Carly Miller, a second- and third-grade learning support teacher at Knoch Primary School, said she begins preparing her classroom two to three weeks before the start of the school year. Submitted Photo

It’s only August, but summer is already drawing to a close for county schoolchildren. They’ll be reporting back to class in a little over two weeks.

But for their teachers, the work has already started as they work to prepare their classrooms and draw up their lessons plans.

Carly Miller, a second- and third-grade learning support teacher at Knoch Primary School, has already been in her classroom, arranging furniture and opening boxes of school supplies.

Miller said she begins getting her classroom ready two or three weeks before the official start of the school year, which is Aug. 21 this year. She said although teachers report Aug. 19, in-service days are used for training, leaving little time to physically prepare.

“The week before the 19th, I start doing paperwork preparing IEPs (individualized education programs), getting the desks and pencil boxes for my room,” said Miller, explaining the students who come for instruction in reading, mathematics and grammar leave their pencil boxes in her room when they are done with their daily four-hour sessions.

“Specifically with these kids, there’s more extra planning of supplemental things,” Miller said. Her students leave their regular classrooms for Miller’s sessions on subjects in which they may need some extra instruction.

“I can have six to 15 in a group. Last year I had 15. This year I have six,” Miller said. It’s a win-win situation, she said.

“They are able to get a smaller group themselves, and their regular classroom gets a smaller group for their instruction,” she said.

Jenna Koebler, a third-grade learning support teacher at Knoch Primary, is also getting started in readying her classroom for the upcoming school year.

“I usually go in one or two weeks beforehand,” said Koebler. “It usually takes me five days to set up and get everything ready.”

“At the end of the school year, you clear out stuff so the janitors can wax and clean the floors,” said Koebler. “Everything is disorganized. You have to move the tables where you want them, bring the bookshelves back, put books in the bookshelves.”

“You need to get worksheets ready for the first day of school, get your paperwork ready,” she said.

For Koebler this means completing IEPs for each of her incoming students.

“What support do they need? What goals?” she asked.

Sarah Milford, a second-grade teacher at Knoch Primary School, said her classroom preparation actually begins with the end of the previous school year.

“I have a huge supply list for the coming school year,” she said. She and her reading/math aide Sonya Schmeider pored over the list.

“We decided what we need, what to change, what worked and what didn’t work. It was all new items that I taught last year,” Milford said.

“For every teacher there are so many new things out in the education world. There are lots to be excited about,” she said. “You have to evaluate how you did and decide what you need for the upcoming year and revamp things to make it better.”

There’s also the physical act of clearing out the old school year to get ready for the new one. Every pencil and glue stick must be packed away throughout the entire school.

Then teachers have to decide what they need for the new year.

“I need more pencils, more glue sticks. I had five scissors break; I need more scissors,” Milford said.

She said she has a huge Excel spread sheet to list her supply needs that was actually due to be turned in the second week of May.

“I wanted test pencil boxes for each kid, special highlighters. Writing paper, pencils, erasers. Birthday stuff because birthdays are important for primary school students,” she said.

And Milford said she spent her own money on items such as an area rug, window decorations and lights in “getting my classroom the way I want it.”

In addition to items from her own home, Milford said uses resources from the school library and school computers to help illustrate her lessons. For the April 8 eclipse, she said she used a ton of different resources to bolster lessons about the celestial event.

“You have to be knowledgeable and adaptable. Not being adaptable for the students who need you, you are not going to be successful,” Milford said. “You have to know your students’ needs and adapt to them.”

Jenna Koebler, a third-grade learning support teacher at Knoch Primary School, holds a name plate with her maiden name in her classroom. Submitted Photo

Sarah Milford, a second-grade teacher at Knoch Primary School, said her classroom preparation begins at the end of the previous school year. Submitted Photo