Deshanna Honore, a fifth-grade math teacher at Hodges Manor Elementary School, was named the Portsmouth Public Schools (PPS) 2027 Citywide Teacher of the Year. Honore received the award at the division’s Teacher of the Year celebration, which was held Tuesday, Dec. 2, and highlighted all the teachers of the year in PPS.
Honore has been with the division for seven years. In addition to her work in the classroom, she chairs the school’s math committee and social studies committee and formerly served as the co-chair for the school improvement team and as a data analyst. She also chairs the Sweethearts Girls Mentoring Program, which helps young girls develop confidence, character and leadership skills.
Believing that her classroom is a place of belonging, Honore works to ensure her students not only grow in their learning, but also with their own self-images.
“At the heart of my teaching philosophy is a simple truth: every child deserves to be seen, supported, and celebrated,” she wrote in her application. “Teaching is not simply my profession: it is my calling. It is the honor of my life to serve the children of Portsmouth, to walk alongside their families, and to help every student I teach believe in the greatness that already lives within them.”
Honore will now represent the division in the Region 2 competition.