The melodic humming of guitar strings echoes through a compact classroom. Each student engages, focused on the creation of music and improvement.

For six years William Ecker has been a music teacher in the FCHS music department. He teaches tenor bass choir, History of Rock and Roll, and Guitar 1 and 2.

Next year Ecker is moving on to the new Timnath Middle High School.

Part of his motivation to move to the Timnath site is to reach more kids in an environment with new opportunities.

While he is looking forward to new experiences, Ecker also expresses gratitude for his colleagues and students at FCHS who have made his six years as a teacher positive.

He will miss what he sees as the central factor in what makes FCHS a great place.

“It is our teachers,” Ecker said. “I think that John Hermanson and Kaitlin Miles are some of the best in the business.”

He argues that they are possibly the best in the country.

“They care about their students, but they also care about excellence,” Ecker explained. “When two things meet like that—what I see them as is empathy and expectation—those two e-words, empathy and expectation—once those are knots, it’s incredible what happens.”

Ecker is inspired by his colleagues, but also by his students in recent years.

“The students—they’re intrepid, they’re resilient,” Ecker said. “COVID hit, and they just kept going, and I’m proud to be their educator.”

Not only is he inspired by his fellow Lambkins, but his coworkers see him as a positive example. His colleagues will miss having him in the department.

Choir director Kaitlin Miles credits Ecker for growing the music program and his love for education.

Miles said, “He just is somebody who loves to teach that’s very evident in his daily work.

“Mr. Ecker has a very special way of connecting kids who don’t feel connected to school and has a very special way of bringing them in and making them feel like they have a teacher that’s on their side,” she added.

Miles hopes that Ecker can pull in many students at the new school and connect musically.

“This is offering him the opportunity to really set up the program the way he wants it to be set up,“ Miles said. “So I really hope he finds that groove and that he’s able to get students attached in some way to music.”