Mary Lou Weiner

Overcrowded classrooms, deteriorating facilities, a largely disadvantaged student population, and low salaries make it difficult for these educators to stay in city schools, says Mary Lou Weiner, first vice president of the Bridgeport Education Asso-ciation.So in 1997, she launched the local's Peer Assistance Program.

Funded by an NEA Urban Grant, the program pairs mentor teachers with new educators to help them survive their first years.The mentors assist with everything from classroom management strategies, lesson plans, and student assessments to state certification requirements.

And the program breaks the isolation that can add to the burden of a first-year teacher.

Pay is only part of the reason the attrition rate is so atrocious here, says mentor Nick Nicholson, a 20-year veteran who teaches technology and science at Bridgeport Regional Vocational Aquaculture School.
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Here, new teachers are treated professionally, says Weiner, a second grade teacher at High Horizons Magnet School.

Still, she adds, 105 teachers who didn't participate in the Association's program left Bridgeport schools between June and November 1998.

Nothing happens overnight, says Weiner.It's a slow process..

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contact Mary Lou Weiner at 203/579-2887, Fax 203/382-0579, or E-mail mlwbpt@aol.com.

Professional Growth : DilemmaMaking Music Together

Volunteers, parents, staff--what's the best way to coordinate all the adults at your work site.

At the beginning of the year, I send a form home listing times and days and asking for volunteers.

Overcrowded classrooms, deteriorating facilities, a largely disadvantaged student population, and low salaries make it difficult for these educators to stay in city schools, says Mary Lou Weiner, first vice president of the Bridgeport Education Asso-ciation.So in 1997, she launched the local's Peer Assistance Program.

Funded by an NEA Urban Grant, the program pairs mentor teachers with new educators to help them "survive" their first years.The mentors assist with everything from classroom management strategies, lesson plans, and student assessments to state certification requirements.

And the program breaks the isolation that can add to the burden of a first-year teacher.

...
"Here, new teachers are treated professionally," says Weiner, a second grade teacher at High Horizons Magnet School.

Still, she adds, 105 teachers who didn't participate in the Association's program left Bridgeport schools between June and November 1998.

"Nothing happens overnight," says Weiner."It's a slow process."

For More Information

contact Mary Lou Weiner at 203/579-2887, Fax 203/382-0579, or E-mail mlwbpt@aol.com.

Professional Growth: DilemmaMaking Music Together

Volunteers, parents, staff--what's the best way to coordinate all the adults at your work site?

At the beginning of the year, I send a form home listing times and days and asking for volunteers.