The Dallas Independent School District said it had a record-breaking number of applicants over the summer totaling at 8,000. As of Monday, 1,400 of the teacher applicants were welcomed as staff for the new school year.
Teachers began with professional development at their respective campuses.
“I’m so excited about the work. I'm really excited to dive in with the students,” said Abigael Quincena, a new Dallas ISD first-grade teacher at Walnut Hill Elementary.
Quincena began her teaching career in California and decided to move to Texas after accepting the job in late spring.
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“I was actually just in disbelief that I work here and that I landed a job here. I'm so excited to be in this brand-new campus,” said Quincena
Starting pay is $61,000 and according to Dallas ISD, new teachers also received a $3,000 hiring incentive.
Dallas ISD also offered a retention incentive of up to $5,000 for all eligible staff like 14-year teaching veteran Alma Pandya, who returned for the 2023-2024 school year.
“I have gone through tornadoes. I have gone through everything, and I'm still here,” Pandya said. “I am convinced that I was born to teach.”
Pandya has been teaching at Walnut Hill for the last nine years.
Teachers like Quincena and Pandya are helping address the nation’s and state’s teacher shortage that has intensified following the pandemic.
“This is not just the job. This is a calling,” Pandya said.
“It takes a village,” Quincena said. “And so, these kids are not just the teacher’s responsibilities. These kids are all of our responsibilities because we're helping to raise the citizens of the future.”
While Dallas ISD teachers go over new curriculum and prepare their classrooms for the first day of school on Aug. 14, they said parents still have time to help their students succeed.
“Read with your kid and make learning not just on pencil and paper, but learning happens in all environments,” Quincena said.
"I want the ones who need help, and so, whenever I have students who need a lot more of my effort, I say, 'God, give me the wisdom to help them'," Pandya said. "Because that's what I'm here for. So, it's a challenge, and I give it my best. I don't give up."
The school district still aims to fill at least 130 vacancies and will host additional job fairs in the fall semester.
