Karen Williams: School can be a warm, exciting place to be

It’s back-to-school time! That phrase evokes many memories for me, some extremely pleasant and some not so much. Way back when I was entering Ballou High School, I really looked forward to the first day. Summer vacations seemed too long, especially since I had to spend my summers keeping my younger brother out of trouble. I couldn’t wait to get back in school with my friends. In those days before charter schools, we went from elementary to junior high to high school basically with the same group of people. To this day, I still hang out with my high school gang.

At one point during my career journey, I found myself teaching special education at DC Public Schools. By this time, the length of the school day — and the number of days spent in school — had gotten longer, especially for teachers. We worked (and students stayed in classes) almost till the end of June and had to come back in early August. Summer vacation time was down to less than five weeks. This was a huge difference when compared to the almost three months of my youth. But more to the point, every year as August approached, I became more and more depressed about having to go back to school. It seemed like I never had time to accomplish the things on my summer to-do list, including professional development courses that I wanted to take. But when those school doors opened and I got the keys to my classroom, I would spend hours reading my students’ individualized education programs (IEPs), planning and setting up my classroom to meet the needs of my students, and working to create a warm and welcoming environment for my students on their first day of school.

So, no matter how you look at it, whatever your expectations for the first day, remember that school can be a warm and exciting place to be. Take advantage of it. Welcome back!

Karen Williams is the Ward 7 member and president of the State Board of Education. A native Washingtonian, Williams graduated from Ballou High School in 1966 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary special education from George Washington University.