The Voice March 2013

The

Voice The Nebraska State Education Association ď ś March 2013

March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 1

#March 2013.indd 1

2/25/2013 12:18:32 PM

Opening Bell Upcoming Assignments Through March 13 NSEA District Elections n What: NSEA’s annual round of elections to select from candidates seeking open seats on one of six NSEA District boards or on the NSEA Board of Directors. n Details: The online voting takes place through midnight March 13. For details, turn to Page 21.

April 18 NSEA-Retired Spring Conference n What: This annual gathering of the NSEA-Retired affiliate will feature Nebraska native and Olympic gold medal bobsledder Curt Tomasevicz, among other attractions. n Details: Held in Kearney on April 18, the event is detailed on Page 22.

April 19-20 NSEA Delegate Assembly n What: NSEA members have met annually since 1867 to set the Association path for the coming year. This year, the meeting is in Kearney. n Details: It is not too late to be elected as a delegate. See Page 17 for details!

On the Cover: the

Educator Preparation Standards Revised

Public Comment Period Open Through March

ers – the next generation of accreditation standards based on evidence, continuous improvement, innovation, and clinical practice. The Commission was also Educators now have an opportunity charged with recommending transparto comment on standards for teacher ent CAEP public accountability reporttraining proposed by the newly formed ing with multiple measures, including Council for the Accreditation of Educathose directly linked to achievement. tor Preparation (CAEP).

Cibulka told Education Week that the The CAEP’s Commission on Stanstandards favor educational outcomes, dards and Performance Reporting has and emphasize evidence to support released a draft of the proposed staneffective practices. dards.

Comments “That means being on will be accepted

able to link measures through March 29.

To review and comment on the on outcomes and “These new standards are about im- proposed new standards for educa- impact back to the characteristics of the proving results, partic- tor preparation, go to: caepnet.org/commission/ programs themselves ularly for P-12 learnstandards/ and the nature of the ers. The nation has candidates who were raised the bar for our admitted to the programs,” he said. students and for our teachers. Today’s Representatives of diverse and diteachers must challenge and engage all vergent views were invited to serve learners. Now we must raise the bar for on the Commission to help shape the preparation programs to help the nation standards. The Commission reflects a meet these ambitious goals.” said CAEP partnership between educator preparaPresident James G. Cibulka. tion providers, policy makers and P-12 NSEA Director of Instructional Adeducators, signaling new demands for vocacy Jay Sears said the new standards collaboration that CAEP expects. will help better prepare teachers.

CAEP was formed when the Nation“The new standards are rigorous and al Council for Accreditation of Teacher should help prepare future educators for Education (NCATE) and the TeachP-12 instruction to meet the 21st century er Education Accreditation Council world of work and college,” said Sears.

(TEAC) merged. It will be the sole U.S. The Commission was charged with accreditor for educator preparation. developing – for all preparation provid-

To Comment

What is the worth, the value of a quality education? How do you put a price on 12 or 16 years or more of learning. It’s hard to quantify, but you’ll find a collection of numbers that try to do just that, when you turn to

VOICE Nebraska State Education Association 605 S. 14th Street Lincoln, NE 68508-2742 · www.nsea.org (402) 475-7611 · (800) 742-0047

Volume 66, No. 7 ISSN Number: 1085-0783 USPS Number: 000-369

Great Public Schools For Every Child

Executive Director Assoc. Executive Director Director of Public Affairs Assistant Comm. Director

Craig R. Christiansen Neal Clayburn Karen Kilgarin Al Koontz

NSEA Board of Directors President Nancy Fulton, Wilber-Clatonia Leann Widhalm, Norfolk Vice President NEA Director John Heineman, Lincoln NEA Director Jenni Absalon, Lincoln

Official publication of the Nebraska State Education Association, Suite 200, 605 South 14th Street, Lincoln, NE 685082742. Periodical postage paid at Lincoln, NE, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send address changes to The Voice, NSEA, 605 S. 14th Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-2742.

Page 6

Published and mailed 6 times yearly according to this schedule: September, October, November, February, April and August. Published online only in December, January, March and May. Payment of annual NSEA membership dues entitles Nebraska educators to receive The Voice. Total cost of producing 10 monthly issues of The Voice each year is about $4.84 per member.

Advertising rates of The Voice are available from the assistant communications director. All advertisements and advertisers are screened prior to publication. Appearance of an advertisement in The Voice does not necessarily imply NSEA endorsement of either the product being advertised or the views being expressed.

Page 2 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 2

2/25/2013 12:18:32 PM

From the President

What Forest Witcraft Knew “A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

NSEA President Nancy Fulton

“

For economic reasons alone, Nebraska policymakers must make funding a priority, must ensure that a quality classroom awaits every child.

”

This quotation by teacher and scholar Forest Witcraft (1894-1967) hangs in many of the classrooms I visit each year. Educators have followed Witcraft’s wise guidepost ever since he first put pen to paper on this topic more than 60 years ago.

Witcraft’s now-famous quotation was the closing sentence on a very short but powerful essay that first appeared in the October 1950 edition of Scouting magazine. Also a Scoutmaster, Witcraft certainly knew the power that one adult, one teacher, might have in the life of a child. He knew that an adult might “someday mould destiny.”

From his Scoutmaster viewpoint – and this applies to educators as well – Witcraft knew that “every boy is a potential atom bomb in human history.” He understood that any child might rise to be a maker of history, a builder of tomorrow.

Consider this Witcraft observation: “A humble citizen like myself might have been the Scoutmaster of a Troop in which an undersized unhappy Austrian lad by the name of Adolph might have found a joyous boyhood, full of the ideals of brotherhood, goodwill, and kindness. And the world would have been different.”

He said “A humble citizen like myself might have been the organizer of a Scout Troop in which a Russian boy called Joe might have learned the lessons of democratic cooperation.

“These men would never have known that they had averted world tragedy, yet actually they would have been among the most important men who ever lived.”

Growing Student Population Educators share Witcraft’s vision of possibility and potential in every child. They care about their students, and invest considerable time and energy in creating a positive, challenging learning environment for children with the hopes of making a difference in the life of each child. They know that a quality, well-rounded education is the key to every child’s future and to our state’s economic strength.

Now look at some facts. Nebraska’s population is growing. In the last two years alone, the state’s population has grown 1.6 percent.

Nebraska’s schools are growing even faster.

There are now more than 303,000 students en-

rolled in Nebraska’s K-12 schools – an increase of 1.7 percent over the past two years. At the same time, K-3 classrooms have seen a boom, with 9 percent growth statewide. That means many classrooms are bursting at the seams, and class size is rising.

As school districts work to meet the needs generated by increased enrollment, there are challenges to existing financing relationships at both the state and local levels. Infrastructure needs increase as more students mean additional classrooms or remodeling of outdated structures.

Unfortunately, state aid to schools for this fiscal year ($852 million) is essentially at 2008-09 levels ($839 million), and well below the 201011 level ($950 million). As a result, programs have been axed, class sizes have grown and local property taxes have increased as local school districts deal with more students and fewer state dollars.

Schools the Backbone No one can deny that quality education is a costly proposition. Public education done correctly is highly labor intensive and essentially constitutes a local industry. By shorting our funding, how many future captains of industry, worldchangers, peacemakers, inventors or artists are we short-changing? We will never know.

On the other hand, we know the effect of the school on local communities. Quite often, the school district is the largest employer in – and the backbone of – many smaller Nebraska communities. Investing in public education is a stimulus to the local economy; money funneled through public education is spent locally, supporting local businesses and adding to the economic strength of the local economy.

Quality public schools have a direct impact on housing values in and around the community.

Quality public schools attract people to a community. Strong schools are good for local business; that combination results in strong communities which in turn contributes to a strong statewide economy. Policymakers can, and should, make certain that schools have the adequate and stable funding through a revenue system that is fair, stable, predictable and equitable.

For economic reasons alone, Nebraska policymakers must make funding a priority, must ensure that a quality classroom awaits every child.

But there is a more important reason. As Forest Witcraft understood, our world will be much different when a teacher is important in the life of every child.

March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 3

#March 2013.indd 3

2/25/2013 12:18:32 PM

Page 4 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 4

2/25/2013 12:18:34 PM

Education is Good Business NSEA Campaign Touts Strengths Fostered

by Public Education The NSEA has launched an effort to raise awareness about the importance of local businesses and public schools working together. The “Good Schools are Good for Business” campaign began in late February and includes a website that provides Nebraskans an opportunity to share stories of how schools and businesses working together create strong schools, strong communities and a strong economy. The entry providing the best example will earn a $1,000 prize to be awarded to the public school of the winner’s choice.

Nebraskans are encouraged to visit NSEA.org to share stories about how public schools have worked or could work with local business to prepare students for the workplace. The campaign provides an opportunity to join with NSEA members to strengthen public education in across Nebraska.

“We all know that public schools are a critical part of our state and local economies,” said Nancy Fulton, NSEA president. “We want to shine a light on those businesses and business leaders that are partnering with our schools and teachers to help our students succeed.

To do that, we encourage Nebraskans to share their stories.”

Stronger Workforce The NSEA has made a strong effort in the last two years researching the results

A Word from the Wise: Lincoln businessman Dick Campbell talks with Lincoln-area students during filming of a commercial for NSEA’s ‘Good Schools are Good for Business’ campaign. Campbell’s family owns Campbell Nurseries.

of strong public education and the needs of the community. A 2010 national poll conducted by the National Education Association showed 90 percent of Americans strongly believed that public schools play a critical role in the nation’s economy. Also, 94 percent believed that when youth are better educated, they get better jobs and go on to contribute more to the community as adults.

Fulton said NSEA hopes to create a movement “that will help kids learn the value of community and gain perspective

from beyond the classroom.”

“This helps build a stronger workforce and helps the local economy grow. Connecting with the community is an important part of this effort. NSEA hopes to grow a stronger bond with businesses and community members through constant interaction,” she said.

The campaign includes television and radio spots, the website outreach and news outreach efforts.

Submit entries at: nsea.org/goodbusiness

Please Re-Elect

Susan Stake as your Capitol District President

Experienced & Dedicated.

March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 5

#March 2013.indd 5

2/25/2013 12:18:34 PM

“The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expense of it.”

–

Every parent desires a great education for their children – for all children.

They understand that a quality educational experience will offer their child the chance to succeed.

A good education is the path to financial independence, good health, longevity, creativity, less dependence on societal safety nets, higher rates of civic participation, lessened rates of poverty and a multitude of other personal and social benefits.

But how do we quantify such benefits? How do we pin a number to the supposed dividends that result from our collective educational investment – especially as nitpicking gadflies continually demonize public education as inefficient and costly?

In their 2007 study, Education Pays: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society, Sandy Baum and Jennifer Ma said “uneven rates of participation in higher education across different segments of U.S. society should be a matter of urgent interest not only to the individuals directly affected, but also to public policymakers at the federal, state and local levels.”

As Nebraska legislators consider the state’s future investment in public education, they might be wise to recall the words of researchers Frederick Harbison and Charles Andrew Meyers, authors of the 1965 book Education, Manpower and Economic Growth.

They offered this simple summation: “Education is both the seed and the flower of economic development.”

When pondering our educational investment, legislators and others might consider these numbers as support for the value of a solid education: According to researcher William Schweke, author of Smart Money: Education and

Economic Development, raising the skills of 19- to 23-year-olds by the equivalent of one grade would increase lifetime earnings by 3.6 percent; reduce the likelihood of births out of wedlock by 6.5 percent; welfare dependency by 5.3 percent; and arrests by 6.2 percent.

In 2011, the Virginia Beach, Va., school district hired an economist to calculate the district’s value to the city and region. District officials hoped to make an argument for school funding based on business principles.

Dr. Michael L. Walden, a professor of agricultural and resource economics at North Carolina State University, divided the district’s worth into four categories: spending impact; the economic value of high school and college degrees; future saving in public social costs; and the economic impact on local wealth.

Among the findings: the school system’s performance cushioned the adverse effects on local property values during the recession; the district had a positive impact on public safety, social services and public health costs; and the district operating and capital budgets generate jobs and other spending.

Walden’s conclusion: the school is worth about $1.53 for every $1 spent from the district’s operating fund.

The December 2011 American Sociological Review reports death rates for less educated middle-aged adults are about two times higher than those who attain higher levels of education. The study found that almost all causes of death that are increasing are fueled by high rates of mortality among people with lower education. Further, the American Cancer Society and CDC

President John Adams

tracked more than 3.5 million deaths from 1993-2001 and found that death rates from any cause, and from cancer, heart disease and stroke, fell for adults with at least 16 years of education. But those rates held steady or moved upward for those with less than 12 years of formal education.

Peter Muennig of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University found that those who graduate from high school live an average of 9.2 years longer than high school dropouts.

A report by Dr. Dana Mitra of Penn State University, The Social and Economic Benefits of Public Education, found that investing in public education is far more costeffective for that state than paying for the social and economic consequences of under-funded, low quality schools.

For instance, for every $1 invested in pre-kindergarten education, there is a return of at least $7, said Mitra.

Nobel Prize winner and University of Chicago economist James Heckman claims that investments in early childhood education pay a return of 7 to 10 percent. In his study, The Economics of Inequality: The Value of Early Childhood Education, Heckman argues that “wise and timely” early childhood education investment, particularly in disadvantaged children, will pay great dividends.

“We can invest early to close disparities and prevent achievement gaps, or we can pay to remediate disparities when they are harder and more expensive to close. Either way, we are going to pay. And, we’ll have to do both for

Page 6 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 6

2/25/2013 12:18:36 PM

a while. But, there is an important difference between the two approaches.

Investing early allows us to shape the future; investing later chains us to fixing the missed opportunities of the past.”

In 2005, according to the National Health Interview Survey, about 9 percent of college grads reported having given blood in the past year, compared to 4 percent of high school graduates and 2 percent of those adults who did not complete high school.

Princeton Professor of Economics Alan Krueger is the school’s Bendheim Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, and is the founding director of Princeton’s Survey Research Center. His study found income and education “provides robust evidence of a substantial payoff to investment in education, especially for those who traditionally complete low levels of schooling.” Krueger also found that evidence suggests benefits “in the form of reduced crime and reduced welfare participation are more likely to be reaped from investments in disadvantaged than advantaged groups.”

His study found that an additional year of schooling is likely to raise an individual’s earnings about 10 percent.

That’s the 2012 unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma, a c cording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. High school graduates had an unemployment rate of 8.3 percent, while those with some college experience or an associate degree were unemployed at a rate of 7.1 percent.

Those with a bachelor’s degree or more enjoyed an unemployment rate of 4 percent.

In their 2007 study, Education Pays: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society, Sandy Baum and Jennifer Ma reported that 30 percent of high school dropouts were smokers. Only 11 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree were smokers.

According to the College Board (2010), mothers with only a high school

education are 31 percent more likely than others with a bachelor’s degree or higher to give birth to babies weighing less than 5.5 pounds. Further, low-birthweight babies tend to incur high medical costs throughout their lives. Estimates suggest an average cost of about $34,500 (in 2010 dollars) for the first year of life, and considerable additional costs throughout life (EPA, Ch.III.2).

In a February 2012 report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 42.4 percent of college graduates volunteered through an organization. That compares to only 18.2 percent of high school graduates and just 9.8 percent of those with less than a high school diploma.

In the 2008 presidential election, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 77 percent of college graduates cast a ballot. Only 55 percent of high school grads voted, and just 39 percent of those with less than a high school diploma cast a ballot.

Of the nation’s prison and death row inmates, 82 percent are high school dropouts, according to the National Dropout Prevention Center/ Network.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that’s the median weekly income for a full-time worker in the fourth quarter of 2012, age 25 or older, without a high school diploma. The median weekly income for a high school grad during the same period: $647. And for a worker holding a bachelor’s degree: $1,168 per week.

The lifetime cost-savings from reduced criminal activity per high school graduate, compared to the average high school dropout, according to Henry Levin, professor of Economics and Education at Columbia University. Levin’s findings were presented at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Develop-

ment (OECD) in Paris in 2010.

The lifetime total public health care savings per high school graduate, compared to a high school dropout, according to Columbia University’s Levin. These findings were also presented at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris in 2010.

That is the difference in cost between one year of public school education in Nebraska and one year of incarceration for a child at the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility in Omaha.

The 37th annual report and statistical summary from the Nebraska Department of Corrections indicated that it cost $68,621 to house a teen in 2011.

Meanwhile, the National Education Association’s annual Rankings & Estimates report indicated the average cost of educating a child in Nebraska public schools in 2011 was $10,433.

That is the average extra lifetime total tax payments a high school graduate will contribute, compared to a high school dropout, according to Columbia’s Levin.

Penn State’s Mitra also found that the national, annual, savings in health care costs would exceed $40 billion if every high school dropout in just a single year would graduate. Average annual public health costs are $2,700 per dropout; $1,000 per high school graduate; and $170 per college graduate.

In his 2004 research, Columbia University’s Muennig’s found that, aggregated over a lifetime, the conservative value of health costs associated with a cohort of 600,000 18-year-old high school dropouts would be $88.3 billion. Advancing those 600,000 dropouts by one grade, said Muennig, would produce additional lifetime earnings of $72 billion.

March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 7

#March 2013.indd 7

2/25/2013 12:18:38 PM

Page 8 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 8

2/25/2013 12:18:38 PM

The Meaning of Teaching Book by Omaha Couple Uses Essays to Explore Teaching

The anger exhibited toward public sector unions in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and other states two years ago troubled Daniel Boster.

Some of that anti-union sentiment surfaced in Nebraska, as NSEA successfully fended off anti-union proposals in the Legislature that would have put an end to collective bargaining and the Commission of Industrial Relations.

The constant stream of negatives aimed at teaching was upsetting. Antiunion forces called teachers “lazy” and “greedy” and said educators were “taking advantage of the system,” Boster recalled in his blog. Oddly, he also found the confrontations and disparaging remarks inspirational.

“All my experience told me these things weren’t true,” he wrote. “It suddenly seemed urgent that more people hear teachers’ stories.”

That’s been happening for almost a year now, thanks to Boster, chair of the English Department at Ralston High School, and his wife, Marni Valerio. In what Boster called “very much a grassroots effort,” the couple collected a series of 39 essays from teachers across the country and published those essays last year in What Teaching Means: Stories from America’s Classrooms.

Their book has made waves everywhere. It held ground for the classroom teacher’s point of view in an education leadership conference at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. It has given the teacher’s perspective life in classes at Virginia Tech University. Boster and Valerio have given readings in Omaha; Madison, WI; Minneapolis; and elsewhere.

“The book humanizes teachers and students with stories about a normal day in American schools,” said Boster.

Talking About the Job Boster has frequently heard over the years that teachers never seem to talk about their classrooms or their jobs – at least not to people outside the profession. Educators are more than willing to talk with other teachers about their profession, their students and the good things that go on in classrooms. They

In Conference: What Teaching Means authors and editors after their reading at the National Writing Project Annual Meeting in November. From left, Mary Powell, Arizona; Susan Martens, Daniel Boster and Marni Valerio, Nebraska; Alicia McCauley, California; and Danielle Helzer, Nebraska.

thought educators might need a helping hand to reach a broader audience.

“We thought there ought to be a book with teachers telling their stories, telling their day-to-day lives,” he said.

Both have literature backgrounds.

Boster teaches literature and composition at Ralston High, and is co-director of the Nebraska Writing Project. Valerio is an English instructor at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha. Both are NSEA members.

They issued a request and received 115 essays from 27 states. They winnowed those down to 39 essays and divided them into six categories.

Finding a publisher was even easier.

Boster’s Ralston High colleagues, English teacher Jeff Lacey and art teacher Calvin Banks, founded Rogue Faculty Press in 2011. Lacey and Banks, said Boster, believe that the intellectual work of teachers deserve a publisher.

With the aid of Lacey and Banks, What Teaching Means was soon a reality.

‘Compelling Essays’ The book includes stories about “everything from the recounting of an

unlikely kindergarten classroom friendship to the rugged epiphanies experienced in a high school ESL class.” The essays “detail the sometimes joyful, sometimes tragic teaching experiences of professional educators who’ve rendered them in prose.”

Reviews have been positive. Dr. George P. White is professor of Educational Leadership at Lehigh University and is director of the Center for Developing Urban Educational Leaders.

He said, “A copy of this book should be given to anyone involved in setting educational policy at the local, state and national levels as it will help drive home the point that teaching is about more than just getting good test scores.”

Linda Christensen directs the Oregon Writing Project. She called What Teaching Means “a series of compelling essays that remind the reader that what shapes our nation’s schools isn’t laws or standards, but the lives of students and the teachers who nurture them.”

Boster said the public needs these stories now. Teachers do, as well.

“We’re getting messages from teachers all over the country who tell us that they have received the book as a gift and, they say, for instance, ‘this book makes me feel not so all alone.’”

What Teaching Means is $18, plus tax and shipping. To buy a copy, click on the “Online Store” link at: roguefacultypress.com March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 9

#March 2013.indd 9

2/25/2013 12:18:40 PM

Page 10 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 10

2/25/2013 12:18:41 PM

Two Education Crises:

Which is Fake? Which is Real?

By Anthony Cody As first appeared in Education Week on Jan. 17, 2013.

Reprinted with permission from the author.

Recently, there were two important studies released. One tells us that the international test data used to declare our schools broken and uncompetitive is bogus. The other tells us we have a very different crisis we should be concerned about: the percent of students who are engaged and excited about school drops dramatically between elementary and high school. The policies pursued to fight the first, phony crisis, are likely to be making our real problem of declining student engagement worse.

When “no excuses” reformers like Michelle Rhee or Bill Gates want to justify their demands for policy shifts in our schools, the first card they play is the one that says our schools are failing in comparison to those of our international rivals. Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst ran TV ads last summer that depicted our students as an out of shape athlete bumbling around on a gym mat. Bill Gates on Oprah a few years ago asserted that if we could get rid of all the nation’s “bad teachers,” our scores would rise to the top of the world rankings.

Valid Skepticism But researchers have long been skeptical about these rankings, and careful investigation by Martin Carnoy and Richard Rothstein have confirmed that our standings are quite respectable. Our international standings are depressed not by “bad teachers,” but by the relatively high number of students we have living in poverty. They explain: Disaggregation of PISA test scores by social class group reveals some patterns that many education policymakers will find surprising. Average U.S. test scores are lower than average scores in countries to which the United States is frequently compared, in part because the share of disadvantaged students in the overall national population is greater in the United States than in comparison countries. If the social class distribution of the United States were similar to that of top-scoring countries, the average test score gap between the United States and these top-scoring countries would be cut in half in reading and by one-third in mathematics. Disadvantaged U.S. students perform comparatively better than do disadvantaged students in important comparison countries. The test score gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students in the United States is smaller than the gap in similar post-industrial countries...

The authors include this in their conclusion: We have shown that U.S. student performance, in real terms and relative to other countries, improves considerably when we estimate average U.S. scores after adjusting for U.S. social class composition and for a lack of care in sampling disadvantaged students in particular. With these adjustments, U.S. scores would rank higher among OECD countries than commonly reported in reading – fourth best instead of 14th – and in

mathematics – 10th best instead of 25th.

So perhaps we are not international laggards after all.

But we are aware that test scores are not the thing that really matters in the long run. In the long run, what we ought to care about most is how well prepared our students are to be happy, productive adults. And higher test scores could actually mean we are doing worse in that regard. The recent Gallup poll results on student engagement draw our attention to another set of indicators, and by these, we are in real trouble.

From a report by Brandon Busteed at Gallup: The Gallup Student Poll surveyed nearly 500,000 students in grades five through 12 from more than 1,700 public schools in 37 states in 2012. We found that nearly eight in 10 elementary students who participated in the poll are engaged with school. By middle school that falls to about six in 10 students. And by high school, only four in 10 students qualify as engaged.

Busteed provides a strong dose of reality to our test-obsessed system: The drop in student engagement for each year students are in school is our monumental, collective national failure.

There are several things that might help to explain why this is happening – ranging from our overzealous focus on standardized testing and curricula to our lack of experiential and project-based learning pathways for students – not to mention the lack of pathways for students who will not and do not want to go on to college.

Confronting the Crisis I recently visited a high school in Albuquerque that has figured out how to reverse this dynamic. In targeting students who had already dropped out or were disengaged, ACE Leadership High had to confront this crisis head-on. They did so in ways that echo Busteed’s insights, through projects with strong connections to the real world these students see around them.

Let’s be clear about why so many students disconnect from high school. As the pressure to perform well on tests is exerted ever more, we have shifted the very reason for our work. When students ask “why are we learning this?” our best answers revolve around the students themselves. We ought to be teaching things that are really useful in their lives, and which satisfy their curiosity about the world. It is our job as teachers to provoke that curiosity, and build on it. It is our job to make connections to the real world visible and compelling. When our answer to the question “why are we learning this?” is “because it is on the test,” or “because it is Common Core standard 3.6a,” we have lost our way, and our students know it.

It is time to abandon the phony imperatives of test-driven reform, and listen to what our students are telling us.

Anthony Cody spent 24 years working in Oakland, CA, schools, 18 of them as a science teacher at a high needs middle school. He is National Board certified, and leads workshops with teachers focused on Project Based Learning.

For additional information on Cody’s work, visit his website, Teachers Lead.

March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 11

#March 2013.indd 11

2/25/2013 12:18:42 PM

Page 12 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 12

2/25/2013 12:18:43 PM

March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 13

#March 2013.indd 13

2/25/2013 12:18:44 PM

Is Your Privacy @ Risk?

NSEA Action Protects Members at Metro Local; Proposed Legislation Would Protect Your Credit Privacy, Ban Employers From Access to Your Social Media Sites

I

has little to do with his or her ability to teach second grade readt is mid-November and NSEA members at a large metroing. Every check of credit nicks the credit standing of the emarea district receive a letter from an administrator indiployee in question, said Norby. But the second level of credit cating, “we believe you need to be provided an updated checks, the investigative report, would allow the kind of backcopy of your rights regarding perpetual background checks.” ground check a private investigator might conduct.

Enclosed are a number of papers, including a page from The “People don’t know how invasive, how potentially dangerBackground Check Company and an ‘Authorization for Ongoous these disclosures are,” said Norby. ing Screening.’ The letter asks educators to complete and return “the Perpetual Background Application form that is enclosed.”

What the cover letter failed to disclose was that by complyortunately, there are two bills before the Legislature ing, employees gave the district the authority to conduct credit this year that address privacy issues. LB95 creates the checks and personal interviews with friends and family; to colEmployee Credit Privacy Act. lect details about the employee’s “character and general reputaSen. Annette Dubas proposed LB95. It would prohibit emtion”; and even check into a teacher’s living arrangements. ployers from “inquiring about or using an employee’s credit Further, once signed, the “perpetual” nature of the form alhistory or credit report as a basis for employment, recruitment, lowed a background investigation at any time during the emdischarge, or compensation, except when a satisfactory credit ployee’s tenure. history is an established bona fide occupational requirement.”

NSEA Attorney Nick Welding said the Fair Credit ReportIt would provide protection for current and future employees. ing Act offers two levels of reports. A credit report offers details LB58 creates the Workplace Privacy Act and prohibits an about credit worthiness and capacity. “Far more employer from requiring an employee or apinvasive,” he said, is the investigative report. plicant to disclose a user name or password in “In this instance, we “It can involve interviews with neighbors collectively stood beside order to gain access to the employee’s or apand friends about general reputation, character, plicant’s social networking site or profile. Sen. our colleagues at the and can even involve surveillance,” he said.

Tyson Larson’s bill would also prohibit an emAttorney Scott Norby said the investigative local level on a privacy ployer from requiring an employee to waive report “is the most onerous and nefarious type issue. Now, through legtheir rights under the act, and restricts the emof investigative authorization you could ask islation, we can protect ployer from requesting or requiring an employanyone to sign. members across the state ee to log on to a social networking account in “And this district asked employees to allow the presence of the employer. on this very same issue.” this on a perpetual basis,” he said.

NSEA supports both bills, held now by the — Nancy Fulton Legislature’s Business and Labor Committee.

“This illustrates exactly why NSEA is inven though district officials said inPresident, NSEA volved in the political process,” said NSEA vestigations would not be used, Norby President Nancy Fulton. “In this instance, we said “there were a lot of red flags.” collectively stood beside our colleagues at the local level on a Members were concerned about privacy issues, but there privacy issue. Now, through legislation, we can protect memwas another angle as well. Norby and Welding saw the adminbers across the state on this very same issue.” istration’s request as a unilateral change in conditions of emFulton urged members to contact their state senators on ployment, a prohibited practice. these and other issues pertinent to public schools.

Norby and Welding assisted the local Association in filing a grievance, which led to talks with the school superintendent.

The district agreed to drop the request and shred already-colhe Legislature’s Appropriations Committee is worklected forms. The local Association then dropped the grievance. ing on a budget recommendation for the 2013-15 biEven the simple credit report has consequences beyond priennium. While the needs-based state aid formula for vacy – never mind that a school employee’s credit worthiness K-12 schools calls for an increase of about 10 percent, the gov-

F

E

T

Page 14 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 14

2/25/2013 12:18:45 PM

Political Action:With the State Capitol building looming through the windows in the background, Omaha State Sen. Jeremy Nordquist talks to retired members during NSEA-Retired’s annual Lobby Day. About 50 retired members attended and had one-on-one visits with state senators during the day.

ernor has suggested an increase of only 5 percent. NSEA will advocate for a 7 percent increase. NSEA also supports funding increases for state and community colleges and the university.

The status on bills of interest:

Your Classroom NSEA Supports LB506, Class Size: Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz addresses the elementary class size allowance now in the state aid formula, which provides for one certified teacher for classrooms between 10 and 20 students for K-3 grades. LB506 includes an additional provision to provide a class size allowance for grades with one certified teacher and one instructional paraprofessional in the classroom with a minimum of 21 and maximum of 28 students.

NSEA Supports LB555, Preparing Students: Omaha Sen. Jeremy Nordquist’s Preparing Students for Educational Success Act would distribute grants from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to fund after-school programs aligned with what students learn during the school day.

NSEA’s Jay Sears told the Health and Human Services Committee that the plan would increase the opportunity for more students to extend learning time and raise achievement.

Administration NSEA Opposes LB121, Administrative Waivers: Omaha Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh proposes to allow school districts to hire superintendents who do not hold an administrator’s certificate issued by the State Board of Education.

Sears told the Education Committee that a long-standing NSEA Resolution says “all educators shall be certificated by the State Board of Education.” A superintendent, he said, must be a teacher.

NSEA also opposes Sen. Ernie Chambers’ LB539. It would bar the State Board from requiring teaching experience as a pre-requisite for issuance of an administrator’s certificate.

“How will an uncertificated principal recognize good or poor teaching if they have never taught? How will an uncertificated principal understand the nuances of good pedagogy if he or she has never studied the process or spent time in a classroom,” Sears said.

Taxes, Budget Lid NSEA Supports LB201, Emergency Expenditures: Malcolm Sen. Ken Haar offered LB201, which would allow emergency expenditures by schools and Educational Service Units to address disasters and emergencies, ir-

respective of budget or levy caps. The disaster must be recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

NSEA Supports LB357 and LB469, Budget Lids and Voluntary Separation Agreements: Malcolm Sen. Ken Haar offered LB357; Norfolk Sen. Jim Scheer LB469. Both clarify and extend the school district budget lid exemption for voluntary separation agreements – early retirement plans – used by districts to manage budgets. NSEA’s Larry Scherer noted that both bills include a major departure from current statute: school districts must demonstrate that, over a five-year period, savings realized through lower salary for replacement staff offset the cost of the plans.

NSEA Supports LB613, the Tax Modernization Commission: Columbus Sen. Paul Schumacher’s plan to conduct an in-depth study of the state’s tax system and provide recommendations to the Legislature for next year.

NSEA Opposes LB593, Charter Schools: NSEA testified against Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh’s LB593, which would allow up to five charter schools within metropolitan school districts.

NSEA’s Sears told the Education Committee that public schools, with March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 15

#March 2013.indd 15

2/25/2013 12:18:45 PM

proper tools and funding, can already meet Lautenbaugh’s concerns about ensuring quality education for children in Omaha. Those tools include high standards and expectations; rigorous, relevant curriculum; adequate and equitable funding; small class size, especially in grades K-3; effective educator evaluation; a quality administrator in every building; and other items.

Instead of charter schools, Sears said “Nebraska needs the legislature, the state board of education, and the Nebraska community to focus on supporting our public schools in their mission of continually improving instruction for the betterment of student learning.”

State Aid NSEA Supports LB323, State Aid Committee: Sen. Haar’s LB323 would re-establish the School Finance Review Committee to monitor and evaluate the state aid act, LB1059. An amendment would place a teacher on the committee.

NSEA Director of Research Larry Scherer was legal counsel for the Education Committee when LB1059 passed in 1990. He said the goal was to provide quality education for students in all school districts, regardless of property tax wealth or the wealth of citizens in the school district. The review committee was later a victim of budget cuts.

He said, however, the “current ad hoc arrangement does not provide a long-range view of school financing and misses the critical perspectives of school board members, experts and teachers. Most important, there has never been an adequate, objective evaluation of how well the system, with all its moving parts, is working to serve the needs of Nebraska children.”

NSEA Supports LB640, State Aid: NSEA Director of Public Policy Jason Hayes told the Education Committee that state aid has fallen from $950 million in 2010-11 to $852 million this year.

“As a result, school districts have had to increase class size, cut programs and supplies, reduce staff and raise property taxes in order to try and maintain their ability to provide every child with a quality education,” he said.

Hayes said NSEA supports LB640’s strategy and an interim study of the state aid funding mechanism.

Your Retirement NSEA Supports LB553, Teacher Retirement: Omaha Sen. Nordquist’s plan would ensure solvency of the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System school plan.

Hayes told the Retirement Committee that market declines experienced several years ago have created an additional funding need from the state of $48 million in 2013 and $60 million in 2014. By 2018, the state would need to kick in $138 million.

To address these and other lesser funding shortfalls, LB553 would eliminate contribution sunsets set for 2017.

Educators will continue to contribute 9.78 percent of salary to retirement

beyond 2017, rather than drop back to 7.28 percent, the rate prior to 2008. The proposal would also increase the state contribution from 1 percent to 2 percent (about $17 million annually), and would make minor adjustments to the plan for first-time enrollees. Future firsttime enrollees would see cost-of-living increases for pensions capped at 1 percent, rather than 2.5 percent for current educators. New enrollee retirement benefits would also be based on an average of five, rather than three, years’ salary, causing a slight reduction in benefits.

The plan would save the state $30 million this year and $43 million in 2014. NSEA also backs LB554, which strengthens the OPS retirement plan.

NSEA Opposes LB638, Cash Balance Retirement Plan: Omaha Sen. John Nelson’s bill would change the retirement plan for new school employees from defined benefit to cash balance.

The current defined benefit plan recognizes longevity and calculates salary and service years worked by an employee to set the monthly benefit upon retirement.

Longevity is one incentive, however, not encapsulated in a cash balance plan.

Under a cash balance benefit, an employee has no incentive from a pension perspective to continue long employment with a school plan employer.

NSEA Supports LB416, LB645, Teacher Education Allowance: Omaha Sen. Rick Kolowski’s LB416, and Sen. Haar’s LB615, with minor differences, would retain the state aid formula’s teacher education allowance, which rewards districts that hire teachers with advanced hours or degrees.

In a letter to the Education Committee, retired Kearney and Lincoln teacher and 1992 Nebraska Teacher of the Year De Tonack called the teacher education allowance “a key component in promoting quality teachers in the classroom and, as research validates, quality teachers are the most important element in helping students learn.”

Page 16 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 16

2/25/2013 12:18:45 PM

Changes to It is Not Too Late and it is ... A Big Deal!

Bylaws Due Delegate Assembly Dates Arrive in Next Six Weeks For any local association considering submission of business items for debate at the April 19-20 Delegate Assembly, now is the time to begin that process.

New Business Items, Bylaws Amendments, proposed Resolution, or proposed changes in the Standing and Procedural Rules have strict deadlines: n A New Business Item calls for specific action. For example, “The NSEA shall ask the Legislature for an increase in teacher salaries.” Due date: Friday, April 5. n A Bylaws Amendment alters the Association governing documents. For example, a section of the Bylaws could be changed to add a particular duty to the job description for the president.

Due date: midnight Tuesday, March 19. n A Resolution is a statement of beliefs. For example, “The NSEA believes that all students should have a safe envi-

Wavering? Wondering whether you should serve as a delegate at Delegate Assembly, and whether your time will be well-spent?

The time you invest in your Association always pays dividends, particularly so at Delegate Assembly. Any member in good standing is eligible to be elected. Here are details about the event in Kearney: How to get to Delegate Assembly: Your local Association has received details regarding eligibility. Talk to your local president or building rep about attending, or call your NSEA UniServ director at 1-800-742-0047.

Who: Any NSEA member in good standing may apply for election as a delegate.

What: Members discuss and set the Association course for the coming year.

Where/When: Kearney, April 19-20.

Why: Association goals and dues are set, and Bylaws and Resolutions (NSEA’s guiding principles) are updated.

Cost: NSEA covers one-half of a Friday night hotel room for each delegate, a box lunch on Saturday and mileage for delegates.

ronment in which to learn.” Due date: Friday, April 5. n A Standing or Procedural Rule governs how the Delegate Assembly functions. Current rules call for proposed changes to be submitted 30 days in advance to be considered and approved by majority vote at the opening session. Due date: midnight Tuesday, March 19. Changes submitted at the Assembly require two-thirds majority.

Associations and/or individual del-

egates may also submit New Business Items or Resolutions during the first and/or second business sessions of Delegate Assembly. Standing and Procedural Rule changes may be submitted during the first business session. Those who submit items for debate during the first and/or second business session must bring 500 copies for distribution.

Forms for submitting these business items can be found on the homepage at: www.nsea.org

March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 17

#March 2013.indd 17

2/25/2013 12:18:46 PM

Retiring?

Attend An NPERS Seminar Soon Are you among the scores of Nebraska teachers considering retirement this year? If so, you’ll want to be in attendance at one of the more than two dozen pre-retirement seminars scheduled this spring by the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System (NPERS) office.

For those anticipating retirement, NPERS mails out enrollment brochures to all eligible members four weeks prior to the seminar.

Under state law, each eligible school plan employee may receive leave, with pay, to attend up to two retirement planning programs. That leave, according to state statute, “…shall mean a day off paid by the employer and shall not mean vacation, sick, personal, or compensatory time.”

Retirement plan members may attend a seminar more than twice, but any leave beyond the two days will be at the member’s expense and at the employer’s discretion.

Below is a list of dates and sites for the 2013 seminars. For more details on seminars in your area, call the NPERS Education Services Department at 4712053, in Lincoln, or toll-free at 1-800245-5712 from elsewhere in the state.

You may also find more information on the website at: npers.ne.gov March 1.....................................LaVista March 6.....................................LaVista March 7.................................... Lincoln March 8.................................... Lincoln March 13.........................S. Sioux City March 14................................. Norfolk March 20........................ Grand Island March 21.................................Kearney March 27.............................Columbus April 3...................................Valentine April 4............................ North Platte April 11...................................Kearney April 17.............................. Scottsbluff April 18.............................. Scottsbluff April 24.................................... Lincoln April 25.....................................LaVista May 8.........................................LaVista May 9........................................ Lincoln May 16............................ Grand Island May 30............................ North Platte June 5........................................ Lincoln June 6.........................................LaVista June 12..................................... Lincoln June 13.................................... Norfolk June 19..................................... Lincoln June 20......................................LaVista June 26........................... Grand Island

Save With Dave! to: neamb.com. Look for 1800Flowers.

NEA’s Click & Save program, the com at the Shopping and Discounts tab. online discount buying service for members, highlights select retailers ‘Twice as Nice’ and merchants each month.

The NEA Magazine Service Check out these featured “Buyis the perfect source for ecolights” for March: nomical, educational and enn GNC: Get 15 percent off. tertaining gifts for yourself, and n Adidas: Get 7 percent off. loved ones. Find more than 900 n Yoox.com (apparel): Get popular titles and save up to 85 3 percent off. percent off cover prices!

Join 284,000 NEA members For a limited time, get two already registered for Click & years for the price of one on Save. Go to the NEA Member popular titles such as InstrucBenefits website, search for Glenn tor, Golf Digest, Latina and Self.

Click & Save, and start finding Check out these “twice as nice” deals at: discounts today! The website is at: neamag.com/twiceasnice neamb.com Special H&R Discounts Download a coupon for NEA member discounts at H&R Block! Get up to $15 off tax preparation of your Federal Form 1040 or 1040A, either in H&R Block offices or online. Also, H&R Block has special offers on At Home for do-it-yourselfers. Get details on special pricing and download the coupon at: neamb.com/hrblock

David Glenn is Nebraska’s NEA Member Benefits representative.

Surprise, Delight With Flowers Whether it’s to celebrate a graduation, a birthday, a new arrival, or another occasion, NEA members can delight loved ones with a lush plant, gorgeous floral arrangement, or gift basket — and get 20 percent off — from 1800Flowers.com and 1800Baskets.com!

For details, and to place an order, go

Page 18 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 18

2/25/2013 12:18:47 PM

Member Benefits

A Credit Card Surcharge?

Businesses Can Charge an Extra Fee on Some Cards. Will They?

Brick-and-mortar retailers and online merchants in 40 states can now add up to a 4 percent surcharge to charges made with Visa or MasterCard.

The surcharge, called a checkout or swipe fee, is allowed by a recent court settlement between retailers, card companies and nine major banks, according to Consumer Action, a consumer advocacy group. The settlement allows retailers to pass on costs of processing credit card transactions to customers – a practice previously banned. But most retailers likely won’t add the surcharge, says Craig Shearman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation.

The NRF has spoken with many of its members and none plans to charge a checkout fee, Shearman said. In fact, the point of the lawsuit, which was brought by merchants, was to bring down swipe fees, and, in turn, lower consumer prices.

Retailers typically pay card issuers a fee equal to 1.5 percent to 3 percent of a total purchase when they accept a credit card. The settlement allows retailers to charge only the amount they pay to process a card, up to 4 percent, said Consumer Action. Shearman said retailers also would have to meet several complex requirements to charge the fee.

For starters, the fees are illegal in 10 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas).

Shearman noted that existing Visa and MasterCard rules require companies to handle credit cards the same in all of their stores. So chains with stores in the 10 states that allow surcharges wouldn’t be allowed to charge an extra fee for card transactions in any of their stores.

LowCredit.com reports another nine states are considering a ban on surcharges: Illinois, Hawaii, New Jersey, Utah, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia.

The settlement also requires merchants that add a surcharge to Visa and

MasterCard purchases add a surcharge to other cards with an equal or higher swipe fee, such as American Express.

However, American Express prohibits retailers from charging customers an extra fee to use their cards. Businesses that accept all three cards would not be able to add a surcharge, Shearman said.

Retailers also must follow other guidelines if they charge this fee: n They must disclose at the store entrance, point of sale or on receipts that they are charging an extra fee for credit card purchases. n The disclosure on a receipt must show the amount of the fee and stipulate that the amount is equal to what the retailer pays to process a credit card transaction. The fees can vary for different types of cards, such as rewards cards, according to Consumer Action. n Retailers cannot charge an extra fee for debit cards.

By the Editors of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, compliments of NEA Member Benefits.

March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 19

#March 2013.indd 19

2/25/2013 12:18:47 PM

3

Page 20 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 20

2/25/2013 12:18:48 PM

News You Can Use GEON Offers Nebraska Geography Programs The Geographic Educators of Nebraska are back in the field this summer, with two free professional development institutes. Any K-12 Nebraska educator who desires to learn how to put more and better standards-based geography content into their classrooms can apply.

Three hours of graduate credit for either institute is available through Wayne State College. Participants completing all requirements will receive a $200 stipend. The two institutes are: n Geography of the City – Omaha: Based at the University of Nebraska-Omaha June 10-14, speakers and presentations will focus on the human and physical geography of the Omaha area. Field study will highlight and explain important locations in Omaha’s urban and economic geography. Participants will create and share standardsbased lesson plans relating to Nebraska geography. Registrants from outside a 50-mile radius of Omaha will receive housing. Participants will receive free teaching materials. Applications are due

by May 31. For more, e-mail Steve Callaghan at callaghan@abbnebraska.com. n Geography of the Frontier: Northwest Nebraska and More: Based at Chadron State July 14-20, this institute includes field studies, lectures and lessons presented by elementary/ secondary consultants. Field study will take place in the Black Hills, the Sandhills, at Fort Robinson and the Pine Ridge Reservation. Participants will create and share standards-based lessons. Housing is provided. Applications are due June 3. For details, e-mail Lonnie Moore at lmoore@westside66.org.

NSEA Elections Now Under Way!

Balloting to fill two score open seats on NSEA district and state governance boards is now under way.

Every member is encouraged to vote in order to elect capable members to lead the Association for the next several years.

All members need in order to vote is computer access and their 10-digit NSEA identification number. The two-week voting period opened on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

Prior to that date, members with valid e-mail addresses on file with NSEA received an e-mail alert detailing the voting process and including each member’s 10-digit identification number.

NSEA members without a valid e-mail address on file received a postcard detailing the voting process. To vote, go to the web site at: www.nsea.org Also on the NSEA website: view a list of candidates and a brief biography for those candidates that have supplied biographical information. family’s home in Red Cloud, the local train depot, the Red Cloud Opera House, the prairie. Each area includes video links, snippets of text from Cather’s writings, photos and maps.

The website is at: roundprojects.com/WillaCather/ index.php

Duck Stamp Program Pairs Science with Art As the season for spring waterfowl migration nears, this is the perfect time

for Nebraska students to participate in the Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest. The contest is an opportunity for K-12 students to connect with nature through artistic creation. The program encourages students to portray native waterfowl in natural habitats.

Exhibition of winning entries will take place at various sites around Nebraska. The Best of Show will enter the national competition.

Deadline for entry is March 15. Details are available on line at: www.fws.gov/juniorduck

Cather ‘Virtual Tour’ Provided by NETV Nebraska Educational Television has created a virtual tour of Nebraska author Willa Cather’s hometown, Red Cloud, that literature teachers will come to love.

The website uses materials from the 2005 American Masters PBS program Willa Cather – The Road is All program.

The program featured actor David Strathairn as narrator and Marcia Gay Harden as the voice of Cather. NET’s Joel Geyer produced the program.

The website includes a look at four areas vital to Cather’s early years: her March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 21

#March 2013.indd 21

2/25/2013 12:18:49 PM

NSEA-Retired Corner

Retirees Work with Senators NSEA-Retired Joins Coalition on Retirement Nebraska ranks as one of the 10 least tax-friendly states for retirees.

The goal of coalition joined by NSEA-Retired is to develop alternatives to the current tax structure that will move Nebraska out of that Bottom 10 ranking over the next several years. At the annual NSEA-Retired Lobby Day in early February, about 45 NSEA-Retired members heard an update of coalition activities.

Following the update, NSEA-retired members left the NSEA Headquarters building and went to the Legislature to talk with senators about various bills that are important to both NSEA and NSEARetired, and to help lay the groundwork for legislation to make Nebraska more retiree-friendly.

Legislative Update The Unicameral Update is a daily news source produced by the Clerk of the Legislature’s Unicameral Information Office. A print version of the Unicameral Update, a free newsletter offered weekly during the legislative session, is available to be sent to your home. To request the mailing, just call 402-471-2788 or e-mail: uio@leg.ne.gov The website also provides a searchable archive of news stories for the current biennium. You can access update information at this website: http://update.legislature.ne.gov Or, join the Twitter world at: http://twitter.com/UnicamUpdate Currently there are nine bills aimed at making Nebraska more retiree friendly.

The NSEA-Retired Board of Directors requests that all members, and active citizens, contact their representatives and encourage them to work together

Intensity: Attendees at the annual NSEA-Retired Lobby Day on Feb. 5 listen closely as Jason Hayes, NSEA director of Public Policy and Legislative Research offers an update on legislative bills. From left are Gretchen Terpsma, Bennett; Gene Martin, Beatrice; and Joanne Allen, Lincoln.

to push a single bill to the floor of the Legislature, working to build stronger schools, stronger communities, and a stronger economy. Such a bill should meet the following two requirements: n Impact the greatest number of people. n Have the largest amount of money the state can afford to get back into the hands of taxpayers.

When asking senators to consider tax relief for retirees, please focus on what is fair and equitable to retirees and would have the greatest economic impact. Please contact your senator(s) and let them know your personal story, and why it is important for the state of Nebraska to structure the tax reform to benefit all retirees, not just a select group.

Finally, these two hints: n If you want to testify before a committee, you must fill out the sign-in

sheet at the witness table, orally identify yourself and spell your last name for the record, and state who, if anyone, you represent as you begin your testimony.

It is important to remember that committee proceedings are transcribed verbatim, so it is helpful to have your testimony written out, in order to be concise.

As you plan out your presentation, visit this link to find tips for testifying: uniweb.legislature.ne.gov/about/ testifying.php n During a bill’s public hearing, letters or written communication containing support, opposition, or neutral testimony, are accepted by committees.

Persons wishing to send written information should address their correspondence to the office of the senator who chairs the committee and ensure that the information arrives before the hearing.

— Renae Kelly, Editor renaerkelly@gmail.com

Olympian Curt Tomasevicz at Spring Conference!

The NSEA Retired annual meeting and Spring Conference will be held Thursday, April 18, at the Younes Conference Center in Kearney. Curt Tomasevicz, the U.S. Olympic gold medal-winnning bobsledder from Nebraska will deliver the keynote at 9 a.m. Two breakout sessions will be available before lunch, followed by the NSEA-Retired

business meeting and legislative update at 1:30 p.m. Cherie Beam Clark will entertain with a spotlight on Nebraska following the business meeting. A dessert reception, wrap up, evaluation, and door prizes will end the day.

Registration and agenda will be online at: http://www.nsea.org/retired

Page 22 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 22

2/25/2013 12:18:50 PM

Is Your School Green?

NPPD Offers Investigative Package for Students GreenSchools has nothing to do with painting the school house. Instead, it is a national program designed to make a school “greener through critical thinking and problem solving.

The program encourages students from kindergarten through the 12th grade to take personal responsibility for improving the quality of their school, home and community environment.

Nebraska Public Power District supports the program by providing educational resources, teacher professional development, and classroom programs.

“NPPD offers teachers in energy and sustainability education hands-on, project-based instruction and tools needed to conduct GreenSchools’ investigations,” said NPPD Energy Educator Jennifer Swerczek.

Students complete the investigations and develop action plans for improvement.

One of the key components is an investigative toolkit. The toolkits, which NPPD will loan to schools, contain light and watt meters, an infrared temperature gauge, a CO2 meter, a conservation flow meter bag, and other equipment used to conduct investigations.

The GreenSchools program consists of five, student-led investigations designed for the school setting, but also include elements where students can apply learned skills in their home environment. At the completion of each investigation, students develop and implement an action plan. Swerczek said the school building becomes a learning lab for students.

“This program helps improve students’ academic performance in science, technology, engineering, and math, and develops critical thinking skills, and grows student leaders,” she said.

Based on the results, schools can develop an action plan focused on reducing the energy usage, increasing the school’s energy efficiency and improving environmental quality.

Funding may be available for implementing school action plans, and implementing a GreenSchools program could aid schools in applying for the U.S. Department of Education’s new Green Ribbon School Award.

For details, contact Swerczek at 402-336-2701, or visit: www.nppd.com/energy-education/greenschools

Consolidation: Gains, Losses Center for Great Plains Studies Offers Symposium to Review Effects of School Consolidation The Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will host its 39th annual symposium on April 5-6, at Kearney. The 2013 theme is “Gains and Losses from School Consolidation.”

“This theme serves as a launching point to give participants the opportunity to connect school consolidation issues to the preservation of a well-educated citizenry, regardless of particular locations,” Symposium Chairman Peter Longo said. Longo is a professor of political science at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

The symposium, which is open to the public, will address such questions as: What are the causes and consequences of school consolidation? What are its effects on students? How do we sustain the vitality of rural schools and rural communities?

More than two dozen speakers will present over two days on UNK’s campus and at the Younes Conference Center. The symposium will also feature a concert by the Hutchins Consort, a photography exhibition and sandhill crane watching.

Paul Theobold, author of several books on rural education and a dean at Buena Vista University, will give the keynote address. He has published widely on the topic of community- and place-based education – the idea that learning through the outdoor environment and a student’s community is a key component of a strong education.

For details about the conference, e-mail cgps@unl.edu, or visit: www.unl.edu/plains The Center for Great Plains Studies is a four-campus interdisciplinary, research and teaching program. Its mission is to promote a greater understanding of the people, culture, history, and environment of the Great Plains through a variety of research, teaching and outreach programs.

Extra Credit Charles A. Brown

Longtime NSEA member Charles A. “Charlie” Brown, Lincoln, died Jan. 28. An NEA life member, he was 93.

He was born on Aug. 28, 1919 in York. He was a Navy pilot and navigator during World War II. He taught economics and political science at York High School until his retirement. He was the 1973 Nebraska State Teacher of the Year. Brown attended the Eastridge Presbyterian Church.

Survivors include four sons, their spouses, and seven grandchildren.

Laura Mae Nelson

Longtime NSEA member Laura Mae (Sutherland) Nelson, 93, died on Dec. 27, 2012, at Kimball. She was a life member of both NEA and NSEA. Born on Jan. 10, 1919, in Petersburg, Nelson developed an early ambition to teach. As her high school class valedictorian, she received a full scholarship to Chadron State Teachers College, and, after receiving her two-year degree, taught at a one-room school near Kimball, and then at Chappell.After marrying Leonard Nelson in 1942, she returned to teaching in 1962 when the youngest of her five children began school.

She taught third grade for 23 years, while earning a master’s degree from Chadron State.

She was active in NSEA, NEA, AAUW, Delta Kappa Gamma and a host of other organizations.

She is survived by five children, 11 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Memorials are to the NSEA Children’s Fund.

March 2013 n The NSEA Voice n Page 23

#March 2013.indd 23

2/25/2013 12:18:50 PM

Follow Abe’s Footsteps Apply Now for Civil War Fellows Program Walk in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln and experience the home of a southern sympathizer in historic Georgetown during a weeklong Civil War Washington Teacher Fellows program this summer.

As part of the six-day program, educators will also immerse themselves in Lincoln’s ideas at President Lincoln’s Cottage and walk the halls of Cedar Hill, the home of the famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Participants will leave familiar with: an array of virtual tours, the oratory skills to get students on their feet performing speeches by Lincoln and Douglass; ability to take students on contentdriven experiential learning adventures; and excited about using a wide range of primary sources in your classroom!

Fees include hotels, airfare, workshops, materials and breakfast and lunch each day. All Fellows are eligible to obtain three graduate credit hours through Trinity University for $375.

Funded in part by the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation, the program is offered by the Civil War Washington Consortium. Applications are due March 29. For details, contact: education@fords.org

Speaking of Teaching “A lazy schoolboy lets his father do his homework, but a bright one helps his father with it.”

—Evan Esar American humorist, 1899-1995

Mailed By: The Nebraska State Education Association

Suite 200, 605 S. 14th St., Lincoln, NE 68508-2742

Family of Teachers

The Nebel family of teachers: Three retirees in the Nebel family of teachers have 105 years of teaching experience among them – the others just add to the total! Seated, from left, are: Dorothy Nebel Klein, who taught at Boone County Districts 71 and 59; Mary Anne Steinbruck, Omaha; Kim Steinbruck, Omaha; and Joan Novacek, Cedar Rapids. Standing, from left, are Jim Nebel, Steven Steinbruck and Joe Nebel, all of Omaha. Jim Nebel, Joe Nebel and Mary Anne Steinbruck taught for a total of 105 years.

If you have a family of teachers, snap a photo and send it to: Family of Teachers, c/o NSEA, 605 S. 14th St., Lincoln, NE 68508.

Football Behavior Plan From Diane Postman, a teacher at Yorktown,VA:

“Years ago, Poquoson Primary School used sports to create a school-wide behavior incentive program for January. We used a die-cut machine to cut footballs. Each teacher was given a stack. We were asked to carry a few with us at all times. When we saw another class (not our own) that was well-behaved in the hallway, cafeteria, at the bathrooms, or the like, we handed a football to a student in the class. They could also earn a football for an individual act of good citizenship.

Upon returning to the classroom, the teacher talked about what the class did to earn the football and would post it on a paper football field that was displayed outside of her door in the hall. Each time the class earned a football,

their ‘team’ would advance 10 yards on the field. (This was great for teaching counting by 10’s.) When the team reached the goal post, they would earn a touchdown and start over. Tally marks were used to display and track points earned.

“When it was time for the Super Bowl, the totals were given to the principal. We then had a culminating assembly and everyone wore sports-related clothing to school. The principal and assistant principal dressed like football players, complete with helmets and pads! The top scoring classes got to do cheers, and all classes were praised for their behaviors. Examples of especially good deeds and behaviors were announced for all to hear. This activity was extremely popular and allowed us to “catch ‘em being good” rather than give out reprimands.”

Sign up for Works4Me at this link: www.nea.org/tools/Works4Me.html

Page 24 n The NSEA Voice n March 2013

#March 2013.indd 24

2/25/2013 12:18:51 PM