Facing a rough class of high schoolers with attitude, Lisa Stanzione had to adopt a mantra to keep her sanity.

"I would think to myself, 'I'm the grown-up,' so I wouldn't explode on them," she said, recalling her first year as a teacher.

Stanzione, now a resource specialist at Franklin Elementary in Elk Grove, said her credentialing program did not equip her with the proper tools for disciplining students.

And in classroom management training seminars she gives throughout the area, she hears similar complaints.

"I was nowhere near prepared to walk into a classroom of 30 kids looking at me," she said. "There needs to be more."

Many educators agree that effective classroom management can be the toughest hurdle for new teachers, and, though statistics vary, most say it is a common reason for new teachers giving up early in their careers.

"Most teachers that leave the profession in the first five years leave because of burnout - and it's because of classroom management," Stanzione said. "I hate to see that. Good teachers are leaving and going to (jobs) where they don't have to face kids."

How to solve the problem, however, is less clear. While some fault credentialing programs, others place the onus on district officials to provide support for their new employees. Many say both sides share the responsibility.

"I contend that universities need to provide (more training), but no matter how good that approach is, there's a disconnect for new teachers," said Ellen Moir, executive director of the New Teacher Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The center works with districts statewide to create effective staff development programs, especially for new teachers. Moir said it's important for teachers to have support once they enter the classroom and behavior management becomes "a trial and error process."

J.L. Fortson, director of student teaching at the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology, agrees that credentialing programs are limited in how they can effectively prepare a teacher for the real thing - especially because state law mandates that programs run no longer than a year, though many run longer because of prerequisites.

"It's kind of like learning to drive a car," said Fortson, who also is an expert on teacher quality for the U.S. Department of Education. "You can be on that simulator all you want, but until you hit the road ... Is there ever enough? No."

Fortson did say that Pepperdine's program puts credential candidates in an operating classroom for 30 weeks during the program - well above what she estimated to be the average of 12 weeks.

She also pointed out that the California Center on Teacher Credentialing mandates no specific amount of time that a candidate must have spent in a classroom. In fact, there is no minimum.

So instead, Fortson has made in-classroom experience a priority.

"I've been that classroom teacher and I will never forget that first day," she said.

Nancy Waltz, president of the San Juan Teachers Association in the San Juan Unified School District, said she has witnessed new teachers struggling with discipline for more than 30 years.

To address the issue, the district and union have developed a variety of support systems, including BTSA - Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment - a statewide program.

Nonetheless, Waltz said the problem needs to be addressed.

"What we've found is classroom management is a real shock," she said. "Universities virtually wait until the end to put them in the classroom."

She stressed the need for colleges and universities to get their candidates into a classroom setting early.

All of California State University, Sacramento's, teacher credentialing programs do just that. Still, Krista Puett, a second-semester student in a three-semester program, said the program could use some front-loading.

She is just now taking the mandatory classroom management course, though this is her second semester working in a real classroom. She is student-teaching in a first-grade classroom at Greer Elementary School in San Juan Unified.

Puett, who studied anthropology as an undergraduate, said she was unprepared to enter the classroom last semester and that classroom management has been the most challenging aspect of her student teaching experience.

"I didn't know hardly anything going into this," she said. "It's a good seminar. I just think it should be in (the first semester)."

Christina Ripley, Puett's coordinating teacher, said her own experience in Sacramento State's program prepared her well for her career - but it was in large part due to her in-classroom training.

She stressed that it was the most memorable part of her education.

"The time you're in (the classroom) is a lot more helpful than reading a textbook."