New Teachers Prep for Their First Test
First-Year Instructors Work to Make Students Feel Welcome

By Jennifer Buske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 31, 2008

Brown construction paper that would become a tree trunk blanketed the floor. Across the room, handcrafted 5-foot-tall plant stems were missing their flowers.

Miniature xylophones were half-assembled, and the question of how to arrange musical notes to look like flowers remained unanswered.

After spending more than 20 hours coloring signs, labeling instruments, laminating bulletin board pieces and cutting out letters and musical notes, first-year music teacher Ashley Humble was far from turning the classroom into a learning environment.

"I need some inspiration here," Humble said while staring at a blank wall at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Woodbridge, 12 days before school started. "I'm a music teacher, so I never got training in the bulletin board department. I'm new to all this and just freehanding it."

The 22-year-old was satisfied with one part of the room: the floor, which was covered with a somewhat beaten-up wine-colored rug.

"I'm so happy, because I've been going around saying I wanted a rug," she said. "My mentor found it for me this morning. It could use a vacuum, but that's okay. I really wanted a rug."

Humble is one of 524 new teachers joining the Prince William County school system, which has 5,508 teachers, counselors and librarians. For them, the school year began long before the first bus full of students arrives Tuesday.

"I don't know if people know what we do before school begins," Humble said. "I hope they know we put in a lot of work, because we want to be good teachers to their kids."

Aug. 19 marked the official first day of school for Prince William's newest educators. The group -- 419 are new to teaching, and 192 came from out of state -- funneled into Forest Park High School at 7:30 that morning for an orientation session.

The cafeteria was buzzing as seasoned employees introduced themselves and new teachers shared tips on where to find construction paper that won't fade in the sun and which kind of tape works best to hold bulletin board displays in place.

Humble, who moved to the county not knowing a soul, expressed anxiety as she waited for the program to start.

"I'm worried everyone will be married . . . and if there will be other young people working with me," Humble said. "This morning I was even stressing about what to wear to orientation."

Humble, an Ohio native and West Virginia University graduate, left her family, friends and boyfriend to teach music in Prince William. She chose her career after years playing trumpet and performing in her high school band.

"I wanted to be a band director, but when I learned what I could do with elementary music, I knew that's what I wanted to do," she said, adding that she likes the idea of using books, games and poems to educate. "Elementary kids are also great, because they are always excited to learn."

Humble said Prince William was not on her radar until she met a representative at a college career fair. After a few rounds of interviews, she said, the friendly staff and the reputation of the district enticed her to accept the job in May.

"The HR department here was on the ball more than anywhere else, and everyone was so friendly and welcoming," said Humble, who applied for 20 jobs and also got an offer in Jamestown, N.Y. "I also thought the music room was fantastic, stocked full of instruments."

Although tears were shed when she moved and she said she is intimidated by traffic on Interstate 95, it didn't take long -- less than a day -- for Humble to fit in. As she was waiting for orientation to begin, a familiar face appeared.

"Hi! It's Ashley, right?" asked 23-year-old Laura Gesotti, a new second-grade teacher at King Elementary. "How's it going?"

Gesotti, a graduate of Stonewall Jackson High School in Prince William and James Madison University, did her student teaching in the county and was so pleased that she decided to stay.

The women, who briefly met at their school's library a day before, asked about the other's family, schooling, how their rooms were coming along and whether a significant other was in the picture.

When the new employees were told to head into Forest Park's auditorium, conversations ended and their initiation began.

"I want to compliment you" on being chosen from 4,000 applications, Keith Johnson, the school system's associate director of human resources, told the crowd. "Today, you become part of the Prince William family."

Prince William Superintendent Steven L. Walts shared stories about his first year of teaching, including the time his students put stuffed animals in each desk and hid in the gym closet.

"I get really touched when people tell stories about their experience," Humble said. "It's always nice to hear they survived their first year because then I feel like I will, too."

Walts described the evolution of teaching and the need to embrace new technology and hands-on learning. He discussed the school system's strategic plan, which includes ensuring that the 73,000 students in the district's 88 schools meet high standards of performance.

Teachers also heard from Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He said teachers are leaders who must find innovative ways to keep students' attention.

"Teachers touch eternity through their students," Hrabowski said his mom would always say. "You can never not lead; you must always give off energy and have a positive face, because someone is always watching."

After the orientation session, Humble and Gesotti spent two weeks meeting with educators, learning about curriculum guidelines, safety procedures and school rules. They took professional development classes and had a luncheon at their school to get to know staff members.

The time flew by, Gesotti said, and by Thursday, she was feeling the pinch to get everything done.

"I'm pretty stressed out right now, because my room isn't done and I've had so many meetings, it's overwhelming," Gesotti said. She said she had slept about five hours a night. "I've been staying up late trying to absorb all the information. We've gotten about a million papers, which is good; I just have to keep everything organized."

While Gesotti was still piecing her room together, Humble finished hers, in part, she said, because she had less decorating to do.

The brown paper that covered the floor now resembled a tree trunk on Humble's wall. Her theme, "growing with music," was plastered across the board, with musical notes resembling pink and purple flowers. Her freshly cleaned rug sparkled, and the instruments, including African drums, xylophones, maracas and pianos, were in their places.

Lesson plans were done for the first week, although Humble said she still needed to work on her "teacher voice" and figure out how to memorize the names of the almost 500 students at the school.

"A teacher asked me if I had the vibe yet; that vibe you get when you walk into your own room and it feels like your room," Humble said. "I told her 'Yeah, I have it.' Now I'm just waiting for the kids to show up."