Every year, the beginning of the school year brings with it new additions: new courses, new construction, and always new staff. This year, the LT administration brought on a total of 32 new staff members who span across many departments. 

“Hiring is the most important thing that we do at LT,” Principal Jennifer Tyrrell said. “Bringing in people that align with our school’s vision who believe in the things that we believe are important is essential. Each teacher, each certified staff member has the potential to impact thousands of students.” 

Roughly 15 new certified staff members and non-certified staff members are being inducted into the LT staff and community. Before the year starts, english teacher Kirsten Bacon and math teacher Jeremy Vrtis facilitate the Induction and Mentoring Program. This aims to prepare all new staff for the school year, covering topics such as school safety, technology, classroom practices, and student support.

“This program has been around for a long time, but the main shift Vrtis and I are trying to continually make is to allow new staff time and opportunity to get to know people from all areas of LT,” Bacon said. “We are such a large staff, and being new to LT can be an overwhelming and sometimes intimidating experience. We have tried to create a welcoming program where every new staff member feels they belong right from their first day.”

Along with the Induction and Mentoring Program, numerous other programs strive to ensure that the transition into LT runs smoothly for all involved. The beginning programs are in three phases, Superintendent Brian Waterman said. Phase one is the Onboarding Phase, directed by Human Resources, which includes details about all of the nuts and bolts to help make sure they are set up for success, such as technology and classroom functions. Phase two is the Induction Mentoring Program that spans a week and a half and introduces new staff to a variety of strategic plans and curriculum implementation. From there, phase three begins when a new staff member is paired with a mentor to help them throughout the year. 

“I am always most excited about the little moments,” Waterman said. “The conversations, the interactions, the things that don’t happen in classrooms that aren’t going to show up on a postcard or a website anywhere, these little moments that we have with students and families, [all] add up to how special this place is. So my message to new staff is to not take that for granted, because those moments can either impact people now, or they can also have a larger impact down the road.” 

LT strives to find the best-fit people to fill the open positions, and this year, among the new staff are four LT alumni: PE teacher Ari Dilcher, School Information Systems Analyst Kevin Burke, Paraeducator Aidan Deleshe, and math teacher Oscar Orders. Most new hires are in completely separate departments, and to ensure that the entirety of the staff has the chance to bond and interact, the annual Staff and Family Barbecue Tailgate was held on Friday, Sept. 12.

“It starts with the communities and students that we serve,” Director of Human Resources Ed Piotrowski said. “They are truly amazing and incredibly supportive. We are proud that we support students from 11 different communities, and we encourage all of our staff to become connected with not only the school community, but the larger LTHS community as well.”