ODESSA, Texas — Over 300 teachers were welcomed by the Odessa Chamber of Commerce and ECISD on Monday at the MCM Grande Hotel and Fund Dome.
All 300 teachers are new to the area, as they were freshly hired by ECISD to fill their classrooms and to educate the younger generation.
First-grade teacher Amy Rodriguez spoke with NewsWest 9 about what drives her.
“I think teaching for some people, it's a calling," Rodriguez said. "You find something that works for you and you find something that you're passionate about that makes you happy. You're encouraged and you just keep going back to it every single day.”
According to Renee Earls, the president and CEO of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, the event was designed around getting the new hires comfortable in their new home while getting them some free supplies that they could use in their classrooms.
“They were welcomed by cheerleaders with signs of appreciation. They're walking into booths where people are literally just handing them goodies into their baskets," Earls said. "They received a great trunk basket that they can put in their vehicles or they can take into their classroom."
However, it also helped them make valuable connections in an unfamiliar town.
“Well, many of the new teachers that we're welcoming today are not from Odessa, some of them have moved from other countries, from other states and from other communities. So they need to meet some of our members," Earls said. "They need a bank, they need a dentist, they need a place to get their hair cut, they might need a church. This is an ideal opportunity for members of our chamber to connect with these new teachers.”
ECISD welcomes teachers from all walks of life.
Many of the teachers who attended Monday's event came from places far away from Odessa.
“10% of our teachers come from different countries, so you'll see many of those folks today that are really coming from a variety of different countries around the world. Our folks come from different states around these United States," ECISD Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri said. "Then we grow our own. We have a lot of pipelines and ECISD that grow and develop teachers of our own so it's really a combination of all of those that you'll see today.”
When teachers feel that they are properly appreciated, it keeps their morale up.
When morale is up, it tends to keep teachers in an ECISD classroom instead of looking for another school district to take their talents to.
“ECISD has vacancies every year," Dr. Muri said. "You'll have people that retire or people that move and so we need great teachers to come and fill those vacancies and this type of event this type of community welcome helps attract people to our community helps us retain really great people for our students.”
It’s not done by every community, but in Odessa, the leaders try to go above and beyond to show teachers the love and appreciation they deserve.
“I think we're one of the few chambers across the region and the states that do this type of welcome. It's a great way to make people feel appreciated," Earls said. "They've worked hard and they're about to come up on a very important time of the year where they're teaching our future employees.”