In Room B-16 at William Allen White Elementary School, Raign PanKratz is wearing a bright pink dress — her favorite color — and earrings that look like pencils. She presses play on her Disney-tunes playlist and checks her class roster.
And as she greets her kindergartners and their families during Meet the Teacher Night, she lets them in on a little secret.
“I’m a first-year teacher,” PanKratz tells a shy boy who sticks close to his mom. “So, on your very first day, when you’re all scared and nervous? I’m going to be scared and nervous, too. So, we can just learn together.”
PanKratz always wanted to be a teacher. Growing up, she played school with siblings and friends. She graduated from Wichita’s Heights High School during the pandemic in 2020, then went to community college and Emporia State University.
And this month, after years of college classes, student teaching and working at a summer camp for children, she’s finally starting her career at a south Wichita elementary school.
“Kindergartners are literally so fun,” she said. “Most of them come in with that open mind like, ‘I am ready to do whatever is given to me.’ So, I think I’m most excited to meet my kids and just build those relationships and be that fun, cool teacher that they learn so much from.”
It’s not an easy time to be a teacher.
Educators are traditionally overworked and underpaid. Coming out of COVID, schools are reporting more unruly behavior and mental health issues. And in urban districts like Wichita, teachers see the effects of poverty and trauma every day in their classrooms.
Nearly a third of all teachers leave the profession after five years. Nevertheless, PanKratz is hopeful.
“I do see this as long-term. Honestly, I cannot imagine myself doing anything else,” she said.
“But it’s going to take a lot of patience, a lot of grit, a lot of telling myself, like we learned today: ‘Q-TIP — quit taking it personal.’”
After getting her school assignment last spring, PanKratz poured all of her energy into prepping her classroom. She needed books, carpet squares, colorful paper, supply caddies, markers, puzzles and tape.
“It has not been cheap, for sure. I have spent a lot of money,” she said. “But luckily, I was preparing for this.”
She inherited some classroom supplies from older teachers. Friends and even some strangers bought things off her Amazon wish list. And because White Elementary is a high-poverty school, federal Title 1 funding paid for most of the student supplies.
“Growing up, I … was in poverty. I was a free-and-reduced-lunch kid. That was me,” PanKratz said. “So, I knew for sure that those were the kids that I would connect with.”
Her classroom features a “Calming Corner” with comfortable pillows and posters that illustrate strategies for young children to regulate their emotions. On another wall, her “Affirmation Station” mirror is surrounded by colorful badges that read, “I am enough,” “I am special, “I am fearless” and more.
“Kindergartners love to look at themselves. This will be fun to remind them, ‘I am strong. I am valued. I am smart,’ " she said. “They might not be able to read these right away, but they’ll be fun for me to say, 'You know, this is what you need to remember.' ”
During Meet the Teacher Night, PanKratz chatted with families, including a few who asked what they could do to help.
“As far as the classroom goes, do you need anything?” one mom offered.
“Right now, the only thing we are looking for is snacks,” PanKratz responded. “We’ll eat lunch at 11:15, so by the afternoon they’re going to be really hungry.”
She said she’s a little nervous but more excited about her first year. She’ll spend the first few weeks teaching her kindergartners the rules for the classroom and for school in general.
“Someone said to me, ‘When you start (teaching) kindergarten, you should imagine that they’re aliens and they know nothing about living on Earth,’” PanKratz said. “And actually, that’s really smart, because you never know what they're going to come in knowing.”
Even more than reading or writing, PanKratz said she wants her students to learn to love school.
“I want to make sure that I make every student feel seen and safe and heard in my classroom,” she said. “That’s my biggest worry right now, is: How can I be best for those students that need that extra love and attention?”
Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.
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