Teaching’s a family business for three at Westview | News

The story begins within the fall of 2019 when Sally Watts — no relation to the principal — interviewed for a secretary job at Westview. She had a ardour for the enterprise world and had labored in HR, advertising and marketing, administration, even insurance coverage. She was in Erin’s prime three however wasn’t supplied the job.

Sally and her brother Joey Leo grew up in Greenwood with educators as mother and father. Her mom, Jaye Leo, had retired from Greenwood County Faculty District 50 after a 33-year instructing profession. Her father, Conrad Leo, spent greater than 20 years as a band director and spent a few years at Abbeville Excessive Faculty.

Neither Sally nor Joey had any intention of being second-generation lecturers.

“I swore from a really early age that I’d by no means train,” Sally wrote. “Like, by no means. Dwelling with educators confirmed me some superb and really ugly sides of schooling and I wished no a part of it.”

After not being supplied the job at Westview, Sally’s prospects turned westward, away from the varsity and towards Calhoun Falls Constitution Faculty.

Sally’s husband Chris Watts was supplied a job at Calhoun Falls Constitution Faculty and went, instructing center faculty science and training soccer.

Then the notorious 2020 occurred. Sally misplaced her job.

“Chris got here to me someday and he was like ‘The enterprise pc instructor at Calhoun Falls is leaving,’” Sally mentioned. These jobs are laborious to return by, she added, lecturers get in these positions and don’t depart them.

“I’m not instructing, I’m not doing it,” she remembers telling Chris. He instructed her to consider it and she or he did, ultimately placing her identify within the hat. After a digital interview, she was employed and commenced instructing in fall of 2020.

“I simply bear in mind driving residence from Calhoun Falls the primary day of faculty and I cried the entire means residence,” she mentioned.

“I actually acquired in my automobile in Calhoun Falls and all 45 minutes I cried as a result of I used to be so indignant at myself for operating from one thing I used to be so clearly meant to do.” She was meant to be a instructor.

She cried and instructed God she was sorry. “I simply imagined God sitting up there like ‘We may have carried out this ten years in the past,’” she mentioned.

She and Chris loved their time at Calhoun Fall, they usually had no need to depart, however they every had a 45-minute commute a method and it was taxing.

Searching for different openings, she seen a center/highschool enterprise pc instructing place on-line. “Which is loopy as a result of they’re so laborious to return by,” she wrote.

A place had opened at Westview, and was then purported to be a place shared by Westview and Emerald Excessive.

Erin, Westview’s principal, noticed Sally’s identify and remembered her from their earlier interview. “So she interviewed for the job and she or he was my frontrunner for that job,” Erin mentioned. It labored out the place the 2 faculties now not wanted to share the place and Sally was employed to work at Westview.

After seeing a posting for a center faculty science instructor on-line, Sally requested the principal what faculty the opening was for.

“I mentioned ‘Really it’s for Westview,’” Erin remembered.

“And I mentioned jokingly ‘Have you learnt a man?’ as a result of I knew that her husband taught science in Calhoun Falls and she or he mentioned ‘Properly as a matter of truth, I do know a man.’”

Chris mentioned his favourite tales of being a instructor are taking “a child who wouldn’t, and it turns into a child who will.” He talked about a scholar who claimed they don’t care about grades, however then requested to see their grade and grumbled about it dropping just a few factors. One other scholar this yr was scared to even stroll into his class when she first joined it. Now she’s speaking and laughing with different college students at school.

Chris and Erin had crossed paths earlier than at Ninety Six Excessive Faculty and she or he knew he was outgoing and charismatic, and knew she wished to interview him for the science instructor opening.

“I interview him, I do know proper then that I’m going to rent him,” Erin mentioned. “Even whereas we had been out right here within the commons space, he’s speaking to children, he’s clicking with children, he sees a child that truly went to Calhoun Falls and has now transferred to Westview and he’s out right here recruiting folks for basketball and he doesn’t even know these children,” she mentioned.

She requested him: Did he know anybody licensed to show sixth grade?

“Properly I do know a man,” he mentioned. That man was Joey Leo, Sally’s brother.

“I fought entering into instructing so much,” Joey mentioned. He attended Erskine School and later Lander College.

He didn’t know what he wished to do however knew instructing was an choice. He remembers a medical at Rice Elementary — then Oakland — the place he was serving to a lady with fractions.

“I bear in mind her being tremendous confused initially of it, then I bear in mind the lightbulb and having the ability to see it in her face,” he mentioned. He remembers seeing that lightbulb change on, the second she understood.

“That was my second,” he mentioned. “That was my second the place I went ‘OK, alright advantageous, I’ll do it.’”

After school, he labored at a Chick-fil-A for just a few years, however wished to show. He had caught the bug. He spent years instructing and training in Lexington County faculty districts, most lately in Gilbert. He wasn’t actively wanting to depart however was prepared to for the appropriate place, which ended up being at Westview.

“I knew strolling within the door, my admin was going to be jam up and that was not going to be a priority for me and that makes strolling within the door itself so much simpler,” he mentioned.

On July 22, all three — Sally, Chris and Joey — started instructing in District 50 at Westview, the varsity the place Jaye, Sally and Joey’s mother, retired from.

“I’m actually proud they’re right here. I believe it’s a giant transition for all three of them however for it to all fall into place the way in which it fell into place, simply life basically … so many issues have simply fallen into place for them to all be right here,” Jaye mentioned.

Being in a classroom stuffed with scholar is the place Sally was meant to be, she mentioned. The profession she had run from became the profession that made her entire.

She mentioned her oldest son desires to be a instructor.

“So I really feel sure we’ll have a 3rd era,” Sally mentioned.