Over 600 new hires attended the Dallas Independent School District’s New Teacher Academy this week.
The event, hosted at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Downtown Dallas, kicked off the school year with a resource fair, teacher training, and other activities to welcome new teachers before classes begin on August 12. Campus orientations were held on Monday.
At Kickoff Day, seasoned Dallas ISD teachers and staff conversed with new team members and provided valuable insight into maintaining professionalism and calm in the classroom.
“I’ve been very impressed with everybody I have met,” Susan Vopat, a new hire from California, told CBS News Texas. “Everybody is so friendly. Just the way new teachers are introduced to this district is just blowing me away.”
New teachers will have plenty to grapple with, considering the district’s past record of lackluster academics and challenging work culture and environment.
At the same time, Dallas ISD has made some gains in both of these areas.
Reading scores on the Spring 2024 STAAR exams showed some improvement. However, students have continued to perform quite poorly in math and science. The district also rolled out a Stay Campaign aimed at improving attrition rates for teachers and staff. However, a recent survey showed over 26% were still dissatisfied with Dallas ISD’s culture and environment.
It is noteworthy that Dallas ISD hired considerably more teachers last year, with roughly 1,400 added ahead of the 2023-2024 school year, as reported by The Dallas Express. The district still has around 100 vacancies, especially in special education and dual language offerings.
To boost recruitment and combat high attrition rates — which are statewide issues — Dallas ISD approved a salary increase of 2-7% for all staff earlier this year. However, this led to a budget deficit due in part to declining student enrollment figures.
A new teacher can expect a starting salary of $62,000 a year and a two-year on-campus mentorship by a fellow veteran teacher. As previously covered in The Dallas Express, Dallas ISD has increasingly hired uncertified teachers since the pandemic, with the share among new hires during the 2023-2024 school year reaching 38.8%.
Several of the new hires who spoke to reporters at Wednesday’s welcoming event were lured away from other states or professions, like Vopat.
For instance, James Beasley left a career in corrections to teach law to Dallas ISD high schoolers.
“It’s important to me because I want to get to the kids before they get to jail,” Beasley told Fox 4 KDFW. “I think we have so many kids who just get lost in the system and we don’t know how to work with them. So, hopefully now with my outlook on that side and then this side, I can get to those kids and keep them out of jail.”
Ricardo Velez, who will teach English to Dallas ISD middle schoolers, was lured back to North Texas from Oregon.
“When I heard there was a need for teachers to sort of understand the culture of the students, my heart was set on fire and that passion just sort of impulse me to come here,” Velez, a former nonprofit employee, told Fox 4.
