Bea Stiltz, a local resident, has been volunteering her time to help in Washington Montessori Public Charter School’s Pre-K/Kindergarten age group for the past six years. Why?

“I love children,” Stiltz said. “I want them to be happy. I want them to learn how to treat people, how to be nice to each other and love and be caring. It just means so much to me to work with the children.”

Stiltz, who will be 87 years old next week, moved to Beaufort County nine years ago and started volunteering when her granddaughter started first grade at WMPCS, she said. Before the school moved to its current location, it was operating at Beaufort County Community College. At that time, Stiltz was starting to help out in the school’s classes. When the school moved to its current location, Stiltz began to help out all day, everyday, said Sharon Main, an office manager at the school.

“She enjoyed being able to assist in the classes, especially with the younger children,” Main said. “I think it’s just as rewarding for her as it is for us.”

Stiltz is instrumental in the day-to-day classroom activities at the school, according to WMPCS staff. She normally helps out Jane Hardy’s class in the mornings and Mrs. Julie’s class in the afternoons. Stiltz frequently reads with the children, helps them with lessons in math, their ABCs and numbers, accompanies the students during their physical education classes, sets up for lunch and snacks and helps straighten up the classrooms, she said. But that’s not all she helps teach the children, and during the summer she misses being at the school, she said.

“I teach them to think of other people like they think of themselves, to be kind and to be helpful and to share — sharing is a very important thing,” Stiltz said. “The last couple of weeks [of summer] I couldn’t wait to get back to school. I said, ‘hurry up, hurry up, I’ve got to get back to see these kids.’ They’re just precious.”

Stiltz said she recently visited New Jersey for her 69th high school reunion. When she returned from the trip, she found out just how much she means to not only the students, but also the teachers she aids. And she plans on continuing to volunteer as long as possible, she said.

“When I came back, the teacher said ‘I’m so glad you’re back because we haven’t been able to get all of our work done.’ I plan on continuing to volunteer as long as I can get out of bed in the morning. I just love every kid here and when I leave here and walk to another building it takes me 15 minutes because everybody has to stop and get a hug.”

“Mrs. Bea comes into my classroom every morning and she listens to children read, there are certain works she checks like some of their writing, their stories or helps them write a story,” Hardy said. “She is very helpful, and it’s so nice to have a third person in the classroom with us. She often is right there with me at circle and is very good to help me manage the children and we are just so blessed to have her with us. She’s such a blessing.”