GRAFTON, Va. (WAVY) — The 10 On Your Side team went to Grafton High School as part of our Excellent Educators series, highlighting those in our community who have dedicated their careers to enriching the bright young minds of tomorrow.
During our visit, we meet math teacher Melissa Madrigal. She is one of York County School Division’s top picks to be featured in our segment.
When our news crew walked in the door, a parent picking up her child was thrilled to hear we were interviewing Ms. Madrigal. That mom joins the many parents and students who praise Madrigal for her ability to adapt to different learning styles.
This is Madrigal’s 17th year in the classroom. We saw her fully utilizing technology to enhance the teaching experience, with a tablet in hand projecting her graphs to the classroom. She remembers starting out without any computer in the classroom.
When asked about the effects of COVID learning loss, she said we are at the point where students have mostly caught up. The challenge now is selling students on the importance of school.
“I can tell them, I remember sitting in those chairs and not being able to figure out what that teacher was doing,” Madrigal said. “So they’re really comfortable about being honest with me about where they are, what they understand, what they don’t — so we can fix those problems.”
Madrigal said her favorite math subject is algebra.
