April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
THREE DECADES
She taught generations, including her own family
"It's like, 'Can I speak [to adults] now?'" Mrs. Hartmann said with a laugh. She's taught at St. Ambrose for 29 years; on the final day of school last week, the staff, parents and students gave her a standing ovation at a prayer service.
They also presented her with a scrapbook and artwork by the children.
"It was emotional," she said. "That was pretty overwhelming."
The 65-year-old has been a fixture in the St. Ambrose community. "She's just such a gentle, kind, quiet, humble human being," said Terri McGraw, principal. "She never wants the spotlight. She does her job so effectively and never raises her voice. You can barely even hear her voice walking down the hallway."
Mrs. Hartmann was known for taking her students to the parish food pantry and encouraging them to do chores at home to earn money to buy food items. She often told students she wanted them to "be disciples of Jesus.
"I just want them to understand that there are kids who need help," she explained.
Mrs. McGraw said there wasn't a dry eye at the prayer service among parents: "They knew how special it was to have their child in her class. She's a very faith-filled woman and she shares that with the kids. You can never replace someone like Sue Hartmann, but you can fill her shoes."
Mrs. Hartmann's daughter, Sarah Estep, attended St. Ambrose along with her sister while their mother taught there. Mrs. Estep followed in her mother's footsteps; for 17 years, she has taught across the hall from her mother.
Their days at St. Ambrose began with coffee together and were punctuated by poking their heads out of their respective classrooms to chat.
"It was great, especially when we [both] taught second grade" Mrs. Hartmann said. "We would meet in the middle of the hallway and say, 'I have an idea!' Nine times out of 10, we would have the same idea."
Having her mother around for mentoring was "pretty awesome," Mrs. Estep said. "She's very calm and gentle, so I try to be that way, too. Everybody just loves her. It's going to be a lot different in the fall."
Madeline Estep, who's going into second grade, is one of Mrs. Hartmann's three grandchildren, all of whom are students at St. Ambrose. She said she's sad that her "Nonnie" is retiring: Madeline enjoyed "going to her room and saying hello every day. [I would] tell her about the weekend and give her a hug."
Mrs. Hartmann taught her grandson, Spencer, last year.
"I didn't want to favor him," she said, just as she didn't favor her children. "I thought I was harder on him than I was with the rest of the students. I was always 'Mrs. Hartmann' in school. It's just amazing, because I [got] to see them every day."
The veteran teacher has seen a lot of changes, from technological progress to much smaller class sizes. "When I started, there were no computers at all," she remarked; but "a lot of it is the same. We have parents that still believe in Catholic education."
Mrs. Hartmann recently adjusted to the new Common Core educational standards. The recommendations have been controversial among many parents, but "I always say we were doing Common Core before there was Common Core," she asserted.
Mrs. Hartmann has a bachelor's degree from Siena College in Loudonville. She grew up in the former St. Rita/Sacred Heart parish in Cohoes, but moved to Latham in sixth grade and has been a part of the St. Ambrose community ever since.
"I see parents from the school at church on Sunday, and it's just nice to have that relationship," she said. "The amount of love from the parents - it's just been remarkable. They're just the best parents in the world, so supportive."
One of Mrs. Hartmann's favorite aspects of teaching was preparing her students for the sacraments, which she views as "a way to pass on your faith."
Although she said her students kept her young, she felt it was time to retire.
"I want to go out on top," she said. "Right now I'm just relaxing [and] catching up on my reading. I have a lot of recipes I want to try. It's not too different right now. We'll see what it's like in September."[[In-content Ad]]
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