On Jan. 7, Windsor High School happily welcomed a new face to the English department. With this being her first year teaching independently, she was excited for the new opportunity.
Lily Scaggs (staff), is the new English teacher here at WHS. Previously, she was a student teacher at Fort Collins High School in order to gain knowledge to further pursue her teaching career.
“I did my student teaching in Fort Collins High School … that was just like regular ninth grade lit,” Scaggs said.
After the position opened the first week of the school year and different teachers were hired for the role, she was the one to finally fill the spot. With the intermix of long-term subs and actual teachers, she is one of the many to attempt to teach this courseload.
“She’s the fourth teacher, this school year … if you include the long-term subs,” Kelly Mann (staff) said. Mann’s classroom is near Scaggs’ classroom, so they see each other a lot throughout the day.
It can be daunting to take on a position that teachers and long-terms subs have left during one school year.
“Kids kind of like have that mindset, like, they think they’ve ran the four of them off,” Mann said.
The big differences between student and independent teaching has brought Scaggs new information and knowledge that will be useful for her future years in education.
“I’m nervous because I’ve never taught, like, my own kids before,” Scaggs said. “I’ve always had, like, another adult or another teacher helping me.”
With the help of other teachers working alongside her and sympathizing with her situation, she has found new connections. Some of which include the new friendship between fellow English teacher Ethan Mattix (staff) and her.
“I joined a school in December and was there for the spring semester but not there for the fall semester,” Mattix said. “So I’ve definitely been in her shoes before.”
Scaggs has felt supported by her fellow colleagues. By helping her and giving life and career advice, the staff, she said, has warmly welcomed her.
“I think, for Scaggs, finding that work life balance right now” is what’s most important, Mann said
Mann believes work and outside-of-work life balance is one of the most important aspects when it comes to a career in education.
“(I) always wanna make sure that (Scaggs) is getting support and getting help, you know, little things like knowing where things are, like, ‘Oh, you need some more markers … we keep them in the office,’ things like that,” Mattix said.
Teaching comes with its own learning curve, as does life. Finding that balance is good in order to feel stable, especially in a career noted for how time-consuming it can be.
“It’s challenging to, like, for a new teacher because they’re learning, just how does this school work compared to other schools,” Mattix said.
Multiple teachers gave Scaggs advice to encourage her and her teaching, as well as support her in her new path.
“This was advice that both Mann and Plowman gave me: Think of something good. Even on the hardest day, there’s something good there,” Scaggs said.
The positive mindset Scaggs has is one of the many attributes helping her stay motivated for teaching.
“Life is hard all the time, but take the little wins and celebrate those … take the bad and at the end of the day leave them,” Mann said.
In hopes of continuing to teach here, Scaggs has many people on her side who will help her grow and continuously support her, whether in the English department or not.
“Teaching is definitely not for the faint of heart. It is a lot of work, and it is a lot of time and commitment, but it is so rewarding and so much fun,” Mattix said. “If you can stick with it to get to that rewarding point it makes it worth it.”
