No one keeps the statistics, but we are certain that each week there are a few people who are new to the area and take their first steps on a portion of the path around the Falls. Some may be just passing through on the way to another destination. Others may have stopped to ask for directions, with all the detours signs. A driver coming through Pulaski, heading north on 32 and then taking Highway 22 through Oconto Falls would have hit three state highway detours in 25 miles.
Others traveling to the area might have had a destination in the area for a vacation or for business purposes. A few might be families relocating to the area. A few of our schools have had last-minute student enrollments, as is often the case at this time of year. We always keep our fingers crossed about this.
While we always welcome new families to the district, at least one of our elementary grades is right at the enrollment limit. If the limit is exceeded, it will mean adding another classroom with all the associated costs. To help keep things in balance, there are years when we have to shift students from one elementary to another. This was one of the years when we had to move some students that could have attended Oconto Falls Elementary to Abrams Elementary.
This creates a bit of a complication, since the general student flow is from the southern part of the district to the north and the city of Oconto Falls. Transporting students the other way is “swimming against the current,” so to speak. After lots of discussions, we think we have that one solved.
A number of first-time travelers on the path may have come for employment opportunities. In the case of the school district, as of Monday morning, we had 13 new teachers who were coming on board for the start of the year. We had a few more spots to fill.
The process for bringing new teachers on board is a work of art, with a lot of science thrown in. New teachers come in for three days of orientation before veteran teachers return for another three days of in-service and workshops. The district has received state recognition for the new teacher induction program and puts a high priority on setting the teachers up for success. There is only one chance to get it right.
One of the key parts of this successful new teacher induction model is to have a trained mentor work with the new teacher throughout the first year. It’s a different role for the veteran teacher who might have come out of college with the expectation that he or she would only be teaching young students. As a mentor, he or she is acting a bit like a college professor teaching a graduate class.
Ironically, more often than not, this mentor/new teacher relationship turns out to be a great learning experience for both sides of the equation. These new teachers are filled with so many great, fresh ideas that the veteran teachers come away from the experience feeling like they learned a lot.
Over the years the district’s new teacher induction model has been refined as efforts are made to improve it from one year to the next or new topics have to be covered. Director of Instruction Candie Lehto has taken a great deal of pride as she coordinated this effort. She has gotten lots of positive feedback from teachers who have been part of the process.
This is one of the favorite parts of her job, and she is good at it. She will wrap up her work with us on this high note, since her last day with the district is the Friday before the Labor Day weekend. Everyone is frantically taking lots of notes as she coordinates the effort one last time.
With three days of new teacher orientation and three days of returning staff orientation, those 13 new teachers must feel their heads spinning. They may feel like they are swimming upstream, no matter which way they turn, for the first few months of the school year.
We hope the special effort and attention at the start of the school year will help each of them earn seven gold medals in the local education Olympics. Mark Spitz would be proud.
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