Teachers, like their students, get first day-of-school jitters, too.
Now add nearly two weeks of striking and a brand new job to that, and it’s understandable those jitters may be just a bit worse.
But that’s exactly what happened to Jack Thompson, a new English teacher at Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School. The 2017 Washington State University graduate and Vancouver native is starting his first permanent position with Evergreen Public Schools this year — albeit delayed after the district’s teachers spent eight days on the picket line advocating for higher salaries.
Evergreen Public Schools is the latest district to settle its contract negotiations, allowing the east Clark County district’s 26,000 students to return to school this week.
Still, Thompson, a former cheerleader and current cheerleading coach, is optimistic about what the new year will bring.
“I did enjoy meeting my colleagues on the strike line,” he said. “I truly feel like I can go and talk to anybody, ask questions.”
He even spent the days on the strike line lesson planning and brainstorming with his fellow teachers.
“That’s something we as a unit came together and talked about,” Thompson said. “I like to think of myself as a sponge. I was just bouncing ideas.”
Principal Julie Tumelty and her associate principal, Kate DeWein, have spent the last two weeks planning how to welcome students and teachers back with open arms. Sunday’s news that teachers would return and that the strike was over had the pair “super excited, then freaked out a little bit,” Tumelty said.
“Fresh day, fresh start,” Tumelty said. “Let’s get going.”
To the students arriving on campus, the start of school was met with mixed excitement. Many students arrived early, greeting their friends and checking out their new classrooms. Students milled around, comparing schedules and asking where unfamiliar rooms were located.
Kelsi Young, a 16-year-old junior, announced at 7:50 a.m. that she needed a nap.
“I didn’t think it would start this week, so I stayed up late,” she said.
Jacob Chumbley, who greeted people with the enthusiastic hugs only a 16-year-old can manage before 8 a.m., said he was looking forward to seeing his friends, meeting new teachers and planning a good prom.
Not knowing day to day whether school would start was a struggle, Jacob said. It took away some of the shine of the first-day fresh feeling.
“I’m excited to get back into some form of routine,” he said.
