A 21-year teaching veteran, Leslie Wood has made the fourth stop of her career at Brownwood ISD, where she just completed her sixth year as kindergartner teacher at Northwest Elementary.

Wood has taught kindergartner, pre-kindergarten and first grade for the bulk of her career.

“I enjoy early childhood because it gives me the opportunity to support the students in all areas of development,” Wood said. “I want my students to enjoy coming to school and build their confidence. This is also gives me an opportunity to work closely with parents or guardians and how they can support their child at home.”

Times have changed dramatically in the classroom since Wood was a student, but she reflected on her first-grade year as the time she was initially bitten by the teaching bug.

“Looking back, my first-grade teacher had an influence on me and how she worked with me as a student,” Wood said. “That was a long time ago and teaching has changed so much from my days in first grade. Lessons are not taught the same, it’s completely different.”

What hasn’t changed, according to Wood, is the importance of relationships.

“For me teaching is about building relationships with my families and getting to share their students’ success with them, getting to celebrate that with my families,” Wood said. “I’m very passionate about working with my families. I work very hard at building a relationship with my parents and partnering with them to help their child be successful.”

Regarding the most satisfying aspect of her job, Wood said, “My goal with the little ones, because I’ve taught pre-k through first, is to feel safe and have fun while they’re learning and build their confidence. When you see a child who has worked so hard on an objective, and at the end of the week they show me what they know, they know they’ve learned what was expected and achieved a goal. To see them smile and get excited, and getting to share that with family, that’s the ultimate.”

As for what excites her most about continuing to teach in the future, Wood said, “Seeing the progress and seeing the students grow. Teaching pre-k, kindergarten and first grade, they’re learning so much at one time and seeing their excitement.”

A native of Kaufman, Wood graduated college from UT-Tyler and completed her Masters in Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction in 2022.

She and her husband, Dr. Larry Wood – an ophthalmologist in Brownwood – raised their two children in Denison, and now have three grandchildren.