Lee County schools welcome 450 new teachers at drive-thru event

Wink | Updated July 28, 2022

FORT MYERS

This school year, Lee County will start with 450 new teachers, and on Wednesday morning they got a chance to meet some of their coworkers at a drive-thru event in Fort Myers.

Each of those new teachers was able to meet staff, community partners and school board members. They also got some goodies, like a shirt and a book, to welcome them to school.

Staff with the School District of Lee County say they are doing everything they can to make sure these teachers are ready for when class resumes on Aug. 10. After the drive-thru event, teachers were given tours of the building where they will be teaching and got to meet the mentors who will help them throughout the school year.

LCSD officials say they are glad to have filled so many teaching positions.

“Over the past two weeks, the new teachers have been engaged in professional development that really gives them all the tips, tricks and tools they need to be successful in the classroom,” said Dr. Helen Martin, assistant director of professional development for LCSD. “And that professional development is really differentiated for them based off of what role they’re taking in the district.”

LCSD has had trouble filling positions this past year, from teachers to non-educational staff, even bus drivers, but this new, large influx gives officials reason to celebrate.

“Our support is really just starting for the new teachers that are engaging in professional learning with us for the past two weeks,” Martin said. “We know that they have the tools they need to be successful based off of the PD that they’ve been attending and the feedback we’ve received so far, but we will be ready to support them setting up their classrooms within the first weeks of school and beyond.”

The drive-thru event started at 8 a.m.