An ending and a new beginning

Friday I left a group of kids I will never forget. I taught 87 students for 12 weeks and fell in love with team Phoenix. They drew cards, gave me artwork, gift cards and hugs on my last day at their school. They have a newfound rivalry with the middle school across town, since that's where I'll be teaching starting tomorrow. I'm switching from life science (7th grade) to earth science (6th grade). I'm also transitioning to a teaching team where the two other teachers plan lessons together three days a week and support each other much more than I experienced at the previous school, where teachers keep their materials safely locked on their hard drives and do not share freely their teaching tips and techniques. The school demographics will change from 88% white, 8% black, 4% other, to 40% hispanic, 30% white, 20% black and 10% other. Hello, diversity! I'll have classes with 23 students each. I start tomorrow.