When schools closed one year ago due to the Coronavirus, a few community members stepped up to make sure that education could continue from afar. One of these people is OM’s own English teacher, Ms. Amy Brooks. Brooks is involved in tons of things around town, participating in groups, being on committees, going to meetings, and sometimes even creating new non-profit organizations to help people connect during the pandemic.

After the pandemic shut down schools, Brooks felt that something had to be done.  Kids were out of school and weren’t able to be social. On March 16, 2020, she, with the help of a friend, created Oakland Mills Online (OMO), an online series of classes to get people together. “I missed seeing students, and I thought it was a good way to stay connected,” Brooks said. This started as a local project but has spread not only across the country but across the world with tons of guests, including bestselling authors and even Holocaust survivors. This program was big over the summer, but with the arrival of virtual schooling, it slowed; however, young kids and adults still join in to participate daily. 

When Brooks isn’t starting programs, she’s participating in others. She’s constantly going to meetings and working on committees, some of which include the school board and a local church group. She’s always at these meetings and groups to try to improve the community for herself and others.  

Despite all she does in her community, she still has time for her teaching job as an English teacher at Oakland Mills High. She, like others, isn’t a fan of online school but is trying to make it work for her and her students. When asked how she’s approaching teaching this year she responded that she’s “trying to find out what the kids like.” Although teaching might look different this year, she still finds a way to make it work. Brooks knew she had a passion for teaching ever since she was young. She got her Master’s in English and has been teaching ever since. She has taught at many schools before settling at OMHS. Here she has made her mark by being a great teacher, coworker, community member, and mom (I may add). 

But Brooks isn’t done yet. She wants to expand OMO even further and expresses that a government position in the future isn’t out of the picture. “I’d love to be a delegate in the Maryland General Assembly in the future.”  It would be a lot more to juggle, but Brooks is up to the challenge.