Thanks, Mrs. Utz

Fay Utz always knew she had a talent for teaching.

For the past four decades that’s just what she did.

Anytime you walked past her classroom, you’d witness Fay multitasking.

On Wednesday, she was entering final grades into her computer while answering e-mails and taking various phone calls.

And that’s the way she likes it.

“It’s not unusual to see me doing three or four things at one time,” said the longtime educator. “I like to have a lot of things going on.”

Soon she’ll have more time on her hands to do whatever she wants.

Fay ends her 42-year as an educator this month.

Pearl Sample Principal Karie Lane said it would be impossible to sum up her career in a nutshell because it’s “just so extensive.”

“She is a talented lady who has openly shared her talents,” she said. “Fay has embraced Pearl Sample and been a champion and cheerleader of the school.”

“Replacing Fay will not be possible,” Lane added. “It will take several individuals to fill the many hats that she wears.”

Kindergarten teacher Pricilla Maloy agrees.

“She’s wonderful and she’s just done a lot for my children,” said Maloy, who teaches at Pearl Sample. “I’m very appreciative of it.”

Lifetime of learning
Fay has seen many programs come and go over her long career.

“Every 12 years or so you’ll hear of a person doing some doctoral work in a college and they’ll come up with a plan,” she said Wednesday morning in her classroom. “And I’ll think ‘hmmm’ we did that already.”

For Fay, making sure the gifted students’ needs were met became her mission.

“I’ve always seemed to gravitate toward that,” she said. “I care about all students, it’s just that (gifted students’) needs are different.”

“My concern for my gifted children is that they are challenged all day long and not just when they’re with me,” she said. “That’s a very important thing.”

Fay said she kept teaching all of those years because her curriculum never got stale.

“I never taught the same way or the same thing,” she recalled. “I would always change it a little bit.”

She said that wasn’t an easy task either.

“I had to constantly change my plans and expectations, therefore, I changed assessments,” she said. “That’s what has kept me going.”

The last 20 years of her career Fay spent at Pearl Sample Elementary School — the first year she was a Title I coordinator and the last 19 she spent as a gifted facilitator.

However, for the first half of her career, Fay was a music teacher and/or band director.

She said it was a natural transition for her to move from music to the gifted program.

“Music led me to children that had an exceptional talent,” she said. “I’ve always had an empathy for that.”

The busy Staunton native looks forward to spending more time with family and friends after she retires.

“I’ll have a lot of time to finish the projects that I haven’t been able to do,” she said. “I also want to get involved in Hospice and more with my church.”

In 1966, Fay began teaching music in King George County Public Schools. After that, she spent a number of years in Hopewell and Henrico where she worked as the band director.
Fay and her family moved to Madison County in 1976.

Her husband, Leroy, was hired as band director and Fay took on a classroom position there.

In the fall of 1987, the Utz family made their transition to Culpeper.

Fay’s message to teachers is to stick with it no matter what.

“If you feel dissatisfied or unmotivated seek something different to do,” Fay said. “Go to a different school (or) a different grade level.”

“Go somewhere else before you give up on teaching,” she said.

Rhonda Simmons can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 125 or .

Meet Fay Utz
Age: 65
Family: Married to Leroy for 46 years; they have two sons: Randy and Jeff; and two grandchildren
Education: Bachelor’s in music education from JMU in 1968 and a master’s in reading from JMU
Employment: An educator for 42 years, the last 20 she spent at Pearl Sample Elementary School
Hobbies: Needlework, playing music for the Madison Choral Society, gardening, and reading