PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Not many people can say they've spent their entire career working at one place.

This week's A+ Teacher can.

Educator Dave Barksdale is retiring after 32 years as a PE teacher and coach at the Pinellas Regional Juvenile Detention Center.

And he's been changing the lives of his students all those years.

"I come in every day and the kids always say, 'Coach, you're always smiling.' I say, well, I'm a happy person."" Barksdale said.

He's always modeling positivity on campus.

"I try to tell them how important it is to go to school, get their high school diploma,” he said. “They don't all have to go to college, but learn a trade.

"Just try to give the importance of sportsmanship and teamwork because these kids, a lot of times, they don't have really good self-esteem, and they're not good at working with others, so I explain to them working with others is part of life."

Barksdale is teaching something more powerful than physical education.

"They're some rough streets in Pinellas County, and everywhere, Hillsborough County, wherever you go, and a lot of those kids grow up on these streets, so they don't see much good happening out there. They come here and I've always tried to be a positive role model to them."

Since 1989, Coach Barksdale and his team have focused on giving kids hope, building self-esteem and teaching troubled kids how to turn their lives around.

"I like to come in every day and bring a smile to their face, and I do."

Barksdale credits his parents for his positivity.

They were never negative about anything,” he said. “It was always you make a mistake here, you can get better and move on to the next thing. And that's what I impart on the kids."