Local News in Brief : Burbank Names Two More Mentor Teachers

A Burbank High School English teacher and a Jefferson Elementary School sixth-grade teacher were named this week by Burbank school officials as the district’s fourth and fifth mentor teachers.

The honors were awarded after the district received $30,000 for the mentor program from state education officials last month--$12,000 more than Burbank officials had anticipated, according to Burbank Assistant Supt. James Perino. In December the district, expecting $18,000 in state funds, announced it would have just three mentor teachers.

The state gives $4,000 to each mentor teacher and $2,000 to the district for each teacher to cover expenses related to the program.

The mentor program, created by an education reform bill approved by the Legislature in 1983, rewards selected teachers for sharing classroom techniques with other instructors and helping develop new classes and projects.

Laura Wagner, an official with the state Department of Education, said Burbank received funding for five mentor teachers based on a statewide formula for distributing $31 million allocated for the program. She said the original estimate that Burbank would receive funding for three mentor teachers was revised last month after the state processed applications from districts throughout California.

Named as mentor teachers in Burbank, from a list of 31 applicants, were: Elaine Conery and Diane Berger, English teachers at Burbank High; David Harris, a math teacher at Burbank High; Belinda Lister, a third-grade teacher at Bret Harte Elementary School; and Patricia Lowe, a sixth-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School.