Cheers! East Central Teacher also Performs as Saintsation

Michael Dumas
Press-Register

It’s been a banner year for Chastity McLemore, and also a year of firsts.

The 24-year-old from Picayune completed graduate school at the University of Southern Mississippi, and was subsequently hired to teach cheerleading, physical education and health at East Central Middle School — the first step in her career as an educator.

And speaking of cheering, McLemore spends her Sunday afternoons cheering alongside the world champion New Orleans Saints as a member of its Saintsations — her first job as a professional cheerleader.

“I’ve always wanted to be a part of the Saintsations since I was growing up,” said McLemore, who has a pedigree in the realms of dancing and cheering.

Not only is her mother an all-star cheerleading coach back home, Chastity’s dance coach and one of her high school coaches also were Saintsations. And to take the job at East Central, McLemore gave up her position as William Carey University’s cheerleading coach to her sister-in-law.

Juggling two burgeoning careers in different states might burn out some, but six months into her list of “firsts,” McLemore is taking it all in stride, choosing to see providence at every turn.

“(Being a Saintsation) is truly a blessing, and having a job at East Central is a blessing,” McLemore said. “There are lots of teachers who don’t have a job right now.”
Saintsation 3.jpgCourtest New Orleans SaintsMcLemore is seen here in a publicity photo from the New Orleans Saints.

She did have a few other options — some closer to Mandeville and Baton Rouge, where the Saintsations practice twice a week — but she found the right fit through her research of the Jackson County School District.

“The best offer was at East Central,” she said. “I’d heard a lot of great things about the community, about the school.

“I went with my heart, and I felt like what was best decision for me and for my career.”

Many at East Central Middle feel the same way, especially Principal R.L. Watson, who didn’t know McLemore had tried out with the Saintsations at the time she interviewed. All he knew was that he had to find a driven coach willing to develop curriculum that went hand-in-hand with the state’s new requirements regarding physical education in schools.

Gone were the days of extended recesses; Watson needed a worker, and said he found one, and more, when he hired McLemore. And he wasn’t the only one who thought so, either.

“In a middle school, you’re probably not going to get a much more credentialed person than what she is,” Watson said. “I think the parents have recognized that, and have jumped in and supported her.”

And if Watson had any doubts about McLemore’s enthusiasm, they were flung aside at the school’s pep rally before playing rival Vancleave two weeks ago.

“(It) was probably the best ever, in my opinion,” Watson said. “The teachers were all involved, and you talk about loving it; the kids just ate that up.

“She’s brought some new life into that program, she really has.”

Whether it’s as a professional cheerleader or educator, McLemore says her experiences have helped her mature, which in turn helps her to be a better role model for the students in her classes and on the East Central cheerleading team.

“What I tell my students is to never give up, always believe in yourself 110 percent, follow your heart and everything happens for a reason,” she said. “I think they are receptive to that.”