RICHMOND — By the time the children in Debra Alibozek’s pre-kindergarten class recite the Pledge of Allegiance, they’ve already taken deep breaths and are aware of their hearts beating in their chests. They’ve also hugged their teacher and perhaps already been reminded of what the main theme of their learning will be for that day and every day: love. Upon arrival, one pupil mentioned the name of a controversial political leader and offered a negative opinion about that person. “What do we focus on in our classroom?” Alibozek asked, bending down to look him in the eye. “Love,” he said. “I love playing sports like soccer.” “So let’s focus on that today,” Alibozek said, holding her hand to her own heart. Alibozek, 57, is retiring after 35 years of teaching in Richmond Consolidated School. She’s taught every grade but fourth at the school and chose to move back to pre-kindergarten from teaching upper grades because she felt it was important to give the youngest students a strong and positive foundation as they enter school for the first time. She brings a calm and confidence to her teaching — partly from her education and years of experience — but also from her own daily morning practice. Alibozek used to be a distance runner and worked out her stress through exercise. Eleven years ago she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer and turned toward mindfulness as an alternative path to calm. Here’s how she describes her current morning practice: “Wake up, be grateful, read the Bible for some guidance, positive words, do the hard things like Jesus did, love your enemies, shine your light, be the role model, walk the path, and then I do a little yoga exercise and then I do my morning routine of getting ready for work and spread my light.” As children paired up to walk around the gym prior to going into their classroom on Tuesday, Alibozek noticed a bit of interpersonal conflict taking place among three girls. She addressed it kindly, noting that one of the three girls had been absent the day before. She asked that student to say how she was feeling and what she needed. The girl burst into tears, saying she wanted to hold hands with both of the girls who had already paired up. The two placed the upset girl at the center, and Alibozek praised the girl who initiated that solution. “Look at what Violet just did,” she said with a note of delight and awe in her voice. The three girls then walked together in a circle around the gym, giggling and later breaking into a spontaneous dance. In the morning meeting, she told the class about that difficult moment and how it had been resolved. At that gathering, on the rug in Alibozek’s multicolored classroom, she asked the students to focus on something they love. She took notes on their choices. Then referring to those notes, she quizzed them about who loved certain items in a test of both listening and working memory. The students framed their responses in the form of a question. “Did you say you love toys?” Naomi Davenport said to a boy named Atticus, correctly identifying the right person. The morning meeting also included a rehearsal of the song “This Little Light of Mine,” that the pre-K class will sing on graduation day in June, along with other breathing exercises. William Quinto, 11, is a fifth grader who had Mrs. A, as she is known by her students, in kindergarten. “She made everything really fun,” he said. "She was never mean.” He remembered that she asked about how each student was feeling. “She was really nice and she would always treat you with good respect,” Quinto said. “And she would never yell at you.” Brooke Meltzer volunteers in Alibozek’s classroom on Tuesdays. She said Alibozek creates a certain tone in her classroom. “They’re going to be kids,” Meltzer said. “They’re going to fight or whatever, but then they’re also respectful of each other, which is really Deb.” Alibozek was born in Adams and graduated from Hoosac Valley High School in 1986. She initially thought she would pursue chemistry, but her high school chemistry teacher, Mr. Asa, encouraged her to work with children after he observed her doing so at the school. She graduated from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with a bachelor of science in education and a teaching certificate. Just after graduating from college, she interviewed for a job teaching in Richmond, which she landed. She later earned a master's degree in education from Lesley University. Richmond Superintendent and Principal Beth Choquette said she’s sorry to see Alibozek retire. “She demonstrates everything you’d want to see in a teacher,” Choquette said. “She has the love, the compassion, the passion to do what she does every day.”