Henrico's Top Teachers – Nicolle Farrar, Greenwood Elementary School

After a quarter-century as an elementary school teacher, Nicolle Farrar knows exactly what brings her back to the classroom every year.

“I definitely do it for the kids,” she said, “just the excitement of being around them and helping them learn something new.”

There’s never been a year quite like this one for Farrar, a third-grade teacher at Greenwood Elementary School who has been at the school since it opened in 2004, following her time at Longdale Elementary.

But to hear other tell it, she’s adapted to the challenges of the pandemic and virtual learning seamlessly – and the results show in her students.

“Since August, she has transformed her entire curriculum and re-imagined new ways to cultivate authentic connections with students and families,” a nominator wrote in support of Farrar. “She uses daily morning meetings as a way to build relationships with students and to get them excited about their day.

“I can attest to her taking deliberate steps to meet students where they are, and pushing them to grow in their confidence and understanding of the content. No matter which platform the students are working from (virtual or in-person), Mrs. Farrar’s students feel connected and are learning and growing because she makes it a point to recognize every student.”

Farrar uses a few warm-up activities to engage her students – such as asking “Would you rather?” questions at the start of class to get them thinking and participating.

“They listen and they fed off each other and the ideas,” she said.

She uses mini dance parties to make sure her students have time to unwind and be active, holds scavenger hunts that send students at home scurrying around the house to find various items, and selects a “student of the day” at the end of each class, as a way to recognize positive behavior or achievements.

Of the latter, one parent nominator wrote that her student has earned the award “has been more meaningful [to him] than the time before. He loves to share with our family all of the positive things that Mrs. Farrar has recognized him for and subsequently, I’ve seen his confidence, energy, and enthusiasm accelerate.”

In addition to third grade, Farrar has taught kindergarten, first and second as well. Though she was partial to first-grade for years because that’s when students tend to develop their reading skills, she also enjoys third grade and the independence that students are beginning to display. At one point she had aspirations of becoming a guidance counselor but said that she now sees herself being in the classroom for the rest of her career.

“I enjoy teaching, I love interacting with students,” she said. “It’s a great job.”

Though virtual learning has made it challenging to engaged all her students in the hands-on, collaborative exercises she prefers to use in class, about half of Farrar’s students are now with her in person. And she feels an even better connection with their families as the result of the virtual platform.

“I feel like a welcome guest in their home,” she said.

The parent of one of her students wrote that he moved from private school to public school because of the pandemic and that Farrar quickly assuaged his concerns about what the transition might be like with her initial welcome video to students.

“Her energy and enthusiasm for educating students were noticeable and felt beyond the video clip,” the parent wrote. “Although my son is one who is intrinsically motivated, has a love for learning, and wants to do well, we are confident that it is Mrs. Farrar who made his transition to a new school and management of the virtual platform a smooth one.”

“Mrs. Farrar is an excellent teacher who is fair, fun, firm, and faithful. She is a strong, seasoned teacher, who is encouraging, organized, dedicated, and engaging. She is the type of teacher who makes learning interesting, by making real world connections inside of the classroom on a daily basis. Recognizing and acknowledging that educating students in the midst of a pandemic has come with its challenges, this teacher has managed to keep my son and the other 20 students in her care, learning and growing. Mrs. Farrar has loved my son, and made his light shine even brighter, during one of the darkest times in the history of our nation. For that reason and so many more, we will always be grateful.”