Jackson Free Press

A former student recently stopped by Principal Leslie Coleman's office at Casey Elementary School. He had just one thing he wanted to say: "Thank you."

The student had seen Coleman on the news for the ground breaking of the school's new art complex, and wanted to thank her for being a teacher who had motivated him and made learning fun.

For Coleman, 46, that kind of reunion is thrilling.

"Hearing that and seeing who he had become was the biggest payoff you can ever want," says Coleman, who has worked at Casey Elementary since 2006.

Under her leadership, Casey has garnered a number of awards and designations, including a School of Excellence Award from the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education, a Level 5 "Superior Performing" School designation in Mississippi, as well as a Model Whole School designation by the Mississippi Arts Commission.

While her path to education was a bit circuitous, Coleman says she never doubted that she would someday become a teacher. "Teaching is what I always wanted to do," Coleman says, who majored in business at Ole Miss.

Although she knew she wanted to teach, her parents, wanted to be sure she could support herself with a business degree and they were helping her pay for college.

After college she joined the military as a captain, taking care of supplies and logistics at forts in North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. During her time at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Coleman stared teaching elementary and middle school students, before moving back to Mississippi with her husband, Pat.

Coleman also earned a master's degree in school administration from Mississippi College.

In Mississippi, she taught U.S. history, government, geography and world history at Madison Central for six years, during which she earned National Board Certification in secondary social studies. Because of her success in the process, a colleague from Mississippi State University recommended Coleman to create and direct the World Class Teaching Program at Jackson State University in 1999, where she mentored other teachers applying for National Board Certification.

A few years later, however, Coleman missed being around students and received an opportunity to work for JPS. After serving as assistant principal at two Jackson elementary schools, Coleman became principal at Casey.

Coleman, who lives in Madison with her family, says that building strong relationships with parents and staff is the key component to having a successful school, rather than being focusing solely on instruction and standards.

Supportive parents are important for success," she says.

"That's also key--Having parents who believe in what it is that we do and place a huge value on getting their children the best education they can and making sacrifices to make that happen," she says.