Even with decades of experience, teachers can still face a daunting task in preparing a classroom for another school year.
"You unpack everything you just finished packing away," joked Meg Johnson, a second-grade teacher at Agua Caliente Elementary School, 11420 E. Limberlost Road.
She was among the many teachers at the school organizing their rooms last Thursday, just a week before the start of class.
"It's nerve-racking every year, but exciting at the same time."
Johnson is heading into her 36th year of teaching, the last 21 at Agua Caliente.
"It's still really fun and enjoyable," she said. "When it isn't, I'll stop!"
She had some help this year from former student Rebekah Herklotz, 8, retired teacher Sue Petrick, and her 14-week-old puppy, Lucy.
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"We make sure second grade is fun," said Petrick, who taught at the school for 20 years, nine teaching second grade with Johnson.
"It's a lot of prep, but I tell you what - it's a great grade to teach."
Just down the hall, kindergarten teacher Pat Gutierrez, known to her students as "Mrs. G.," was reviewing some handouts for parents while seated in a tiny school chair.
"We really appreciate when parents bring the supplies we ask them to bring," said Gutierrez, who usually starts getting her room in order about two weeks before school starts.
Gutierrez, whose children also attended Agua Caliente, has taught there for 11 years. She has spent the last six in the same classroom, which she said really helps with planning.
Around the corner, sixth-grade teachers Nancy Ingerson and Jeff Crane worked on their classrooms.
"The biggest thing today is getting the desks set up and figuring out how to fit the kids in the room," Ingerson said.
Ingerson has taught every K-5 grade in her 30-year career. She's spent the last 24 at Agua Caliente, 12 of them teaching sixth grade at the Tanque Verde Unified School District school.
"I find the curriculum more interesting and they're a little more independent," said Ingerson of the subject matter and the students. "They're a lot of fun and their sense of humor is more developed."
Crane decorates his room a little bit differently every year.
"Most of this stuff I'll leave right where it is all year long," he said while hanging a poster of the Grand Canyon. "I like to vary it, though. If this is my work environment, I want to change it up a bit. I need to be motivated, so I put up stuff that keeps me going."
District schedules
The Tanque Verde and Catalina Foothills school districts are among the last in the area to launch the school year; classes there start today. The Tucson Unified School District is the last; students in Tucson's largest district return Monday.
Contact photographer Greg Bryan at gbryan@azstarnet.com or 307-1709.
