So it’s official: I’m going to a new school, and I’ll be teaching a new grade. It’s got me feeling like this-

I’ve been teaching 3rd grade at my old school for the last 5 years, and I absolutely LOVED my team and my giant, I-can-control-the-air-conditioning, beautifully decorated classroom. But I’ve been doing Title I for 8 years, and my school is a 17 minute drive without traffic each way. It ends up being about 20 minutes there, 30-50 minutes back (depending on various bridges).

Don’t get me wrong, I love Title I. I’ll probably be back at a Title I school in another few years. But I have only ever done Title I. (For those of you who don’t know, Title I schools are places where most of the population receives free and reduced lunch and are located in low socio-economic areas.) I like to try new things and I like to keep moving, so I put in a transfer for schools closer to my house that are not Title I, with very little expectation of actually getting said transfer.

Imagine my surprise when the school I student taught at, that I loved, that is 12 minutes each way from my house, called. Now, this school is one of those schools where no one leaves. In fact, no one left to give me my position, they had to add a teacher. So I went to the interview with the mindset of “this would be great to get, but even if I don’t, it’s good practice”.

With that mindset I did the interview and went about my life, hoping but not really expecting to get the job. And then I got the call. Did I want to teach 5th grade at this school?

It gave me pause. I have never wanted to teach older kids. I always said 3rd grade is the highest I’d go. But the opportunity was good, and rare. So I said yes.

Now I’m gearing up to teach 5th grade. I’ll be getting a new team, new kids, new place, new room (much smaller, unsure on the AC status), and a new experience. Change is good. It’s not always fun and it’s not always easy, but it is good. Be on the lookout on my YouTube Channel for my classroom setup Vlog, which needs to come soon because everything from my 3rd grade classroom is sitting in my office and it’s making me NUTS. (The piles of boxes and sterilite containers does not spark joy so they gotta go. ASAP.)