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Rodney Robinson had to keep a secret.

He learned last month that he was one of four finalists for the honor of the country’s best teacher, a title only two Virginia teachers have ever had and none in the past 20 years. The 40-year-old told his wife, Summer, but kept it hidden from everyone else.

People would come up to him in the grocery store and wish him good luck. He had to resist the temptation of telling them. His colleagues at the school inside Richmond’s juvenile detention center where he teaches social studies would check in every day to see if he had heard anything. He hadn’t — or so he told them.

That all changed Wednesday.

Gov. Ralph Northam appeared in the Virgie Binford Education Center’s gymnasium to speak at a summit aimed at increasing the presence of men of color in the classroom. He ended his remarks with a surprise for most in attendance — Robinson had advanced from Virginia Teacher of the Year to finalist for National Teacher of the Year.

“I’m just happy it’s all out and I can share this moment with everybody,” he said after Northam delivered the news.

He added in an interview: “It was hard to keep it a secret, especially with all the love from the community.”