Teaching Around the Clock: Teachers Jessica Krievins, Ann Flurry and Emily Fossoh share their experiences as a mom balancing their work schedule with their kids’ schedules

Gymnastics on Mondays, Boy Scouts on Tuesdays, staff meetings once a month on Tuesdays, volleyball on Wednesdays and Thursdays and soccer on Thursdays and Saturdays.

“I don’t know where August, September and October went,” Business teacher Jessica Krievins said.

Krievins has four children — two sets of twins — elementary schoolers Lily, Katie, AJ and Izzy, whose extracurricular activities have taken over Krievins’ calendar.

“[My kids and I] will sit down, lay on the couch, and watch a movie together before bed, just to create those times where we can slow down because they’re tired too,” Krievins said.

She finds that being a teacher and a mom helps her understand both her students and kids better.

“With my kids being so little, it helps me understand my students’ background,” Krievins said. “I [think of it like], ‘Okay if they didn’t have this kind of a nurturing home at home, how can I help that at school?’”

She used to teach career and life planning, where she taught a unit about how children change the dynamics of their families. She brought her own kids to class and let her students interact and babysit them for one day.

From then on, her kids would beg to go back to school with her.

Though she wants to be an efficient teacher at school, Krievins also wants to focus on her family. She sets boundaries for herself like letting parents know that she may not answer emails at home.

“I don’t take work home,” Krievins said. “When I leave [school], I’m a mom, and when I come [to school], I’m a teacher.”

Set the timer so Liam can catch the bus. Make sure Lily’s lunch is made. Tell Liam to feed the dogs. Give them breakfast. Out of the house by 7:15 every morning.

English teacher Ann Flurry has two children — eighth grader Liam and sixth grader Lily — both starting school almost an hour apart. Her husband is the principal at the Center for Academic Achievement, meaning they both have to leave home earlier than their children. 

“I’d love to say, ‘Oh yeah, I make breakfast every morning and we all sit down and [eat together],” Flurry said. “[But] we just do the best we can.”

When emergencies happen during school, like her kids getting sick, Flurry has to leave in the middle of the day.

“It has been understood that family comes first, and everyone just rallies around the teachers who need to leave,” Flurry said. “We try to do everything we can to cover their classes.”

Flurry has a photography business on the side, and uses her skills to help with the Belinder yearbook at her daughter’s school. Connecting her hobbies with things that benefit her kids helps her choose the activities that are worth giving her time to.

Despite her busy schedule being a volunteer coach for her daughter’s cheer team, Flurry is grateful for her job as a teacher while being a mother — even when it gets challenging.

“If this is my struggle, gosh, I’m happy to do it and I’m not going to complain,” Flurry said. “I chose this life. So I was just really lucky that we are blessed with two healthy, great kids.”

AP European History teacher and former track coach Emily Fossoh’s kids, seven-year-old Henry and five-year-old Ethan, hit a pickleball ball back and forth on the courts at Harmon Park alongside students two feet taller than them during the sophomore pickleball tournament.

Fossoh’s three children, Henry, Ethan and two-year-old Gabby go with her to many school activities from former track practices to parent-teacher conferences.

“My life is my children, and they are the schedule,” Fossoh said. “And that’s the big reason why I stopped coaching. I had my third [child and] it just wasn’t sustainable.”

Fossoh applies her ability to create learning opportunities as a teacher when she creates activities to challenge her kids. 

Hot wheels? Engineer the fastest track. Legos? 20 minutes to build the best building.

Fossoh also sets up obstacle courses for her kids. Start by passing the area with a nerf gun challenge, then move on to dribble a basketball between cones and shoot. Cross the finish line.

“I’m a coach too, so competition is something that I really like to instill in them,” Fossoh said.

Having mostly taught history classes, Fossoh helps her kids embrace both her African husband’s culture and American culture.

“I feel like they’re too young to understand the depth of history, but [I want to] pass on those cultural traits and traditions,” Fossoh said. “That could be food or showing on the map where [their] daddy’s from.”

For Fossoh, a benefit to teaching is the convenience, because she gets summer break off to spend time with her kids.

“Those first years [of teaching] I would take a lot home,” Fossoh said. “I’ve been teaching [now] for 17 years. I’m at a point where my focus is my family when I get home.”