NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Newport News middle school teacher has been named the 2025 Virginia Regional Teacher of the Year.
Chanda Woods, who teaches at Crittenden Middle School, was named the Virginia Region 2 Teacher of the Year by the Virginia Department of Education in a surprise announcement on Wednesday. Region 2 covers the Tidewater area including Chesapeake, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Williamsburg, and several other localities.
Woods has 25 years of teaching experience at Newport News Public Schools (NNPS), according to a release from the school division. She has been teaching middle school English now for four years. Her students were in the library with her for the announcement and cheered for Woods alongside NNPS school board members and administration staff.
"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.
"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," Coons continued.
"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."
Woods also mentors sixth-grade girls, works on a city garden project, and works on a hospitality committee at Lifehouse Church.
"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," said Crittenden Principal Dr. Natia Smith.
