Derek L. McCoy

I took part in a truly inspiring meeting several weekends ago.

We recently had the fortune to hire a new teacher from Michigan to join our staff. We are very excited about the prospect of her making a difference in our school. She contacted me recently to let me know her family was vacationing several hours away and wanted to stop by to see her room and get an idea of how to set up. Her stop through was going to be on a Saturday. Of course, I agreed to open the school and meet her and her family. I remember the excitement of starting the year off as a first year teacher and every year since so I wasn’t going to miss this experience.

I extended the invitation to my 8th grade teachers and was elated to see that three of my 8th grade leaders volunteered to give up some of their Saturday morning to meet and greet their new teammate and welcome her family.

It was all smiles and great talks that morning! I wanted to make sure that our newest staff member felt not only welcome to the school but also knew that she was supported in all of her endeavors. We were joined by experienced teachers and a first year teacher – all provided curriculum resources, suggestions for living spaces and advice for support for the family.

This meant a lot to me. I speak frequently about our works with our high needs population. Its exciting to see educators who are willing to commit to our schools promise to grow kids. Our students thrive because we find ways to wrap incredible support around kids. This experience is testament to how we continue to grow and support teachers – by providing that next level of support and encouragement they need.

In a time of dwindling resources and wavering support, we can always count on supporting each other.