Today is the second time Alyssa Willey has celebrated the first day of school at Jefferson Elementary.
On her very first, first day of school, in 1990, she wore a pretty pink dress, pink knee-high socks and little black shoes. She posed at the bottom of the stairs as her mother, Georgia Willey, snapped the picture.
But today, as Willey ascends the steps to Jefferson Elementary, she does so as a kindergarten teacher instead of a kindergartner.
A December graduate of Western Washington University, Willey said she’s more excited than nervous.
“I feel like that’s a good sign,” she said. “I know it will be a lot of work, but it’s something that I love.”
Her mother teaches first grade in the same building. As she grew up, Alyssa saw the hard work her mother put into the profession.
The job can take a toll on teachers who are unprepared for the rigor of the classroom. Nearly one-quarter of new teachers statewide leave their posts within their first five years, according to a 2005 study by the University of Washington. Nationwide, as many as 20 percent leave the profession, and many cite a lack of support as to why they are leaving.
But Alyssa’s support network is strong. Georgia Willey is her official mentor in the building, though Alyssa Willey can call on anyone for advice.
“This building is very supportive,” Georgia Willey said. “Everybody wants to see her succeed because it’s all her old teachers.”
The school’s secretary for 32 years, Linda Logsdon, said she was “very excited” when she learned Alyssa Willey would teach at Jefferson.
“Even when she was little she was very helpful to the other kids,” Logsdon said.
Alyssa Willey also taught as a substitute teacher for a couple of days last year, Logsdon said.
Despite a usually tough crowd, “the kids fell in love with her instantly,” Logsdon said.
Georgia Willey said her family members have been educators for three generations. Alyssa Willey is the fourth.
“Maybe there is some kind of gene in there,” Alyssa Willey said, laughing.
The years — and a schoolwide remodel in 1995 — have blurred her memory, but Alyssa Willey swears her classroom is the same room she attended kindergarten in 18 years ago.
Even the way kindergarten is taught has changed in that time, from socialization to academic pursuits.
Marie Nelson, a kindergarten teacher at Bay View Elementary in Burlington, has taught kindergarten for 20 years. Children are now expected to know how to read when they enter first grade, she said.
“I think these little kids are so much smarter than we ever thought they were,” Nelson said. “They’re like little sponges. I’m just amazed over the years how much they are able to comprehend and learn.”
And while the first day of school can be stressful for some — parent and child alike — Alyssa Willey has a full schedule planned to set students off on the right foot. The students will meet in Willey’s classroom for only an hour on the first day. Meanwhile, the parents will be ushered to the school’s library to learn about the school and what their children will learn throughout the year.
“It’s going to be really fast-paced. They won’t even realize they’re nervous,” Alyssa Willey said of the students’ first day. “It’s going to be fun and welcoming just so they know they’re going to be in an environment where they can have fun and learn, and make new friends.”
She found out she got the job as a half-day kindergarten teacher about two weeks ago.
Since then, she’s decorated the blank walls with little smiling faces, moved the desks into place and arranged book cases into a private reading area, complete with giant salmon pillows to cuddle or play with.
In the area where she swears used to be a giant playhouse 18 years ago is the desk for her instructional aid, Tina Orr.
With her classroom’s decorations mostly complete, now she has to sit and wait.
“I’m excited and kind of anxious to see how it turns out,” Willey said.
Kate Martin can be reached at 360-416-2145 or .
