My school year started off with my dog puking on the bed. At 5:35 am (10 minutes before my alarm), I heard him yarfing and got to get up early to and clean it. I didn't get delayed because his timing was impeccable, but I certainly didn't have the beginning I'd hoped for.
This is my first year in Aurora Public Schools. My previous 3 years of teaching experience were in Baltimore in a small break-out school with a visual arts focus. To say that my school was dysfunctional is something akin to saying that the Grand Canyon is a hole in the ground - it doesn't even begin to describe it. My new school in Aurora has a reputation in the district for being a "rough" school, but I had my suspicions that it was not even comparable to my experience in Baltimore. So far, I feel like I am living in a different decade. I have experienced all of the following minor miracles...
- The district's "new teacher orientation" was not a total waste of time. In fact, they actually had a facilitator work with us instead of just locking us in a room to waste away the afternoon and forgetting about us!
- My school knew I was coming and even had my keys ready for me. My classroom was clean, too!
- During my technology orientation, no one tried to explain to me how to open internet explorer or describe how to "double click."
- I have a pacing guide, a curriculum, and a teacher's edition of my textbook. Oh, and if that wasn't enough to make me happy...I also have a Promethean Smart Board in my classroom and my whole room is wired with infrared for microphones. My computer is in excellent shape (except that the "N" key sticks). Oh, and all of this technology WORKS PROPERLY.
- There is a copier that I can use any time I want. I do have a copy code and a limited number of copies...but when I asked a colleague how many we got, she said "I don't know, I've never run out."
- We have a laminator. The librarians happily laminated my stuff for me...in a timely fashion and without ruining anything. Don't even get me started on the other resources available...an enlarger?? Letter cutters? PAPER CUTTERS?? What is this place?
- Did I mention...we ACTUALLY HAVE a library!!!
- There is a staff work room with printers and computers in it. They work. There is also a staff lounge with a water cooler AND an ice maker in the fridge. Ridiculous.
- I have a key to the building.
- We have policies. And procedures. And we started following them on DAY 1.
- Every kid got a schedule before the first day of school. And an ID. And a locker. The schedules were correct and their IDs are to be worn around their necks - and none of the lockers were broken.
- Teachers had access to their rosters at least two weeks in advance. They also have access to all of the students' test results and grades for their entire academic career, as well as all parent information, red flags for truancy, IEPs, schedules, and even pictures via the internet.
- I have school email. My administration uses it regularly. I feel informed. I also have a phone in my room.
- We have an automated phone system that has called me twice now - once to tell me about parent/teacher night and once to tell me about excused absences. Parents are also getting this call - and the opportunity to listen to a podcast of the morning announcements.
- Our science department has a budget. That's surprise #1. Surprise #2 is that it's big - like $30K big. We can get reimbursed for classroom expenses.
I feel pretty confident that I could go on and on, but I am certain that it will just get more boring from here. Suffice it to say, I think I might be learning what it feels like to work in a "real" school - and I'm imagining what my kids in Baltimore could have gained from having a semi-functional environment to work in.
The first two days went off without a hitch. My classes are extremely diverse - if I had to give a ballpark I'd say that my classes are 40% hispanic, 30% black, 20% white, 5% asian, and 5% "other." There are supposedly somewhere between 70 and 90 languages spoken by our students. Many of them are refugees.
We work on an A Day/B Day block schedule. I teach 5 sections of regular chemistry (Juniors and Seniors) and one section of Pre-IB (Honors) Chemistry (Sophomores). Our classes are 100 minutes long, except on Wednesdays. My classes vary from about 25 to about 35 kids - and supposedly they have about 80% attendance.
I LOVE the rest of the Science department and most of the teachers I've met already. I'll mention more about them in the future, but for now we can say that they are amazing people. My kids have all been great so far and I'm already excited to get to know their little quirks while they get to know mine. I have already picked out a few to watch for...and oddly, several of them chose the seats in the front of the room to sit in. What's up with that?
I may have made my school sound like a glorious place, but lest ye be led astray, let me tell you that it is not a great school. We are consistent low performers with less than 50% of students passing CSAPs (the state testing) and also most students getting low ACT scores. Our graduation rate is low, our pregnancy rate is high, and fewer than 50% of our kids speak English as a first language. We do have Teach For America corps members in the building. I am just so heartened to see that many of the supports are in place to make a change for the kids and actually step in to help them!! We might actually be able to close the achievement gap in Aurora...
At the end of Day 2 (which, on the A/B schedule is really like Day 1, Round 2), I feel like I'm a teacher again. My feet are absolutely killing me, my bladder is starting to expand back to its former 8 hour capacity, and I'm adjusting to the idea of giving up daytime facebooking. I'm remembering how goofy kids can be, can already spot a text message being sent under the table, and my voice is scratchy from talking too much. "Miss!" is ringing in my ears. I have my first lab planned for Monday and the whole weekend stretched in front of me to prepare and unwind.
So...here's to an excellent year!
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