New Teacher Academy

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Does anyone have any information on this? I'm in AL, and I've heard that for this academy, you have to meet 2 Tuesdays a month, for about 2 hours. You have to write a grant, do a presentation, etc...

It lasts for 2 whole years.

The teachers I have talked to who attended it, hated it and said it was a big waste of time.

I may work in another county to avoid this. Has anyone heard of this?
 
I attended a 3 day workshop at the end of the school year about how to set up a New Teacher Academy. It seemed interesting, but they didn't mention anything about meeting that frequently and having to do the grants and presentations. It was mostly saying just meet with new teachers about once a month to help the new teacher out with any problems she may be having and to just provide support.
 
In our district, new teachers meet once a month and most of them are beneficial. Our Elementary Supervisor goes over things specific to our district such as district assessments, report cards, working folders, etc. Once that's finished, she brings people in to talk about open response questions, writing and reading in the content areas, using graphic organizers, etc.

So to answer your question, yes, I have heard of it. However, two times a month and writing the grant, etc. seem a little over the top. You are so busy in your classroom during that first year, I don't know why in the world they would add this kind of stuff on you.

Best of luck in whatever you decide!!
 
I'm in Florida and I will be teaching in Broward County for the first time. I just finished my NTA (in our district, we take it for five full days -- middle schools take it for three consecutive days from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm and then the final two days are at the school on August 3 and 4). I have to tell you that I absolutely loved it. There were alot of teachers that have been teaching for many many years, not just new teachers. We all found it to be very informative and a great way to get new ideas and tips from experienced teachers. I absolutely recommend it to anyone and the networking there is priceless. I left with several names, numbers and emails of teachers that will be teaching all over the county that I know I will be keeping in contact with for years to come.
 
I teach in AL and I've never heard of the NTA. Apparently it's not everywhere. It sounds like a lot of work. They should let you focus on settling in instead of writing grants. Our system does offer seminars 3 or 4 times during the year, just for sharing ideas and asking questions. They are totally optional. They even make goodie bags to tempt people to come. I don't remember it they offered Prof. Dev. credit or not, I think not.
 
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