Students, teachers go back to class

Teachers, parents and students have been busy preparing for the first day of classes throughout the county Monday. | Nathan Strickland/FCT

City and County schools held their annual open house, back to school and meet the teacher days this week to try and get students and parents back into the swing of things as students hit the school campuses Monday.

For some students it is just another year, but for many elementary school kids it is a whole new world.

Phil Campbell Elementary Pre-K teacher Heather Fowler said it can get a little nerve-racking on the first day of school.

“We all are nervous on the first day, I’m nervous, the kids are nervous and the parents are nervous,” she said. “But that is just the way it is every year and as the year progresses you become more comfortable.”

Fowler conducted her parent’s night on Tuesday and believes she is ready to go for next first day of school.

“We just kind of went over the rules, regulations and expectations for the year with the parents,” she said. “I will have 18 students this year and I believe nights like these help everyone to become comfortable with classes starting and letting their children go. It also helps them to go ahead and bring some school supplies so that they don’t have to carry them on their first day.”

Fowler said the first day of Pre-K can be hard for many students and for some parents as well.

“There will be one or two students to cry when their parent leaves them because it is the first time they have ever been in this environment and they are just not use to it yet. On the other hand, there are also some parents who have a tough time letting their children go. I have actually had parents with video cameras stand outside my windows filming their child’s first day,” Fowler said. “My advice to parents with children starting Pre-K is to talk to your child at home about school as much as possible and then when you drop them off tell them you will be back soon, kiss them goodbye and leave. It makes it harder for the child to detach from their parent if the parent lingers around. Sometimes I do give parents a call to come back if their child just throws a fit, but that doesn’t happen hardly ever.”

Fowler will be stepping into her tenth year as an educator and she believes her unique situation of teaching a pre-K class sets a solid foundation for students before entering into the mainstream.

“The most exciting thing is to see the progression from start to finish,” she said. “Alabama Pre-K has been ranked number one in the nation and I just believe it is a great grade to teach and I’m looking forward to working with our wonderful principal and parents this year.”

PCES principal Jackie Ergle said she is always excited to see the kids again after a long summer break.

“I’m always excited about school,” she said. “I’ve read lots of material over the summer getting ready for this year and I can’t wait to get started.”

Ergle said this year’s theme is “PCES: Where all the pieces fit,” meaning parents, students, teachers, staff and community all working together for success.

“There will be some new faces at PCES and some new programs coming this year,” Ergle said. “I plan to bring more of the culture aspect into the school to expose our students to several different careers available to pursue as they grow up.”

Russellville West Elementary also opened up their doors and welcomed parents in on Thursday to visit their child’s teachers and unload some selected school supplies.

Chris James, who served as assistant principal at WES for seven years, will be stepping into his first year as principal and looks forward to a smooth-running year.

“I’m excited and anxious to get school started and continue the relationships with faculty, staff and students,” James said. “Most of our staff have been working and setting up their classrooms for the past two weeks, getting ready for the first day. We have people serving some new roles and there are many new areas explore and I expect our school to continue to move forward as we start a new year.”

Students at Russellville West Elementary learn their way around before hitting the hallways on Monday. | Nathan Strickland/FCT.

James attended kindergarten at Russellville when he first began his journey through school and his teacher, Terri Swaim, will be stepping into her 34th year teaching at Russellville in the same grade.

“I’ve been teaching ever since the state funded kindergarten and the first day of school still hasn’t gotten old to me,” she said.

Swaim said the first day is always exciting, but she said the expectations have changed over the years.

“I don’t think many parents have realized how high the expectations are now for students entering kindergarten,” she said. “The most challenging aspects of teaching in this area is the diversity. But I have managed to deal with it pretty good over the last several years and I believe I may have about five more years left in me before I elect to go into retirement.”

Swaim said having one of her former students as her new boss is kind of humorous.

“My advice to teachers is to always treat your kids good because you never know when they might end up being your boss one day,” she said, laughing.

“I’ve been teaching what I call ‘my grandchildren,’ which are the children of parents I have taught in the past, for many years now and I hope to teach many more as we start this new year.”

School officials encourage everyone to be patient and cautious as traffic around the school systems are expected to be high beginning Monday.