COCOA BEACH, Fla. — Along the Space Coast, a sixth-grade teacher has conjured up a reputation and recipe for success — all enhanced by magic.

The magic of learning is easy to see in Darcie Brennan’s sixth-grade class at Freedom 7 Elementary School in Cocoa Beach, where she is the head wizard.

“My biggest thing is just letting them know that I’m their No. 1 supporter,” she says.

Brennan is a supporter who wants every nook and cranny of her classroom to be a safe space for them, right out of the pages of the popular fantasy series of Harry Potter.

“That’s where Hogwarts classroom came alive during COVID and it’s just expanded and expanded, and we’re kind of famous on our campus. They all know me as the Hogwarts teacher,” she says. “Plus, we have the bunnies which branched out of there because they’re magical creatures and the kids love it.”

Teaching is deeply personal for Brennan, who gets emotional when she says, “So when I was in first grade I had a teacher that broke my spirit. I didn’t like school at all. She snapped at me one day when I asked her a question.”

The next year she says something magical happened that changed everything.

“I had a second-grade teacher that took me under his wing and made me feel like I was loved and appreciated, and it made me absolutely love school, and I changed from that moment on,” she says.

That change has really changed her teaching style, Brennan says.

“And that’s what inspired me to be a teacher. I just feel like it’s really important for kids to know that they’re loved when they come to school,” she says.