Carroll County Public Schools welcome 190 new teachers

Schools put on final touches as doors open Monday to students

Some of the 190 new staff members, about 17 more than the system had two weeks ago, come from other school systems, and others are new to teaching altogether, said Jimmie Saylor, director of human services for Carroll County Public Schools.

Last-minute hiring ‘‘flurries” helped the school system secure teachers for the final vacancies, which Saylor said is common for this time of the year. ‘‘We’ve had several teachers call and say they wanted to take a year off — a year of absence. That happens pretty often.”

Notifications from teachers who are moving and no longer able to teach in the system have also contributed to the openings, she said.

Another reason more teachers were need, Saylor said, is increasing enrollment at the elementary level. In an effort to keep class sizes small as more students enroll, the system has had to add part-time positions.

As of Aug. 16, she said all of the teacher vacancies had been filled, adding there could still be changes. Overall, ‘‘we’ve done really well,” Saylor said.

South Carroll High School will have seven new teachers in the fall, including a substitute teacher and two part-time instructors who also worked at another school, who were made fulltime, said Principal Eric King.

He said the school was interested in ‘‘bringing people with different backgrounds and experiences that students will enjoy,” on staff to teach.

Monday morning was spent in a faculty meeting going over school procedures, King said, and last week new staff engaged in training.

He said he is looking forward to the new school year, working with the staff and the 1,170 students who will begin the year at South Carroll.

Four teachers new to the school system and three transfers from other Carroll County schools will be joining the staff at Mount Airy Middle School.

Principal Virginia Savell said as the new school year approaches, the primary concern was waiting on the delivery and installation of lockers to accommodate incoming sixth-graders. ‘‘The only thing we have left to do is put in new lockers.”

Savell said she heard that they would be coming this week and expected them to be in place before Monday.

‘‘Can you imagine a sixth-grader without a locker?” she asked.

At least one school is changing the way it formats its class schedule.

Sykesville Middle School is initiating a schedule that gives students more time in classes in all subject areas.

In the past, students had extended time in reading and language arts classes, but class periods for subjects such as math and science were only about 50 minutes.

Principal Thomas Eckenrode said teachers will have to ‘‘change a little bit on how they approach teaching it,” referring to the longer periods, and expects it could take a few weeks for both teachers and students to fully adjust to the new format.