The quiet preparation: Ohio teachers before the first bell

Farah Siddiqi

As Ohio students head back to school, many parents may think the return to the classroom begins when the first bell rings but for educators, the preparation starts long before.

Larry Carey, culture systems consultant for Columbus City Schools and a teacher on special assignment, said teachers often spend their summer months attending training sessions, earning continuing education credits and developing new skills to bring back to their classrooms.

"There's some people that take that time off and they deserve it because teaching's hard," Carey pointed out. "But I guarantee you about 70%, 75% of your teachers are doing something in the summertime to prepare for the following school year to better themselves, doing some type of training."

As students start their school year, it is important to recognize the extensive preparation undertaken by Ohio's educators, including classroom setup and professional development, laying the foundation for the academic year. While the preparation is seen as crucial for addressing diverse student needs, there are concerns about potential effects on teacher well-being.

Carey shared educators often have new training sessions to prepare for the students. The sessions focus on new teaching strategies.

Sam DeGannaro, a math teacher at Trumbull Career and Technical Center, described what it feels like.

"You go through professional development and then you have, like, an hour or two to try to get your room ready when your brain is flooded with a million ideas, going zero to about 160 miles per hour in terms of the things you want to get accomplished and the things the administration wants," DeGannaro observed.

Carey noted new training in Columbus includes behavior-management techniques and social-emotional learning practices, all aimed at fostering a positive learning environment for their students.

"Right now, one of the things that we're working on to prepare for back-to-school and for our teachers is we did a presentation called de-escalation in the classroom," Carey added. "Just learning how to de-escalate situations, and also building that climate and culture in your classroom."

Educators like Carey and DeGannaro focus on creating a welcoming and productive classroom environment by planning behavior management and social-emotional learning lessons. The effort lays the groundwork for the academic year, helping to create an environment where students can succeed from the start.