ISLE OF WIGHT CO., Va. — With friends, family and staff in tow, we slipped in through the back door of Robin Whitley's kindergarten classroom to surprise her.
The students seemed just as surprised to see us as our Everyday Hero — Mrs. Whitley.
“Thank you so much. I think my daughter-in-law might have known about this, because she came and curled my hair last night," Whitley said.
With her hairdo on point and a smile on her face, Mrs. Whitley was shocked to see us — and most of her family — file into her classroom.
The Isle of Wight native has dedicated her life to molding young minds — first at Tidewater Academy in Wakefield, then at Isle of Wight Academy, starting in 1991.
"When you teach children how to read, it’s like a light bulb goes off. You plug along, and all of a sudden it’s like, ‘I can read now!’ And that’s just so rewarding," she shared.
Her identical twin sister, Ann, wrote to me about her extraordinary sibling and wanted us to shine a light on her.
“There was a little girl who didn’t want her school picture taken one year. Robin scooted in behind the backdrop and held the little girl’s hand so nobody could see it," Ann shared.
The two taught together until Ann retired. This is truly a family affair — her son Joseph is the assistant headmaster of the school and was once her student.
“You’re used to her telling you what to do. Now, you get to tell her what to do?” I asked Joseph.
“I try to… I try to," he responded. "She knows exactly what to do in the classroom, and she does a great job."
Mrs. Whitley has now taught two generations of students in Isle of Wight County.
“What do you like about Mrs. Whitley? Why is she so cool?” I asked Ella Faison, a current student of Mrs. Whitley. Faison's aunt also had Whitley as a teacher.
“Because she always loves — she loves everyone," said the 5-year-old.
When presenting Whitley with a News 3 Everyday Hero award, we also gave her a $300 gift card from our community partner Southern Bank.
“Oh my goodness, thank you so much!” said Whitley.
Mrs. Robin Whitley is a shining example of an Everyday Hero, and she is Positively Hampton Roads.
