Teacher Spotlight: Mrs. Bentzley

How did someone who had never been set on teaching end up being one of the most respected names at Spalding? Introducing Mrs. Bentzley. Mrs. Bentzley is a very important individual at Spalding, the International Baccalaureate coordinator and an English teacher. However, she didn’t always have a heart set for teaching. She was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and attended Loyola University of Chicago. She knew she wanted to pursue a career in education, so she applied for many job opportunities, including the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Teach for America, and many more. But, after interviewing for her teaching job at Spalding, she knew that this was the environment she wanted to be a part of and quickly set her mind on classroom teaching. Upon deciding to pursue classroom teaching, she came to Maryland to attend Notre Dame of Maryland University and get her Master’s degree in education. Now, 19 years later, Mrs. Bentzley is valued by teachers and students alike for everything from her bubbly personality to her personable teaching style. Many value her as she is a constructive teacher and a supportive individual. Mrs. Bentzley says she loves Spalding for her students and coworkers and enjoys working with them daily. She loves witnessing her students grow as individuals, especially when they grasp new ideas and apply new strategies in their writing. Even though she has many passions, if she weren’t a teacher, she would be a Speech Pathologist, as she remembers how big of an impact one had on her life as a child. When she was a child, she struggled with pronouncing her “R’s” and recalls how the help of her Speech Pathologist helped her excel academically and socially. Her then motivation from this situation circles back to her life now as she works to have an impact on each child she teaches as an educator. Continuing her Spalding career, she is excited for the future of the IB program and her teaching career to excel further.