'I Want Them To Love It Here': Teachers Prep Classrooms For First Day Of School

It is the final push ahead of a new school year for Tulsa Public Schools, and no one is putting more thought and care into what that will look like than the teachers. 

“I want them to love it here,” Burroughs Elementary 3rd grade teacher Sheritta Arrington said. 

Arrington has spent weeks dreaming up her classroom. 

“My theme is black and white with pops of color,” she said. 

Her goal one week ahead of the first day of school was to get all of her bulletin and whiteboards decorated and label important classroom locations. 

“Whatever is the most efficient for me and my students,” Arrington said. 

You could say the classroom is the heart of this school home. It’s where students will work through challenging lessons and celebrate victories. A key to that success and the one thing Ms. Arrington can’t live without in her class? 

“I need file folders! It helps me to keep everything organized,” she said. 

Ms. Arrington is on to something — she and other teachers say organization is key … and boxes of Kleenex. 

“In a month, we probably go through five or six boxes,” 2nd-grade teacher Vicky Caldwell said. “That’s even before winter gets here.” 

Caldwell knows a thing or two about putting a classroom together. This is her 35th year teaching, and her class is just about ready to go. 

“It took me a couple of days,” she said. 

Everything her future students will need has its place — books are stacked, and whiteboards set. And soon, school supplies will be placed and ready for its new owner. 

“It’s their crayons, glue sticks, markers. Highlighters and stuff. They’ll have easy access to all their materials they’ll need throughout the day,” Caldwell said. 

Putting a classroom together is a labor of love. 

“I hope they feel welcomed,” Caldwell said. 

Caldwell and Arrington are reminded throughout the school year of why they put in so much hard work before the first day of class. 

“I love seeing the growth in my students,” Arrington said. “When I see them getting stuff that they’ve been trying to get for a while and they finally get it, and then I’m like, yes!” 

That’s why teachers like Arrington put so much care into their rooms. They’re creating the perfect space to usher students through a new school year.