Pulaski County Special School District teachers get ready for the first day of school

PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. – Class is in session for a lot of central Arkansas schools, but students with the Pulaski County Special School District got another week of summer, with their first day of school coming on Monday.

Tracy Hill, a fourth-grade teacher at Daisy Bates Elementary, will be preparing students for a year of science, starting with a fun activity to calm their nerves.

“We’re going to decorate lab coats and talk about the various different types of scientists that are around us,” Hill said.

Down the hall, Bryce Condren will be teaching kindergarten. She said she started planning for the school year before summer break even started.

“I know we’re off in the summer but we’re constantly thinking about school,” Condren said. “It’s exciting and we want to make it the best we can for our kids.”

She said working with a kindergartener’s attention span is what motivates her to start planning early.

“They really need to be kept busy and not have a lot of downtime,” she said. “And we like to keep things really structured.”

As they finish last-minute touches to lesson plans and decorations, the teachers are looking forward to what the school year has to offer.

“Growth from our students, growth with our staff Aad just meshing together in a melting pot of diversity and inclusiveness with everyone,” Hill said.

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