Jenna’s First Open House

Episode Transcript

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:00:00]:
Last time on year one, we met Jenna, a first year third grade teacher eager to start her journey as an educator.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:00:08]:
I don't think I've ever thought of myself as anything else but a teacher.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:00:11]:
On this episode, Jenna meets her students for the first time, all 26 of them. And she gets to meet their parents. No pressure. This is year one, brought to you by Carnegie Learning, a podcast that chronicles all the ups and downs of one teacher's first year in the classroom. I'm your host, Kanika Chadda Gupta. For parents, open houses can be more than just another school mandated entry in their busy calendars. It's an opportunity to meet with the educators who'll be spending the year teaching and looking after their children on a daily basis. At Jenna's school, open houses happen in the afternoon, the day before school starts, with classroom doors flung wide open for parents and students to come and go as they please.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:01:04]:
After a busy day of team meetings and prepping for the school year, Jenna anxiously awaited meeting all 26 of her students. This is a massive class size, particularly for a first year teacher to tackle. Jenna was determined to learn as much about them as possible and settle into the greater community.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:01:25]:
So my school is in a rural town, and it actually is made up of three separate towns with some little, you know, places in between. There's actually in this whole entire school district, there's only one elementary, one middle school, and one high school. So basically any kid that lives in this area goes to this one school. So it kind of makes it tricky when you're talking about the numbers or demographics because it literally just depends. So instead of most schools having a set like, oh, there are four classrooms for each grade, or like, there are five sections for this grade. It literally just depends on how many kids live in this specific district. So my personal third grade group has six classrooms, me and five other teachers. And my personal class has 26 students.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:02:15]:
There are, oh, gosh, there are ten girls and 16 boys. You would think like, oh my gosh, 26 kids, that's a lot. But there's one other class that has 25 and then the other three have either 27 or 28. So especially once you get into those older grades, that is a lot of bodies in one room because in the older grades, they're starting to grow. Some of them look like there they should be in 7th or 8th grade just because, you know, growth births happen at different times. So when we're like, all right, circle time, it's hard to fit 26 3rd graders on the floor. So, yeah, that's kind of the makeup of my room.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:02:57]:
All in all, Jenna met a ton of new faces at lightning pace in.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:03:01]:
About two or 3 hours. But, like, after a whole day of PD and, like, planning with your team and going to meetings and stuff and being, like, socially active and, like, on and on your feet, meeting your kids and their parents for the first time, it's a long time to be on. Like, it's a long time to be, you know, smiling ear to ear. Then it's like, yep, like, I'm listening, but, you know, I'm. I'm a little glossed over, but I do care about your kid, and I'll figure it out. It was really important for a bunch of different reasons. One of the more, like, base level ones was it gave the opportunity for the kids to bring their supplies to school so they didn't have to bring them all on the first day of school, which was nice. So, like, during the open house, one of the things they had to do besides meet me was, like, drop all their supplies off and organize them into different buckets and stuff.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:03:50]:
It was also really important to be able to just see the kids and see which ones were excited to be there and see which ones were nervous to be there, see which ones came with both of their parents, see which ones came with siblings. One of my kids came with both parents, her aunt and uncle and her grandma. And I was like, you must have an awesome support system at home. Like, that's awesome. Then I also had some kids who, like, came in by themselves because their parents were off in a different classroom with their other kids and they ran out of time. It was important for me to see, just, like, the type of kid and the type of family structure that they might come from.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:04:27]:
We know that parental involvement is key for children to do well. The examples of how a supportive home life supports students range from improved standardized test scores to better social skills to, ultimately, high school and college graduation rates. By learning more about students and their home lives, Jenna hopes to be able to serve her students in a more effective way. And as important as it was for Jenna to learn about her students, it's critical for them to meet her, the adult that's going to prepare them for standardized tests at the end of the school year and fourth grade and beyond. The center on positive Behavioral interventions corroborates how crucial it is to develop an inviting classroom. According to the center, what. What we really want as a goal is for any student to walk in the building and feel like they're welcome, feel like they belong, feel like they can be free from physical confrontations, harassment, bullying, and also just be able to bring their authentic selves into the door.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:05:30]:
I think it's super important for the kids to meet me. So that way, on the first day of school, they're not meeting a stranger for the first time. They're able to have that safety net of having their parenthood next to them who's kind of leading, like, guiding the conversation and things like that. Because honestly, most of my conversations with my kids and their parents during open house was just me and the parent talking while the kid was running around the room doing different things. And then there were also some students who, right out the gate were like, hi, I'm so and so. My summer was great. How are you? So, you know, you just see those personalities, and it's important for them to be able to make that connection and to also, like, at the basic level, nowhere to go in the morning. Like, I could tell that some of my kids were nervous about, like, finding their room.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:06:16]:
So meeting me and seeing where they were going to spend their year is. Is very important.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:06:23]:
Of course, like all things teaching, the open house was meant to complete necessary paperwork for parents and students alike.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:06:32]:
During open house, I sent everyone home with, like, a literal ziploc bag full of a bunch of different papers for them to look through. And a lot of my parents were thanking me for that because they were like, thank you. All of these teachers are giving us papers, and I didn't have anywhere to put them. So, like, just using a simple ziploc bag, like a gallon bag, a lot of them were very appreciative. So I was like, oh, good to know for the future. I guess I did something right. The first one was like a fun get to know your teacher page for, like, the kids to look at. But then behind it, it was like all the information that they needed to know.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:07:04]:
So it was like an August calendar with all of the dates, and it was like their specials rotation for kids so they know when their kid has to be in gym shoes for pedest. And then behind it, a printed out PowerPoint of what to expect your kid to learn in third grade in each of the different subjects. And then it was a handout about state tests that they'll take in third grade, and, you know, all of those different things. So I personally didn't have to, like, face to face talk about all of those different details to the parents, but I had to think about it ahead of time so I could give that information to them. So that way, I just handed them the packet of papers. And I was like, keep this. If you ever have questions, check this first before you email me. Like, that sort of thing.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:07:48]:
Jenna shared her experiences with her boyfriend Liam as a fine arts teacher. Liam had a very different, perhaps more laid back experience at his first open house.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:08:00]:
When were your teacher conferences? Were they before mine or

LIAM [00:08:03]:
You had.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:08:04]:
I think mine were first. I think I was home giving you advice.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:08:08]:
I had a, I mean, at my previous job, I had to meet the teacher, but I mean, I'm a fine arts teacher, so I met, like, three parents. So there's definitely more pressure for Jenna. I think it's fun to, like, meet some of the parents, especially, like, making that connection of, like, oh, you're this person's parent. Like, I can tell the way you're interacting with me that makes sense. This is your child just seeing some personality overlap. I think it, in a way, is a little intimidating because it's almost like you're selling yourself to these parents of, like, I am the person that is going to teach your child for the next couple of months, and you need to trust me. So in that way, it feels a little intimidating. Especially.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:08:48]:
Also as younger teachers, it feels intimidating because I, no one's ever said this to my face, but I imagine at least one parent walks in and goes, wow, they're young. Like, that's a new face. And so I think that was in the back of my mind as well, of, like, I hope they think that I'm qualified to do this because I am on paper. But, like, experience is another thing.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:09:12]:
Jenna's open house only lasted a handful of hours, but it allowed her to set things on the right path at the onset. So how did Jenna do?

JENNA MACNULTY [00:09:21]:
I think things that did go well was I think I had, like, an upbeat environment in my room. So I think I did a good job. You know, I, like, played music in the background and, you know, I put out the basketballs for, like, the kids to throw up at the little hoop that I have, and they seem to enjoy that. So I kind of set the standard that, like, no, this is going to be, like, a fun room. We're going to learn, but you're going to feel comfortable and welcome in here. So I think I did that well, honestly, for things that I didn't do well. I think taking note of the things that the parents were telling me, I don't know if that's just, like, a first year teacher thing or if that's just how it always is, if, like, some parents just want an information dump, and, like I said before, sometimes, like, some things stuck with me, but obviously some things didn't stick with me. And also having kids coming in and out constantly, there wasn't, like, a set time where, like, everyone came in and I talked to everyone at the same time.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:10:19]:
So, like, I had one student and both of her parents in there for, like, 45 minutes, whereas some other kids would come in for five minutes, drop their things off, say hi and bye. One of my parents was saying that, like, this student moved from a different state to this state, and she hadn't been to school since they moved, and they moved in December. So, like, it had been a few months since the student had been in school. So I was like, she missed a lot in my brain. Like, I had to be like, oh, yeah, thank you for the information. But in my brain, I was like, oh, my gosh, this is not gonna be good for her. Like, she's gonna have so much catching up to do. So kind of, you know, having that internal panic but having to keep that.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:10:59]:
That face on for the parents of being like, we'll work with her. It'll be fine. Thank you for telling me, you know, just managing those two things at once. So it was just a varied experience between all of the different students and families that I had. So I don't necessarily know what I would do to fix that, to make it feel more equal among all of them, because you really can't with an open house. But that's definitely something that I can at least think about in the future. There definitely were some questions that I was like, I don't know the answer to that one. So I did, you know, the classic thing of, like, you know what? I'm not exactly sure, but, you know, let me talk to my team or let me talk to my admin, and if it's an issue, I'll send you an email, or, like, that sort of thing.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:11:41]:
So it was a lot of. Not necessarily questions of, like, how is this gonna work? But a lot of it was like, will this work, or is this okay if my kid does this, or is it okay if my kid has this instead of this? And I just kind of had to be like, yeah, I think so. I'll let you know if it's not. One of the more positive things from my open house wasn't even an interaction with me, but it was an interaction between two of my students. One was already in there with their parents, and the other one walked in, and they realized they were in the same class, and they literally, like, ran to each other and gave each other a hug, and they were like, I can't believe you're in here, and all that stuff. So I was like, oh, that's nice that they're already friends. That makes me feel. That makes me feel good that, like, I know people are gonna like each other and, like being in here.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:12:27]:
As she's done with all of her firsts, Jenna used the open house as a teaching opportunity, mentally flagging concepts and ideas for use at future open houses. A running catalog of best practices and tips and tricks to help her get incrementally better.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:12:45]:
Number one, the most important thing is to double check with their parents about how their kid is getting home. That's, like, the biggest thing that you have to do for open house, because you have to know how they're getting home, what bus number they are, if they're a cardinal writer, if they stay for the after school program. And you have to confirm it with the parents, because what might say on power school is, like, going to be correct more likely than not. But there have been instances where it's not correct because they moved over the summer and they didn't update it, or they live with dad now instead of mom, and it hasn't been updated. So, like, at open house, at least for me, we were the ones in charge of confirming that information for the first day of school. And then a lot of these parents have a lot of these classrooms and teachers to talk to, so keeping what they need to do as little as possible or making it optional is important. Some teachers have parents fill out, like, questionnaires about their kid and what they like and what they want their teacher to know about their student and things like that. And that stuff is awesome.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:13:43]:
It's great information, but those questionnaires can take, like, ten minutes to fill out. If they have, like, four kids to get through at the elementary school, they're not going to have time to fill that out. So what I did was the bare minimum. I double checked their transportation. At the end of the day, I had the parents sign a sheet saying whether they were interested in volunteering for the classroom or not. And I had the kids drop off their supplies and pick up their packets. And that was literally it. And I had some parents verbally, like, tell me to my face, like, this one was the easiest one.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:14:14]:
Thank you so much. So, yeah, that's my advice. Keep it simple, keep it easy, but do what you need to do.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:14:23]:
With open house behind her, Jenna turned her attention to the upcoming school year. Her first day as an educator was just a few hours away.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:14:34]:
I think it's important for parents to meet me because I was able to tell them that, like, hey, I'm a first year teacher. I'm going to make mistakes. But, like, at the very base level of everything, we are going to have fun in this room and we are going to learn in this room and we're going to work as a team. So it was kind of nice to set that standard and just like, be open and honest with them. I know a lot of people kind of like to hide the fact that they're a first year teacher because they feel like they're not going to gain that respect from parents or their kids. And maybe that is the route that is more beneficial to a lot of people. But I chose to not take that route. So we'll see how it works out.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:15:09]:
I still don't know the answer.

KANIKA CHADDA GUPTA [00:15:13]:
This is year one, an exploration of one teacher's first year in the classroom, brought to you by Carnegie Learning. Join us for the rest of the series as we follow Jenna through every moment. Be sure to follow her handle Miss McNulty on Instagram and TikTok. For additional exclusive content, free teaching resources, and more, visit year onepodcast.com next time on year one. At long last, Jenna is finally a teacher.

JENNA MACNULTY [00:15:44]:
And it didn't really hit me until it was like two minutes before the kids were walking in and the other first year teacher across the hall and I were standing there and we were like, this is real. Like, we're really doing this.