Professional Learning, Development, and Support
Pre-service Training and New Teacher Support for Los Angeles Unified Classroom Teachers
Teacher Training Academy
Program History
Program History
Since 1994, California Senate Bill (SB) 148 required that new teachers on first-year emergency permits complete a District orientation prior to renewing their emergency pemit for a second year. To fulfill this requirement, the District, in agreement with United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), implemented a new teacher orientation program that encompassed 16 hours of instruction during non-work hours.
In June of 1998, the District program was modified, in collaboration with UTLA, to better meet the needs of teachers hired annually as first year teachers on emergency permits. The modification consisted of expanding the 16 hours of instruction to the current 40-hour, five day classroom. This training meets and exceeds the basic requirements of SB-148. The training is attended by both general and special education teachers. Teachers receive no compensation for attending the training.
In September of 1999, the Modified Consent Decree (formerly, the Chanda Smith Consent Degree) required that all substitute teachers would be knowledgeable in addressing the needs of students with special needs. As a result of this requirement, substitute teachers must attend the 40-hour training embedded with appropriate strategies for students with special needs.
In May of 2005, the District expanded the orientation for the District Intern Program from 120 hours to 240 hours. The expanded 240 orientation is now implemented by the Teacher Training Academy.
The Teacher Training Academy provides pre-service and training to all alternatively certified teachers in LAUSD. The training is designed to prepare new teachers with the necessary skills to be effective classroom practitioners at the start of their teaching assignment. In addition, the Academy provides differentiated pre-service and concurrent training for the following groups of teachers: District Interns, general education instructors, substitutes, credentialed educators new to Special Education, Teach for America, and foreign credentialed teachers.
