One of Andalusia Elementary School’s new special education teachers, Sara Beth Leverette, said that no matter what, her students can always make her day better.

“It doesn’t matter if I slept terribly or if I’m having a bad day,” Leverette said. “The second I see their smiles, they can completely turn any day great.”

Leverette said that she was reared all over the Southeast, but she calls Troy, Ala., home because her parents still live there.

She graduated from Auburn High School and then earned her bachelor’s degree in collaborative education from Troy University.

Leverette knew that she wanted to become a teacher at a very young age.

“I use to play school with my older sister every summer,” Leverette said. “My mom would find old textbooks for us to use and we would have a class roster and everything.”

Leverette first thought that she wanted to work with special needs children through physical therapy, but soon turned to teaching.

“I always thought that I wanted to reach children through physical therapy,” Leverette said. “But God placed it on my heart to become a teacher.”

Leverette said that she is looking forward to forming relationships with her students that go beyond that of just a teacher.

“There is more to my job than just being a teacher,” Leverette said. “I look forward to developing stronger relationships with my students. If they play sports I want to go watch them play, I want to support them in everything they do. I want to show them that I care about them and that I am here beyond these four walls.”

Leverette said that she is not used to having big classrooms, after teaching in self-contained classrooms in Ft. Benning and Montgomery.

“That is probably going to be my biggest challenge,” Leverette said. “I am used to having maybe four students and now I have 20. Now I will have to be more organized for sure.”

Although she is a special education teacher, Leverette said that there is not a lot of difference between teaching special education and being a regular teacher.

“Our jobs aren’t that different,” Leverette said. “We just focus a little more on intervention, and providing those basic foundational skills to try and continue to grow in their education.”

Outside of the classroom, Leverette is an avid fan of the Troy Trojan football team and loves to hang out with her family and her two dogs.