Jennifer K.

It was the summer of 2019 that we received the long awaited teacher assignments in the mail. I remember my son Joey’s excitement when he opened the letter and saw Mr. Bertsch’s name listed on the letter. We had heard many great things about Mr. Bertsch and his teaching style, but could not wait to see for ourselves!

Well, were we in for a treat! Mr. Bertsch exceeded all of our expectations and more. Not only did he teach our students the “basics” of 1 st grade, but he taught them about compassion, understanding, and talking things out with their peers. He taught these things in many forms, but the one way that has stuck with Joey is Mr. Bertsch’s love of music. He would incorporate music daily, with songs, poems, and just easy humming techniques. This was such a nice break from the “norm” and the kids truly enjoyed it and could not be more in tune to him.

Unfortunately our year with Mr. Bertsch was cut short due to the pandemic. We were devastated that we would no longer have in person learning with Mr. Bertsch, but to no avail he made remote learning just as exciting as in person! The learning, the singing, the games, the communication, it NEVER wavered just because we were behind a screen. It is very fitting that his new venture is called Kindness Ripples. If you don’t know the meaning of it yet, just wait, you are in for a special treat. Joey still spreads ripples daily and is always reminded of Mr. Bertsch when he does so. We are so grateful for the lifelong impact Mr. Bertsch has on Joey, its educators like him that don’t around too often.

Jennifer K.