Page 18 • November 10 - December 7, 2018 • RIVERVIEW REGISTER
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RCSD New Teacher Mentoring Program
Peter Pappas showed kindness and love to all, including his neighbors’ dogs.
Peter Pappas, 92, leaves a legacy of love Riverview resident Peter James Pappas, 92, a World War II veteran and entrepreneur, died Sept. 29, 2018. He was beloved by his family, and also by his Riverview neighbors, including Legacy Church Pastor Phillip Rogers and his family. “Pete had a major impact on our family and our neighborhood,” Rogers said. “He was a very special guy. He spoiled our kids like they were his own, treated our dog like a queen and loved us extraordinarily. We simple called him Mr. Pete. He was much loved by his neighbors.” Mr. Pappas told Rogers that he had lied about his age to serve his country during World War II, when he served in the Army, the Merchant Marines and with Special Services, according to his obituary by Howe-Peterson Funeral Home. Born Jan. 22, 1926, Mr. Pappas was the son of the late James and Viola Pappas, and brother to the late Georgia Diamond, Bertha Hensley and John Pappas. Mr. Pappas was predeceased by two children — Helen Belcher and Nicholas Pappas. He is survived by four other children — James Pappas, Steven Pappas, Rick Stafford and
Michelle Stubbs. He was grandfather to 11 and great-grandfather to one. Mr. Pappas owned a coffeehouse, the Stadium, for 42 years in Detroit’s Greektown, where he was born. His funeral was held Oct. 6 at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Greektown, very near the neighborhood where he grew up. “He was the toughest, strongest man I know,” Stafford posted on Facebook after his father’s death. “He taught me how to be a man. He was a man’s man. He taught me how to fight, how to be honest, how to be respectful, how to be organized, how to do things right the first time, how to pop a wheelie, how to show respect, how to love and give. He made me into a man and I could not imagine if he wasn’t in my life what I would have become. ‘’He fought in WWII, he owned businesses, he raised families, he sent people to college. He is the last of a generation that made America free. I will miss him dearly, but I will hold his stories, his advice and pure toughness close to me for the rest of life. I will now take what he taught me and pass it down to my daughter.”
In the 2018-19 school year, the district hired 10 new teachers to teach the Pirate way. So, how does a district support this large group of new teachers? By implementing a New Teacher Mentoring Program of course! According to the Michigan Department of Education, the amount of issued initial teaching certificates has dropped from a high of 9,664 in 2003 to 3,317 in 2017. As the state publishes a critical shortage list, school districts must do everything they can to hire qualified teachers, and retain them on staff for years to come. aThe Riverview Community School District is no different. As these new teachers embark on a mission to educate our youth and prepare them for the future with much ambition, they also require support with learning school procedures, programs, and best teaching practices. Danielle Zachary, a 15-year veteran teacher at RCHS, and Jason Gribble, the new RCSD Curriculum Director, wanted to ensure that RCSD provided new teachers a valid support system and an opportunity to earn professional
development hours. With the approval of Superintendent Dr. Pickell, they began piloting the New Teacher Mentoring Program for new RCSD teachers. The program consists of monthly meetings with Ms. Zachary and Mr. Gribble. Each new teacher is provided with a building mentor, a checklist of policies/programs to discuss, educational books to read, and have observations between mentor and new teacher. During the monthly meetings the new staff receives training on RCSD specific programs, has discussions/activities on best teaching practices and book studies, and receives access to resources on discussed topics— formative assessment and classroom management to name a few. The plan for the program is to provide this to all new teachers during their first 3 years of teaching in order to provide support, meaningful feedback, and professional development hours towards their professional teaching certificate renewal.
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