"It is just a great place to be."

Teaching in Zionsville Community Schools.

Amy Ertel grew up in Batesville, Indiana. Her grandparents helped build the swimming pool and knock down the middle school, and in doing so, took out a huge blackboard, and her Grandpa cut pieces, and created a little chalkboard just for her.

From an early age, Amy knew she loved teaching. As a child, she would place all of her stuffed animals on the floor and teach them. As the years progressed, her love of teaching grew. Child play turned into a love of being with children. As she got older, she started cadet teaching, and it grew from there.

Amy knew instantly that she wanted to call Zionsville Community Schools home. She has now been here for 16 years.

She described her school and this community as a family and said there is a special care and thoughtfulness behind everything inside and outside of the school. She said that Zionsville Community Schools is just a great place to be.

On teaching during CoVID-19.

Amy said that when you are in the business of kids, you have to be flexible, and she knew that CoVID-19 was going to be a really scary situation, because the unknown in scary. She attributes strong connections established prior to the pandemic as being one reason for success during a time filled with uncertainty.

"When you are in it, you are in it and you don’t realize how much you love these individuals, these little people," she said.

She said she will never forget one day when there was beeping outside my house. Amy's husband told her she needed to get outside, and she said she walked outside and there was a caravan of all of her students holding signs that they loved her and missed school and Amy said, "that is why we do what we do."

Amy said students are her heart, and she appreciates that you don't get that feeling in many other professions. She said the pandemic has reminded all of us that, "we do hard things, we are resilient and we understand that we can do it together."

The moments.

Amy said it isn't just one moment that stands out. She said it is a collection of all the small things.

"It is the small things that are unnoticed, maybe a little note here or a conversation there," said Amy. "It’s the day to day walking down the hallway and talking to a kid that I maybe don’t have in class, that repeated hi and good morning, and then one day they look up and say good morning. It’s the little things that make it [teaching] the best job ever."

Partnership makes the difference.

Amy said she can’t do her job well without the support and partnering of parents and families. She described teaching as a hard job that requires the support and partnership of families and a commitment to working together.

Amy attributes student success to the trifecta: the vulnerable student who understands that you are coming from a place of love and support and respect, the vulnerable parents who have entrusted their most precious being in the whole entire world with you, and the teacher who is willing be open and ask parents for input.

Amy said it is all of these things that make Zionsville a really special place to live and teach.

^{Article by Chief Marketing Officer Janet Mann}