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March 2008
Vol 5 No 3
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Back Issues
Teachers.Net Gazette Vol.5 No.3
March 2008
Cover Story by LaVerne Hamlin
Show Me The Money!!!
If you can develop a lesson plan for your class, then you can write a grant. Here's how!


Harry & Rosemary Wong
Effective Teaching
Coaching is six times more effective than class-size reduction

Columns
»A System Is Superior To Talent Marv Marshall
»What Writing Isn’t Cheryl Sigmon
»The Busy Educator's Monthly Five Marjan Glavac
»Privacy in a Technological Age Rob Reilly
»10 Tips for Difficult Parents Barbara & Sue Gruber
»Problem-Based Learning Hal Portner
»Understanding Autism Leah Davies

Articles
»Spaceship Toilets
»March 2008 Writing Prompts
»Internet Assisted Interactive Classroom
»Our Civility Footprint
»First Grade Family Reading Night Meets Speed Dating
»Your Students Are Watching, Listening, and Learning
»Teachers Lounge - To Go or Not to Go?
»Retirement Guide for Teachers
»Daily Lessons: Humility

Features
»Chatboard Poll: So What About Homework?
»Teachers.Net Craft Favorite: Arrow to the Sun
»Featured Lessons: March 2008
»Video Bytes: Merit Pay; Tai Chi; Asperger's and More
»Today Is... Daily Commemoration for March 2008
»Live on Teachers.Net: March 2008
»The Lighter Side of Teaching
»Editor's Pick: Picturing America Program
»Apple Seeds: Inspiring Quotes for Teachers
»What Do You Want In A Co-Op Teacher?
»Newsdesk: Events & Opportunities for Teachers

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Cover Story by LaVerne Hamlin

Effective Teaching by Harry & Rosemary Wong

Contributors this month: Dr. Marvin Marshall; Cheryl Sigmon; Barbara & Sue Gruber; Marjan Glavac; Dr. Rob Reilly; Barb S. HS/MI; Ron Victoria; Brian Hill; Leah Davies; Hal Portner; Tim Newlin; Barb Gilman; James Wayne; P.R. Guruprasad; Todd Nelson; Addies Gaines; Pat Hensley; Alan Haskvitz; Joy Jones; and YENDOR.

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Alan Haskvitz

Archive | Biography | Resources | Discussion

Retirement Guide for Teachers

From the first day you become a teacher you should be planning for your retirement. You should think about and plan for retirement income for yourself and your family as much as you plan the next day’s teaching lessons.
by Alan Haskvitz
March 1, 2008

From the first day you become a teacher you should be planning for your retirement. That is the best advise I can give an educator. You should think about and plan for retirement income for yourself and your family as much as you plan the next day’s teaching lessons.

I am now long past the age of retirement and need to work at least five more years because of poor planning and the lack of a good advisor who specialized in working with teachers. I can’t tell you how many tax preparers and financial advisors I have had who didn’t even know about the teacher’s tax credit. Do your research. Ask around and use the Teachers.Net Retired Teachers Chatboard http://retired.teachers.net/chatboard/ and Golden Apples group to get good insights into the process http://teachers.net/mentors/golden/

The problems teachers face with retirement are based on such unique conditions such as - in some cases - not being able to collect full Social Security. You must check out the data to see if you are eligible.

http://www.reacheverychild.com/feature/teacher_law.html#3

Financially speaking, the bottom line both literally and figuratively is that you need to spend a great deal of time on your state’s retirement site if you are a public school teacher. For example, how much does each unused sick day you have when you retire add to your monthly check? Is there a bonus for working past a certain amount of years, such as 25? Is your retirement income based on your highest year’s income or an average of three or so years? Can you buy extra time for your work as a substitute teacher? Is your district willing to give you a bonus to retire? If you retire can you still work as a teacher and get your full retirement? Can you buy into the district’s group health care program to save a lot of money? And, finally, when you retire don’t make the mistake of not having your ducks in a row. The first month after you retire you should be getting a retirement check, so do not wait until you retire to apply for your retirement benefits!

Online Resources

Here are some good online resources to help in your planning, regardless of your age, including a great many links about teacher retirement:



» More Gazette articles...




About Alan Haskvitz ...

Alan Haskvitz teaches at Suzanne Middle School in Walnut, Calif., and makes staff development presentations nationwide. In addition, he serves as an audio-visual evaluator and design consultant for his county department of education; a tutor to multi-cultural students in English and art; and an Internet consultant.

Haskvitz's career spans more than 20 years. He has taught every grade level and core subject, has been recognized repeatedly for innovative teaching and has received the following honors, among many:

  • USA Today All Star Teacher
  • 100 Most Influential Educators
  • Reader's Digest Hero in Education
  • Learning Magazine's Professional Best
  • National Middle Level Teacher of the Year
  • National Exemplary Teacher
  • Christa McAuliffe National Award
  • Robert Cherry International Award for Great Teachers
In addition, Haskvitz publishes articles on successful educational practices and speaks at conferences. He has served on seven national committees and boards.

Haskvitz maintains credentials and training in special and gifted education, history, administration, bilingual education, journalism, English, social studies, art, business, computers, museumology and Asian studies. He holds these credentials for Canada, New York and California. His experience also includes staff development, gifted curriculum design, administration, community relations and motivation. His background includes 10 years of university education.

As a teacher, Haskvitz's curriculum increased CAP/CLAS test scores from the 22nd percentile to the 94th percentile, the largest gain in California history. In addition, Haskvitz and his students work continuously to improve their school and community. His students' work is often selected for awards in competitions in several subject areas. For more details about Alan and his students' work, visit his page on the Educational Cyber Playground.

Haskvitz works tirelessly to improve and advance his profession, which is why he developed Reach Every Child. http://www.reacheverychild.com/


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