Greetings, Pleasant Hill families!
My name is Patricia Leong-Ford. I prefer to go by, “Ms. Patty,” at school. I enjoy the outdoors, long-distance running, cycling, traveling, fine arts, music, cooking, card games, reading and yoga.
I grew up in the Finger Lakes area of western New York. I spent most of my youth attending outdoor summer camps and I eventually became a camp counselor. This is how I first realized my passion for working with children, providing them with the support they need, and creating safe spaces to learn and grow. I later became a part-time substitute teacher in my hometown of New York.
I graduated from SUNY Cortland with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a concentration in French language and culture in 2007. During my time as an undergraduate I studied abroad in London, England for a semester and then in Nice, France. These experiences inspired me to see even more of the world after college, so I decided to take a job teaching English in Seoul, South Korea in 2009.
Teaching in Korea reminded me of how much I enjoyed working with children in New York. I was eager to learn more about childhood development, student engagement, literacy development, creative instructional strategies, and curriculum design. Therefore, I decided to pursue a serious career in teaching. At two different private elementary schools, I gained experience with small group intervention outside the homeroom. I also gained experience teaching in the homeroom, working with students with special needs and multi-language learners. I also gained experience working in education administration and leadership.
In 2017, I received a master’s degree from Framingham State University in Massachusetts for international education. The program had American professors fly to Seoul to instruct weeks of intensive courses to our cohort of nineteen educators, in person, and after school hours. It is my hope to return to school once again to continue my learning.
Between 2019 and 2022, I completed my student teaching and exams for a license in K-6 education from the University of West Florida online, which was transferred to Iowa. After thirteen years of living and working in Seoul, South Korea, my husband, and I thought it was time to move back to the United States. My husband is Mr. Ford, who teaches fourth grade at Pleasant Hill! He grew up in the Des Moines area and it was his love for this city that drew us back. We are very happy to be here and love working at Pleasant Hill Elementary School.
I graduated from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa with a BA in Elementary Education and endorsements in reading and special education. I taught third grade for four years in Manning, Iowa, and five years of fourth grade at Northwest Elementary in Ankeny, Iowa, before becoming a stay-at-home mom and Children’s Ministry Director at NewLife Church in the summer of 2008. I came back to teaching again in the fall of 2013 as the part-time interventionist here at Pleasant Hill Elementary. I returned to the classroom full-time as a third grade teacher in the fall of 2015. I’m looking forward to my tenth year teaching third grade at Pleasant Hill Elementary. Each year brings its own set of challenges, but I love learning new things to help all kids be successful!
My husband, Scott, and I live in Altoona with our kids, John and Emma. John is a student at DMACC, and Emma is in 11th grade at Southeast Polk. I enjoy reading, playing games, doing puzzles, serving at church, and watching Emma participate in show choir.