Anderson Middle School teacher Mercedé Boutté prepares her classroom by hanging a ‘Science Rocks’ sign. She said her room will look like a rainbow, filled with bright colors, on the first day of school Friday. 

School is back in session Friday for Iberia Parish public school students, and with it comes new teachers and new standards.

Approximately 150 new teachers will guide the minds of the parish’s students, according to Superintendent of Schools Dale Henderson.

The new teachers participated in an orientation Monday at Iberia Parish Educational Center, where they learned more about the new Common Core standards of study. The Common Core Standards are new curriculum standards in English, math, language arts, science and social studies that 45 states have adopted, Henderson said. The upcoming school year is a transition year for the school system as it implements the new standards.

First-year English I and II teacher at New Iberia Senior High Julia Macier, 30, said the orientation enhanced her knowledge of Common Core.

“Common Core will eventually be a national standard for every student,” she said. “Every student should be on the same level as the other students in the nation. The standards are a benchmark for a student’s knowledge.”

First-year Loreauville High School seventh- and eighth-grade Special Education Resource teacher Valentina Rideaux, 39, said she was excited to start teaching.

“I’ve been a student for so long, so I’m excited about finally being a teacher. And I’m excited for football season because I’m a Tigerettes (Dance Team) sponsor,” she said.

Returning Anderson Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade science teacher Mercedé Boutté said providing an inviting atmosphere for the students is important.

“You never want just plain walls,” she said. “You want expectations and simple procedures posted. And you want a bulletin board full of color because it’s more inviting to students. You want the classroom to have a welcoming that says, ‘Welcome to my class. Thank you for coming. We’re going to have a great year.’”

Boutté will continue using the Garden Project to educate her students, she said. The Garden Project is meant  to introduce healthier eating and exercise to the West End, and it is a way for the students to understand how digging, planting and all the aspects of a garden relates to science, Boutté said. 

The project is funded from a Blue Cross Blue Shield $1 million grant to make Louisiana healthier. Ay-Toi is an organization promoting wellness in the West End that received the grant from Blue Cross and planted the garden at Anderson Middle. 

“It is such an awesome way to introduce science to kids,” Boutté said. “It takes a hands-on experience to get a better understanding of what you’re trying to relay to them. It’s the perfect opportunity to teach life science with the plants and earth science with the dirt and the ground.”

Henderson said teachers officially return today for three days of in-service classroom preparation vefore the students’ return Friday.

He said starting the school year on a Friday allows them to set everything up.

“It allows us to run the bus schedules, student schedules and get everything in place. We hit the ground running when Monday comes around,” Henderson said.

The focus of every school year is always to “provide an opportunity for every child to succeed in school,” he said.

“We’re also going to continue to focus on the transition work that needs to be done with the Common Core standards as we prepare for the new PARCC Assessments that will begin Spring of 2015,” Henderson said. 

“Our general theme is to help every child, but specifically to help teachers help our students be successful in the new curricula.”

But he said school is not all about tests.

“We want to teach kids to enjoy school and be lifelong learners,” Henderson said. “School should be about educating the whole child and not just state assessments. It’s about teaching kids lifelong lessons, getting along, giving back and contributing to society.”