An impeccably organized teacher arrives a minute late to class each Thursday, lugging their backpack and scrambling to set up their agenda slides, while they answer questions about last night’s homework. The room where they teach Spanish class has posters of French conjugations and another chart in Mandarin. These are all things that many in the community have become accustomed to as teachers move and share classrooms.
There are not enough classrooms for all teachers to have their own, so the majority of staff share different rooms throughout the day. Moving classrooms requires schedules that accommodate teachers and for teachers to be flexible.
There are some exceptions and work-arounds to help staff with transitions. For instance, science teachers are generally designated to one room, due to in-class activities like labs that require specific equipment. For teachers who do move classrooms, most are assigned a maximum of two classrooms (not including Tutorial blocks) or given cushioning time to get to their next room. According to Assistant Head of School Hal Mason, the schedule is made to best accommodate everyone.
“When we’re creating the master schedule, we’re very intentional to make sure that we’re not forcing someone to run from 115 up to [22 Tappan] to teach,” Mason said. “It’s hard enough as a student [to switch classes] in five minutes. It would be really hard for a teacher.”
If a teacher has classes in both buildings, they will most likely have prep blocks in between, which serve as support to help them get from building to building in time. Mason said if a teacher has back-to-back blocks between 22 Tappan and 115 Greenough, their schedule will most likely accommodate them in another way.
“[Teachers] might have to co-teach a class and once or twice a week, have to hustle between places, but they have a second teacher that’s with them too in the classroom,” Mason said. “That would be the place where we would allow that exception where we know they might come two minutes later.”
For the past two years, English teacher Devyn Gonsalves has exclusively taught in one classroom of 22 Tappan, but this year she splits her time between the 22 Tappan and 115 Greenough buildings. Gonsalves said that she was previously able to stay in her room in 22 Tappan, and this summer she wasn’t able to decorate her other classroom in 115 Greenough.
“The other piece that has been new, at least for me, is sharing a space with other teachers,” Gonsalves said. “We’re all trying to figure out what systems work best for us, how [to] leave each other space to do whatever it is we like to do when we’re teaching.”
There are multiple aspects to consider when sharing a room, from whether there is room to hang up posters and student work,to finding space for materials and work piles. By sharing classrooms, Gonsalves said she has been inspired by others and has even adopted some teachers’ organizational systems.
“It’s been great for me to have to compromise a little bit and also learn from other people and see, ‘oh, that’s how you do X thing’ and maybe I’ll try that out with my class since we have the materials in there already,” Gonsalves said.
Social studies teacher Jennifer Barrer-Gall teaches her Advanced Placement U.S. History, American Studies and Tutorial classes in three different classrooms in the 115 Greenough building. Barrer-Gall said that rooms can have varying vibes, and it can be nice for teachers when rooms are already personalized. However, sometimes rooms are not decorated at all.
“A couple years ago, my room over here for U.S. history was one that I shared with a bunch of different teachers and there was nothing on the walls,” Barrer-Gall said. “Students actually commented on it being like, ‘I wish [the room] could have been a little bit more inviting.’”
Teachers pack their computers, student tests and other materials into backpacks to shuttle between classrooms. Even with established organizational systems, Barrer-Gall said the lack of time getting from class to class poses a challenge.
“At the end of a class, students want to talk to you. How do you wrap that up? And also say, ‘I hear you, I acknowledge you,’ and also ‘I need to run to the other corner of the building and get to my next class and set up and plug in my computer and then answer all of their questions,’” Barrer-Gall said. “So there’s a lot of juggling that needs to happen.”
Gonsalves said she with the new five-minute passing times, both teachers and students are figuring out how to best get to classes on time and keep organized.
“I hope students know that teachers are forgiving. I have students that frequently forget which room I’m in at which part of the day and I know that it is frustrating for them to find teachers,” Gonsalves said. “We’re learning too, a lot of us. So I hope they give themselves a little grace and know that we empathize with them.”
