As summer vacation in Fairfax County winds down, the hallways and classrooms at South County High school are already buzzing. Beginning Aug. 18, roughly 1,200 new and returning teachers — as well as those new to the school system — took part in a week-long induction program called “Great Beginnings: The Next Generation.”

The summer institute — now in its 15th year and sponsored for the sixth year by the Apple Federal Credit Union Education Foundation — is a kickoff for the year-round support offered to new teachers by the FCPS office of professional practice and instructional services. Fairfax resident Richard Culp is one of the educational specialists in that outfit, who says that getting teachers off on the right foot and establishing a support network is critical to their success — and retaining them as teachers.

“Your first year of teaching is mostly about survival,” Culp said. Great Beginnings, which includes full days of keynote speakers, subject- or grade level-based breakout sessions called “cohorts” and designated time for networking, is all about establishing order early.

“Right now,” Culp continued, “what’s on their mind is ‘What is my classroom going to look like, where are my resources, how am I going to set up routines and procedures for classroom management?’ That’s what we focus on this whole week, and prepare them for what exactly they’re going to do when they meet those kids that first Tuesday after Labor Day.”

FOR GREAT BEGINNINGS 2014, the host venue changed to South County after having been held at Hayfield Secondary School for several years. Also new this year, organizers reached out to second- and third-year teachers, as well as providing a pilot for teachers in West Potomac and Mount Vernon High School pyramids. Keynote speakers included FCPS at large board member Ilryong Moon, 2013 Virginia Teacher of the Year Melissa Porfirio and “Conscious Classroom Management” author Rick Smith.

Smith’s talk featured numerous strategies for dealing with stressful classroom situations, with interactive role-play opportunities for teachers to try out tools like “Soft Eyes.”

Mentorship is a statewide requirement from the Virginia Department of Education, and in Fairfax County, that includes one-on-one support, after-school classes and reaching out to non-classroom employees like occupational therapists and speech and language pathologists.

According to Culp and director of Pre-K through 12 professional learning and school support Kathleen Walts, teacher development and retention are two major challenges and areas of focus. “Statistics show that 50 percent of the new teachers in classrooms today will not still be teaching in five years,” said Culp, “and our goal is to make sure that Fairfax County isn’t part of that.”

“It's really important for us to continue the teacher's learning,” added Walts, a Manassas resident, “so that we can ensure that they’re not only high quality in their first year, but they continue to learn and grow as teachers, and continue to impact our students across the board.”

CURRENTLY, Fairfax County sits above the national average, with a 93 percent retention rate of teachers after their first year. Walts attributes that success in part to the relationships teachers of various experience levels and schools form with one another during the summer institute.

“In those relationships they’re learning with coaches,” said Walts. “And I think that part of it alone is significant in their development. They will spend time for the entire year with those cohorts, and continue to learn and grow together as a group.”

“It’s not part of the teachers’ evaluation process,” said Culp. “We’re there to support them. They feel free to speak to their coaches, their mentor about things that are challenging them, and know that that conversation isn’t going to go beyond.”

According to Culp and Walts, the nearly 1,200 fresh faces are all enthusiastic and eager to start molding minds. Their job is to keep them that way for weeks, months and years to come.