Amy Calcaterra teaches second grade at Benton, a place that is home and always will be. From early on, Benton was the place she wanted to be. Even though she was in Zeigler, the school and community were calling to her and her family. She was going to make it happen. As to the vocation of teaching, Amy notes, “I always loved working with kids. I always babysat kids. It was something I always thought about doing.” Even though she started off briefly with an interest in sciences, teaching kids found her, and after
six years out of district, she’s where she wants to be now, working with second-graders and living in the town she dreamed of calling home.


As to the school itself, Calcaterra finds herself amidst a community of like-minded teachers and friends: “I love the teachers that I work with and love the curriculum and the way we’ve moved along over the years together. And we’ve grown together.” Growing together with a set of familiar faces is key to knowing that what you’re doing matters to you and to others.

And in the second grade, the curriculum for kids definitely gets a bit more intense, from reading and writing to
math and other subjects. It’s when kids start showing what they’ve learned. Amy sees to it that they’re showing their best work. She also has a long background in special education as well, and knows what it takes to work with a
diverse student population. Calcaterra cares deeply about all of her students, and cares about and loves the place in which she does this.

It took her time to attend and finish college, to get her endorsement, to get where she wanted to be. She finished her degree at SIU Carbondale, and also got an administrative degree. That takes commitment and
stamina, as well as a true vision of what you truly want. The students here in Benton are better off because of her dedication and determination, and to hear her speak, Calcaterra’s kind and caring voice could impart learning and even wisdom to any student.

But it’s always been Benton that’s called Amy and her family. Calcaterra reminisces about looking out onto the town and appreciating what lay before her: “Benton is home. I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere else. I’ve been married and lived here. I think the first two years were
the only years that I was not in Benton when we were first married. We bought our first home here. And I’ve had my daughter’s here. I attend church here.” Those are the staples of a good community, of a place we dream of being. Luckily, Amy found her place with her family right beside her and the students listening and learning.

A lot of dreams go unfulfilled. A lot aren’t worth pursuing. And some, we just plain forget. In a lyrical moment, she gives us a picture of this dream, of a homecoming before the fact: “It was one that we drove by in the evening eating an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen, and we drove around and dreamed of what we were going to do in the future. And I drove by and looked and said, “My kids are going to go to school there one day, and I want to teach there.”

Today, she teaches in Benton; she fulfilled that dream.
Her oldest daughter is a teacher herself, and she and her husband are key figures here. Unlike many of us who forgo our dreams for something smaller or easier, Amy Calcaterra followed her dreams to their conclusions, regardless of the difficulties involved. And it’s good to know that there are people like her out in this world in which so many dreams are abandoned. To have a vision and to act on it: that’s commitment. And long ago, Amy saw something here, in Benton, that beckoned and demanded fulfillment. That’s an admirable story, and one we’re all fortunate to share.