Walking into room 208 West, a slight, dark haired woman is bustling around, straightening papers and tending to her students.  She calls the class to attention and begins writing on the Smartboard, explaining to 25 juniors the difference between complementary and supplementary angles. This is a relatively new scene to students, because Susan Kraft has been out of school for nearly the whole semester. Only three weeks into school, Kraft required a double by-pass surgery, leaving her junior geometry students with a substitute for the entirety of the first semester.

                “The surgery was absolutely necessary and I understood and accepted that,” Kraft said. “I really did not like that I had to be gone for so long, but that choice was made for me by my doctors.”

                During her absence, Kraft’s classes were covered by Jessica White, who had been her student teacher several years before. Despite the reassurance that her students were in good hands, Kraft said she still missed the school scene.

                “I missed being at school,” Kraft said. “I knew my substitute was great, but I wanted to be there. I felt like I was missing so much.”

                The transition coming back to school after the surgery was not an easy one. The weeks following her surgery were spent getting better, not focusing on her classes. She kept up with school happenings through other teachers, but was still mostly in the dark.

                “It was like the first day of school all over again,” Kraft said. “I had to get used to getting up early and putting on “real clothes”. It didn’t take long, but I had to get used to the routine again.”

                In addition to getting used to the routine, Kraft also had to become acquainted with students that she had only seen briefly for three weeks. Kraft also covered for another math teacher, Ruth Caldwell, from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

                “I had been with them three weeks before I left so I felt like I was beginning to know them then,” Kraft said. “Since we [Kraft and Caldwell] have been back and I have been with my own students, I feel like I know them and we have settled into a normal routine.”

                During her absence, students made t-shirts and they were sold as a fundraiser to help Kraft financially with the cost of the surgery. While the absence was hard on both students and teachers, Kraft says that the best part of being back is having a purpose.

                “I love teaching and I am glad to be at Randall,” Kraft said. “My goal is to always impact my students and fellow teachers in a positive way and remember that everything I do can make a difference.”