of the Year.
