TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple Independent School District welcomed more than 100 new teachers to the district during a New Teacher Induction ceremony Friday (August 1).
The day-long event celebrated 107 teachers who are new to Temple ISD. Those teachers spent the morning receiving a “crash course” in district procedures from the TISD human resources staff. Topics covered everything from receiving their first paycheck to arranging for a substitute. New teachers had an opportunity to hear from several guest speakers with messages to inform and inspire them going into the new year. The newcomers also participated in a discussion with some of the district’s Rookie Teacher of the Year candidates who recently completed their first year on the job to hear firsthand accounts of what might be in store for the upcoming year.
“This is an exciting day because we don’t just get a chance to welcome 107 new teachers,” said Dr. Donna Ward, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources for Temple schools. “We also get a chance to welcome teachers who are new to the profession, teachers who are joining us from other districts, and teachers who have been teaching for a while. Their experiences are wonderful to hear, and we really feel like we have the best people for our kids.”
The teachers were then introduced to the group by their campus principal and received a pin welcoming them to Temple ISD. School board members and district administrators were on hand to greet the new teachers and share lunch with them. For some of the new teachers, the event was a reminder of why they chose to join Temple ISD. Kathryn Larsen moved to TISD from another nearby district and will be entering her fifth year as a teacher. Larsen will be teaching orchestra at both Bonham Middle School and Sampson-Howard Elementary School and says the New Teacher Induction has her well-prepared to start the school year.
“The other orchestra teachers have been very welcoming, and the Fine Arts Director is amazing! I have heard great things about Temple,” Larsen said. “Since I have been here, I have been so impressed with how they give you information and don’t just say ‘go do this thing.’ They give you all the tools. I am so excited to get into class and teach students to learn to love music and I am just really glad to be here.”
More than fifty of the teachers at the event are new to the profession and New Teacher Induction also wrapped up the week-long IGNITE Academy for new teachers. IGNITE stands for Investing in the Growth of New and Innovative Teachers and the academy is designed to positively impact beginning teaching effectiveness through ongoing training and support. Kirsten Morgan will be teaching fifth-grade math and science at Hector P. Garcia Elementary School and is one of the teachers to complete the IGNITE Academy. She is also excited to get the new year started after several intensive days of professional development designed to help jump start her teaching career.
“It has been a lot. The first two days were very beneficial for kind of refreshing my brain with all of the new information that we got,” Morgan said. “The second two days were a lot of very heavy information, but the way it was delivered was very engaging and kept you engaged. It was very helpful information that I can take into my first year of teaching. Now, I just really want to meet my kids. I am ready to start getting to know who they truly are and to build those relationships starting on day one.”
Following lunch, participants closed out the day with a technology training session at Temple High School. The new teachers will report directly to their campuses on Monday for the first official day of work. The first day of school for TISD for the 2025-2026 school year will be August 19th.