By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Summer is here!

Beach trips, leisure activities and visiting far-off family has begun. While most people will enjoy some time off in the summer, teachers have a few months to catch their breath without worrying about the dozens of children they have taught and cared for all school year long.

However, just because class is not in session does not mean June and July are all fun and games for educators.

Administrators are still working Monday through Thursday every week. Some schools will have teachers in for training or planning for the next school.

Some teachers will attend required trainings specific to their content area, such as the engineering program Project Lead the Way.

Others will pursue professional development opportunities on their own, such as Verbena High School teachers Michael Martin and Beth Ann Pope and Jemison Elementary School teacher Beverly Wyatt.

STEM Academy (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) teacher Jay LeCroy is completing a fellowship with Southern Research.

Some administrators also added the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools and ELEOT training, which is related to districtwide accreditation through AdvancedED.

Each of these educators and teachers will bring the benefits of these experiences and training to their classrooms next school year in an effort to be even better than the previous year.

Some will also bring back specific lesson plans developed during the professional development. LeCroy will bring back valuable equipment to be used in the STEM program as it starts mechatronics and a senior research class.

As the school year draws closer, teachers will be preparing classrooms. Some will be moving equipment and supplies, getting ready for new programs to be offered in the fall.

Each of these educators will hopefully find some time this summer also to have some fun and enjoy a trip or two with family, but the old stereotype of teachers having three months off is no longer true (if it ever was).