“Things that public schools focus on, in terms of teaching students about various issues and making sure students are protected, all of those hallmarks of public education are being attacked,” said Preston Green, an education leadership and law professor at the University of Connecticut. “Depending on how the Republicans do, you may see more of it.”

Elizabeth “Liz” DeVitto ’14 (ED), ’15 MA, a special education teacher for the past eight years at Roaring Brook Elementary School in Avon, Connecticut, had a goal to write a children’s book before she turned 30. When she looked for a book to help her students deal with emotions, she couldn’t find anything appropriate. Since she couldn’t find the right book, she decided this was her chance to fulfill her goal by publishing a book, Finding a Safe Spot, to help her students when they become overwhelmed with emotion.

Symone James was struggling. At the time, the fifth-grade teacher at Roger Sherman Elementary School in Meriden had a class that she said, “needed a lot of love and patience.” “I fell into a place where I was not sleeping and constantly thinking about work and my students,” she recalled. “At night, I’d lay awake going over anticipated behaviors and situations, and tasks of that day.”

Aryliz (Crespo) Estrela ’16 (ED), ’17 MA is now in the midst of her third year of teaching after having completed the Neag School’s five-year Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s Program in 2017. Looking back, she shares some sage advice about what she learned during her first year in the classroom — one that she sums up in three words: “Fun. Insightful. Courageous.”