The Park City School District welcomes students back to class on Wednesday, and teachers are already buzzing with excitement as they look ahead to the new academic year.
“Preschool has adopted a new curriculum, and I feel really inspired to grab hold of that and work with it and see how the kids respond to it,” said Jen Bramson, an early childhood paraeducator in the district. “I spent the summer working on professional excellence with the National Education Association, so that was also very inspiring, and I’m feeling motivated to come back, work with the kids and see their growth.”
Bramson has taught preschool-aged children in the Park City area for 20 years, 15 of which have been with the Park City School District. She said she’s proud to collaborate with fellow educators who work together to provide educational experiences and growth opportunities for the district’s youngest students.
“I love that it’s usually the first time in school and in our public school system,” Bramson said. “I get to help shape them and prepare them to go through the school district and set them up for success.”
Merrylin Pham, who runs the Parley’s Park Elementary School after school program, said she’s excited for students to return because enrollment for the program has increased, which gives her an opportunity to connect with and help more kids.
“I like that we have this freedom to curate cool little enrichment activities together, but we can also aid the teacher,” Pham said. “When a student is falling behind, we get to help the kids with that. If they’re behind in reading, it feels really good that we get to help them out before testing.”
The after school program is unique because it also gives students a chance to learn valuable life skills that aren’t necessarily taught in an academic classroom, like basic culinary tasks.
“A lot of kids here didn’t know how to cook, or their parents wouldn’t let them handle a pan, but with adult supervision, we can teach them that,” Pham said. “I want to teach them life skills, not just cooking. This year I want to start doing woodworking. We’re really hands-on.”
Learning how to play an instrument and participating in an ensemble also teaches students transferable life skills, and band director Zachary Giddings is excited to see what Park City’s fledgling musicians will accomplish over the next school year.
“There are so many life lessons that a kid gets from music that have nothing to do with music,” Giddings said. “It’s a fun way to learn how to be self-evaluative. It’s a fun way to learn how to strive for more, and I think it gets the kids excited about learning and coming to school. I think it’s the best way to show kids they can do more than they think they’re capable of.”
First-time teachers are gearing up for their inaugural week of classes, too, including Belle Malpede, who recently graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in kinesiology. Her role as a health and physical education instructor for middle school students is a full circle moment for Malpede because she attended and graduated from the Park City School District.
“I’m feeling pretty great, but I’m definitely nervous,” Malpede said. “There’s a lot of background stuff that I’m learning about that I had no idea existed as a student, so it’s like drinking through a firehose, but my co-teachers and the PE department have been absolutely amazing and so supportive and so wonderful in advocating for me and teaching me a ton of things.”
Teachers aren’t the only ones gearing up for students’ return, though, and Transportation Secretary Reyna Velazquez said her team of bus drivers is prepared to usher kids back to the school with open arms and a big smile.
“We are the first face that they see, and for a lot of them, we’re the first person they talk to in the morning,” Velazquez said. “We get to see their little cute smiles, and when they don’t have a smile, we get to talk to them. They’re just adorable and cute and helpful.”
Velazquez said the new year is also exciting for her because she’ll be in charge of training drivers and piloting a program allowing parents to see information about their child’s bus. Parents will be able to put their address into the program and pull up information about the bus number, the bus stop and expected pickup times.
“A lot of the parents are really excited and happy about that, and we’re also excited to see how that’s going to go,” Velazquez said.