001It feels so good to see so many teachers coming to work for Arlington Public Schools. This is amazing place where we make sure that teachers are supported. Everyone looks so excited and [music] we're equally as excited to have them. >> Well, it's all hands- on deck. I mean, we've got everyone here from the superintendent, the school board chair, we've got chiefs, we've got our principles are here mingling with teachers. Um, this is really a heightened event for everybody and we all see this as a chance to make that first really great impression. >> I'm very excited for the new teachers that are coming in this school year. [music] We started off the hiring season way back in the fall. We prepared for this day. >> We have been working closely with HR and um, recruitment
002agencies um, including contractors to fill those positions. [music] Um, we want to make sure that all of our kids have qualified teachers in place and and [music] supporting them as they start the school year. We have a comprehensive plan to support so many of our new special [music] education teachers. Our goal was to get all of our vacancies filled and we know that once they're [music] filled, they need ongoing professional learning and job embedded coaching so that they're successful in their role. >> I was an APS student, loved it, had a really great time. Applied hoping that Arlington was available, thinking, "Oh, this is too good to be true." So now I get to be back in the building, not as a sixth grader, but to welcome sixth graders instead, which is great. So I'm
003excited to be back. >> Excited to create an environment for students to be safe, to be comfortable, and that they can authentically be themselves. >> There's diversity, there's great public funding, [music] local government is great. I would just say investing in the things that are important is what makes Arlington so great. >> And we [music] work so hard to make sure that we're supporting one another. all of the teachers, [music] the instructional assistants, so that our kids get what they need. I started in a place that was different from Arlington, and it wasn't that way. But [music] when I came here, I knew that I would never leave because we work so well together. We are a [music] community that cares deeply about all of our students. We want everyone who is here to feel
004valued, feel seen, [music] and to feel supported. What I took from growing up in Arlington is the love that I received from the community and it made me want to go out and do more and be more and it made me as a person feel valued so that I can share that experience [music] with other generations to come.