Celebrating Years of Service: Leasa Lepine’s 35 Years of Helping Students Feel Seen and Heard

or 35 years, Leasa Lepine has supported students across the Abbotsford School District as a teacher, beginning her career at the secondary level before making the move to elementary education. Throughout her career, Leasa has remained focused on helping others, building strong relationships with students and creating a classroom where every child feels seen and heard. 

We sat down with Leasa to reflect on her career, the memories she will carry with her and the lessons she has learned along the way. 

What have you loved most about teaching? 

I love helping people, and it doesn’t matter the age of the person. That’s what attracted me to teaching. 

I also love sports, so when I started at the high school level, I was able to combine that with teaching. I have a physical education degree, so I was able to coach and teach PE, which I really enjoyed. 

Basically, it comes down to helping people. I love mentoring, so I feel like I’m doing that in teaching. I feel like it’s a calling for me. 

How has your career evolved over the years? 

I started at the high school level and then had the opportunity to move into elementary, which really helped me grow because I had a lot to learn when I switched. 

When I had my children, I went part-time. I initially thought about moving to middle school because I liked that age group, but then some opportunities came up in elementary. I took the plunge and tried my hand at it, and I haven’t left. 

At the elementary level, I’ve taught Grade 2, Grade 2/3 and one year of Grade 5. The district has also offered a lot of professional development opportunities over the years, which gave me opportunities to keep growing as a teacher. 

What are some of your favourite memories from your career? 

It’s really hard to pinpoint just one. 

One of my favourite things has been the colleagues I work with and the laughter we’ve shared. There have been so many times when we’ve sat together at lunch or after school and just chatted about our days or life. We laugh, we vent and I really cherish those times. 

I’ll also remember the children and seeing them improve, no matter where they started. I love having a mixture of personalities in my classroom, from the quirky personalities to the quiet, gentle kids. I really love that mixture. 

What advice would you give someone who is new to teaching? 

Classroom management is probably one of the hardest things to learn. Sometimes new teachers spend a lot of time trying to make the perfect lesson. Although it’s good to have a really good lesson, learning how to handle the class, getting to know your students and developing relationships with them will really help with classroom management. 

You really have to build relationships with the kids. 

I would say it’s important to be strict, yet loving and kind. You can have guidelines and expectations while still making sure students know that you care about them. 

One thing I’ve done for several years is a morning meeting. Every morning, we talk about something different. It could be fears or worries, something that makes them happy or simply what they did on the weekend. Every child gets an opportunity to talk. 

That’s one way they know they’re seen and heard, and I get to know them better. 

What do you hope your legacy will be? 

I hope that when people look back at my career, they say that I was a hard worker, but that I was also fun. I do think I work very hard, and I try to make things fun, both with my colleagues and my students. 

I want to be approachable. I hope people remember that I worked really hard, but that you could always come and talk to me and that I was always fun. 

Want the opportunity to work alongside great colleagues like Leasa? Apply today.