Teachers, aides and other staff returned from their summer break and began work on new teaching strategies for the 2011-2012 school year that begins Aug. 22 for students.
New teachers also were becoming familiar with the employee and parent handbooks before they headed off to off-campus retreats.
Linda Medina, Regional Southwest consultant at McGraw-Hill, introduced kindergarten-through-5th grade teachers to "Treasures Reading," a research-based, comprehensive reading and language arts program designed to give educators the resources they need to help students succeed.
The program emphasizes high-quality literature with explicit instruction and plenty of practice to help students grow as life-long readers and writers.
Melissa Cluff, Varnett's pre-kindergarten director, instruction to teachers about district policy and procedures.
Teachers and aides will soon start preparing their classrooms for the arrival of students later this month.
Campus directors said they are eagerly awaiting the start of the 2011-12 school year and are ready to help all students learn.
Superintendent M. Annette Cluff said in an interview that administrators and campus directors will concentrate on analyzing student data throughout the year to help guide educators in their teaching and students in their learning. The heavy emphasis on data will help students achieve on the standardized tests and learn the key subject areas.
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