Teachers Troubled by Training Without Pay

Even if Gov. Gray Davis’ proposal to spend $115 million for more teacher development programs is approved, some Orange County teachers said Saturday that they will have trouble adding the required workshops and seminars to their already heavy workload.

The governor’s proposal does not provide time off for the programs, forcing teachers to seek additional training on their own time.

The prospect of being required to take the training without pay troubled some teachers who attended the ninth annual Educator Enrichment Day in Cypress.

Jane Demas, a science teacher at Sycamore Junior High in Anaheim, had one question when she heard about the governor’s proposal: When are teachers supposed to do this training? As always, she fears, the training will be on their own time.

“I’d sure like to be paid,” said Demas, 47, who became a teacher nine years ago after working in sales for IBM computers. “This is by far the hardest job I’ve ever had.”

The Cypress program is similar to the types of training Davis is advocating.

The Educator Enrichment Day offered 28 workshops taught by chemists and engineers from Boeing, which sponsored the $100,000 day of learning. The workshops, attended by 318 teachers, were held at the Oxford Academy School. This is the first year the program was offered in Orange County.

“As educators, we’re used to putting in hundreds of hours a year of our own time,” said Cheryl Jensen, a Cypress teacher who attended a seminar on Internet surfing. “The opportunity to learn and grow is more important to me than being paid.”

Many educators say they appreciate how much money Davis has proposed to spend on education. And they agree that teachers should always be looking for new ways to instruct their students.

Davis proposed $115.5 million for new or expanded professional development institutes for teachers. The programs would serve more than 70,000 teachers in the 2000-01 school year.

Of that money, $28 million would be used to expand reading workshops for elementary school teachers, $10 million to train teachers of students who speak limited English and $17.5 million to train teachers in math. There is also proposed funding to establish math and English institutes for high school teachers.

“If you love what you’re doing, you don’t mind taking the time to learn and bring that back to the classroom,” said Eddie Tabata, 28, a teacher at Rio Vista Elementary in Anaheim.

“It’s always nice to get paid, but if someone’s going to teach me something, I’ll take it. Still, it was a little tough to get out of bed today.”

Times staff writer Anna Gorman contributed to this report.