RICHLAND ONE STAFF SPOTLIGHT: A.J. Lewis Greenview Elementary Fourth-Grade Teacher Michelle Floyd Enjoys Seeing Her Students Grow as Individuals

In the hallway outside Michelle Floyd’s classroom at A.J. Lewis Greenview Elementary School are large pictures of each of her 22 students. Behind each student’s name is a logo for what Floyd calls her class “Floyd Fourth University,” making her students feel a bit like college students.

“The big wall of pictures shows the students how far they’ve come from the beginning of the year all the way to the end. It’s also a sweet reminder to see how they’re growing and changing for the better,” she said.

Floyd sees her students not just as students but as whole persons. She says she teaches her students life lessons like how to collaborate with others, and she hopes to instill integrity in them. These lessons are especially important as Floyd’s fourth-grade students get closer to middle school.

“We kind of shelter the students a lot more in elementary school. In middle school, you have to figure out who you are and how to solve problems on your own because you won’t have a teacher there to hold your hand every step of the way,” she said.

Floyd grew up in a family of educators in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Floyd’s dad was a math teacher and a football coach, and her grandmother ran her own daycare. She attended Allen University on a basketball scholarship. After graduating from Allen in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in business, Floyd decided to get her master’s degree in education from the University of South Carolina. She recalls a moment while she was working on her master’s degree that she says pushed her to work harder to become a teacher.

“One of my professors told me ‘You won’t be a great a teacher.’ I used that as motivation, and I did great at USC,” said Floyd.

When she started at Greenview in 2018, Floyd says it was important for her to get to the hearts of the students and know them as people, not just students.

“When you see people for who they are, they tend to gravitate to you and connect with you. In that connection, you build so many meaningful relationships, which makes teaching come easy,” said Floyd. 

She initially started at Greenview as a fifth-grade teacher but moved to fourth grade two years later. This school year, Floyd is teaching fourth grade, but she will follow her current students when they go to fifth grade next year. This will be the second time in Floyd’s teaching career that she will be looping up with her students from fourth to fifth grade.

“I’m so happy to be looping with this group of students. They’re creative. They’re selfless. They’re advocates for themselves and their peers. Seeing how much they’ve grown into their own person and respecting everyone else for growing at their own pace is just a beautiful thing,” said Floyd.

She says looping her students up has benefitted her students and their parents.

“It’s a smooth transition for parents to know who their child’s teacher is. They already have a form of communication, and a relationship built already. There’s no first day jitters. We can get in and pick up where we left off,” said Floyd.

Floyd works with organizations and businesses in the community, such as Bible Way Church of Atlas Road and Greenview Park, to help with activities for her students. For example, when Floyd taught fifth grade last year, the choir director at Bible Way helped her students compose a song.

“Working with community partners helps you understand what the community is about and what’s important to the members of your community. If you figure out what’s important to the members of your community, you’re able to help your students as well because your students are part of that community,” said Floyd. 

She says Greenview is home to her and the staff and students are family.

“I have great mentor teachers, great administrators and great teammates. Greenview has cultivated me into the teacher that I am today,” said Floyd. 

May 5-9, 2025 is National Teacher Appreciation Week. For information about teaching opportunities in Richland One and to apply, click here.