By Doug Jamison, McGillis Parent & Emily Zumsteg, Director of Marketing & Communications
In 2006, Amy Taylor came to McGillis looking for a different type of learning for her oldest child, Zach. Three children and over 17 years later, she hasn’t left. From the moment she stepped into the building and saw students working on paper mache penguins up and down the hallways, she knew she had found the right place for her kids.
Along the way, Amy realized that McGillis provided something special for her children. “The McGillis School is truly a unique, and, shall I say, magical place,” she shared. She observed that not only did McGillis produce three kind children in her sons and daughter, but that it also created a whole community of kind, freely giving, and respectful children—Kehilah, Tzedakah, and Derech Eretz were school values actually being realized in its students.
But why has Amy remained, even after her kids have grown and graduated? Because, in her time as a McGillis parent, a McGillis volunteer (“I have served in every position at least once, except Treasurer—not my forte”), and sometimes even as a teacher, she also learned the stories of faculty and staff. She learned the stories of the McGillis community. McGillis is where she found a community beyond that of her children, including ”three of the most important friendships of my life,” she said. McGillis became more than a school—more like a home.
Amy’s kids are graduated and have left the walls of McGillis. They still have friends from their McGillis days, and even have whole classes that still reunite and celebrate their time at the School. For Amy, her community remains present as she continues to teach when called upon and volunteer where needed.
She may have a longer K-8 experience than most, but it has been a rewarding one, and one that continues today. “I hope to always be a part of this community in whatever capacity,” she said. “These are my people.”