The first day of fifth grade is a happy reunion for many students after months apart over the summer, but anxieties are also high as they prepare for their first year juggling two primary teachers.
Cleveland's Promise -- Almira Elementary School's newly minted fifth graders must adjust to switching classrooms and all the responsibilities that come with being another year older.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As the students make their way to the third floor of Almira Elementary School, there’s a mix of excitement and anticipation in the air. It’s their first time in the building since school let out in June.
Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer have embedded two reporters at Almira since the fall of 2021 to document the many challenges of educating students whose lives are complicated by poverty, and the innovate ways teachers overcome them. “The water fountains have been turned back on, so we’ll no longer have bottled water available,” Ms. Hejnal tells her homeroom, updating the class on new COVID-19 protocols. “I’ll be issuing you a water bottle to use at the fountains. You’ll only get this one, so please keep track of it. If you lose it, you won’t be getting another.”
While the students are at lunch and recess, Ms. Hejnal and Mr. Whelan eat lunch together to discuss the day so far. They’re joined by Ms. Gina Halkiadakis, the fifth-grade intervention specialist, who works with special education students. But the first few weeks of ushering students through the midday switch is also a challenge for the team. They visit each other’s classroom after lunch to tell their afternoon students what books and supplies they’ll need to bring with them. But they know that, without fail, someone will raise their hand and ask to go back to get something they’ve forgotten.
But the teachers manage the students’ growing pains of this transition with grace. They understand that the adjustment is one of the best ways to prepare the students for middle school, when they’ll be taught by four teachers instead of two.
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