To: Michael Green
From: Asha Riley
Date: October 21, 2022
Re: Teaching and Learning
Each year, I have the pleasure of meeting with each newly hired certificated teacher to check in and discuss how their first few weeks of school have been.
These conversations help give me a sense of how well we induct and support our new staff. Feedback this year has been very positive. We learned our induction process made them feel welcome, prepared and supported. The time invested before the start of school with district staff and in the buildings was productive and largely helpful to them.
During these conversations, I also hear success stories, as well as the challenges they are facing. With this information, we get a sense of how we need to provide continued support. This year, in particular, we learned our staff in specialized programs (like special education) could use more support around systems and logistics. Jake Hall has already responded with a 3-hour training planned for them Monday, October 24th.
During my meeting with each person, I use a Google Form to gather their degree of confidence in five categories. This helps our committee evaluate how well we prepared and supported our new staff at induction. The results of the survey are attached. My favorite comment was, “Here in Woodland I don’t even want to punch the Assistant Superintendent.” I understood from the further conversation that the previous district wasn’t as supportive as she feels Woodland is. Just to be safe I’ve made a special note to avoid upsetting this new team member.
In summary, our new team members are very happy to be in Woodland and feel highly supported by their principals, coaches, and colleagues. I am very proud of how our staff has welcomed and invested in their success.