This year students entering Logan County schools are seeing several new faces as the summer has yielded a fresh new crop of teachers. Over the summer, Logan County Schools employed 31 certified employees who are brand new to the system and 12 more who either switched roles or are returning to the system after stints in other districts. Among this new crop of employees, 11 are fresh out of college and beginning their teaching careers as intern teachers.

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Hub commented on the “great hires” that were made over the summer after attending the Professional Growth Academy’s opening session last week: “Principals and site-based councils really did a good job with the hires this summer; we had some very talented new teachers at PGA last week.”

Logan County Schools requires all new certified employees to the system to attend the Professional Growth Academy each year, which provides the teachers an opportunity to be brought up to speed on local initiatives and programs used throughout the district, as well as best teaching practices. Dawn Slaton, curriculum specialist for Logan County Schools, stated that in the 10 year history of PGA, this is definitely one of the strongest groups of new teachers with a great deal of potential. Melanie Hughes and Amy Clark, Reading and Math Specialists, also commented on the potential talent and drive of the group.

Randy Marcum, principal of Lewisburg School, commented that he was very pleased with the talent level of the new staff members of Lewisburg, as did Bonnie Watson, new principal of Olmstead School. Several of the new teachers have studied abroad and will bring a wealth of experiences with them into the classroom, giving Logan County students a taste of other cultures.

With this talented and culturally rich group of teachers, it would appear that Logan County is off to a great new school year and that students are in for an exciting and highly educational experience.