Teacher Kara Doyle shops for classroom supplies at Teacher’s Pet in Morganton. BCPS educators will return to school on Monday, Aug. 11, and students will follow on Monday, Aug. 25.
Teacher Kara Doyle shops for classroom supplies at Teacher’s Pet in Morganton. BCPS educators will return to school on Monday, Aug. 11, and students will follow on Monday, Aug. 25.
Kindergarten students won’t be the only newcomers stepping into classrooms when Burke County Public Schools open the 2025-2026 school year on Monday, Aug. 25. Thirty-five first year teachers will also be feeling the “beginning of school butterflies.”
But those educators will not be walking into their classrooms on their own. The school district has a team of experienced educators ready to help ease the transition for novice teachers.
According to BCPS Beginning Teacher Coordinator Lisa Daye, beginning teachers will have several days of meetings, with training and experiences designed to help them enter the new year filled with confidence.
“We have three days of inservice,” Daye explained, “(including) one day to learn their school and school expectations.
“They will also have time to work in their classrooms and meet with their mentors,” she stated. Daye also said new teachers will have a day of district orientation, additional meetings with their mentors, subject-specific training, and one day focused specifically on classroom management, which can be a big challenge for new educators.
During their first three years in the classroom, all Burke County teachers have both a mentor and a teacher buddy. Mentors are also instructional coaches for the county, Daye explained.
New educators in North Carolina are not required to have a teaching degree in order to step in front of a classroom. The lateral entry program provides an alternative pathway for individuals with a bachelor’s degree in a non-teaching field to become licensed teachers while working in a classroom.
The lateral entry plan allows a school district to hire a person with a relevant degree into a teaching position, and that individual would then work toward earning their full teaching license while teaching.
Daye said Burke County Schools does have a mixture of initial and lateral entry-level teachers at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
Two weeks of teacher workdays will begin on Aug. 11, and students will return to school in Burke County’s public schools on Monday, Aug. 25.
Sandra Wilkerson Queen is the arts & entertainment editor. She may be reached at 828-445-8595, ext. 2002, orsandra@thepaper.media.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.