When Kelley Elementary School teacher Lindsay Veronneau first met Kelly Bergland, Bergland was a second grader in Veronneau’s class during her third year teaching.
“She was a quiet, very well-mannered student—kind of an ideal student,” the Southington teacher says. “She always came in, followed the directions, and knew what was expected of her.”
Years later, that little girl is now the fourth-grade teacher in the classroom next door to where Veronneau teaches third grade. Bergland and Veronneau are no longer student and teacher—they’re colleagues, collaborators, and friends.
“It’s special and very full circle to be back with teachers like Lindsay and a few others that are still at Kelley School now that I’m here as a teacher,” Bergland says. “It’s been so comforting coming in as a first-year teacher. It’s definitely a stressful year, it’s a lot that I’m learning, but to have teachers by my side that are supportive and have been supportive since I was in second grade is pretty incredible.”
“I love to see former students as teachers,” says Veronneau. “Now we have two in the building, and it really is, like Kelly said, that full-circle moment where you have these kids who you worked with when they were seven or eight years old and now here they are running their own classroom and doing an awesome job at it. Kelley School really has a community feel to it, and Kelly has seamlessly transitioned into the role of teacher here within these walls.”
Bergland says that having some of her former teachers as colleagues has required an adjustment period—and required learning to call them by their first names.
“It’s been incredible knowing what it was like as a student and now seeing the other side of everything. They support me in different ways as a teacher too, and getting to see how each teacher hones their craft and runs their classroom is inspirational.”
Bergland says she’s always wanted to be a teacher.
“Probably if you asked me back in second grade I would have said that I wanted to teach. My motivation, as it probably is for so many teachers, was the teachers I had growing up. You just see the relationships that they build and the impact that they can have on their students. Knowing that I could have that connection with my students and then see how they grow—that’s an incredibly special role that we get to play as educators.”
Veronneau says that she thinks of herself as a veteran teacher and has been very impressed with how well Bergland has acclimated to becoming an educator.
“The way you compose yourself in front of the class, the way your students respond to you, the way that you just go the extra mile to make them feel welcome and always having something that is going to engage them—no one would know you’re a first-year teacher,” Veronneau told Bergland. “You should feel so proud of yourself for the great job that you’re doing, and I’m happy to help you along.”
Going the extra mile
Bergland says that one of the ways she goes the extra mile is ensuring that her classroom is a safe space and that students always know she’s there for them.
“It’s so special for me to know that I’m the adult that they want to come to talk to in the morning when something isn’t going their way or they’re nervous,” she says. “I have students that come in, they have a gymnastics meet on the weekend. They’re nervous about it and need to talk it through—or they didn’t do well on something like a test. They know that I’m a trusted person that they can talk to about it.”
“As teachers, we don’t just stand in the front of the room and deliver curriculum and expect the kids to tell us what we taught them,” Veronneau says. “I think that it’s important for the public to know that teachers wear so many different hats. We’re a trusted adult. For some students, we’re the person who they’re going to come to and they’re going to tell us their successes because they need someone to share with who will encourage and celebrate them.”
She continues, “We’re the person who might notice that a child doesn’t have a warm jacket or make sure that they have other supplies that they need at school. It’s not just standing in front of a classroom and giving instruction. It’s so much more We have these kids six hours a day, and we do everything that we can to make them feel comfortable here.”
Bergland says that she doesn’t think it would be possible to succeed as a first-year teacher without the support she receives from her colleagues—both veterans and other early career educators.
“I have another first-year teacher teaching fourth grade with me too, and having that support and talking through everything makes such a huge difference. This year has been wonderful because of the school where I am and the community that we have.”
