Barbara Ledford describes her experiences as a teacher and administrator within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system, where she was employed in several schools including East Charlotte High School, Northeast Junior High School, and West Charlotte High School. Despite the fact that she was only there for the last five years of her 32 year career, Ms. Ledford describes her experience as the principal at West Charlotte as the "jewel in the crown" of her career. In describing what made West Charlotte an exceptional school, Ms. Ledford notes the wide diversity of the student body. She states that students of all backgrounds participated in the highest level courses and received academic honors and awards, though she acknowledges that inequities of society were reflected within the school. Ms. Ledford also expresses her appreciation for the English as a second language (ESL) program at West Charlotte, which helped diversity flourish and provided cultural enrichment at the school.