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In this Issue:

• Most gardeners dabble in a few types of plants that interest them most, spending an hour or two planting and pulling weeds when they can. Then there's Sara Flores.

  Visit Flores' home in Corpus Christi, Texas, and you'll discover more than 50 different—and quite diverse—plant species, including orchids, Japanese bonsai trees, roses, cactuses, and prized Texas hibiscus.

  "I love all my plants," says Flores. "I have quite a mixed bag growing, but I don't want to limit myself.

  Flores, who recently earned her Master Gardener's certificate, works a little each day in her garden in addition to spending one full day each week tending to her plants.

  "I've had a real green thumb since I was a teenager. But I taught for 39 years, and my husband, Humberto, and I have six kids…so only since retiring have I had the time I really want to spend in the garden," she says.

  Flores specialized in elementary school bilingual education and now boasts that all five of her daughters are teaching and working with Spanish-speaking students. "It's very gratifying to see them following that course," she says, adding she plans to mentor student teachers going into bilingual education.

  Flores still considers herself a student in the garden. "I'm still learning," she laughs. "My roses didn't turn out so well this year."

  —Matt Simon

  Talking Up Family on TV

  
  

  After retiring from a teaching job that had him working with troubled kids and broken families, Ken Musko had one question for his wife, Sandy, "What can we do to help families and keep marriages together?"

  Their answer—a faith-based TV talk show featuring experts on marriage and family living—hits the airwaves this month. Musko, who taught in Pennsylvania for 32 years, hosts

  In this Issue:

  • 
    • Closing the Distance Divide—Virtually
    • You Want In?

    Ruby Davis remembers her first teaching job, at Saratoga Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska, back in 1964. She was 21, from a small town in Arkansas. "I felt I was well-prepared academically," recalls Davis, "but there were so many day-to-day things I still needed to learn."

    Fortunately, Ellen Harrell, a first-grade teacher with 15 years of experience to share, was right next door. "She took me under her wing," Davis says. "For the first day of school, she helped me get my classroom ready," decorating the bulletin board and making nametags. "When the parents dropped off their children, everything was in place."

    And as long as Davis remained at Saratoga, Harrell stood by her, offering advice and support. "Having someone to turn to made all the difference for me," Davis adds. "I knew I wanted to do the same for someone else."

    She's keeping her promise. Retired from classroom teaching after more than 30 years, Davis now works part-time as staff liaison for a mentoring program in the Omaha Public Schools. And in 2003, when the NEA-Retired invited Nebraska and other affiliates to help launch a new Intergenerational Teacher Mentoring Project, Davis and her colleagues were among the first to sign on.

    In Nebraska and a growing list of states, the Intergen-erational Teacher Mentoring Project offers retired teachers an ideal opportunity to give back to their profession by supporting tomorrow's teachers. Developed by NEA-Retired in collaboration with Generations United, a Washington, D.C., policy group, the project pairs retired teachers with education students in their junior or senior years in local colleges. Mentors and students work together for three years, taking the young participants through their student teaching and their first year in the field.

    Studies show these early years are critical; it's estimated that 40 to 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession in their first five years. In a 2004 report, the Education Commission of the States concluded that this "revolving door" in and out of the profession is largely responsible for chronic teacher shortages and staffing problems in schools.

    Mentoring can't do much about low pay or out-of-field teaching assignments, but it can ease the way for newcomers. As new teachers become more confident of their skills, their mentors also can make them feel valued and supported—foreclosing one of the key reasons that many give for leaving the profess