One of the best things about James River Day School is the collaborative teacher community. We are in the midst of faculty meetings before school opens on Wednesday, and teachers are spilling over with ideas and good will. Department meetings and grade-level team meetings review our annual targets, teaching philosophy, essential questions and curriculum topics, ensuring that we are connected to the same goals for the students we will teach. As I walk through the building, I hear laughter and earnest conversation. We love what we do!

As a teacher, I love August. Each fall I get a “do-over.” When school begins, all is possible. Every child in my room will learn, every child will love going to school every day, and every child in the school will feel successful, competent, and as if she or he belongs to a serious and elevated enterprise.

I chose this photo as my first picture because it shows a first grader teaching a middle school teacher how to use a robot the first grader designed. We are all teachers, and we are all learners.