WEST JORDAN, Utah — Being a teacher comes with a lot of responsibility, and like some in West Jordan, those responsibilities include prepping classrooms to make sure they’re ready for students on the first day of school.
Supplies, lesson plans, posters — you name it —Brianna Hunt is already on top of it.
“For me, it was fun finding the cute things that go along with the standards and then print, laminate, cut, repeat,” Hunt explained.
As a first-year third-grade teacher at Heartland Elementary School, Hunt herself is still finding her way around the classroom.
“Just a quick, efficient way to take the lunch count," she said of one newly learned hack. "I stole that from my mentor teacher, so I can’t take credit for the setup."
School year begins in southern Utah with security, kindness front and center:
Filling up the classroom can be an expensive task, but Hunt is following in her mom’s footsteps.
“She understands, because she’s a teacher, how much time and resources go into creating a classroom," explained Hunt. "So she got me so many laminating sheets, cards stocked throughout this summer, and let me use her printer. I just prepped so much over the summer."
Over at Columbia Elementary School, it’s year two for kindergarten teacher Alexa Byrd.
“I just feel like we have a little bit of a party in kindergarten,” Byrd said.
Her motto in the classroom is to embrace your differences…
“My favorite part about teaching kindergarten is getting to meet the kids, getting to be a part of their lives," she shared. "It’s a big reason why I became a teacher because I had so many teachers who had a huge impact on my life."
But Byrd's students aren’t the only ones learning new lessons in the new classroom.
“I haven’t had to really buy anything this school year. It’s been nice to organize how I wanted it because last year, I didn’t know and started throwing things, places, so it’s been nice to know this is more important than this," Byrd said. "It’s been fun."
Students are now just a little more than a week away from their sharpened pencils hitting the paper, but Utah teachers say they’re excited to start fresh.
“Feel like I’m prepared for whatever comes my way," said Hunt.
“It’s going to be a really fun year," Byrd added.
