Even when school is over for the day, Maia Johnson feels like she never leaves Carver Middle because she still sees her students in the neighborhood. Johnson makes sure to keep an eye on her students. “Them knowing ‘Miss Johnson really cares about me and my well-being’… is the best part of my job,” she said. Johnson has been Carver Middle’s school counseling coordinator for two years. She was a counselor for seven years and has worked nine years in the education field. She was previously a special education teacher at an alternative school in Petersburg and an elementary school…

Bellwood Elementary’s 2019 Teacher of the Year said he didn’t want to be a teacher when he was growing up. Robert Nichols said his dreams changed as he went along and that being a teacher is where he needed to be. Nichols grew up in Buffalo. Prior to teaching, he was in the New York National Guard and the Army. His military service paid for his first college degree and still influences his current profession as he has high expectations and provides motivational talks for his students. After working as a school occupational therapist for nearly a decade, Nichols said…

Albert Davis’ favorite thing about being a teacher is when the light bulb comes on for his students. Davis is a collaborative special education math teacher at Matoaca Middle School. “When you see the kids learn, and they make that connection – and especially kids [who] struggle, because most of the kids I teach really struggle – that’s the most exciting thing about the job for me.” Originally from Marbury, Md., Davis said a football scholarship brought him to the University of Richmond. He majored in speech communication and theater because he had an interest in building sets (his father…