The new school year starts on August 1, but before greeting students, Bulloch County Schools took time last week to first welcome approximately 225 new employees, 70 of whom are new teachers.
The school district’s annual New Hire Orientation was held on July 20, at Statesboro High. The day-long, spaced-themed event included a welcome from Superintendent Charles Wilson, key sessions on multiple topics such as safety and benefits, lunch, and a trade show with many local and area support vendors.
“We are excited to welcome our new stars to Bulloch County,” said Alli Baxter, the district’s chief human resources officer.
Prior to New Hire Orientation, new teachers met on July 15, at Mattie Lively Elementary School, for the first of ten Induction Teacher Program sessions. These new educators will meet once per month through May. Led by the district’s team of instructional coaches, the monthly sessions are created based on feedback from new teachers and their school-based mentors regarding teacher needs.
“This allows the program to be flexible and responsive to the needs of each individual new teacher cohort,” said Ragan Adkins, a director of school improvement. Adkins and fellow School Improvement Director Millie Boykin are leading the program this school year.
Begun in 2015, the program supports new teachers by communicating the school district’s values and it models best practices for student learning with engaging instructional strategies, proper classroom management techniques, and positive behavior interventions.
