PHOENIX — One week from Wednesday, several districts in Tempe will welcome students for the first day of school. Other districts will be starting in the coming weeks and educators are getting ready for the new school year.
“The great thing about education and teaching is you get a new year, every year. You get to learn new things over the summer at conferences like this to implement into your room,” said Jeff Samaniego, who is a marketing teacher within the Deer Valley Unified School District.
Samaniego is one of about 900 educators from across the country attending the NAF Next conference, a four-day annual conference meant to help connect educators and teach them about new programs and practices.
Samaniego says he’s taking some of the knowledge he learned at the conference into his own classroom, feeling inspired by some of the speeches he’s already heard.
“Just taking those stories to give back to students where you can do anything, as long as you put your foot down and work hard,” he said.
While educators are learning new technology and different programs, a lot of busy work happening in school buildings as well.
“A lot of extra time spent getting staff rooms ready, getting facilities ready. Getting the bus routes correct, hiring, we're still hiring today,” said Dr. Curtis Finch, the superintendent of Deer Valley Unified School District.
Even weeks before school starts, districts and schools still have openings and are working to fill them as the teacher shortage continues.
While a new school year is another new fresh start, moving forward through the year, Samaniego's advice to other teachers is to be patient.
“Take deep breaths. Just know that there's lots of factors that can influence you and change your perspective. But at the end of the day, you're teaching the students,” he said.
