West Salem Elementary School Educator Named Virginia Teacher of the Year

West Salem fifth grade teacher Natalie DiFusco-Funk has been named the Teacher of the Year for the entire state of the Virginia. The announcement was made by Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Richmond on Oct. 19. The reigning Salem City and Region VI Teacher of the Year was selected over teachers from the seven other regions in the Commonwealth.

“Natalie is recognized by her peers, by her principal, by the superintendents of her region — and now by the commonwealth — as the best of the best,” McAuliffe said. “As the 2016 Virginia Teacher of the Year, Natalie will represent the tens of thousands of outstanding classroom educators whose creativity, content knowledge and love of teaching have made Virginia’s public schools among the best in the nation.” 

DiFusco-Funk said she knew she wanted to be a teacher on her first day of school as a fifth grader. “There was no other career path for me, and it was literally a dream come true when I began my career 12 years ago,” she said.

DiFusco-Funk is a 12-year veteran of the classroom and is in her fifth year as a fifth-grade teacher at West Salem Elementary. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education and Master of Education at Boston College. DiFusco-Funk earned National Board Certification in Literacy in 2013. In 2010, she completed the Boston Marathon to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

“Natalie is an exceptional teacher and a consummate professional who positively changes the lives of young people and facilitates the growth and development of her colleagues,” Salem Superintendent H. Alan Seibert said.

The reception at the Executive Mansion followed a Virginia Department of Education ceremony honoring all eight 2016 Virginia Regional Teachers of the Year who were in the running to be named as the commonwealth’s top teacher. The other seven regional teachers of the year are:

• Christopher Averill, a history teacher at Cosby High in Chesterfield County (Region 1)
• Lauren Osborn, an English teacher at Poquoson High in Poquoson (Region 2)
• Stacey Rice-Lee, an English teacher at Northumberland Middle in Northumberland County (Region 3)
• Kimberly Scott, an English teacher at Franklin Middle in Fairfax County (Region 4)
• Kenneth “Spence” White Jr., a drama, stagecraft and public speaking teacher at Jefferson Forrest High in Bedford County (Region 5)
• Ruthanne Cole, a science teacher at Bland County High in Bland County (Region 7)
• Edward McCann Jr., an agricultural education teacher at Appomattox County High in Appomattox County (Region 8)