With parents and teachers welcoming students back to class this week, Baldwin County Public Schools kicked off the school year with its system-wide institute held on Friday, Aug 7.

During the event, over 4,500 teachers and employees from across Baldwin County gathered at the Foley Event Center for a big back-to-school bash, connecting with others and sharing resources ahead of the start of the school year.

Marty McRae enters what will be his first academic year as permanent superintendent with the district, the largest employer in Baldwin County and the third largest school system in the state of Alabama. McRae, who has spent his entire 36-year career in Baldwin County, previously served as interim following the retirement of longtime Superintendent Eddie Tyler.

“My job is simply to service,” McRae told GCM. “I provide what our teachers and our schools need for them to do what they do so well, and that’s to educate our kids and taking care of all their needs, so I’m going to keep doing what I’ve always done, being a service to our schools and to our community.”

This year’s event featured a guest appearance from Gerry Brooks, a public speaker and veteran educator from Lexington, Kentucky, whose message encourages and helps teachers improve their instructional abilities. Brooks, who frequently posts humorous videos on social media, currently has over 972,000 followers on Instagram.

“It’s a lot of what Mr. Brooks just said,” McRae said on what he is hoping to see and achieve this school year. “Being a part of our kids’ lives makes a big difference and all our teachers, they understand that there’s a lot more to being a school teacher than just academics and education. We’re being mentors. We’re showing them how to react to things, so just taking care of our kids in the best way that we can so that kids are happy when they come to school. We give them that happy time, that happy space that they may need in their lives.”