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.