HANOVER COUNTY, Va. — At Cold Harbor Elementary School in Hanover County, two teachers share more than a hallway — they share a history that spans decades.
Elementary teacher Sophie Johnson and first grade teacher Stacey Duke work in classrooms right next to each other. They coordinate their lessons, including phonics, and support each other's students. But their connection goes far deeper than professional collaboration.
Johnson went to elementary school at Cold Harbor Elementary — and she learned in the very same classroom she teaches in today.
"It's amazing. It felt like coming back to my own home. I feel very attached to the room now and, um, it just feels like my own, the same but different," Johnson said.
Her teacher back then was Duke, who now works right next door.
Johnson said her early days as a student were not easy.
"I was a little bit of an emotional mess. I didn't want to leave home. I was so happy just to hang out there all day, but her being there really comforted me. She's amazing at being there for her kids emotionally and she really loves her kids, and I felt that love when I was in her class," Johnson said.
Duke remembered those early days, too.
"Her mom reached out to me and said that she was nervous. And she came in and helped me set my classroom up during teacher work week," Duke said.
The confidence Duke helped build in Johnson carried her all the way back to Hanover County as an educator herself — one focused on passing that same love of learning on to her own students.
"Helping my kids learn to love learning and make them want to come to school every day and excited to be there and to learn," Johnson said.
Now, teaching side by side, both women say they hope to leave a lasting mark on the next generation of learners.
"I want them to walk out of my door feeling like they had a great second grade year this year, or in her case, kindergarten and first grade, and that I was part of that. It means a lot when I saw her name on the list and then she walked down the hall. It meant the world to me that I knew I had made an impact on her," Duke said.
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