J.R. Tucker, Glen Allen high school educators surprised with $28,200 in R.E.B. teacher grants
HENRICO, Va., Nov. 6., 2026 — Two Henrico County Public Schools teachers — Jules Irvin-Rooney of J.R. Tucker High School and Amy Harnsberger of Glen Allen High School — have been named recipients of the 2026 R.E.B. Awards for Teaching Excellence by the Community Foundation and R.E.B. Foundation. These two outstanding educators will receive major grants — up to $15,000 — to pursue global experiences in their respective fields and enhance the education of the students in their classrooms.
The Community Foundation and R.E.B. Foundation award the grants annually to recognize and support Richmond-area teachers who have distinguished themselves through inspiring classroom instruction. The HCPS teachers were surprised with the award in their respective classrooms Friday morning by Superintendent Amy Cashwell, school administrators, colleagues and their families.
Irvin-Rooney, an 11th and 12th grade English teacher at Tucker High School, will receive $13,200 to first travel to New York City, where she plans to observe innovative debate curriculum at local schools and learn from the NYC Urban Debate League. She will then travel to England to study writing, argument, debate, performance and more from prestigious universities in Oxford, London and Cambridge.
Global perspectives are commonplace among Irvin-Rooney’s classes, which have traveled to places such as Ireland, Scotland, Spain and Portugal, along with major cities across the United States. Among Irvin-Rooney’s nominators was a student who credited her for winning a Scholastic Art and Writing National Gold Medal.
“It’s an amazing feeling, it’s joy. It’s an honor and a privilege to be with the future every single day,” said Irvin-Rooney, a co-department chair who founded the Writing Center at Tucker. “I get to meet 145 new kids every year, and hopefully inspire them in some little, teeny, tiny way to be a small dot in their journey. To hear I was able to make a difference, it’s overwhelming.”
Harnsberger, an art teacher at Glen Allen High School, will receive $15,000 to explore the history and cultural significance of quilting, an artform interwoven with generations of women in her family. She plans to attend QuiltCon, the largest modern quilting event in the world, in Atlanta and then travel to Scotland to research and immerse herself in a residency at a visual arts studio.
Her pursuits will make an impact not only on her art students but also the Gardening Club she sponsors at Glen Allen. Harnsberger treats her two passions of art and gardening as a natural pairing, and she believes the experiences afforded to her by this grant will further enhance that intersection of art and the natural world for her students.
“This truly feels like the experience of a lifetime,” Harnsberger said of the surprise. “I will remember seeing all those faces — my mom, my husband, my colleagues, my principal — all come in in such a celebratory way. I’m just over the moon. I feel so grateful for this opportunity.
In addition to the two award recipients, three other HCPS teachers were runners-up:
- Connor Dolson, L. Douglas Wilder Middle School
- Megan Mattax, Henrico High School
- Kelly Smith, Hungary Creek Middle School
For more information about the awards, go to the Community Foundation's website.