TYLER, Texas — More than three dozen East Texas districts will head back to school on Wednesday. While families and students are gearing up for a new school year, teachers are getting ready too.
Eunice Ambriz has been busy decorating her classroom at Tyler ISD's Andy Woods Elementary School. On Wednesday, she will have a class full of kindergartners.
"Together we are a family, kindergarten." Ambriz said.
Making matching bracelets is part of the fun she has planned for the first day of class. But something this brand-new teacher doesn't have to plan for: buying supplies for her classroom. Tyler ISD held a school supply drive for first-year teachers a couple weeks ago.
"I'm very grateful Tyler ISD for thinking, 'hey, Tyler ISD new teachers are probably not going to have a lot of supplies so let's make one special for them,'" Ambriz said.
Ambriz said her inspiration for becoming a teacher comes from something that’s close to her heart -- her family.
"I'm a first-generation college student so my parents didn't have the opportunity to go to college. They didn't even go to high school and so my mom's dream was to get an education, and she wasn't able to,. So I really wanted to bring honor and pride to my family," Ambriz said.
Ambriz graduated from UT Tyler in May. She's ready for the next big step.
"Being in college and reading about it in the textbook and practicing but being a teacher by yourself with the students is completely different," Ambriz said.
She hopes to leave an impact on generations to come.
"I'm just excited to grow a bond and a relationship with them that they feel safe and comfortable here to learn and if they have problems as kids that they can tell me. So I can reassure them; we all need reassurance even as adults and watch them grow not just academically but socially," Ambriz said.