For Leslie Patterson, the journey to the classroom was not a straight path, but it is one that has made her exactly the teacher her students need today.
Now finishing her fourth full year at West Lee Middle School, Patterson is in her third year teaching math. Before stepping into middle school education, she spent two decades shaping young minds in early childhood settings, even serving as a preschool director in Pittsboro and Apex. After taking some time at home, she returned to education as a substitute teacher, quickly realizing she was right where she belonged.
“I was a substitute teacher for about six months and every school I was subbing in was saying, ‘You need to take a position, take a position!’” she said. “So I was hired at West Lee and have been here ever since.”
Her path back to school is just as inspiring. Determined to finish what she started, Patterson returned to college later in life through the TA to Teacher Program, and she can’t speak highly enough of how being in the classroom daily helped her transition back to learning.
“I went back at 48 years old and went from an associates degree to a bachelors and I’ll be starting my masters very soon,” she shared. “It is not easy, but I think TA to Teacher is the best way for the times we are living in. I think that the hands-on experience, being in the classroom every day, really helped me learn the technology and the way things had changed in education. When you get to do it day in and day out, that is when it really sinks in.”
That life experience shapes her teaching every day, especially when working with middle schoolers. “When I started subbing at West Lee, I just really liked working with the kids,” she said. “The middle school kids are changing every day … their attention spans are short and you have to chunk things up for them … so it really isn’t all that different from working with the younger kids.”
Her classroom is about more than just math. Patterson’s goal is to help students grow into better people, not just better test-takers. “I want them to leave seventh grade knowing that they are better than when they came in … better students, better peers, better adults,” she said. “I tell them every day that I want them to grow in their test scores and data, but what I really want is for them to be good people when they leave.”
She sets high expectations, but her students know they are supported. “I’m firm, but at the end of the day, they know I love them,” she said. “Some of them just need that love, care, and that hug.”
Over time, she has seen those relationships come full circle. “I think the first year that I was here, I was like, ‘They’re going to hate me,’” she said with a laugh. “But now, I have eighth graders coming up to me telling me about everything they are doing and going through.”
Patterson also embraces growth and change in education. She credits the Golden Leaf Grant at West Lee with providing access to Marzano Resources and new approaches like the Open Up Math Curriculum, highlighting how it has transformed teaching and learning at the school. “We were really skeptical that it would work, but it has been amazing to see the transformation,” she said. “Students that would never answer a question are answering and responding. They have learned that it is okay to talk to their peers and ask questions.”
A proud product of Lee County Schools herself, attending Warren Williams, Jonesboro, East Lee and Lee Senior, Patterson says coming back to teach in her hometown is especially meaningful.
“If I had to tell someone why to teach in Lee County, it would be all about the support,” she said. “It just makes a huge difference to have the support.”
From preschool classrooms to middle school math, Patterson’s story is one of perseverance, passion and purpose. Her impact is felt in every student who leaves her classroom a little more confident, capable and cared for.