Supporting new career and technical teachers in L.A. County.

Supporting new career and technical teachers in L.A. County. In Los Angeles Los Angeles(lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County, an in-service in-serviceIn-service training adjective Referring to any form of on-the-job training noun In-service training of an employee program gives new career techteachers a good start, and the support they need throughout the year. The Los Angeles County Regional Occupational Program (LACOROP) is acollaborative of the Los Angeles County Office of Education and 23member school districts that provides high school students and adultswith both workforce training and preparation for postsecondaryeducation. It is no small task; but it is being accomplishedsuccessfully. In 2005, 30,594 students completed LACOROP classes in 74different occupational areas, and 96 percent of the students were foundto be in school the military and/or and/or?conj.Used to indicate that either or both of the items connected by it are involved.Usage Note: And/or is widely used in legal and business writing. working. As another measure of itssuccess, 96 percent of approximately 10,000 12th-grade completers alsograduated from high school. LACOROP is in its 33rd year of existence, and for the past 15 yearsit has had a teacher in-service program to provide the support that canhelp make a difference in the success of new teachers. Rebecca Rebeccaor Rebekah(both: rēbĕk`ə), wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob. One day, as was her custom, she drew water at the city well; while there she showed kindness to Eliezer, Abraham's servant. Seher,who is a LACOROP coordinator, says that they manage to cover a greatdeal in the four-day program. The first day is "Nuts andBolts nuts and boltspl.n. SlangThe basic working components or practical aspects: "[proposing] " and covers topics such as attendance procedures. Seher saysthey also introduce the teachers to the staff, go over courses and talkabout advisory meetings with business and industry. LACOROP is accredited accreditedrecognition by an appropriate authority that the performance of a particular institution has satisfied a prestated set of criteria.accredited herdscattle herds which have achieved a low level of reactors to, e.g. by the Western Association of Schools andColleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. (WASC WASC Western Association of Schools and CollegesWASC West African School CertificateWASC Western Administrative Support Center (NOAA)WASC Western Australia Supreme CourtWASC Washington Administrative Service Center ), so on the second day, the teachers learn about WASC andreview standards. They also learn about discipline, developing a lessonplan and, as Seher puts it, "how to be an effective teacher." Between day two and day three, the teachers go back to the schoolswhere they will be teaching and participate in a scavenger hunt scavenger huntn.A game in which individuals or teams try to locate and bring back miscellaneous items on a list. . Theyhave to locate supplies and identify specific staff, such as the personto contact in an emergency. Day three is spent "Teaching forSuccess," and the new teachers learn about teaching special needsstudents, strategies for different learning styles, engaginginstructional strategies, grading and rubrics. Day four covers employability skills and career essentials allstudents need to know about, such as safety, ethics ethics,in philosophy, the study and evaluation of human conduct in the light of moral principles. Moral principles may be viewed either as the standard of conduct that individuals have constructed for themselves or as the body of obligations and duties that a , resumes andcompleting applications. New teachers also learn how to prepare theirstudents for paid and unpaid job training experiences, and how to findbusiness and industry partners to host and work with the students. Consultants, Coordinators, Coaches LACOROP has subject-area consultants in trade and industry, health,family and consumer sciences, business, marketing and creative arts.There are also coordinators who work directly with the districtpersonnel on issues such as budgeting. The consultants are required tocontact the new teachers in their area once a month throughout theyear--either through a phone call, an e-mail, a letter or by meeting inthe classroom. "The consultants are there to help the new teachers,"explains Seher. "They are like coaches and work directly with theteachers on the curriculum and course outlines." They are also available if the new teacher is having a problem suchas discipline involving a particular student. "In all aspects of what goes on in a classroom, all newteachers have access to a consultant," notes Seher. Coordinators observe the new teachers in the classroom as well; ifthey see a problem, they will contact the consultant and ask him or herto provide help. Sometimes, Seher says, a coordinator will see a newteacher doing a great job and will suggest the consultant go in to seewhat can be learned to help someone else. According to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. Seher, the LACOROP consultants have been through theMaking Standards Work training program of the Leadership and LearningCenter in Denver, Colorado, which was formerly the Center forPerformance Assessment. So they are now certified See certification. to present a workshopthat takes new teachers through the process of using standards andassessment throughout the teaching process. An Ongoing Process In addition to the initial in-service training, during the year newteachers are encouraged to attend workshops that pertain to pertain toverb relate to, concern, refer to, regard, be part of, belong to, apply to, bear on, befit, be relevant to, be appropriate to, appertain to theirsubject area as well as business and advisory meetings. While many ofthe new teachers have come from traditional teacher preparationprograms, some have come from business and industry and have to gothrough designated subject credentialing Credentialing is the administrative process for validating the qualifications of licensed professionals, organizational members or organizations, and assessing their background and legitimacy. . "We help them, though," says Seher. "We have acredentialing unit to help the teachers complete the paperworkcorrectly." The new teachers coming from business and industry must have atleast five years of related job experience in the field they areteaching--and at least one year of that experience has to have beenwithin the past three years. Seher notes that teachers coming from business and industry haverelevant knowledge along with recent skills, and they can apply all thatthey know in the classroom and share it with their students. And atLACOROP, if they have any problems, a safety net of consultants andcoordinators is there to help. "Our new teachers have a lot of assistance available tothem," Seher says. And that can be what makes the difference in keeping those newteachers in the career and technical education classroom. Further Preparation To learn more about the Los Angeles County Regional OccupationalProgram, visit www.lacorop.org For more information about the Leadershipand Learning Center (formerly the Center for Performance Assessment),visit www.makingstandardswork.com.