Dona Stevens, Coordinator
Phone: (310) 354-3422
fax: (310) 527-2957
Cheryl Nakada-Becerra, Specialist
phone: (310) 354-3520
fax: (310) 527-2957
email:cxn0091@lausd.k12.ca.us
Established in 1992 and based on a four-year pilot project, the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) Program provides opportunities for fully-prepared first and second year teachers to expand and deepen their teaching knowledge and skill. The BTSA Program also provides a smooth transition into the complex responsibilities of teaching, increases the retention of beginning teachers, and improves learning opportunities for their K-12 students. The BTSA Program has grown extensively in recent years.
BTSA Core Beliefs
* The need to seek to retain effective teachers within the profession
* The need to support the beginning probationary teachers
BTSA grew out of an extensive four year pilot study sponsored by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the CDE. It was initiated in 1992 with the Senate Bill 1422 (Bergeson). Presently BTSA serves over 23,000 teachers throughout California. BTSA support services and professional development opportunities are funded from the state budget.
Assumptions that guide the BTSA Program
* Learning to teach is a life-long, developmental process that involves confronting challenges and taking risks
* The teacher is the key agent of educational change: effective teaching is the cornerstone of educational reform
*A common language and professional standards promote the improvement of teaching practice and the development of a professional community
* The professional norms of self and peer assessment, reflection and collaboration are central to the success of schools and the improvement of learning and teaching
*Teaching learning must focus on classroom practice and student achievement
*Formative assessment information best guides the design of professional growth activities
* Beginning teachers are professionals who are capable of critically examining their practice to improve teaching and learning
* Effective support offers mutual learning opportunities for both the beginning teacher and the support provider
In District K the BTSA program means that our new teachers will receive quality professional development and service. We want all of our students to receive a rigorous standards-based curriculum with quality instruction. The BTSA program offers probationary teachers, during their first and second years of teaching, the guidance and support they need to be able to deliver quality education to our students.
