Henrico's Top Teachers – Monica Bagley, Kaechele Elementary School, third grade

You might miss it, but if you look closely at Monica Bagley's class photo with her third-grade students back in 2013, you will see a tiny hamster peeking out of Bagley’s hands.

That is Zeus, which her students named after the mighty Greek God who threw thunderbolts, and how Zeus ended up in Bagley’s classroom is a bit like a Greek myth itself.

One day, when Bagley was reading her students a story about “Humphrey the Hamster,” a class pet who lived in a school, her students decided that they needed their own Humphrey for the classroom. But Bagley was unsure if David A. Kaechele Elementary School allowed class pets. 

So her students, who had just learned about democracy and the rules of government, decided that they would draft a petition to present to the school principal, as well as the school bus drivers so the hamster could travel to students’ homes on the weekends. The effort was entirely student-contrived, with little involvement from Bagley (although she did tell her students that no, they could not “strike” from school to push for a pet hamster).

When Zeus the pet hamster was greenlighted by the principal, Bagley’s students held lemonade stands to raise money for Zeus’ enclosure and amenities. And during his relatively short lifespan, Zeus certainly lived his life to the fullest – students showed Bagley photos of Zeus driving Barbie cars, visiting the beach, and watching the Super Bowl when they each took him home.

“It was something that I never would have even imagined to do, but they came up with it all on their own,” Bagley said. “It was hysterical to see everything that the hamster got to experience. And the kids were like, ‘Zeus has got to be in the class photo,’ so there he was.”

Zeus is not the only animal to visit Bagley’s classroom.

Bagley, who has taught third grade at Kaechele Elementary since the school opened in 2013, has brought in baby chicks – allowing students to watch them hatch from their eggs – and different soil samples with mealworms and earthworms. 

Bagley’s classroom is filled with a lot of other things, too. She has brought in lab coats and masks for her students to become “scientists,” allowing them to walk around the school in search of questions that need answering. She has brought out puppets, each with different voices and personalities, and yoga balls, bobble stools, and wiggly chairs for students to sit on.

Bagley believes that her hands-on approach offers a much more memorable learning experience for her young, often wiggly students.

“I’m rooted in the belief that all students can learn and thrive when they are valued as individuals, and I feel strongly that they need to be actively engaged in lessons,” she said. “My main goal is to cultivate a classroom community where kindness, curiosity, resilience, and critical thinking flourish to prepare the students not just for academic success, but for lifelong learning.”

Bagley sees herself as a facilitator of her students’ learning rather than someone who tells her students exactly what they should be doing or thinking. For Bagley, that means that her first and most important task as a teacher is to get to know each of her students and their interests

“You can look at a student’s file, but you don’t really know them until you get a chance to sit down and talk to them and find out the things that mean more to them,” she said. “And then I can bring them more into my lessons and teachings. Some years you have a kid who’s really into football, or someone who’s really into fashion. And the more I can hone in on that and tie it to whatever we’re learning, it makes it more meaningful for them.”

Even after a total of 25 years of teaching – the first 12 being at Maybeury Elementary before Kaechele opened – Bagley creates different lesson plans every year, because her students are different every year and Bagley wants to cater everything to her students’ needs and interests.

“She just gets her students. She is quirky and kind and has a huge heart. She understands that each student has a different learning style and in a classroom of up to sometimes 24 kids, she is able to reach every single child,” said one nominator. “She takes great care and consideration in everything she does. She is at the school before 7 a.m. and is one of the last teachers to leave.”

When her former students return, which they often do, Bagley sometimes can’t recognize them anymore because 10 or 15 years after she taught them, they now tower over her as young adults. To her, the most rewarding thing is to see how her students are able to grow as people, not just as scholars.

“Yes, they all become better readers, they all become better writers, but to me the biggest thing is how they grow as human beings, as individuals and contributors to society,” she said. “Seeing them mature and value one another and respect each other means more to me than academics.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.