BAMBERG, S.C. ()

Amy Stembridge teaches English Language Arts at Bamberg Ehrhardt Middle School. And despite this text-heavy world of ours, good grammar still matters.

“Children need to look and appear to be as educated as they possibly can,” Stembridge says. “Even though those things aren’t important in texts, they are important in the real world. They’re important when they get a job, they’re important when they’re communicating with a grandparent or a parent.”

Mrs. Stembridge knows she is playing a key role at a key time for her students.

“I’ve taught everything from kindergarten through middle school. Middle schoolers are my favorite. You can have a relationship with them that is more adult-like and less baby-like. And you can help them navigate one of the hardest points of their life so far.”

And her journey to be an outstanding educator started with a great influence in her academic career.

“I had a teacher in the 5th grade. Her name was Ms. Georgia Palmore. She taught at Our Lady of Peace school in North Augusta. Ms. Palmore taught me 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. She not only impacted who I became as a learner, she also greatly impacted who I became as a human.”

A human who is beloved by her students. The ones in her classroom and the ones who left campus long ago.

“I will see them later, much later,” she says. “In the grocery store, maybe in Columbia or in Augusta if I’m out and about. They remember who I am. But they’ve all grown up, and they’ve become somebody different. But they always have something positive to say about what they experienced with me, or something that we read, or just some impact that I didn’t even realize that I had made.”