Pilot Program Educates and Retains Teachers

(St. Petersburg, Fla) March 20, 2006 - Like most large, urban school districts, Pinellas County has trouble staffing its schools with teachers who have backgrounds in math and science. Andy Reeves, Ph.D., a lecturer in mathematics education at USF St. Petersburg, is helping Pinellas County with a new pilot program to tackle this issue. A $250,000 grant by the Florida Department of Education will help Pinellas County schools attract and retain high-quality teachers.

Because the teacher turnover rate at Gibbs High School is high, Pinellas County Schools plans to hire three mentors to support and train the first-year teachers that work there. College of Education faculty will work with these mentors and the first-year teachers in a collaborative effort with the county based on the results of a needs assessment.

“The first year for a teacher is quite a difficult one, under the best of circumstances,” Andy Reeves, Ph.D. and lecturer in mathematics education, said. “I want to help get these fledgling teachers have an overview of their new careers, and the things they can do to ensure that they survive the first year, and know how to prosper after that.”

Dean Vivian Fueyo, Ph.D., and four faculty members will provide training in mentoring, classroom climate,mathematics, reading, and motivation strategies. The needs assessment will look at what the new teachers might need in content area training, and how they view mentoring and teaching. The faculty will generate an assessment at the beginning of the project so they can tailor the training to Pinellas County’s needs and the needs of the new teachers at Gibbs High School.

“The project provides a unique opportunity to support new teachers at Gibbs, which can give us a model to be used successfully in other schools. Retaining our first year teachers is essential -to provide a quality education to all of our students,,” Fueyo said.

The grant money to USF St. Petersburg, about $35,000, will be used primarily to pay faculty summer stipends. Faculty work will continue through the next school year.

Fueyo, Reeves, Gywn Lightsey, PhD., instructor in reading education,; Brianne Reck, Ph.D. assistant professor in educational leadership; and Brett Jones, Ph.D, assistant professor in psychological foundations, are the faculty members involved in the program

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