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New Teacher Relaxes, Learns To Enjoy Job In Wimauma

Tribune photo by LOIS KINDLE

After six months in the classroom, first-year kindergarten teacher Hillary Koontz has gained much more confidence in the classroom.

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By LOIS KINDLE

lkindle@tampatrib.com

Published: January 21, 2009

Editor's Note: This is the second installment in an occasional series following Hillary Koontz along her journey as a first-year kindergarten teacher at Reddick Elementary School.

WIMAUMA - It's been a quick six months since Hillary Koontz first set foot in her kindergarten classroom at Reddick Elementary. As a new teacher, she had a lot to learn.

"The first day was chaotic and stressful," she said. "All the children wanted to do was play.

"One little girl came in kicking and screaming hysterically," Koontz continued. "She literally didn't know one word of English. I remember thinking, 'How am I going to teach her?'"

Despite this challenge and a number of others, Koontz loved her new job. After six months with her tiny charges, things are quite different, and she has found a much-needed comfort zone.

"I love it even more now," Koontz said. "The longer I work, the more I like it. The children know the rules and are used to being with me, and I've become really good friends with the people I work with."

Her colleagues agree.

"At first, Miss Koontz seemed overly concerned about having it all together," said Martha Lagunas, assistant kindergarten teacher. "Now she's much more relaxed. She's doing an awesome job."

"Miss Koontz is so involved with her students," added Antonia Garcia, a bilingual paraprofessional. "She has such a big heart; she truly loves being with them."

Her original class of 22 students was cut to 16 when two teachers came aboard. The smaller class size makes things more manageable, she said. Besides having extra room to operate, she said she has more time to work with her students one on one.

Koontz said she gets a tremendous amount of support from the parents of her students, most of whom are Hispanic.

"They trust me 100 percent," she said.

So far, so good.

Koontz said one aspect of the job she didn't fully anticipate was the number of trainings she would be required to attend.

"It's not that I mind, because they're very beneficial," she said. "But they require a lot of time outside of the classroom."

Koontz said she starts her school day at 7 a.m., teaches until around 2:30 p.m., and then does paperwork or meets with colleagues to collaborate and brainstorm until 5. Once she gets home, she does lesson plans for 30 minutes to an hour. And up to three times per month, at up to five hours a pop, she attends those training sessions.

In the summer, she will have additional training and must become ESOL certified to teach English to children who speak other languages. She also wants to begin working on her master's degree.

Another surprise, she said, was how much of her own money she'd have to spend on classroom supplies.

"It starts to add up," she said. "So far, I think the total is about $600. But that's OK. My students are worth it."

Every now and then, she experiences a rough day in her classroom.

"I swear it's the moon," she said, smiling.

So what about that student who was hysterical the first day of class?

"She's doing so well," Koontz said. "It amazes me that she's picked up the language so quickly. She's learned more English in six months than I did in four years of high school Spanish. It's so exciting."

Looking ahead, Koontz said she's already dreading the day her students graduate to first grade.

"It's going to be so hard," she said. "I missed them over Christmas break."

MEET HILLARY KOONTZ

WHAT: First-year kindergarten teacher

WHERE: Reddick Elementary School, Wimauma

AGE: 22

BORN: Youngstown, Ohio

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in early childhood education from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio

PERSONAL: Single, lives in Brandon

Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553. To see more photos, go to southshore.tbo.com and enter the search words "Hillary Koontz."

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