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Educator Quiana Fields loves her job — and the challenges and rewards that come with it.
This year’s platinum win for Best Local Educator goes to Quiana Fields, English teacher at James Breckinridge Middle School, Roanoke City Public Schools. Fields is absolutely honored for the recognition. “It is a great recognition of the work that teachers do every day. Furthermore, I am thankful and ecstatic to know that the readers from my community voted for me. Teaching is a work of heart, and I am proud to share my heart in the classroom daily along with an amazing eighth-grade team of teachers and administrators at James Breckinridge Middle School in Roanoke City.
Fields has been teaching middle school English, writing and literature in Roanoke City Public Schools since 2007. In 2017, she became the first person in the United States to become a SIM Specialist in the Proficiency in Sentence Writing Strategy, sustaining and growing her students’ writing skills. Fields has “had the joy” of being the English department chair in her building, serves on several panels, mentors new teachers and is currently in a cohort with other city teachers through a partnership between the school system and Radford University to become a Literacy Specialist.
She adores being able to interact with her students. As a teacher, it’s her duty to do what is best for each student, and she understands that looks different for everyone. “I love supporting them in the classroom and during their extracurriculars; I love learning from them; I love helping them understand content while cultivating a desire for them to be lifelong readers and learners; and I love when they see the connection between what they are learning and their lives.”
Being a teacher, of course, does not come without its exceptional challenges; while Fields knows they are inevitable, she refuses to be defeated, as that is simply “not an option in teaching!” Because every day in a school setting is different, Fields has learned to be flexible and pivot when things appear to be going in a direction unlike the one she expected or planned for. “Building and maintaining relationships are so important and help to make the challenges less difficult. It is an opportunity for students, teachers and support staff to rise and feel the exhilaration of victory on the other end, student growth and success.
The award-winning teacher describes the city of Roanoke “like a glass of sweet tea and lemonade — the perfect blend of rural and cosmopolitan life.” Here, Fields is able to continue the legacy of strong women who came before her. She has opportunities for career growth, can see exhibits at some of the best museums in the world, dine at featured restaurants and explore the mountains and nearby greenways, lakes and rivers. “I love living and working in the Star City of the South. As a Roanoke native, I have been blessed to teach where I was once a student and learn from and collaborate with several of my former teachers.”
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