Teachers We Love

Lisa Harkins

Equine Director
Congressional School
Years teaching: 20

Harkins was a school-based substitute teacher at McKinley (now Cardinal) Elementary in Arlington for 13 years before joining Congressional School as a sub and then taking over its equine program in 2019. An avid rider for more than two decades, she maintains a stable of eight horses on the school’s 40-acre campus in Falls Church.

• Congressional offers after-school riding lessons and a summer Pony Camp, but we also try to incorporate the horses during the school day. Kids will come down for art class and sketch them. In science class, they learn about photographer Eadweard Muybridge, who showed that all four feet come off the ground when a horse is in a gallop. You can’t see it with your naked eye because it’s so fast. 
•  During my time at McKinley, I was subbing anywhere I was needed—if a fourth-grade math teacher had a meeting, or first-graders needed recess monitoring. Sometimes I had to wing it. That job prepared me well for this one. Things don’t always go as planned. Sometimes the horse I want to use is feeling sick. It’s an opportunity to teach kids about change. It’s not going to be exactly the same, but it’s going to be OK.
• I believe in teaching kids responsibility. Horses are big, and they can be a little intimidating. Safety is important. I teach the kids how to feel comfortable around these animals. One huge accomplishment for students is learning how to pick up a horse’s hoof to check for dirt or rocks. There’s an art to it. 
• There are so many horse metaphors that also apply to kids. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Kids, like horses, need boundaries, but if you hold the reins too tightly, you’re going to run into resistance. 
• If I’m in a bad mood, my horses teach me to be in the moment. They’re not thinking about what happened yesterday. They’re only focused on now.
• Horses are magical, empathetic creatures. No wonder they are used in therapy. They allow the students to braid their manes and tails. To see a kid smile on horseback melts my heart. 
• We have one horse, Roi, who is leery and skeptical of new things. We have to approach him carefully and let him sniff whatever we are introducing. He can be scared and anxious. I think kids with anxiety issues can absolutely relate to this. Hey, I’m like that too!

—Interview by Wendy Kantor

Danielle Day

Special Education Teacher
Washington-Liberty High School
Years teaching: 11

An Arlington native, Day is co-department chair of the special education program at W-L, where she teaches in the Secondary Program for Students with Autism (SPSA). She was named Arlington Public Schools’ 2024 Teacher of the Year.

• Figuring out how my students learn brings me joy as a teacher. I work with students with autism who may present as typical or having no needs, so it can take time to understand what their needs really are. I want my students to not merely fit in at school or in society. I want to help the world learn how to adapt to them as well.
• After three years studying business, I realized I didn’t feel fulfilled. I came home to Arlington and applied to work in the extended day program of what became the Shriver Program [now housed inside H-B Woodlawn] for those with special needs. Immediately I felt called to continue in this line of work. This led me to the Secondary Program for Students with Autism at W-L.  
• I really enjoy creating new lessons, because students with autism have such varying needs. Every person and every year is different. I know it can be difficult for others to work with these students, due to their struggle with communication and interaction. I find those challenges exciting. 
• Students have differing abilities. Some may become frustrated with classroom activities that others consider simple. At one point I was responsible for a coloring activity and realized that not every student could hold a crayon. I had to get creative. I took old crayons, tore the paper off, put them into a muffin pan and melted them down into discs. The new shape allowed all students to grasp the crayons and enjoy coloring without being frustrated.  
• Everything can be made accessible if we take the time to think of how.

—Interview by Michael Gueltig

 

Laurie Sullivan

Project Discovery
STEAM teacher
Barrett Elementary School
Years teaching: 37

Sullivan leads Barrett Elementary’s Project Discovery Lab, a STEAM class for grades pre-K through 5. As Virginia’s first elementary NASA Explorer School, Barrett has access to visiting engineering and education specialists, funding for teachers to attend robotics training at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, and numerous other STEM resources. White House Astronomy Nights have given Sullivan’s students the opportunity to meet astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Sally Ride, and President Barack Obama. At press time, Sullivan was one of three Virginia finalists for the 2024 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

• When I started my career in the late ’80s, I did not have a science background, but anytime we did something science-related, my first- and second-graders had questions. They wanted to dig in. Back then, it was called “thematic teaching”—take a concept and read and write and do experiments about it. The brain loves connections—projects that weave in science, tech, engineering and math. Many astronauts talk about the creativity that comes with the arts.
• When we see astronauts on the Space Station saying they were inspired in kindergarten, that inspires me to reach my students. Every single Virginia science SOL can be taught through NASA. One of our students was one of nine finalists out of 28,000 entries to name a rover. His essay was engraved on the Mars 2020 rover, which is currently roving Mars.
• Another project that’s really special is Bridging the Americas: Unidos por las Aves (United by Birds), through the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. You’re partnered with a class in Panama, Nicaragua or Venezuela to study migratory birds in two locations. In the fall, my students learned about songbirds and raptors that fly from here to Panama. We sent our research (about food, habitats, etc.) and artwork to a classroom in Panama. Toward the end of the school year we received a package back, with photos of students there observing the same birds in a mangrove forest, along with bird ornaments they made and papers they had written.
• I’ve learned to minimize the amount of talking I do. I take time to sit at the tables with the kids and ask them what they’re thinking. Sometimes I leave things purposefully a little nebulous because the kids will tackle a problem in a way I hadn’t thought about. I’ll tell them, “This is our goal, but if you have an idea for a different approach, let’s explore that.”
• I often ask Barrett graduates to come back and talk to current students about a hardship they experienced and how they overcame it. Kids think somebody’s lucky and that’s how they came by their success. It’s interesting for them to hear, “This happened to me.” Perseverance. It’s something we stress.

—Interview by Susan Anspach

 

William “Bill” Betthauser

AP Economics and International Business Teacher
Bishop O’Connell High School
Years teaching: 12

Originally from Minnesota, Betthauser was named 2023 Virginia Outstanding Economic Educator of the Year by the Virginia Council on Economic Education.

• I really like this age group. I love helping students apply the skills from class to their lives. 
• The difference between a good teacher and a great one lies in the ability to develop positive relationships with students. This happens by having great conversations with them, going to their games and events, and supporting them in the pursuit of their dreams.  
• It’s amazing seeing the light bulb turn on when they finally grasp a concept and apply it to what is happening around the world—topics like investing in high-speed rail, toll roads and space exploration. Viewing these advances through the lens of economics really challenges students to think more deeply and differently. When former students return and share how my classes prepared them for their future, that always brings a smile.  
• I love seeing students collaborating and problem-solving. This is a learning process in and of itself, beyond the content of the curriculum. Many times, students want TikTok answers when in fact it takes time to come to the right or best answers.  
• I personally get excited about economics and business—not always the most tantalizing of topics for high schoolers, but I put that excitement on display. Once students realize they can be excited about something, everything changes. We’ve all seen people walk into jobs they don’t enjoy, and it shows all over their faces. I don’t wish that on anyone. 

—Interview by Michael Gueltig

 

Denice Arroyo

English Learner teacher
Abingdon Elementary School
Years teaching: 14

Raised in Herndon, Arroyo worked as a kindergarten teacher for Alexandria City Public Schools before moving to Arlington Public Schools, first as an educator at Barcroft Elementary and then at Abingdon Elementary, where last year she taught fifth grade. This year she is an English Learner teacher.

• Since Covid, there’s been so much turnover in teaching. Last year, I had a handful of students who’d had three different teachers for fourth grade. The parents had a sour taste in their mouth with how fifth grade was going to go. I pride myself on my relationships with parents. I reach out in the beginning. I want to know where they are coming from, how it’s going. 
• The turnover, the dysfunction: These kids are really Covid kids. The pandemic disrupted their foundation. They would ask me all the time, “Are you going to stay?” I was gone for four days and they would ask me, “Are you coming back?”
• Fifth-graders sometimes aren’t so different from kindergartners. Developmentally, they’re still kids who need reassurance—still need someone to know who they are. They still want to tell you what they had for breakfast. They want you to go to their soccer games.
• At my school, most families don’t speak English. I call parents a lot and rely on LanguageLine [a live phone translation service]. If something great happens, I want them to know immediately.
• For students with behavioral challenges, the best behavioral plan is a good relationship. People want to work for you—and with you—if you have a good relationship. I want to go to my students’ games, buy them lunch or clothes if they need them. Make them feel safe in school. 
• Last year, my first kindergarten class graduated from high school. Three kids looked me up and invited me to their graduation. There was a bike rodeo with a student I had two years ago. The parent called me about it. I said, “OK, I’ll see you there.”

—Interview by Susan Anspach

 

Barbara Thompson

Former Principal (retired)
Arlington Community High School
Years teaching: 47

Originally from Ohio, Thompson began her career as a special education teacher and eventually became a school administrator, serving as principal of Arlington Community High School for 18 years. Now retired from that post, she is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University, where she trains fellow educators and teaches classes such as Special Education Law.

• Arlington Community High School began as a night school in 1929. Today it helps students 16 and older earn their high school diplomas by offering flexible curricula and both day and evening classes. There’s no upper age limit. Sometimes people leave school because of family situations, or because they have to work. They can always come back and finish.
• If students aren’t learning, you’re not teaching them. Part of a teacher’s job is to find out what it takes for students to learn and teach to that. Mainstream schools often teach to the middle, but a lot of students learn differently. You have to be flexible. You have to adapt. 
• I’ve never stopped teaching or learning. Every educator knows that everybody needs to continually learn. 
• My hope is that my current students [at Johns Hopkins] become compassionate and caring teachers. There’s a phrase: Students won’t care to learn until they learn that you care. I’ve carried that with me throughout my career. You need to build trust, build that relationship. 
• When you’re presented with a problem, there’s a way around it. Maybe it’s my special ed background, but my thought is, if this is too difficult, let’s find a way that works. I think that goes for everything. If you’re not learning it, let’s find another way to give the material to you. Let’s find another way to explain it. Let’s find another way for you to test it. 
• I am so proud of the resilience and dedication of the fantastic students at Arlington Community High School. They are inspiring to all. Their perseverance fuels the work that everyone does in the school. 
• There’s a story behind every student who graduates. It’s emotional knowing that you made a difference.

—Interview by Wendy Kantor