Kansas State University

Lori Goodson, Editor
Mary Hammel, Technical Editor

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For many of us, the last time we saw Scott Frantz, he was wearing No. 74 on the offensive line for the K-State football team. Now, he’s in his first year of teaching back in his hometown, and he took a few minutes to catch us up on his new career.

Name: Scott Frantz

Location: Lawrence Public School USD 497, Lawrence, KS

Class/content area taught: Special Education Resource Room

What are you most excited about with your new career? I’m most excited about starting a new chapter in my life. There is something refreshing about moving on, whether it be going from middle school to high school, high school to college, or college to the professional world. In every phase of your life you get to meet new, amazing people, develop new relationships, and grow as an individual. That is what I’m most excited about.

What do you enjoy most about teaching? I’ve always been a people person. I love meeting new people developing relationships. There is not better job to do that than being a teacher! I’m excited to get to know my students and do everything I can to help them reach their goals. Students are hungry for role models. Someone they can look up to. I want to be that person and help show them that they can be anything they want to be. We don’t get into this line of work to make a ton of money and have fancy things, but we get into this profession to make a difference, and that it makes it all worth it. I enjoy teaching because it is a fulfilling career.

What are some specific things you believe KSU especially helped prepare you for your new career? Kansas State did a great job of preparing me for the professional world. Playing football, I learned about hard work, teamwork, and what it takes to be successful. Being a student in the College of Education, I learned how to be an effective teacher. I thought that helping out with STEM during the summer was very beneficial to me also. I am very grateful for my coaches and teachers for getting me well prepared!

Are there specifics about your background that make teaching the perfect fit for you? I grew up in a family of educators and I loved it. My parents were always around and when I was around and we had so much fun during our summers off. Growing up in this environment always made me curious about going into the education field, but ultimately what drove me to education were the amazing relationships I made with kids with disabilities. I remember being impacted by these amazing kids throughout my entire education, and that ultimately made me want to be a special education teacher.

Suggestions/encouragement for new teachers: The ball is in your court; you can be as good or as mediocre as you want to be. There are a lot of great teachers out there, and there are a lot of not-so-great teachers out there. The difference between the two is motivation. Great teachers never let themselves forget the amazing power that they have, and this is the ability to be a positive influence and role model in their students lives. They wake up every day motivated, wanting to do everything in their power to help their students reach their goals. They go out of their way to get to know their students and develop relationships, and never give up on them. This road requires more effort and energy, but ultimately will make you a better and happier teacher.

Bonus question, thanks to the Pandemic: How has the Pandemic shaped your classroom—the environment, safety precautions, etc.? How has it affected you as a new teacher? Covid-19 has reshaped many districts across the country.  My school district is moving online for the foreseeable future. This makes it very difficult for teachers. My job, as a special educator, is to help my students thrive and succeed in the classroom. Now that I am away from them, this will be much more difficult. My communication will be happening online and trying to figure out what they need at home in order to keep up and succeed. It will be a big learning curve, but we are all in the same boat!

Falling leaves and doorsteps decorated by bright orange pumpkins signal—among other things—that the cold and flu season has arrived! And with COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to keep yourself healthy!

Since you may find yourself surrounded by sneezes in your classroom at some point in the next few weeks, take some steps to protect yourself from germs—and keep yourself from missing a few days of school. Try to:

• Get a flu shot to limit your chances of getting sick.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Eat healthy foods.
• Wash your hands regularly.
• Get eight hours of sleep (even if that means that last set of papers has to be graded the next day).

So…maybe I’m not the BEST person to write this, but….

Amid all the new things you’re learning—bell schedules and assembly procedures, as well as the names of 135 or so of your very favorite students and a batch of new computer passwords and codes, one important area you will need to become comfortable with is record keeping. And that’s important, whether you’re teaching virtually or face to face, or a mixture of the two.

As a new teacher, you’re probably realizing all the requirements for your new position, but good record keeping will save you plenty of headaches through the year. Absences, tardies, missing assignments, grades, and communication with students’ families and guardians are just a few of the details you’ll need to record. So let’s look at some suggestions that, hopefully, will make your daily teaching duties a little easier!

Communication Log: Communication—with families and guardians, colleagues, administrators, education leaders, and community members—is so important, and in the midst of lesson plans, activities, and classroom management, it can easily get lost.

IDEAS:

• Consider recording dates you attempted to contact (by phone or through email) parents/guardians and dates you successfully contacted parents/guardians regarding specific student concerns or successes. Make a brief note of the topic of communication and any decisions or input.
• Record dates/copies of student behavior referrals.
• Record ideas/suggestions gathered through your various communications.
• File family/guardian emails in a separate folder on your computer for easy access.

Attendance: When you’re dealing with 30 or more students, keeping track of attendance can be a daunting task! While you’ll probably have a computer program that your school uses to record students who are absent or tardy, you’ll probably want to include your own personal system, as well.

IDEAS:

• Develop a way to organize papers and other materials that absent students will need when they return.
• Try using a folder posted on a board or in a designated spot and placing any materials in it with specific students’ names on them. If you teach multiple classes, clearly label a folder for each class.
• Keep a list of students and their missing assignments. Many grading programs will generate these for you. Consider printing out two copies—a master copy for you and then a copy of each student’s missing assignments. Hand out a list of missing assignments to each student; handing these out on Fridays can be especially helpful to give them the weekend to address their missing assignments.

Grades:  Keeping up with the grading and maintaining accurate grade sheets are always a concern for teachers—new and veteran teachers alike. Here are some suggestions.

IDEAS:

• Keep a basket on your desk so students will know where assignments go when they’re completed.
• Try to grade papers—and empty that basket—by the end of the day on Fridays.  What doesn’t get taken care of by then probably needs to go home over the weekend. Try to always start your week with an empty assignment basket for a fresh start to your week.
• If you teach more than one class, have a folder for each class where you place assignments to be returned after they’ve been assessed.
• Group assignments and enter grades by the class, if possible. As late assignments come in, mark those students’ names off the missing assignments list.
• Just to be safe…periodically, especially if it has been a busy assignment time, print off the whole-class grade sheet and file in a secure place. If technology would fail (when you least expect it), you will have a backup.

As you move through the school year, don’t miss a thing! Be a part of EdCATS!

We want to help beginning and early career teachers like you thrive in your career! Check out @ksuedcats for teaching tips and to stay in touch with the COE! Check out the website at coe.k-state.edu/forever-edcats.