On Tuesday, July 25, 2023, Culpeper County Public Schools (CCPS) welcomed 91 new teachers to our three-day New Teacher Academy. About twenty of our new teachers transferred from neighboring school divisions and ten are Culpeper County Public Schools alumni. Nine are para-educators promoted to certified teaching positions, and six substitute teachers moved into teaching positions. We also welcomed thirteen former employees back to CCPS.
On their first day, new teachers received their CCPS badges and computers, they met with their Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (ITRT) and Lead Mentor, and spent time at their schools. In the afternoon, new teachers went on a bus tour of Culpeper. Our bus tour drivers were Linda Shortridge and David James and the tour emcees were elementary principals Angie Fiscus and Dan Birch. On the tour, they highlighted the locations of our schools, downtown, local parks and other sites of interest.
On Wednesday, July 26, new teachers spent the day at their schools. Then, on Wednesday evening, CCPS hosted a New Teacher Dinner at Old House Vineyards. New teachers, lead mentors, and school administrators attended the event, organized by the Human Resources Department. New teachers enjoyed a nice dinner and had an opportunity to spin a wheel for prizes. Each school donated gift baskets for raffle drawing. Many local businesses donated to the baskets. Culpeper Middle School’s basket was the first one to be chosen by Emerald Hill’s Aimee Morehead.
The final day of New Teacher Academy started with the CCPS Annual New Teacher Breakfast. Executive Director of Human Resources, Michelle Metzgar, introduced all of the CCPS administrators and Dr. Brads shared a story and a small gift with new teachers to help guide them through their journey. The rest of the day was dedicated to professional development with the objective of sharing effective teaching strategies and resources to support our teachers throughout the year.