Henrico's Top Teachers – Tiffany Ethington, The Academy at Virginia Randolph, science

Tiffany Ethington always has felt more of a connection to students with “exceptionalities.”

As a science teacher at the Academy at Virginia Randolph, a non-traditional high school for students who have had difficulties with behavior or academics, she encounters a lot of students with exceptionalities.

Many of Ethington’s students in her biology and environmental science classes are not able to sit down and listen to a longer lecture – they need “non-traditional” teaching methods because they are non-traditional students, Ethington said.

“I don't know what it is about me, I don’t know what it is about my approach, but I feel like I allow students that maybe have other challenges to show that they master content in different ways,” Ethington said. “Like if I have a student that loves to draw – they can’t find the words to articulate how this process works, so draw me a picture. Draw me a comic to show me. You may not have the words to express, but you can show me in your artistry that you can grasp the concept.”

Ethington – or “Ms. E” as her students call her – has been teaching science for 10 years and by now, she has heard it all: “science is boring,” “science is dry,” “I hate science.” But most students don’t really hate science, she said, they just haven’t had many good experiences in a traditional classroom and need an alternative way to learn.

“I try to meet everybody where they are. I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m going to challenge you to give me just 15% to 25% of your attention for the first quarter,’” Ethington said. “Usually by the time we’ve done a couple of labs, a couple of field experience activities, they’ll be like, ‘Okay Ms. E, you got my attention. You might be right. I might like science a little bit.’”

Ethington, who has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Virginia State University, originally wanted to go into nursing. But when she became pregnant with her son, and then took on being a single mother, she decided to change course to teaching.

Now, she cares for her students as if they were her own children. She helps students with their other subjects in school, listens to the struggles they have outside of the classroom, and even makes home visits if needed. From day one, Ethington makes an effort to learn about her students’ interests, their challenges, what they need from her as a teacher and a mentor.

“I tell the students on the day that they meet me that they are my babies,” she said. “I know that a lot of the students, especially that I teach now, come with exceptionalities and struggles and traumas and they don’t necessarily have an individual that’s trustworthy, or that’s consistent in their lives. So when you are with me, you’re in my class, you’re my baby.”

In rare instances, sometimes students will lose control in her classroom. One year, a student slapped Ethington across the face in class. Even after that incident, Ethington never gave up on her, continuing to check up on her at home.

“Ms. Ethington worked hard to help her and keep her out of trouble,” said a retired educator who used to work with Ethington. “Outside of school hours, she continued to keep up with the student’s academic progress, visited her at home, styled her hair, and continued to mentor her. That's only one of many students she has gone above and beyond to help.”

It is in these instances that relationships with students become the most important, Ethington said. When students have trust in her, she can de-escalate the situation and take the student out for a walk while another staff member stays with the class.

“I don’t have any problem stopping what I’m doing teaching-wise to address an emotional student, a student that’s upset about something,” she said. “That is my priority, the safety of the kids around them and the safety of that particular student. So whatever it is that I need to do to de-escalate, if I need to remove myself from the classroom, I’ll do that.”

Sometimes, the difficulties that students experience can get to her. In high school, with adulthood right around the corner, students have higher expectations, higher consequences, and when students don’t meet their goals, they can experience immense disappointment.

“Maybe you didn’t do all of the things you needed to do, and as an older child, you have to pay the consequences and learn from them,” Ethington said. “And that’s not something that I as a teacher or as an important adult in their life can shield them from.”

It is easy to get emotionally attached, Ethington said, and with all that teachers already take on in the classroom, and then adding on the emotional support they provide to students outside of that, it is important to also keep a balance with personal mental health.

But she wants her students to know that she will always step up for them, whenever she can, especially for those who have never had that type of support in their lives.

“If you need me outside of this classroom, you say that, and I will do whatever it is that I can do, to make sure that you can say that you had at least one individual that showed up for you,” she said. “Because every child doesn’t have that. No matter what age, you have to have somebody that shows up for you consistently, and I try to become that person when I can be.”