New Teacher Orientation

By Eliza Hallabeck

Over the course of four days, Reed Intermediate School became the meeting place for new teachers in the school district for the 2010 New Staff Orientation from Monday, August 23, through Thursday, August 26.

On the first day of the orientation, the group attended a meeting in Reed’s Library Media Center, and heard presentations from Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson and Board of Education Chairman William Hart. Other school board members were invited to have lunch with the new teachers on Monday.

On Tuesday the new staff members met in Reed’s cafetorium for a Teacher Education and Mentoring Program (TEAM) meeting. TEAM is a new professional development model for starting teachers that was passed by the state in October 2009. According to the program’s website, www.ctteam.org, the program uses “five professional growth modules in order to provide a framework for support of new teachers.”

This is the first year the TEAM program is being implemented in Newtown, and it became active in the state in July.

On the second day of the orientation process, new teachers in the district, returning second through third-year teachers, and teacher mentors were welcomed to the first TEAM and Newtown Mentoring Program meeting by music from students in this year’s Band Camp.

“Welcome and welcome back,” said Assistant Superintendent of Schools Linda Gejda. “I hope for those of you who are returning that you have had a restful and wonderful summer, and I am privileged to be able to welcome you back.”

Support offered for new teachers through the mentoring program, she said, is an integral part to the school system for the collegiality it promotes.

“This is an area that we need to constantly be working on,” said Dr Gejda. “It’s something that we believe in.”

During the course of the year the mentor a teacher works with can become a colleague with information on the district, Dr Gejda said.

“So it is a very important program that we have here,” Dr Gejda said.