Amy Grimm, a first grade teacher at Julington Creek Elementary, was recently selected as St. Johns County Teacher of the Year. While she calls the honor a humbling experience, she credits her success to an ability to build relationships with her students at such a critical time in their lives. “First grade is such a huge year for developing maturity and confidence, so it’s wonderful to see the growth that they make,” says Amy. “The love that they have for learning is fantastic!”
Julington Creek Elementary is nestled in the northwest corner of St. Johns County and boasts more than 1,000 students. In 2012, Amy was selected as the school’s Teacher of the Year, but this is the first time she has received the award for the entire county.
Twenty-two years ago, her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher was fulfilled as she began her career at Ketterlinus Elementary School. Three years later, she accepted a position at Julington Creek and has been there ever since. Her children, Evan and Natalie, also attend school in the area. Along with husband Jason, Amy juggles life as an accomplished teacher and active mother with a great heart for volunteering — a life skill she feels compelled to pass on to her students. “It’s very important to look outside yourself,” says Amy, “so we try to do a lot of things where we give back and serve others because I think that’s a great life skill.”
Over the years, adopting animals is one of the service projects Amy inspires the children to participate in. The title of this year’s student-led project was “Popsicles for Penguins,” in which they sold popsicles to the kindergarten classes to raise money for the World Wildlife Federation. Additionally, they conduct food and clothing drives for local, underprivileged families.
“I always tell the students that your character takes you furthest in life,” says Amy. “It’s important to build that character…your academics just come along for the ride. You take pride in who you are as a person, so you want to be successful in all you do.”
Amy also does her best to make the various school subjects entertaining for her first grade class. Each year her students participate in a history project in which the students research and portray past presidents and first ladies.
Amy realized her dream of becoming a teacher at a rather young age after being inspired by her 4th grade teacher, Paula Mattingly, who provided extra support when Amy was struggling with math. “I just remember her having so much confidence in me and investing in me, and I just wanted to give back like she did.”
After all these years, Amy keeps in contact with her childhood mentor, who still lives in her hometown. Obviously, she was extremely proud of Amy’s recent accomplishment as well as her decision to become a teacher. Having realized her dream and been rewarded for it, what is Amy’s next step?
“Within the county,” says Amy, “I have no desire to be out of the classroom, I really feel like that is where my heart is and where I make the most impact.”
Learn more about Julington Creek Elementary by visiting www-jce.stjohns.k12.fl.us. Photography by Brian Miller.
