Most teachers spend their summer preparing for the year to come, relaxing, or spending time with loved ones. Special Education teacher Denise Clare continues working year long. She is one of the many special education teachers who spend their summer helping students succeed. She has been teaching the summertime classes for 20 years.

“It’s nice because the hours are shorter and I guess I get to know the students a little bit better,” Clare said.

She said she enjoys the extra hours at school because it helps her prep for the next year and help students with things they struggled on.

“I prep all summer, but a lot of the time students are doing independent work so I can work on setting up files, and getting rid of the senior files, I also set up the gradebook and my lesson plans.”

Clare doesn’t spend her entire summer inside school walls, however. She spends time with her children and grandchildren as well.

“We go boating and camping sometimes, and other times it’s nice just to spend time with them.”