GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – Like many school districts across the nation, teachers and students apart of Greenville County schools are preparing to head back to the classroom.
Soon, the walkways leading up to schools will be filled with students climbing off of buses being dropped off for their first day. Greenville County teachers have been hard at work all week preparing their classrooms. They said they are eager to be back for the new school year.
“I am so excited. And meet the teacher last night kind of makes it even more exciting because for us it’s meet the parents and meet some of the students for the first time,” said Carrie Santanielli, teacher at Sterling Elementary School.
Santanielli teaches third grade at Sterling Elementary School in Greenville. She said the past week has consisted of unpacking, cleaning up her room, and finalizing lesson plans.
“Now we are just finalizing our plans for what we are going to start teaching the students next week. We always start with building community in our classroom and kind of getting those jitters out,” said Santanielli.
Down the hall, Beth Beard could be seen on Friday putting the final touches on her technology class, making sure that everything was up to par with COVID-19 protocols.
“We’ll be sanitizing the computers and the keyboards. In between each class, I wipe the tables down with disinfectant,” said Beth Beard, K-8th grade technology teacher at Sterling Elementary School and the Charles Towne Center.
She added that her goal for the new school year is to turn a somewhat challenging class for students, into a fun, memorable experience.
“Everybody loves the technology classes and it’s my job to make technology accessible and fun,” said Beard.
Meanwhile, Todd Whittaker told 7NEWS that he is eager to begin his second year of teaching.
“I am so excited. This is my life’s work and this is what I am made to do and I feel like I am missing something when I am not teaching,” said Todd Whittaker, 7th and 8th-grade math teacher at the Charles Towne Center.
In an interview on Friday, Whittaker explained that while he’s preparing to share his own knowledge with students, there is always room to learn something new.
“I become a better teacher every single day. I learn something every single day and every single year,” said Whittaker.
While all three teachers had different lesson plans, they all said they are excited to enhance the knowledge of their students and eager for them all to return to class.
The first day of school begins on Monday for students in the Greenville County school district.