Henrico's Top Teachers – Ericka Fells

Her first job out of college – as an in-home counselor for preschool children with autism – didn’t allow for the type of connection Ericka Fells sought with the children. So she found one that did.

Now as an exceptional education teacher and cheerleading coach at Elko Middle School, she feels more able to make a meaningful impact on her students.

“They’re at that age where they’re not quite adults yet and they’re easier to mold but they’re growing into themselves,” Fells said.

Though her dual roles at the school find her working with two uniquely different groups of students, she’s able to impart a similar mindset to both. Her approach – emotionally caring yet firm when necessary – is a combination of styles she learned as a student from her kindergarten and fourth-grade teachers at Fair Oaks Elementary, Ms. Johnson and Ms. Roady.

“I would say I’m a mix of both,” she said.

With her exceptional education students, Fells works to provide a sense of place and the knowledge that she is always there for them.

“It comes with its challenges but having a caseload allows me to be close to a particular group of students to learn what their triggers are,” she said. “They find a safe haven in me, and that creates that safety net for them.

“I think that’s a good thing that they have someone in the building they can relate to.”

To her cheerleaders, Fells is relatable, too. She’s not that far removed from her own days cheering at Highland Springs High School.

“Because I am younger, I can kind of relate to the things that they’re into and that they talk about,” she said. “A lot of them confide in me, they call me and text me. I try to instill in them things about becoming young ladies.”

One nominator lauded Fells for her enthusiastic personality, close relationship with students and ambition to devise creative ways to reach her students.

“She has high expectations for the girls which leads them to excel in their classes, while also being well rounded,” the nominator wrote. “The cheerleaders have become a positive group for their peers to look up to.”

Though she was named Elko’s First Year Teacher of the Year last year, Fells conceded that the job was much more taxing than she expected. But with a year under her belt, she felt better prepared to begin Year Two.

“A lot of times people don’t understand that you’re not just a teacher,” she said. “These kids. . . they come with so much. You’re kind of like a counselor and a teacher. The students look to you for so much more than material.”

“The job goes far, far past 8 to 3:15.”