1st-year teacher spotlight: Marianne Wessma

To welcome educators who are beginning their careers as teachers, HPISD is featuring a new teacher in each week's eNews. Highland Park ISD Director of Personnel Chris Israelson visited with the teachers to learn about their favorite moments in HPISD so far.

This week's featured teacher is Marianne Wessman, Special Education In-Class Support Teacher at McCulloch Intermediate/Highland Park Middle School.

Marianne Wessman may have just joined the HPISD team, but she has been involved in the school district for several years now. Wessman currently has three children at Highland Park High School, and she has served in various leadership roles in the PTAs. During her time as a parent volunteer, she was encouraged by teachers to join the field of education.

As Wessman worked toward obtaining her education certificate, she spent time as an instructional assistant at MIS/HPMS and discovered a passion for working with students with special needs.

In her first year in the world of education, Wessman said she has received an overwhelming amount of support and encouragement from her colleagues. She hopes to continue to build on these relationships with her coworkers and to continue to impact her students in a positive way.

Congratulations, Marianne, and welcome to Highland Park ISD!

The art of teacher recruitment

One of the many important tasks school principals and assistant principals are responsible for is the annual hiring, training and retention of highly qualified professional and paraprofessional educators and support staff.

It is one of the most critical skills a principal must have - the ability to ascertain the ideal set of experiences, teaching skills, values and beliefs of a teacher candidate. It is both a science and an art, and carries with it a long-term impact on student achievement. This critical task should not be taken for granted, and HPISD principals should be recognized for the expertise and diligence they bring to the process.

HPISD has developed its Profile of the Educator for the Future in conjunction with the Profile of the Learner for the Future. No doubt, the strategic planning associated with these two initiatives will shape the process of hiring and training of new teachers in HPISD.

HPISD