As the Chandler Unified School District gears up for a fresh academic year, educators are already hard at work, shaping their classrooms and skillsets ahead of the students' return, scheduled for Wednesday. The district, known for its year-round schedule that limits lengthy summer breaks and fosters ongoing learning, is buzzing with preparation.
With the guiding philosophy that consistent engagement aids in retaining knowledge, Chandler Unified educators are rolling out their classrooms for another teaching voyage. "I've done it for 18 years and I love what I do. I love it just as much now as the first year I did it," Lisa Borin, a first-grade teacher, told ABC15. Preparing alongside veterans like Borin are new teachers, such as fifth-grade teacher Cetara Anspaugh, embarking on her inaugural solitary teaching journey, remarking to ABC15 that the experience is "exciting and a little nerve-racking too, but mostly exciting."
Yet, while this proactive educational model combats learning loss, it isn't without its challenges. Arizona's formidable summer heat necessitates measures such as indoor recess and frequent hydration breaks for outdoor activities, as noted by Assistant Superintendent Mike De La Torre. Coaches, facing record-breaking temperatures, "have to take more frequent breaks and allow students to take off certain equipment for certain periods of time just to try to keep them cool as best we can," he explained to KTAR News.
The district is also introducing several new initiatives, highlighting a semiconductor course to acquaint students with the burgeoning tech landscape. It's putting a spotlight on chronic absenteeism, aiming to tackle and reduce it. To modernize movement within its halls, Chandler Unified is launching a digital hall pass system. De La Torre highlighted its benefits for students and faculty during emergencies, and for parents monitoring their children's school movements. "It does allow for a parent to kind of log in through the parent portal to see, ‘Hey, where is my student traveling during the course of the day? Are they visiting the counselor a lot? Are they visiting the bathroom a lot?'" he told KTAR News.
As the new school year approaches, Chandler Unified educators prepare to implement several initiatives aimed at improving student engagement and attendance. The district continues its commitment to providing quality education, supported in part by funding from the Arizona Local News Foundation.
