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As an English as a Second Language teacher at Watertown High School, now called English Language Learners, Leeder can honestly say that for the past 36 years, she has looked forward to her job every day. Her dedication to the job has not gone unnoticed. This year, Leeder has been chosen as the “Secondary English Language Learners Teacher of the Year,” an honor bestowed by the Massachusetts Association of Bilingual Education and the Massachusetts Association for Teachers of Speakers of other Languages. |
When Leeder first took on the job in 1971, she also worked with foreign students at the middle school, and saw a high concentration of Italians and Greeks from the West End of town, and an influx of Armenians who escaped from the war in Lebanon. “Every time there was a war, we have seen it here in Watertown,” she said. “It definitely reflects what’s going on in the world.” Leeder’s lessons have gone beyond the textbook and homework assignments. She helps her students with college applications, goes with them to visit schools, prepares them for MCAS, and even assists them in personal or medical needs such as eye care or hearing aids. For Leeder, it’s hard not to get more socially involved than her charge requires. And compassion in the classroom runs in the family for Leeder as well. Her 83-year-old mother has volunteered her time to teach the “newcomers” in a classroom next door for 20 years now.
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