What is collaboration?

A little late in getting this out but when I went to the IPD conference, I attended a session that was partly about collaboration. I had some former colleagues from Holt present on year round schools and collaboration. Most of their presentation centered on the year round concept because the participants had a lot of questions about how it works. As an aside, questions about it stopped when the MEAP scores were presented. The scores were amazing and solidified their point that year round school and its shorter breaks helps in the ability of the students to retain the material that was taught.

Ok, but the idea of collaboration is what I am interested in. In education, we use this term in lots of different ways. How do you define collaboration? I am curious to see if we define collaboration different depending on the setting. If there are different definitions, how do we define it as it applies to the Association work that we do? Love to know your thoughts on this subject

Bargaining Conference

It is that time of year to pre-register for the Bargaining/PAC/PR conference in Detroit, Feb 5-7. In order to take advantage of the pre-registration reduced rate, you need to have your information postmarked by Dec. 15. For UBC members, remember that there is money set aside to reimburse your local for a portion of the conference costs. For registration information, contact our office or visit www.mea.org

I heard that session #202 is a great session. It is entitled "Is it Diamonds or Data?" There will be a sneak preview of this session for BIMEA bargainers in January. Contact Nancy, Ervin, or myself for more details...

What am I thankful for?

Here are some of the things that I am thankful for since moving to the Belding office last January...

--your members that provide positive, learning opportunities for all students
--the work that you and all local leaders do on behalf of the members
--working in the Belding office
--a successful election of our recommended candidates
--a presidential election that proves that all dreams can be realized
--good health and a growing family

I hope that you enjoy the time spent with family and friends over Thanksgiving break. Use this time to count all the blessings that you are thankful for as well.

MEA on Facebook

It looks like some of the ideas that we discussed at the coordinating council vision meeting was already being worked on by MEA. You can now find MEA at Facebook. Just search for Michigan Education Association. Just another way to get our members involved with MEA and your local association.

Rep. Calley Leg Council

Just got home from a Leg Council meeting with Rep. Brian Calley at the Corner Landing. For close to 2 hours we (about 10 people total) had a very good discussion with him. The topics ranged from the most recent election results to differentiated diploma endorsements/designations. About half way through the meeting, it finally dawned on me that his ideas around different endorsements for diplomas is another way to look at the dropout crisis facing our schools. It allowed for the opportunity to show that the recent dropout hearings that MEA helped to organize across the state has a connection to the ideas that our state rep has. At the end of the conversation, we asked him what message he would like us to share with our members. He wanted us to have our members get behind an issue that they feel is important...I think that he would like this to be the issue regarding differentiated diplomas that he has done some work on . However, he made this message clear....MEA is a powerful organization that can make things happen in Lansing. He pointed out victories of MEA recommended candidates, the impact of the dropout hearings, and how Lansing pays attention when MEA gets behind an issue. For me, this made me think about how MEA has the potential of taking issues at the grassroots level and using the power of our organization to make substantive changes in the educational process. Essentially, it is time for our members to get politically active. It is time to use the power and strength that MEA has in order to create the changes that we want to see.

On a final note, how important is it to become politically active? Rep. Calley made the comment that the campaign for 2010 state legislative seats has already started. That means the PAC dollars you contribute today will help to continue to elect those legislators that continue to do what is best for public education.

Reminders

This is a final reminder about early registration for the December 4-6 IPD conference in Dearborn. This is a great way for members to earn SB-CEUs. You can find registration forms at http://mea.org/conferences/ipd/index.html Follow the links to the Adobe registration handout. Tomorrow (Nov 14) is the last day to early register at the $200 rate. Fill those forms out and get it postmarked by the 14th to qualify for the early registration rate and group rates. There is an incentive that if 3 people sign up by tomorrow, the registration for the 4th person is free! Registration rate starting Nov 15 increases to $275. You can also register on site if you needed. If your local is a member of UBC, money has been put aside to help defray the cost of registration and additional conference costs. Don't let this opportunity for PD get away!

MEA victories!

Wow, what a result for MEA recommended candidates! As reported in MIRS this morning, 93 out of 103 MEA recommended candidates won their races. More amazing is that 71 out of 79 MEA recommended House candidates won. In our own backyard, Huckleberry fought off a strong, mean-spirited challenge from Ginster to win the 70th House seat. As you know, first time a Democrat has won this seat in over 75 years. A positive message of change resonated with the voters this year. Even as important, the efforts of the BIMEA coordinating council helped to get out the MEA vote for Huck!

While we celebrate our victories, we can not rest. It will be important that you and all of our members continuing talking with our state and national reps to let them know what the issues are that face public education. It is your efforts in this cause that will shape the legislative public education agenda. Set aside time to attend Lobby Day in February. Encourage your PAC contributors to attend the monthly Leg Councils that we have with Reps Calley and Huckleberry. Continue with the PAC contributions; these contributions will help you as you find education friendly candidates to run for your school board. In most of our districts, these will be the next races that we need to focus on so start recruiting candidates now!

I hope to see you and your RA delegate this weekend in Lansing for the Fall RA.

Get out the Vote!

Tomorrow is election day. Get out the vote by encouraging your members, family and friends to vote for the candidates that are "friends of public education". If you need information on MEA recommended candidates, please visit www.meavotes.org

Wayne-Westland experience

I thought that I would post a couple of insights that I took away from the Wayne-Westland strike last week. I had the opportunity to help with the picket lines at John Glenn High School on Thursday. Ervin was there from Sunday through Tuesday morning; I am sure that he has lots more to share than me.

I arrived at the picket lines at 6:50 in the morning with another UniServ Director. Teachers were out there picketing even though the shift didn't start until 7:00. Every teacher shared with me one consistent message: smaller class sizes for their students (yes, I know, health insurance was also there but teachers talked about class sizes; look at their last proposal before the strike). Throughout my time that morning on the picket line, it was clear that this message resonated with the community. Cars honked in support, parents brought coffee and shared words of encouragement, and students walked the picket lines. I watched as the media interviewed students and these students shared the same message: there are too many students in a class. What was remarkable was that the students recognized (and shared) that the effectiveness of teachers was hindered by these large numbers.

Message? We are bombarded everyday with competing messages. The election is a perfect example but let's examine W-W's message. The message they shared connected teachers to the community and to their students. A well-defined message is powerful. A consistent message is powerful. And it is up to us to define the message. As I think about the bargaining that takes place in lots of areas, we let the District define the message. We need to learn this lesson from W-W. W-W's message was undeniable; it's consistency and definition drownded out the Board's message. (In fact, I never even heard what the Board's message was!) Other parties couldn't hijack the message because the teachers shared the message with other stakeholders (students, parents, and the community). Application to us? It is time for us as bargainers and local leaders to take back the message. We need to define and craft a message. What are the issues that we are facing in our own locals? How do these issues impact our members and the other stakeholders in the education environment? Good contracts mean more than salary and benefits; it is also the working conditions that our members face everyday. Positive working conditions translates into positive learning environments. What is our message? W-W's message didn't suddenly appear; I believe that it reflected the core values of their association. This message took time to develop. As time passed, this message was shared and adopted by the members. In other words, it didn't happen over night...your message will take time to develop.

The other thing that impressed me was the solidarity of the membership. They supported each other. These members put their individual jobs on the line and stood as one. This was evident at the membership meeting they had at John Glen High Thursday afternoon. By this time, the judge had granted an injunction requiring the teachers to return to work. However, the injunction also stopped the Board from taking disciplinary action. The same injunction ordered that nothing could be imposed and kept the jurisdiction with the judge to ensure compliance by both parties. As over 800 teachers gathered, there was an overpowering sense of community and commonality. While they knew that this wasn't the end, they stood in the lawn as one. As their president shared the news to the members, you could see and feel the power that this group had. It was one of those goose bump kind of moments.

So these are a couple of my thoughts on W-W experience. I will be posting more in the next couple of days.

Welcome Portland aides, secretaries and food service

I am happy to announce that 9G-9H has added a new group (58 strong!) to our Coordinating Council: Portland aides, secretaries, and food service! This group went through a MERC representation election to make the switch from AFSCME to MEA.

Expect to see them as soon as the October Coordinating Council meeting!

Trainings

I am in the process of setting up trainings for the locals that participated in the August training survey at the Leadership training banquet. The most requested training was for Association Reps and the their responsibilities regarding fair representation for members. Expect a call from me within the next week. If I haven't contacted you by October UBC or Coordinating Council, talk to me at the meeting about setting up some training dates.

If you have any training needs that have arisen since the start of school, please send me an email or respond to this post.

Back at it!

Wow, I guess I took an extended break from updating this blog during the course of the summer. Now that everyone is back in school and getting a routine established, I just wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what is going on in my part of the 9G/H office.

403 (b) account changes have become a bargaining priority. I have spoken to many of you regarding the IRS changes for 1/1/09. I know that some presidents have already spoken with their superintendents and business officers to make sure that options in plan documents will remain in place as they continue to use 403 (b) accounts to save for retirement.

I have enjoyed meeting with many presidents and executive boards over the past 2 weeks. I am planning on establishing some meeting dates so that my presidents can meet occasionally to discuss the issues they are facing within their own districts.

PAC is always important but this year there is an added emphasis with the elections. It is critical that we elect individuals that will do what is best for public education. It is important that we participate in elections for several reasons. First, it sets a good example for the students that we teach. By voting, you show students that they have a say in electing leaders. Second, voting is a duty that we all have in order for our democratic system to work. If you get a chance, late night talk show host Craig Ferguson did a funny but important monologue on voting. Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdRVQ4xwwmQ&feature=dir Finally, as public sector employee, you have the ability to vote for your boss. Need I say more?

Ok, expect a new post every couple of days. Share this with your members; more active members equals stronger local associations!

Summer Leadership at SVSU!

As a reminder, the Summer Leadership Conference is fast approaching. As in the past, it will be held on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University from July 29-31. If you haven't registered, sign up today. Registration can be found at http://www.mea.org/ Contact the Belding office if you need more information or help getting registered. Training funds remain from the Coordinating Council and also for UBC members for reimbursement of conference registration and a portion of the expenses associated with the conference.

As an update, remember this conference is free for local presidents or his/her designee. This makes it a perfect opportunity for a president to attend the conference with another leader from his/her local at minimal cost.

Registration for the conference is due by Friday, July 11.

need money for pd activities??

As you end your school year, I am sure that you are not thinking about next year's PD activities or even next year. Realistically, you are thinking about grading, exams, assessments, and end of year activities that you have planned with your students. I always enjoyed it but it was usually a whirlwind of events and activities. However, after the year-end whirlwind ends, let me point you to a website that might get you thinking about next year a little.

I often had my best ideas for how to improve my craft during the summer. Don't know why, maybe it was the only time that the ideas in my head slowed down long enough for me to actually evaluate how good they really were. After focusing on a really good idea, I would talk about it with my teacher friends. Everyone would shake their head but it was always shot down because of one roadblock....money. Every teacher has these good ideas during the course of the year. But when a teacher has a good idea, one roadblock to implementation is the belief that the money doesn't exist. Well, after finding this resource, it is clear that the money does exist. Wouldn't it be great to be able to present an idea to your principal and be able to drive around the money roadblock? So, how do we drive around this roadblock? I think that I may have found one way...

When I was at the NEA headquarters this spring in Washington, DC, I had the opportunity to speak to Jesse Graystock with the NEA Foundation. I was amazed to learn about the opportunity for NEA members (teachers and support staff...good ideas come from everyone in the school community!!) to receive grants for Learning and Leadership opportunities (PD activities) as well as grants for Student Achievement. Information regarding these grants can be found at http://www.neafoundation.org/ As I explored the website, information is given on each type of grant, the requirements for individual and group grants, and tips for writing effective grants. Under the grants button, you can even see the past award winners and a snapshot of an idea/activity that was going to be implemented or studied.

So, when you have a spare moment, look at the site. Give my office a call and I will be happy in providing any support that I can in helping you put some of these ideas into action.

democracy in action

This past weekend's spring RA provided me an opportunity to pause and reflect about how the ideas of democracy embodies the governance of MEA. In one sense, the two day RA is democracy in action. MEA members from across the state gather to set a course for the organization in the next year. Officers are elected, actions are taken on business items, budgets are debated and passed, and the current issues are considered. The decisions that these delegates make are done in a way that allows for all voices to be heard. Debate can be spirited and caucus rooms can have some of the political wheeling and dealing that American politics is known for. However, at the end of the debate and the decision is made, members walk away supporting the action that was taken. No longer a member but now as a staff member, I am impressed at how serious everyone takes their job while on the floor. When I was a MEA member, I didn't realize that the RA was even held. Every MEA member should take the opportunity to watch how their organization operates and thank those delegates that sacrifice time from family in order to perform their elected duty. It is truly impressive to see how MEA members care about school employees across the state!

On a final note, I would like to recognize an individual that was important in my professional growth. Don Johnson, president of the Holt EA, will be retiring at the end of this school year. As I moved into the organization, Don was a friend and a mentor. He always knew what needed to be said and when to say it. It was an honor for me to work with him when I was a teacher and now as a staff member.

Your thoughts

I am interested in your thoughts of how we could use a blog to disseminate information to you and your members. I see the potential for lots of different uses for the blog. We could use the blog to track current educational issues in the news, different PD opportunities, encourage members to participate in your local, and even encourage participation in school board elections. I think that there may be some applications to the bargaining process; if we wanted to, we could hold a "virtual team meeting". This might be useful when it is difficult to meet as an entire team. I know that this is only the tip of the iceberg. I am curious to hear how you think that we might be able to use it.

Some of you may be concerned with privacy issues (who is reading this blog, how others might try to use it, etc.) but one of the great pieces about this is that we can restrict who reads this. With this blog, we have the ability to restrict it to a select group of people. One example is a blog that is only open to local presidents.

Creating the blog is easy. It took me under 20 minutes to set this one up. We can set the blog to only one author (like this one) that people can comment to or have many different authors.

So, the critical question is this. Is this something that we should explore? Let me know.