Hopkinton welcomes 20 certified new educators; district reports low attrition and combined 90 years of experience among hires

The school district detailed its three-day new-educator orientation Sept. 4, saying 20 certified new educators participated in sessions that covered equity and English-learner support, social-emotional learning, HR and technology systems, peer mentoring and department-level planning. The orientation agenda included sessions with the ESOL and equity director, assistant principals on social-emotional learning, the school resource officer on safety and prevention, human resources on employment processes, and technology demonstrations. The presenter said none of the 20 were new to the profession; collectively they bring roughly 90 years of prior experience to the district. Officials told the committee that the district’s attrition rate is low and that several hires were staff returning to work in Hopkinton. Committee members asked whether any building had more new teachers; staff said this year’s new hires were well distributed across schools, covering elementary classroom teachers, BCBAs, middle-school math, and special educators. The orientation includes peer-mentoring and a first-year panel to connect new hires with colleagues who began the previous year.