By Rachel Weaver

For many, the last day of school means visions of tumbleweeds rolling through empty hallways as the doors swing shut for three glorious summer months.

But like a professional sports team, schools stay active during the off-season to stay sharp for the big day, a.k.a. the first day of school.

“People think school means 10 months a year, but we are here 12 months, every year,” says Cara Zanella, Peters Township School District communications coordinator.

Weeks after the last day of classes, Lois Anderson’s crew of custodians are at Peters Township Middle School making sure rooms are clean, floors are buffed and walls are painted in preparation of students’ return.

“What don’t we do in the summer?” says Anderson between paint strokes. “We start at the top and work all the way down: every light bulb, every chair, all the blackboards and all the painting. We strip the floors and put three coats of wax on each one.”

Around the corner from Anderson’s painting post, the halls are lined with boxes full of equipment for the new school year. Each one must be unpacked and organized by the time the first bell rings.

Down a hallway full of open red lockers and through a set of glass doors, Dr. Anthony Merante, middle school principal, is preparing the teacher handbook, reviewing curriculum and making sure no classroom is double-booked on the huge room matrix in the front of his office. With no students or teachers around since June 9, it’s a more casual time for him despite his long to-do list.

“We miss the kids, so it is a little different when you don’t have the students and the teachers here. And I don’t have a tie on. We are busy, but it’s not as people-oriented in the summer as it is during school,” he says.

Mary Monsour, assistant middle school principal, looks forward to this time to do her summer reading. This year, she’s catching up on education law, research and back-to-school packets.

Outside the school, John Mizia, buildings, grounds and transportation supervisor, is using his summer months to catch up on all the work that can’t be done while fields are used daily
for athletics.

“We have two months to rebuild and maintain what’s been used and taxed to the max,” he says.

All work on the fields, such as line painting and landscaping, must be finished in the hot, and recently rainy, summer days. By Aug. 1, the football team, band and cheerleaders will need them for camp and practice.
Because they can chose to be on either a 10- or 12-month payment schedule, most teachers are gone for the summer the day after school ends. Guidance counselors stay a little longer, usually packing things up 10 days after commencement. By mid-June, the school buildings are left with a skeleton crew of administrative and custodial people preparing for Aug. 31.

But next door at the district office, things are just getting interesting.

In her packed yet organized office, Diane Kirk, district superintendent, spends her summer months revising the district budget, completing staff evaluations, preparing for board meetings and reviewing certification requirements.

“We don’t clean up the year until July 1 and then we have to be up again by Aug. 10,” she says.

Kirk works all summer with the first day of school in mind. She prepares for new teacher and student orientations, works with the food service office and organizes a two-day retreat for all administrative staff where they brainstorm for the year ahead. In addition to her many summertime responsibilities, Kirk shares the duty of conducting final interviews for new hires with assistant superintendent, Dr. John Hoover.

Last year, with many people retiring from Peters, the district hired more than 30 new employees. This year, they will choose 12 from the 1,000 applications Barbara Diemer, Hoover’s secretary, has been sifting through since April.

“All this paperwork means something,” she says gesturing around her paper-filled office.

Diemer is the first person involved in the long hiring process. Once applications are filed, they pass by the desks of several administrative officials. After the principals interview the candidates for their respective schools, the potential hires are sent before Kirk and Hoover.

“We hire as soon as we can,” says Hoover. “The best people are gone by August.”

And the best teachers are needed to accommodate the growing district. Last year, PTSD enrollment was at 4,016 students, and district officials expect higher numbers in subsequent years as Peters Township and the surrounding areas are prime for new single-family housing developments.

Zanella spends June through August tackling the complicated task of preparing the district calendar. She makes sure the prom doesn’t interfere with the big soccer game and the auditorium isn’t booked for the fall play the same time it is needed for the band concert. Throughout summer months, parents with travel plans inquire whether or not prom and graduation will conflict with their family vacations. To guarantee she always has an answer, Zanella works a few years in advance.

But with no sporting events, banquets or performances for her to attend in the summer, Kirk misses her daily interaction with students, despite her busy agenda.

“It’s a very intense time,” she says. “It’s not less work. It’s just different work.”