Sept. 1, 2017 means the first day of school for all students, but has many hidden meanings for the staff.

For Mr. Joseph Przybylski, social studies teacher, this year marks his thirty-first year teaching at Homestead.

For Mr. James Engle, social studies teacher, this day marks his twenty sixth ‘first day’, and very last year teaching at Homestead before his retirement.

For Ms. Alison Baehler, English teacher, this day marks her first year as a teacher.

For Ms. Amanda Cushnie, physical education teacher, this day also marks her first day teaching at Homestead.

Baehler and Cushnie had a rush of emotions leading up to the first day, but for them the transition “Hasn’t been too stressful,” Cushnie explained.

“It was exciting to finally have a chance to do it on my own and see what happens…I was just nervous that I’m in charge of a bunch of 16 year olds and this could go very poorly,” Baehler joked.

Similar to Baehler’s thoughts, Cushnie commented on what she was thinking leading up to the first day, “Once you’ve become a teacher for a while you develop your lessons make small changes, but when you’re a new teacher you kind of have to start from scratch… I was just excited to finally work with students after graduating college and do what I had learned.”

Although these two teachers have been at Homestead for only a few months, the community of Homestead has still had an impact on each of them.

“I really like all of the other teachers; they are really supportive, and the students are excited to learn and come every day,” Baehler explained. “I really like the rapport that students have with teachers it feels like a really good community, and I feel comfortable here. Everyone has been really welcoming,” Cushnie agreed.

No matter the number of years or amount of experience teachers have, the teachers all comment on the people and community that make an impact on the town. Teachers who have been here for 25 plus years can better see the sustained community and how deep of an influence it has on everyone.

“I feel really blessed to have worked in this community for as long as I have, overall just a very strong and stable place to be an educator,” Przybylski stated.

“I love the people I work with, I love the students I get to work with, every person in this building has students interest in mind and the students overall are just fantastic to deal with,” Engle remarked.

The teachers in this district recognize how most students have the idea of success in their head and are driven to do well. They also notice the changes in the school over time.

“Our schedule seemed to have changed, our number of AP offerings has increased greatly, and I think some of the college push the ACT push those things are very different than 20 years ago,” Przybylski said.

There are many challenges that come when taking on the job of a teacher that may go unnoticed by many students at Homestead; however, the job remains to be “enjoyable” as Baehler would say and “a blessing” as Cushnie would put it.