It's that time of the year again: Store shelves are stacked with notebooks, binders, glue sticks, pencils and, of course, the latest fall fashions.
The calendar and the temperatures say it is still summer, but Cabarrus County kids have only one more week before classes begin Aug. 25.
More than 140 new teachers have been hired, and that number will probably grow as enrollment increases in September. Teachers throughout the county go back to work starting Monday.
One of the most important determinants of a good school district is retaining teachers. School systems statewide work diligently to recruit and retain the best teachers.
Cabarrus County sponsors a variety of programs designed to attract new teachers. One of them is the Adopt-A-New-Teacher Program.
Through it, a business or individual can show support for new teachers by making a $100 donation. Vickie Honeycutt, assistant director of human resources for the Cabarrus County Schools, is in charge.
“Some schools have a very active PTO, and they give new teachers a larger amount of money to purchase supplies,” Honeycutt said. “At the schools with a less active PTO, teachers may receive little or nothing. We choose those teachers to be the first adopted.
“We, however, will honor it if an individual or business specifies a school, if that school has a first-year teacher.”
New teachers usually begin their careers with limited materials for their new classrooms. The money from this program allows them to purchase some extras they would otherwise have to buy with their own money.
“Once we receive money from the business or individual adopting, we contact the teacher who is being adopted by sending them a congratulatory adoption certificate,” Honeycutt said.
“The certificate includes contact information for the business, person or group.… We also send … the contact information for the teacher.
“Our hope is that a partnership will be established between the adopted teacher and the business, individual or group and that continued communication will take place throughout the year. It means so much to the teachers when they know they have strong community support. This program lets our teachers know that our community is very much in support of them.
“This is a major factor in teacher retention, and Cabarrus County's teacher turnover rate is below the state average. We are very proud of that.”
If you have any questions, call Honeycutt at 704-262-6190 or e-mail her at vhoney@cabarrus.k12.nc.us.
To sponsor a new teacher, send a check for $100 for each “adopted” teacher to Cabarrus County Schools Education Center, P.O. Box 388, Concord, NC 28026-0388.
Make checks payable to Cabarrus County Schools and send them in care of Vickie Honeycutt in the Human Resources Department. Include your name and contact information, and write on the check that it is for the Adopt-A-New-Teacher Program.
Freelance columnist Linda Doherty (ldoherty@charlotteobserver.com), a former New York City television producer, writes from her home in Moss Creek Village.
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