Fresno teachers prep for upcoming school year

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- As families are going back to school shopping, teachers across the Valley are getting their classrooms ready.

Teachers are playing the role of students this weekend as they gear up for a new school year.

"I'm nervous," teacher Agustin Robles said. "But, you know, I have my things prepared, and I'll be fine."

Robles is a first-year teacher and he's joining about 325 others at Fresno Unified's New Teacher Conference.

Some have taught at other districts before but they're all new to this district.

"They're being great in providing us with the tools we need for the kids to learn and you know put in practice whatever we learned," Robles said.

"They seem really ready and that's what I love when people are passionate about working with kids," teacher Carlanda Williams said.

The two-day event at Mclane High School allows teachers to network with others and participate in workshops to help start the year off right.

"We really want to onboard them. We want to welcome them," teacher development administrator Teresa Morales-Young said. "Tell them how excited we are to have them in Fresno Unified and then also give them some skills and knowledge so when they enter the first day, they feel like they've had some background and can enter with confidence."

This is the largest group of new teachers to the district in three years, which is a positive sign with a teacher shortage across the state.

"It's good news for Fresno Unified," Morales-Young said. "We still have a teacher shortage, but we've really tried to create a strategic plan to address that."

The first day of school is August 15 for the district, so the countdown is on.