Editor’s note: This is the latest in a Tuesday series of feature stories on local educators.
Linda Williams-Boyd’s love of sports paved the way for her career as a physical education teacher.
Williams-Boyd, who is in her 40th year of teaching, said she did not decide to become a teacher until college.
“First, I wanted to be a baker or involved in cooking or sewing,” Williams-Boyd said. “I love sports, so that’s how I got involved in becoming a physical education teacher.
“My basketball and volleyball coach, she was one of the ones like, ‘You have to make a decision,’ and I was like, ‘Well, I like sports,’ and she was, ‘There you go, a physical education teacher.’ ”
Recently, Williams-Boyd was inducted into the Marion High School Hall of Fame for volleyball, basketball and track. She has also been inducted into the Indiana Wesleyan University Hall of Fame for track and field.
In October, Williams-Boyd received the Cameron/Fenner Education Award from the Anderson Madison County Black Chamber of Commerce.
Williams-Boyd likes seeing physical education students create healthy habits.
“I love teaching because I was active when I grew up,” she explains. “I was involved in basketball, volleyball and track, and I love to see kids be active and healthy and involved in sports. (For me), it’s the educational part of it and the physical part of it. I love seeing it out of kids.”
Chri’Sean Edwards, a fifth grader at Anderson Elementary, said Williams-Boyd’s class is entertaining.
“I like Mrs. Williams-Boyd,” Edwards said. “I have been coming here for three or four years, and she’s very fun and a fun person to talk to.”
Lucia Leicht, another fifth grader, said she appreciates how kind Williams-Boyd is.
“She’s a very nice teacher,” Leicht said. “I like the games she assigns for us. Even if I don’t get to be with the people I want, the games make up for it.”
Another fifth-grader, Alessandro Mendez-Ramirez, said Williams-Boyd’s class is his favorite.
“She’s really nice and she has patience with everybody,” Mendez-Ramirez explained. “She’s kind and she does a lot of good games. She gives us all chances with everything.”
Williams-Boyd said she loves to find games online “that I think (the students) might be interested in, and tie it in with the curriculum.”
For nearly 30 years, Williams-Boyd coached girls track and field at Anderson High School. She’s currently the assistant coach for boys and girls cross country.
Debra King, the assistant principal at Anderson Elementary, said Williams-Boyd is an icon at the school.
“She’s very creative in her activities that she has for her students to make them engaged,” King said. The students “love going to gym because they know it’s going to be fun.
“She’s really caring and compassionate about the kids, like when they’re sick or something like that. And she always talks to them when they’re having challenges among themselves to reach a conflict resolution. She’s more than a gym teacher. She’s more like a mom.”
More about Williams-Boyd
Career: 40 years as a physical education teacher; 17 years at Anderson Elementary
Family: Married for 30 years to Rickey Boyd; three children, Da’Sha Boyd, Rickey ‘JoMel’ Boyd and stepdaughter Alisia Jacobs
College: Bachelor's degree in physical education from Indiana Wesleyan University; master's from Ball State University
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.