PROMOTING AGENCY AND ACTION

OECTA awards recognize achievement in member engagement

By Mark Tagliaferri

Member engagement is a cornerstone of our Association, and a key tool for promoting community and solidarity among Catholic teachers. It is tempting to judge the success of member engagement in a numerical way, such as by how many people attended a unit meeting. But the concept is far broader. A member who attends the OECTA Leadership Training Program is engaging with their Association. So too is a member who completes an online survey from a committee or work group, or tweets a social media sharable with a link to knowmore.ca.

Engagement is a spectrum. The goal is to encourage members to become more engaged than they are currently.

At Provincial Office, we have a number of tools at our disposal to promote member engagement, such as our social media platforms, professional development conferences, and Catholic Teacher magazine, among others. However, some of the most innovative and unique approaches happen at the local level. To recognize and honour these efforts, each year the OECTA Member Engagement Committee asks units to share their best and most effective member engagement practices, and selects one or more award recipients. For 2019, the two winners were York Unit, for the “New Teacher Full Day In-service,” led by Greg Bolton and Mike Totten; and Eastern Ontario Unit, for their initiative “Spreading the Word,” created by Melissa Bingley.

In York, Catholic teachers welcomed 27 newly hired permanent teachers to a full day in-service at the York Unit office in early September. Sessions included an overview of the Association, and a thorough explanation of the New Teacher Induction Program, with a focus on evaluation, electronic communications, information on school board support staff, as well as school board policy and legislation that affects teachers. Attendees also heard from the York Health and Safety Certified Worker Representative, who spoke about relevant issues, and walked attendees through how to report unsafe situations. During lunch, attendees networked and participated in a variety of activities. The New Teacher Full Day In-service was a resounding success; attendees said they appreciated the opportunity to meet with their colleagues and learn more about the profession and their rights as teachers.

The second recipient, Eastern Ontario Unit, sought inspiration from a challenge they and other units face: serving members across a broad geographic region. To address this, they launched their “Spreading the Word” initiative. This involved developing a new website, including a Members Only section, to serve as an information portal. Not only does the website consolidate relevant information, but also it allows for the livestreaming of meetings and the posting of videos to reach members across the unit.

In addition to their new website, Eastern Ontario Unit reinstated their Communications Committee, which has allowed them to leverage social media platforms, consolidate local and provincial news, and work actively to engage members. To date, the “Spreading the Word” initiative has been greatly successful – the unit has seen rapid growth in information-sharing among members, and a video of their recent allcandidates meeting was viewed by more than 350 people. Submissions are now being accepted for the 2020 awards. If you or a fellow member in your unit has a developed a creative approach to member engagement, you could be eligible to win a Member Engagement Award in one of two categories: “Best Practices in Member Engagement” or “Outstanding Achievement in the Promotion of Catholic Teachers and the Value of Catholic Education.”

Entries must be submitted by the local unit. The deadline for submission is April 24. Entries will be judged by the OECTA Member Engagement Committee. If you would like to be considered for an award in one or both categories, contact your local unit. You can learn more about the award criteria by visiting catholicteachers.ca, in the Awards section under For Your Benefit.

Consider contacting your unit and submitting an entry for the 2020 Member Engagement Awards. As we saw during our walkouts, and throughout the bargaining process, an engaged membership is an expression of solidarity, and solidarity is our strength.

Mark Tagliaferri is Communications Specialist in the Communications department at the OECTA Provincial Office.

Congratulations to the York and Eastern Ontario units, both are worthy recipients of the 2019 Member Engagement Awards!