Even teachers get back-to-school jitters

Hundreds of new teachers who are taking on the challenge of instructing Philadelphia's students this year were asked a pointed question at the opening of the orientation yesterday

"What kind of teacher will you be?" asked Elois Brooks, a consultant for the district's Empowerment Schools.

She posed that question to about 800 teachers who gathered at Edison High School, 151 Luzerne St., at the start of the two-day program for new teachers.

Among them was actor Tony Danza, who will start teaching at Northeast High School next month for a reality-TV show tentatively airing next spring on the cable channel A&E.

Brooks spoke on behalf of Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who was absent because her father, the Rev. Bennie Randle, 85, died Sunday in St. Louis.

"You can do this, but I'm not going to tell you it's going to be easy," Brooks said.

Emmanuel Caulk, deputy chief for instruction and leadership support, said his office, which oversees the work of teachers, will be committed to helping them grow.

Coaches will be available to help teachers in their first year, he said.

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan addressed the largest group of new teachers and union members in the district's recent history with this one message:

"We are happy to have you," he said. "You are the people that will make a difference."

And it's that difference that will make a world of difference for the students, Brooks said.

"The work of a teacher is the hardest," she said, adding that teachers will have to deal with students who come from disadvantaged homes, and who live in "many conditions you could only imagine."

But "none of these things matter," she said. "It is not an excuse."

The orientation began with a presentation by teachers-turned-motivational speakers, Harry and Rosemary Wong, who travel nationwide giving teacher-training lectures.

Despite longer school days promised by Ackerman under her education-reform plan, teachers said they couldn't wait for the start of school on Sept. 8.

"I'm hoping to take away that fear [of learning] and have them learn to love it," math teacher Jennifer Park, 23, said of her ninth-grade class at Bartram High School, in Southwest Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, Zaid Muhammad, 28, said he has mixed feelings about the coming year.

"I'm excited, but worried about what I would be providing the students," he said.

Sporting a gray suit and white-collar shirt, Danza admitted to being a bit "scared."

"With me, in particular, it takes a certain amount of hubris to do this," he said. "I'm still at a disadvantage, but I'm determined."

As one of the main priorities of her reform plan, Ackerman has vowed to reduce class sizes by hiring more teachers.

To that end, the district's boost in recruitment and a revamped hiring process has shrunk the teacher-vacancy rate from 289 positions at this time last year to 45 as of last week, according to school-district data.

The reduced vacancy rate was in part the result of moving up the hiring timeline, updating the application process and offering a $1,000 signing bonus.