Prospective Teacher FAQ's

The West Plains School District prides itself in offering quality learning opportunities to all our new faculty. New teachers will be assigned a well-matched mentor in their building that will facilitate collaboration from the very first day. New teachers will participate in our Mentor Program, which helps ensure communication among new staff and master teachers, as well as providing opportunities for professional learning throughout the year designed especially for new teachers.

Along with New Teacher Orientation, new teachers will receive an orientation in their building during regularly scheduled faculty meetings prior to the first day of school. This orientation will vary by building.

Curriculum guides have been developed for all content areas at each grade level. Textbooks and other resources are provided to supplement the curriculum. All teachers are expected to implement the curriculum activities following the timeline on their curriculum map/scope and sequence. Common assessments are given on a quarterly basis to determine student mastery of objectives. For more information about West Plains  Curriculum, go to www.zizzers.org/curriculum.
 

Teachers new to the West Plains School District begin before school even starts with New Teacher Orientation - a three-day orientation designed to deliver necessary information for teachers to know going into the first day of school. Topics covered in orientation range from technology training - including how to use our gradebook system and developing your classroom Web site - to learning about the district's Special Services department - including Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and helping students with disabilities.

First-year teachers will begin at step 1A on the West Plains School District salary schedule. All staff members a health insurance benefit of $503 per month, 14.5% percent toward retirement and 1.45 percent Medicare match with each paycheck. Your first pay stub will reflect all deductions from your pay, including any additional insurance you have chosen to purchase, such as dental or a family plan, taxes, as well as any charitable deductions you have chosen (i.e. United Way campaign). Any extra-duty pay or stipends will be added at certain times, however will not be itemized on your pay stub.

The West Plains School District does not participate in a Career Ladder program. The district has opted instead to place all available monies toward developing a competitive salary schedule to benefit all staff members.

All teachers are expected to complement their curriculum as designated in their curriculum guide, participate in professional learning opportunities, and resume responsibilities outside the classroom so they relate to school. Your performance will be evaluated through the district's Professional-Based Teacher Evaluation program.

There are many ways to be involved outside of your classroom, through extra-curricular activities, joining committees, or tutoring.

Many extra-curricular activities pay a stipend based on our salary schedule. Teachers may also be paid for work in tutoring, or for taking on extra building duties, such as lunch duty.

Teachers with experience may bring up to 10 years to count toward the salary schedule. Per Missouri law, you may count one (1) year toward tenure and must teach four (4) years in the West Plains School District to be eligible to receive tenure.

Returning teachers are hired by the Board of Education during its regular monthly meeting in March.

You may contact the principal/administrator of the appropriate building regarding the status of your application at any time.