By Charlie Stone

Upper School history teacher Wesley Hedgepeth has taught at Collegiate since 2018, and before arriving here he spent four years at James River High School and five years at Trinity Episcopal School. He currently teaches AP US Government, AP Comparative Government and Politics, Contemporary World History, and sponsors Collegiate’s Model United Nations team. Additionally, he is active in promoting civil discourse around Collegiate through various activities. Hedgepeth has been an advisor to Freshmen and Sophomores, assisting their navigation through high school. As one of his former advisies, I found his calm demeanor and wealth of knowledge about course selection helped my preliminary years of high school.  

He’s also a public servant. On November 4, Hedgepeth was elected to the Richmond City School Board in the city’s 4th district. 

Hedgepeth is steadfast in his involvement in organizations and programs focused on bettering classroom environments. From 2023-2024, he served as the president of the National Council for The Social Studies, which is “the largest association in the country dedicated to social studies education” according to his campaign website. Throughout his career, has been a leader in the field of social studies education. 

Hedgepeth in his classroom. Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

As a student in his AP US Government class during the 2022-2023 school year, I was frequently intrigued by meaningful discussions incorporated into our topic at hand. Opinions varied between peers, which allowed for better understanding of topics during discussions. My experience in the classroom environment he cultivated forced me to ask difficult questions surrounding my understanding and opinion. 

Hedgepeth draws from his own time in high school and appreciation for civil discourse, as he had teachers who taught by asking tough questions and guiding without intervening with their own opinion. Mr. Whipp, his senior AP Government teacher at Hopewell High School, influenced him heavily with difficult conversations. 

Hedgepeth came into teaching, in his words, “because I never felt fully seen or heard as a student. I wanted to make sure my students didn’t feel that way.”

Hedgepeth ran for Richmond City School Board to further his “ultimate desire to make schools better,” and his credibility gives him an insight into what can be fixed. He finds “there is an unnecessary politicization in schools” today, given the social tension taking place over what is being taught in different states. His focus is on the experience of the student. “We need to invest in our own people,” he said, which helps to explain a career spent involved in various organizations. 

Hedgepeth on the campaign trail. Photo courtesy of Wesley Hedgepeth.

Throughout his campaign, “others were more critical of [me] partly because I don’t think they knew who I was,” he said during our interview. He put in the time in his district—which encompasses much of South Richmond, including Bon Air, Westover Hills, and Forest Hill—“knocking on doors daily” and spreading his ideas to voters. 

Hedgepeth faced opposition from two candidates—Garrett Sawyer and Angela Fontaine—nonpartisan candidates not working in the field of education. The former, according to his campaign website, is a “Proud CEO and President of Sawyer HR Consulting.” He was the incumbent and had been previously appointed to the Richmond City School Board  after the previous member was no longer able to fulfill their term. Angela Fontaine is “the founder of a coaching and consulting firm,” as stated by her campaign. 

Securing 44.7% of the vote in the district, Hedgepeth was announced as the winner after election day, on November 6. 

As a newly elected school board member, Hedgepeth has aspirations for his time in office. He knows the current situation is challenging. There is a national teacher shortage, which has public school faculty drained. Hedgepeth said, “we are in crisis; there is a teacher shortage” that gives teachers heavier workloads and can decrease their capacity to effectively teach. 

In general, Hedgepeth believes in the public school realm “there is a lack of support from administration,” contributing to teachers being overwhelmed. In his time at James River High School, Hedgepeth witnessed faltering aid within public schools. As a current private school educator, Hedgepeth noted how people were “concerned I was not knowledgeable about the problems in public schools,” but throughout his campaign, he talked to voters about his expertise and teaching experience. 

Hedgepeth said, “having an experienced educator on the board is good.” Hedgepeth finds meaning working with teachers, as they “give each other ideas on how to tackle problems.” He firmly believes “teachers need to be coached to have a work life balance” to better their time in school and benefit the students. His experience in politics ties into his work. When asked about his campaign’s effect on his work in the classroom, he noted how “teaching has more informed the campaign.”  He did acknowledge how he believes “once I’m in the position officially, I think it will affect my teaching quite positively, as I spend time with constituents and learn.”

As Hedgepeth moves forward in his career, he said, “I let fate guide me” to his future endeavors. He knows “it’s necessary work” and he emphasized how he is “happy to do it” as an educator and an advocate. Day to day, he preaches civil engagement to his class. He also practices what he preaches accordingly, denoting how “we are temporary, and we need to clear the avenue for the next,” encouraging students to be civically involved as they get older.