GINA ON THE JOB: JCPS kindergarten teacher

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Students and teachers around Kentuckiana are settling into the new school year. WDRB's Gina Glaros headed back to class with Jefferson County Public Schools.

Gina visited Fern Creek Elementary School to work as a kindergarten teacher for Erica Boyd's class. "We've got a lot of fun things planned. I'm going to have you read a story. We're going to sing some songs. We're going to sequence a story and we're going to draw and talk about letters that begin with the letter 'G'," Boyd said.

The day began with story time, followed by spelling and drawing practice.

Gina couldn't have done it without Boyd, an 18-year teaching veteran helping with the lessons. "It's a lot of late nights. It's a lot of planning, but there's a love for it," Boyd said.

Story sequencing was next. "They come in, and they've never held a pencil. They don't know how to write their name. When they leave, they're reading books," Boyd said.

Gina helped them with the little things, quickly finding out how much the students rely on their teachers. "Kindergarten's the year where they learn the most. They show so much growth. Everything's fun. Everything's new. Everything's exciting, and you just never know what they're going to say or do," Boyd said.

It's lunchtime, which is always a highlight. Gina helped them with their lunch and answered their questions.

"You don't realize how much of an influence you're going to be at this age," Gina said.

It was time to go. "Bye Ms. Gina," the students said.

It was a good day. Mrs. Boyd made it look easy.