New school year brings challenges for teachers

    Students headed back to school Today but each new year brings plenty of challenges for teachers.

    Students headed back to school Today but each new year brings plenty of challenges for teachers.

    Listen:
    [audio: 090904lfschool.mp3]

    This will be the 4th year on the job for Maria Barracca. The learning support teacher at a north west Philadelphia middle school says parents may not realize how much nurturing and counseling teachers provide.

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    Barracca:  Some of the things happening in the neighborhoods are pretty scary for the kids. Our neighborhood is a fairly safe neighborhood but we had children last year that were injured in gun fights and you know the kids come in and they’re scared and they need to know that they’re in a safe place. And we do a lot of talking about how scary it is out there and how to deal with it.

    Teachers across the area face problems created by crime. But one art teacher at a new school in East Falls faces an entirely different challenge: she still doesn’t have tables in her art room.

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