Trish Guinan Brings Collaborative Spirit and Wealth of Experience to New Role with NSEA BY TYLER DAHLGREN

Trish Guinan Brings Collaborative Spirit and Wealth of Experience to New Role with NSEA

By Tyler Dahlgren, NCSA Communications Manager

Trish Guinan joined the NSEA staff in 1997 with 20 years of teaching experience and 48 school districts to serve in northeast Nebraska. Forty-eight places she’d never visited before but would soon know like the back of her hand.

The career shift was spurred on by 20 elementary teaching positions being cut in Fremont Public Schools, a startling move in her own district that frankly didn’t sit well with Guinan. She was eager to advocate for the profession she loved, and NSEA provided an opportunity to do just that.

Guinan would start in the field, venturing across the northeast pocket of the state from school to school. This was the late 90s, mind you, before every car was equipped with OnStar and built-in GPS systems. When road maps weren’t used for collecting dust and hollering “Hey, Siri!” into inanimate objects would still cause a crooked stare.

Those 48 school districts, no matter the size of the town they sat in, weren’t always a cinch to track down. Not the first time through, anyway. Luckily, Guinan’s colleagues at NSEA shared a tried-and-true trick with their newest field staff member.

“Look for the water tower, they’d say, because the school is always nearby,” Guinan said. “And in most cases it was. It worked nearly every single time.”

Perhaps it’s a coincidence, or maybe it’s something stronger, but the belief that a school is the cornerstone of a community has guided Guinan’s work for 25 years. It’s a steadfast belief for Guinan, who earlier this year became the association’s Executive Director. For the board, the longest serving employee who was also a former teacher, was an obvious choice.

“Having somebody with the wealth of knowledge and experience that Trish has was a no-brainer for us,” said NSEA Board of Directors President Jenni Benson. “It’s really important to the board, all educators, to select a candidate who could step right into the position knowing the association well; someone who has been in the classroom and understands the services we provide to our members but also understands the state of Nebraska.”

Advocating on behalf of Nebraska’s teachers is second nature for Guinan. Going to bat for an entire profession is easy when you’ve stood where they’re standing, and Guinan knows Nebraska’s schools are worth every ounce of effort she’s expended over the course of a 45-year career in education.

“Our public schools in Nebraska are extremely effective,” Guinan said. “Over and over, parents are pleased with the product and the work we do.”

When Guinan says we, she means it. She’s bringing a collaborative spirit into her new role, and, coming from a role where she worked almost exclusively with NSEA members, has already learned a great deal about the value of partnering with other associations in the education sphere. Common ground is solid ground.

“I’ve been trying to focus more on our common ground, not the things we disagree on or the silos that exist in the work that we do,” Guinan said. “Instead of having those silos, how do we find that common ground to work with more of an inclusionary mindset? Working together across the board with our educators, with our communities, with our administrators, and with our school boards, it’s vitally important that we

GUINAN

“You see people struggling, and you want to do whatever you can do to help them. That’s why coming to NSEA 25 years ago was very enticing to me, and that’s what motivates me every day.”

— Trish Guinan

always put kids at the front of what we’re doing. If we don’t, then we’re in the wrong field of work.”

Working closely with administrators is something Guinan looks forward to. One of her greatest mentors in the profession was Dr. Ken Thompson, a former high school principal in Fremont who inspired Guinan with his engaging and inclusive leadership style.

“I saw myself evolving into a better teacher once I was under an administrator who I really felt was invested in me.”

It’s a challenging time in education, that’s no secret, but it’s also an exciting time. It’s a time of opportunity, of school districts going to great lengths to meet the needs of each and every student that walks through their doors.

“It’s certainly a challenging time, and also a divisive time, we’re living in,” said Benson. “But we can work through it. We have before, and we’ll do it again.”

Guinan has seen it first-hand in Fremont, where her former district is partnering with Metropolitan Community College in building skilled workers to walk right into high-demand jobs.

Benson, who taught 50 to 60 students in Southeast Community College’s Career Academies during the program’s early stages, has seen a wave of awesome innovation sweep through schools across the state. A Nebraska Passport Champion, Benson is well-traveled and proud of Nebraska’s schools for so willingly crossing the cutting edge.

She sees it on visits to Bridgeport and Wheeler Central and McCook, where she led an Intro to Ed class made up of seven students who wanted nothing more than to come back and teach in McCook someday.

“If you can grow your own in those types of programs and if we can provide support through Educators Rising and other avenues we’re offering to help them, it affirms the innovation across the state,” Benson said. “Because we want them to stay. We want them to have children and become a part of their community. That’s important for our state.”

Guinan is so geared towards the future, that it’s fun from time-to-time to look back at the past. Her mother worked for Mutual of Omaha and her father owned a gas station and worked 80 hour weeks that included servicing the school buses. He ended his career as the district’s school bus supervisor. Both prioritized education. In fifth grade, Guinan’s dream job switched from hairdresser to educator when she found out her dad’s favorite subject was math. “I am my father’s daughter, and I liked math, so I just started focusing on that,” she recalls. “I never changed my mind. If I wasn’t working for NSEA, I’d still be teaching.”

She tells people that all the time, but harbors no regrets, only thankfulness. The journey has been a rewarding one, and this next stop will be, without a doubt, the most impactful.

“You see people struggling, and you want to do whatever you can do to help them,” Guinan said. “That’s why coming to NSEA 25 years ago was very enticing to me, and that’s what motivates me every day.”

When Guinan’s not in the office, it’s likely she’s walking or biking or doing anything outside. She’ll take strolls around the Capitol on particularly nice mornings and pass through her neighborhood (NCSA Ambassador Dr. Keith Rohwer is a nearby neighbor) on particularly nice evenings.

“Being outside is really something I look forward to after being in meetings all day,” she said with a smile.

Guinan’s still linked to her first vocation, and always will be.

“When you’re an educator, whether you’re an administrator, teacher, or para, you work with your friends and those tend to turn into lifelong friendships,” said Guinan, who meets with a small group of old teaching friends at least four times a year to celebrate birthdays and reminisce on unforgettable times. “We haven’t taught together for over 25 years, and yet we still do that. For 25 years we’ve been doing that.”

Guinan’s passion for education burns as brightly now as it did when she was using the old water tower trick in the late 90s. Some things never change, and some things never should. ■

“I saw myself evolving into a better teacher once I was under an administrator who I really felt was invested in me.”

— Trish Guinan