Lily Moore is a teacher at Erie High School who currently instructs Beginning Digital Art and Media, Beginning Photography, and Advanced Photography. Moore has been teaching at Erie for four years. Moore has left for maternity leave two times since she started here at EHS.
Moore taught a comic book class before her first maternity leave from December 2021 to March 1, 2022. Moore has taught culturally and has a master’s degree in digital art and graphics. Her comic book class was one of her favorites because it was the closest to what she had done in her educational learning.
A senior at Erie High School, Elliott Dolan, expresses her feelings toward Moore’s comic book class. “I had her my freshman year before she went on maternity leave with her kids, in her comic book class, which was inspirational to me, especially because I want to go into the arts in college, so her helping me use new platforms and create art I’m excited about has been a huge impact so far.”
Before Moore’s second maternity leave from August 17 to November 17, 2024, she, unfortunately, no longer could have a comic book class because of the absence of educators who could fill her spot for that course. She did not let that stop her from continuing to inspire many other students in her other art classes.
“I taught for three weeks at the end of December, and that was kind of tough to feel like a substitute teacher in the middle of your actual class,” Moore answered with confidence.
Having to come in and teach her own class that she had to leave when she barely started was one of the hardest obstacles Moore had to endure when she came back from her second maternity leave. Although she was feeling out of place in her own environment and still wanting to come back to teaching, it was also difficult to leave her and her other two toddlers at home.
Moore emotionally explained, “It was hard to come back from maternity leave, but it’s hard to leave a little baby. They’re so cute at three months. And I have two toddlers so that was tough. But I was very excited to come back and get into the classroom and actually teach a full semester”.
After Moore’s most recent maternity leave was her first full semester of teaching since she joined the Erie High School educational staff. She has endeavored the struggles of having to get to know students then leaving. Although when she could come back from her leave those relationships with her students were still present due to the kind of environment she holds in her classroom for her students.
Moore teaches students in a unique way that leaves the students with new skills that are built from her class material that is unlike the rest. She delivers her lessons in a way that gets her point across, but also leaves students with questions that she is knowingly open to answer.
Elise Kohls, a EHS junior, voices, “In Mrs.Moore’s class the environment is comfortable and it’s easy to ask questions,” continuing, “I would say that Mrs. Moore is kind”.
With Moore leaving a place she is comfortable at and being able to come back adds a lot of positive thoughts to her character. She also inspires students with her way of teaching and class material, as well as other educators, so they can leave and bounce back like they never left.
