God led Glenda Gunter “to this place,” and for 28 years she has been happy.

That is how Gunter summed up her 28 years teaching children at Covenant Christian School in Troy.

And, there is no doubt that tears will be shed when she walks out the schoolhouse door for the final time as a teacher on May 21.

“But, it’s time,” Gunter said. “It’s time for me to retire and let a younger teacher take over. I’m from the old school, and these young teachers know more about the technology of the profession than I’ll ever know. It’s just time.”

Gunter has 48 years of teaching experience including “Miss Egan’s Kindergarten,” which was the early model for excellence in teaching young children.

“I learned at lot about teaching young children at Miss Egan’s and much of what I learned I still use today,” she said. “Children still respond in a positive way to her ways of teaching. I love children. I love teaching. You have to love it to stay in it 48 years.”

Gunter brought a wealth of teaching experience to Covenant Christian, and she found a second home there.

“Covenant Christian is a small school, and we are like family- the children, the parents, the staff,” she said. “There is more time for one-on-one teaching, and the children are like your children – or for me, now – like grandchildren. I love them all.”

Over the 28 years she has been at Covenant Christian, Gunter said there have been many more happy times than sad times.

“We have been on our knees when there was sickness in one of our families and when a loved one was lost,” she said. “We’ve had to deal with a child’s loss of a parent, and that was especially difficult. But, we have always come through because of the love and caring we have for each other.

“I have so many wonderful memories of the children. I call them my ‘Velcro kids’ because they stick to me, to my heart. God has richly blessed me in bringing me to Covenant Christian and keeping me here. I’ve tried to retire before but just couldn’t walk away. And, it will be hard this time, but it is time now.”

Gunter said she will leave Covenant Christian School with a storehouse of memories and stacks of scrapbooks.

“I’ve kept scrapbooks of the years that I’ve taught,” she said. “I have pictures of my classes and the fun things that we have done. I have boxes of notes and cards from parents thanking more for the influence I’ve had on their children’s lives, and those are so very special to me.

“Teaching is not about money, not to me. It’s all about the children and the opportunities you have to mold and shape their young lives. I’ve taken that very seriously, and I hope that what I have said and done has helped my ‘Velcro children’ learn and feel good and positive about who they are and confident in moving ahead in their young lives.”

Gunter said she has always put her trust in God and things have worked out in her life.

“God could not have put me in a better place at a better time in my life than at Covenant Christian School. I have been richly blessed.