ECTOR COUNTY, Texas — Ector County ISD, or ECISD, has over 300 new teachers as the new school year is right around the corner. On Monday, the Odessa Chamber of Commerce held a unqiue event where businesses and services welcomed them to the community.
The new district teachers were gifted supplies and resources from many organizations, with a couple of teachers noting that they had never experienced a welcome reception like this one.
The hallway entrance was crowded like the first day of school for new teachers of ECISD.
“This is a great event to come to and the community shows the support for their educators," said Sam Singleton, a new teen lead teacher and coach in ECISD.
A West Texas native, Singleton is excited to join a school district on the rise.
“Seeing the statistics and the numbers, it has grown, especially with the teacher pay and what they’re offering educators to come out west," said Singleton.
For some educators, way out west.
“I’m from Spain, from Salamanca," said Celia Garcia, a new kindergarten teacher in ECISD.
Garcia experienced a West Texas greeting.
“I’m so excited," said Garcia. "I think everyone is so welcoming to us.”
Garcia is getting ready to teach kindergarten in Spanish and English.
“You really need to be patient with them, and then you have to be funny and try to be the authority -- and also you are like their parent so you have to take care of them," said Garcia.
Garcia is certainly not alone as an international teacher.
“Over 200 of our teachers are international, and so when they come here, they may have a couple of suitcases -- but, today, they’re able to learn about the services that are provided in the area," said ECISD Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri. "They do have a lot of freebies that are given away today, so, truly appreciated by teachers.”
Dr. Muri believes that diversity is a strength for the school district.
“It’s a win for our kids," said Dr. Muri. "The more diverse the adults are in the organization, the more of a learning opportunity our students will have. So, really excited about the tremendous diversity that we have in our classrooms that helps our students understand the world in which they live, so that’s a win for us.”
Diversity that will teach all of these teachers how to better serve the students of their new home.
“Their viewpoint on how they do things can help you grow," said Singleton. "Being from Texas, somebody from Oklahoma, California, even from other parts of the world – I was sitting next to a guy today he’s from India – so that just shows you the diverseness that ECISD is going towards.”
Dr. Muri mentioned that with school starting soon, the district will spend time with teachers working on professional development, new curriculum and strategies.