by Ben Overby
The Paducah Sun
July 24, 2026
Used with permission.
Tami Snyder, principal at Morgan Elementary, is entering her fifth year in the role. She said the summer leading up to back-to-school tends to be the “busy time” for principals.
“We are preparing everything to get ready for back to school,” Snyder said. “So our questions are: ‘Is everything ready for the school for the students, whether it’s staffing the building, systems in place? Then, of course, ‘What are they going to need instructionally for the year?’ ”
She said her biggest priority over the summer is staffing — making sure all spots are filled and supporting new staff. Other focuses are scheduling, creating rosters, and carrying out summer programs.
“Summer school is in June, and it is two weeks of reading and math skills for the students that need just a little bit extra,” Snyder said. “Then our Kindergarten Jump Start is the last week in July. It’s our new kindergarteners, and that’s probably my favorite week because they get to come in for three days, and they have the run of the school. They’re in the school all by themselves, so they get to learn the routines and the procedures of the classroom, the building, breakfast and lunch all by themselves before the other grade levels come in.”
She said the biggest challenge going into a new school year is making sure everything’s in place, from staffing to students to curriculum, to make for an easy-flowing school year. She said one aspect of summer preparation many people might not realize is how much work goes into getting the school building itself ready for students.
“From painting to flooring, to the safety precautions — making sure all the things are there safety-wise,” Snyder said. “The moves — classroom moves, furniture moves — there’s quite a bit of building prep. Working with the custodians and the maintenance over the summer to make sure the building’s ready is probably the biggest thing that people don’t realize. We’re up and moving all summer, not just at the computer.”
Snyder said what’s kept her busiest the last few weeks has been creating the postcards sent to students for them to learn who their teachers are, and making sure classes are properly rostered.
“We’re having to make sure that everything’s balanced,” Snyder said. “We try to balance it so that everybody has about the same amount of kids, and boys and girls, and academically balanced as well. That’s a pretty big part of my day, working with a guidance counselor, to see who’s coming back, who’s new students, who’s transferring out. There’s a lot of comings and goings here, especially in the month of July.”
She said what excites her most about a new school year is kids coming back to the building, and a great first day of school means seeing enthusiasm across students and staff alike.
“Just kids excited to be in the building, staff excited to be in the building, and just kind of reuniting everybody back,” Snyder said. “We’re a very, very family-oriented school, so it’s basically our big family getting back together."