This article is part of a series of profiles about each finalist for Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ 2024 Citywide Teacher of the Year.

Morgan Knight noticed at a young age that her teachers selflessly stayed after hours to help students learn how to read or finish homework. She knew she wanted to do the same thing as an adult — help her community in a positive way through education.

She’s now an art teacher at Red Mill Elementary School and a finalist for Teacher of the Year.

“I teach because my community is the most important aspect of my life,” she said. “I teach because I believe in our students and their potential to do great things. I teach to inspire students to do better and to be better people for our community.”

Knight helps each student develop an appreciation for art while also developing their skills, according to Dr. Michelle Miller, Red Mill’s principal.

“She has an uncanny ability to help all students, whether they are a skilled artist or can barely draw a straight line, feel successful, Miller said.

Knight, who has been with Virginia Beach City Public Schools for 16 years, serves as the yearbook advisor and co-chair of her school’s Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports Committee. She hosts annual Paint Nights at Red Mill to bring families together through art.

“She is committed to helping all students receive the support they need to be successful in school and in life,” Miller said.

Along with her creative talents, Knight is an early adopter of technology. Fifteen years ago, she was the only art teacher in the school division teaching professional development courses on the use of Promethean boards in the art classroom, Miller said. Over the years, she’s also helped other teachers better use the school division’s learning management systems, first Schoology and then Canvas

At the division level, she is a frequent member of art curriculum committees. In the community, she combines her love of surfing and art by serving as the director of the art show for the Steel Pier Classic Surf and Art Expo for the last decade, said Erin Whitt, school counselor at Red Mill.

“Morgan has been able to leverage her connections to the Virginia Beach community to create unique opportunities for all VBCPS students,” Whitt said. “This art show provides high school students with an unmatched opportunity to not only feature their art, but to sell it. While many students are feeling forced to abandon their artist dreams in favor of a more traditional college track, Morgan is creating opportunities for them to see other possibilities – to truly live and work as artists.”

And that gets back to one of Knight’s core believes about education.

“I teach because it allows me to show students how to become creative thinkers that have agency over their lives,” she said.