The languid days of summer are ending, and the aromas of melting ice cream and chlorine are being replaced with freshly sharpened pencils and school bus diesel fumes.
Back to school has always been my favorite time of year, but prepping for this column, I realized a startling truth: This will be the first year in my life when I haven't headed off to school.
Even after school and college, I spent 12 years welcoming students to my classroom.
So it's bittersweet to talk to Elena Vernieri – who begins her first year teaching in a third-grade classroom at Pitts Elementary School – especially since it seems like only yesterday I was in her shoes.
Elena is new to the profession, but not to Pitts School. She did her student teaching there, in the same classroom she is set to take over.
“I learned so much in that classroom,” she said. “You have all these theories you learn about, and it was fun to apply those.”
A Wilmington native, Elena graduated from UNC Charlotte last spring as an N.C. Teaching Fellow and wanted to work in the Cabarrus County Schools. She feels lucky that Principal Chuck Borders hired her.
“The teachers and administration are very helpful and encourage working as a team,” she said.
“It's also a great community. The kids have a lot of support from home, which is nice.
“I'm really excited about decorating my classroom and making it my own, and seeing the kids grow from the first to last day of school.”
Third grade was a natural choice for her: “The kids have been in school long enough that they know what to expect, but they still get excited about things. If you're excited about a project, so are they!”
Elena said she never taught a room full of dolls as a child: “I started thinking about (teaching) in high school, because the teachers in my life inspired me. I wanted to be that inspiration for other kids.”
She remembers her third-grade teacher, Mrs. Merritt, as especially fun, and hopes to model herself after her. Another role model was Christine Ferguson, a mentor under whom she completed an independent study project.
Several hours away from her home and family, Elena has already developed a support system here. Many friends from UNCC stayed in the area, and a close friend is also starting her teaching career in Cabarrus County.
I thought it would be interesting to follow Elena through her first year of teaching, so look again in a few months for me to catch up with her.
For now, I'm sure everyone in our community is rooting for her and all the other first-year teachers.
Free-lance columnist Amy Reiss (areiss@charlotteobserver.com) lives in Laurel Park. Contact her by e-mail at areiss@char
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