Abigail and Daniel Oddo
Abigail Oddo is excited about beginning her teaching career at A.C. Flora High School, the same school her father got his start as an educator in 1997 as a summer school teacher.
For Abigail, a fourth-generation educator, it’s a full circle moment for her and her family.
“It’s really exciting. I’ve grown up knowing that Richland One was a very good district,” said Abigail, who will teach history at A.C. Flora.
Her father, Daniel Oddo, is the coordinator of performance evaluation services in Richland One’s Office of Human Resource Services. After his stint at A.C. Flora, Daniel worked in other school districts before returning to Richland One in 2007. He was a math teacher at Dreher High School and an assistant principal at Lower Richland High School before moving to his current position in 2018. He is also a former Richland One Teacher of the Year.
“Richland One has been good to me as an employee, and it’s also been very rewarding working with students,” Daniel said.
Abigail saw the impact Richland One had on her father when she was in middle school. She shadowed Daniel, who was teaching at Dreher at the time, for a job shadowing day.
“That moment stood out for me as a seventh grader,” she said.
Abigail says she wanted to be a history teacher because of the impact one of her high school history teachers made on her. As an educator, Daniel understood how important that relationship between his daughter and her teacher was.
“As I watched that relationship play out in her life, it was affirming to me knowing that I had done that with so many other students. It’s been extremely rewarding watching that work in Abigail’s life,” he said.
Abigail says A.C. Flora and Richland One have greatly supported her as she transitions into her first year of teaching, especially during the district’s New to One event for first-year teachers and for experienced teachers who are new to Richland One.
“New to One was very informative. I received a lot of useful information, and it was nice being able to connect with people who were in similar positions as me,” Abigail said.
She says she’s looking forward to meeting her students and building relationships with them during the year.
Daniel says he’s excited to see Abigail become an educator in Richland One like he was.
“Richland One does a very good job of taking care of our first-year teachers. I know Abigail will have a lot of support around her at A.C. Flora. It’s one of the first things she recognized and why she was excited about the school,” he said. “That support will allow Abigail to do what she is equipped to do, and that is work with students.”
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