BUFFALO, N.Y. — Monday is the beginning of Teacher Appreciation Week. And after the year teachers have had, you really can't say thank you enough.

It’s not an easy job and it was made especially difficult as they tried to navigate helping students through the pandemic.

Erin Lawson is a sixth-grade teacher at Buffalo Creek Academy. She shared her routine with Spectrum News.

“Computer is all cleaned up ready for kids, we use slides every day,” she said.

Lawson starts each morning with an 8:05 virtual meeting with her fellow teachers. Then, she sets up homeroom — a virtual homeroom.

“They will have a little welcome message for the first few minutes until everyone gets in,” said Lawson.

As everyone gets settled in, she’ll chat with students.

“How was your night last night?” she asks.

And reminds them that even though they’re at home, they’re in class.

“Very nice and it looks like everybody has their uniforms on, everyone has their cameras on, that’s awesome, everyone should be sitting up,” she added.

From there, the day begins.

“Make sure we are ready and focused for today, my friends. Go ahead and pull out your assignment notebook,” Lawson said.

While many students are still remote, the academy recently brought back some in-person students. So Ms. Lawson teaches both at the same time.

“So I share with them my computer screen, and then what’s on my computer will be displayed right there on the big screen, so that my kids in the classroom can see it,” said Lawson.

Ms. Lawson has taught remotely for a year now. She says some things have gotten a little bit easier, but some things haven’t.

“I’ve missed being able to see my student’s faces, encourage them with struggling with something, give them ideas," she said.

Ms. Lawson wasn’t always a teacher. She worked outside of education until she decided to go back to school in her 30’s. Now, she’s been teaching for five years. Although these past 13 months threw a lot at educators — she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“I couldn’t be happier. I’m so thankful that I went back to school. I earned my undergrad right here at Buff State, went on to do my master’s in literacy. This is completely my passion; there is no place I’d rather be than in the classroom,” Lawson said.

There’s not much time left in the school year, or in the current building. Soon, the school will move to a new location in South Buffalo. Ms. Lawson got a chance to tour what will be her new classroom.

“Maybe a whiteboard over here, you think about where you are going to put your library, where is your desk going to be,” she said.

She looks forward to a new classroom. Hopefully, full of students there, in person, sometime soon. For now, she’ll continue inspiring her students virtually.