What Do You Do All Summer?
A wall is being removed in a new 3rd grade classroom. New carpet and paint is next.
The title of this post comes from a question that is frequently asked of me by parents, students, and other folks I encounter throughout the summer. I’m pretty sure people have a completely different vision of what summer looks like than what is reality. I think our students envision me sitting in my office watching Netflix or shooting basketball in the gym. The reality is, summer is a VERY busy time at most schools. Last summer was probably the busiest summer I have ever experienced in my 20+ years in education as we dealt with a massive construction project and just for fun, added in preparing plans on how to conduct class during a global pandemic! We are hoping (and expecting) that this summer will be a little quieter. Even so, I thought I would give you a glimpse of what all happens on a typical summer. My days are filled with a variety of things that keep us busy. Here are some things that have been happening this week:
Admissions- YEP…it never ends! Just this week, we have had 6 families on campus touring for the fall. We have experienced a number of out-of-town families touring in the last month that are relocating to Chattanooga. We have actually done 3 tours on the weekends to accommodate their schedules.
Construction Projects- While not at the level of last year, there is always something happening in the summer. This summer (actually today!) we have construction taking place in a new 3rd-grade classroom where they are removing a wall to open up the classroom. Additionally, we also have construction happening in our new K2 classroom where bathrooms are being added.
Personnel Changes- Time has been spent this week interviewing candidates for open positions that we had. While most of our teaching positions are filled before summer starts, it is not uncommon to fill non-teaching positions during the summer.
Building updates- Summer is a time for floors to be stripped and waxed, halls to be refreshed with paint, and all sorts of other types of things like replacing dry erase boards, bulletin boards, coat hooks, and many other small things. Additionally, we will typically have a special project that we are working on to update something. This year, we are focusing on our 2nd and 3rd-grade hallway and are planning on updating all the lights to LED.
Curriculum, Class lists & Inservice- Each year considerable time is spent updating the consumable pieces of our curriculum as well as overall updates. Robin Morris does an incredible job of overseeing this. We also have to get build each class, update this information in FACTS, and get inservice planned for teachers. Our teaches spend time in training each year during this time to prepare (and improve) for the upcoming year.
As you can see, summer work is required for the school year to start smoothly in the fall. If you are on campus visiting the library this summer, stop by and I’ll pause my Netflix to say “hello.”