Educator tails real estate professionals

     Susan Brager didn't mind having a tag-along during her busy day on March 2. While it might be difficult for some to do business with someone watching their every move, it never fazed the real estate agent. That's because it was all for the children.
      Susan Brager and Jeanie Schaub, agents with Prudential Southwest Realty, participated in the Molasky Middle School Job Shadow Program by allowing themselves to be "shadowed" for a day by school teachers and administrators. Brager was accompanied by assistant principal Myrna Cameron, who followed her around on her daily routine and took notes.
      "I definitely learned a lot. It was a very interesting day," said Cameron, adding she would pass the information she learned along to teachers for incorporation into lesson plans. "(The real estate business) is very hard work. (Agents) are constantly on call and they have to be very knowledgeable about what's available in the market and what the current loan rates are."
      Cameron started off the day at 8:30 a.m. by attending the weekly agents' meeting. She then went out into the field and toured some of Brager and Schaub's listings. By 3 p.m., she had met with clients, seen a presentation and accessed MLS listings in the computer database.
      The school has 79 staff members that have business partners in the program, according to Principal Pamela Hawkins. The faculty has accompanied professionals from a wide range of career fields including law enforcement, real estate, public relations, health care and construction.
      "We think it's important for all schools to reach out to the community and make the community feel like it's part of the schools," said Hawkins of the first-year program. "The teachers benefit from the contacts and they are able to bring new ideas into the classroom to help them with instruction. It really helps them bring in concrete examples for the kids which makes the teaching more relevant."
      Hawkins said the response from the teachers has been positive.
      The independently owned and operated firm has been an affiliate of the Prudential Real Estate network since 1991. The network has more than 1,400 offices and 37,000 sales agents and brokers.