The Perfect Balance

Summit High School might be the perfect balance I was looking for in my career. I have an extremely supportive staff and admin team. In fact, the day before I began, Gretchen called me and asked if I needed another day to prepare - they would find a sub for me. I was too excited to get in the classroom regardless of how ill-prepared I was.

Housekeeping:

The teacher that left did not move ANY of her stuff out of the room. It's amazing how much "junk" teachers collect over the years, especially this lady. She was quite active at SHS and also the department head for several years. She has materials from every possible math class ever offered here and more arts and crafts supplies than a kindergarten teacher (she needed them for her doctorate apparently). Apparently she was supposed to come clean everything out, but come Monday (first day of classes), my new room was a complete disaster. The math department cleaned out 8 boxes of her stuff (including a life-size unicorn) before I even had a chance to get organizing. Kelsey and I spent 5 hours cleaning out the desk alone. However, it's almost a blessing a disguise. I will now never have to buy another teaching supply again. I estimate having about 200 pens, 5 staplers, 20 scissors, 50 dry erase markers, 50 sharpies, and over 100 three ring binders. How ironic that I actually had to buy these for my old students and now I'm trying to give them away to clear space. I'm actually going to donate them to anyone that needs them at West High School.

The Room:

It's huge! I have 3 computers, 2 televisions, an ELMO and 3 working projectors!


The Kiddos:

My students are great. I have 2 sections of Pre-Algebra and 1 section of Algebra. My Pre-Algebra classes are mostly ELA just like at West High School. There's also quite a few students with learning and physical disabilities as well. My Algebra students are motivated and incredibly energetic. I think they will be my most challenging class because they are constantly talking and moving around the class.

I have five teacher assistants and two para professionals. What the heck do I do with them? I'm not used to having this much help. I've basically put them in charge of cleaning the filing cabinets and constructing my posters (since I can't draw or write with my right hand) for now.

I have a perfect balance of high-performing, highly-motivated and lower performing, struggling students. I don't know if I could ask for a better fit.

I also received my first parent letter! Wouldn't expect that after 2 years of teaching eh?

Preparation:

It's been a lot of work getting everything situated for the rest of this semester. This situation is similar to my first at semester at Denver West being that the students often struggle because they did not have a consistent teacher. I've specifically used this week to build the classroom atmosphere I desire and discover where the learning gaps exist. I'm stoked to finally have the supplies, time and a quality classroom to do all the things I've been wanting to do since I began teaching.

Motivation:

The students and working environment has reignited the motivation I've been lacking for so long (since being turned down by so many schools). I spend at least 3 to 4 extra hours a day in the class and just as many hours planning at home. The crazy thing is, I enjoy every moment of it.