For this week's teacher of the week, we head to Union Endicott to see how second-grade teacher Molly Grady inspires her students to become the best learners they can be.

Teacher of the Week is sponsored by Springbrook.

Molly Grady is in her third year of teaching. She started right out of college teaching first grade in Saratoga before moving back home to the Southern Tier to teach second grade at George F. Johnson.

She says it was her former teachers that inspired her to follow the teaching career path.

Grady said, "I had a lot of great teachers throughout my elementary school process, and I still am in contact with a lot of them. So I think just being surrounded by a lot of great teachers and being able to see what they do and the impact that they made inspired me to do the same. "

For Grady, teaching the kids is so much more than a passion, but it's a responsibility to shape them into good people as they are at a critical point in their educational journey

"I'm with them for most of their day. So being the adult responsible for that is a big deal and I get to encourage them when they're feeling discouraged, I get to comfort them when they're feeling sad, and celebrate with them when they're feeling happy. So there's just a lot of responsibility that goes into it and seeing them come in every day ready to learn makes it worth it," said Grady.

The best part of the job is seeing the impact that she makes and building those connections with the students.

Grady says, "Just being able to build such a strong relationship with so many different kids and make an impact on so many is so special. Even seeing them come back from the years previous, it's just so nice, and talking with parents and being a part of their life is just so rewarding."