OCS Teacher Feature

“Pink! It’s a pink balloon!” 

Ms. Abrielle Kleist’s first graders are thrilled as the spinner chooses the color of balloon that will be popped. The teacher walks to the front of the classroom, where a pattern of colored balloons is pinned above the whiteboard. Ms. Kleist pokes a pink balloon with a safety pin, and a folded sticky note floats to the ground. She unfolds it, revealing a student’s name. The first graders cheer for their chosen peer with a familiarity that suggests this is a beloved routine—one that remains a mystery to the two visitors observing.  

Once the class settles, Ms. Kleist writes the student’s name on the whiteboard and circles it, then faces her eager first graders—children who will soon leave for the summer and return as ready second graders. She smiles, and they know it’s time to begin. Little hands pop into the air.  

Words. They share words of love and praise—attributes describing the student whose name is on the board. After a year of learning beyond the curriculum, they’ve learned each other. Ms. Kleist is building their character, not just reading about characters in a story.  

A generation often credited with being more enthralled by screens than by playing outside with friends is the same generation that shrieks with pure glee at the chance to honor a peer in the simplest way—with words.  

Mrs. Wells, a team member of the Onslow County Schools Community Affairs Department and my partner for the Teacher Feature blog, and I exchange a look of awe as we witness humanity show up for one another in a way that can feel rare outside the walls of a public elementary school building.  

Ms. Kleist’s room of six-year-olds has much to teach the world.  

. . .

Ms. Abrielle Kleist, a first-grade teacher at Coastal Elementary School, is in her third year of teaching, but her roots in the profession run deep. A graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, she grew up watching her mother navigate the demands of the classroom and home life with grace. "A lot of my inspiration comes from her," Ms. Kleist shares, "just seeing her, watching her as I was growing up in the classroom—seeing her handle not only school life, but home life as well, and that balance." Returning home to teach was not an instinctive move, as she wanted to establish her own reputation, but after interviewing at Coastal, she fell in love with the school and its administration. "I knew this was the right choice," she reflects. 

When asked what keeps her motivated to remain in the field, her answer is reflexive: the kids. First grade is a year of profound transformation, both academically and personally. "Watching them grow from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, they spark as they're learning new things and asking the questions that are putting those lightbulb moments in their head," she explains. She marvels at the tangible progress, from students who enter unable to write their names to those who leave writing multiple sentences. "Their joy, their inspiration—just watching those moments, it really keeps me here." 

But for Ms. Kleist, teaching is more than academics; it is fundamentally about character building. When discussing how public schools prepare students for life after graduation, she emphasizes the importance of diversity and perspective. In her classroom, students learn to navigate a world filled with different people and viewpoints. "In public schools, we have so many different people who come from different places, different perspectives—and I think that really prepares them for after high school and when they're in the real world." She also places a heavy emphasis on independence. "I really try to teach them a lot about, how can we be independent for ourselves? I hope that they carry that with them." 

This investment in the whole child is what adds immeasurable value to the teaching profession today. Ms. Kleist acknowledges the narrative of teachers leaving the field but chooses to focus on the impact of those who stay. "Teachers matter more now than ever," she asserts. "We're not only growing them academically, but watching kids grow in independence, in encouragement, in their bravery, their listening skills—and I think that's a big impact that we also need to give ourselves a pat on the back for." She believes teachers should take pride not only in academic growth but in the quieter, harder-to-measure work of shaping who a child is becoming.

"We're building our future generation that are going to be out there. Future leaders." 

Her legacy has already found its way into the memories of her students. Reflecting on her first year of teaching, she recalls a recent Teacher Appreciation Week when her former first graders—now in third grade—returned to leave sticky notes on her desk. "Seeing their writing and their words, and just the personality they still had in first grade, but now they're in third grade and can express themselves a little bit more—it was just like, this is why. This is why you were here. This is why you do it." She kept every note. 

"It brings me that joy to see that my impact is not leaving once they leave the classroom door. It's still carrying on." 

When asked how she hopes to be remembered, she envisions a legacy of warmth and approachability. "I want to be remembered as a passionate, caring teacher, somebody that the students always felt comfortable going to and being able to talk to," she says. Her students, she guesses, would describe her as "nice, kind, and caring." However, a surprise anecdote during the interview revealed another word entirely: patient. A family member of one of her students shared how Ms. Kleist's patience has helped the child find academic confidence and a voice she did not know she had. 

None of this, she notes, happens in isolation. She credits the strong involvement of parents and the community in helping craft a supportive classroom environment. "Everything starts at home," she says, pointing to the generosity of parents who donate supplies for theme days and classroom activities. "It definitely takes a village. It's not just on one teacher, one administration—it definitely takes a community to have a well-cared-for classroom." 

. . .

Simon Sinek, an author and motivational speaker, urges his audience to start with their "why" when charting future endeavors. In education, it is a question routinely asked of teachers to clearly define their purpose—one that can often feel clichéd but, if we are honest, is the most grounding way to articulate how our past inspirations continue to provide momentum for our day-to-day commitment in the classroom. For this blog series, the why is more than just lifting up the talented educators leading classrooms in Onslow County Schools each day; it’s a reminder to our community that the profession is an act of love and belief in humanity. In spaces of chronic individualism, public school classrooms are replacing it with belonging and connection. In times when life feels reduced to noise and distraction, classrooms are fostering climates of contagious hope and generosity. And when the horizon feels uncertain, classrooms are generating joy and personal growth that always finds its way forward, carried in the hands of those who were once just giddy first-grade students excited tochampion their friend.  

When we reflect on the good worth celebrating in North Carolina's public schools, there is plenty to mention. And when we consider why that celebration matters, it begins in a classroom much like Ms. Kleist's—where a teacher and their students turn the impossible into the possible, one small wonder, or kind word, at a time.