SPOKANE, Wash. — Dozens of teachers gathered Tuesday at the Newtech Skills Center for Spokane Public Schools new hire orientation.
Sitting among the new teachers was Jingle Gorton. She will be an English Language Development Techer at Shaw Middle School starting this fall.
She, along with the approximately 100 other new teachers, is excited about starting in the Spokane Public Schools district. The opportunity will allow her to put her unique passion for teaching into action.
"It's my duty, my responsibility to represent the people that have not been heard or seen," Gorton said.
Her goal is to help bring diversity to the Spokane Public Schools workforce and give a voice to underrepresented students. Gorton's unique passion will now benefit the SPS student body, along with 100 other teachers' passions.
On top of the 100 new teachers hired this year, SPS Manager of Recruitment and Retention Heather Gross said the district hired a record number of teachers last year.
"So far, the teacher shortage hasn't affected Spokane Public Schools," Gross said. "We have people that are first-year teachers, we have people that are relocating, we even have people that you know, this is their second career."
The teachers are heading into the school year with a sense of relief, as negotiations between Spokane Public Schools and Spokane Education Association are in the final stages of approval heading into the school year. SPS said this is historically one of the earliest ends of negotiations.
The agreement includes 'late start Mondays,' which will allow teachers an extra hour and 15 minutes of development time weekly. Teachers will also get a 5.5% raise. Plus, it solidified the school year calendar. The district will start on September 6, 2022 and end on June 16, 2023.
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