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The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer

Joan McGrath, a business teacher at Guilderland High School for eight years, “prepares kids for more than just business,” said Principal Tom Lutsic. “She smiles at the word ‘challenge,’” he said. McGrath has created popular new classes and a new investment club, and she advises the school’s mock trial team. She trained students to help at a central hall desk by creating the acronym GLARPS, which stands for greet, listen, agreement, reassure, problem-solve, and satisfaction. The principal said students would tell him, “Mr. Lutsic, I’m using my GLARPS.” “Her students always come first,” said Lutsic, describing McGrath as “a true collegial team player.”