For teachers at Central, there are many factors that go into the first week of school. Just like the students, the teachers get to take some time off for themselves for summer break. When it’s time to get back into the swing of things, they must prepare for all the new faces that come in August.

Most teachers relax during their break, but most also spend some time in the summer improving their knowledge or refining what they present to the students.

“There’s a lot of behind the scenes stuff that the students don’t see, like knowing students certain situations or comparing the calendar to knowing what we are going to do for the first week and where we need to be,” said Miss Christina Brodell, Spanish teacher.

Srta. Brodell is a part of the World Languages Department and is very passionate about teaching Spanish. She is happy to lend a helping hand to students who want to learn more about the language.

“I try to maintain my Spanish, and this summer I spent a month in Spain. I try to go somewhere Spanish-speaking every summer, so I improve my cultural knowledge,” Srta Brodell said.  “In the summer, teachers are always taking classes or revamping curriculum.”

When it comes to whether their preparation changes every year, most of the time it differs when a new year comes around. By the end of the previous school year, teachers receive their new schedules, like students do, and may find themselves teaching an entirely new course.

“Every year the World Language department teaches different things so you might teach something different next year, where you might need to prep more and understand the curriculum more,” Srta. Brodell said.

Besides new courses and new students, teachers often reflect on their practice and consider additional changes to improve the learning environment.

“What goes into the beginning of the school year is thinking about how we are going to grade our students and that’s overwhelming because we get to meet over 100 new students,” said Ms. Melissa Zinnecker, science teacher. 

Even though teachers have to be prepared to grade various tests and quizzes, they also create a setting that lets students get a hands on experience in the classroom.

“We have to think about what activities we can make fun, so that kids are coming into a fun environment,” Ms. Zinnecker said.

The teachers also have to plan out lessons and are busy printing many unit packets for the upcoming weeks.

“For some teachers, a lot of [time] goes into what the first couple weeks look like. We make sure our computers work and we also make sure we have all of the stacked equipment that’s needed,” Ms. Zinnecker said.

This year is definitely different from the last as teachers re-learn to acclimate to the busy environment, especially now that most classrooms have laptops available for technology curriculum.