TEACHER: Lesley Richards

SCHOOL: Loxley Elementary School

SUBJECTS TAUGHT: Kindergarten

SOMETHING UNUSUAL ABOUT YOURSELF: I performed in the Auburn University marching band on the trumpet line. When I say I’m an Auburn fan, I am an Auburn fan; I was out on the field!

Lesley Richards is a kindergarten teacher at Loxley Elementary School. This is her third year not only teaching at Loxley Elementary, but also her third year teaching kindergarten. Before coming to Baldwin County, Richards taught in Montgomery and Mobile counties. She taught preschool, first grade and sixth grade.

“I didn’t originally want to teach,” Richards says. “My mother was a teacher and I was not going to be like her. I originally majored in mass communications, but wasn’t finding the jobs I wanted. Teaching encompassed all the things I like to do, and I felt fulfilled doing it.”

As a kindergarten teacher, Richards feels it’s her No. 1 priority to teach her children to love school.

“I love being with the little ones,” she says. “They love everything. They are learning a lot in this stage of their life; learning to read, numbers. They are so proud of themselves when they start to see things click. They think, ‘I can do that!’ That’s what I love about my job.”

When Richards isn’t teaching, she loves participating in community theatre. She just finished her performance as Princess Fiona in “Shrek” at Chickasaw Civic Theatre. She is also busy with her two children, Kate in second grade, and Peter, in sixth grade. Richards also enjoys spending time with her husband John.