The Staff Member of the Month award for March was given to Sherry Esch, a literary arts teacher of 16 years and a FCHS staff member of 14 years.

Esch came from Suffolk County which is southeast of Williamsburg, and went to high school at Suffolk High School. She later went on to attend Longwood and then UVA for a MA in English Curriculum. “I became a teacher because I wanted to be a mom and I could do those things at the same time. I suppose I accidentally fell in love [with teaching],” she said.

Before teaching came to the foreground, Esch spent time in the food service industry thanks to its stable pay. “I had spent four years at Longwood doing dining services. Teaching was always up there, but it eventually jumped to the front,” she said. Now, after nearly two decades of teaching, Esch continues to teach because of how dynamic it can be. No student that walks in is the same and no two years are the same, she said.

Esch says her kids, who are ages 12, 10, and 6, are a top priority in her life, so she spends almost all of her free time taking them to and cheering on their activities. When asked what had the biggest influence in her decision to become a teacher, she responded with “My kids definitely moved me in this direction.”