Mountain Brook Schools welcomed 36 new teachers to the school district for the 2023-24 school year.
Prior to the start of school, the group completed New Teacher Week, which spanned four days and provided the chance to dig into the district’s purpose of providing an effective, challenging and engaging education for each of its students.
“Our goal with New Teacher Week was to not only welcome all of our new teachers, but to bring them into our school community and help them understand our purpose and why we are here,” MBS Professional Development Specialist Holly Martin said. “This year, we restructured our schedule in order to allow our new teachers to take in as much information as possible while fostering relationships with new colleagues.”
New teachers spent two days hearing from the Mountain Brook Schools finance, personnel and technology departments before the “official start” of New Teacher Week on July 20, which marked the beginning of three days of professional development sessions.
The week concluded with the annual New Teacher Breakfast, as teachers heard from Amy Jackson, Katie Harrison and Anthony Marino, who all just completed their first year as a teacher in Mountain Brook. Their message resonated with new teachers.
“I learned firsthand how Mountain Brook doesn’t just value education, but how much we value the educator,” Jill Wiggins, an incoming seventh grade English teacher said. “We felt welcomed, we felt chosen and we developed an appreciation for how the community supports education. It was like no other new teacher orientation that I’ve ever experienced.”
Mountain Brook’s 36 new teachers are originally from seven different states. They hold 24 master’s degrees and represent 15 different colleges and universities.
– Submitted by Mountain Brook Schools.
