Christy Flanagan, a kindergarten teacher at Salem Elementary School in Virginia Beach, has been named the Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom 2025 Teacher of the Year.

The award recognizes a Virginia educator for incorporating agriculture into his or her core curriculum.

Flanagan sparks curiosity about agriculture in her students with activities covering aquaponics, composting and dairy cattle. In her classroom, students gain valuable knowledge about dairy farming and milk’s journey from farm to table through the Dairy Alliance’s “Adopt a Cow” program. She also established a class Tower® Garden, which uses aquaponics to grow produce and provides hands-on experiences about plant life cycles and nutrients. Throughout the project, her students learn critical thinking, observation and problem-solving skills.

The Tower Garden project was such a success that it expanded into a schoolwide effort and was selected as part of a Great Outdoors Learning Project initiative throughout Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Teachers in the division’s 55 elementary schools can learn about the aquaponics project and replicate it in their classrooms.

Because she teaches in a city, Flanagan and her students also explore how they can incorporate agriculture and gardening into urban areas with limited open space.

“Christy’s efforts connect students to the sources of their food and inspire a greater understanding of agriculture and the way it affects our lives and surrounding environment,” said Tammy Maxey, Virginia AITC executive director. “She goes above and beyond the standard kindergarten curriculum and engages her students in meaningful projects and investigations that spur critical thinking and real-world connections.”

As Virginia AITC Teacher of the Year, Flanagan will receive a scholarship to the 2025 National AITC Conference in June in Minneapolis and a $500 cash award.

For more information on the Teacher of the Year recognition, visit virginia.agclassroom.org.


The Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that promotes a greater understanding and appreciation of agriculture through education and outreach activities. To learn more and support, visit virginia.agclassroom.org.

Contact Maxey at 804-339-8244.