Fall 2011 ATPE News

fall 2011 | ATPE.org

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A Look Back at the nd 82 Legislature How has public education changed? page 15 Top teachers gather to discuss profession page 18

A look back at the ATPE Summit page 20

S U P P O R T I N G YO U R F R E E D O M TO T E AC H

ATPE members at Lobby Day 2011

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15 18 features

special sections

15 What happens next?

20 Summing up the summit

The 82nd Legislature is finally over, leaving educators to deal with $4 billion in cuts and far-reaching “mandate relief” in Senate Bill (SB) 8.

ATPE takes a look back at the session, with a particular focus on SB 8 and its implications for your rights.

18 Head of the class Professionalism, mentoring and ongoing support were the topics of the day when the ATPE Foundation conducted focus groups this summer with 22 Texas Regional Teachers of the Year.

© 2011 Thinkstock

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On the cover: ATPE Lobby Day attendees gather in a Capitol stairwell Feb. 14 for a photo with Sen. Jane Nelson (R–Flower Mound), who sponsored a Senate resolution in their honor. A record number of members attended ATPE’s 2011 Political Involvement Training and Lobby Day. “For weeks after our event, we received accolades from legislators, who told us how ATPE members presented educators’ needs in a clear, concise and professional manner,” wrote ATPE Governmental Relations Director Brock Gregg in the Summer 2011 ATPE News.

fall 2011

In short, the first-ever ATPE Summit was a tremendous success. In long, more than 970 ATPE members gathered in Austin to conduct association business, engage in professional development, become stronger ATPE leaders, and celebrate their accomplishments. Check out this recap, which includes a summary of the decisions made by the 2011 ATPE House of Delegates.

29 Camp ATPE Spend the waning days of summer with ATPE’s top recruiters, the members of the Ben Shilcutt Plus Club.

34 Your Association 2011-12 state and region leaders · ATPE members win RIF case · New member benefits · Grant for Teaching Excellence recipients · ATPE Foundation grant opportunities · Kudos · Family Album · ATPE-PAC Honor-Roll

departments 4 President’s Message

8 In the Classroom

5 Web Bytes

10 Para-educators’ Place

6 Calendar

11 Tech Support

7 News Briefs

47 Snip-its

columns 13 Legal Opinions

What happens when you call ATPE? 14 Capitol Comment Taking stock post-session and pre-elections

atpe.org | 3

president’s message

The official publication of the Association of Texas Professional Educators

STATE OFFICERS

The first ATPE Summit was a rousing success. We had a brilliant keynote speaker in Jonathan Kozol, a successful House of Delegates (HOD) meeting, informative breakout sessions and an amazing send-off from Drum Café, but I want to tell you about a tradition we reintroduced this year and plan to continue in the years to come: an induction ceremony for your state, region and local unit officers.

2010-11 Past State President Sam Spurlock conducted this ceremony with incredible grace, as is his style. He first conferred upon outgoing State President David de la Garza the duties of a past state president—“to stand ready to serve with insight and understanding.” Then, before Sam continued, David turned to me, handed me the gavel used at the HOD and said: “The gavel is the symbol of your office. I admonish you to remember that although the majority rules, the minority voice always has a right to be heard. I place this gavel in your hand, and I know that you will use it wisely, courageously and with a servant’s heart.”

I took David’s words to heart. As your new state president, I pledge to you to lead ATPE to continued preeminence among educator associations.

Educators face more challenges today than ever before, and membership in a professional association has never been more important. The Texas Legislature made choices during the 82nd legislative session that were decidedly unfriendly to educators and students. Your active participation in ATPE is critical to righting the path of public schools. Please use ATPE’s many tools to stay informed about the upcoming election cycle and opportunities to effect change during the rule-making process. In addition to ATPE News, Essentials and the Legislative Alert Network (LAN), we now have the ATPE Mobile App for iPhone and Android-powered smartphones. Through this free app, you can access the latest education and association news as well as a mobile membership card and services and discounts information. Please visit iTunes or the Android Market to download it today.

In addition to coverage of the 82nd Legislature and the summit, this issue of ATPE News contains an article on the ATPE Foundation’s recent gathering of Texas’ Regional Teachers of the Year. These teachers participated in focus groups to explore the challenges facing our profession. I encourage you to turn to page 18 to learn more about the focus groups and then to visit www.atpefoundation.org to read the report prepared by Creative Consumer Research. We are sharing this compelling information with lawmakers and policymakers across Texas.

I wish you and your students the very best this school year!

Cheryl Buchanan, ATPE State President 4 | atpe.org

Cheryl Buchanan Deann Lee Ginger Franks Richard Wiggins David de la Garza

Amancio Garza Jackie Hannebaum Jan Womack Ann Petrillo Bill Moye Brenda Lynch Nan Bryant Rita Long Kristi Daws Dab Johnson David Williams Julleen Bottoms Greg Vidal Marsha Exum Sarah Beal Shane Whitten Lynette Ginn Teresa Griffin Socorro Lopez Sandra de Leon

President, Ballinger (15) Vice President, Paris (8) Secretary, Nacogdoches Co. (7) Treasurer, Boerne (20) Past President, Northside (20)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Edinburg (1) Corpus Christi (2) Goliad (3) Houston (4) Warren (5) Huntsville (6) Grand Saline (7) Mount Vernon (8) Jacksboro (9) Mesquite (10) Keller (11) Corsicana (12) Pflugerville (13) Abilene (14) Coleman County (15) Amarillo (16) Hale Center (17) Stanton (18) San Elizario (19) Northside (20)

ATPE STAFF

Doug Rogers Executive Director Alan Bookman Deputy Executive Director Laura Sheridan Associate Executive Director

ATPE NEWS STAFF

Doug Rogers Executive Editor

Kate Johanns Communications Manager/ Editor

John Kilpper Senior Graphic Designer

Mandy Curtis Copy Editor/Writer

Erica Fos Graphic Designer

Cam Todd Graphic Designer/ Advertising Coordinator

ATPE News (ISSN 0279-6260) is published quarterly in fall, winter, spring and summer. Subscription rates: for members of the association, $3.32 per year (included in membership dues); non-members, $10 per year. Extra copies $1.25 each. Published by the Association of Texas Professional Educators, 305 E. Huntland Drive, Suite 300, Austin, TX, 78752-3792. Periodical Postage Paid at Austin, Texas and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ATPE News, 305 E. Huntland Dr., #300, Austin, TX, 78752-3792. Advertising rates may be obtained by sending a written request to the above address.

Opinions expressed in this publication represent the attitude of the contributor whose name appears with the article and are not necessarily the official policy of ATPE. ATPE reserves the right to refuse advertising contrary to its purpose. Copyright 2011 in USA by the Association of Texas Professional Educators ISSN © ATPE 2011 0279-6260 USPS 578-050

web bytes

We give you more at

atpe.org www.atpe.org/Resources

Virtual News

ATPE on the go

Looking for an online version of ATPE News to share with friends and family? Check out virtual issues, powered by Issuu, that you can email to colleagues and view on some smartphones and tablet computers.

Each virtual issue is exactly the same as the physical copy, minus the paper.

Download the new ATPE Mobile Application from iTunes or the Android Market and take ATPE publications—including ATPE News and Essentials—with you wherever you go. If you don’t have an iPhone or Android-powered device, you can still access a mobile version of our website from any Internetenabled phone.

Join the club

Online courses

Become a Guest Reader for the ATPE Book of the Month Club, and you and your class can create your own discussion questions for other participants to use. A picture of each participating class will be posted on our website along with its discussion questions.

Educate yourself on a variety of topics through ATPE’s online continuing professional education (CPE) courses, which are available to all members of the Texas education community.

Courses cover bilingual education, diversity and special needs populations, instructional techniques and professional standards.

The ATPE Vision The Association of Texas Professional Educators is the preeminent educator association in Texas and makes a positive difference in the lives of educators and in the lives of schoolchildren. As professionals, our members are committed to supporting quality public education and the professional rights and obligations of the education community. Working in partnership with parents, business, community and government, ATPE provides the programs and services that enable educators and schoolchildren to achieve their highest potential.

fall 2011

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calendar

August 22–26 ATPE Supporting Your Freedom to TeachSM Week

29 Date that bills passed by 82nd Legislature become law

September

Earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit through ATPE’s webinar series, which is open to all Texas educators. See page 37 for details. www.atpe.org/Resources

7 ATPE webinar for novice teachers (1 hour CPE credit)

10 Region 1 meeting (McAllen); Region 20 meeting (San Antonio)

11 Region 4 leadership team meeting (Houston)

14–16 State Board of Education meeting

17 Region 12 leader luncheon (Waco)

24 Region 7 leader luncheon (Tyler)

28 ATPE webinar on resource benefits (1 hour CPE credit)

29 Last day to join ATPE or renew online without experiencing a 30-day

Look for celebrations on your campus! Leaders: Send photos of your efforts to the state office. member_services@atpe.org

delay in employment rights defense coverage*

30 Last day to join ATPE or renew (other than online) to avoid a 30-day delay in employment rights defense coverage*

October

Find out how your local unit or region can support the ATPE Foundation by becoming a golf tournament sponsor. www.atpefoundation. org/golfTournament.asp

7 State Board for Educator Certification meeting

15 Region 4 fall general membership meeting (Houston)

21 ATPE Foundation golf tournament

22 ATPE Leader Development, Membership, Minority & Diverse Pop-ulation

31 Critical illness and life insurance open enrollment ends

November

2 ATPE webinar on advocacy (1 hour CPE credit)

4 Grant for Teaching Excellence and ATPE Foundation Technology Grant

11–12 ATPE Board of Directors meeting 1 6–18 State Board of Education meeting

Download applications for these grant programs.

6 | atpe.org

www.atpe.org/JoinATPE/

Recruitment, Nomination/Election and Services committee meetings

application deadline

www.atpe.org/Resources/ Awards&Grants/grant tchexclinfo.asp and www.atpefoundation.org/ technologyGrant.asp

Renew by credit card on the ATPE website.

19 Region 1 Thanksgiving luncheon (McAllen)

Log in to the Services and Discounts page at atpe.org for details. www.atpe.org/ Resources/Services AndDiscounts/

call (800) 777-ATPE to be put in touch with your region officers red dates indicate atpe deadlines

THE EDUCATORS PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE POLICY IS UNDERWRITTEN BY NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE CO. OF PITTSBURGH, PA. ALL COVERAGE IS SUBJECT TO THE EXPRESS TERMS OF THE MASTER INSURANCE POLICY ISSUED TO ATPE AND KEPT ON FILE AT THE ATPE STATE OFFICE. Coverage applies to an insured’s activities within his/her professional capacity and does not apply to activities that predate the coverage period. View a detailed summary at www.atpe.org/Protection/LegalBenefits/inspolicy.pdf. Eligibility for ATPE membership benefits is contingent upon ATPE’s receipt of the entire annual membership dues amount for your appropriate membership category. A disruption in payments to an authorized payment plan may result in discontinuation of such benefits, including cancellation of insurance coverage for the entire membership year retroactive to Aug. 1 or your membership date. ATPE reserves the right to determine eligibility for the appropriate membership category. The membership year runs from Aug. 1–July 31.

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atpe news

by Mandy Curtis, copy editor/writer

news briefs

Harry Potter sport becomes reality School districts on the move from honors to AP courses School districts across the country are moving away from honors courses in favor of Advanced Placement (AP) classes in order to create a more inclusive curriculum.

In many high schools, honors courses, which often cover the same lesson plan as regular courses but at an accelerated pace and with more depth, are the second of three class tracks offered to students. AP courses, which cover more challenging material, are the third track. (Regular classes are the first.) High schools are eliminating the middle track to encourage minority students to take more advanced classes; statistics show that fewer minority students access the highest track when they have the choice of three, but more take advantage of the opportunity when there are only two tracks.

In suburban neighborhoods, this change is being met with opposition from parents who want more choices for their children.

Some parents of high-achieving students have even threatened to remove their children from schools that eliminate the honors option.

Researchers have named this phenomenon “bright flight.”

Source: The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com

fall 2011

Students at Keller High School are aiming to add a 14th official sport to the University Interscholastic League (UIL), and this sport would be the first in the UIL to involve a broom.

More than 80 students at the Keller ISD high school are part of the Quidditch Club, whose members practice the sport played by Harry Potter characters and invented by author J.K. Rowling. In June, students from the club traveled to Austin to pitch their idea to the league, and they are currently circulating a petition to bring to the league, which didn’t immediately dismiss the idea of adding Quidditch to its offerings. (Find out more about the club and the petition at www.txquidditch.com.)

The rules for the game Keller students play are similar to those of the Harry Potter game, minus the actual flying. All players “ride” brooms, and two specific players, the “Chasers,” run after another player dressed as the “Snitch.” In the books, the snitch is a tiny magical ball with wings; in Keller, it’s a student dressed in gold who wears a tennis ball in a sock strung through a flag football belt.

Although Keller is the first high school in Texas to bring this sport to the UIL’s attention, students at colleges and universities across the nation have been playing it in the International Quidditch Association (www.internationalquidditch.org) since 2005.

Source: Baltimore Sun, www.baltimoresun.com

Math and social skills are affected by parents’ divorce A new study shows that children of divorced parents more often struggle with math and social skills than their peers.

The study, conducted by a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, looked at 142 students whose parents divorced between first and third grade and found a 12-percent difference on the scores of standardized math tests between these students and their peers. The 142 students also struggled more with making and keeping friends, expressing positive feelings and showing sensitivity to others.

The study found evidence that the children began to struggle once their parents’ divorce proceedings were underway. The struggles also seemed to stick around at the same levels once the divorce was complete.

The students’ reading skills did not seem to be affected, possibly due to the fact that math skills rely more on cumulative knowledge than do reading.

Source: Time

atpe.org | 7

in the classroom

by Kris Woodcock, professional development coordinator

From one teacher to another 10 tips for surviving your first year in the classroom (and beyond) Whether this is your first year of teaching or your 15th, you are likely diving into the 2011-12 school year with hope, excitement and even apprehension.

The upcoming school year will be more challenging than usual for both experienced and novice teachers. The budget cuts made by the 82nd Legislature mean that teachers will have fewer resources at their disposal but more students in their classrooms. On top of this, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) program will make its debut this year.

So how can you make it all work? Here are 10 tips I culled from my years in the classroom that will help you succeed and make it to year two (or year 16). With a bit of adaptation, most of these tips can be helpful to educators of any experience level.

Remember that the experienced teachers on your campus have been in your shoes. Everyone experiences a “first year,” so use your colleagues’ hard-earned wisdom to your benefit!

If you haven’t been assigned a mentor teacher, cultivate relationships with one or two veteran educators who can provide

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support and answer all sorts of questions, from “Where do you get paper clips?” to “How do I work in bathroom breaks?”

Sign up for the Performance-based Academic Coaching Team (PACT) System. As an ATPE member, you can benefit from free online support provided through the association’s partnership with the Texas A&M University System. By joining this network of student teachers, teacher-trainees, novice teachers (those in their first through third years of teaching) and mentor teachers, you will benefit from a variety of resources, chat rooms, and private and confidential advice. Visit www.atpe.org/Resources/PACT/ to sign up.

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As you begin parent conferences, make sure to start every conversation with a positive comment about the student—and end on a positive note as well. Showing your students’ parents that you care is crucial and will make a world of difference throughout the year.

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Prioritize effective communication year-round but especially during the first weeks of school. As your student load increases, so does your parent load. Good communication is essential to having a good year.

Depending on the number of students you have, introduce yourself to parents with a phone call, or send a welcome letter home during the first few weeks of school.

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We’ve been in your shoes

More advice from seasoned educators There is no such thing as too much organization. I have all of Monday’s activities in a “Monday Folder” and all of Tuesday’s in “Tuesday,” etc. Also, know the campus routines. How long do you have to remain on duty? What is the procedure for eating in the classroom? What are the copier rules? My suggestion: Find a veteran teacher, and latch on!

Ask. You have a department chair for a reason. I lacked the confidence my first year to ask for help, so I floundered around, trying to figure out how to handle the stress, paperwork and lesson planning and almost quit after year one. My not asking did not make me a stronger teacher but a weaker one.

—Karen Hames, Lewisville ATPE

—ATPE State President Cheryl Buchanan, Ballinger ATPE 8 | atpe.org

atpe news

Book Review:

5 Maintain an open line of communication with students. Let them know that you are there for them if they have a problem, and show them that you mean it. It can take a while to establish trust, but it will be worth it when you see a reluctant student come around.

Know that you can’t do everything or be everything to everyone and that you are not perfect! Give yourself a break, and allow yourself to learn from your mistakes. This is a learning experience for you as well as your students.

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Take a few minutes at the end of each day to reflect on your successes and potential areas for improvement. Keep a journal of these thoughts.

This is both therapeutic and helpful as a professional development tool. Reflect on your own professional needs, and be proactive in finding solutions. There are so many programs, books and classes that will help you improve your craft; look into what your campus, district and association offer. Make sure to seek activities that will be beneficial, not just things you feel pressured to attend.

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You can’t do it all in one day, but you can do it all one day at a time. Get help planning, plan well, and stick to the plan. Organization will help you sleep well at night and turn your greatest challenges into manageable missions.

—Debra Brown, Henderson ATPE

fall 2011

8 Don’t spend a ton of money on classroom supplies during your first year. It is so tempting to buy, buy, buy for your classroom to make it your dream teaching environment, but it takes time to build your classroom library, math center or science lab. When you do shop, visit garage sales and shop sales.

Learn to say “no.” Your first year (and all others) is filled with opportunities to go above and beyond: volunteering at the PTA bake sale, going to students’ sporting events, organizing field trips, etc. Don’t overextend yourself by saying “yes” to too many things during your first year. Don’t worry—the opportunity will always be there next year.

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Do your best to help your students do their best, and leave it at that. This year marks the first year of the STAAR tests. The STAAR won’t be the last standardized testing movement in your career, so help your students do their best and teach the curriculum.

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You only have one first year as an educator. Make it special, and stay focused on why you entered this honorable profession—your students!

Don’t be intimidated by your students, and feel confident enough to use your ideas and be creative in your teaching methods.

—Nancy Gaillard, Denton ATPE

Develop a solid understanding of the brain Brain-Based Learning: The New Paradigm of Teaching by Eric Jensen is a research-based, practical guide to teaching students using methods that are centered on how the brain most effectively attains and retains knowledge. Although at times you might feel as if you are reading a high school biology textbook, the fundamental information Jensen shares is helpful in gaining a solid understanding of how his strategies for teaching can work. He balances the brain facts with tips you can apply with your students.

Brain-Based Learning will be the ATPE Book Circle’s next topic of discussion beginning Sept. 19. Visit the ATPE Idea Exchange at http://atpe.websitetoolbox. com to sign up for this opportunity to learn, collaborate with other educators across Texas and earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit from the comfort of your home.

With the new STAAR exams beginning this year, assessment is on everyone’s mind. Jensen shares a practical idea educators can use to supplement standardized testing: “Give learners an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge in their preferred learning modality. See that you assess more than content knowledge. Evaluate learners’ progress over time. And make sure that they are well aware of the various ways they can demonstrate learning.” atpe.org | 9

para-educators’ president’s message place

by Kris Woodcock, professional development coordinator

Meet two para-educators who stand out from the crowd F i n a l i sts fo r the 2011 A sso c i ate of the Y ea r Awa r d ATPE members Kimberly Washington and Carolyn Williams are dedicated to the public education system and serving the students of their schools, which made them excellent nominees for the 2011 Educator of the Year Award in the Associate category.

Kimberly Washington has been a life skills aide at Denton ISD’s Calhoun Middle School for nine years. “I have learned a lot over the years and developed a special way of bonding with my students,” Washington says.

She enjoys watching her special education students progress and feels that her compassion for students and understanding of their educational needs have earned her the respect of her principal and the many teachers she assists.

As a life skills aide, she supports students with mental and physical limitations in an inclusion setting. She works to ensure that all students in the general education class are supported in their lessons so as to encourage acceptance and understanding for those students with special needs. “Everybody is interacting with each other and learning at the same time,” she says. “This seems to boost all the students’ self-esteem and help with the learning process.”

Washington’s educational philosophy centers on respect: “I believe that you have to give respect in order to receive it. The students respect me for respecting them, so this helps to open the door for a positive learning experience for all.”

Turn to page 25 to see the winner of this award and the winners in the four other 2011 Educator of the Year Awards categories.

Carolyn Williams is a secretary at Crowley ISD’s Deer Creek Elementary School. She has formed connections with many families in the 19 years that she has worked at the school and feels rewarded through these partnerships.

As secretary of her school, Williams interacts with many people during her workday. “I feel led to know and be a friend to all of my co-workers and students, parents, grandparents and all of the extended family,” she says. Her goal is to help the people with whom she interacts have a similar experience to the one she had growing up. “I grew up in a small school, and it was my safe haven,” she says.

Because Williams sees so many students throughout the day, it is important for her to maintain consistency with the various educational trends in her school.

For example, Deer Creek Elementary implements the program Discipline with Dignity. “We have to give the kids the benefit of learning new ways to handle things, and they need dignity when dealing with life’s ups and downs,” she says. “I think that all plays a part [in] Discipline with Dignity.”

Williams works to help both students and parents take ownership of their education. “I do my best to make the kids feel loved,” she says, “because I do love them, and this sometimes is the one place they feel that.” A

Are you an associate member who goes above and beyond, or do you have a colleague who does?

Applications for the 2012 Educator of the Year Awards are due in the state office March 5, 2012.

For more information and to apply, visit www.atpe.org/Resources/Awards&Grants/edofyearinfo.asp.

10 | atpe.org

atpe news

by Mandy Curtis, copy editor/writer

tech support

Soar into Skype Connect with authors and other classrooms via the World Wide Web With Skype, the most widely used calling and video-conferencing service (see Tech Term below) on the Internet, users can make phone calls from their computers, video-chat with friends, hold conference calls, send instant messages and more. (Download the program at www.skype.com.) Classroom teachers are using the service to connect with experts, authors, and students and teachers in classrooms half a world away.

How to connect Kate Messner, a middle school English teacher from Vermont, believes Skype is a great way for teachers and students to connect with authors whose presentation fees might otherwise be cost prohibitive. Many children’s book authors offer free or low-cost Skype sessions, including Messner herself— she is the author of books including Marty McGuire and Sugar and Ice. In the winter of 2009, Messner and her class read Laurie Halse Anderson’s Chains. Messner contacted Anderson and set up a virtual visit so Messner’s students could speak with Anderson and ask her questions about the book.

Anderson was able to share some of her research materials with the class as well as share a sneak peek into the sequel to Chains.

On a blog post on her website about the session (www.katemessner.com/ virtual-author-visits-the-good-thebad-the-ugly-the-awesome), Messner

Tech Term

fall 2011

shares the steps educators should take to set up similar events in their classrooms. In Messner’s words: 1. “Download Skype at home and try it out with someone you know. Figure out how it works. It’s pretty simple, but you’ll want to make sure you’re comfortable before you set up a visit.”

2. “Contact your technology coordinator to see if you can use Skype at school. Some will say yes. Some will say no. And some will wave magic wands and adjust bandwidth restrictions and unblock things so you can pull it off. Send them chocolate later.”

3. “Contact the author with whom you’d like to have a virtual visit. Find out about availability, technology needs and fees. Also, be aware that video chats aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, so if an author says no thanks, respect that.”

4. “Once you’ve set up a date and time (morning might be best to avoid high usage Internet times), reserve the space where you’ll be having your virtual visit. Make sure the equipment you’ll need is available and working.

If you’re not good with technology, enlist the help of a co-worker who is.

Send that person chocolate later, too.”

Video conferencing:

5. “Make a plan for your virtual visit.

How long will it last? Who will ask questions? Where will they stand?

Where do they go when they’re done? If you figure it out ahead of time, you won’t have to interrupt your visit to deal with questions.”

6. “ Talk to your students about etiquette for a virtual author visit. In many ways, it’s just like having a guest speaker in your auditorium or classroom in person, and kids need to know that all the same rules about courteous behavior apply. It will also be important for them to know that technical issues are a possibility and that their quiet cooperation will help you get things fixed more quickly.”

7. “ Test Skype at school. It doesn’t matter if you’ve tested it at home; things are different on school networks, and you don’t want to discover a problem when it’s time for your virtual visit.”

8. “On the day of your virtual visit, launch Skype, and either call the author or wait for him or her to call you—whatever you agreed upon Continued on page 45

Using technology to interact via two-way video and audio in real time.

atpe.org | 11

ADVERTISEMENT

Hit a hole-in-one for

public education Save the date for the 2011 ATPE Foundation Golf Tournament

When: Friday, Oct. 21

Where: Teravista Golf Club, Round Rock

Why: To have fun and win great prizes while supporting literacy, technology, and educator recruitment and retention programs in Texas public schools

More info: www.atpefoundation.org

The ATPE Foundation is registered in Texas as a nonprofit corporation and is a public charity exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

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by Paul Tapp, ATPE Member Legal Services managing attorney

legal opinions

What happens when you call ATPE? A look at the crucial role played by ATPE’s legal assistants

We value each caller, and our procedures ensure that no one falls through the cracks because of the sheer volume of calls we handle.

Imagine this: Your day started off fine but just went seriously downhill when the principal called you into his office. You are now in need of some objective advice.

You remember your local unit president’s reminder that you can turn to the ATPE state office for answers to your questions. It happens to be the start of your lunch period, so you make the call, unsure of what to expect.

The ATPE Member Legal Services Department has grown with ATPE and now includes a receptionist, five legal assistants and 11 attorneys. Each position plays an essential role in providing ATPE members with quality and efficient service. In particular, the legal assistants are charged with ensuring that callers are eligible to receive legal services.

Through the years, we have developed policies and practices to ensure that each eligible member who needs help gets that help as quickly as possible.

Although these policies and practices might frustrate you and seem to serve no purpose other than to delay the moment you can speak to an attorney, they are essential to ATPE’s ability to provide services to the thousands of members who call for help each year.

From “hello” to help When a member calls the ATPE state office for legal assistance, the main receptionist transfers her to the legal receptionist, who locates the caller in the ATPE membership database and determines whether the caller is an active member in a category eligible for legal services or was active at the time of the occurrence leading to the call. Once confirmed, the legal receptionist routes the call to the appropriate legal staff member.

If an eligible member calls about a new issue or occurrence, she will first talk to one of our five legal assistants. “But wait!” you say. “She called for a lawyer!” We understand, and we want to get her to one of our attorneys as quickly as possible, but our attorneys also need time to work with their ongoing clients from previous calls. Many members who call need assistance beyond the initial call. That ongoing help might entail assisting with a reprimand, counseling about a relationship with a supervisor or dealing with accusations of serious misconduct. It

might involve reviewing a written response, calling district administrators, negotiating with the district’s attorney or researching the law.

To provide the attorneys with time to work for the members whom they are already assisting, we ask our legal assistants to take care of some necessary administrative matters. The legal assistant will verify the member’s contact information and then do an “intake” to document information about why the member called. Our legal assistants have been trained to acquire the basic information the attorney will need. The legal assistant will ask questions to get the who, what, when and how. This information, which is documented in a secure database accessible only to the ATPE legal team, means the attorney can “hit the ground running” while still maximizing his time for working with his other member-clients.

In addition to the basic gathering of information, the intake process is important for two additional reasons: conflicts and eligibility.

Ferreting out conflicts You might wonder what happens if two ATPE members find themselves in conflict. Which member gets assistance? The answer: both. And they both receive independent representation. Attorneys work under strict rules that require us to consider only what is best for our individual clients. This prohibits us from assisting two individuals in conflict; an action beneficial for one would hurt the other. (The rules are so strict that even attorneys within the same office are prohibited from assisting clients in conflict.)

To ensure that each eligible member receives independent assistance, the legal assistant will ask each caller to identify other educators involved in the situation. That way, if one of those other members calls, we will know that we need to immediately make arrangements for her to receive independent legal assistance from her own individual attorney. ATPE does not “take sides” in a conflict.

Establishing eligibility The legal assistant also determines a caller’s Continued on page 45

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capitol comment

by Brock Gregg, ATPE Governmental Relations director

The eye of the storm Taking stock post-session and pre-elections

We must remember not only what happened, but also who did what to public education, or we risk being swayed by the $100 million worth of media rhetoric we will be subjected to as we near the next elections.

If we don’t learn the truth and talk about it consistently, we risk distortion by rhetoric and spin.

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Other than the occasional tour guide pointing out the Goddess of Liberty, the big pink building is pretty quiet these days. We can count this peace as a blessing following the hack job the 82nd Legislature did on the state budget and public education. Of course, worn-out braggadocio and rhetoric are streaming over the airwaves, but for the most part, we can put that out of our minds and focus on Congress and our local school boards, where the real action is.

Right? Wrong.

Certainly, we must turn our attention to the spectacle of Washington, as congressmen debate changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and to our school boards, as they implement painful cuts while planning for an additional 160,000 students statewide in the next two years. However, we must not put Austin out of our minds, lest we forget the truth about what is happening in state government and forget our tireless quest to mitigate the damage.

It’s all about elections, baby The truth is pretty darn clear. Despite the most active advocacy by educators in memory, statewide leaders and a majority of the Legislature chose to focus on priorities other than public education— specifically, cutting government and protecting tax cuts for businesses in order to propel those with political ambitions to run for higher office. A proof of this assertion can be found in the emergency priorities set by Gov. Rick Perry, all of which were red-meat issues appealing to constituents that had little to do with a budget crisis. In addition, the Legislature took advantage of the budget crisis in education to pass the buck onto local school districts under the code word “flexibility.” The truth can be found in the voting records, which are available in black and white for you to see. ATPE will make sure you have access to all of the information you need to not only make decisions at the polls, but also to educate your local public about the state of education and what we can do about it.

We must remember not only what happened, but also who did what to public education, or we risk

being swayed by the $100 million worth of media rhetoric we will be subjected to as we near the next elections. If we don’t learn the truth and talk about it consistently, we risk distortion by rhetoric and spin.

Within these pages and on the ATPE website, you will find a comprehensive review of the actions—and non-actions—of the 82nd Legislature. Read it, know it and use it to bust all of the myths and rumors that will swirl around during the next two years.

The public is watching Future advocacy action will focus on where the Legislature left the ball game—at your local school board meetings and on your campuses. It is true that educators’ salary rights, contract rights and student loads will change due to statutory changes and underfunding. ATPE leaders will step up to the plate as they always do with reasonable solutions and input based on what is best and what is practicable for their local communities and students. We must show the voting public how professional educators deal with adversity, how we can come together to put the focus back where it belongs—on providing for students’ educational and social needs with the resources at hand.

Crucial to success in these stressful times are the relationships between ATPE members and their local elected officials. ATPE leaders are respected decision makers in school districts across the state and will be tested as conduits of information and honest brokers in local decisions. We in ATPE Governmental Relations will be here to help you with information and guidance as the rule-making activities and implementation commence at the agency and district levels.

Making lesson plans Your ATPE membership has never been more important. Remind current and potential members that ATPE has a proven track record of defending educators in legal disputes, especially in a changing environment where some rights will be challenged and litigated in the courts.

The truth often teaches lessons. The lesson from Continued on page 45 atpe news

Now that the dust has settled …

How did the 82nd Legislature change public education?

ATPE takes a look at the budget and “mandate relief”

By Jenni f er Canaday, ATPE Governmenta l Rel at i o n s Man ager

The regular and special sessions of the 82nd Legislature were some of the most challenging ever faced by the Texas education community.

T

he combination of a national recession, a flawed state tax structure and mushrooming enrollment in public schools created a perfect storm. With an unprecedented budget deficit of $27 billion, some observers predicted that as many as 100,000 school district employees might lose their jobs. When legislators finally went home this summer, the outlook was not quite as bleak as originally forecast, but educators still felt the impact.

Galvanized by state leaders’ insistence on short-changing public education while leaving a multibillion dollar “Rainy Day Fund” untapped, ATPE members took action. They attended ATPE’s Feb. 13–14 Political Involvement Training and Lobby Day in record numbers, visited their legislators at the Capitol and in their districts, testified at committee hearings, participated in rallies, composed countless emails and made hundreds of phone

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calls. Thanks to their efforts, many of the protections Texas educators enjoy were kept intact, and a few positive changes were made. Preserving the 22:1 class-size limit in grades K–4 was a top legislative priority for ATPE and a major victory given the anti-public education climate.

The 82nd Legislature’s budget cuts and policy decisions will be difficult to endure, but they are also likely to have a major influence on the 2012 elections.

Deep cuts The need to adopt a two-year state budget under the duress of a budget deficit was the driving force behind nearly all of the 82nd Legislature’s actions. Heading into 2011, the state was facing a $4.3 billion shortfall for the current biennium (ending in 2011), which did not bode well for the next biennium (ending in 2013).

The state had three general options for addressing that massive deficit: raising

fees and taxes, tapping into the state’s more than $9 billion Rainy Day Fund or cutting spending. From the get-go, ATPE advocated for a balanced approach that incorporated all three options, but it was clear early on that the Legislature would focus primarily on the third: cuts. Schools became a prime target for the Legislature’s budgetary ax.

Ultimately, public education funding was cut by about $4 billion for the coming biennium. Cuts of $4 billion signal the probable loss of several thousand public school jobs and major reductions in program funding. It is believed to be the first time in history the Texas Legislature has failed to fund enrollment growth.

Fiscal matters A fiscal matters bill was needed to distribute the deep budget cuts to public education. With the clock ticking in the regular session, all hope for making school finance changes rested with Senate Bill (SB) 1811, which had been passed by both chambers and sent to a conference

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committee. The House adopted the conference committee’s recommendations, but Senate Democrats were unwilling to support the bill’s facilitation of drastic cuts to public education. Sen. Wendy Davis (D–Fort Worth) staged a filibuster on the final day of the session and prevented the Senate from approving SB 1811 before the clock ran out. This necessitated a special session to revisit school finance.

SB 1 by Sen. Robert Duncan (R–Lubbock), sponsored by Rep. Jim Pitts (R–Waxahachie), was the fiscal matters bill filed during the special session. ATPE opposed the bill because it permanently cut public education funding.

SB 1 passed the full Senate June 3 on a party-line vote of 19–12. The House approved its version of SB 1 June 10 after considering more than 170 floor amendments. One of the most significant and favorable floor amendments was an amendment by Rep. Diane Patrick (R– Arlington) that would have ensured the detrimental changes in public education funding expired in 2013. However, the SB 1 conference committee altered this amendment so the funding scheme will potentially exist until 2015.

SB 1 was finally passed with unexpected drama June 29. The Senate had already approved the bill and adjourned sine die.

The House surprisingly voted down the bill with 64 ayes and 79 nays, so it looked as if another special session would be necessary. But, after a short recess, the House took up the bill again and passed it 80–57.

The other fiscal matters bill of the special session was SB 2 by Sen. Steve Ogden (R–Bryan), sponsored by Rep. Jim Pitts (R–Waxahachie). This bill was largely a clean-up bill that made technical changes to the budget. However, Rep. Donna Howard (D–Austin) amended the bill on the House floor to use money from the Rainy Day Fund to pay for population growth if the fund performed better than expected. The glimmer of hope offered by the Howard amendment faded quickly as

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the bill headed to a conference committee.

After the House adopted a motion by Rep. Phil King (R–Weatherford) that instructed conferees to remove the Howard amendment, the conference committee did just that. The vote in the House on the conference committee report was 89–55. The Senate vote was 20–10.

“Mandate relief” The special session resurrected many harmful pieces of legislation that had died during the regular session. “Mandate relief ” was the buzzword for policymakers this legislative session, and it was code for eliminating quality-control measures designed to protect educators and students.

The mandate relief bill that ultimately passed was SB 8 by Sen. Florence Shapiro (R–Plano), sponsored by Rep. Rob Eissler (R–The Woodlands). SB 8 makes numerous changes to contracts, salaries, and other educator rights and protections.

Contract changes In the area of contracts, SB 8: •C larifies that an educator’s contract is void if the educator’s certificate has been revoked. If an educator’s contract is voided as the result of an expired certificate not being renewed, the district may not terminate or suspend the employee if he requests an extension of time from the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC).

•C hanges the deadline for notice of end-of-year contract nonrenewal for probationary and term contract holders.

Both of these sections mandate that the notice be given at least 10 days before the last instructional day and be hand delivered. If hand delivery is impossible, the district must mail the notice via certified or express mail. Previously, notice had to be provided at least 45 days before the last instructional day. ATPE helped develop this consent language.

•A llows a teacher to be suspended without pay pending discharge. ATPE opposed this because districts already

have the authority to suspend teachers as long as the employees are given due process. As long as teachers retain their right to request a hearing on the suspension, ATPE would not object to this change. However, if the intent of this new language is to allow unpaid suspensions pending discharge without affording the teacher an opportunity for a fair hearing, ATPE believes such action is unconstitutional. ATPE will watch to see how districts interpret this change in the law.

• Provides that a teacher—after a district has declared a financial exigency and identified educators subject to a reduction in force (RIF)—who is protesting a proposed discharge or suspension without pay during the term of that contract be entitled to a hearing in the same manner provided for nonrenewals of term contracts or to a hearing before a hearing examiner, as determined by the board. This is a reduction in due process though it remains to be seen whether there will be any practical significance to the change.

• Requires decisions about reductions in force for teachers employed under continuing contracts to be based primarily upon teacher appraisals and “other criteria as determined by the board.”

• Establishes an alternative hearing process for contract nonrenewals in some districts. It authorizes the board of trustees of a district with at least 5,000 students to designate an attorney to hold a hearing on a proposed nonrenewal of a teacher’s term contract on the board’s behalf, to create a hearing record and to recommend an action to the board. The bill establishes conflict of interest provisions, which ATPE supports. However, SB 8 allows the board to accept, reject or modify the designated attorney’s recommendation without providing the guidance included in other sections of the Texas Education Code.

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• Allows a district, on the basis of financial exigency, to amend the terms of its contract with the superintendent, and permits the superintendent to resign without penalty under those circumstances.

ATPE supported this amendment.

• Contains provisions authorizing a school board to adopt a resolution declaring a financial exigency for the district and authorizing the board to terminate such a declaration at any time. This language—when combined with other contract-related changes in SB 8—is worrisome. SB 8, in essence, will allow a district to temporarily declare a financial exigency simply in order to terminate employees’ contracts

Salary floor changes

Provisions for furloughs

SB 8 leaves the minimum salary schedule statute as is, with the exception of the permanent repeal of a salary floor for certain teachers; there is a similar provision in the bill for charter school teachers. What is repealed is TEC Section 21.402(d), which stated that a classroom teacher or other employee covered by the minimum salary schedule was entitled to a salary at least as high as the employee received in 2010-11, as long as the employee had stayed in the same district.

Proponents of the repeal insisted that it was necessary because of the immediate budget crisis. ATPE believes the repeal of the salary floor was not essential because

SB 8 enables districts to implement furloughs, or days of unpaid leave. SB 8’s furlough language mostly matches that negotiated by stakeholders representing teachers and school districts. The bill authorizes districts to implement furloughs of up to six days per year as long as district funding remains below the 2010-11 funding level. The commissioner must certify whether a district is receiving less funding.

Proponents claim the furlough provisions are temporary insofar as they only apply when a district is receiving less money than it received in 2010-11; once funding levels rebound, districts will no longer have the furlough option. ATPE preferred an absolute expiration date on the furlough statutes. We fear that tying the furlough option to the funding level will create a disincentive for future legislatures to address the structural deficit because it will be easier for legislators to continue to shift the burden to local school boards to make difficult budget cuts through furloughs and salary reductions.

ATPE is pleased that SB 8 retains agreed-upon language ensuring that all contract personnel are subject to the same number of furlough days, that there will be no interruption in service for Teacher Retirement System purposes, that teacher workdays will not be increased and that teachers will be able to resign without a penalty if furloughs are adopted after the resignation deadline. ATPE is also glad SB 8 requires any furlough-related salary reduction to be equally distributed over the course of the employee’s contract.

This will prevent school employees from having to bear the loss of pay all at once.

In addition, SB 8 retains jointly negotiated language that establishes a transparent process for equitably implementing furloughs that will ensure input by affected employees and an opportunity for the district to discuss other cost-saving alternatives in a public forum.

Looking for more?

Read ATPE’s comprehensive gavel-to-gavel legislative wrap-up at www.atpe.org/advocacy.

with the lesser degree of due process, after which they can quickly and easily rescind the declaration. Fortunately, the bill retained ATPE-supported language that directs the commissioner to adopt minimum standards for the declaration of a financial exigency.

• Includes language relating to determinations of good cause for purposes of terminations or suspensions without pay, which ATPE opposed. This provides that an independent hearing examiner’s decision that good cause exists to terminate or nonrenew a contract is a “conclusion of law,” rather than a “finding of fact.” The change will make it easier for the school district to prevail in an educator’s appeal of a termination or nonrenewal.

How the changes made by SB 8 will affect educators’ rights and benefits will vary from district to district and depend on the language of each contract and the laws in effect when the contract was executed.

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districts already had a great deal of authority to reduce educators’ salaries under existing law. Similarly, the repeal was not designed to provide districts with immediate relief because the option of reducing salaries below the 2010-11 floor might not be legally available to many districts until the 2012-13 school year.

ATPE members need to remember that salary decisions will be made at the district level, and the effective dates of any salary changes will vary depending on local circumstances and contracts.

ATPE objected to the permanent repeal of the salary floor and believes it lets future Legislatures off the hook for dealing with funding deficiencies because they will find it easier to shift the burden to local school boards to deal with budget cuts through salary reductions. The silver lining of the salary reduction provisions is that SB 8 mandates that a district reducing the salaries of its teachers must reduce the salaries of administrators by the same percentage.

continued on page 45

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Twenty-two Texas Regional Teachers of the Year gather June 9 at the Hyatt Lost Pines in Bastrop for ATPE Foundation focus groups on the state of the education profession.

Joining them are 2010-11 ATPE Foundation Board President Richard Wiggins (second row from bottom, left) and 2010-11 ATPE State President David de la Garza (top row, right).

Head of the class ATPE Foundation gathers top teachers for a conversation on the profession Story and photos by Kate Johanns When you have stacks of papers to grade, paperwork to complete and lessons to plan, you don’t have time to thoughtfully consider what works and what doesn’t in public education. The best way to give yourself time to pause and reflect is to step back from the hectic nature of daily life and just get away from it all.

With this idea of “retreat” in mind, the ATPE Foundation—in keeping with its mission to advance public education through educator recruitment and retention efforts—invited the 40 Texas Regional Teachers of the Year to a gathering June 7–9 at the Hyatt Lost Pines in Bastrop. The foundation’s goal was to compile focus group information for use by education organizations, state agencies, school districts and legislators as they work to improve public education.

The educators invited had all been honored through the Texas Education Agency’s Texas Teacher of the Year program as either their region education service center’s Elementary or Secondary Teacher of the Year. The foundation serves all Texas educators, so the educators’ professional association affiliations were unknown.

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The 22 teachers who attended participated in four discussion sessions conducted by Creative Consumer Research (CCR) of Houston. For three of these sessions, the educators were split into elementary and secondary groups; these sessions covered support and professional development, teacher preparation and mentoring programs, and excellence in teaching. The entire group participated in the final discussion on the future of teaching.

CCR compiled the focus group results into a report that is being distributed to the media and policymakers. CCR synthesized the discussion and formulated four conclusions: • These teachers are on a mission to restore professionalism and identified a lack of accountability among peers, diminishing professionalism and increasing disrespect as challenges to address.

• Teachers want professional development that is relevant and useful. Teachers are unclear as to what qualifies as professional development, where they should look for it and how much they must complete.

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• Good teachers find ways to reach students on their own terms, keeping factors outside the classroom in mind, in order to make information relevant and useful. “Teaching to the test” remains a frustration.

• The teachers at the gathering found the focus group experience valuable and eye-opening. The time spent with peers allowed them to realize they are not alone in their challenges and that there are solutions.

The full report is available at www.atpefoundation.org.A

Sound bites from the Regional Teacher of the Year gathering On professional development “ I know the trainer-training-trainers model is just saving money, which we don’t have, but it’s very disappointing to go to a workshop and come out of it not having learned anything. We have an amazing district and some amazing trainers, but I think mostly anybody who signs up to teach a workshop can teach. I just wish we had a better filter for that.” “ The very best training I’ve ever received … has been just viewing someone else’s classroom who knows what they’re doing. I don’t care how long you teach. If you walk in someone else’s classroom, you just can’t possibly leave without learning.”

ATPE Executive Director Doug Rogers, Texas Teacher of the Year Daniel Leija and 2010-11 ATPE State President David de la Garza attend a welcome reception June 7 for the Texas Regional Teachers of the Year. De la Garza and Leija both teach in Northside (20) ISD; Leija is an ATPE member.

On the teaching experience “ My favorite compliment to get from a parent is ‘thank you for making my child love school again.’” “ It’s a rewarding career. You have to be willing to accept that your recognition is going to come from your students and probably not adults very often.

And you just have to love kids … love what you are doing and realize that there are going to be hard times … and there are going to be great years.”

2010-11 ATPE Foundation Board President Richard Wiggins closes the gathering June 9 with a few remarks on the foundation’s plans for distributing the information gathered during the focus groups.

Read the ATPE Foundation’s Regional Teacher of the Year report at www.atpefoundation.org. fall 2011

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The 2011

ATPE Summit: Reaching the top

Although the first-ever ATPE Summit covered the business of the annual state convention and the leader training of Leader U, the event was something altogether unique. More than 970 members from across the state gathered in Austin July 20–23 to make the trek to the top. On the way up, they took part in professional development and ATPE leader training sessions, listened to and participated in inspiring presentations, conducted the business of the House of Delegates and spent quality time with colleagues and friends.

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Teaching is a beautiful profession

Thanks!

Renowned education advocate Jonathan Kozol speaks to ATPE

The first-ever ATPE Summit was a great success thanks in part to the generosity of the following:

Jonathan Kozol began his career in education substitute teaching for kindergarteners in the early 1960s. “Kindergarteners are like gerbils,” he told the ATPE members listening to his keynote speech.

“I didn’t know what to do with people that size.”

Since then, Kozol has become one of the nation’s most well-known and wellrespected education advocates. The award-winning author spoke on his time as a fourth-grade teacher in Boston’s poorest neighborhoods and on the public’s lack of support for education and teachers.

Teachers are “working on the front lines of American democracy,” he said.

Kozol also spoke on his belief that class size is, apart from the wisdom of the administration and the experience of teachers, the most important factor in student development and achievement.

He strongly believes that what’s good for the children of privilege—who often attend private schools with small classes— is good for even the poorest public education student.

He told a few stories of Francesca, the young teacher in his book Letters to a Young Teacher, and of the time he went to visit schools in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, with Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood fame.

“Children prevail because of the dedication of teachers,” Kozol said in closing.

“The innocence of children will outlast us all. Life goes so fast—use it well.”

In addition to his keynote speech, Kozol signed copies of his books, The Shame of the Nation and Letters to a Young Teacher, for summit attendees.

Thank you to our generous sponsors and volunteers

Financial sponsors Bank of America, Bells Promotional Products, Frost Insurance, the Law Office of Daniel Ortiz and Nationwide Insurance Region and local unit financial sponsors Regions 1, 6, 12 and 13; Northside (20) ATPE Guest participants Mike Dennett, Anna Marie Dyas, Bradley Hammond, Roel Sanchez, Nathan Trevino and the University of Texas Police Department Educator of the Year Committee members Chairman Carl Franks, Jackie Davis, Olga Garza, Julie Harris, Darlene Kelly, Michele Stahl and Lynda Stark Leader of the Year Committee members Chairwoman April Tipton, James Fisher, Lynette Ginn, Barbara Jo Green, Mischelle Holland, Daisy Palomo and Michael Slaight Nomination/Election Committee members Chairman Rudy Romero, Stephanie Bailey, Ranelle Baldwin, Carl Garner, Patti Gibbs, Karen Hennegan, Bobbie Toliver and assistant Sylvia Zamora Member volunteers Isela Agundis, Paige Alexander, Sue Allen, Sandra Bounds, Kirk Brown, Samantha Castillo,Karen Crumrine, Kristi Daws, Marta Delgado, Savonya DePland, Jason Forbis, Julia Galindo, Carmela Garcia, Maria Garcia, Olga Garza, Wanda Giles, Teresa Griffin, Teresa Gross, Tina Hardarson, Aspen Hennrich, Janice Hornsby, Albert Lemons, Bridget Loffler, Julie McCullough, Janet McDaniel, Pam Miller, Jennifer Mills, Tomas Muniz, Maudie Reece, Joni Reese, Sandra Requenez, Elizabeth Reynolds, Irene Rodriguez-Dubberly, Cindi Rojas, Lissa Shepard, Bess Simple, Debbie Williamson and Judith Zolandz

Reaching the top ATPE-PAC and the ATPE Foundation raise funds The ATPE Political Action Committee (ATPE-PAC) raised a record-breaking $13,111 for future advocacy efforts during both a live and a silent auction. Special thanks go to the donors of auction items: Individuals: Kirk Brown, Cheryl Buchanan, Jaime Cook, Merry Creager, Cheryl Drews, Teresa Griffin, Teresa Gross, Jackie Hannebaum, Kim Kriegel, Elizabeth Lynn, Patrice Rabalais, Irene Rodriguez-Dubberly, Gary Schepf, Susan Smith, Amy White Local units: Chisum ATPE, Duncanville ATPE, Irving ATPE, Lewisville ATPE, Lytle ATPE, Odessa ATPE Regions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19 The ATPE Foundation raised nearly $3,000 for literacy initiatives, technology programs, and educator recruitment and retention efforts.

The PAC’s Peak Challenge, which ran from February through May, raised $18,500 for future advocacy efforts.

P A C ’S PEAK CHAL LENGE

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Voices carry during the House of Delegates There is no better place to watch ATPE’s member-owned, member-governed philosophy come to life than the annual gathering of the House of Delegates (HOD). This year, delegates met July 20–21 to discuss eight bylaws amendments; honorary, standing, current and proposed resolutions; the ATPE Legislative Program; and main motions.

Bylaws amendments The HOD considered eight bylaws amendments and adopted four of them. Members may log in at www.atpe.org/AboutUs to read the ATPE State Bylaws. The amendments have the following effects:

• In order to receive full rebates, regions shall prepare annual financial statements and present them to their members, as well as undergo mandatory financial reviews biennially and present the results of those reviews to their members (Bylaws Amendment No. 8 amending Article VIII to add a Section 9).

• The ATPE Board of Directors (BOD) now counts among its duties the addressing of “ethical issues and disputes of regions and local units, including but not limited to instances of alleged financial malfeasance, when reported” (Bylaws Amendment No. 4 amending Article V, Section 3).

Resolutions

• All chartered local units shall operate under an Aug. 1 to July 31 year for their membership, fiscal and officer terms (Bylaws Amendment No. 6 amending Article VII to add a Section 7).

This aligns the local unit years with the state and region years.

Standing resolutions

• Region presidents, vice presidents, secretaries and treasurers will follow an Aug. 1–July 31 officer term (Bylaws Amendment No. 7 amending Article VIII, Section 6).

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Honorary resolution The HOD adopted an honorary resolution recognizing Immediate Past State President Sam Spurlock.

The HOD allowed the 12 existing standing resolutions to continue without amendment and adopted one new standing resolution: Standing Resolution No. 13 SUBJECT: Overturning Exclusive Consultation YEAR ADOPTED: 2011

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RESOLVED, that ATPE state staff work proactively and provide financial support to local units to overturn exclusive consultation in districts where it exists and work to prevent it in districts with an increased potential for exclusive consultation. Financial support can include political action committee (PAC) monies (where not prohibited by state and federal laws) for school board candidates aligned with ATPE’s belief on exclusive consultation.

Current resolutions The HOD allowed three 2010-11 current resolutions to expire and adopted two 2011-12 current resolutions: 1.RESOLVED, that the ATPE House of Delegates direct the ATPE Board of Directors to work with state staff to conduct a study to determine the most effective recruitment models to compete with other educator organizations, including a costbenefit analysis related to ATPE hiring full-time on-site staff to assist volunteer leaders in the areas of the state where on-site competition is significantly impacting ATPE’s ability to grow its membership, and be it further RESOLVED, that the cost-benefit analysis include options for local units and regions that face high competition to contribute to the costs of the full-time on-site staff through region and local unit dues and/or rebates; and be it further RESOLVED, that the results of the cost-benefit analysis related to assigning full-time on-site staff to areas of high on-site competition be reported to the Board of Directors for possible future action.

ATPE Legislative Program The ATPE Legislative Program, given to legislators at the beginning of each legislative session, outlines the association’s legislative priorities and guides ATPE Governmental Relations in its advocacy efforts. The HOD adopted the 2011-12 ATPE Legislative Program as recommended by the Legislative Committee with two exceptions: • The HOD added the following to Position No. 9 on Curriculum: “[ATPE recommends that school districts/the state] Support prealgebra being counted in the minimum high school plan.”

• The HOD chose to readopt Position No. 10 on Grading Policies without the Legislative Committee’s recommended amendments. The position reads: “ATPE supports school district policies that give deference to an educator’s professional discretion in assessing the progress of his or her students.”

Main motion The HOD adopted a three-year contract beginning Aug. 1, 2011, for ATPE Executive Director Doug Rogers.

View More photos from the summit at

http://bit.ly/2011ATPESummit.

2. RESOLVED, that the House of Delegates (HOD) charge the Board of Directors to investigate options for local unit delegates to be certified as delegates in cases when a local unit president is either unable or unwilling to certify delegates to this HOD.

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Honors abound during the Awards Banquet and Membership Awards Luncheon Judy Coyle Texas Liberty Award

Alafair Hammett Media Awards Named for ATPE’s first state president, this award recognizes local media for their outstanding support and coverage of public education. The 2011 recipients are: Newspapers with circulations of 15,000 or fewer: The Azle News Newspapers with circulations of 15,000-plus: Austin American-Statesman

ATPE staff service awards The Honorable Bill Ratliff accepts the Judy Coyle Texas Liberty Award for Raise Your Hand Texas during the Awards Banquet.

ATPE’s highest honor, which is named after ATPE founding member Judy Coyle and recognizes outstanding service to public education, was awarded to Raise Your Hand Texas, a pro-public education organization.

Raise Your Hand Texas was chosen as the group most deserving of this year’s award due to its proven commitment to making the general public and state leaders understand that public education should remain a top priority in our great state. The group ran television and radio ads featuring actor Tommy Lee Jones and former chairman and CEO of General Motors Ed Whitacre to promote the importance of education funding during the legislative session. Throughout the years, Raise Your Hand Texas has gained the respect of many in the education community for the important role it has played in public education awareness.

Congratulations to the state office staff members who were honored during the summit for 130 years of combined experience.

Five years of service: Staff Attorney Lance Cain, Member Services Assistant James Callaway, Legal Assistant Ronetta Carr, Member Services Supervisor Chris Chodacki, Graphic Designer Erica Fos, Staff Attorney Rachael Maresh, Staff Attorney Sylvia Martinez-Haley, Legal Assistant Ana Ortega, Member Services Director Amy White and Indvidual Member Record Supervisor Javier Ybarra 10 years of service: Accounting Manager Debbie Dornhoefer, Governmental Relations Communications Coordinator Ethan Herr, Senior Graphic Designer John Kilpper and Member Services Supervisor Keith McLemore 20 years of service: Public Relations Director Larry Comer and Accounts Payable/General Ledger Assistant Stephanie Williams

2010-11 ATPE State Treasurer Ginger Franks hands $4,000 Stephen F. Austin honoree Carol Davies her award.

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Educator of the Year Awards

community to take ownership and feel good about it. “I grew up in a small school, and it was my safe haven,” she says. “I have very fond memories of my school years and want that for these kids.”

These awards recognize ATPE members who demonstrate exceptional or innovative capabilities in their respective educational fields.

Finalist: Kim Washington, Denton ISD

Elementary Teacher

Administrator

Linda Henrie, superintendent, Mesquite ISD Henrie believes that administrators must both ensure success for an organization and cultivate a high-performing, loyal team of professionals and that, as leaders, administrators must have a vision for their campuses and districts to which all employees can aspire. “While leadership suggests responsibility and goal setting, the outstanding administrator must also be able to empower others and gain confidence from relationships,” she says. “No one is successful on his or her own; it takes a team to achieve success.”

Finalist: Cheri Dixon, Galena Park ISD

Veronica Stapper, third-grade teacher, Clark Elementary School, Gregory-Portland ISD According to Stapper, great teachers need a variety of skills— they need to be prepared, have a love of working with children, know how to use positive reinforcement with discipline, be experts in their respective fields, and be fair and just. “Great teachers instill in their students values, knowledge, hopes and dreams,” she says. “A good teacher can be anyone, but a great teacher can take students beyond their own expectations.”

Finalists: Myra Cantu, Corpus Christi ISD, and Debra Stolpa, Alief ISD

Secondary Teacher

Associate

Carolyn Williams, secretary, Deer Creek Elementary School, Crowley ISD Williams thinks that the commitment of an associate educator to students and parents as well as a willingness to serve their needs is what makes that educator outstanding; she wants her school

fall 2011

Scott Sherman, ninth-grade world geography teacher, Hanna High School, Brownsville ISD One of Sherman’s main goals as a teacher is to create an ideal learning environment through the facilitation of critical thinking and creation of authentic learning. He also believes that teachers need to create true learning communities in their classrooms and respect the learning style of each individual student. atpe.org | 25

“Teachers need to relate to their students’ worlds at every opportunity available,” he says. “When kids make that positive connection to what is being taught and their experiences outside of the classroom, the outcome will be authentic.”

Finalists: Judith Gonzales, Boerne ISD, and Linda Nash Pearce, Ennis ISD

Finalists: Lone Star College–Tomball ATPE, Region 4, and Texas Woman’s University, Region 11

Local units with 1–500 members Falls City ATPE Region 3 Chartered in 2000 47 members

Special Services Educator

2010-11 officers: President Cathy Stolle (pictured),Vice President Debbie Wiatrek, Secretary Phyllis Jarzombek and Treasurer Dorothy Kotara Finalists: Clint ATPE, Region 19, and Nacogdoches ATPE, Region 7

Local units with 501–1,000 members Willis ATPE Region 6 Chartered in 1985 516 members

Donny Hearn, behavior specialist, Andrews Middle School, Andrews ISD Hearn knows the value of being a high-energy teacher with high expectations and believes that the motivation of a teacher is what makes lasting, positive changes in students’ lives. He also knows that flexibility and compromise are essential classroom tools. “It is necessary to not only get to know your students, but [also] to have a working knowledge of their interests and ambitions,” he says. “This, in turn, creates a cohesive bond between teacher and student.”

Finalists: Carmela Garcia, Galena Park ISD, and Rose Perez, Corpus Christi ISD

Local Unit of the Year The ATPE Local Unit of the Year Award acknowledges local unit efforts and accomplishments during the year. Each winning local unit receives $500.

2010-11 officers: President Donna Ward (pictured), Vice President and Membership Chair Judi Thomas, Secretary Cory Colby, and Treasurer Lori Mitchell Finalists: Leander ATPE, Region 13, and Mission ATPE, Region 1

Local units with 1,001-plus members Mesquite ATPE Region 10 Chartered in 1982 2,343 members 2010-11 officers: President Carl Garner (pictured), Vice President Kristi Petty, Secretary Kevin Morgan, Treasurer Amy Roby and Membership Chair Paula Kusewitt Finalist: Round Rock ATPE, Region 13

University local units East Texas Baptist University ATPE Region 7 Chartered in 2008 52 members 2010-11 officers: President Amy Crumrine (pictured), Vice President Jennifer Hargraves, Secretary Anna Hardy and Treasurer Lacey Lasater

26 | atpe.org

Join the ranks of ATPE award winners!

Find applications and deadlines for ATPE’s 2011-12 awards at atpe.org.

atpe news

Campus Representative ATPE Newsletter of the Year Award The ATPE Campus Representative of the Year Award acknowledges those special ATPE volunteers who are fundamental to the continued growth and development of our grassroots organization. Winners receive $500 each, and their local units each receive $250 for future local unit activities.

Local units with 1–500 members

This award recognizes outstanding local unit newsletters.

Print newsletter (local units with 1–400 members) Lytle ATPE—Sandra Jopling, editor

Print newsletter (local units with 400-plus members) Willis ATPE—Cory Colby, editor

Katherine Whitbeck, Nacogdoches ATPE Whitbeck has organized email groups for each Nacogdoches ISD campus, putting each member into his or her proper membership category.

This allows her to connect with members and forward information from the ATPE state office and Region 7. “Email is the most convenient tool I use because I can get the word out quickly, using a minimum amount of paper,” she says.

Finalists: Bob Beckett, Boerne ATPE, and Ma Elena Ingram, McAllen ATPE

Local units with 501–1,000 members Roger Gutierrez, Weslaco ATPE Gutierrez believes that the most important tool a campus rep can use is proper communication, be that communication about policy coverage dates, membership deadlines or educational issues. He holds educator breakfasts at the start of each new year to share any new ATPE information with members. “I try to sit down and chat with as many people as possible about the issues that are affecting educators across the state and the benefits of being an ATPE member,” he says.

Finalists: Cory Colby, Willis ATPE, and Debbie Williamson, Galena Park ATPE

Local units with 1,001-plus members Monica Gonzales-Rios, Corpus Christi ATPE Gonzales-Rios has a special ATPE bulletin board on which she posts the latest in ATPE information, legislative updates, meeting notices, comparison fliers and more. She knows the value of proper information. “When questions are asked of me about the organization, if I cannot answer the question I always refer them to the website or to the ATPE state office,” she says. “I then explain to them that it is important for them to get the right information and the best way is to call the state office.”

Sam Houston Award for Political Involvement This award recognizes an individual member’s outstanding achievements in five major areas and overall excellence in the growth and development of individual grassroots advocacy involvement.

Richard Wiggins, Boerne ATPE Richard Wiggins has been an advocate since he was 8 years old and “block-walked” with his mother in support of John F. Kennedy.

Since those early days, Wiggins has moved on to advocating for public education through his membership in ATPE and has formed relationships with many legislators on the local, state and national levels. And as part of Boerne ATPE, Wiggins helped create a Meet the Candidate Night, a meeting with members of the Boerne ISD school board during which they are asked questions developed by ATPE members; the event is sponsored by the local unit and has been held the past two years.

Stephen F. Austin Honorees Stephen F. Austin honorees are the greatest supporters of the ATPE Political Action Committee (ATPE-PAC).

This honor is bestowed based on cumulative contributions to ATPE-PAC since July 1997. This year, ATPE-PAC is proud to announce the fifth member to reach the $4,000 contribution level, Carol Davies of Mesquite ATPE, and the first member to reach the $6,000 contribution level, Richard Wiggins of Boerne ATPE.

Finalist: Cassandra Carter, Northside (20) ATPE fall 2011

atpe.org | 27

Davy Crockett Fundraising Challenge This challenge was established to recognize the regions and local units that raise the most money per member for ATPE-PAC. This year’s winners are: Regions with fewer than 10,000 members—Region 5 Raised $4,443/$2.71 per member.

2010-11 President Bill Moye Regions with 10,000+ members—Region 10 Raised $19,440/$1.39 per member.

2010-11 President Merry Creager Local units with 1–500 members—Warren Raised $1,210/$13.01 per member.

2010-11 President Kay Daniel Local units with 501–1,000 members—Willis Raised $8,845/$16.44 per member.

2010-11 President Donna Ward Local units with 1001+ members—Mesquite Raised $8,747/$3.66 per member.

2010-11 President Carl Garner

2010-11 ATPE Political Action Committee Honorees Stephen F. Austin ATPE-PAC Honorees $6,000 Boerne: Richard Wiggins $4,000 Mesquite: Carol Davies $2,000 Dallas: Dianne Reed Duncanville: Beth Gutierrez Fort Worth: Steve Pokluda Killeen: Eileen Walcik, Ronald Walcik La Vega: Norma Burns Mesquite: Janice Houston $1,000 Andrews: Teresa Gross Beaumont: Kirk Brown Carrollton-Farmers Branch: Mimi Bunton Crowley: Diane Pokluda Garland: Carol Phelps Jefferson: Bessie Rhodes La Vega: Jana Miller Midway (12): Barbara Belk, Jason Forbis Retired: Irene Rodriguez-Dubberly San Antonio: Tina Briones

28 | atpe.org

Tyler: Betty Berndt Waco: Sandra O’Connor $500 Abilene: Tonja Gray Alvin: Ron Fitzwater Austin: Julia Fletcher Azle: JoAnn Thompson Ballinger: Cheryl Buchanan Bandera: Sharon Anderwald Birdville: William Monty Brackett: Karron Childress Coleman County: Sarah Beal Corpus Christi: Rose Perez Ennis: Eva Moyers Ferris: Meredith Malloy Fredericksburg: Rhonda Eckert Garland: Julia Lepek Henderson: Carolyn Wimberley Huntsville: Sandra Bounds Irving: Gwendolyn Craig Keller: Margaret Hastings, Cheryl Thompson La Vega: Dennis Hataway Leander: Carol Nelson Lewisville: Karen Hames Lytle: Irene Robbins Manor: Shemon Bailey Medina Valley: Diana Bush Mesquite: Wanda Bailey Nacogdoches: Janie Leath, Katherine Whitbeck Northside (20): James Bluhm Olney: Charlotte Mahler Sherman: Blanche Waters Waco: Jane Sykes Waxahachie: Nora Crist, Dale Kriegel Willis: Nancy Blackwelder Woden: Malinda Holzapfel

Your 2011-12 ATPE state officers. From left: State Treasurer Richard Wiggins, State Vice President Deann Lee, State President Cheryl Buchanan, State Secretary Ginger Franks and Immediate Past State President David de la Garza.

atpe news

fall 2011

atpe.org | 29

Camp counselor/Top recruiter Jackie Davis Garland ATPE Recruited 108 members!

Recruited 30 or more new members

Hays Steve Thompson Humble Gloria Reidlinger

30 | atpe.org

Midway (12) Jason Forbis Mission Kay Hunnicutt Nacogdoches Mary Jo Shepherd Nacogdoches Katherine Whitbeck Stephenville Brenda Burks

atpe news

Corpus Christi Myra Cantu Virginia Randal Cypress-Fairbanks Stephanie Bailey Judy Hitchcock Becky Keels

Recruited 20–29 new members

Recruited 10–19 new members

Austin Jackie Totten

Aldine Wanda Giles

Dripping Springs Becky Hutson

Corpus Christi Monica Gonzalez-Rios Jackie Hannebaum Rose Perez

Alief Amy Owens

El Paso Amada Hernandez

Andrews Teresa Gross Joni Reese

Galena Park Deborah Williamson

Denton Vicki Storrie Edinburg Amancio Garza El Paso Chad Shugart Ennis Nanette Moyers Fort Worth Raul Duran Steve Pokluda Frenship Mandy Wilbur Garland Greg Platt Kim Platt Humble Stacey Ward Irving Cheryl Drews Judson Marcie Helmke Susan McIlhenny Laredo Raquel Bradley Lewisville Karen Hames Lubbock Isabel Gutierrez San Antonio Randall Iglehart San Elizario Suky Lopez Weslaco Susan Martin

fall 2011

Angleton Scherri Stroman Austin Molly Anderson Guadalupe Chavez Cathryn Harris Adriana Lichtenberger Maria Maldonado Marcy McNeil Jerry Williams Ballinger Darlene Kelly Birdville Bill Monty Teri Naya Boerne Beth Manz Bushland Dawn Riley Carlisle Regina Sugg Center Point Shirley Wright Chisum Carla Sanders Cleburne Tena Alexander Clint Rudy Romero Helen Whitney Coleman County Sarah Beal Connally Katy Odom

Denton Jenny Koontz

Garland Carol Phelps Robert Quach Nichole Waggoner Hays JoAnn Tomasek Cynthia VandeGarde Craig Wiseman Humble Anne Blake Cathleen Blayney Laurie Curtis Jim Dang Betsy Duplechain Keith Kitts Marjorie Morrison Gayle Sampley Mary Stowell Kristi Vannett

$1,000 e grand-priz r! e n in w

Irving Jeri Bailey Helen Bradley Robin Hurt Darla Liesman Karen McCoskey Killeen Eileen Walcik Ron Walcik Laredo Esther Buckley Sylvia Moreno Annie Santos Lubbock Patricia Verett Mount Vernon Rita Long Nocona Patti Gibbs

atpe.org | 31

Northside (20) Kathy Day David de la Garza Laurie Wylie Odessa Bridget Loffler Palmer Gina Godding Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Olga Baldazo Plano Jill Gibson Presidio Yolanda Escobedo Richardson Bill Parker San Antonio Sheryl Bibles Nelly Rosales-Nino Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Janya Hodge Caroline McClain Janie Thomas Socorro Joanne Anguiano Stephenville Melinda Petross Waxahachie Kim Kriegel Terri Whatley Willis Cory Colby Ysleta John Porter

Alief Ricardo Arriola-Gomez Janet Dammann Dayna DiCenso Linda Treend Andrews Tina Hardarson Jody Lyle Arlington Donna Hogard Austin Pat Dudley Suzie Guerra Heidi Langan Linda McKay Curtis Powell Jean Stein Birdville Debra Darter Mary Hensarling Boerne Judith Gonzales Richard Wiggins Clear Creek Nancy Fiegel Kelly Henry Kathy Koch Martha Anne Pierson Leda Smith Clint Antonio Aguilera Carolina Landeros Alejandro Medrano Daniel Sanchez Michael Slaight Robert Zamora Sylvia Zamora Connally Cynthia Hudson Stephanie McCown Dana McCoy Robi Michael Corpus Christi Melissa Naranjo-Rodriguez Rebecca Quinones

Abilene John Tyson

Crowley Christopher Adams Carlos Diaz Crystal Herring Diane Pokluda Debbie Walker

Alice Alma de la Garza Jemima Gomez

Cypress-Fairbanks Charlotte Godsey Jackye Spell

Recruited 5–9 new members

32 | atpe.org

Denton Malicia Curran Amy Miller Donald Place Darla Purcell Holli Rice Eanes Laura Aulenbacher Dale Baker Brooke Ehlinger Karen Welsh East Central Lauri Peters Ennis Denise Beasley Judy Buchanan Merry Creager Mary Dowell Barbara Love Andrea Loveless Galena Park Jeri Davis Garland Susan Allred Angela Arey Julia Lepek Jim Manley Shenequa Miller Gary Sturgill Sandy Sturgill Seidy Trent Goliad Yvonne Meharg Hays Donna Buskness Meagan Hall Brenda Hawkins Shannan Rojas Humble Lisa Bender Audra Boney Diana Broussard Deanna Galeucia Linda Kenyon Kim Koch Stacey Landrith Monica Laszacs Amanda McGee Holly Miller Jason Netardus Irving Kathleen Adams Chio Beas Wendy Bennett Ann Crowley Phyllis Ethridge

atpe news

Michelle Harris Craig Howe Teresa Johnson Connie Kilday Pamela Lawson Lisa Lobb Allison Lopez Kyle MacDougall Angela Newby Donna Plunkett Pam Slaughter Dore Venne Roberto Villanueva Federico Williams Monica Zarate

Jessica Good Jennifer Grady Mary Kirkpatrick Debbie Massey Amy Roby Mary Schaper Lisa Stovall Amber Tyree Nacogdoches County Ginger Franks Clint Watson Mark Whitehead Shannon Whitehead

Judson Sharon Hons Karen Saathoff April Schweizerhof Erica Toney

San Antonio Dana Day Laura Purchis Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Lisa Evans Sherri Ledford Socorro Cecy Bueno Noel Rodriguez Spring Branch Carolyn Cossey Rene Rosales

North East Lydia Black Terry Villalobos

Tyler Betty Berndt Candy DuBose

Northside (20) Stephanie Biering Lisa Hinojosa

Waco Patty Reneau

La Vega Lauren Godfrey

Odessa Tomas Muniz

Waxahachie Nora Crist Cheryl Mitchell

Lackland Mary Friday Cynthia Lutzenberger Julie Mihalko

Palacios Kay Lawson

Weatherford Kathy Higginbottom

Paris Deann Lee

Weslaco Mamie Miller Lisa Nieto

Laredo Trina Bratton Lewisville Vickie Graham

Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Julie Juarez

Manor Sandra Turner

Plano Caryn Bartle Melissa Duffey William Freeman

Mesquite Denel Comley

Round Rock Sherry Griffin

Join

the

Westwood Kathy Hightower Woden Dena Smith Ysleta Jennifer Adams Edie Porter

2011-12 Ben Shilcutt Plus Club

The Ben Shilcutt Plus Club recognizes ATPE’s top recruiters. To join the 2011-12 Ben Shilcutt Plus Club, submit the names of the new members you recruit by March 5, 2012, using an official ATPE Ben Shilcutt Plus Club entry form or the form available at atpe.org.

Personal, computer-generated lists will not be accepted.

In addition to being recognized in ATPE publications and at the 2012 ATPE Summit, you will receive a special gift for being a member of the 2011-12 Ben Shilcutt Plus Club: • 5-Plus Club members will receive a silver-and-black calculator/pen set.

• 10-Plus Club members will receive a junior trifolio with pen and one grand-prize* entry.

• 20-Plus Club members will receive a trifolio with pen and two grand-prize* entries.

• 30-Plus Club members will receive a zippered padfolio with pen and three grand-prize* entries.

Please note: A new member is any individual who was not an ATPE member during the prior school year. First-time professional and associate members who were college students or teacher trainees during the prior school year are also considered new members.

Only entries that list five or more new members will be considered, and you must be a current-year ATPE member to qualify as a recruiter. New members will only be attributed to one recruiter. If a new member’s name is included on more than one form, only the first recruiter based on the state office date of receipt will get credit for the recruitment. *The $1,000 grand-prize drawing will take place at the 2012 ATPE Summit, July 14–17, 2012, in Austin.

fall 2011

atpe.org | 33

your association

state & region leaders

Cheryl Buchanan

Deann Lee

Ginger Franks

Richard Wiggins

David de la Garza

President Ballinger, Region 15

Vice president Paris, Region 8

Treasurer Boerne, Region 20

Past president Northside, Region 20

A 24-year education veteran, Buchanan teaches sixth-grade English and ESL.

Lee is Paris ISD’s state/ federal programs director and has 23 years of education experience.

Secretary Nacogdoches County, Region 7

Wiggins is a special education department chair and has nine years of education experience.

De la Garza has 32 years of education experience and currently serves as a K-5 GT/enrichment specialist.

Franks, a 29-year education veteran, teaches special education in Martinsville ISD for the Nacogdoches County Co-op.

Region 2

Region 3

Region 4

Region 5

Region 6

Amancio Garza

Jackie Hannebaum

Jan Womack

Ann Petrillo

Bill Moye

Brenda Lynch

Edinburg

Corpus Christi

Goliad

Houston

Warren

Huntsville

Roger Gutierrez

Monica Gonzalez-Rios

Yvonne Meharg

Ron Fitzwater

Jackie Arthur

Charles Lindsey

Weslaco

Corpus Christi

Goliad

Alvin

Lumberton

Magnolia

Vice presidents:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president: Glen

Vice president: Cory

Susana Andrews,

Rebecca Quinones,

Darlene Shick,

Stacey Ward, Humble

Rabalais, Beaumont

Colby, Willis

Rio Hondo; Sandra

Corpus Christi

Tidehaven

Secretary: Eli

Secretary: Janice

Secretary: Donna

Requenez, McAllen;

Secretary: Lauro Rios, Alice

Secretary:

Rodriguez, Cypress-

Brent, Vidor

Ward, Willis

Michael Sweet, Pharr-

Treasurer: Amelia Flores,

Joy Roppolo,

Fairbanks

Treasurer: Sue Allen,

Treasurer: Melodye

San Juan-Alamo

Corpus Christi

El Campo

Treasurer: Juan

Warren

Pinson, Conroe

Secretary: Teresa

Misc. officer:

Treasurer:

Venegas, Sheldon

Past president: Judi

Schuette, McAllen

Ruben Pena, Alice

Terry Divers, Palacios

Past president: Julie

Thomas, Willis

Director

Region 1

President

2011-12 Region Officers

2011-12 State Officers

Presenting your 2011-12 ATPE leaders

Treasurer: Mike

Sanders, Alief

Dennett, Edinburg

34 | atpe.org

atpe news

Region 8

Region 9

Region 10

Region 11

Region 12

Region 13

Nan Bryant

Rita Long

Kristi Daws

Dab Johnson

David Williams

Julleen Bottoms

Greg Vidal

Grand Saline

Mount Vernon

Jacksboro

Mesquite

Keller

Corsicana

Pflugerville

Janie Leath

Sandra Patterson

Patti Gibbs

Carl Garner

Melba Roller

Jason Forbis

Genie Rolfe

Nacogdoches

North Lamar

Nocona

Mesquite

Carroll

Midway

San Marcos

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Kimberly Cross,

Judy Johnson, Mount

April Tipton, Bowie

Shane Huff, Mesquite

Karen Hames,

Sandra O’Connor, Waco

Monica Huff-Dixon,

Nacogdoches

Vernon

Secretary: Belinda

Secretary:

Lewisville

Secretary:

Round Rock

Secretary:

Secretary: Karen Ives,

Wolf, Wichita Falls

Melissa Duffey, Plano

Secretary:

Ron Walcik, Killeen

Secretary:

Malinda Holzapfel,

Jefferson

Treasurer: Mandy

Treasurer:

Sheri Merritt,

Treasurer:

Christie Smith,

Woden

Treasurer: Carie

Cross, Wichita Falls

Jane Via, Garland

Lake Worth

Tonya Rowswell,

Pflugerville

Treasurer:

Archer, Chisum

Past president:

Past president:

Treasurer:

Corsicana

Treasurer:

Julie McCullough,

Monica Hicks-Bailey,

Merry Creager, Ennis

Darius Hatchett, Keller

Past president:

Cris Rocha, Del Valle

Brownsboro-Chandler

Wichita Falls

Past president:

Skip Omenson,

Past president:

Misc. officer: Dustin

Lynda Leuty, Birdville

Gatesville

Jayne Serna, Leander

President

Director

Region 7

Anderson, Jacksboro

Misc. officer: Janice Hornsby, West

Region 15

Region 16

Region 17

Region 18

Region 19

Region 20

Marsha Exum

Sarah Beal

Shane Whitten

Lynette Ginn

Teresa Griffin

Socorro Lopez

Sandra de Leon

Abilene

Coleman County

Amarillo

Hale Center

Stanton

San Elizario

Northside

Tonja Gray

Darlene Kelly

Linda James

Ranelle Baldwin

Bridget Loffler

Patti Garcia

Tina Briones

Abilene

Ballinger

River Road

Lubbock

Odessa

Ysleta

San Antonio

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Vice president:

Angel Haley, Abilene

Jose Delgado,

Deborah Sutterfield,

Caroljean Byrnes,

Vicki Greenfield,

Chad Shugart, El Paso

Mary Reyes, Lackland

Secretary:

San Felipe-Del Rio

Amarillo

Frenship

Monahans-Wickett-

Secretary: Cecilia

Secretary: Julie

Stephanie Hammer,

Secretary:

Secretary:

Secretary: Brenda

Pyote

Bueno, Socorro

Mihalko, Lackland

Abilene

Pamela Crenwelge,

Stephanie Parker,

Bryan, Hale Center

Secretary:

Treasurer: Rudy

Treasurer: Marcie

Treasurer:

Sonora

Bushland

Treasurer: Gail Carter,

Tina Hardarson,

Romero, Clint

Helmke, Judson

David Curry, Abilene

Treasurer:

Treasurer:

Lubbock

Andrews

Past president:

Luz Mendez, Junction

Dawn Riley, Bushland

President

Director

Region 14

Treasurer: Teresa

Sandra Konczak,

Gross, Andrews

Abilene

Past President: Tommy Harrison, Odessa

fall 2011

atpe.org | 35

your association

atpe news

ATPE members win appeal in RIF case Four ATPE members were on the winning side in one of the first commissioner’s decisions handed down after the spring 2011 reductions in force (RIFs).

Commissioner of Education Robert Scott issued a ruling July 5 stating that Killeen ISD’s decision not to renew the four employees’ contracts due to a RIF was “arbitrary and capricious.” The district was ordered to reinstate the employees and pay them any back pay as well as employment benefits from the time their contracts were nonrenewed or, alternatively, pay the employees one year of salary from the date they would have been rehired. State law establishes these two alternatives after a successful appeal.

No local unit but still want to volunteer?

No problem!

If you’re interested in serving as an ATPE volunteer but work in a school district without an active chartered local unit, then the ATPE Ambassador program is for you.

Arnett also says he was reassured by the commissioner’s adherence to long-standing principles protecting teachers’ rights during RIFs. ATPE and its counsel have defended a number of RIF actions since spring 2011.

Ambassadors become a voice for ATPE in districts that currently do not have local units. You can volunteer for ATPE in the capacities that suit your level of comfort, whether that’s setting up an ATPE table at a district event or simply distributing membership materials. The ATPE state office will provide you with the training and tools you need to succeed as an ATPE Ambassador.

“As far as we know, the Killeen cases are the first to be appealed to the commissioner,” Arnett says. “Under the current political climate, we believe there may be more situations next spring in which districts decide they need to reduce staff. In this environment, we felt it was critically important to establish that districts would not be permitted to ignore logic, law and fundamental fairness in the process.”

Sign up for the program at www. atpe.org/AboutUs/ambassadorSignUp. aspx. Please contact ATPE Local Unit Coordinator Jessica McKay at jmckay@ atpe.org or (800) 777-ATPE if you have questions.

The four ATPE members were represented by attorney Rick Arnett, who says the district’s board violated its RIF policy by allowing principals to select “less favored or disfavored employees for termination and to avoid any duty to place them in open positions” for which they were qualified.

Improve your well-being with ATPE

How do you find out if there’s an ATPE local unit in your school district?

Visit www.atpe.org/AboutUs/ATPEIn YourArea.asp, and select your school district from the menu under Contact Your Local Unit Representative.

For a low monthly fee, ATPE members now have access to a variety of discount health and lifestyle benefits including vision, dental, doctors by phone, personal wellness, pet care, identity protection, entertainment and roadside assistance. For more information or to enroll, log in to www.atpe.org/Resources/ ServicesAndDiscounts/.

36 | atpe.org

atpe news

Don’t miss your chance to enroll in guaranteed-issue insurance benefits Life insurance ATPE has enhanced our voluntary group life insurance program for the 2011-12 membership year. Be sure to check your 2011-12 membership ID card packet for important enrollment information. This coverage is offered at a very competitive group rate through Principal Life insurance Company and is available to all eligible members working 30 or more hours per week in the field of education. This is a one-time

opportunity to take advantage of up to $100,000 in guaranteed-issue coverage (no health questions).

Enrollment is open until Oct. 31, 2011, and eligible members must elect coverage within 60 days of their date of membership with ATPE. Critical illness insurance Help fill gaps with critical illness insurance from Chartis. ATPE members can purchase critical illness insurance

for themselves and their families at competitive rates. Enrollment is open until Oct. 31, 2011.

Accident insurance Now at a reduced rate from ACE, for $11.21 per month, ATPE members can purchase 24-hour-a-day, 365-days-ayear accident protection for themselves and their families regardless of their health history. Enrollment is open yearround.

Log in to www.atpe.org/Resources/ServicesAndDiscounts for more information and to enroll.

Watch, learn and earn ATPE’s free webinar series ATPE is excited to bring you a new series of informative webinars designed to help Texas educators understand the benefits of ATPE membership. ATPE members will receive promotional emails inviting them to participate in webinars on the following dates:

Look for familiar faces This year’s ATPE membership materials explore the strong relationships built through ATPE membership, and they feature your colleagues from across the state photographed at Austin ISD’s Mathews Elementary School. ATPE offers special thanks to our 2011-12 member-models: • Mentor/mentee duo Amancio Garza and Mike Dennett, Edinburg ISD. • Mother/daughter duo Connie Kilday and Kristin Kilday, Irving ISD.

 Sept. 7 (Topic: novice teachers).

• Mother/daughter duo Shirley Crow and Sheri Merritt, Lake Worth ISD.

 Sept. 28 (Topic: ATPE’s resources).

• Wallace Keys, Alvin ISD.

 Nov. 2 (Topic: ATPE’s advocacy).

• Jackie Totten, Austin ISD.

Webinar participants will have the opportunity to earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit and will be entered in a drawing for two $100 gift cards. Watch your email inbox for details, or visit atpe.org.

fall 2011

• Holli Rice, Denton ISD. • Carol Davies, Mesquite ISD. • Hector Cruz, Weslaco ISD.

atpe.org | 37

your association

atpe news

Congratulations to the 2010-11

Grant for Teaching Excellence recipients Through the Grant for Teaching Excellence program, created in 1986 to honor Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, ATPE awards two $1,000 grants each year to one elementary educator and one secondary educator to fund innovative classroom projects.

The 2010-11 grants were awarded in November 2010, and recipients were recognized for their accomplishments July 20 during the 2011 ATPE Summit Opening General Session.

Increasing the odds for ELL Students

Smartrooms for smarter responses

The elementary recipient, Macaire McDonough-Davies of Humble ISD, used the grant money she received to help fund a two-day intensive training in Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) for 40 educators in Humble ISD.

The secondary recipient, Melissa Iverson of Del Valle ISD, used her grant to purchase a smartroom system for the film and journalism classes at Ojeda Middle School.

SIOP is a research-based instructional model for the academic and language needs of English language learners (ELL). It includes components that help educators develop students’ language skills and content knowledge.

“Our objective is to develop a common language among staff members when discussing appropriate content instruction for limited English proficient students,” McDonoughDavies wrote in her grant application.

McDonough-Davies applied for the grant because of the national high school completion failure rates of ELL. “In our district,” she wrote, “68 percent of our limited English proficient students did not graduate [from] high school in 2009.”

“We believe strongly that reaching our [ELLS] at an early age and meeting their unique language needs will significantly increase the English learners’ chance of success in school and will promote them to become lifelong learners,” McDonough-Davies wrote.

You could receive a $1,000 grant

38 | atpe.org

The 2010-11 school year marked the start of Ojeda Middle School’s film and journalism instruction, which was introduced with the goal of teaching students about film, introducing a schoolwide digital voice through a school newspaper and daily TV announcements, and facilitating the creation of student-produced instructional videos. The smartroom system will help improve the effectiveness of these goals.

“During daily instruction,” Iverson wrote in her application, “the smartroom system would provide a high engagement method for instructional assessment of student learning.

Throughout our film lessons, we pause to debate the artistic choices/goals of a work. By posing questions frequently with the smartroom system, the teacher would be given simultaneous and immediate monitoring of every student’s interpretation of the art and [be able to] facilitate discussion based upon responses.”

The smartroom system will also be used to collect data, which will be presented at student council meetings and will help the Ojeda administration choose effective student programs.

You have the idea; the ATPE Grant for Teaching Excellence program has the funding.

Learn more about the ATPE Grant for Teaching Excellence program in the Resources section of atpe.org. Applications for 2011-12 grants are due Nov. 4.

atpe news

foundation news

Foundation awards scholarshipS to

outstanding

future educators

T

he ATPE Foundation announced the names of its 2011 scholarship recipients July 22 during the Membership Awards Luncheon at the ATPE Summit.

The Barbara Jordan Memorial Scholarship, named for the late Texas congresswoman and educator, is awarded annually to up to six outstanding junior, senior and graduate students enrolled in educator preparation programs at predominately ethnicminority institutions. Recipients of $1,500 scholarships are:  Sanora Ali, University of Houston.

 Aaron Basinger, University of Texas at San Antonio.  Milron Daniels, Prairie View A&M University.  Delila Pleasant, University of Texas at Arlington.  Angela Wood, University of Houston.

The Fred Wiesner Educational Excellence Scholarship is named for one of ATPE’s founding members.

The program awards four $1,500 scholarships to outstanding college students currently enrolled in educator preparation programs. If the number and quality of applicants allow, three scholarships are awarded to undergraduate students, and one scholarship is awarded to a graduate student. The 2011 recipients are:  Milron Daniels, Prairie View A&M University.

your association

Apply for ATPE Foundation grants $2,500 technology grants The ATPE Foundation Technology Grant program provides $2,500 grants to eligible Texas public school educators for project-based classroom technology programs. Two grants will be awarded during the 2011-12 school year, and grant recipients must use the funds to purchase technology resources for classroom use by May 2012. View the grant’s criteria, guidelines and an application at www.atpefoundation.org.

Applications must be postmarked by Nov. 4, 2011. $1,000 literacy grants Through the Beth Ann Rogers Literacy Initiative, the ATPE Foundation provides $1,000 grants to Texas public school libraries to purchase literacy materials and modernize literacy resources. Five grants will be awarded during the 2011-12 school year. View the grant’s criteria, guidelines and an application at www.atpefoundation.org. Applications must be postmarked by Feb. 1, 2012.

Foundation board expands by two members The ATPE Foundation Board of Directors has expanded its membership from five to seven. Joining the five ATPE region directors who serve on the board are ATPE Past State President Jerry Bonham, who teaches in Mesquite ISD, and Brad Robb, the executive director of the Anderson Foundation.

 Margaret Moore, Abilene Christian University.  Annika Weinschreider, Sam Houston State University.

donate to the ATPE Foundation

 Angela Wood, University of Houston.

The ATPE Foundation is dedicated to the advancement of public education through literacy initiatives, technology programs, and educator recruitment and retention efforts.

Applications for the 2011-12 Barbara Jordan Memorial and Fred Wiesner Educational Excellence scholarships are due June 1, 2012. Find more information and applications at www.atpefoundation.org.

The ATPE Foundation is registered in Texas as a nonprofit corporation and is a public charity exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

fall 2011

Supporting the ATPE Foundation is easy—you can make tax-deductible donations to the foundation at www.atpefoundation.org, or you can print a donation form to mail in with your cash or check.

Donations of any size are appreciated and can be made in honor or in memory of family members, friends or colleagues.

atpe.org | 39

your association

kudos

Bravo, ATPE members

Congratulations to all ATPE members who go the extra mile to reach great heights in their field.

DAYTON

HUMBLE

Dayton High School math teacher Susie Lewis and Richter Elementary School second-grade math, science and social studies teacher Becky Till were chosen as the Dayton ISD Secondary and Elementary Teachers of the Year, respectively, in April.

In June, Humble ISD Superintendent Guy Sconzo was appointed to the American Association of School Administrators Governing Board.

FREDRICKSBURG Gayne Young, an English teacher at Fredricksburg High School, was featured in an article on www.telegraph.co.uk about his receipt of a rare 8,000-word interview response from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

FRENSHIP Karen Conder, who teaches physical education at Crestview Elementary School, was chosen as a recipient of a 2011 Beaumont Foundation Newton Excellence in Education Award in April.

In April, Frenship High School business technology and education teacher Janet Flusche was honored as the 2011 National Business Education Association Secondary Teacher of the Year.

GARLAND Coye Middle School sixth-grade science teacher Jennifer Kienzle was awarded the Garland ISD Middle School General Educator of the Year Award in June.

Sara Williams, who teaches English and photography at Atascocita High School, was featured in an April article on www.ultimatelakehouston.com about her plans to travel with her mother, another Humble educator, to Africa this summer, thanks to a grant from Fund For Teachers.

KATY Memorial Parkway Junior High School special education teacher Debra Brown was one of 12 U.S. nominees in the LIVE! With Regis and Kelly 2nd Annual Top Teacher Search.

LUBBOCK Lubbock High School astronomy, physics, robotics and UIL science teacher Bradley Neu was chosen as a recipient of a 2011 Beaumont Foundation Newton Excellence in Education Award in April.

NACOGDOCHES Nacogdoches High School English teacher Kristin Thomas was featured in a March Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel article on dual-credit courses.

Nancy White, who teaches science at Nacogdoches High School, was named the Key Club Advisor of the Year for the Oklahoma/Texas District.

PLANO Bowman Middle School seventh-grade math teacher Nereida Perez was named the Plano ISD Beginning Secondary Teacher of the Year in May. Also in May, Shannon Wallace, a special education teacher at Hedgcoxe Elementary School, was honored with a Plano ISD Excellence in Elementary Teaching honor.

ROYAL Royal High School U.S. history teacher Marie Neuman Gray received the 2010-11 Mirabeau B. Lamar Teacher of the Year Award from the Brookshire Masonic Lodge in June.

SAN ANTONIO Three first-time professional members were honored with San Antonio ISD Rising Star Awards in May. Virginia Boyce teaches bilingual prekindergarten at Rogers Elementary School; Brandon Honore teaches social studies at Twain Middle School; and David Nungaray teaches bilingual fourth grade at Bonham Elementary School.

H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards Three ATPE members were honored with awards at the 2011 H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards ceremony in May. • Yolanda Fernandez, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Secondary Award, teaches at Del Rio High School in San Felipe-Del Rio CISD.

40 | atpe.org

• Rachelle Grace, winner of the Leadership Secondary Award, teaches English at McAllen Memorial High School in McAllen ISD. • Lindsay Richard, winner of the Rising Star Elementary Award, teaches first grade at Wilderness Oak Elementary School in North East ISD.

Nine other ATPE members were chosen as finalists for the awards.

Rising Star Secondary category: • James Butler is an English and language arts teacher at Uvalde High School in Uvalde CISD.

atpe news

Campus teachers of the Year

Katherine Reynolds, Elm Grove Elementary

Kathy Moss, Quest High

Kristen Seibel, Hemphill Elementary

Lorrie Ogletree, Woodland Hills Elementary

HUMBLE

Catherine Olano, Summerwood Elementary

Many ATPE educators were chosen or nominated as their campus’s 2010-11 Teachers of the Year.

Lori Cook, McNair Elementary

CLEAR CREEK

Moria Fountaine, Evers Park Elementary

Kelly Atkins, Jack M. Fields Sr. Elementary

Kimberly Griffith, Olive Stephens Elementary

Richarria Benton, Lakeland Elementary

Melissa Leonard, E.P. Rayzor Elementary

Karri Bergeron, Atascocita Springs Elementary

Kelli Lorne, Borman Elementary

Wendy Bethany, Summer Creek High

Maranda Matheson, Sparks Campus

Emily Bird, Creekwood Middle

Jennifer Rowe, Providence Elementary

Robbin Burger, Pine Forest Elementary

Amelia Schmidt, L.A. Nelson Elementary

Kristina Campbell, Timbers Elementary

Dana Sewell, Blanton Elementary

Michelle Canlas, Maplebrook Elementary

Christina Stello, Navo Middle

Tiffany Curtis, Oak Forest Elementary

Teddy Farley, Thomas J. Rusk Elementary

Carolyn Stringfellow, Paloma Creek Elementary

Heather Feagins, Shadow Forest Elementary

Paula Harshbarger, Carpenter Elementary

HAYS

Penny Graham, Timberwood Elementary

Donna Lovett, Nacogdoches High

Natalie Herron, Eagle Springs Elementary

Laura Treadaway, McMichael Middle

Mishelle Azbell, Robinson Elementary Holly Berndt, Space Center Intermediate Jennifer Campbell, Clear Creek High Melissa Ebarb, Mossman Elementary Melanie Hinman, Stewart Elementary Allison Leonard, Clear Horizons High Anne Miller, Hall Elementary Lacy Prahm, Weber Elementary Maryanna Rudecki, Gilmore Elementary

DENTON Beth Avery, Hawk Elementary April Cook, Ann Windle School for Young Children

Michael Crossley, Crownover Middle

Teresa Hrabal, Wallace Middle Cody Mize, Simon Middle

Leadership Elementary category:

Lifetime Achievement Elementary category: • Jayne Doxsey is a math teacher at Reeces Creek Elementary School in Killeen ISD.

• Michael Sweet is a fifth-grade teacher at Carman Elementary School in Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD.

• Diana Maxwell is a fifth-grade teacher at Fort Sam Houston Elementary School in Fort Sam Houston ISD.

• Carol Briggs is a teacher at Westfield High School in Spring ISD. fall 2011

Jane Tragesser, Hidden Hollow Elementary Jeremy Traughber, Willow Creek Elementary Mary Villarreal, Oaks Elementary Lisa Rocha, River Pines Elementary Pamela Trahan, Ross Sterling Middle Matthew Vybiral, Bear Branch Elementary

NACOGDOCHES

Leslie Leslie, Foster Elementary

• Michael Massad is a third-grade teacher at Patton Elementary School in Austin ISD.

Leadership Secondary category:

Edna Preston, Woodcreek Middle

Lifetime Achievement Secondary category:

Elementary School Principal category: • Dolores Cisneros-Emerson is the principal of Morningside Elementary School in Brownsville ISD. Secondary School Principal category: • Charles Pickitt is the principal of Richardson High School in Richardson ISD.

• Ella Whitley is a life skills teacher at Midway Middle School in Midway (12) ISD. atpe.org | 41

your association

family album

Nacogdoches

Region 18–Courtesy of Bridget Loffler

San Felipe-Del Rio–Courtesy of Kathy Lanfer

Nacogdoches–Courtesy of Katherine Whitbeck

Nacogdoches ATPE campus representative Mary Jo Shepherd receives a basket of summertime goodies from Membership Chair Katherine Whitbeck. The local unit presented Shepherd with the goodies in recognition of her membership in the Ben Shilcutt 30-Plus Club, an honor bestowed upon ATPE’s top recruiters. Shepherd recruited more than 30 new members in the Nacogdoches ISD transportation department during the 2010-11 school year. (Whitbeck is also a 30-Plus Club member. See page 29 for more information about the Ben Shilcutt Plus Club.)

Region 18

San Felipe-Del Rio

Region 18 ATPE leaders answer questions about ATPE during a July 12 ceremony for graduates of Region 18 ESC’s new teacher certification program. During the event, Region 18 Director Teresa Griffin spoke about the benefits of ATPE membership, and six graduates won ATPE promo items in a drawing. Pictured are Griffin, Andrews ATPE President Joni Reese, Region 18 Treasurer Teresa Gross, 2010-11 Region 18 President Tommy Harrison and 2011-12 President Bridget Loffler.

San Felipe-Del Rio ATPE leaders meet May 28 at Casa de la Cultura in Del Rio. During the meeting, the local unit conducted its 2011-12 officer elections. Elected were President Jose Delgado, Vice President Roxana Ballard, Secretary Rosie Botello, Treasurer Ariela Delgado and Membership Chair Angel Castillo.

42 | atpe.org

atpe news

Region 5–Courtesy of Lacey Denton

highlights

Region 5 Region 5 ATPE leaders gather with state office staff members June 29 in Beaumont to conduct a region financial analysis. The 2011 ATPE House of Delegates passed a bylaws amendment requiring that each of ATPE’s 20 regions conduct such an analysis every two years in order to receive a region membership rebate. Pictured in front are Vice President Glen Rabalais and ATPE Associate Executive Director Laura Sheridan.

Standing from left are Field Representative Lacey Denton, Treasurer Sue Allen, Secretary Janice Brent, President Jackie Arthur, 2010-11 Director Kirk Brown, 2011-12 Director Bill Moye and Warren ATPE member Melinda Moye.

Texas Woman’s University (TWU) ATPE had two distinguished guest readers participate in its community summer reading program, which the local unit conducts in partnership with the Denton location of Barnes & Noble.

Dr. Robert Neely, provost and vice president for academic affairs at TWU, served as guest reader July 20, and Denton Mayor Mark Burroughs took a turn July 27.

North Lamar ATPE presented its 2011 scholarships to graduating high school seniors Tanner Lane and Paige Payne.

Wichita Falls ATPE awarded $500 scholarships to graduating high school seniors Sierra Abston, Zachary Brown, Gage Green, Mitchell Johnson Jr. and Meredith Maryland.

Region 1–Mike Lopez

2010-11 ATPE State President David de la Garza and 2010-11 State Vice President Cheryl Buchanan traveled to Washington, D.C., June 13–16 to share ATPE’s views on federal education issues with the Texas congressional delegation. ATPE Governmental Relations Director Brock Gregg and Lobbyist Monty Exter accompanied them, and they were joined in D.C. by David Pore, ATPE’s Washington lobbyist.

Region 1 Region 1 ATPE inducts its 2011-12 officers June 18 during its Leader Lab at South Texas College in McAllen. Inducted were Director Amancio Garza, President Roger Gutierrez, Treasurer Mike Dennett, 1st Vice President Susie Andrews, 2nd Vice President Sandra Requenez, Secretary Terrie Schuette and 3rd Vice President Mike Sweet.

fall 2011

submissions Send your stories and high-resolution photos to comm@atpe.org for possible publication. The more detail you include with your submission, the better!

atpe.org | 43

your association

atpe-pac honor roll

Thank you for your donation!

The following ATPE members donated $50 or more to ATPE’s Political Action Committee (ATPE-PAC) between April and June 2011.

Austin

Corpus Christi

Huntsville

Lumberton

Plano

Mary Hopkins

Rose Perez

Sandra Bounds

Sallie Mooneyham

Jill Gipson

McAllen

Crowley Ballinger

Elaine Basham

Irving

Shannon Caughron

Jeannie Evans

Gwen Craig

Bastrop

Kitty Smith

Jefferson

Dianne Reed

Killeen

Mary Beth Woodall

Eileen Walcik

Nacogdoches

Melissa Walcik

Janie Leath

Ron Walcik Steve Pokluda

La Vernia

Nacogdoches County

Brock Gregg University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Ashley Fox

Clay Bordner

Ginger Franks

Friend of public education

Leander

Northside (20)

Sara Connaway

Connie Hernandez

David de la Garza

Jayne Serna

Sylvia Lopez

Weslaco

Cynthia Sloan

Roger Gutierrez

Olney

Ysleta

Grand Saline

Trudy Matus

Jennifer Adams

Nan Bryant

Becky Spurlock

Boerne

Tena Alexander

Warren

Garland Conroe

State office

Hilario Mendoza Fort Worth

Carolyn Cossey

Jason Forbis

El Paso

Birdville

Spring Branch Meredith Boane

Alice Pomeroy

Kirk Brown

Cleburne

Debbie Massey Midway (12)

Dallas Beaumont

San Antonio Randall Iglehart

Bessie Rhodes

Chris Hansen

Richard Wiggins

Ma Elena Ingram Mesquite

Diane Pokluda

Shari Emmons

Ann Rowley

Brenda Lynch

Marcy McNeil

Angie Arey

Lubbock Patricia Verett

Labana Berry

Sue Allen

Donors from the ATPE Summit will be recognized in a future issue. Learn more about ATPE-PAC and make a one-time, monthly or quarterly donation at www.atpe.org/Advocacy/ATPEPAC/pac.asp.

44 | atpe.org

atpe news

Continued from page 11—Tech Support

Continued from page 13—Legal Opinions

in advance. Know that there might be technical problems, but you’ll be able to fix them. You might want to have kids bring books for silent reading in case there’s an extended period of lost contact. Planning and flexibility (and a sense of humor!) will go a long way toward making your virtual author visit a great experience!”

eligibility to receive legal services. ATPE, like any professional member association, strives to dedicate its limited resources to providing eligible members with the highest quality legal assistance in the most cost-effective manner. Because the guaranteed legal benefit is provided win or lose through an insurance contract, insured members must establish eligibility in order to receive such benefits. Eligibility requires that a member pay the annual dues and that the activity for which she seeks assistance begin during her membership. Assistance is not provided for issues that arose prior to membership or the coverage period. This ensures that dues stay reasonable and that eligible members receive the highest value.

It wouldn’t take long for an organization to go out of business if it didn’t guard its services and provide them only to the intended recipients. ATPE is transparent and upfront with its membership about the exclusions that do apply to the insured benefits. You may view a detailed explanation of the benefits and terms of the services at www.atpe.org/protection. The benefits ATPE provides have been thoughtfully established and enhanced over the years so as to provide assistance where it is most helpful—while still containing costs so that ATPE membership remains affordable.

ATPE’s legal assistants play a critical role in providing legal services to our callers. The questions they ask are necessary. If they seem to be overly business-like, then it is only because they, too, want eligible members talking to an attorney as quickly as possible, and if they have to explain why there are no services available, please know they are only doing what they have to do.

We value each caller, and our procedures ensure that no one falls through the cracks because of the sheer volume of calls we handle.A

Finding the right fit for your classroom Messner’s website lists authors who offer free 20-minute Skype chat sessions at www.katemessner.com/authors-who-skypewith-classes-book-clubs-for-free. The list is broken into four categories: middle grade, teen, adult and picture book.

The Skype an Author Network, www.skypeanauthor. wetpaint.com, features additional lists of authors willing to chat with classes for free or for a small fee.

Skype even has a section of its website specifically for educators who want to connect with other educators, find sister classrooms, perform cultural exchanges, study new languages and share projects. Once you’ve created a Skype profile, log in to http://education.skype.com.A

Continued from page 17—Legislative wrap-up

Other changes made by SB 8 • SB 8 adds language requiring student teaching before an individual can be hired as a teacher of record.

• SB 8 requires physical fitness assessments be given only to students taking P.E. in grades three or higher.

• SB 8 repeals a law requiring certain districts to conduct hearings on the need for child care before/after school or on holidays.

Worth noting: The conference committee took out language from Eissler that would have watered down the class-size statute.

Where do we go from here?

ATPE members and their colleagues will have to weather the storm created by the massive budget cuts and a weakening of their rights, but most observers believe the outcome of the session could have been much worse for educators. The next election cycle is crucial. Educators must remind lawmakers that the 82nd Legislature is still fresh in their memories. ATPE will prepare candidate fliers so that members can easily compare candidates’ stances on education issues. As a nonpartisan organization, ATPE does not endorse candidates or tell members how to vote; however, the association does provide resources members can use to make their decisions at the polls.

If you have any questions, please contact ATPE Governmental Relations at (800) 777-ATPE or government@atpe.org. A

fall 2011

The legal information provided in ATPE News is for general purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for individual legal advice or the provision of legal advice. Accessing this information does not create an attorneyclient relationship. Individual legal situations vary greatly, and readers should consult directly with an attorney.

ATPE members should call (800) 777-ATPE or access the Member Legal Services Intake System (MLSIS) at www.atpe.org/protection.

Continued from page 14—Capitol Comment

spring 2011 is that political participation affects education for either good or bad. There is no middle ground. We cannot necessarily blame elected officials for carrying forward the priorities for which they believe they were elected; instead, we must find those who share our priorities and work to elect them.

Learning a lesson is difficult but gratifying in the end.

Teaching a lesson is gratifying but will be difficult. The education community needs to prepare a lesson plan and provide some difficult instruction over the next two years. The test will come in November 2012. Based on experience, ATPE leaders will make success happen, and they will do so with the respect, grace and dignity befitting the professional educators they are.A atpe.org | 45

2011-12 atPe Membership application If paying by personal check, mail this entire page along with your check to ATPE. If paying by payroll deduction, complete the payroll deduction authorization below and mail the entire page to ATPE, or join at atpe.org to pay by credit card.

Soc Sec # XXX-XX-____________ (only last four digits) Previous member?

Female

Member ID # First

Professional

$145 00

$ ______

(optional)

First-time Professional

$90 00

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ISD

$70 00

$ ______

Middle

Campus

City/State Home Phone (

Have never been a Professional member

Associate

Home address

(MM)

Insured categories*

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Name Last

Enter amount

State DueS

Paraprofessional and classified positions

ZIP

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)

Free

Student teacher in Texas

School email Uninsured categories

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❑ Yes! I want information about becoming an ATPE volunteer!

Of the amount of dues paid toward your membership in ATPE, $3.32 pays for a subscription to ATPE News (published four times per year) and includes all state and local sales taxes. A portion of ATPE members’ dues (up to $24.00 for Professional and Associate members, and up to $4.00 for Teacher Trainee members) pays for the Educators Professional Liability Insurance Policy.

The ATPE Political Action Committee (ATPE-PAC) accepts voluntary donations from members to advocate for ATPE’s legislative priorities. ATPE-PAC does not endorse political candidates. Donations to ATPE-PAC are not a condition of employment or membership. A member may donate more or less than the suggested amount or may choose not to make a donation without it affecting his or her membership status, rights or benefits with ATPE. Donations are not deductible for federal income tax purposes. *LIABILIT Y & EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS DEFENSE INSURANCE 2011-12 MEMBERSHIP YEAR Coverage applies to your activities as a Professional or Associate member in the course of your duties of employment with an educational institution, or to your activities as a Teacher Trainee member in the course of your duties as a student in a teacher education program in an accredited college or university. Coverage is underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. ALL COvErAgE Is sUbjECT TO ThE ExPrEss TErms OF ThE mAsTEr INsUrANCE POLICy IssUED TO ATPE AND KEPT ON FILE AT ThE sTATE OFFICE. view a summary at www.atpe.org/protection/legalbenefits. The policy applies only to activities that begin during the period when coverage is effective and does not apply to activities that predate the coverage period.

For paper applications, your membership date is established when your application is received in the state office, or when your application is received, signed and dated by a designated local unit representative. For online applications, your membership date is established at 12:01 a.m. C.s.T. on the date following successful transmittal of your online application and payment at atpe.org. Coverage begins on the later of 8/1/11 or your membership Date and expires on 8/1/12 except for the following: COvErAgE Is EFFECTIvE ON 8/1/11 IF yOU rENEW mEmbErshIP ANyTImE DUrINg AUgUsT Or sEPTEmbEr 2011, AND EmPLOymENT rIghTs DEFENsE INsUrANCE Is NOT EFFECTIvE UNTIL 30 DAys AFTEr yOUr mEmbErshIP DATE IF yOU jOIN AFTEr 9/30/11 AND WErE ELIgIbLE FOr mEmbErshIP FrOm AUgUsT 2011 ThrOUgh sEPTEmbEr 2011. For further information, call (800) 777-ATPE. Eligibility for membership benefits is contingent upon receipt of the entire membership dues amount for your appropriate membership category. A disruption in payments to an authorized payment plan may result in discontinuation of such benefits, including cancellation of insurance coverage for the entire membership year, retroactive to August 1 or your membership date.

Retired

$10 00

$ ______

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Public

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or

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Professional and Associate membership is open to persons employed in Texas by a public school district, institution of higher education, regional Education service Center, the state board for Educator Certification or the Texas Education Agency. You must join in the appropriate insured category in order to qualify for coverage. ATPE reserves the right to determine eligibility for the appropriate membership category.

Please review a list of eligible job descriptions at www.atpe.org/joinatpe/ jobdesc.aspx, or call (800) 777-ATPE. Commissioned peace officers are eligible for public membership only.

Dues are not deductible as charitable contributions for income tax purposes but may be deductible as miscellaneous itemized deductions, subject to Irs restrictions. It is estimated that 12 percent of your dues dollar is used for lobbying activities and is therefore not deductible. Arrangements for payroll deduction are the responsibility of the applicant.

Payroll Deduction Authorization I, the total amount of $

,

authorize the

school district to deduct

in order to pay for ATPE state dues, local dues and political action donations I further authorize the Association to notify the

school district of changes in the annual dues amounts and the school district to deduct the new amount The number of pay periods over which deductions may be made is

Upon termination of my employment, I authorize any unpaid balance to be deducted from my final check This authorization,

for the deductions referenced above, will continue in effect until I give notice to the school district to revoke Payroll authorizations for 2011-12 will not be accepted after Feb. 29, 2012.

Employee Signature

Soc Sec # ATPE applicant must sign

Or Employee ID #

Date 2011/12 AP8

by Mandy Curtis, copy editor/writer

snip-its

Library tech trends School libraries are ever changing, due to technological advances, electronic materials and digital literacy standards. (We wrote about many of these changes in “The Librarian,” an article in the Summer 2010 ATPE News.) In an article in the Harvard Education Letter (www.hepg.org/hel/article/502), Los Angeles-area educator and writer Dave Saltman offers a list of the top eight tech trends for librarians (or media specialists) and classroom teachers:

Bee-ing a good speller

1 Digital catalogs.

The winner of the 84th Scripps National Spelling Bee was eighth-grade student Sukanya Roy of South Abington Township, Pa. Roy won the competition’s 15th round by correctly spelling the word cymotrichous, which means “having wavy hair.”

2 Virtual libraries.

3 Online research guides.

4 E-books.

5 Online alternatives to

books.

6 Note-taking tools.

7 Dashboards.

8 Oral reports.

Other winning words from the past decade are: 2010: stromuhr—A rheometer designed to measure the amount and speed of blood flow through an artery.

Music and math combined

2009: Laodicean—Lukewarm or indifferent, especially in religion.

Vi Hart, a recent graduate of Stony Brook University, calls herself a “full-time recreational mathemusician,” a title that’s led her to Internet fame and a story in The New York Times (www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/ science/18prof.html?_r=2&ref=science).

2008: guerdon—A reward, recompense or requital.

2007: serrefine—Small forceps for clamping a blood vessel.

2006: Ursprache—A hypothetically reconstructed parent language.

2005: appoggiatura—A note of embellishment preceding another note and taking a portion of its time.

2004: autochthonous—Pertaining to autochthons; aboriginal; indigenous.

Hart, who graduated with a music degree, creates videos that combine math concepts with music and art to present the ideas in a way that is easy to understand. She then posts the videos on her website, www.vihart.com. The videos cover topics including geometry, polygons, prime numbers, graph theory and hyperbolic planes.

2003: pococurante—A careless or indifferent person.

2002: prospicience—The act of looking forward.

2001: succedaneum—A substitute.

2000: demarche—An action or gesture by a diplomat, especially a formal appeal, protest or the like.

Learn more about the national competition and its history at www.spellingbee.com.

“ Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

—Nelson Mandela, South African politician and activist (b. 1918)

fall 2011

atpe.org | 47

Thank you for choosing ATPE as your professional association last year. We are proud to serve more than 116,000 Texas educators.

Renew your membership by Sept. 30 to ensure uninterrupted access to ATPE’s superior membership benefits. Eligible members who join or renew after Sept. 30, 2011, are subject to a 30-day wait for employment rights defense coverage,* so renew today! Eligible prior-year members who renew anytime during August or September 2011 will have an effective membership date of Aug. 1, 2011.

THE EDUCATORS PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE POLICY IS UNDERWRITTEN BY NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE CO. OF PITTSBURGH, PA. ALL COVERAGE IS SUBJECT TO THE EXPRESS TERMS OF THE MASTER INSURANCE POLICY ISSUED TO ATPE AND KEPT ON FILE AT THE ATPE STATE OFFICE. Coverage applies to an insured’s activities within his/her professional capacity and does not apply to activities that predate the coverage period. View a summary at www.atpe.org/Protection/LegalBenefits/inspolicy.pdf. Eligibility for ATPE membership benefits is contingent upon ATPE’s receipt of the entire annual membership dues amount for your appropriate membership category. A disruption in payments to an authorized payment plan may result in discontinuation of such benefits, including cancellation of insurance coverage for the entire membership year retroactive to Aug. 1 or your membership date. ATPE reserves the right to determine eligibility for the appropriate membership category. The membership year runs from Aug. 1–July 31.

*