Northern Pride Presidents Dinner & Monkeys

Wednesday, August 27 - Sheldon

On August 27 I was invited by the Northern Pride UniServ Unit to address their Presidents Dinner in Sheldon.

The evening started off with introductions. I was impressed with the array of members representing K-12, Community College, and ESP members. After some announcements we enjoyed dinner.

Following dinner I addressed the group of approximately 25. After giving a brief introduction of myself, I touched on the importance of membership and the upcoming elections. Following my "formal" remarks I took questions from the group. The question topics ranged from PAC to the possibility of fair share passing to the ISEA disaster relief fund.

I enjoyed spending the evening with the leaders of Northern Pride. I am also beginning to experience and appreciate the differences in the units and locals from around the state. I am finding there are many similarities, but I am also finding they each have their own unique issues to deal with.

Thanks to President Neil Bracker, Executive Board Member Geneva Grooters, UniServ Director Mora Zinn, and Unit Secretary Denise Cook for their hospitality during my visit.

Monkeys Move Into Office

At the same time I have been personally transitioning from Knoxville to Des Moines, my collection of sock monkeys have made their way from my house to my office.

The monkeys, all made by ISEA retired member from Council Bluffs, Wanda Synhorst, greet visitors to my office as they walk in the door. They sit on a chair decorated by former ISEA President Linda Nelson and ISEA staff person Sheryl Ballard.

If you don't know the story of the monkeys and me, ask sometime when you have time for a long story.

MFL MarMac Teacher Quality

MONDAY, AUGUST 18 - Monona

On Monday, August 18th, I attended a Teacher Quality Professional Development day in the MFL MarMac Communtiy School District. The day was spent looking at strategies for closing the achievement gap using NEA's C.A.R.E. program. C.A.R.E. stands for Culture, Abilities, Resilience, and Effort. IPD Specialist Elic Senter from the North Carolina Association of Educators facilitated the workshop, which consisted of modeling activities that could be used in the classroom, small group discussion, and brainstorming activities, all centered on making the classroom a more inclusive place for all students. It was a very informative day.

In the photo on the right MFL MarMac teachers and administrators discuss resiliency, the concept of being able to bounce back from adversity. When students are resilient they are more likely to attend school.

Here Angie Hundt, on the left, a high school "school within a school" teacher and Allison Kuehl, a preschool teacher, share ideas.

MFL MarMac educator and ISEA activist Roberta Hass, working with the district's TQ Committee, was instrumental in bringing this NEA program to her district. I think this shows another way that NEA can be very beneficial to our members.

In the photo Roberta is pictured with presenter Elic Senter.


I'd like to thank Supertintendent Dale Crozier and the other administrators and MFL MarMac educators for their hospitality while I was in their district.

My First Blog Post

Friday, August 15. Wow! Today marks the two month anniversary of when I took office. The time has just flown by. The learning curve has been steep, but it has also been very exciting!

As promised during the campaign, I will follow the lead of Linda Nelson and start blogging to give the members of ISEA a glimpse of what I am doing , where I am traveling, and who I am meeting.

In the two months since I took office, I have traveled many miles and met many people. I am not going to try to cover all of them today, but from time to time will highlight some of the events of the past eight weeks.

Unit 2 Membership Workshops

On Monday, August 11, and Tuesday, August 12, I attended the Unit 2 Membership Workshops in Hampton. Approximately 50 people attended one of the two workshops. After listening to me and the Member Benefits representatives the attendees participated in a "Unit 2 Cafe" to share information about the value of membership, the barriers to membership, and how to address the barriers. Lively discussions were held both days. The workshops were closed by Jon Studer and Brad Hudson talking about Election 2008.

Participating in the "Unit 2 Cafe"

In the photo on the right Joyce Carlson from Clarion-Goldfield EA; Nathan Muhs from Osage EA; Linda Wedemeier from Charles City ESA; and Janan Wegner from Rockwell-Swaledale EA discuss the barriers to membership in the Association.

In the photo on the right Karen Lang from Rockwell-Swaledale EA; Jenny Kreitlow from Clarion Goldfield EA; Linda Wedemeier from Chalres City ESA; and Sheryl Borcherding from Hampton-Dumont EA discuss the value of membership in the Association.

GOOD LUCK CINDY!

On a related note I want to wish Unit 2 UniServ Director the best of luck as she leaves ISEA to take a job as a UniServ Director in the state of Utah. Cindy's dedication and her ever-present smile will be greatly missed in Iowa.