James Matthews Elementary School in the Dollarway School District has launched a new program designed to help teachers become more effective with the help of retired educators.
The Retired Educators Assisting Children program is designed to provide assistance to novice teachers and those who want the expertise of retired educators who demonstrated success in their careers.
Linda Davis, new principal at Matthews Elementary, discussed the idea with her teachers, who have high hopes that the seasoned educators will be helpful.
REACH will provide teachers assistance with implementing effective strategies, classroom management and facilitation of instruction, she said.
“Retired educators retire as experts in their fields, while new teachers sometimes struggle and become easily burned out due to lack of support by mentor teachers with limited time,” Davis said.
Mentor teachers have their own classrooms and can only devote a limited amount of time helping novice teachers. A retired educator, however, volunteering twice a week will provide the novice teacher and students with support that will help the novice or struggling teacher become more effective.
Details: Davis at 534-0726 or ldavis@dollarwayschools.org