Back To School : SANTA ANA : Rookie Teachers Readied for Classes

They learned all about how to teach reading, writing and arithmetic in college but, as the group of 60 rookie teachers recently discovered, there are some things you just can’t learn in a classroom.

“These are kids who have so many needs,” Rudy M. Castruita, superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District, said to the new teachers at a recent orientation session. “You are going to be their role model and inspiration. Make these kids believe that they can be the best that they can be.”

The new teachers, many of them fresh out of college, attended a two-day training seminar last week that not only covered work rules, but also concentrated heavily on cultural awareness and tips on how to teach in a school district where 83% of the students are Latino and 7% Asian.

“We want to give the new teachers some insight into the students they will be working with,” said Rose Marie Fontana, director of the district’s English as a Second Language and bilingual programs.

“It’s been my experience that the teachers who do come to Santa Ana choose our district because they realize they can make a big difference in children’s lives. It’s almost like a sense of mission,” Fontana said.

It is this sense of mission that brought Gerardo Olivar to the district. In his first teaching assignment since graduating from Cal State Fullerton last year, Olivar, 28, will be a kindergarten teacher at Kennedy Elementary School.

“They’re probably going to call me Kindercop,” Olivar joked during the seminar’s lunch break. “I realize the impact that you can have on kids. I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”

Stephen Treiman, 22, will be teaching biology and general science at Santa Ana High School. The recent Brandeis University graduate said he was thankful for the special training session.

“It gives you a better sense of what it’s going to be like in the classroom,” Treiman said. “It’s helpful because I know it’ll be challenging.”

Linda McGaugh, 23, will be teaching a combination class of fourth- and fifth-graders at Monte Vista Elementary School. She said the sessions on cultural awareness demonstrated to her the reasons why she wanted to work in Santa Ana.

“It really makes you feel like they care a lot,” McGaugh said. “I interviewed with other districts, but I thought Santa Ana had the most to offer. They seemed to be the most supportive.”

In addition to seminars and rap sessions, the teachers were presented with a one-week lesson plan for their respective grades to make their first week in the classroom easier. They were also given a “survival kit” that included tissues for crying children and earplugs for the teachers.

The seminar marked the beginning of a series of special activities for the new teachers during their rookie year in the district. Each has been assigned to a “mentor teacher” at his or her school who will be available for guidance.

The group will also attend a series of dinners and will receive a newsletter several times throughout the year.

“We think that the program helps to boost their confidence and makes them more relaxed in the situation they’re in,” said Marilynn Nehrbass, facilitator of the mentor teacher program.

“Nationwide, about 40% of new teachers leave the profession after the first year because it was so traumatic,” Nehrbass said. “In Santa Ana, we only lose 3 to 5%. What we try to do is arm them with confidence and let them know that they are not alone.”