They filed onto the bus, laughing or whispering to someone near them. For some, it was their first day at East Lake Elementary, others have been at the school for years.
The bus driver greeted them as they took their seats, some hesitating before sitting down next to a stranger. Slowly, the driver advanced the bus and began the winding loop of the bus route through the neighborhoods that surround East Lake.
It’s a scene repeated daily during the academic year, but on Friday there was a slight difference. The passengers weren’t students, they were teachers.
“Our first stop is Wheeler Homes,” said Joyce Lancaster, principal at East Lake Elementary. “[Emma] Wheeler Homes is one of the public housing projects in Chattanooga. We probably get about 100 kids from Wheeler.”
The bus trip was part of an orientation for teachers new to East Lake Elementary – teachers who might have never taught at all before, teachers who had transferred from another school in Hamilton County or teachers who are new to Hamilton County.