Manatee schools-USF partnership encourages new teachers to stay local

Anna Bunyak’s first job was as a paraprofessional at Myakka City Elementary School.

She found working with students in small groups to be inspiring. Any time she was away from school, she would be thinking about being in the classroom.

“It really made me realize how much I loved it,” she said. “Whenever I was off from that, I would just think about it, like ‘Oh my gosh, I miss the kids, I miss being there.’ Seeing their growth from the beginning of the year to the end of the year in not just schoolwork, but personal growth, really touched me and inspired me to stick with it.”

So Bunyak decided to enroll in the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee’s elementary education program to become an elementary school teacher. 

Photo by Liz Ramos

Bunyak was one of the 10 University of South Florida students who celebrated signing a one-year teaching contract with the School District of Manatee County during a Signing Day at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus April 25. 

Eight of the new teachers graduated from the elementary education program on the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus, while the other two teachers graduated from the secondary education program on the university’s Tampa campus. 

Bunyak and another elementary education program graduate, Jennifer Bartens, will start their first year teaching at East County elementary schools. 

After the future teachers signed their contracts, Bunyak put on her new Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School polo and sunglasses while Bartens put on her Freedom Elementary School T-shirt and sunglasses. McNeal Elementary Principal Sheila Waid stood behind Bunyak while Freedom Elementary Principal Guy Grimes stood behind Bartens, both excited about having them join their respective staffs. 

Bartens said she will float around the school serving as a teacher in pre-K through fifth grade. 

“I had a kind of tough background when I was in school and some teachers that weren’t the greatest to me, but I want to make a better experience for other kids so they have a better experience than what I had,” Bartens said. 

She said she also had amazing teachers who pushed her to do well in school, inspiring her to be that teacher for her students at Freedom Elementary School. 

Bartens said she’s looking forward to being a part of Freedom Elementary’s community.

“They seem like a really nice group,” she said. “They’re very welcoming and supportive of my journey.”

Photo by Liz Ramos

Both Bartens and Bunyak said they are grateful for the partnership between USF Sarasota-Manatee and the School District of Manatee County that includes a paid internship and clinical experience for USF students where they intern in Manatee County schools. 

“I feel like it set me up for success in this career field,” said Bunyak, who will be a first grade teacher at McNeal. “The support we’ve gotten definitely makes it feel like they want us to stay within the district. I feel valued as a first-year teacher.”

Upon completing their internships, the students are offered contracts to become teachers for the school district. 

“They know when they go into their internship that they are ready for employment,” said Cynthia Saunders, the superintendent of the School District of Manatee County. “They don’t have to stress or worry about where they are going to work because they’re going to know that from the very beginning.”

Saunders and Cheryl Ellerbrock, the dean of the College of Education on the Sarasota-Manatee campus, are confident the partnership between the university and the school district will help the program grow, ultimately leading to more USF teachers starting their careers in Manatee County schools and impacting more Manatee students.

“Those 10 teachers will impact anywhere between 30 to 100 students on a daily basis,” Ellerbrock said. “Talk about a way to give it forward. Teaching is a profession for some that are interested in making an impact on the future generations of students.”

Photo by Liz Ramos

The university and school district partnership is helping to address the teacher shortage in the county.

“We are in dire need of high quality teachers, not just locally but nationally,” Ellerbrock said. “To be able to contribute to help our School District of Manatee County public schools be able to produce the next generation of amazing teachers is just an honor.”

Saunders said the partnership gives graduates an advantage in their first year of teaching because they’ve already spent time teaching in a Manatee school. 

“They’ve been a part of the culture of the school, they know the other teachers, they know the students,” she said. “It definitely is an easy segue into their permanent employment as a teacher when they’ve already established those ties and relationships from that first day.”