Henrico's Top Teachers – Megan Alaniz, Pemberton Elementary School, second grade

Life moves in a circular path – a reality that has made itself evident to Megan Alaniz.

As a youngster growing up in Northern Virginia, Alaniz knew from an early age that she wanted to be a teacher one day. Her interest likely was spurred in part by a favorite first-grade teacher, who she had again in second grade. A growing love of reading dovetailed with those years, too, creating the perfect runway for her eventual career to take flight.

Fast forward a few years, and after an eight-year teaching career in her home county of Fairfax in Northern Virginia (six as a fourth-grade teacher and two as a math coach for teachers), Alaniz moved to the Richmond area and began teaching at Pemberton Elementary School. First she taught first grade, then she cycled up with her students to teach second grade. Sound familiar?

Along the way, Alaniz has worked to help instill the same love of reading in her students that she once experienced when she was in their seats.

“I was always an avid reader, so I try to get my kids interested in reading different books,” she said. A classroom library, in addition to the school’s main library, and dedicated time for independent reading during the school day helps achieve that goal. And Alaniz has been inspired by the results.

“Kids want to read everything,” she said. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot about dinosaurs and natural disasters from my students, since they are so interested in those subjects.”

Students in her class enjoy reading physical books, she said, and often gravitate toward “the biggest books possible.”

Helping them connect to topics that interest them that way helps her students feel even more engaged in class, Alaniz said.

“It’s important that they are enjoying themselves throughout the day and enjoying being in the classroom, relating things to what they like to do,” she said explaining her philosophy about teaching – and reaching – students.

Alaniz also has made a point of connecting with her students individually.

“She sent a birthday postcard to my son when he turned seven over the summer break,” one parent wrote in a nomination letter. “This touched our hearts. She set up an event over the summer to reunite many of her students for this school year.”

For Alaniz, it’s that sort of interaction with students that brought her back to the classroom, after two years during COVID-19 when she was working with teachers as a math coach.

“I’m back here because I missed working with kids and missed how different the days can be,” she said. “I see myself as a classroom teacher, because working with kids is why I got into teaching.”

Students have felt her impact.

“He comes home daily with the most positive remarks about his day in Mrs. Alaniz’s class,” one parent wrote of her son’s experience with Alaniz as his teacher. “Per her student and my son, ‘She cares about people and helps them when they need help. She’s kind and has the best time by being funny. She greets us with a smile and high fives, fist pumps and hugs. She makes me want to go to school every day.’

“There have been many wonderful teachers, but she stands above all the rest.”