Henrico's Top Teachers – Kasi Farmer, Glen Allen High School, history

Students in Glen Allen High School history and government teacher Kasi Farmer’s classes don’t have to wonder if she cares about them.

She makes it obvious.

“When I had to explain why plans with an academic trip she was doing with her classes partially fell through on my end due to my home life not being the best, she was just so genuine,” one student nominator wrote. “She hugged me, was a shoulder to cry on, and was so understanding and flexible overall. I saw glimmers of her empathy and kindness early on in the little things she’d do, but that moment truly solidified it for me.”

Wrote another: “She takes the time to get to know all of her students. She has come to many of my athletic games, our schools battle night, and much more. She is one of the only teachers that has done that.”

For Farmer, immersing herself in the lives of her students is just part of the responsibility that comes with being their teacher.

“Kids want to see that you show up not just in the classroom but outside the classroom,” she said. “I just think it’s really important to show up to show that you care about them.”

It’s also, perhaps, part of the approach ingrained in her by two of her former teachers, whose influence led her to her own teaching career. Her second-grade teacher at Chesterfield’s Grange Hall Elementary School, Miss Lowery, displayed a kindness to her students that inspired Farmer to want to teach. And it was her history teacher during her senior year at Manchester High School, Kristen Lockhart, whose approach confirmed in Farmer’s mind that history was what she wanted to teach.

During her first three years as a teacher, at The Academy at Virginia Randolph, Lockhart and another former teacher helped provide resources that she could use in the classroom.

Working with students who needed an alternative approach to education helped Farmer develop lessons that were relevant to their daily lives. It’s an approach she’s continued during the past two years at Glen Allen, where she teaches government and the new AP African-American Studies course.

Teaching the latter has been a unique but rewarding challenge for Farmer.

“I’m truly honored to teach this class as a Black woman,” she said, adding that “it means everything” for Black students to have a course that reflects their history in this country while also expressing happiness that her class is a diverse one, with students from a variety of races and ethnicities.

“I’m honored that this curriculum is out there for kids,” Farmer said. “History is history, right? It’s the truth. There is no quote-unquote ‘agenda’ in my classroom. There’s just truth. And the truth is America wouldn’t be America if it weren’t built on the backs of slaves who were African descendants.”

“Ms. Farmer has brought her devotion to the subject matter into the classroom, giving her students the autonomy to explore their interests through projects and hands-on assignments,” one student nominator wrote.

Because the course was brand new this year, Farmer largely has planned her lessons on the fly, with help from Glen Allen High innovative learning coach Alyson Carroll. She’s also tapped into a Facebook group for teachers across the country who are teaching the course and who share ideas with each other.

“Black culture is in everyday life,” Farmer said. “I’m some of these kids’ first Black teacher ever in Henrico County. It means a lot to me. I share with them my accomplishments and talk about Black excellence. [But] it means more to them not to have a teacher who’s Black but kind of to have a role model.”

And to her students, Farmer certainly is that. She makes a point to connect with students first so that she can relate to each of them more completely. It was particularly important at Virginia Randolph, where a number of students had struggled to learn in traditional environments for a variety of reasons, but remains so at Glen Allen, she said.

“I felt I had to have relationships with kids to know, hey, I’m not eating at home or hey, I don’t have a ride home,” she said. “Some of my teachers from high school got me in touch with people who provided food for my kids at Virginia Randolph. Thinking about it now, it gets me emotional, because that meant the world to them, just having something to eat.”

Because Farmer is authentic with her students, they feel more at ease connecting with her.

“She does everything in her power to help her students succeed, which is inspiring and reflected in the environment that is cultivated in her classroom,” one student nominator wrote. “With such a bright personality, she is many students' favorite teacher as she welcomes everyone with open arms and ears, willing to connect with her students on an academic and personal level.”

Wrote another: “I know that she really cares about each of her students, pulling them aside if she senses something is wrong, taking time to meet with students individually about grades, and allowing students to spend time in her classroom. She has made her classroom one that is for everyone I don't think one person feels left out in her class!”