Chesapeake teacher named Virginia’s best for 2022
Daphne Fulson, a second grade teacher at Portlock Primary School in Chesapeake, was named Thursday as Virginia’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced her selection during a ceremony in front of the Executive Mansion. Fulson then called out each of her students by name.
“I told my kiddos back at home that if I won I would say ‘Hi’ to all of them,” Fulson said, wiping away tears.
The Virginia Department of Education’s Teacher of the Year program honors teachers “who represent the best in teaching in the
Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation,” according to the department’s website. This year’s announcement was streamed on the department’s YouTube channel.
Fulson has been teaching for 12 years — four in Chesapeake. The bilingual teacher earned her bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University, studied Spanish linguistics at Universidad Veritas in San José, Costa Rica, and is working toward her master’s at ODU.
In Chesapeake, Fulson chairs the Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports Committee and co-chairs the Math and STEAM committee. She assists with grade-level mathematics curriculum writing as her school’s math lead and city liaison.
Fulson also mentors new teachers and belongs to the Lambda Pi Eta Communication Honor Society and the International Thespian Society.
In a statement, Chesapeake Public Schools Superintendent Jared Cotton called Fulson “an inspiration to the students and staff of Chesapeake Public Schools.”
One of her students said in a statement that Fulson “allows me to be myself.”
“I get to dance in my classroom. If I don’t understand something, I can always ask Ms. Fulson. I can even disagree, as long as I am respectful,” the student said. “Ms. Fulson teaches my brain and my heart. She wants me to be the best I can be.”
Fulson will now vie for National Teacher of the Year.