Teacher of the Month: Elaine Hunter

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Egremont Elementary School prekindergarten inclusive classroom teacher Elaine Hunter has been selected as the June Teacher of the Month. 

 

The Teacher of the Month series, which is in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will run for the next 12 months and features distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here. 

 

When Hunter thinks about why she loves teaching, she is drawn to a quote from the song "Ordinary Days" by American singer JJ Heller, "The days go by slowly, yet the years seem to go by so fast. Let me linger in these moments before they become the past."

 

Throughout the year, every ordinary day builds up to bring beautiful changes and achievements for these students that culminate at the end of the school year to display a beautiful journey, Hunter said. 

 

"I truly love watching children acquire skills, that acquisition of learning is so beautiful when you get to witness it at these very young ages, which is really where I find is the most meaningful," she said.

 

The pupils' performance of Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and a 15-minute video displaying their journey through the school year was a demonstration of that growth at the end-of-the-year celebration.

 

The impact that Hunter has on her students and their families is clear based on the families' laughter and tears they shed during the ceremony and the comments they and school administrators made about her. 

 

Hunter and her students have a very special connection with one another and there is a clear respect between them. She lets them have their fun however, when it is time to come back to class, they're ready to go, Allison Bernhard, assistant principal of teaching and learning, said. 

 

"I think that her students … are going to be so very prepared to be in kindergarten next year. They are going to hit the ground running, and I think today, as we are all making up for those COVID gaps, that's a huge improvement. She's really contributed there," Bernhard said. 

 

Some children in Hunter's class were nonverbal at the start of school but were speaking by the end of the year.

 

"My grandson was nonverbal prior to coming to the preschool program, and now he talks nonstop," Kim Bilotta said. 

 

"He talks about [Hunter] and all the kids in school; he tells me everything that he's learning, and he's come leaps and bounds from where he was in September."

 

Bilotta thanked Hunter for everything she has done for her grandson and said they are looking forward to a second year of preschool. She is confident that it will give her grandson a solid foundation for when he starts kindergarten.

 

Nominator Amanda Hoag said her son also was nonverbal when starting Hunter's class, and within a couple of weeks, he was speaking and thriving.

 

"Hunter is a fabulous teacher. She has done a lot to help my son. In addition to the other students in the class," Hoag said. 

 

Hunter reinforces peer connections, is excellent at communication, and has been a mentor to not only her students but also the families, she said. 

 

"I wish my son could have her forever … She really understands that age group, their needs, and how to work with them," she said. 

 

"... She understands special education. She is a great advocate for the students and helping them to excel. She really gets their needs and their wants and how to work with that."

 

You can see how much Hunter loves being an educator, Superintendent Joseph Curtis said. 

 

"It's in her heart and her soul, and that really speaks for itself, in my opinion," he said. 

 

Assistant Superintendent Marisa Mendonsa agreed adding that when you visit her classroom you can clearly see that. 

 

"You see that she's all about students. She's all about making sure her students have what they need, [and] wanting learning to be fun," she said. 

 

"She brings one of our core values and joy into the classroom in terms of student learning, and it's wonderful to go into her space and see that happening every single day."

 

It is hard for teachers to let go of the children they have watched grow over the last year and prepare to start this cycle all over again with incoming students, but it's important to let them sort of move on to the next phase of their educational career, Hunter said. 

 

She hopes that she instills a love of learning in her charges and that they walk away with happy memories that will follow them. 

 

"People always say, 'I want to work in my dream job,' and I feel blessed that I can now say I'm working in my dream job," Hunter said. 

 

She creates a safe environment in her classroom where they feel comfortable to take risks and accept challenges. She meets the students where they are and sets individualized goals for them and for herself.

 

"I think that the students bring a lot of joy into your classroom when you are in tune to what their interests are. And so I feel like our classroom is really joyful, and I think that's a beautiful thing in education," Hunter said. 

 

Hunter said her class is made up of both "typical" and special needs students.

 

"I think the beauty is that we all need to feel included, and we all need to feel as though we belong. And I think it's important for us to recognize that we also all have differences, and we also face challenges, and it's nice to have someone reach out and hold your hand to face those challenges," Hunter said. 

 

"And I think that's what we need to instill in our children, and I hope that I've instilled that in these little ones. That they can reach out and hold their friend's hand and say, ‘you've got this, you can do this.'"

 

Hunter became a first-grade teacher at Egremont in 2017. This is her first year teaching the prekindergarten inclusive classroom, but she has had a longer career in education.

 

Hunter started as a special education teacher for fourth and fifth graders at Pittsfield High School in 1988 and left to raise her children in 1999. 

 

After 14 years, she returned to work at the South Egremont School House, which has since closed, as a kindergarten and first-grade teacher and then as a literacy coach at the former Cheshire School. 

 

She loved the small community atmosphere of the schoolhouse and works to bring that environment into her classroom at Egremont through activities such as the courtyard garden and having snacks out there. 

 

In the garden, Egremont students grow wildflowers and pumpkins so they can have it for next year's class.