The detectives in Amy Bautista's classroom are more respectful and quiet than the ones you typically see on TV. That might be because their leader isn't your typical staff sergeant.
"I'm going to wait until I have your attention," Bautista says in a controlled voice, patiently waiting until every little head is turned her way.
"Thank you, Detective O'Billovich," she says before moving on with the day's lesson.
Every child is outfitted with a Sherlock Holmes-style detective hat (which Bautista hunted down online) — all part of the detective agency theme she devised to liven up the Grade 1 science unit.
Her explanation of the day's assignment ends with a single word question that draws a unison answer from two-dozen small voices:
"Capeesh?"
"Capeesh."
Starting young
Bautista's kindergarten book says she wanted to work at SuperValu (which her class visited on a field trip) or become a teacher. There was a time, when she was about seven years old, when she wanted to be a ballerina but that didn't stick. Throughout the years before and since that brief tangent she's had just one career aspiration: teacher, teacher, teacher.
"I didn't realize that that was a great gift — to know what you wanted to do and be very sure — until I was much older," she says.
As a toddler, Bautista played school with blocks on the family piano, says her mother Kathie Zalasky.
"She would line them up into classroom arrangements so the little cylindrical blocks would be students and then the rectangular block would be the teacher," Zalasky said.
The eldest of five siblings, Bautista embraced her natural role as leader of her three younger sisters and one brother.
"She was really good at herding us together and kind of playing different characters for us ... doing different voices," says her youngest sister Heather Langdale.
As a kindergartener, Bautista was alert and keen, always able to solve problems on her own, always raising her hand to answer questions and always pushing herself to do extra, said her former kindergarten teacher Sandi Verhulst.
"I thought she had an interest in being a leader," said Verhulst. "You knew she was going to do something."
As fate would have it, Verhulst and Bautista are now colleagues who teach next door to each other at Muriel Martin Elementary School in Deer Ridge. Verhulst is still teaching kindergarten while Bautista has found her niche teaching Grade 1.
"She knows a lot about her students. You can see that she cares about them," Verhulst said. "She is always making sure that they're doing their best."
Now 34, Bautista thinks her natural inclination toward teaching is partly because her father, Percy Zalasky, was a fine and dedicated teacher whose passion for math didn't have an 'off' setting. Bautista is the same way.
"When she walks out of there on June 30th she's already talking about when she's going to go back," her mother says.
Long-time resident
Bautista moved to St. Albert from Edmonton with her family when she was just two. She came up through the Protestant school system that would eventually employ her.
She cut her teeth teaching Sunday school when she was about 14. During her formative years she also taught piano and did volunteer work with special needs children.
After graduating from Bellerose Composite High School, Bautista immediately pursued an education degree from the University of Alberta. She made a lasting impression while doing her student teaching at St. Albert's Leo Nickerson elementary school.
"I saw somebody with boundless energy and enthusiasm for the profession, so excited to be a teacher, so motivated to make a difference," said Glenys Edwards, Leo Nickerson's former principal.
After she graduated, Bautista did consulting work for two years before she achieved her ultimate goal: her own classroom, a Grade 6 class at Nickerson under Edwards, who continued to be impressed by Bautista's ceaseless pursuit of innovation and her amazing rapport with her students.
"Every student feels kind of like they're Amy's only student," Edwards says.
Former student Alicia Lasuik remembers how, back in about 2002, Bautista created a science lesson about China based on the TV show The Amazing Race. There were activity stations all over the classroom that the students had to complete within an allotted time.
"It was a really fun, hands-on way to teach the curriculum. I still remember stuff from that," says Lasuik, 22.
"Out of all the teachers I've had, she's still my favourite one," she adds.
That was Bautista's first year of full-time teaching, one in which she would earn a prestigious Alberta Excellence in Teaching Award, thanks to a nomination by an impressed parent. Bautista has since been nominated again for an Excellence in Teaching Award, as well as a Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence.
For the love of children ... not
Outside of school, Bautista is active in the local United Church and sings in Belle Canto, a choir that travels regularly to international competitions. She plays the piano and the oboe and owns an accordion. She's into crafts, stamping and card-making.
Bautista describes herself as shy. It isn't lost on her that this personality trait is a bit at odds with her job requirement to speak daily in front of a group. This is simply a daily dose of professional development, she laughs.
Her husband Ken isn't so sure that shy is the right word.
"I think it's more that she's super humble," he says. "When you see her get going in front of kids … she's pretty confident about that."
"She's definitely not shy when it comes to opinions and discussions," he adds.
In her personal life, Bautista is fiercely loyal to her tight-knit circle of friends, Ken says, and is the one who's always reaching out and actively fostering these relationships.
She's also the type who wakes up raring to go, every day. For Bautista, this energy level is a perfect fit for the non-stop pace of Grade 1 teaching.
"I like to go full steam ahead, flat out all day," she says.
When speaking to her students, Bautista speaks matter-of-factly, regardless of whether she's delivering praise or criticism. This illustrates one of her main strengths as a teacher: her willingness to provide frank feedback, says Ken, who also holds an education degree.
"Your job is to help shape your students. That includes being able to point out flaws," he says.
"She just treats them like little adults almost and I think they respect her for that," agrees former student Lasuik, who is a teacher-in-training who volunteers in Bautista's class.
While some teachers go into the profession because they love kids, that's not Bautista's motivation.
"I don't teach because kids are cute," she says. "I think that can only take you so far because kids aren't always cute."
She does love kids very much, she says, but for her the real appeal of teaching lies in the fact that it's collaborative problem-solving, plus she has an innate fascination with child development.
"It's just amazing the way kids develop exactly the way they should, almost every time, and we can have a hand in it, but it's certainly not because of us that it's happening," she says.
A calling
What makes Bautista special is the combination of traits she brings to the table: she's extremely caring about her students, has a passion for her profession, pours herself into her teaching and possesses incredible creativity, says her sister Langdale.
"I think she's the best teacher ever," Langdale says. "She's just a perfect storm of the things you need to be a really awesome teacher."
Even now that she's 10 years into her teaching career, Bautista still can't see herself ever doing anything else.
"I feel like this is what I'm called to do," she says. "I hope this is it, because I'm doin' my best!"
Amy Bautista, Q&A
What's your favourite book?
"A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving. I think I own six copies of that book. It's about how God uses you, which really speaks to me."
What five adjectives would you use to describe yourself?
"Shy, creative, expressive … this is hard … loyal, honest."
Do you have a nickname?
"No. Nothing rhymes with Amy and I'm really pleased about that."
What is your pet peeve?
"Things that are not in the right place. My bins are labelled; there's a reason for that."
What song makes you sing every time you hear it on the radio?
"I don't actually listen to the radio a lot but I love For The Longest Time [by Billy Joel.] Any a cappella stuff I will sing along to."
