The school district where I worked my very first year of teaching (Cleveland) hosted monthly “New Teacher” meetings. These meetings were after school, presented by other teachers and administrators from within the district and they provided us with snacks! I learned SO much and GOT PAID an inservice rate for attending each session!!! The district also hosted monthly “Make-and-Take” workshops on Saturdays. These sessions were presented by district teachers and administrators. The district provided the materials and instruction for creating hands-on materials, classroom management tools, and othr HELPFUL things to use in my classroom. I received all kids of FREEBIES - which is heavenly for a new teacher, especially after her 6-month grace period from Sallie Mae ends.

The other great part about these workshops was meeting other teachers - learning from other people, sharing ideas/experiences and feeling valued. I felt like the district valued me as an employee and wanted to help me do well in my work. The human resource is the most important resource and I felt Cleveland did an excellent job helping to equip me with tools I could use on the job!

I’d like to share a Google video that makes the case for funding high quality early education and celebrates the people who teach our youngest.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1237120658671519031

Hi Mary Alice. That was lovely - thank you. Are you located in the Lorain or Cuyahoga County area so we can tell our friends to support a specific early childhood program?