Young Teachers In Dade Getting A Helping Hand

By Jeanne Ponessa

Miami

When Yolande Ramsay began teaching 1st grade last year, she nearly made herself sick from stress and nerves. "I was so lost, I felt like a fish out of water," the 25-year-old teacher recalls.

Back then, she could have used more practical guidance--help in designing a lesson plan, for example, or tips on what to expect for parents' night. But this year, she strides around her classroom at Silver Bluff Elementary School with the confidence...