Rigdon Road Teacher Awarded Golden Apple

    La Tonya Leonard teaches second grade.  She taught in Miami, Florida for five years before coming to Columbus three years ago.  La Tonya admits teaching runs in her family.  Her grandmother was an educator.  Her mother taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School.  Mrs. Leonard says sometimes children think a little bit differently than adults.  “Sometimes it doesn’t always appear they’re going in the right direction.  You just have to give them an extra moment and they’ll explain it and you can find out exactly where they’re going with their answers.“  You don’t have to observe La Tonya long in the classroom to grasp just how much she cares for her students.  “That is one of the things that I do.  I try to be compassionate and show them that love,“ says Leonard.  If there’s one theme she always drives home to her kids, it’s don’t ever stop trying.  She explains, “Can’t never could until he tried.  That’s what I always tell them.  I want them to try.  Don’t give up.  Don’t quit.“  That mentality served her well in the job she had prior to coming to the classroom.  She spent six years on active duty in the Navy, got out, then got recalled after September 11th.  La Tonya was an ocean systems tech analyst, spending much of her time tracking submarines.