Board of Education Administration building on Plum Street.View more photos of new teacher orientation
More than 50 new Vineland Public Schools teachers continued three days of orientation today at the Vineland Board of Education Administration building on Plum Street.
Linda Santagata, Supervisor of Student Personnel Services, served as facilitator.
“We’re very excited and happy to have you with us,” said Santagata at Monday’s opening session. “You will have all the support you need in Vineland – do not hesitate to ask.”
Jacqueline Gavigan, Vineland Board of Education Vice President, welcomed the new teachers on behalf of her colleagues.
“We are so glad that you have chosen Vineland Public Schools to be your place of employment,” she said. “I am sure that over the course of your career you will enrich the lives of so many of the children that we entrust to you.
“This is a great school district with a really wonderful staff,” she said. “I am not only a board member, but a parent, and the 12 years of my son’s experience in our schools was –in a word – awesome.”
The first two days of the annual program included a morning briefing on various components of the district’s operations, followed by site-based orientations with principals and staff in the afternoon.
The new teachers will be at their respective schools for the first day of classes Sept. 6.
The first-day morning session included a broad outline of the district’s personnel policies and procedures from Maryann Greenfield, Executive Director of Human Resources and Kevin Franchetta, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Board of Education Secretary. Breakout sessions with district supervisors on the evaluation process filled the remainder of the morning.
In the afternoon, the new educators participated in site-based orientation with their principal and staff. The sessions focused on preparing for the opening of school, description of school policies and procedures, review of professional responsibilities, and acquisition of textbooks and other materials.
Public relations and communications policies started the second day of training, presented by Dr. Keith Figgs, Assistant Superintendent for Administration and F. John Sbrana, Communications Coordinator.
Also on the agenda was suicide prevention training and a session with Sal Emburgia, Vineland Education Association President.
In the afternoon, presentations were offered by supervisors on reading and the language arts curriculum in grades K-12, mathematics, science, social studies, special education, bilingual programs, and the district’s preschool program.
The final day is set aside for content area curriculum specifics, classroom setup, preparation for the opening of school and meeting with building principals and staff.