Getting Ready for School

Students in the Buffalo Public Schools will return to school on Thursday, September 5, 2024. The month of September always brings back memories for me of my 30 plus years as a classroom teacher in the school system. The beginning of the school year is always one of excitement for the teachers as well as students.

I remember going back to school in late summer to set up and arrange my classroom in anticipation of the time that students would return. I would go back sometimes for two weeks in August to put up bulletin boards, arrange the student desks, organize bookshelves, and to do all of the things necessary to prepare the classroom for the return of students. I would also purchase materials for the start of the new school year. These included teacher guides, posters, notebooks, student certificates and rewards for good behavior, and everything needed that I could not get from school. Due to the fact that the schools did not have a lot of materials on African and African American history, I often visited Harambee bookstore owned by Kenneth and Sharon Holley for teaching materials on Black History. The store is now known as Zawadi Books and it is located at 1382 Jefferson Avenue across from Jim Bell’s Cleaners.

I spent the first few days of school getting to know the students. I always used name tags and placed them on the student desks. This is important because teachers must be able to identify their students and call their names as soon as possible. It helps to set a positive tone for the first part of the school year.

The first month of school involves introducing the school and class routines. I always set my classroom rules during the first week of school so that the students were aware of what the expectations were in the class. It is important to have short and specific rules, not long involved rules. Students can also help to set the rules. If they are involved, they will be more inclined to follow them. After the rules were announced, I posted them on chart paper in front of the classroom in a place where they could be easily seen. If we needed to add more rules during the year, there would be space left to write in a few new rules. Most experienced teachers have all rules and class procedures in place by the end of September. When the rules are in place and the classroom is organized, then teachers and students are off to a good start.

There are meetings with the principal, teachers and support staff to discuss staff expectations for the year. At this time teachers receive their class schedules so they know when students will attend specials such as gym, music, art, and what the lunch periods will be. Some schools provide a handbook for teachers to acquaint them with any new programs, a code of conduct for both students and teachers, and any information relating to parent involvement. These days, security is a great concern in all of our schools. Teachers need to know the procedures and new policies regarding school safety. It is my hope that all schools will have a disaster training component for weather related emergencies.

I remember several times when we had snow storms and students would be on the buses for hours before they could get home. I also remember that one time we had a bomb threat at Campus West, where I worked. It was during the winter and we had to immediately get out of the building. There was no time to even get our coats. Fortunately, we were on a college campus and we walked over to the gym where we stayed until it was safe to return to the school. It was a very scary experience.

Let’s pray for the safety of our students this school year. Let’s also pray for those students who have experienced violence in their families and community and the loss of a close family member due to a murder or a shooting that left a person critically injured. There will be challenges for our teachers, students, and administrators. It is my hope that they will have a successful and peaceful new school year!!

Parents can also visit the website of the Schools to get important information. They can go to: www.buffaloschools.org. Here you can find the members of the Buffalo Board of Education. If you go to the beginning of the website, you will find the school calendar at a glance. Here are some important dates that parents need to know:

September 3rd – Staff and teachers development day. No students on this date.

September 4th – Teachers set up their classrooms.

September 5th – First day of school for students.

October 14th – Indigenous Peoples’ and Italian Heritage Day.

November 5th – Election Day.

November 11 th – Veterans Day.

November 27th – November 29th, Thanksgiving Recess.

December 23 – 31st , Winter Recess.

You can find the other important dates on the website. It is good to have these days so you can plan for the entire year.

Please Note: I will be doing a number of articles on the schools and education in general in the coming weeks!!