Excellent Educators is a WAVY-TV 10 initiative to celebrate local teachers who have gone above and beyond for their students and communities during the coronavirus pandemic. These Excellent Educators were nominated by their school divisions. Congratulations to these educators for all of their hard work and accomplishments!

Name: Justin Smith

Division: Norfolk Public Schools

Position: Dean of Students at Blair Middle School

What the school division said about this Excellent Educator: Justin Smith created a virtual mentoring forum with Old Dominion University football players, goes to family’s homes if they are having issues, and supports teachers. He is an innovative thinker that directly benefits our students. He meets the families and students where they are and supports their individual growth. He is the process of identifying students not meeting promotion requirements and developing a program to make sure they have opportunities to be successful.