When Christal Corey was struggling academically through her seventh grade year, a comment from a classmate changed her mindset.

“‘You’re stupid,’ he said to me, and I told him that I wasn’t and that I would prove him wrong,” she said.

And she did. Ms. Corey said her grades improved and she went on to flourish through high school and college, and continues to do so as a teacher. Last Friday, the science and civics teacher at Franklin Military Academy became the Richmond Public Schools 2023 Teacher of the Year.

This isn’t the first time she has been recognized for teaching excellence. She received an R.E.B. Award for Teaching Excellence in 2021.

Ms. Corey follows a family legacy of working in education - her great grandmother and grandfather were both teachers and her mother, father and sister all work for RPS. Despite coming from a line of teachers, she said it was not her first career choice.

“I wanted to be a physical therapist,” she said. But working one-on-one with a student at Matoaca Middle School in 2014 helped her realize her passion for teaching.

Last Friday, superintendent Jason Kamras, RPS School Board Chair Stephanie Rizzi and Vice-Chair Cheryl Burke joined Frank- lin Military Principal David Hudson and Assistant Principal Dr. Jennifer Smith to recognize Ms. Corey’s achievement.

“It is an honor and privilege to serve all of you,” Ms. Corey said during a tearful address to the students, teachers, staff and guests at the event. “Thank you to my colleagues for seeing the best in me.”

She told the Richmond Free Press that watching her father, who has worked for RPS for 24 years, set the ground work for developing her own passion for the profession.

“I watched my dad work and saw the impact on students,” she said. “I wanted to be able to give that to my community and wanted to help steer students in the right direction.”

Looking toward the future, Ms. Corey is thinking beyond the classroom for her career. “I would like to become a curriculum specialist and help other teachers become better teachers,” she said.

As Teacher of the Year for RPS, Ms. Corey will represent the district as one of 15 localities in the Virginia Department of Education’s regional competition.