King second grade teacher Rebecca Kronthal nominated for Region IV Teacher of the Year

King Elementary second-grade teacher Rebecca Kronthal, 2016-17 PWCS Teacher of the Year, is the School Division’s nominee for the Virginia Region IV Teacher of the Year. The Virginia Department of Education will select the 2018 Mary V. Bicouvaris Virginia Teacher of the Year from among the teachers selected as regional teachers of the year. The state award is named in honor of the 1989 Virginia and National Teacher of the Year, Dr. Mary V. Bicouvaris.

Kronthal keeps her young students on track. Make that many tracks, actually. Kronthal is passionate about helping her students succeed on the paths that best help them thrive. She knows just how to get each child to be attentive and get excited about learning by making her class both fun and challenging. She creates a safe, caring environment that builds trust, and her students want to rise to her high expectations. Her instruction is peppered with games, music, group work, and she shares artifacts, books, pictures, and stories from her own world travels.

Kronthal’s students have learned life lessons of empathy and perseverance. They adopted a school in Cambodia and are exchanging letters, pictures, and videos with the students, as well as raising funds to help the school. Her students learn not to give up; to learn from mistakes, and to keep trying. Gains in students’ reading abilities over the year attest to their success.

Learning is a family affair for Kronthal, who reaches out to her highly diverse student families to create positive, sharing relationships. Year after year, families request younger siblings also have Kronthal as a second-grade teacher—one of the highest compliments for teachers.