On Monday, Christpoint Methodist Church hosted the district’s new teachers for a breakfast. This was followed by First Baptist Church for a luncheon.
“Our church is committed to helping, or being a part of, Lindale ISD, and doing what we can to help with education,” Michael Peschke, senior pastor of Christpoint, said. “I have education in my family, and so we do it just as a way to help the school district out and to make a connection to the education here in our area.”

At Christpoint, principals from the individual campuses introduced themselves and the new teachers to everyone else. They described the backgrounds of the new teachers and what they would bring to the district.
“We moved here and everyone pretty much welcomed us with open arms,” Bret Maddox, eighth grade coach and pre-algebra teacher, said. “Everybody was very warm and caring, and supportive. Everywhere we go it seems like the people around here are very genuine, hardworking, caring people.”

The new teacher breakfast and luncheon is held every year by the churches. It is usually right before teacher inservice days, which start a week before the first day of school. The teachers are able to build a connection and bond with their new coworkers.
“We like to support everybody from the teachers to the custodians, all the people in the school district all the way up to the administration,” Peschke said. “Just making those connections so that people that need help, we can find a way to help them.”
The new teachers have time to sit with the other teachers from their selective campuses to eat breakfast and talk to one another. This is one of the many things new teachers do when entering the school district.

“My first impression of Lindale ISD was that they have amazing core values, and that they tend to stick to them and not cave,” Maddox said. “A lot of the administrative people seem to be very supportive of their teachers, and I like the traditional style of a school setting and classroom.”