Back to School

There are so.many.things. to say about school, how it's been going, what I've been thinking, etc. I don't even know where to start! We started with KIPP orientation on the 20th and then my school (KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy) new teacher professional development for a week, all staff PD for a week, and now summer school this week. Monday - Wednesday was just for 5th graders and new 6th graders, and then all students returned on Thursday. I can't believe it's arleady here! Luckily, summer school is only 9 - 2 (thought I've been there from 8 - 5 most days...still less than the real school year!), so it feels like easing back into the year, which is actually pretty awesome. I like the chance to get to know the kids a bit and the ability to be more strategic about things like seating charts, lesson planning, classroom jobs, etc.

New staff PD was mostly focused on building culture around what we believe, our students, etc. While it was great at the time, I wish it had been more concrete and practical to the school's policies, procedures, and "nuts and bolts," as it didn't happen at all with the whole staff together. There are only 5 new teachers, and the school is going into it's 10th year, so things are pretty well-established. It's a very different feeling compared to last year, where we were opening up 6th grade and working to create systems and pave the way, in a sense. It's also different because essentially 1/2 of the staff last year was new, so we had more procedural and practical conversations during PD, and it felt like there was a lot more camaraderie quickly because nobody really knew each other. Very different from here, where many people have been there for years, so relationships are well established. No worries though - I'm figuring things out and getting more and more comfortable as the weeks continue :)

I walked into an absolutely disgusting classroom. There was trash all over the floor, inside the desks, thick layers of dust across EVERYTHING, and the 2 walls of storage were stocked with crap from the past 5 or 6 years (I found stuff from as early as 2004. No joke). It's also a relatively small room, especially for 33 kids. In addition, all of last year's posters were on the wall, there was still writing on the board, and the teacher desk was full. Ick.I felt like, in order to make it my own, I wanted to clean everything out. While it was not the most fun of days, it could have been much worse - with the windows open, it was a lovely 65ish in my classroom, which sharply contrasts with the 100+ degrees when I was working on my classrooms in NY! The other negative is that for some reason, my school did not (still doesn't quite) have a lot of materials, such as packing tape. Because the building is so old (1880s!), everything is wooden instead of corkboard, so we can't staple anything to the walls. That's part of the reason that it has taken SO LONG to do everything in my classroom! (The other reason is that I had to make a few trips to Office Depot to buy paper, markers, and other materials). Luckily, I was able to peek into other teachers' classrooms and see what they had up and get some ideas. It was definitely helpful! I also brought a bunch of UNC stuff with me from home because my class is UNC again this year. Love it!

(I uploaded the pictures on my school computer, so there was no way to edit slash brighten or straighten them. Sorry!) The back of my classroom: colorful quotes along the [empty] storage closets, fake chalkboard converted into a shout out board, door leading to a social work office and math classroom.

One side: the door on the right doesn't open, so there's a desk with a defunct computer on it blocking the way. Lots more storage closets (these are full of books and random classroom materials!), a UNC board by the door, and several pink posters with the school phrases on them, all of which were already up in the classroom when I got here (I moved a few around, but figured it was easier to keep them than make new ones).

Front of the room: the quote is one that I want to be the "theme" of my class this year (I will be writing the author's name next to it, but credit for introducing me goes to my friend/colleague in BK, Kevin Havelda!), my desk, announcements board, etc.

Far side: new windows with cool shades, the school motto, and a writing (possibly word?) wall.

I had a difficult time in the beginning because I really miss/missed Brooklyn East. After seeing the students and realizing that they are, for the most part, just nice, I felt a little better. I just really loved my kids last year, and I was worried that these students wouldn't be as great. While it's only been a day, there's definitely hope! I've also reached out to my colleagues on the 6th grade team more and more to ask questions and figure out what in the world is going on, as I felt very lost last week and early this week. I'm learning the whole "self-advocacy" thing we try to instill in our kids!

I think it's going to be a challenging year, requiring a lot of hard work and dedication. We have 31 - 33 kids in each class, many students with IEPs, and the students are starting 6th grade at a slightly lower level than my Brooklyn kiddos. However, I'm also looking forward to it. Having a short 3 weeks of summer actually makes me feel that this transition is very natural - I just left and didn't have time to relax to the point that I would dread school. There have been a few times that I've looked around at the students and felt so excited and eager to teach them this year. I have to give credit for that excitement to my experience at Brooklyn East for sure - last year absolutely prepared me well for what is to come, and I feel much more confident and comfortable than I expected.

Today is my first day of instruction (I observed all of yesterday)...1 week down, 44[ish] to go!