by Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
It took the students in Beth Marshall’s French 2 class less than a second to come up with answers to a question posed to them by Lisa Coons, Virginia’s state superintendent of public instruction.
“Why is Ms. Marshall a good teacher?” Coons asked.
“She is very passionate,” said one student.
“She’s like a friend – I can confide in her,” said another.
A third said, “She always gives me a second chance.”
After hearing the students’ answers, Coons told Marshall that her colleagues had said many of those same things about her in the letter they wrote nominating her as the Teacher of the Year for Region 3.
Coons and a delegation that included state senator Tara Durant, Spotsylvania School Board members and school division administration surprised Marshall in her classroom at Riverbend High School on Friday afternoon with the announcement that she had won the honor and that she is now in the running for both state and national Teacher of the Year.
“You are passionate about foreign language – not just about teaching it to your own students, but about helping others become foreign language teachers,” Coons said.
Marshall is a teacher with more than 27 years of experience and as regional Teacher of the Year, she will meet with Coons and the other regional honorees on a monthly basis to provide advice and input into matters of public education in Virginia.
Coons asked Marshall on Friday to describe why teaching is important.
Marshall said her goal every day is to spark an interest in the world outside the doors of Riverbend High School.
“I can’t think of a better thing to do to really impact someone’s life,” she said.
Marshall said her classes are full of all kinds of students – those who love foreign language and those who are only taking it for the credit, those who are college-bound and those who struggle to learn – and that she challenges herself to meet them all where they are.
John Dement, a Spanish teacher and one of Marshall’s colleagues, said she has also been a “phenomenal mentor” to him for the seven years he’s worked alongside her.
“It’s all about the kids for her,” he said. “I hope I can become half the teacher she is by the end of my career.”
School Board Chair Lorita Daniels and Board members Megan Jackson and Nicole Cole also attended the surprise party, which included donated ice cream from Blue Bell.
Daniels stressed how important foreign languages are in today’s multicultural society and thanked Marshall for sharing that importance with her students.
Cole said it is “incredibly exciting” to have Spotsylvania’s teachers recognized by the state.
“I’m excited that we have such great educators,” she said.
