Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Milwaukee Public Schools is preparing new district teachers and paraprofessionals for classrooms with its annual New Educator Institute. Workshops for teachers and paras based at traditional start schools run August 21-25.
This week, 230 new teachers and paraprofessionals are attending the NEI. Another 140 new teachers and paraprofessionals attended the NEI for early start schools July 31–August 4.
Traditional start schools workshops began on Monday, August 21, at North Division High School and kicked off with a keynote address by MPS Superintendent Dr. Keith P. Posley. Attendees also heard remarks from Milwaukee Board of School Directors President Marva Herndon, Director from District 1; Amy Mizialko, President of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association; and Theopa Tolbert, Manager of Induction and Support.
During the school year, newly hired staff can take part in NEI in a self-paced format at North Division High School, every week in which there are no district closures.
Because of the large numbers of new international teachers this year, the New Educator Center is debuting a professional development series: the New International Teachers Institute, or NITI. NEI is introducing the new international teachers to NITI on Days 3 and 5 of this week’s orientation. NITI will include monthly Saturday sessions throughout the school year.
As in past years, all new teachers can participate in monthly New Educator Seminars, book studies during the spring semester, and the Foundations of Reading Test (FoRT) Support series. The series is designed for teachers who must take and pass the FoRT exam.
The New Educator Institute and other efforts are meant to develop highly effective beginning educators. The workshops are for those who are brand new to the profession, have never led their own classroom for an entire school year, or hold initial educator permits or intern licenses.