Students know that the first year at a school can be nerve wracking. It’s common to worry about finding your way around, making friends, and becoming a part of the community. At the same time, it can be an exciting time with lots of new opportunities. Believe it or not, first year teachers feel the same way.
For several teachers in the building, it is their first year at the school or as a teacher in general. Just like students, teachers look to make friends as they settle into their new jobs. “I have only really interacted with the social studies department so far. But I have nothing but good things to say about them,” first year social studies teacher Casey Hopkins said.
For Hopkins, this is not only her first year here but also her first year teaching. She has found it helpful to teach courses that she has had prior experience with. “I’m teaching content that I know, which is a lot easier than teaching content I know nothing about. I have also gotten lots of different lessons from other teachers and combined them into what I think makes sense,” Hopkins said.
Science teacher Gavin Kramar is in his sixth year teaching and is able to compare this school to his previous worksites. “Wootton is a very unique school in the sense that there are many classes where academics are taken very seriously. Students tend to find some area that they can specialize in and latch on to that as far as their academic identity. So I find that really refreshing,” Kramar said.
Kramar is relatively unique in the fact that he is a former student here. The overall vibe of the school remains unchanged in his eyes. “I graduated in 2011 so what’s really strange is that the school hasn’t changed that much over those years. A lot of the same teachers are here,” Kramar said.
However, new faces at the top of the leadership ladder have made a difference. “When I was a student Dr. Doran was principal. So having different leadership at the top can change things about how the school is organized. Like even the bell schedule is very different,” Kramar said.
Outside of school hours, not every new teacher takes the same approach in integrating themselves into the community. Hopkins focuses her energy on teaching during school and relaxing outside of it. “I try to leave my work at school so I’m not constantly focusing on it at home,” Hopkins said.
New teachers are not the only ones new to the school. The freshman class has also had to learn the lay of the land. “I think the first semester was about settling in. But now I feel like I’m part of the Wootton family,” freshman Sreeyan Nampally said.
Freshmen may assume that new teachers deal with an adjustment phase. “I think first year teachers have a really hard job because they have to get acquainted with all their new students and get the layout of the school down,” Nampally said.
Overall, new teachers say they have enjoyed their first year here and consider themselves lucky to be a part of a quality school. “Unless something changes, I’m excited to be here for a while. I’m looking forward to next year now that I’ve worked out all the kinks,” Kramar said.
