On Tuesday Sept. 6, chemistry teacher Melissa McCarty gave birth to her daughter, Sarah, who weighed seven pounds two ounces and was 19 inches long.
In order to care for her child, McCarty will be taking maternity leave until Thanksgiving and, for the time being, her classes will be taught by chemistry teacher Jamie Leach.
“I’m sad to leave the classroom and not be teaching for a few months,” McCarty said. “But I’m super excited to be a mom. I’m looking forward to bringing my daughter home and welcoming her here.”
To get her classes ready for the transition, she spent the majority of the summer preparing.
“I wrote all the lesson plans,” she said. “I made PowerPoints, and planned anything that had to be done including labs, homework and tests.”
The preparation for her regular chemistry classes came easier because she knew that there were other teachers in the building. However, McCarty is concerned with the AP Chemistry class since she is the only one in the building who teaches it.
“I did my AP chem plan for the whole semester,” McCarty said. “I have the basics behind what I did, but it was my first year teaching last year. Making the AP plans took much longer because I want to make adjustments in order for the second year to be better and I won’t be there to do that.”
McCarty also wanted to be sure her students were prepared for the new teacher. To ensure that they were comfortable with their substitute, she talked about her often and even had her come to class and shadow one day.
“I’m still a little nervous because I don’t know what to expect,” senior AP Chemistry student Megan Angermayer said. “I’m sure she knows chemistry, and Mrs. McCarty is very confident that everything will work out, but transitions can be difficult.”
Leach taught chemistry at Olathe Northwest for five years, but has spent the last three being a stay-at-home mom for her kids ages five, three and seven months.
“I have been refreshing my memory since I’ve been out of it a few years,” Leach said. “I’ve been looking through plans and what I need to review but it can be kind of hard with three kids. I’m excited to be back in the classroom though.”
Despite the need to review information, Leach has not struggled much with the transition.
“Mrs. McCarty has been very organized for this year,” Leach said. “She was even e-mailing me the whole time she was in labor.”
McCarty misses being in the classroom, but she checks in with Leach often to make sure all is well.
“It’s really hard to leave,” McCarty said. “But I love being with Sarah and seeing how she grows everyday.”