Mitchem to New Teachers: 'We Can Make a Difference'

Editor's note: The following is a press release from Valley View School District 365U. 

Superintendent James Mitchem Jr. Wednesday challenged more than 100 new teachers to “genuinely care for kids” as they begin their careers with .

“I consider all of you to be first round draft choices,” Dr. Mitchem said. “But you must be ready to step outside of your comfort zone.”

The VVSD Superintendent detailed the district’s “New View: A Design for Change” for the new teachers as they prepared for two intensive days of training together and several more days of training with returning educators prior to the start of school on Wednesday.

“In Valley View we expect you to be difference makers because it’s morally imperative that you are,” Dr. Mitchem said. “We assume that empathy for children is at your core and that you believe that all kids can learn.

“The greatest impact on a child’s degree of learning is that they have teachers who care,” he added. “When teachers care, kids grow. And they learn.”

Dr. Mitchem talked about VVSD’s new belief system that is predicated on increased rigor, better instruction, continual assessments and accountability at all levels from the school board to administrators to teachers to parents and ultimately to students.

“We can’t tout ourselves as excellent in the face of mediocre results,” he said. “We all have to make a difference to ensure that all of our children will learn.”