Teachers fired up for the first day of school in Miami-Dade County – NBC 6 South Florida

That buzz you’re feeling might be the collective nerves of thousands of parents and kids who are bracing for the first day of school Thursday in Miami-Dade County. 

If we go by the principle that each school is a microcosm of the entire district, then we know what happened today in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the nation’s third-largest school district. We watched teachers preparing their classrooms at Ponce de Leon Middle School in Coral Gables.

They probably know the routine by now, as their school is now 100 years old. It started as a high school, became a junior high in 1950, then a middle school, and now it’s an International Baccalaureate magnet school. 

“We’re a pillar in this Coral Gables community and within Miami-Dade County Public Schools, so that is a truly remarkable and special milestone to be hitting,” said the school’s principal, Angela Gonzalez. “So I mean, think about it, you have a century of stories that echo through these walls and these hallways.”

The current teachers understand and appreciate the legacy. 

Stephanie Campos teaches drama, debate, and creative writing, and was once a student at Ponce. 

“I get to teach with the teachers I came to school with, some are across the hall, some are downstairs, and luckily, I was a good student so they remember me,” Campos said. 

What drives her to be enthusiastic every day?

“It’s the students, I always put the students first, and that’s why I do what I do and I teach what I teach,” she said. 

Susana Mesa has been teaching language arts at Ponce since 2004. I asked her if she still gets excited about the first day of school. 

“Oh my God, you can see that, I think like two or three weeks after school finished, I came with my brother, we painted the class,” Mesa said. “But I was really looking forward to start the year, I cannot wait to meet my kids tomorrow.”

Down the hall, Phyllis Bellinger is about to start her 38th year teaching math at Ponce, her alma mater.

“So it’s really like a calling for me,” Bellinger said, pointing out that she became a teacher because she was inspired by her teachers at Ponce. 

Ponce de Leon’s fountain of youth is apparently real, and located in her classroom. You can tell by her enthusiasm to get the school year started. 

“Very exciting, I look forward every year because it allows me to help individuals to start new tomorrows,” Bellinger said.

As we see every year at every school, veteran teachers get just as fired up as rookie teachers do for opening day.

“They are all pumped up and ready to welcome everyone back to school,” Gonzalez said.