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 last academic year. These Excellent Educators were nominated by their school divisions. Congratulations to these educators for all of their hard work and accomplishments!

Name: Westley Knight

Division: Norfolk Public Schools

Position: Math teacher at Blair Middle School

What the school division said about this Excellent Educator: Imagine having a nationally board-certified teacher who is equally enthusiastic about numeracy and literacy. Some people might not believe an educator like this exists, but this accurately describes Blair Middle School’s 2022 Teacher of the Year Westley Knight.

Knight teaches mathematics and future problem solvers of America. He deserves this recognition because he motivates students to take academic risks, supports disciplinary literacy, and inspires colleagues to incorporate project-based learning into instruction.

Knight is patient and makes time for each student. His students are willing to try because they know he will help them. His classroom is a warm and inviting environment for students to learn. He is calm, prepared, and enthusiastic about teaching. He likes to give students problems that make them think outside the box. He tries to get students to see math in the real world. He gives up his planning time and stays after regularly to help students who are struggling. He routinely offers to help people around the school with a variety of things.