Riverside High special education teacher praises school improvement, urges support for new teachers

Molly Johnson, a special education teacher at Riverside High School, said in transcript remarks that the school has improved after years of challenges and urged colleagues to support new teachers.

Johnson said she originally joined the district in the early 2000s, stepped away to raise three boys and returned to the district four years ago; this is her third year teaching at Riverside. "I really enjoy the high school," she said, adding that students at that level need adults they can trust and approach with the many pressures they face.

Johnson described her credentials — an initial degree in elementary education and a master’s in special education — and said her role allows her to work across many classrooms. "I am a special education teacher, so I am fortunate to be able to meet with a lot of different students," she said, noting collaboration with general-education co-teachers and cohorts.

Addressing school climate, Johnson acknowledged that Riverside "has been getting a bad rap" but said that the situation is changing. "Our principal, Maria Conrad, has been working so hard with her admin and all of us to change the school around," she said. "We are actually becoming a stronger, healthier, educationally driven school, and it is very important." She pointed to staff-building and student-building efforts aimed at making school a place students want to attend for both academic and social supports.

Johnson emphasized the stability students need: "A lot of our students come from challenging backgrounds, and they need stability, and they need to spend time with people they know care for them." She added that staff often go "over backwards" to support those students.

She closed with advice for colleagues new to the profession: seek help from co-teachers and cohorts and keep persisting. "It is scary and challenging at first," she said. "But these are children that need to be guided, and as we all work together...step keep stepping forward." She also described Principal Maria Conrad as understanding and communicative even on difficult days.

The remarks appear in the provided transcript; no formal actions, motions or votes are recorded in the same transcript segment.