Newport News teacher named 2025 Virginia regional teacher of the year
Posted: April 10, 2024
Crittenden Middle School teacher Chanda Woods was named 2025 Virginia Region 2 Teacher of the Year by the Virginia Department of Education in a surprise announcement April 10 at the school.
Woods has 25 years of teaching experience with Newport News Public Schools and has been in her current position teaching middle school English for four years. Her students filed into the library just prior to the announcement and cheered along with Delegate Shelly Simonds, NNPS School Board members and administration staff, Crittenden staff and numerous supporters of their special teacher.
"They talked about how you had a really challenging youth and you had a lot of hardships, but the word they used to describe you was perseverance," said Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Lisa Coons, as she presented the commemorative plaque and described why Woods was selected.
"And that you have made an amazing impact on your own life and have become a role model for the youth that you serve. And that you believe in bringing healthy options in food and healthy options in life for your students, and planting seeds in them and inspiring them to be successful."
Woods is one of eight regional finalists for State Teacher of the Year, which will be announced May 6 and the winner will be Virginia's nominee for 2025 National Teacher of the Year. Region 2 is comprised of 16 school divisions, including NNPS.
"I don't know what to say except thank you," Woods said. "They're my happy place. Middle school is challenging every day; I'm thankful I get to be a part of their lives every day and I work with wonderful people. This is what I've wanted to do since I was 12, so these are my children."
Several students spoke about her positive influence on their learning, school days and school experience in explaining what she means to them.
Woods was honored as NNPS Teacher of the Year for 2023-24, as well as NNPS Middle School Teacher of the Year and Crittenden Teacher of the Year.
"It's a tremendous honor and point of pride to have one our teachers recognized at this level among the best in the state of Virginia," said Superintendent Dr. Michele Mitchell. "We are thrilled to join the community in celebrating Chanda's teaching career, impact on students and positive influence every day at Crittenden."
Woods has served in leadership roles as Teacher of the Year Advisory Committee member, modern classrooms project implementer, conductor of professional development sessions for teachers, new teacher mentor and coach, and as content lead at Crittenden.
After earning her bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Albany, Woods started teaching in NNPS in 2000. She taught English at Hines Middle School from 2000 to 2009 and returning as content lead from 2012 to 2018, as well as teaching at Huntington Middle School in 2010-11. Woods has taught at Crittenden since 2019, where she currently teaches sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
A Newport News resident, Woods mentors sixth grade girls and works with Serve the City: Peninsula on Crittenden's garden project and with the hospitality committee at Lifehouse Church.
"Chanda is an exemplar teacher," said Crittenden Principal Dr. Natia Smith. "She loves her kids. She loves her content. She's inspired to help kids be the best that they can be, whether that's academic or social. Her classroom really is a really welcoming place, as the students shared.
"And she just takes great pride in making sure that kids are learning every minute of the class that they are in there and they're walking out a smarter baby. So it makes me super proud that she's being recognized for that."
