Henrico’s Top Teachers – Kiana Robinson, An Achievable Dream Certified Academy, English

Being a new teacher is not always easy, but first-year teacher Kiana Robinson has managed not only to succeed but thrive in her new position.

Robinson, an eighth-grade English teacher at An Achievable Dream Certified Academy at The Oak Complex, did not always see herself teaching English.

“I originally went to college as a biology major,” Robinson said, “and that was not for me.” Instead, she came to realize that it was always her English teachers in school who inspired her. Robinson is to this day an avid reader and a lover of literature, and she said she has incredible English teachers to thank for that.

Today Robinson is the one inspiring students – as well as other teachers – through her positive attitude and supportive presence throughout the school. One nominator described her as “a light that beams throughout our hallways,” also mentioning that “her professionalism and rapport with students is inspiring.”

But according to Robinson, connecting to students does not feel like a challenge – instead, it is the best part of her job.

“There will be times like students will come to me like, ‘Miss Robinson, you're my trusted adult.’ And it will take me like a minute to say, ‘Oh, I didn't know I meant that much to you.’”

It is small moments like this, learning that she has had an impact on one of her students, that she finds to be the most fulfilling.

Though the ever-humble Robinson may make it seem like these connections happen out of the blue, it is clear why the students care for her so much.

Time and time again, she has made it clear to students that she truly cares about them. For example, she established “Lunch Bunch,” a shared lunch between just her and one of her students.

“At the beginning of the school year, I would bring back students just for lunch for those 20 minutes and get to know them more,” she said.

While she may have thought of it as a small thing to do for her students, it has made a difference, and those around her have noticed the impact.

“Ms. Robinson uses lunchtime as an opportunity to connect and engage with students,” one nominator wrote. “Students are so happy that she welcomes them in for that 20 minutes to simply hang out and get to know her. I can tell that she is also using the time to be intentional about getting to know them.”

By spending time getting to know her students, Robinson is able to make her lesson plans more interesting for them.

“My kids love video games, and with Fortnite this year, [they] got really interested in mythology because they had mythological characters [in the game],” Robinson said. Knowing this, she was able to incorporate parts of the game into lessons.

As a fiction-lover, Robinson has loved being able to share her interest in mythology, and especially how it has allowed her to build even deeper connections with students by sharing her interests with them and finding common ground.