Heather Wilckens, named this year’s Goochland County’s Teacher of the Year, is a repeater.

She was named Mechanicsville Elementary School Teacher of the Year in 1997.

Last week Wilckens was picked as this year’s Goochland Teacher of the Year. The choice was announced at the regular School Board meeting, where all five Goochland teachers of the year, one from each school, were recognized.

“It was a tremendous honor,” said Wilckens Friday, at her first grade classroom at Randolph Elementary School, where she has taught since 2005. “I was not expecting it at all. If I had known I would have had my mom there,” she said.

Wilckens now advances to regional competition, for which she will need to submit three letters of recommendation along with the portfolio of essays she wrote for the county competition. Winners in the eight regions compete at the state level, with the winner advancing to national competition.

Two Virginia Teachers of the Year have gone on to become national winners: Mary V. Bicouvaris (after which the Virginia Teacher of the Year is named) in 1989 and B. Philip Bigler in 1998.

After graduating from Randolph Macon College, Wilckens went to work for the Hanover County school system, where she taught from 1991 to 1997, during which time she took a year sabbatical to earn her Masters from VCU.

A six year break followed, while she and husband Eric had their two daughters Alexandra and Jessica. They moved to Goochland in 1995.

“What brought me out here was getting married,” said Wilckens. “He wanted land.” The family then found their home on Hockett Road.

When her oldest child, Alexandra, was ready to start school at Randolph, Wilckens started substituting there.

“That was my whole plan, to get a job where my kids went to school,” she explained.

That way she didn’t have to worry about child care, since the kids could just come to her classroom when school was out.

Wilckens said she loves Goochland. “It’s small and personal. The county has amazing schools and teachers. Randolph feels like a big family.”

Education runs in Wilckens’ family - both her grandmother and mother were teachers.

“I always knew what I was going to do,” she said. “It’s in my blood.”

Goochland’s teachers of the year:

• Kim Watts: Byrd Elementary School music and choral teacher, who also teaches at GES
• Andrea Cachina: Goochland Elementary School second grade teacher
• Heather Wilckens: Randolph Elementary School first grade teacher
• Amy Spoonhower: Goochland Middle School Physical and Earth Science Teacher
• Henry Jones: Goochland High School math teacher