By: DUSTIN WENZEL, Katy Sun Staff
09/27/2006

Teachers build a legacy lesson by lesson, and so it was at this month’s Katy Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

The chamber honored 47 Katy ISD teachers of the year at a sold-out Merrell Center on Sept. 21 after its members got an inspiring lesson from a teacher outside the district.
Leslie Milder and her husband founded the nonprofit Friends of Texas Public Schools on her belief the media was unfairly portraying teachers and the educational system as a failure.
“I was sick and tired of being picked on,” Milder said. “I would teach all day and I’d come home exhausted and pull out that big stack of papers to grade for the day and I’d turn on the evening news and there it was - public schools failing, kids are graduating that can’t read.
“The negative news and the perception of teaching is affecting our ability to attract and retain quality educators.”

Milder fought back, noting Texas is ranked first, second and third in the nation in fourth and eighth grade test scores by the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
But her message didn’t just come from stats.

The highlight of her address was a story about a turquoise glass serving dish given to her by Laura, one of her students in her first year of teaching who was “twice my size and very opinionated.”

Milder said Laura lived with her grandfather because her mother was in prison for doing heroin. She didn’t know who her father was and she was forced to steal to provide for herself and her younger sister.

“I started to think, ‘How does she come here every day and focus on what I have to teach her when she has this going on in her life?’”

At times standoffish, Laura dropped by to see Milder before and after school and even in the semester in which Laura did not take Milder’s class.

One Christmas, Laura gave Milder a gift - one Milder said she’ll never forget. …more...