At Friday's last-day-of-school awards assembly, Justin and Joelle LeBlanc surprised high school history/civics/social studies teacher Leslie Cole with the second Muzel Bryant Teacher Appreciation Award for her outstanding dedication and commitment to the Ocracoke School community.

Leslie teaches high school, and also co-organizes Homecoming and Prom, works with the yearbook student staff, helps to plan the high school trips to Washington, DC and the school camping trips, coordinates the graduation ceremony, and serves as the assistant principal. She's also smart and funny and the kids like her in spite of, or maybe especially, because she makes them work. She is always enthusiastic about all her students' endeavors – if it's educational, musical, athletic, artistic, etc., Ms. Leslie will cheer you on!

Leslie has taught at Ocracoke School for 20 years – she started fresh out of college at the rip old age of 22. A few years ago she earned her master's degree in administration, and will likely be our principal one day. Her husband, Bill, is a manager at Howard's Pub and their son, Nicholas, is a rising 3rd grader.

In her acceptance speech, Leslie said she was honored and grateful – and gave all the credit to her colleagues. "We have a wonderful staff here," she said. "We all work hard and go above and beyond. I work with amazing people. There are so many deserving teachers."

"It's hard to single out one candidate from all the great teachers at Ocracoke School," Justin said. "But Leslie was an easy pick this year because of her level of involvement as assistant principal and because of extracurricular activities such as prom that aren't a part of her job description, but she does them."

Joelle and Justin LeBlanc created the Muzel Bryant Award last year; art teacher Kitty Mitchell was its first recipient.

Joelle was an elementary school teacher for over twenty years before she and Justin moved to Ocracoke and bought Ocracoke Coffee Company. During her career, Joelle received a similar award for "going the extra mile in teaching," which included a monetary gift that she could spend however she chose.

"It was an amazing treat," she said. "And getting some extra money can make a difference in somebody's life."

She and Justin named the award in honor of the late Muzel Bryant, a lifelong resident of Ocracoke. Through knowing Muzel, they came to understand "how caring this community is on our little sandbar," said Justin at the school awards assembly.

"We wanted to give back to the community," Joelle said. Many of their friends and family members also contributed toward the award.  

Leslie doesn't have any grand plans for her prize money. "I'm a saver," she said. "I might do some little house upgrades."

The gift made Leslie feel appreciated. "It's so generous of Justin and Joelle," she said. "It's cool that Joelle taught for twenty years, and I've taught for twenty years. If you teach, you never forget it. You don't do it for the money, but it's pretty nice to be recognized."