at workshops

By JULIE FINLEY

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ &045;&045; The new faces in the Natchez-Adams School District got to know each other Thursday.

Forty-one teachers, all in their first year of teaching in the Natchez-Adams district, participated in a teacher induction program in the Braden central office building.

The day was part of a three-day program to get the teachers familiar with the district, its policies and the administrators. Wednesday the teachers spent time at their respective schools meeting with principals.

Thursday’s sessions included overviews of everything from library polices to district finances and gave the teachers a chance to meet nearly every district administrator.

Alexine Profice, who will teach English at Natchez High, said the sessions were beneficial and were similar to programs at her former school in Wilkinson County. Profice, a Natchez native, said she was most excited about teaching in her hometown.

Profice wasn’t the only teacher returning home to teach. Leslie Iseminger moved back to Natchez from a previous teaching job in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

&uot;This has helped,&uot; said Iseminger, who will teach special education at Morgantown Elementary. &uot;I’m ready for new challenges though.&uot;

Teachers who started teaching in the district last year but who have not attended and induction program were also required to be at this week’s sessions.

Tricia Stoll, a first-grade teacher at West Primary, started teaching halfway through the year last year.

&uot;I’m really looking forward to starting from day one with my students,&uot; she said. &uot;I feel ready.&uot;

Friday the teachers will meet at Natchez High for sessions on technology and classroom management. They will close the day by meeting with mentors, other teachers who’ve taught for more than a year.

School in the district starts Thursday.