Perspiration, inspiration and dedication to excellence have propelled distinguished Richmond teacher Rodney A. Robinson to the high honor of 2019 Virginia Teacher of the Year.

The award was announced Tuesday evening by First Lady Pam Northam at a recognition ceremony and reception in the grand Marble Hall of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

The 40-year-old Mr. Robinson, who since 2015 has taught history and social studies at Virgie Binford Education Center inside the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center, is the first Richmond Public Schools teacher to win the state honor since 2011.

He now becomes Virginia’s nominee for the 2019 National Teacher of the Year, which will be announced next spring at a White House ceremony.

In front of a gathering of state and local education officials, teachers from across the state and family members of Virginia’s seven other regional teacher honorees, Mr. Robinson tearfully thanked his mother, Sylvia Robinson, whose illness prevented her from attending, for being an inspiration for him growing up in Church Hill. She had an in-home day care center and taught GED classes at Richmond’s Armstrong High School.

He said he was sure his late father, a construction worker, was smiling down on him at the achievement.

He also thanked the love of his life, his wife Summer Robinson, his brother and his aunt, and he acknowledged the students he works with each and every day, calling them “my inspiration.”

“My students are the most vulnerable children in society from the constant pressure of urban living,” Mr. Robinson told the audience. “They have made mistakes that they are paying for, but they still persevere and strive for success despite being a statistic.”

He asked people to think back to when they were teenagers and recall the worse thing they did at that age.

“Then imagine all of the people you met in the schools — teachers, counselors, principals and janitors — judging you at that moment of weakness,” he said. “Would you have been given the opportunity to be where you are today or the person you are today?” he asked.

“My students, who are my inspiration, are faced with these challenges every day and desire a great teacher like every other student in Virginia. They are my heartbeat and I will fight for them, and every other child, to be successful. ”

After the ceremony, Mr. Robinson beamed with emotion as he spoke with the Free Press.

“I am so happy now — for my students and my co-workers. We all work hard and it is a blessing to be honored and recognized for the work we are doing day in and day out,” he said.

Mr. Robinson received prizes from several of the program’s sponsors: a $5,000 award and ring from Apple Federal Credit Union Foundation; a $2,000 award from the Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen law firm; $1,000 from Dominion Energy Services Inc.; a Virginia Museum membership; and more.

A history graduate of Virginia State University who earned a master’s in educational administration and supervision from Virginia Commonwealth University, Mr. Robinson took his first job in education teaching civics and economics at Lucille M. Brown Middle School in 2000.

During the course of his 19-year career with Richmond Public Schools, he taught world geography and U.S. history at George Wythe High School before moving in 2003 to teach government, history and geography at Armstrong High School, where he was named that school’s Teacher of the Year in 2009.

He was recognized in 2012 with the R.E.B. Award for Teaching Excellence; received a 2013 Veterans of Foreign Wars National Citizenship Education Teacher Recognition Award; and has participated in the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute designed to strengthen teaching in public schools across the country where his curriculum units have been published.

Last November, he was named Richmond Public Schools Teacher of the Year and was selected as one of Virginia’s eight regional teachers of the year in September.

Mr. Robinson said this is the first time a teacher working through the juvenile justice system has won the award.

“I hope this is not the last time a teacher in my situation will win this award,” he said. “We do a lot of hard work in the Department of Juvenile Justice and state-operated programs.”

In addition to book learning, he has his students engage in volunteer work to help them understand the need to give back to the community. Among their volunteer work: Voter registration drives, work with Boys and Girls Clubs and cleanup efforts at historical African-American cemeteries and at the former Lumpkin’s Jail site in Shockoe Bottom, a former slave pen that in 1867 became a school and the origins of Virginia Union University.

He considers it part of the life experiences that students can learn from.

RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras and Richmond School Board Chair Dawn Page, who attended Tuesday’s ceremony, were overjoyed.

“This is awesome, awesome, awesome,” Ms. Page said. “We are so proud of Rodney! He’s a brilliant example of teachers in the Richmond Public Schools.”

Mr. Kamras also offered glowing comments.

“His commitment, love and passion for his students, especially the ones needing him the most, are examples of the shining light RPS is in the commonwealth and will be for the nation. Rodney is going to help us rise as we lead the way in education,” Mr. Kamras said.

In addition to teaching, Mr. Robinson coaches and officiates Little League, middle and high school sporting events in the East End. He also serves on the RPS Teacher Advisory Committee and on Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s Education Compact and has assisted in putting policies and plans in place to benefit all RPS students.

Two previous Virginia teachers of the year, B. Philip Bigler of Fairfax County and Mary V. Bicouvaris of Hampton, were named National Teacher of the Year in 1998 and 1989, respectively.

The other seven 2019 Virginia Regional Teachers of the Year are Stephen J. Legawiec of Williamsburg-James City County (Region 2); Daniel N. Reichard of Stafford County (Region 3); Timothy W. Cotman Jr. of Arlington County (Region 4); Christine M. Grim of Rockingham County (Region 5); Jamie F. Nichols of Roanoke (Region 6); Charlcia D. Burke Jones of Lee County (Region 7); and Ashley N. Blackwell of Cumberland County (Region 8).