A Teacher’s Journey: Meet Cassie Franklin

The traditional “Back to School” date is the Tuesday after Labor Day. Although school has already started here in Northern Virginia, my teacher DNA is programmed for tomorrow! Accordingly, it’s time to honor one of my favorite teachers, Cassie Franklin of The Substitute with a re-post. If you haven’t read The Substitute, this is a great time to check it out!

Remember that old saw, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach”?

Chances are, you’ve been tempted to think that from time to time about a teacher, but probably not often enough to justify the saying. Cassie Franklin, the main character of The Substitute, deserves a bumper sticker on her car proclaiming, “Those who can, teach.”

I’m proud to introduce Cassie and have you share in her professional and spiritual journey. Here’s a sneak peek at the back cover copy of my latest release, The Substitute.

She has a foolproof recipe for success and even shares it with others.

When her family moves, seasoned home economics teacher Cassie Franklin never dreams she won’t land a job in a school district known for hiring the crème de la crème. But when the first day of school rolls around without an interview, she begins to worry.

A call to substitute at Sully High School just might be her lucky break.

Or not. Sour staff members and a butchered budget sabotage her every move.

Under increasing pressure, Cassie fights to prove she’s still a professional. Can she tweak her cherished formula for success before becoming a total flop?

The Substitute is Book Two in the Sully Parkway series and is best enjoyed after reading Book One, The Jesus Car.

Now available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback versions!

Fall–behind?

As I drove back from some errands yesterday around three, I had a strange sense of something wrong—out of sync. No dogs trotted down the sidewalk alongside their owners. The neighborhood pool was deserted. I reached for my bottle of water—almost empty. The temperature gauge on my dash read 94, and a perky voice on the radio put the heat index in the hundreds. Gee, thanks! A yellow bus lumbered by.

That was it! The bus. School was in session, but where was fall? When would the little children fly down the street in jeans and long-sleeved shirts? When would Mom bring the family dog to the bus stop and wait for her kids while sipping coffee? When would the grass stop growing and the lawn fill with leaves?

Cool, crisp Septembers in Northern Virginia are about as mythical as White Christmases, but still, I hope for them. The alarm on my “teacher clock” goes off in September and I’m ready for the energy of a new year, even though I walked out of the school door three years ago. Activities at church kick into high gear. Everybody and everything has a meeting the same week. Summer salads disappear from my favorite restaurant, and pumpkin spice beverages appear. (So what if I need something cold and icy?) When I reach the air-conditioned comfort of home, I salivate over catalogs that feature purple boiled wool jackets and plaid skirts. Fall, where are you?

Not Another School Supply List!

Christian radio station, WGTS 91.9 has a back-to-school resource guide for parents who are preparing to send their children back to school. You’ll find articles on topics such as spiritual preparation for the year, handling rejection, and homework. There are also notes for kids and teachers to download, and signs for your first-day pictures. Enjoy!

In her Come Have a Peace blog, Julie Sanders tells “Why School Mom Prayers Matter” and shares her ABCs of prayer resource.

Focus on the Family has a full slate of back-to-school resources, with sections on Transitions, Homework Help, and Challenges.

Looking ahead into the fall, parents might want to read up on Bring Your Bible to School Day, which is October 4. This is a wonderful opportunity for your children to exercise their rights and witness for Christ at the same time!

Teachers can easily feel overwhelmed at the beginning of the year—even before the students arrive. Christian educators in public schools face unique stresses. Check out Christian Educators Association International!

Have a wonderful school year!

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

For Cassie Franklin, the heroine of my novel The Substitute, back-to-school time is without a doubt the most wonderful time of the year. For years she and her husband Joe, a school administrator, have transmitted that enthusiasm to their children. Cassie puts her home economics skills to work in August, trying out new recipes for breakfast muffins, bread, and sandwich spreads. Children Jen and Paul help their mom make a schedule of menus for their lunches. As the children got older, Joe gave them a budget for clothes and school supplies and drove them to the mall. Cassie used the quiet time to get started on lesson plans. But this year, it’s different. The kids are both in college, and Cassie doesn’t have a job. Will her life ever get back to normal?

By mid-August Sully High School assistant principal Michael Lansdowne is racing around the building. His mission: to locate missing boxes of supplies and file cabinets moved into the wrong classroom after all the floors were waxed. For relaxation, he straightens his desk and stocks up on evaluation forms for his assigned teachers. How did he wind up with more teachers to evaluate than any of the other APs? He’s already stressed, and school doesn’t start until the day after Labor Day.

Newly-minted P. E. teacher Holly Bush, the heroine of The Jesus Car, doesn’t have as much to do as Cassie or Michael. She’ll be buying a couple pairs of athletic shoes, some shorts, and a whistle. She’s already purchased Sully Lions sweats, polo shirts, and ball caps. If only Katrina and Yolanda would get in touch so they could go over the safety and procedural lessons and field hockey rules handouts! And then there’s the matter of her anemic bank balance. How will she make it until the end of September when she gets her first paycheck?

Francine Paris, the culinary arts teacher at Sully, works for at least a week in her demonstration kitchen before the contract year begins. She runs all of her dishes, glasses, and flatware through the dishwasher and hand washes the pots, pans, baking sheets and knives. She inspects everything in her pantry to make sure no pests have wreaked havoc there. Then she’ll write a purchase order for Foodie Village and get that to the finance technician before the rest of the faculty monopolizes her time. She works hard and she works alone, which is what puts her in a predicament as The Substitute opens.

Like their real-life counterparts, fictional teachers and administrators work during the summer. Even so, most of them anticipate the newness of the first week of school and enjoy the ritual of getting ready for it.

What are your back-to-school rituals? Are you anticipating the start of the school year?