12 Aug 2002
New Teacher Fair, Programs Provide Intensive Assistance to Beginning Teachers
DALLAS—New teachers in the Dallas Independent School District will take part in a number of activities to welcome them this week, including a new teacher fair Tuesday, a campus orientation day on Wednesday, and a series of workshops on Thursday and Friday designed for new teachers. Following a regional teacher recruitment campaign that helped lead to five times as many teaching applicants over last year, the district will enter a different phase this week—giving teachers the support and attention they need to make them want to remain in the district.
Almost 20 percent of all new teachers do not return to the classroom after their first year. By the fifth year, almost half of the new teachers leave. In the DISD, first-year teachers leave at a rate of 31 percent—10 percent more than other urban school districts.
"The turnover rate for new teachers is crippling to school districts across the nation and in Dallas it's almost one third of our new teachers each year, a figure way too high," said Linda Isaacks, associate superintendent of New Teacher Initiatives. "We want to be a district where when you think of teaching as a career, you think of the Dallas Independent School District. And we want to be a district that supports new teachers so well, they wouldn't think of leaving!" On Tuesday, at the district will hold its annual New Teacher Fair so that administrators, fellow staff, and the superintendent can welcome the district's new teachers—those just entering the teaching profession and those who are veteran teachers from other districts.
The new teacher fair will be held at the Apparel Mart, 2300 Stemmons Freeway, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Superintendent Mike Moses will welcome the new teachers at the general session which begins at 8 a.m.
On Wednesday, the campus orientation day designed by the principal, new teachers will meet their trained campus mentor and members of the New Teacher Support Team. This team, newly formed this year, will do everything possible to ensure a great first year experience for the new teachers. The assistance and support does not stop after that first day.
"A new program called 'T3' or 'T-cubed,' is designed to provide intensive assistance to beginning teachers. Support and assistance will be provided by instructional coaches who will model effective teaching strategies, offer assistance with classroom management, coach in lesson design, and create a safety net for success," said Isaacks. "We are excited about the potential this will have in providing new teachers with the support they need."
To meet teachers who will be supporting the program, as well as beginning teachers who will take part in the program, the district will hold a 9 a.m. media availability at Lida Hooe Elementary located at 2419 Gladstone on Wednesday.
Veteran and beginning teachers will be available for interviews and demonstrations of the program. Opportunities also will be available to video new teachers as they see their classrooms for the first time.
Support for principals is a part of the plan, too. They will be provided a yearly report and data analysis on teacher attrition. The principals will receive a resource guide for teacher retention and campus induction. Principals also will be taking professional development courses to target teacher retention.
On Thursday and Friday, DISD teachers will be enrolled in a series of professional development workshops to further hone their skills before school begins on August 26.
District officials have set a goal of beginning the school year with no long-term teaching vacancies. Last year, the district began the year with 98 vacancies and trimmed the number to about 50 through mid-year. With less than two weeks before school begins, DISD's Human Resources staff is working diligently to fill the remaining slots.