Teachers entering the school system here and elsewhere are often arriving from backgrounds in other fields having made a mid-career decision to teach. Medford will need to keep pace with market rate salaries to attract these professionals as well as those teachers seeking their first job after university. In all cases, Medford should employ best hiring practices to ensure the highest level of commitment to these new teachers as well as those currently on staff. As classrooms become more complex and parents and administrators make more and more demands on a teacher's time, adequate classroom assistance should be included to help all new staff and, in a perfect world, should be spread out among the school so that the whole faculty may take advantage of another adult presence in the classroom. Teaching is an art and a skill; teachers need the school administration to support them in a positive way from the outset.
