Virginia’s 2021 Teacher of the Year credits his fourth-grade teacher for helping him through the trauma of being put into foster care as a child and remaining a mentor to him throughout his childhood in Danville.

Anthony Swann, a fifth-grade teacher at Rocky Mount Elementary School in Franklin County, was named Virginia’s newest Teacher of the Year during a virtual ceremony on Oct. 8 that was livestreamed on social media and included remarks from Gov. Ralph S. Northam and state Secretary of Education Atif Qarni.

“Anthony Swann is the real deal,” Dr. James Lane, state superintendent of public instruction, said in announcing Mr. Swann’s selection from eight regional finalists.

“He represents the thousands of Virginia teachers who dedicate every day — whether teaching remotely or in person — to the aca- demic success of their students and their social and emotional well-being. Anthony overcame many challenges to get where he is today, and he shares those life lessons with his students as he prepares them for success in the classroom and beyond.”

He also becomes the state’s nominee for 2021 National Teacher of the Year, which will be awarded this spring at a White House

ceremony. He was chosen for the state award after interviews with a committee that included representatives of professional and educational associations and the business community.

Mr. Swann, who was recognized for creating an inclusive and supportive environment for his students, said he was humbled and grateful for the honor.

“First of all, I’d like to thank God for the opportunity to serve his children. It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was 11 years old,” he said during the ceremony.

In an interview with a Roanoke television station the day after his win, he talked about how his fourth-grade teacher, Jerretta Wilson, comforted him during a traumatic moment in his young life.

“Social services knocked on my classroom door to take me to a foster home,” Mr. Swann told WSLS-TV. “My teacher, Miss Jerretta Wilson ... she grabbed me, hugged me and whispered in my ear, ‘Anthony, everything is going to be alright.’ ”

He said her voice “is what saved my life.”

Miss Wilson remained a mentor to him, he said, and was one of the first people to contact him after he won the Teacher of the Year Award. The kind of support she has provided, he said, reminds him of how important teachers can be.

“Teach for the love of your children,” Mr. Swann said during the television interview. “There is a child that is counting on your voice.”

He said part of his success at Rocky Mount Elementary School, where he has been teaching since 2017, is being emotionally open with his students. In addition to teaching, he provides mentoring and life-skills coaching for fifth-grade boys through “Guys with Ties,” a program he started at Rocky Mount Elementary in 2019.

The program includes lessons on the importance of integrity, honesty and respect. The students are required to “dress to impress” twice a month and participate in 45-minute lessons. He also schedules guest motivational speakers several times a year.

Mr. Swann also helped develop the elementary school’s Cooperative Culture Initiative that rewards students for positive behavior and achievement. The initiative has been credited with improving school culture and reducing disciplinary referrals.

Mr. Swann’s teaching career began at Schoolfield Elementary School in Danville in 2007 after earning his bachelor’s in elementary education from Averett University. He taught for two years in Caswell, N.C., before return- ing to Danville in 2015 to teach at Johnson Elementary until 2017, when he assumed his current position at Rocky Mount Elementary in Franklin County.

He earned a master’s in educational leadership from Regent University in 2014.

“I plan to utilize this opportunity to give hope to those students who feel that their current trauma or economic hardship is the end of their world,” Mr. Swann said during the ceremony. “Teachers, together we have the ability to change one life at a time through our influence. Let’s continue to change the world, one child at a time.”