French instructor at North wins No Bell Award

NASHUA – After her first two years working as a teacher in her hometown in upstate New York, Leslie Anton decided to leave education.

It’s not uncommon for young teachers to leave the field in the first few years, and in her case, Anton said she just wasn’t ready.

“When I started teaching, I didn’t have a good grasp on who I was,” she said.

She left teaching and started a career in marketing, but after 15 years working in the private sector and raising two children, she started to get the itch to return to the classroom.

Anton said she didn’t enjoy her work, which she described as “making money for other people.”

That was when her husband encouraged her to go back to teaching.

“I’ve loved it from day one,” said Anton, who is in her fifth year teaching French at Nashua High School North.

Apparently, the students enjoy having Anton for a teacher as much as she likes teaching.

At a staff meeting last week, Anton was informed, to her surprise, that she was the recipient of this year’s No Bell Award. The senior members of the school’s National Honor Society choose the award winner, nominating teachers in the school and voting on whom they think is the most deserving.

The award comes with a $6,000 tax-free check.

Anton is the 14th recipient of the award, which was first handed out in 1996 to math teacher Elaine Edwards. The funding for the award comes from an anonymous Nashua couple.

When the high schools split in 2004, the award began alternating between the two schools. The last teacher to win at North was science teacher Diane Savage, who is also the only teacher to win it twice.

Anton was overcome with emotion when her name was announced. Principal David Ryan handed her the award: a bell with no clapper, which is meant to symbolize the lack of recognition teachers receive.

“I’m floored,” Anton said.

Her colleagues applauded as she accepted it.

“You work hard. It’s well-deserved,” Peggy Reynolds, a former assistant principal and the director of the Smaller Learning Communities project at the high schools, told Anton.

There were several reasons Anton said she left teaching, but she said her path was meant to take her through the business world and then back to the classroom.

She learned lessons working in marketing that have helped to make her a better teacher, she said.

Of the teachers who have won the award since its inceptions, Anton is the first to teach a subject outside the four primary subjects of math, science, social studies and English.

That is why Anton said that when Ryan announced he was handing out the award, she didn’t think she had much of a chance.

“As a French teacher, I didn’t think I would reach that many kids,” she said. “But I guess I did.”

Anton said she loved her French teacher when she was in school and they still stay in touch. Anton said she just got back from a two-week trip to France with 11 students.

The students lived with families and attended school, she said. But Anton said she was able to bring those experiences back to the classroom for the students who weren’t able to go.

“I think I just know how to connect with them,” she said. “I try not to just teach the grammar aspect of it, but really bring it to life.”

Anton was quick to say that she doesn’t believe she is doing anything differently than the other teachers in the school, a group that she praised heavily.

Brenda Silvi, head of the foreign language department at North, said Anton is one of the standout teachers in the school. Anton enhances the language and culture through her travels, he said.

“I think she is one of our biggest assets,” she said. “She just has a wonderful way of reaching out to kids.”

Silvi said Anton has also been a mentor for new teachers who have come into the department.

Anton said she didn’t know what she was going to do with the money yet. She is working on her master’s degree, but she also said she might want to help out students who can’t afford to go on trips in the future.

Asked if there was one thing she would want to improve in the district, Anton said she would want to see foreign language instruction start as early as kindergarten.

Anton said it’s easier for younger students to learn a second language. One of the things she struggles with in class is that teenagers are often afraid of getting the words or pronunciation wrong in front of their peers.

“They have to get over that nervousness,” she said.

Michael Brindley can be reached at 594-6426 or mbrindley@nashuatelegraph.com.

“I think I just know how to connect with them,” she said. “I try not to just teach the grammar aspect of it, but really bring it to life.”

Anton was quick to say that she doesn’t believe she is doing anything differently than the other teachers in the school, a group that she praised heavily.

Brenda Silvi, head of the foreign language department at North, said Anton is one of the standout teachers in the school. Anton enhances the language and culture through her travels, he said.

“I think she is one of our biggest assets,” she said. “She just has a wonderful way of reaching out to kids.”

Silvi said Anton has also been a mentor for new teachers who have come into the department.

Anton said she didn’t know what she was going to do with the money yet. She is working on her master’s degree, but she also said she might want to help out students who can’t afford to go on trips in the future.

Asked if there was one thing she would want to improve in the district, Anton said she would want to see foreign language instruction start as early as kindergarten.

Anton said it’s easier for younger students to learn a second language. One of the things she struggles with in class is that teenagers are often afraid of getting the words or pronunciation wrong in front of their peers.

“They have to get over that nervousness,” she said.