WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew shares that the District welcomed its new staff members at New Teacher Orientation last week.
Orientation, held on Aug. 23-24 at Pentucket Regional Middle-High School, was designed to welcome new teachers to the District, discuss the District’s core values and beliefs, and become energized for the coming school year. Special Education Literacy Teacher Laura Coakley facilitated for about 30 new staff members.
The orientation began with a welcome address and introductions from Superintendent Bartholomew, Payroll/Benefits Coordinator Brandy Perusse, Human Resources Specialist Lisa Giampietro, Human Resources Coordinator Sabrina Simone, and Coakley.
Coakley then provided an overview of the orientation schedule, goals, and materials. Assistant Superintendent Brent Conway jumped into a discussion about Pentucket’s core values, inclusivity practices, and curriculum and instruction.
Assistant Superintendent Conway also facilitated an educator evaluation session, where teachers engaged in the goal setting process which serves as the foundation for the educator evaluation system.
Catherine Page, Sam Kwong, and John Kwiatek, members of Pentucket’s IT team, gave a technology overview, including details about Google Classroom, Infinite Campus, and logging into Chromebooks and the PRSD website.
The orientation also covered a variety of other important topics including special education, student safety, professional growth, keys to success at Pentucket, and more.
The two-day orientation closed the with a luncheon provided by the Pentucket Association of Teachers. New staff met their mentor teachers at the luncheon, who will support them throughout the year in a book study and other collaborative meetings.
New teachers will participate in follow-up orientation meetings in September, October, and December to keep track of their progress throughout the fall.
“New Teacher Orientation is a great welcome to our tight-knit district,” said Superintendent Bartholomew. “We believe it is important that new teachers get to know their colleagues and become familiar with the values within our schools. We are excited to see what the new year brings for everyone at Pentucket!”
