Teacher Talk Tuesday

Hello and happy Tuesday!

Well, this post is the first Teacher Talk of the 2026-2027 school year.

I often get asked, “When you are going back to school?” followed by, “Wow, that seems early…” when I respond…to which I agree!

If you’ve ever wondered what teachers do before the students arrive, here’s a peek into the first days back to school as a teacher.

Friday, July 24th: We had a professional development day on that Friday. This is the second year we’ve had a July PD day, but the trade off is that if we attended the July day, we didn’t have to work yesterday. Honestly, I kind of like it because in late July, I’m already thinking about school anyway, and after that PD day, I have a few things I can work on as I please.

My school is starting a Freshman Academy, and I’m in that academy. So, the PD was to see how other schools run their Freshman Academies.

Monday, July 27th: A couple of weeks ago, I didn’t have a work day, but Hadley was available, so she and I went to my room to get it set up. The good news is that only took about an hour. I always feel so much better when my room is put back together.

Tuesday, August 4th: Last Tuesday was a work day. Y’all, I always look at the teacher calendar when it gets put out, and I swear that day wasn’t on the original one sent in the spring. I thought our first day was Wednesday, August 5th. Thank goodness, I read an email with “important dates” the week prior.

That being said, that Tuesday was pretty chill, and since my classroom was put together already, I didn’t feel bad chatting with friends for a bit as well as having some quiet time in my classroom. I mostly got the room looking how I wanted it to look, organized my supplies, made sure my IFP/smart board was working, printed a few things, and made some copies.

Wednesday, August 5th: This was our first district “HUB” day and 6 hours of PD (out of the 24 we need in a year). Various levels or specialties go to assigned locations for the day. So, all the high school teachers went to one of the high schools from 8:00-4:00 with an hour and a half lunch on our own. Prior to the PD, we had to sign up for four 90 minute sessions.

Thursday, August 6th: This was a school PD day with 6 more hours of learning. We rotated through four 45 minute morning sessions, and then we did the same in the afternoon. Honestly, this day felt longer than the day before…and some of the sessions could have been longer while other could have been shorter.

One of our sessions as to assess our “color.” I’d done this years ago…I was a “gold” (planner) then, and I’m still one today. That being said, I’m pretty sure the last time I took this, I scored higher on gold…and this actually doesn’t shock me. I’ve “eased” up a bit through the years in regards to some of my “gold” tendencies.

Friday, August 7th: This evening was Open House, so we didn’t have to be at school until noon since we were working until 7:30. At noon, we had a cookout, and our principals grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. I brought two pans of Betty Crocker “Brookies,” and I had many people stop me and tell me how delish they were. All I did was follow the recipe, but I appreciate the compliment.

After eating lunch with my department, I worked in my room. I worked on my first day of school slides, made more copies, looked at curriculum, made my Open House slide and handout, etc.

Open House was a hit…I wasn’t sure what to expect, but honestly, I didn’t sit down the entire evening. Of course, having freshmen, I expected there to be lots of students come meet teachers, but we’d already had a freshman orientation, and with Open House being on a Friday night, I didn’t expect to be so busy. I got home around 8:00 and I was beat!

Monday, August 10th – You might recall above how I mentioned that if I went to the July PD, I didn’t have to work on this day. Well, we had a 1:00 Freshman Academy meeting, and since this is something new that’s being implemented, I didn’t feel like I should miss. That being said, I arrived at 12:30 and worked in my room for a bit. The meeting was from 1-2, and then I finished my “classroom scavenger hunt” worksheet and made those copies since the building was pretty sparse. I can count those few hours I was at school towards my flex time that I’ll most likely need later in the year.

At our meeting, the Youth Resource Coordinator gave us “freshman survival kits” which included some pens, markers, candy, etc…it was a sweet sentiment.

Tuesday, August 11th: Today, there’s an 8:00 breakfast potluck followed by a faculty meeting from 9-12. Then, we can work in our rooms the rest of the day. I’ll make sure my Google slides are ready to go, copies have been made, my white board is updated and all the other last minutes things we do before the students arrive.

Tomorrow – Wednesday, August 12th – Students arrive for the first day of school! I’m as ready as I’ll ever be for year 25…and my kids’ junior year!

Let me know if you have any questions! When does school start in your area?