WCPSS hires more than 930 new teachers for 2006-07
August 21, 2006 - More than 8,000 teachers will be prepared to teach more than 127,000 students at 147 Wake County Public schools this year.
|
Update As of Aug. 23, WCPSS had 38 vacancies and principals were working to fill those positions. |
Teachers for 2006-07
Assistant Superintendent Maurice Boswell says WCPSS has hired more than
930 new teachers for the 2006-07 school year. Boswell said that schools
have 52 vacancies as of August 18. Principals have been conservative in
their hiring thus far because they want to be sure of student enrollment
numbers. It appears that enrollment is increasing now at projected levels
in some areas so they are allotting themselves additional growth positions.
These growth positions will add to vacancy numbers. WCPSS Human Resources
will take another snapshot on August 25 to see where we are.
Pre-employment orientation for teachers
When new teachers arrive to begin employment with WCPSS, they take part
in a pre-employment orientation. This takes place in the WCPSS Teacher Recruitment
Center in Cary.
WCPSS administrators designed orientation to be personal and welcoming. Once new employees complete orientation, they can begin their new jobs without the distractions of making decisions about benefits and completing federal- and state-mandated paperwork.
During orientation, employees receive their employee handbooks and a brief overview of required policies. Teachers and other licensed staff members meet one-on-one with licensure specialists. New teachers are screened for Wake's Initially Licensed Teacher Program. All eligible employees sign up for NC's retirement system, plus health and dental insurance. They also learn where to get answers to their questions in the future. Finally, they receive their official WCPSS ID badge.
During the school year, WCPSS holds new employee orientation at least three days a week. In the weeks prior to the new school year, however, multiple sessions are scheduled to accommodate the hundreds of new employees hired to educate Wake's fast-growing student population. In fact, Wake will host more than 1,500 new teachers and support staff in Orientation sessions between early June and the beginning of the traditional calendar school year. The goal of the orientation session is to let new teachers and staff know that WCPSS appreciates their decision to work in Wake County.
Joan Kister, WCPSS Senior Director for recruitment and retention, said that approximately 57per cent of this year's new teachers are from out-of-state. "WCPSS has developed a nationally renowned reputation that attracts the most talented teachers," said Kister.
High quality teachers bring success
Teachers are recognized as leaders in Wake County. Superintendent Del Burns
meets regularly with the Teachers Advisory Council to address teacher concerns.
WCPSS, NC State University and Wake Education Partnership have worked to
establish a Teacher Leadership Academy for teachers to earn a master's degree
in school administration. 2006-2007 is the inaugural year of a partnership
between WCPSS and Peace College that offers a teacher education program
for dual certification in elementary and special education. WCPSS supports
teachers who seek National Board certification, a difficult process of self-examination,
hard work, and testing that a teacher chooses to do in addition to his or
her classroom instruction. WCPSS has 907 teachers who have earned National
Board certification.
WCPSS aggressively recruits high quality educators by holding two system-wide job fairs annually and by participating in more than 200 university fairs in 38 states. School principals and teacher recruiters actively seek highly qualified teachers throughout the year.
-wcpss-