Since 1970, Joyce Amatucci or ‘Ms.A’ has been teaching Spanish at both the secondary and collegiate level. With 46 years, Amatucci has the most teaching experience than any other staff member in building. She has spent the last 28 years teaching here at Springbrook.

Amatucci was teaching while some staff members attended Springbrook, including Jessica Abeshouse, Kristen Range, Robert Wendel, and Adam Bahr.

“It’s great working with her now. It’s fun to work with somebody who has a perspective from having been a teacher who’s been here for so long, but also now to be more of a colleague than a student-teacher relationship,” Abeshouse said.

Over the years, Amatucci has taught Spanish at High Point High School and the University of Maryland (UMD). Amatucci taught in the Department of Portuguese and Spanish at UMD. She was the Course Chairman of Spanish 103 and also taught Spanish 101,102 and 203.

Amatucci was inspired to become a teacher by her high school Spanish teacher at Wheaton High School, David Roos. She refers to him as “the best Spanish teacher that ever existed.” Amatucci ended up teaching Roos’s son at Springbrook and he also followed in his father’s footsteps and is now a Spanish teacher at Churchill.

One of the most memorable moments of Amatucci’s teaching career was winning the National Football League (NFL) Best Teacher of the Year. Retired professional football player Shawn Springs was Amatucci’s former student. He nominated her for the award. In February 2001, the NFL paid for Amatucci and her family to go on a trip to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.. The NFL also awarded her with $5,000 and donated $10,000 to Springbrook.

Amatucci keeps a large framed photo of her and Shawn Springs at the Pro Bowl in her classroom. She also keeps a photo of her former student and famous actor Michael Ealy on her bulletin board. She has also taught actor Omar Evans and basketball player Lonny Baxter.

“The Michael Ealy pictures keep disappearing from my wall. I think people photoshop me out and put in themselves with Mike hugging them,” Amatucci said.

Because of how long she has been working at Springbrook, many people ask Amatucci when she will retire, but she does not anticipating leaving the school anytime soon. Her reasons for continuing to work go back to her diagnosis with reproductive cancer in 2000.

“I have two doctors, a regular doctor and an oncologist, that’s a cancer doctor, that say don’t quit working … If I can keep doing it I’m looking at my health first, which is probably not what most people look at,” Amatucci said.

In January 2000, Amatucci took off leave from work to receive treatment for cancer. By February, Amatucci was ready to come to back. Mr. Durso, the principal at the time, was reluctant to bring her back so soon because he worried about her recovery, but she convinced him with a reason he could not argue with.

“You don’t get it. I walk around this house and it’s empty and it’s winter. And then I got treatments every day. And look at the people in that room. I would rather come to school and look at life…I just made up my mind I couldn’t sit there,” Amatucci said.

While she was on leave, a student called Amatucci and said they were tired of behaving and begged her to come back. Once she returned, she went back day one day the first week, two days the second week, and the days keep increasing until she was back full time.

Amatucci said that the best part of the job is the students and still hearing from them. Over Christmas break, she received a call from a student she taught in 1992.  Many students know Ms.Amatucci, even if they do not have her, by the many stories that run through the school about her classroom.

“Her closet is like a mystery box. One time I saw a lizard in there and some people say they saw a snake,” junior Michael Tene said.

When she does retire, Amatucci will be remembered for her contagious laugh and the caring and welcoming atmosphere she has created for students for past 46 years.

“Ms. Amatucci is a fun teacher, but she’s also serious and she really pushes her kids to achieve and she expects a lot from everyone,” former student and junior Chloe Yetter said.