Nestled in the second grade hallway of Cherokee Bend Elementary school, a familiar name plate hangs over a classroom. It’s a familiar name but a new face, that is. Elly Curtis teaches second grade inside the four walls of the exact room her mother, Melinda, once taught the same grade level for 12 years. The teaching legacy spans four generations from Elly to her mom and even further back to Melinda’s mother and grandmother who also taught elementary school.

“When I was really young, I thought the calendar year started in August and ended in May,” Melinda said. “All I knew was teaching and school and that’s all I wanted to do was to teach like my mom and grandmother.”

Well, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree when Elly was growing up either. Alongside her brother and sister, Elly spent countless hours before and after school in Melinda’s classroom as a student at Cherokee Bend.

“We would be in mom’s classroom all the time,” Elly remembered. “We set up desks and created name tags and all the things. So I think by default, I wanted to teach second grade because my mom taught second grade.”

Melinda saw it unfold and cited a mission trip to Panama their family took. She saw Elly’s demeanor with children and knew she had what it would take to be a teacher. Elly pursued her dream and worked through the iLearn program at Mountain Brook High School. The program, designed to help future educators, provides MBHS students with hands-on teaching experience at the elementary education level within the school district during their time in high school. Building on that experience, Elly followed the Curtis family tradition of attending Auburn University where she obtained her graduate and undergraduate degrees in elementary education.

“My whole life I would say things like I want to teach second grade in mom’s room at Cherokee Bend,” Elly said. “I want to be a cheer coach at the high school. I have so much school spirit and flash forward to today, I am fortunate to be living out my dream so early in my career.”

Elly worked as an aide for a year at Cherokee Bend before accepting the second grade job at the start of the 2024-25 school year. She is also in her second year as a cheer coach at the high school. After 12 years in the second grade classroom, Melinda taught sixth grade for three years before retiring in 2018. She now visits “their classroom” from time to time and said she still turns around when she hears students say “Ms. Curtis” even though they are speaking to Elly.

“Education has changed so much over the years,” Melinda said. “I would need all sorts of professional development with the new technology. We thought we had it all when I was here but the education world has only grown since I left.”

Some things stay the same in that sharing a wall with the Curtis classroom is Kelley Finley. Kelley taught alongside Melinda in second grade and now that Elly has joined the second grade team, Finley says there is a Curtis continuation.

“When I started at Cherokee Bend, Elly was in second grade,” Finley said. “We still use the same template, songs and program for our ‘famous people’ unit and small things like that create a special shared experience.”

Elly reflected on her time learning from her mom and said she wants to continue a legacy set forth by Melinda and give every student the best opportunity to have a great educational experience. The ‘Curtis Classroom’ will have a new name next summer after Elly gets married but the legacy set forth by generations of educators and the commitment to growth and learning set forth by the Cherokee Bend environment will remain the same.