Mrs. Estelle Moore has been teaching for a total of 53 years; three years in Pennsylvania and the last 50 in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). Having taught in MCPS since 1973, she has worked at Harmony Hills Elementary School, East Silver Spring Elementary School, Piney Branch Elementary School, Broad Acres Elementary School, Brooke Grove Elementary School, and Cloverly Elementary School. She has been at Greencastle in Silver Spring for 30 years, where she currently teaches 2nd grade.
During her illustrious teaching career, she spent a year teaching in Japan and four months in Ghana. Mrs. Moore was also named MCPS Teacher of the Year over 30 years ago while teaching at Brooke Grove Elementary School in Olney. When asked what the biggest difference she has seen in her fifty years teaching in MCPS, Mrs. Moore said “The curriculum. It seems like every 3-5 years there has been a shift in the curriculum, but I feel in recent years it has come full circle in ways.” giving the example of phonemic awareness. When asked what’s still the same, she said “Students still need to know that you care. They need to hear their name in a positive way and to know that they matter.”
Mrs. Moore doesn’t have any current plans to leave teaching behind– she immediately shook her head no when asked if she had any plans to retire. “I was given a gift from God and I plan to keep using it.” she said. She believes God will let her know when she is done and that she has no plans to stop. She also joked that she just finished her evaluation year so she’s good to go for another five years. She loves having been at Greencastle so long that she has taught the children of her students and feels like she’ll be teaching their grandchildren soon.
Mrs. Moore’s co-worker, Amie Wohlfarth, calls her “an overall awesome human being.” Ms. Wohlfarth told us “She met my son when he was in second grade and he is now a sophomore at PBHS. He comes and volunteers on an almost daily basis. She has made such an impact on his life.” We want to wish Mrs. Moore and all of the other wonderful educators a successful school year!