New teachers, especially those on emergency permits, frequently find that college didn't tell them everything they needed to know about classroom management. For those whose classroom management skills need an upgrade, CTA can offer a helping hand through its "I Can Do It!" training program. So far, hundreds of teachers have discovered that the can-do spirit can help them run their classrooms more effectively.
The program grew out of a 1996 brainstorming session between San Bernardino County district superintendents and the presidents of CTA chapters in those districts. The groups came together through the efforts of the San Bernardino County Community Coalition, a group dedicated to fostering quality public education. In the spirit of cooperation, CTA agreed to develop a one-day training module on classroom management and, in turn, the school districts agreed to support its presentation.
Since it was first introduced in 1996-97, the original cadre of 32 teacher-trainers has been expanded to more than 200 around the state.
The training is designed to be used with new K-12 teachers during their first five years of teaching. A minimum of two trainers, one with experience at the elementary level and another with experience at the secondary level, present each workshop.
Included in the curriculum is information on communication or learning styles, intervention techniques for difficult behavior patterns, hints to create smoothly flowing lessons, tools to begin building positive parent/teacher relationships and an opportunity to link with a partner for future support.
For a list of regional contact names and numbers, visit CTA's website.
Also available on the website is the New Teacher's Rollbook Companion, which has been designed to address the needs of new teachers as well as experienced professionals facing a new assignment. It provides practical hands-on suggestions for successful classroom management, organization and instruction planning, while also serving as an introduction to CTA.