The neat cursive script scrawled across the whiteboard in Caroline Mooren's fifth-grade classroom took time to perfect.

As a resident teacher at Manor Heights Elementary last spring, Mooren was teased by her third-grade students about her scribbly cursive handwriting. It was the one thing they said she needed to work on.

Armed with her improved cursive, Mooren is back at Manor Heights - this time for her first year as a "real" teacher.

"I'm hoping I can get these kids excited about learning," Mooren said. "Coming back to Manor Heights is awesome. This group has embraced me."

On Monday, approximately 55 first-year teachers stood in front of their own classrooms for the first time. Like Mooren, they've put in years preparing to be an educator, including a full semester as a resident teacher, which offered only a taste of what their lives are about to be like.

Students pursuing teaching degrees today have a different set of requirements than their predecessors did, according to Renee Griffith, an education instructor for the University of Wyoming/Casper College.

The No Child Left Behind Act requires all educators to be "highly qualified" in the areas they teach. A junior high biology teacher now has concurrent degrees in education and biology.

Elementary teachers can take extra courses for a specific subject, but they aren't required to hold a degree outside of education.

"The overall elementary education degree is standardized to meet the No Child Left Behind requirement," Griffith said.

The Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board also reviews all teachers to ensure they meet standards.

Through required practicum classes, Mooren spent 60 hours in a classroom as a sophomore and another 30 hours as a junior. She was a resident teacher for a full semester before earning her degree.

"It just takes that experience that really turns them into a great teacher," Griffith said. "We can prepare them in theory, but it's really the experience that will be beneficial to them."

Over the next year, Mooren will also complete extensive professional development, including weekly meetings with her mentor teacher, Karla Jump. She'll learn about best practices, the latest research on learning and how to incorporate that information into her classroom.

A handful of mentor teachers work with roughly 400 Natrona County teachers in their first three years of teaching, helping them set up classrooms, build portfolios and adjust to their new careers.

The mentors take a team approach to preparing their new colleagues, Jump said. They're just a phone call away, whether it's 7 a.m. or midnight.

"That's huge to me, because there are other districts out there who don't take care of their incoming people," Jump said.

"We want our teachers to be successful," said mentor Kathy Christensen.

"And to stay and not quit," said mentor Ken Hampton.

Mooren and her first-year peers are expected to prepare their students to meet district, state and federal achievement standards, despite the fact they may still be learning the standards themselves.

It's a lot of pressure. But as Mooren put the finishing touches on her new classroom last Friday, she seemed calm.

"I don't feel nervous," she said. "I feel anxious. I'm excited to see what a day in my life looks like."

Mooren isn't sure what the year ahead holds for her. What she does know is this first year will be filled with learning - learning about her students, her new school and perhaps most importantly how to be a teacher.

"I'm sure there'll be moments," Mooren said. "But I'm sure the good moments will outweigh the bad ones."

Mooren nodded toward the back of her classroom, where young adult novels lined five low bookshelves.

"I'm so excited to get into those novels," she said. "I love to read. And buying school supplies? I think that could be my new addiction."

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com.

See a video of the first day of school in Caroline Mooren's fifth-grade class at Manor Heights Elementary School at www.trib.com.]]->