LOCAL TEACHER TO `STARR' IN NEW TEACHER PROGRAM

Dixie Lee Cook, a teacher at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School, has been chosen by state education officials to serve as an alternate teacher in a statewide teacher-to-teacher training program over the next two years.

As part of the STARR (Select Teachers As Regional Resources) program, Cook will learn techniques for promoting active, hands-on learning by students in all subject areas.

Cook recently took part in a training session in Jefferson City.

She was selected this spring from more than 130 teachers who applied. The program is being funded by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education under Senate Bill 380.

During the school year, Cook and other STARR teachers will use hands-on instruction methods in their classrooms and share ideas with faculty members in their schools. Next year, the STARR teachers have committed to take a sabbatical from their home schools and spend the year working with other school districts in their region. The education department will cover the cost of hiring replacement teachers during the sabbaticals.

Additional groups of STARR teachers will be selected in coming years.