New Beginnings, New Concerns

The start of a new school year is exciting! There are so many things to think about and prepare for as we get underway. The tragic news this week of the plane crash near McGrath gives us pause. It makes us think about many things. First, we send heartfelt condolences to those grieving over the loss of two souls. The pilot and one teacher perished in the accident. The loss to their families, friends and communities will be felt for a very long time. I am also concerned about the young teaching couple and their children who were in the plane. They will survive and ultimately be ok physically, but I still worry about them. Will the community and children in the Anvik school be angry that they survived and another did not? Will they be able to help the community heal from such a tragedy? Will the school board of the Iditarod Area School District make sure their bills are taken care of? Their health insurance coverage does not officially kick in until September 1st. I hope we all check contract language to be sure staff members are covered from their first day on the job. This is important, especially if something happens during the beginning weeks of the year.

To everyone who works at a school, in a school district, attends school or has anything to do with a school in Alaska- Have a wonderful year and please let me know if I can help in any way!

Barb

Good Ideas Get Good Support Nationally

One of the best things about the NEA Representative Assembly is the debate and revision that leads to good ideas being supported. The NEA-Alaska Delegate Assembly voted in January to send an item to the RA. The language read: NEA work with other education organizations to create a national panel to systematically analyze current response to the increasing public attention and clamor for performance based and "value-added" teacher assessment. Unfortunately, the price tag for such a panel would have been a whopping $220,700. We worked closely with fellow delegates from Georgia and California to establish an ammendment that ended up passing. The revision does not take away the overall intent of the item, but reduces the cost to about $3,000. This was a good outcome for everyone and I hope will result in good information that can be shared.

Three Big Issues in Chicago

This is an important summer. Three important decisions will be made by delegates to the 2011 NEA Representative Assembly in Chicago. The first is whether to make an early endorsement of Barack Obama for re-election as President of the United States. The second is approval of a policy to explain where we stand on educator evaluation. The third would implement a special dues assessment of ten dollars toward the NEA Crisis Fund. As always, NEA-Alaska delegates will discuss and decide how we feel about each issue. Each delegate will have an opportunity to listen and participate in the debate in our caucus meetings and on the floor of the Convention Center. While we often take a caucus position, delegates are free to choose for themselves and vote accordingly. Similar to our own Delegate Assembly setting direction for NEA-Alaska, the NEA Representative Assembly establishes the direction for NEA for the coming year. This year will be exciting and important. I look forward to working with our delegates again.

Graduation

My daughter graduated from college on Sunday. It was a fantastic weekend of family, friends and LOTS of tradition! Throughout the entire experience I kept thinking about how important history is to our society.

I sat between my Dad and my husband for the ceremony. It was wonderful to hear my Dad talk of his own graduation from college, 63 years ago! His college experience had been interrupted by his service in the Army during World War II.

We remembered the weekend of my graduation also, and how much fun we had at a huge picnic put on by me and my friends for all our guests at a nearby park.

The traditions of my daughter's University are far older and more rich than those of the colleges I attended. The importance of assuring religious freedom for those who founded her school spoke to me and reminded me that the causes we fight for, even today, are so important to each individual. Tears fell and my pride in my child's accomplishment was overwhelming. The president of the University spoke of the education students received being crucial because of the emphasis in learning to think critically and question. That's really what we can learn from history. We can learn to look carefully and ask why and how so we move foward with better clarity.

May and Away

As we think about summer plans and most of us prepare to be away from our jobs, it is a great time to think about commitment to our association. The work we do is not, as some like to say, volunteer. We are advocates for ourselves and for our fellow members. If "volunteer" means not getting paid, I guess most active members are volunteers, but I prefer to look at it in a different way. My belief is that those who provide service to the membership do it because they believe in the organization. I think they see it as an opportunity to make sure that an excellent public education is intimately tied to great educators. And when I say educators, I mean ALL who work in public education, not just those with direct student contact. If you are away from your job this summer, please consider the level of help you can provide to our association within the coming year. Can you spare time to help serve on a committee? Can you be a building representative who helps get information to and from the membership? Can you come to a meeting so you'll be fully informed? You don't have to be an expert because we can offer training to those who are willing to serve. Please consider this. Together we are stronger and can have greater impact than we already have. Enjoy the summer!

The Loss of Two Educators

This week we have lost two educators and the pain is deep. First, we heard of a blow to the entire West High School family in Anchorage. Ten year veteran teacher, Dale Brabec, was enjoying his spare time at Bird Creek south of the city and an apparent accident took his life. My heart goes out to his young family, his students, and his colleagues. This morning I received word that Caroline Wolforth has passed on. Caroline was a longtime educator and proponent of alternative education programs. Her voice and hands were felt throughout the educational community for many years. She was a volunteer, she established many community-based programs, and was a strong advocate for children in Anchorage and Alaska. She shaped much of our thinking and action related to the work of community members and their impact on the lives of our students. She will be greatly missed.

Winding Up and Winding Down in Juneau

The last days of the first session of the 27th Alaska State Legislature are upon us. The end date is April 17th at midnight and there is still much that has yet to be decided at this point. Late today, SB 84 (Senate Education) was given a Committee Substitute that looked little like the original bill. All reference to the Base Student Allocation (BSA)has been stripped out of the document. It now contains money for voc/tech (CTE)at about $11.5 million in total, tax credits for donations to intercollegiate activities, and $500,000 per year for a three year pilot in the Iditarod School District for a "theme based" program. Representative Les Gara tried to insert an increase to the BSA back into the bill. He, Rep. Guttenberg, and Rep. Doogan voted yes on the ammendment. All others voted no. They include Representatives Neuman, Costello, Edgmon, Thomas, Stoltz, Fairclough, Wilson and Joule. I wonder if these elected officials are considering the consequences for children in their school districts. Or, are they thinking more about pushing back at the Senate in a power battle?