Welcoming educators
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on August 5, 2016 1:46 PM
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Dr. Ed Wilson Jr., right, chairman of the Wayne County Education Network, speaks to the newly hired teachers with Beverly Carroll during the New Teacher Breakfast at the Lane Tree Conference Center on Thursday.
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Seth Combs
Brittany Sasser carries her newly acquired basket won during a raffle at the New Teacher Breakfast on Thursday at the Lane Tree Conference Center.
When Rashad Hinnant received his diploma from Goldsboro High School in 2006, he never envisioned returning there 10 years later as a teacher.
But when students arrive for classes Monday, he will be among those there to greet them.
The lateral entry teacher will be teaching marketing to ninth- through 12th-graders.
"One thing, I know it's needed and it's an advancement opportunity for me as well," he said. "It's a good way for me to give back to my community and to work in a school where I know it's needed."
Hinnant is not new to Wayne County Public Schools. He spent a year at North Drive Elementary School and the past five at Dillard Middle School as a graduation coach and intervention specialist. So some of the students he has met along the way are likely to be in his classroom, he says.
"Third-graders when I started at North Drive, some of these students I have followed over the years, and most of the students that came through Dillard, I should know them," he said.
Braced for the first day of school, he exudes a quiet confidence about the role.
"I have definitely prayed about it and for now, this is what God has for me," he said.
In addition to GHS, Wayne School of Engineering and Wayne Early/Middle College High School also start Monday. The remaining traditional schools resume Aug. 29.
This week has been filled with orientation and staff development and a teacher welcome breakfast Thursday at Lane Tree Conference Center, capped off with a bus tour of the county.
For Dr. Yvette Mason, assistant superintendent for human resources with the school system, the summer months are hectic as the district is consumed with one thing -- filling all vacancies in time for the first day of school.
"We're close," she said earlier this week. "We still have close to another month. We still have vacancies to fill. Our principals are working diligently to fill them.
"But as far as last year, we're very close with the number of teachers we hired."
She estimated that one year ago, vacancies were in the "high 90s."
As of Thursday, the district had 120 new hires.
"It seems very closely aligned to last year," she said.
Many openings were due to retirements, predominantly teachers, with a smattering of vacancies for guidance counselors, psychologists and social workers.
Historically, among the challenging areas to fill are EC, or exceptional children, and math.
"I think we have a good handle on that," Mrs. Mason said. "There's always the area of EC. However, I would say that our principals are working with (EC director) Michelle Hamm, once they know there's a vacancy.
"We do have a game plan to fill those vacancies and we do rely very heavily on her leadership. She knows where to pull from."
While some are home-grown returnees to the Wayne County, a number of hires are not, she said.
"We have some from out of state, a good number coming from out of state and some that are in state and this is their first time to Wayne County," she said. "It's exciting that they made their choice, because they had 115 other districts (in N.C.) that they could have selected and they decided to come here.
"I'm very excited about where we are. We are in a good place. However, we're not finished yet. We're still processing new staff, our principals will continue to (make recommendations)."
Thursday's breakfast, hosted by the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce and its education arm, Wayne Education Network, or WEN, was just one more way to demonstrate how valued educators are, said Kate Daniels, chamber president.
"(This started) about seven years ago as a result of hearing from the business community, saying, 'What can we do to support educators here in the community?'" she said.
Dr. Ed Wilson, retired president of Wayne Community College, has worked with the WEN initiative since 2009.
"How pleased we are that you're here in Wayne County," he told those gathered for the breakfast. "We have a great superintendent, doing some wonderful things, and his staff.
"We know that you're going to be successful. You're so important to every community in this county."
This marked the seventh year for the breakfast, said his WEN colleague, Beverly Carroll.
A retired educator and principal, she recalled how much such an event meant to her when she and her late husband, Freddie Carroll, attended something similar when their careers were just starting out.
"It's an exciting time but it's a stressful time," she said. "I'm thrilled to know that we have almost 120 new teachers."
Dr. Michael Dunsmore, schools superintendent, said he is often asked about the number of beginning teachers.
"I'm more happy about the small number of long-term substitutes we have," he said. "We are making a big push -- I want this to be the best school system in the state of North Carolina and the nation."