While many wide-eyed students mapped their way through their first day at Butler Junior High School on Wednesday, Alex Froats, a new reading teacher at the school, was adjusting to her workplace.

After a group of seventh and eighth graders filed into the classroom and sat down at their desks, Froats stood in front of the chalkboard and introduced herself.

“How many of you were nervous this morning?” she asked.

A few students' hands shot up.

“Well, this is my first day, just like it's your first day,” she said, trying to reassure them.

After taking attendance and collecting some information, a few students shared some of their favorite activities over the summer to break the ice. A girl rode the Skycoaster at Kennywood for the first time. A boy traveled to North Carolina with his family.

Wednesday marked the first day of classes in several Butler County school districts, including Butler, South Butler, Karns City, Freeport and Seneca Valley. Mars, Moniteau and Allegheny-Clarion Valley students started school on Monday while Slippery Rock students will begin classes Tuesday.

About 1,200 students attend Butler Junior High School.

While Froats has a year of professional teaching experience as an English teacher at a northeastern Ohio high school, the Pittsburgh-area native now is closer to home, living in Butler.

“I'm definitely not as nervous as I was last year,” said Froats, 23, a Duquesne University graduate. “I was more excited than nervous.”

Students have teachers and schedules to remember. But being a teacher, Froats needs to begin memorizing more than 100 names of the students in her six reading classes. Further complicating matters is that she does not have a home classroom. She travels to a few different classrooms each day.

“I am moving around a lot,” she said.

Luckily for her, her whole classroom doesn't have to be mobile. Reading books are stored in each room she teaches.

Since the building lacks air conditioning, she planned out an outfit for the first day that would be cool and airy, which ended up being a light brown top paired with a black skirt.

But unlike the students, Wednesday wasn't her first day at the school. Froats has spent the past few weeks getting acclimated with her new curriculum, and taking notes from her mentor, Julie Chwalik.

“We'll meet on a regular basis,” said Chwalik, who's been in the Butler district for 14 years. “I'm just doing things to make her feel welcome to have a successful first day.”

But Mary Caton, who is head of the English and Reading department at the junior high school, said Chwalik has gone above and beyond in her mentoring task. Every new teacher at Butler has a one-on-one mentor to guide them through their first school year.

“Everyone in our department is as helpful as possible,” Caton said. “And her mentor is walking with her each step of the way.”

Froats agreed.

“I don't know what I'd do without her,” she said.

Froats is excited to have a fun and challenging year ahead of her. As part of her curriculum, she'll teach from an interactive text.

She'll also need to make sure that every student receives at least 80 percent on their assessments or they'll have to retake the test and study until they can reach that percentage.

But for now, in addition to having her students learn, she wants to get to know each student in the coming weeks.

“This is going to be fun, but you're also going to learn a lot,” she told her students. “I want 110 percent everyday.”