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E-mail This StoryWakeland High School cafeteria was bursting at the seams as the annual new teacher breakfast, hosted by the Frisco Chamber of Commerce and underwritten by title sponsor Texans Credit Union and host sponsor Frisco Independent School District, was celebrated Thursday.
About 509 new teachers have been hired to begin the new school year, according to information provided by David Boles and Ronnie Elmore of the Human Resources Department of Frisco Independent School District. That number does not include all of the new bus drivers, food service workers, receptionists, and other non-education related jobs required to keep FISD running.
Chamber members shared the responsibility for sponsoring individual teachers and providing items for goody bags and door prizes. EDS Credit Union sponsored 50 or more teachers this year. Other chamber members such as Capital One, Centennial Medical Center/Tenet Health System, Chalmers Wellness Group, James Fomby Re/Max Premier Group, Jim Caraway of Primerica Financial Services and Lauren Michelson, D.O., P.A, sponsored 30 or more teachers.
More than 150 Chamber members served as sponsors either for one teacher , multiple teachers, or by providing items for the goody bags and door prizes. Door prizes included a cruise prize, gift cards, free eye exams, dental visits, an overnight stay at the Embassy Suites, coffee, doggie daycare, rock climbing, and gift baskets. Senator Jane Nelson sent along a Texas history puzzle, and a children's book.
Keynote speaker was LaDonna Gatlin of Frisco, younger sister of the Gatlin Brothers country-western singers and a proud mother of a Frisco High School graduate. Gatlin has spoken to the new teachers for the last several years, telling them her very personal reasons for supporting FISD and giving a humorous look at how stress affects people and how ups and downs of life, like the sharps and flats of music, have helped her stretch as a person. Gatlin is a professional performer and inspirational speaker.
Mayor Mike Simpson has told the new teachers who have come to Frisco over the years repeatedly, "You are working for the best school district in the entire United States." His greeting this year was bittersweet, because this is his final year as mayor.
"We live in a state where only 50 percent of our high school graduates ever attempt to go to college," said Frisco Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, John Land. "Of that group only 20 percent graduate. That places a huge emphasis on the skills, values and work ethic our young people are learning while they are in the hands of our teachers. As our district is growing at a rate of five new schools a year we want to do everything we can to recruit, welcome and retain the best minds in education."
The Frisco Chamber of Commerce and FISD have been partnering to greet new teachers for about 20 years. The event began as a luncheon and was at one time held at Stonebriar Country Club. As new hires reached higher and higher numbers, the event switched to a breakfast held in one of the high schools.
School begins Monday, August 27. FISD urges motorists to remember to look for school zones and keep our teachers and students, returning and new, safe.
