Henrico's Top Teachers – Hannah Barbosa, Henrico High School

Hannah Barbosa’s mother and two grandparents were teachers, so naturally, she wanted to follow in their footsteps.

Ok, not really.

“I always thought it was something I didn’t want to do,” she recalled recently.

But genetic predisposition got the best of her, and so did the efforts of her Orange County (Va.) High School biology teacher, Mr. Budziszewski.

“He was great,” Barbosa said. “He would always say that everything is weird, and we need to ask more questions. He must have been very intentional about that.”

She took the lesson to heart and uses it today in her own science classroom at Henrico High School, where she’s spent all four of her teaching years and where she currently teaches AP environmental science and ninth-grade science.

Though the groups of students she teaches can be dramatically different – first-year high school students who may or may not like any part of science, vs. older students who mostly have an interest and a proficiency in it – the way Barbosa approaches them is exactly the same.

“I definitely am myself for both groups,” she said. “I don’t think teaching works if you’re not acting like yourself.”

Her personality – energetic, fun and engaging – shines through even to the students who are learning virtually.

“Ms. Barbosa makes learning fun even in this virtual environment,” one parent nominator wrote. “She uses polls, quizzes, timers, games, puzzles, etc. to get the kids involved. I have noticed my kid laughing while in class and enjoying it the entire time. The class environment is always upbeat. She uses the lingo of her students to make it relatable.”

To fully engage her students and get them excited about science, she uses current events to give the topics she’s teaching immediate relevance.

“You get maybe two kids a year coming in with an idea their career will be something science-related,” she said. “There are lots who want to be doctors but maybe two who want to be marine biologists – something real specific. The kids that have shifted [to an interest in science] usually shift because of something that has happened right now that’s in the news. So it’s about bringing in those real life relevant topics.”

Though it’s been challenging for Barbosa to teach to mostly virtual classes – not having many students in person “hurts so bad – it’s so hard,” she said – she’s managed to find creative ways to engage her students anyway, such as encouraging them to make and share memes from time to time in the Microsoft Teams chat window or sending them two-minute videos to better explain particular topics.

That doesn’t mean that every idea was gone as planned, though. Early in the year with one of her classes, she envisioned having them conduct outside experiments by visiting the same place in their yard on a regular basis to observe the same scenes throughout the semester.

“It totally flopped,” she said, with a laugh. “Some of them didn’t have space, some were staying with their grandma who didn’t have a yard, so I was like, ok, nevermind.”

But small failures don’t slow Barbosa’s larger effort to reach and inspire her students – even if she doesn’t know who some of them are.

When in-person learning restarted for those students who chose it, she said, “there were kids who would stop me in the hallway and say ‘Hi Ms. Barbosa!’ And I would say, ‘I’ve never seen your face, I’m sorry!’” because those students had never turned on their cameras during virtual learning. Among those who remained virtual, some still haven’t.

But, she said, “I know their voices really well.”

The unique aspect of virtual learning also has resulted in some unique positive experiences, too – such as when a student shows off a baby brother, or when family members engage, too.

Her welcoming personality and supportive aura have made a different for her students, according to the parent nominator.

“I have a kid who has a learning disability and was not adjusting well to his new environment,” the parent wrote. “Ms. Barbosa took it upon herself to reach out to my kid and it worked. She talked to him and let him know how important he was to her and how much she loved having him as a part of her class. After not wanting to attend her classroom virtually, he sat down and did well after talking to her on the phone.

“She takes the time out of her day to assist kids during the school day and even after hours. Ms. Barbosa will sit online with her students to walk them through assignments and make sure that they complete their assignments with confidence. She is always pleasant and puts the children's education and well-being first.”