If you have returned to this blog from time to time, wondering if there will be new information, I either have wonderful news for you or sad news for you. There will no longer be new posts made to this page. I no longer serve as your Governance District 6 representative on the MNEA board. Because of re-configurations on the board, our area will be represented by one member on the board. Since spring 2013 would have been a re-election for me, that meant my first term expired and thus my time on the board has ended. Trish Reding has remained on the board to serve. I'm sure by now she has contacted you and has continued to provide information for you and your local.
It was an exciting three years on the board serving you. I must say that the most fun was traveling to the various locals to meet you, the heart and soul of G.D. 6 and MNEA. I will miss eating at the Apple Basket in Macon, driving to Moberly, and getting lost on the way to Hannibal. I will miss seeing the good people of Jefferson City and getting members connected to the online website that is designed to help members in isolated areas more apart of the MNEA family. I hope to see you at an RA or on a committee. Don't forget that in the summer of 2014 the Summer Academy will return to Columbia. Please attend. Maybe we can have a reunion.
I wish you and your family and local the very best this holiday season. As you and your local continue to speak out for students, public education and for our profession, I leave you with a quote from a man who's home going we celebrate today. "We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Send Minority Members to the NEA Black Caucus Meeting
G.D. 6 Locals-
If your budget allows, consider sending your minority members to the NEA Black Caucus meeting. This is an excellent opportunity to send member for future leadership training. This year it will be held in Savannah, GA. Registration ends March 12th. Registration may be found at: http://www.neablackcaucus.com/
2013
NEA BLACK CAUCUS
ANNUAL
BLACK ISSUES CONFERENCE
April
12-14, 201
Savannah,
Georgia
“STILL
WE RISE”
TENTATIVE
AGENDA
FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2013:
3:00 – 6:00 PM Registration
6:00 – 7:30 PM Dinner/Greetings:
Calvine Rollins, President, Georgia Association of Educators
7:30 – 9:00 PM NEA Officer
SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013:
7:00 – 8:00 AM Breakfast
8:00 – 9:00 AM History of Blacks Within the NEA/NEA Black
Caucus
Al-Tony
Gilmore
9:00 – 10:30 AM Concurrent Workshops:
1.
Eradicating the School to Prison Pipeline
2.
Our Association in Action: Creating Change
Through Social Justice
3.
Recruitment and Maintaining Ethnic Minorities
into the Profession
4.
Protecting the Legacy: Leading into the
Future:
10:30 - 10:45 BREAK
10:45 – 12:15 PM Concurrent Workshops Repeat:
12:30 – 1:15 Lunch
1:15 –
1:45 PM Keynote Speaker: Reg
Weaver, NEA Past President
2:00 PM Cultural Tour
Evening
on Your Own
SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2013:
7:00 – 8:00 AM Breakfast/Sunday Morning
Inspirations
8:15 – 12:00 AM NEA BLACK CAUCUS – Meeting/Planning Session
12:00 – 12:15 PM Closing and Adjournment
MNEA ESP Conference Coming March 23rd
MNEA Hosts ESP Conference March 23 in Columbia
The conference this year will have the theme "My Local, My Job, Myself" with sessions falling into those three categories. Session scheduled so far include:
- Taking the Steps to Bargaining for ESP Locals
- Bullying on the Bus - What You Can Do
- Impacting Student Progress from the Control Panel (For Secretaries and Administrative Assistants)
- Relaxation
Other sessions are planned specifically for job categories of our ESP members. If you have questions, please
contact Karen Sholes at 800-392-0236 or karen.sholes@mnea.org.
The registration fee is only $10 for members and $20 for non members ($10 of which will apply to an ESP
membership if the non member joins on or before the conference). Also, to encourage conferees to carpool, we will rebate the $10 registration fee for each conferee who brings at least three other conference participants along to the drive-in conference. Lunch and refreshments are included in the conference fee. Don’t miss out – register today!
MNEA Spring RA Award Nominations Due March 7lth
An Opportunity to Recognize Those Who Contribute to Public Education
.
Soar With the Eagles Award
Spring RA Membership Awards
1. Verification of Membership Potential (for teacher locals and locals with both teacher and ESP members)
2. Verification of Membership Potential For ESP Locals (ESP locals only)
3. Verification of Enrollment of New Employees for School Year
This information is necessary so we can recognize qualifying locals at the Spring RA. You can fax the forms to the attention of Sigrid Enloe 573-634-5645, email them to Sigrid Enloe at Sigrid.Enloe@mnea.org or mail them to the address listed on the form to the attention of Sigrid Enloe.
Register for MNEA Spring RA/40th Anniversary Celebrations!
Spring RA Information and Deadlines
Reserve Your Hotel Room and Register for Lunch for the Spring RA
You may reserve your hotel room(s) now for the Spring RA. Room rates are $102 plus tax for single, double, triple or quad. The deadline for making your reservations at this special conference rate is March 30. You may pay a higher rate after this date, if rooms are still available. To make your reservation, call Tan-Tar-A at 800-826-8272 and indicate you are with the MNEA conference. You may also make your reservation online at http://www.tan-tar-a.com/ Choose “Groups and Conferences” and
enter “NEAS” as the group ID. MNEA also plans a lunch on Saturday, April 20. The lunch honors our Education Support Professional members and our Horace Mann Award winners. The cost is $20. Details and online registration are available at http://www.mnea.org/Missouri/SpringRA.aspx.
MNEA Milestones Needed Soon!
Governance District 6 locals ~
We're in the process of finalizing our program for MNEA's 40th anniversary celebration. Included in the program will be "milestones" of our progress. If your local has a "first" or "milestone" that you think should be included, please send it to me (examples might be when your local first "hit" the 1,000 membership mark or when you achieved exclusive representation)
If you could get those to me by the end of the week, it would be greatly appreciated!
We're looking forward to celebrating our accomplishments on April 20th!
Chris Guinther
Voting for NEA RA Delegates Ends Soon!
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Snow Day!!
If your town is looking like this at this very moment, you may be one of the hundreds of school districts who wisely decided to close today (and possibly tomorrow) due to this wonderful snow weather! Let's hear it for snow thunder! I hope you are all safe inside and are staying off of the roads. Read through the next few posts to help you pass the time.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Soar With the Eagle and Horace Mann Awards
Think about MNEA and Community Members deserving to be recognized!
At the Spring RA, we will recognize one winner of our "Soar With the Eagles" Award
winners of the Horace Mann Friend of Education Awards and the recipient of the Lorna Bottger Award for Political Action. Information and application forms for all of these awards can be found in your Timeline for Action (pages 57, 67 and 73).
Our Board’s goal is to get nominees for awards from each of our 11 governance districts. Please think about those emerging and experienced members who deserve recognition for the work they do in the classroom and in the community and consider nominating them for one of these prestigious awards! Nominations for the Soar with the Eagles and Horace Mann Awards are due March 7. Nominations for the Lorna Bottger Award are due March 22.
Time to Think About MNEA Spring RA Delegates
Submit MNEA RA Local Delegates for the Spring RA!
Missouri NEA will use your local's January 15th membership roster to determine delegate allocation for the Spring RA. For some locals, this may mean a change in the number of delegates eligible to attend the RA (depending on membership gain or loss). If the number of delegates your local is entitled to send to the Spring RA has changed,
Beeb should have notified you by the end of January. If you are unsure of the number of delegates that your local is entitled to send, please contact Beeb at:
(bernadette.gillis@mnea.org). If your list of delegates has changed in any way please submit those names to Beeb by March 6th. You do not need to submit your delegate list if it is the same as it was for the Fall RA.
Packets will not be mailed; however, they will be available to all delegates at Pre-RA meetings and at the RA.
A Loss in the Family
Missouri NEA lost one of our family members last week. Vito Maniacci will forever be remembered in our hearts as a strong organizer, fighter, friend, staffer and union brother. He was a founding member of the MNEA and supporter of human and civil rights. We are truly "something better" for having known and worked with Vito. Chris Guinther
Vito was a founding member of Missouri NEA, and was a Uniserv Director in the St. Louis area at the time of his death. A memorial fund has been set up in Vito's honor. You may send your donations to:
Vito Maniaci Professional Development Scholarship Fund
699 Big Bend
Manchester, MO 63021
Notes from MNEA February Board Meeting
Board Meeting
February 2, 2013
The Board observed a Moment of silence for Vito Maniaci.
Vito passed away this week. Parkway
School District has established a scholarship fund:
Vito Maniaci Professional Development Scholarship Fund
699 Big Bend
Manchester, MO 63021
Kudos:
·
California Casualty has awarded several awards
for Literacy throughout the State.
·
The MNEA Engagement Center has been very
successful in dealing with member’s issues.
·
One MNEA family opted to forgo giving Christmas
presents and gave the money to the HOPE fund.
Audit Report: The MNEA Board and the Budget Committee
received a clean report from the Auditor. The Board voted to accept the report.
Executive Director’s Report:
·
Columbia has started bargaining their first
contract.
·
The move to electronic fund transfer as a means
of collecting dues is still extremely important.
·
Districts should continue to explore the use of
Direct Deposit to MNEA for collecting dues.
Legal Report:
The Supreme Court of Missouri has ruled that employers have
a requirement to bargain in “good faith.” Employers have to develop a framework for
bargaining and they have to recognize the rights of employees to select an
exclusive representative.
The Board voted to maintain dues at the present levels for Student
MNEA, MNEA Retired, MNEA Retired Life, and MNEA Pre-Retired.
Keep watching your Legislative Updates for up-to-date
information on what’s going on in Jefferson City.
The Board discussed possible changes to MNEA standing
committees. There are possible bylaw changes.
The Board voted to recommend that the Ballot Issue Crisis
Fund be extended for another year. The final vote will be taken at the Spring
RA. The Board vote was unanimous.
The 2013 Legislative Platform is on the Members Only section
of the MNEA website (Tools You Can Use).
SALT training dates will be the weeks of July 16-19 and July
22-25. Locations will be determined at a later date.
To Do List:
·
Remind members about the May 31st
HOPE Fund fundraising event.
·
Voting for RA delegates is ongoing and will
continue till March 1.
·
Candidate forums- NEA Director Feb 4, Vice
President Feb 13, and President Feb 20.
·
Register at the MNEA website
·
A new Speak Up session has been scheduled for
Feb 12, new members (those who have fewer than 5 years of service) at 4pm, and
veteran members at 7pm.
·
Continue to talk about EZ-PAY. Email Karen
Struemph with concerns and questions.
Spring RA is at Tan-Tar-A on April 19-21. This is MNEA’s 40th anniversary.
There will be a dinner on Saturday night, and NEA President, Dennis Van Roekel, will be the keynote speaker.
Tickets will be $40. Registration will be on the MNEA website.
RA packets will be online March
8. No postcards will be sent.
Soar With the Eagles and Horace Mann nominations are due March
7. Our goal is to have at least one nominee in each category from all
Governance Districts.
Apply for California Casualty Grant
California Casualty’s $2,500 Academic Award Program Extended
The deadline for California Casualty’s $2,500 Academic Award program to help educators cover the costs of classroom materials and supplies has been extended to February 28, 2013.Too often, American teachers reach into their own wallets to cover classroom costs. A recent survey by AdoptAClassroom.org found that 91 percent of teachers reported purchasing supplies ranging from school supplies to personal care items and food. So California Casualty decided to offer one lucky winner some relief – and a cash prize for his or her school. The company has a 60-year history of supporting educators.
“We work with educators every single day. We see the sacrifices they make on behalf of their students,” said Robin Freese of California Casualty. “This Academic Award is just one more way to say that we recognize and appreciate everything teachers do, and we want to make it just a little bit easier for them.”
Any qualified, K-12 public school teacher currently living in the United States can enter the Academic Award giveaway online in a simple, one-step process atwww.calcasacademicaward.com. Eligible educators must be members of the NEA, CTA or AEA and submit an entry by February 28, 2013.
California Casualty is a 99-year-old policyholder-owned company headquartered in San Mateo, CA, with service centers in Arizona, Colorado and Kansas. Learn more about its auto and home insurance for firefighters, peace officers, educators and nurses athttp://www.calcas.com.
Vote for NEA Delegates to National Convention!
NEA RA Delegate VOTING
Final MNEA Speak Up session is today!
MNEA will hold the last two "Speak Up!" sessions this afternoon/evening. Please take advantage of this opportunity to provide your input as we plan for the future of MNEA!
~ At 4:00, we'll hold a session for new members only -- we want to hear new members' ideas on how we can make our association relevant for all members!
~ At 7:00, we'll hold a session for all members. This is a recently-scheduled additional opportunity for all members to add their voices to the discussions
In order to register for a session, members will need to go to our website at www.mnea.org -Click "Members Only" and then "online learning & webinars" and then sign up for the session. Members can also participate by calling in, and the call-in number will be given at the time of registration.
Hope to "see" you on the chat tonight!
Friday, January 18, 2013
Filing for Missouri -NEA RA state Delegate Deadline
All state delegate candidate statements and photos must be received by midnight on January 21st. Due to the fact that we had one due date in Something Better and another in the Timeline for Action, we must go with the later date. Any faxes or e-mails must be dated January 21st. Statements received after that date will not be accepted.
MNEA Officer Candidate Forums
At the April 20th Representative Assembly, Missouri NEA will hold elections for the positions of President, Vice President and NEA Director. Currently we have 8 candidates for the three offices, with filing closing on February 1st.
Missouri NEA members have requested opportunities to hear candidates speak about their qualifications and their vision for Missouri NEA in the next 3 years and beyond.
As a result of member requests, Rebeka McIntosh, chair of the MNEA Bylaws Committee, will host a series of 3 “candidate forum”webinars designed to give members the opportunity to hear candidates speak and answer members’ questions. The webinars will be archived so that members can listen to the forums at a later date if they can’t participate live.
February 4th - NEA Director Candidate Forum - 7:00 p.m.
February 13th - Vice President Candidate Forum - 7:00 p.m.
February 20th - President Candidate Forum - 7:00 p.m.
Members must register to participate in these forums by going to the “Members Only” section of the MNEA web site (www.mnea.org) and then to the “Online Training” and sign up for the session(s).
MNEA is Listening!
MNEA will be holding "Speak Up!" webinars during the month of January in order to provide the opportunity for members to talk about their vision for MNEA's future. Please sign up and participate!
Sessions will be held:
Tuesday, January 22 at 7 p.m.
Thursday, January 24 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, January 26 at 10 a.m.
You can sign up to participate in the webinars by going to the MNEA web site (www.mnea.org) and then to the "Members Only" section, "Online Learning". If you would like to participate in the discussion but do not have internet access, it is also possible to join the conversation via phone. The phone number and internet connection are given to the member after signing up for the webinar. We also welcome your feedback via phone call or e-mail if the timing of the sessions is inconvenient.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
On PBS Frontline Tonight!
The PBS show, "Frontline" will show a documentary on controversial former Washington D.C. Michelle Rhee tonight. Michelle now runs the advocate group called "Students First." This organization goes from state to state letting conservative legislators know what "their" agenda is for public education. Last year Students First campaigned for the removal of teacher tenure in Missouri and called for less voice from teacher unions. They recently put out a "report card" based on their own facts and opinions on how states are doing with public education. They gave Missouri a D-. Based on what? No one seems to know. Anyway, please check your local listings to see what channel this show will are in your area. For Columbia, it will be KMOS at 8:00 p.m. central time. It is always good to know and try to understand what the other side is thinking!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Newsletter emailed today.
Good afternoon G.D. 6 friends,
I just emailed the winter edition of the newsletter. Please read through and email to members within your local. There are a lot of information for you to share and much needed information and reminders about deadlines coming up. Two deadlines this week:
I just emailed the winter edition of the newsletter. Please read through and email to members within your local. There are a lot of information for you to share and much needed information and reminders about deadlines coming up. Two deadlines this week:
- Our Legislative Dinner! Deadline to RSVP is this Tuesday. Our dinner is this Thursday. You may email me at: mmill83@aol.com Cost of our dinner is $20.00. Dinner will be made and served by the students at the Career Center Culinary School. Yum! Oh, and our area Legislators have been invited to attend to visit with us and hear from MNEA Legislative Director Otto Fajen about our platform for this year. Since we have important guests coming to our "home," let's remember to be home and greet them ourselves. Thanks!
- Cat in the Hat tour! In the newsletter you will see the Cat Tour form. You may also find the form at www.mnea.org and print off the form yourself. Hurray and email this in. You don't want to miss seeing a giant cat in a red and white hat reading a book!
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