WAUWATOSA — Tuesday marks the first day of school for many students across southeastern Wisconsin. While children may arrive with a few first-day jitters, teachers say they feel them, too.
Inside McKinley Elementary School in Wauwatosa, teachers spent the final hours before students returned arranging supplies, preparing lessons and transforming their classrooms into welcoming spaces.
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For first-grade teacher Mary Berg, that means making her classroom feel like a second home.
Berg has worked in education for 22 years. She said she is excited to welcome a new group of students, including several familiar faces she remembers seeing on the playground last year.
“Luckily, I recognize a lot of the kids from kindergarten from the playground, so I am excited to have them in my class,” Berg said.
Beyond introducing a new curriculum and establishing daily routines, Berg said the first several weeks of school will focus on building relationships and creating a classroom community where students are comfortable being themselves.
“Getting them to that kind of cohesive family almost, where we spend every day together and we’re comfortable taking risks and being ourselves,” Berg said.
A few classrooms away, fifth-grade teacher Celina Katarak was preparing to welcome students who are nearing the end of their elementary school journey.
Katarak is entering her sixth year teaching fifth grade. She acknowledged that students are not the only ones who may feel nervous as a new school year begins.
“Teachers get those first-day jitters as well, because you never know what you’re going to get,” Katarak said. “I’m just really looking forward to meeting the kids and like I said, just kicking off this year of school.”
Katarak said one of her first priorities is ensuring that every student feels as though they belong.
“The biggest priority always is that they view school and our classroom as a place where they feel seen, a place they feel safe and supported by staff and a place that they just feel comfortable learning and growing,” she said.
That sense of belonging is also at the center of new leadership at McKinley.
Steve Sperl is beginning his first year as the school’s principal, but he is no stranger to its hallways. Sperl previously spent eight years teaching at McKinley.
“This is a little bit like coming back home,” Sperl said.
As students return, from the youngest children just beginning their elementary education to fifth graders preparing for their next chapter, Sperl said he wants every child who walks through the school’s doors to recognize their own potential.
“We really pride ourselves on a sense of belonging for all students,” Sperl said. “I hope that students feel that energy and excitement that all the staff have here and that they can be successful and they see themselves as successful.”
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