Before welcoming students back to school, Columbus Municipal School District officials welcomed new teachers Thursday and Friday with a Strategic Training for Academic Results new teacher induction program.
Eager to learn the CMSD way, 36 teachers participated in the induction program, including 18 teachers with no prior teaching experience.
“It”s been great so far,” Katie Dornan, a recent Mississippi State University graduate said of the STAR induction program, which CMSD Professional Development Coordinator Melinda Lowe said helps new teachers establish effective classroom management procedures, routines and instructional practices.
“I guess (meeting) just a lot of friendly people (is a big benefit),” Dornan, Joe Cook Fine Arts Magnet School”s new librarian, added. “Melinda seems to really know her stuff. It”s very comprehensive. I”m glad they”re doing this. Instead of just throwing you into it, this is a great head start.”
“I”m getting a lot of good strategies to use with my students and just a sense of welcome to the district,” said LaWhitney Shelton, a recent MSU graduate who will be teaching at Hunt Intermediate School.
“The main part is I”m getting to network, to know people in the district and it”s given me a refresher from taking a year off,” said Kellen Lane, who will be teaching math at Columbus High School after graduating more than a year ago from the University of Mississippi and working for Chick-Fil-A.
“It”s a lot of good insight as to how the district operates, how to react on your first day of school, how to set up a classroom, etc.,” said Carl Garton, a recent graduate of Mississippi University for Women, who will be teaching at Franklin Medical Sciences and Wellness Magnet School. “Plus, the networking is a positive.”
“The STAR Induction program is the transmission of the district and community culture,” Lowe wrote in the STAR induction welcome letter. “The major goals of this program are to build a sense of culture and to articulate the district”s mission and philosophy. Induction is a structured training program for all teachers new to the district that instructs and models ”the way it is done” in the (CMSD). This program is not merely an orientation to the district”s organizational pattern, but a framework of the district”s vision for student learning and success.”
The induction program emphasizes effective instructional practices, effective classroom management procedures and routines, a sensitivity and understanding of the community and unity and teamwork among administration, teachers, support staff and community members, among other things.
This is the fifth year of the CMSD STAR induction program.
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