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NEA Communications 202-822-7200

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 1998

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Developing lesson plans. Creating meaningful homework assignments. Encouraging student participation and assessing student learning. Developing effective discipline strategies. Integrating technology into the curriculum. Building partnerships with parents and the community.

Today's public school teachers have a lot expected of them, and those new to teaching may occasionally feel overwhelmed by the challenges they face. But this fall, beginning teachers have access to more resources than ever before, thanks to the work of the National Education Association (NEA) and its affiliates.

Some of the help is decidedly high tech, such as the new multimedia CD-ROM the NEA is distributing free to new members. Teachers seeking advice on topics from teaching strategies to student achievement can find it via the CD-ROM entitled It's All About Kids: Help for New NEA Members in the Classroom. The CD has lots of ideas and resources to help new K-12 teachers and teacher aides become more confident practitioners, giving them ready access to teaching tips on video as well as articles and pamphlets that can be printed out for parents and others.

The NEA has developed other high tech resources as well. Through e-mail, any school employee can subscribe to a new resource called Works4Me, a listserv that sends out weekly short, practical classroom tips contributed by school employees across the country. With Internet access, the staff member (new or not) can visit the helpfrom.nea.org web site for advice on boosting student achievement, building better learning places, and connecting with families and the community.

"NEA is committed to helping improve the quality of teaching in public schools across the nation," says NEA President Bob Chase. "We feel a special obligation to help those new to the profession, for all of us remember only too well how daunting those first few years in the classroom can be."

Teachers can also find help through more traditional means. NEA's Professional Library, the nation's largest publisher devoted exclusively to providing professional development materials for educators, offers several books especially for new teachers. Among them: Countdown to the First Day of School; Pitfalls and Potholes: A Checklist for Avoiding Common Mistakes of Beginning Teachers; and First-Year Teacher: Teaching with Confidence. In addition, NEA's Teacher-to-Teacher books, each written by classroom teachers for classroom teachers, talk candidly about school reform efforts.

All of these resources reflect the spirit of the "new unionism" challenge President Chase issued to NEA members more than 18 months ago. These materials, Chase says, were specifically designed to help teachers improve their skills. They also provide a valuable road map to help newcomers understand school systems, identify valuable resources, and better serve students for the future.