Kevin Clifford/Nevada Appeal Carol Harris, teacher development coordinator for the Carson City School District gives advice to first-year teacher Gail Struble on Tuesday at the district's Gleason Building which houses the professional development center. Struble will be an English-as-a-second-language teacher at Mark Twain Elementary.
Nine years ago, Christy McOmber decided she wanted to become a teacher.
Tuesday, those goals came to fruition as the mother of two started her new career with the Carson City School District.
"I'm nervous," she said. "I'm excited. I'm probably a whole ball of emotions. I'm really just excited to get to know the kids and meet their individual needs."
She isn't the only one.
The Carson City School District has hired 49 new licensed employees to teach the children in its schools. About half of that new staff will work at the elementary level and the other half at the secondary level.
"Most of them are filling old positions," said Carol Harris, teacher development coordinator for the school district. "There are very few new positions. One teacher comes from British Columbia, one from Florida. We have a lot from the South. We have a person from Tennessee."
For the past 10 years, Harris has coordinated the district's orientation for new teachers. It has developed into two days of interactive sessions where the new teachers learn about the district - such as insurance information and its mentor and teacher evaluation programs - and even tips for teaching - like keeping students busy from the moment the bell rings using simple, open-ended assignments at the beginning of class.
"All of what they learn is specific to the Carson City School District," said Harris, who welcomed 35 new hires at this time last year. "And they're spending a lot of time sharing with each other because they're all coming from different perspectives of what education is about."
For McOmber, her employment with the school district circles back to her past. She will be teaching a third-grade/fourth-grade combination class at Bordewich-Bray Elementary School, which both of her children - now at Eagle Valley Middle School - attended.
That was at the time when McOmber was working on her bachelor's degree, which she received from the University of Nevada, Reno. Nine years later, she's made it.
"I think (teacher training) is a very valuable support for new teachers, especially in the day of accountability," she said. "It really provides the support that we need to be supportive to help our kids be successful."
In the past, Harris gave the orientation at Carson High School or Carson Middle School, but this year was her first occasion to provide it in the same building her office is in: The district's Gleason Building, home of the professional development center.
n Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.
New teachers in the school district
The new teaching staff in the district includes five new teachers at Bordewich-Bray, one at Empire, seven new hires at Fremont Elementary School, one at Fritsch, two at Mark Twain, one at Seeliger, three at Pioneer High School, nine at Eagle Valley Middle School, two at Carson Middle, 12 at Carson High School and two at student support services.
• At Carson High School, there will be two newly hired teachers in physical education, and one each in algebra I/geometry, English, Spanish, algebra II/trig/pre-calculus, world history/sociology, art, band, computer literacy and English-as-a-Second Language.
• Pioneer High School has hired a new science teacher, a new English teacher and new social studies/humanities teacher.
• Carson Middle School will have a new eighth-grade social studies teacher and a new seventh-grade English/eighth-grade history teacher.
• Eagle Valley Middle School is hiring two new eighth-grade science teachers, a sixth-grade English/social studies teacher, a sixth grade math/science teacher, a seventh-grade English teacher, an art teacher, a special-education teacher and two general resource teachers.
• Bordewich-Bray Elementary School is hiring an autism specialist, a new teacher in first grade and in fifth grade, a speech therapist and two general resource teachers.
• At Empire Elementary School there will be a new ESL teacher.
• At Freemont Elementary School the new hires will be in first grade, second grade and ESL.
• At Fritsch Elementary School there will be a new second-grade teacher.
• At Mark Twain Elementary School there will be two new ESL teachers.
• At Seeliger Elementary School there will be a new third-grade teacher.
