There are many varieties of English classes that can be taught and studied here at Tuscarora, along with a variety of teachers to teach those classes. Mrs. Leto is one of these teachers who has become an integral part of the English Department at Tuscarora over the last several years.
Mrs. Leto was born in 1993 in Alexandria, Va., and before she began teaching, she worked in special collections libraries. She acquired her undergraduate and bachelor’s degrees in English and history of art from the University of York, England. On top of this, she also earned her master’s in teaching from Mount St. Mary’s University. Teaching here at Tuscarora was her first teaching experience, and since starting, she has been teaching here for three years. She teaches a variety of classes, which this year include English 10, English 10 Honors and AP English Language and Composition. She has a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Poppy as a pet at home. When asked if she had any favorite snacks, she said it would have to be popcorn, and she would love to go downtown to the Popcorn House and try all of their 35 flavors of popcorn.
Her favorite part of being able to teach at Tuscarora is getting to be creative in how she teaches and also watching the creativity of her students. She also likes that she has gotten to meet and work with many other great teachers in the English department who teach in her hallway.
As a former student of Mrs. Leto’s, I can say that my friends and I not only found the class informative but also enjoyable. When I took her class, she was always willing to help. Even after students finish her class, she is still welcoming to them. Mrs. Leto does an excellent job of trying to make her classes about more than just the work. She does this in a few ways, with the most notable being handing out tickets to students who work and behave well, which they can exchange at the end of class for candy. In summation, thanks to her creative teaching style, background and classroom experience, she is able to teach an extremely good class. Even despite it being a subject that not all students like, many walk away from her class with a newfound appreciation for the courses she teaches and the teacher herself.
