Nina James and Riverview HS Principal, Erin Haughey

The moment you meet Nina James, you’ll notice her gift: she has a natural ability to make others feel immediately comfortable and cared for. She laughs easily, remains relaxed and unaffected, and exudes a sense of fun that makes you feel as though you’ve known her forever. It’s no wonder Riverview High School students and teachers like and respect this educator so much. She’s the real deal.

Interestingly, James did not initially set out to become a teacher. After graduating in 1983 with a degree in music education, she took a job as a tech on the adolescent unit at a psychiatric hospital. A teaching position opened on the unit, and for the next decade she taught students in all grades. “I learned so much,” James said. “It made me who I am.”

Working with these often-challenging students, James quickly realized every individual had unique circumstances that needed understanding, recognizing their family struggles, medical problems, and emotional issues that often resulted in academic setbacks. It was during this time that James discovered the best way to serve each student was through collaboration. She was an integral part of a comprehensive team of nurses, social workers, therapists, and psychiatrists who worked together to help each child succeed. With her background in mental health, she was interested in special education, and earned her master’s with that focus.

A decade into her career, James turned her attention to a more traditional educational path. In 2003, she moved from the Midwest to Sarasota, which she described as “like moving to the Garden of Eden,” with higher salaries and more resources than she was used to. In 2006, she became a reading teacher at Riverview High School. Other roles at Riverview included ESOL (English as a Second Language), test coordinator, and this past year she started a new role as a literary coach.

James has had the honor of being named Teacher of the Year twice at Riverview High—once in 2013 and again in 2024. The Education Foundation of Sarasota County hosts the Ignite Education Teacher of the Year Celebration annually in partnership with Sarasota County Schools, but James’ association with the Education Foundation doesn’t stop there. Today James serves as one of our Teacher Ambassadors and frequently attends the Education Roundtables at the LaunchPad4U Student Success Center.

She plans to volunteer at the upcoming Education Foundation Ringling Bridge Run in April with a group of her colleagues, saying “Anything pro-education, I’m for it!”  Currently, James is a Project 10 coach, where she works alongside Education Foundation Resiliency Success Coach Maria Guardado, to help students overcome obstacles to graduation, which might include grade point averages, taking and passing tests, and ensuring students have the proper courses to graduate. This one-on-one attention is rewarding to James, who thrives on seeing students successfully move forward into their futures.