ROOKIE TEACHERS GET IT RIGHT WORKING WHILE LEARNING KEEPS PRESSURE ON NOVICES.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

When rookie teacher Glen Hutloff first began teaching last August, he was nervous and had trouble keeping his class of ninth-graders at Belmont High School engaged in a discussion about Shakespeare's MacBeth.

Now eight months later, the former restaurant executive exudes confidence even as he tackles poetry - a subject that generally elicits as many groans from students as Shakespeare.

During a recent morning class on ``Marilyn Chin's poem ``How I Got That Name: An Essay on Assimilation,'' 10th-graders - many of whom are immigrants - responded eagerly to Hutloff's questions.

They traded comments back and forth with their teacher as he deftly guided them in their probe of the poem's subtle humor and sarcasm.

Although a reserved man, it's apparent that Hutloff has made a connection with his students and enjoys a good rapport with them.

``At the beginning, you feel uptight, because you don't know if you can handle it. As it goes on, you feel you can be more open,'' he said in an interview after class.

But he also admitted he still suffers momentary butterflies as he takes center stage in front of a roomful of youngsters prone to boredom and distraction.

``There is still a performance element to it. That's what gets you up there. That's what gives you anxiety, but it's lessened.''

The Topanga Canyon resident, former chief executive officer for the Fatburger restaurant chain, is among 130 people who graduated last August from the first class of the Los Angeles Teaching Fellows Program.

The 5 1/2-week crash course trained mid-career professionals with little or no prior teaching experience to work in the hardest-to-staff schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

To date, 92 percent of the graduates, or 119, have continued with teaching, whereas the Teaching Fellows' nationwide retention rate hovers around 90 percent.

In the same graduating class with Hutloff were Marianne Gatto-McCann of La Crescenta, a former vocational program director who previously taught dental assistance, and Karen Gallow of Tujunga, a former Los Angeles Zoo animal caretaker with a background in business.

After graduation, all three rookie teachers landed permanent teaching assignments - Hutloff as an English and economics teacher at Belmont High School; Gatto-McCann as an English and history teacher at Van Nuys Middle School; and Gallow as a fourth-grade teacher at Arminta Elementary School in North Hollywood.

Gatto-McCann is slowly seeing the rewards of her teaching efforts, with her students grasping concepts, such as metaphors, similes and personification. During a recent literacy workshop where she had other teachers grade her students' essays, the overwhelming feedback she got was that her students had improved.

``The teachers made comments, saying, 'You really hammered home similes. You really made them understand descriptive writing.' That made me feel really good,'' said Gatto-McCann.

Gallow is also energized by a sense of personal satisfaction and pride at the success she has had in introducing her students to myriad subjects, from volcanoes to magnets.

``I have got a very bright class. They like to think. They like to be challenged. I definitely want to keep doing this,'' she said. ``I am definitely enjoying it.''

During the past several months, Gallow said she has gotten to know her students' backgrounds, needs and aspirations much better, enabling her to tailor her teaching to reach them.

``You really do establish bonds with your students. You establish boundaries. You know how far you can push them and they know how far they can push you,'' said Gallow.

Beyond the classroom, however, the three first-year teachers struggle to keep up with the heavy workload required by their credentialing program.

Hutloff and Gallow are both enrolled in the district's three-year district intern program, which offers classes Thursdays and on some weekends, plus weekly writing and reading assignments.

Gatto-McCann has opted to earn her credentials through Cal State Teach, a self-study program that enables working teachers to take most of their courses online.

``It's a lot harder for me. When I first started, I wasn't in the university program. Now I am in it. I have that, plus my kids. That's really tough for me to juggle,'' said Gatto-McCann, a married mother with two small children.

She estimates she spends about 15 hours per week on her credentialing program alone. Her university professor comes once a month to observe her class. She is required to keep a portfolio of her progress, including taking pictures of her classes to document her teaching.

In addition, she has to juggle weekly teacher team meetings, school meetings and district professional development classes.

Gallow said working as a teacher while studying for her credential is so intense that it leaves her little or no time for anything else in her life.

``I have no life. I am always behind. It's been very depressing,'' she said, noting she spends her evenings and weekends trying to catch up on homework for her credentialing program.

In the district intern program, assignments include researching primary materials for history lessons and scripting lesson plans for hypothetical students with varied learning abilities.

``There is so much to learn. If you are teaching, I don't think you ever stop learning - what I mean is, learning how to teach,'' she said.

Hutloff said he approached burnout a few months ago, but rebounded.

``I went through a stretch where I came home, had dinner, made sure I didn't miss anything important and went to bed,'' he said.

Right now, Hutloff is still undecided whether teaching is something he wants to do for the rest of his life, but its potential rewards tug at his heart.

``I've certainly had it confirmed for me how hard it is to be a teacher and how hard it is to be a good teacher,'' he said.

But on the other hand, he noted, ``When you are done with a day of teaching, there is a sense of accomplishment.''

District officials are counting on the personal fulfillment of teaching and the maturity of the teaching fellow graduates to increase their odds for retention.

``They are coming in for the right reasons. Many of them have already had a successful career. Many feel they want to give back,'' said Deborah Hirsh, LAUSD's chief of human resources.

``I think there is going to be good retention.''

This year, the Los Angeles Teaching Fellows program has dramatically increased its enrollment to 750 new recruits, culled from more than 7,000 applicants. The district has invested more than $2.6 million in the program.

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Photo:

A year after leaving the corporate world, Glen Hutloff is connecting with his ninth- and 10th-grade English students.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer