It was a welcoming day for incoming educators at Plant City schools, as they were recognized during the New Teacher Coffee event on Aug. 5.
Hosted by the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, the morning function held at the TECO Expo Hall was a way of embracing first-time teachers in town. More than 150 instructors and principals combined, were present along with returning staff as well.
As the program began, they were given a warm welcome by Little Miss Plant City as well as the first maid and three court members as they led the crowd with the pledge of allegiance.
“We’re partners in this with you,” said Plant City Mayor Nate Kilton. “It’s your job to be educators, but it’s not your sole responsibility. We do it together: parents, teachers, churches. All these other groups come together to help these young people.”
Teachers had large bags waiting for them filled with school supplies such as pencils, pens, notebooks, crayons, sanitizer and more.
Faculty was also awarded with raffle giveaways and one teacher even received a brand-new laptop.
Rebecca Jones was one of the new instructors present at the New Teacher Coffee event. She will be starting her role as a reading and social studies teacher at Knights Elementary School.
“I found my love for teaching as a peer professional,” Jones said.
Before she discovered her passion for teaching, Jones was a child psychology major. She said that she has already started a bond with the faculty at the school and is anticipating forming a bond with her new students. Emily Melgoza will also be an instructor at Knights Elementary School, teaching reading and writing. As a child, she would pretend she was a teacher at home back in Illinois.
“I’m so excited to be starting my first year,” Melgoza said.
She has been familiar with working with students as she was an aid during an after-school program, five years of which she worked at Knights Elementary School.
In regards to kindergarten and elementary school teachers, employment is projected to grow by 7% each year from 2020 to 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also, there will be approximately 124,300 openings for kindergarten and elementary school teachers, each year on an average, during the same decade.
Hillsborough County Public Schools have reached the Top 20 academically among Florida’s 73 school districts, a drastic progression from when it was ranked at 35 academically in 2019. Since that same year, Hillsborough County schools have excelled, with fewer of them receiving a ‘D’ or an ‘F’ on the grading scale.
The improvement shows that 96% of the county’s schools are receiving a ‘C’ or higher on the scale.
This is attributed to the effort that teachers make in the classroom, said Addison Davis, superintendent for Hillsborough County Public Schools.
“I thank each of you for your willingness, your courage, dedication…to stand up and help our children grow intellectually, socially (and) emotionally,” he said. “Not everyone has the ability to. I encourage you not to just show up, but become a very instrumental part of your community. Plant City is an amazing place.”
Davis also expressed his desire to have teachers’ salary increase by 6.5%.
Vanessa Perez will be a new social worker at Pinecrest Elementary School.
“My fifth-grade teacher was definitely an inspiration,” she said. “That was something I wanted to do ever since I was little. I wanted to help out my community.”