New teachers -- The next generation

If you think teachers are getting younger these days, you're not mistaken. Visit any high school, and you'll find it difficult to tell the new teachers from the students.

In California, one out of every five teachers is new. In 1998, after class size reduction was enacted, more than 30,000 new teachers were hired. In 2002, another 11,494 new teachers came on board.

Ann Granillo Egger, a special day class teacher now in her second year at Victoria Elementary School in Redlands, says members of the Redlands Teachers Association offered to help find solutions before problems could arise.

With 40 percent of the existing workforce eligible for retirement within five years, the number of rookie teachers is likely to continue to grow.

Despite their numbers, new teachers tend to stay in the background, quietly doing their jobs and trying not to make waves - they are, after all, probationary employees. For that reason, it's easy to overlook them - until they leave to take a job in the corporate world and must be replaced.

"New teachers today are definitely overwhelmed," says Sherea Westra, a fifth-year teacher who helped form a New Teacher Support Committee for the Fremont Unified District Teachers Association. "Part of the reason is that teaching is harder today than ever before. There's more pressure and more demands on teachers today. We have to teach to the standards and raise API scores. Even though things are more difficult, new teachers are still idealistic. We want to do it all. We want to conquer it all. We want to save the world."

"I was very surprised by the workload," says Hau Vo, a third-year teacher who serves on the executive board of the Garden Grove Education Association. "I really didn't know what I was getting into. I needed support - professionally and personally."

Vo was also confused about what his teaching responsibilities included. "I didn't know what kinds of things I should have to do contractually. A lot of new teachers like me are happy to have a job and do anything we are told to do, without realizing that others might be taking advantage of us."

New teachers across the country report feeling "overwhelmed, anxious and lost" because, in many cases, they receive no orientation to their new environment and no training on procedures and processes, according to an NEA survey. In addition, quality mentoring programs are few and far between.

New teachers also experience "social isolation" in many cases and need an environment in which they can meet and discuss their concerns. Many are insecure about what kind of a job they are doing in the classroom and feel they are not respected as professionals or appreciated for the job they do.

Time is also at a premium. Sixty percent of new teachers work more than 45 hours a week at their primary job. Twenty-five percent hold a second job and half are enrolled in degree programs.

In some cases, new teachers are finding that their reality is they can't afford to teach. In addition to dealing with the pressure to pay back college loans, buy houses and cars, and start families, they are at the bottom of the pay scale - often living and teaching in very expensive areas. Because they're low in seniority, they're vulnerable when jobs are lost due to budget cuts.

Teachers are leaving the profession even though the new ideas, energy and enthusiasm they bring to the teaching profession are highly valued, money and time are being invested in their education and training, and they are desperately needed to fill the teacher shortage. Twenty-nine percent of teachers leave after only three years, and the number grows to 39 percent after five years.

Part of the reason may be that new teachers have different needs than veteran teachers. They need nurturing, advice, professional development, and a helping hand. Instead, they get blame for not raising test scores or increasing student achievement.

With the passage of SB 2042, new California teachers must now undergo two-year induction programs in order to clear their credentials. Some districts run their own programs, which offer varying levels of support from veteran teachers, while others participate in the state's Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) program.

Induction programs are required because teachers were coming into the profession without a real understanding of what they would be asked to do, says Barbara Bishr, a fulltime support provider for BTSA and a member of the Hayward Teachers Association (HTA). "New teachers come into the profession with passion and love, and are hit with how difficult it is to put everything together. They find they must manage paperwork every day and learn how to become a facilitator. They have students who come to school with more problems than they can handle."

For many new teachers, classroom management is the biggest challenge, says Bishr. "If you don't have that, learning can't happen. Some teachers have a wonderful sense of classroom management and get it immediately. Others have to learn how to do facilitating and set their purpose in a way that is respectful and nurturing - while letting students know that the bottom line is this: The teacher is in charge. With higher grade levels, this becomes more difficult. Middle school kids can smell it when a teacher lacks classroom management skills."

"Teaching is a dance," she adds. "It takes time and years, and we learn as we teach. Teachers need someone beside them so they are not alone in what they do. They need to know they are not isolated in the classrooms. That is the biggest service of BTSA."

For two teachers working with Bishr at Cesar Chavez Middle School in Hayward, BTSA has been invaluable. "I just like having someone there who knows what she is doing - someone who is there to help me and isn't judgmental," says Barbara Korth. Her teaching partner, Barbara Riley, adds, "BTSA has helped me reflect on my lessons and what changes I need to make in order to accommodate the different needs of my students."

Not all new teachers see it that way. Some believe BTSA has teachers reflecting on their lessons too much.

"It can be like contemplating the same old lint in your navel," says Barbara Saxton, a third-year teacher at Crittenden Middle School and a member of the Mountain View Educators Association. "I felt it was very redundant in terms of the introspection and reflection that you are expected to do in your coursework to get your credential. I would prefer release time to observe other teachers - and have other teachers observe me and give objective and constructive feedback."

Some new teachers are overwhelmed with the demands that induction programs put on their time. Tamiko Kydd, a member of the Newark Teachers Association, is in her second year of BTSA. "I find that it is quite a bit of work for a beginning teacher. It is more meetings and lots of paperwork when you are already stressed and trying to figure things out. I can see the benefit for people who have not had good student teacher training, but I feel like I was very well prepared for the classroom, and that the BTSA meetings/paperwork feel like a repeat of my credential program."

For years, the needs of new teachers weren't even on the radar screen in California. That's because new teachers were few and far between.

When Proposition 13 rolled back property taxes in the 1970s, districts laid off teachers - usually those low in seniority - to balance the budget. New teachers were rarely hired. In 1979, for example, only six new teachers were hired in the San Diego Unified School District, even though it had more than 6,000 teaching positions at the time. When hiring resumed, most new hires were older, second-career teachers.

Prop. 13 disrupted the natural cycle of cultivating, encouraging and supporting newer and younger teachers.

"I don't think teachers today are all that different from teachers in the past, but high-stakes testing has created pressure that wasn't there before," says Jim Thomas, president of the Temecula Valley Educators Association (TVEA).

Temecula is a rapidly growing community with the highest-performing schools in Riverside County. A great deal of pressure falls on the "new kids" on the teaching block to keep test scores of students in the 800 range.

"It's stressful enough to try to get your feet on the ground as a brand-new teacher. But when you throw in high-stakes testing and performance, it tends to be even more overwhelming. There is a high intensity in this district because of high standards and expectations. That can be perceived as an attitude that is very cold and somewhat distancing for those new to the profession."

TVEA members have tried to make up for the perceived lack of warmth. In addition to holding events to welcome new teachers and familiarize them with the association, site reps at every school pair new teachers with veteran teachers in their grade level or department to provide a support system.

Right before Thanksgiving, TVEA members hand out "survival kits" to their new teachers and thank them for choosing to teach in Temecula. The gesture is appreciated, says new teacher Derrick d'Ablaing. "It's nice to know the association is out there and that I can put faces with the name."

"In the past, we haven't been making the effort as an association to reach out and engage the new teachers like we should," says Thomas. "But we're trying to change that."

Temecula is part of San Gorgonio Service Center Council's pilot project designed to assist and retain new teachers - and bring them into the CTA fold. Other associations involved are Riverside City Teachers Association and Redlands Teachers Association.

The new teacher outreach is necessary because the status quo doesn't always work, say those involved in the project.

"What we typically have done is host some event for new teachers at the beginning of the year, and then forget about them," says Kim Mena, one of three CTA staff members involved in the project. "Maybe we'll offer them one training during the year, and that's it. We tell them we'll help them if they come to the office, but they are so overwhelmed with their jobs, the BTSA program and going to school that they don't have time.

"But we have to make it easy for them. We can provide baby-sitting services if they need it in order to come to a meeting. We can hold workshops on their school sites instead of making them drive to our office. Little things go a long way."

"We decided to get involved in this project for a few reasons," says Dennis Hodges, president of the Riverside City Teachers Association (RCTA). "When you look around the room at any of our meetings, there's either a lot of gray hair or no hair. Lots of teachers have been here as long as myself - 39 years. In 2002, 40 teachers retired. We need to retain new teachers - and make them a vital part of our association."

To assist and engage new members, Riverside has sent several new teachers to CTA's Good Teaching Conference; offered CTA's "I Can Do It!" training in classroom management; recruited new teachers to serve as site reps, where they practice mediation and conflict management techniques that carry over into the classroom; and set up a web page for RCTA, rather than counting on phone trees and traditional forms of communication.

Perhaps, the most elaborate outreach in the pilot project has been in Redlands, where the chapter goes the extra mile to make new teachers' lives easier. Among the assistance given to new Redlands teachers (also available to veteran teachers) are interest-free loan programs for continuing education, emergency loans, and tuition price breaks and convenient course locations for those working on their master's degree.

"We looked at how corporate America is treating its employees when they want loyalty, and decided to try that approach," explains Redlands Teachers Association President Rich Laabs.

In Fremont, where new teachers like Westra have taken the responsibility of helping even newer teachers, the association is offering services such as a new teacher hotline for those experiencing a crisis.

Because the programs are new, it's too soon to tell whether or not they are helping to retain new teachers in the profession.

However, veteran teachers involved in the San Gorgonio project are hearing new teachers say they feel less isolated.

"I felt right away that it pays off," says Laabs. "Especially when you hear a new teacher say, 'I can't believe how much you care about us.'"