Teach - May 2012

Local Associations Prevail in Court

page 12

Published by the TENNESSEE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION May 2012  Vol. 43, No. 9  www.teateachers.org

Reading Well Exit Interview With Beloved Teacher

TEA Members Run

For State Legislature page 4

Speaking out with you Gera Summerford, President

Al Mance, Executive Director

Let’s Get to Know Ourselves Better

Looking Ahead: All In

My husband has a phrase he uses sometimes. He says, “We don’t know who we are.” Because he’s also a teacher, I usually hear it when we talk about ourselves as educators.

I might disagree. I believe we know who we are in our schools.

We’re the people who entered this profession with a passion for helping children and a desire to impact the future. We drive school buses, plan lessons, soothe away tears, prepare meals, and assess learning. We try to be both a role model and a mentor to kids who may have neither at home. We have the experience and the expertise, the know-how and the knowledge, to encourage and nurture and instruct and coach and inspire our students to be the best they can be. We know our students count on us—and we would never let them down.

So why do we let ourselves be teased into denying what we know? We let ourselves be the object rather than the subject in the grammar of public education. We act as if the changes and reforms are happening to us, when in fact we should be making change happen.

In this sense, maybe we don’t know who we are. We don’t know the potential impact and influence and power we can have. We think we are only pawns in the game of education reform when we should be the players. We often see ourselves in isolation, powerless to direct our own professional lives.

How can we act with confidence and authority to take the lead in our profession? How do we give our very best for our students and their future? What must we do to protect the basic right to public education in the face of corporate interests? How do we turn our frustration into action?

First of all, we must share the responsibility of providing a quality public education for every child. It’s my duty to not only give my best effort for my students, but also to share my skills and seek support from fellow educators. When I know my instruction was successful, I share the plan and the enthusiasm with my peers. When I know it could have been better, I ask for help from a colleague. We must create and use the collective knowledge we share.

We must also share the responsibility of electing the right people to public office. We know that all elected officials, from local school boards to state legislators to the President, make decisions that directly impact our ability to provide quality instruction. To advocate for our students and ensure we get the resources we need to provide quality instruction—we must elect the right people.

In the new environment in our schools and in our politics, it’s more important than ever that we act as one. We must know who we are—not just as individual educators, but as a collective body of professionals. Together, we must create the synergy that occurs when we combine our skills and our talents, our dedication, our passion and our votes.

Throughout the coming months, we’ll be asking you to make commitments and take action to elect the right people for public education. Thomas Jefferson said, “Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. It can. It will.

No organization—whether a family, church, association or neighborhood watch group—lives a totally pleasant, trouble-free existence. I can’t think of any person who’s led a trouble-free life either. We are always competing with the elements of human nature and Mother Nature to successfully manage our existence. To succeed in the face of adversity, we must ask, “What are we to do about it?”

We can expect a positive result if we adopt the commitment to be all-in. In other words, all of us will join in the effort to respond.

We remember well the massive amount of anti-teacher legislation passed by the 107th General Assembly in 2011, and we will not forget until it is changed.

Those who proposed and voted for the infamous repeal of teacher negotiations and for five-year probationary periods showed no empathy for the teachers who have to live with the result. These legislators pressured TEA to give more money to their political party and then took away teachers’ right to influence the teaching and learning environment. They pursued their self-interest through their raw exercise of power.

Teachers do not have the freedom to advocate purely in their self-interest. We are morally and ethically obligated to advocate for the education of all Tennessee students and “In 2012 every teacher their futures. We shirk these moral obligations if and Tennessee we empathize with those citizen should vote for who acted against public education and the future education.” of Tennessee’s boys and girls. That would be a failure of nerve resulting in a weakened public education system.

We’ve heard from teachers across the state who said they voted for some of the legislators who passed the damaging legislation—but they never will again. I hope they mean it. No professional teacher should vote for any legislator who voted against them and the children they teach. Political party is irrelevant.

In 2012 every teacher and Tennessee citizen should vote for education. This means voting for candidates of any political party who respect teachers and public education and are committed to correcting the excesses of the last General Assembly. All in.

The recent legislature held the power of office granted by innocent citizens who trusted them not to attack. We were wrong to do so.

Now we have the power to change who represents us in public office and we must exercise it as never before. It will take all of us working together in every voting district in the state. It will take simple things like placing signs in your yard, going door-to-door to speak with neighbors and spending a few hours making telephone calls on behalf of a candidate who actively supports teachers and public education.

It may be as simple as standing on a corner handing out campaign literature or writing notes to acquaintances asking them to vote for the education candidate, your candidate. Everything you do will help.

Get ready. We are all-in and you count.

teach (USPS 742-450, ISSN 15382907) is published monthly (except for June, July and December) by the Tennessee Education Association, 801 Second Avenue North, Nashville TN 37201-1099. Periodical postage paid at Nashville, TN. The subscription price of $3.65 is allocated from annual membership dues of $254.00 for active members; $127.00 for associate, education support and staff members; $16.00 for retired members; and $10.00 for student members. Member of State Education Editors Conference (SEE).

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MANAGING EDITOR: Alexei Smirnov asmirnov@tea.nea.org PUBLISHER: Alphonso C. Mance MANAGER OF COMMUNICATIONS: A.L. Hayes

Tennessee Education Association 801 Second Avenue North Nashville, TN 37201-1099 Telephone: (615)242-8392, Toll Free: (800)342-8367, (800)342-8262 Fax: (615)259-4581 Website: www.teateachers.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT: Gera Summerford* (800)342-8367 VICE PRESIDENT: Barbara Gray* (901)353-8590 SECRETARY-TREASURER: Alphonso C. Mance (615)242-8392 DISTRICT 1 Leisa Lusk (423)928-6819 DISTRICT 2 Melinda Reese (423)587-2120 DISTRICT 3 Karen Starr (423)628-2701 DISTRICT 4 Tanya Coats (865)637-7494 DISTRICT 5 Sandy Smith (423)991-8856 DISTRICT 6 Beth Brown* (931)779-8016 DISTRICT 7 Bonnie T. Dixon (931)967-9949 DISTRICT 8 Kawanda Braxton (615)554-6286 DISTRICT 9 Erick Huth (615)973-5851 DISTRICT 10 Guy Stanley (615)384-2983 DISTRICT 11 Melanie Buchanan* (615)305-2214 DISTRICT 12 Debbie D’Angelo (731)247-3152 DISTRICT 13 Ernestine King (901)590-8188 DISTRICT 14 Sarah Kennedy-Harper (901)416-4582 DISTRICT 15 Stephanie Fitzgerald (901)872-4878 ADMINISTRATOR EAST Johnny Henry (865)509-4829 ADMINISTRATOR MIDDLE Margaret Thompson (615)643-7823 ADMINISTRATOR WEST Charles Green (901)624-6186 HIGHER EDUCATION Derek Frisby (615)898-5881 BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER EAST Paula Hancock (865)694-1691 BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER MIDDLE Alzenia Walls (615)230-8144 BLACK CLASSROOM TEACHER WEST LaVerne Dickerson* (901)416-7122 STATE SPECIAL SCHOOLS Vacancy ESP Christine Denton (931)647-8962 TN NEA DIRECTOR Stephen Henry* (615)519-5691 TN NEA DIRECTOR Diccie Smith (901)482-0627 TN NEA DIRECTOR Diane Lillard (423)478-8827 STEA MEMBER Caryce Gilmore (865)640-6590 TN RETIRED Gerald Lillard (423)478-8827 NEW TEACHER CandraClariette (615)506-3493 * Executive Committee

TEA HEADQUARTERS STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Alphonso C. Mance; ASST. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AFFILIATE SERVICES: Mitchell Johnson; ASST. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PROGRAM SERVICES: Carol K. Schmoock; TEA GENERAL COUNSEL; Vacancy; MANAGER OF BUSINESS AFFAIRS: Stephanie Faulkner; INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & SYSTEMS MANAGER, Galen Riggs; MANAGER OF UNISERV & BARGAINING COORDINATOR: Donna Cotner; STAFF ATTORNEYS: Katherine Curlee, Virginia A. McCoy; MANAGER OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS: Jerry Winters; GOVERNMENT RELATIONS ASSISTANT: Antoinette Lee; MANAGER OF COMMUNICATIONS & GRAPHICS: A.L. Hayes; WEB MASTER & COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT: Amanda Chaney; MANAGING EDITOR & COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT: Alexei Smirnov; MANAGER OF RESEARCH & INFORMATION: Melissa Brown; RESEARCH & INFORMATION ASSISTANT: Susan Ogg; MANAGER FOR INSTRUCTION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Terrance Gibson; INSTRUCTION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COORDINATORS: Susan Dalton, Nicki Fields; COORDINATOR OF MEMBERSHIP & AFFILIATE RELATIONS:DuranWilliams.

UniServ Staff contact information can be found on page 12.

2

May 2012

Leaving it to the Young’uns

After 39 happy years and one not so much, Charles Wallace heads for the exit

O

n a quiet, cloudy Tuesday in May, two weeks before the end of the school year, Charles Wallace paces resolutely through his classroom at Ashland City Elementary School as he explains words such as “indignant” and “cautions” to his students.

Wallace makes a calculated stop near a boy who is having difficulty reading a complicated passage, then pauses near a girl whose mind seems to have wandered away from the book page. He picks up another student’s pencil off the floor, places it on the desk and says, quietly, that if the pencil falls for the fourth time, he might have to take it away. With immaculate pacing and seamless transitions, Wallace switches from reading Beverly Cleary’s “The Mouse and the Motorcycle” to writing assignments, sails swiftly through the bathroom break, then back to more reading and recess.

In his 40th year at Ashland City Elementary, Wallace is a celebrated teacher and master of all disciplines, having taught special education, grades one through four, math and Title I reading. A big advocate for teaching English through reading, Wallace challenges his students to think, imagine and learn, but he is afraid that as he retires, younger teachers are given no opportunity to foster creativity in students.

Wallace didn’t plan to retire this year, but a stress-related medical leave caused him to rethink his plan.

“The previous 39 years I loved my job,” he says. “I have not loved my job this year. I’m not saying I hate it, but it has been extremely stressful. The thrill is not there any longer.”

Wallace had planned to teach two more years, but with the pressures from the legislature, mountains of paperwork, and three changes of the email system during this school year, he decided to leave the classroom. And it’s not just his district, where the superintendant announced his departure the day before our interview.

“I know a lot of teachers who are retiring or going into other areas,” Wallace says, convinced that the people making decisions about public education today “don’t respect our knowledge.”

“I’ll tell you what to do, and you’ll do what I tell you, and then I want you to show me that you did it the way I told you”—that’s the approach he says he has witnessed every day this school year.

When asked about the new teacher evaluation system, Wallace says he finds many of the procedures unfair, despite the fact that he’s done very well on

Charles Wallace talks with his students at Ashland City Elementary School in May. his evaluation. Just don’t get him started on the prospect of adding 35 percent from the results of the TCAP test to his evaluation score. Wallace’s students recently finished TCAP, and it pained him to observe that many kids just marked through the answers without much thought.

“I had one student who finished a 69-minute test in 12 minutes,” Wallace says. “That tells me, they don’t care. And until they care, it’s not going to show accurately.”

Without hesitation in his voice, Wallace says that if he were in college now, he would not choose to be a teacher. And if he were a student, he would hate it.

A veteran of Cheatham Co. EA, Wallace agrees with the sentiment that students cannot be inspired to care about test results and teachers cannot be improved through legislative acts. Instead of erecting walls around teachers, Wallace’s colleagues say Tennessee’s lawmakers would do well to visit Ashland City Elementary and other classrooms across the state, where they will see how children actually learn, and hear about Wallace’s students who were inspired to achieve great things in life. One local doctor is eternally grateful to Wallace for the inspiration to dream big.

“He came to our retirement tea and thanked me for giving him the self-confidence to believe he

could do anything he wanted to do,” Wallace says.

“He graduated valedictorian of his high-school and received a full medical scholarship.”

Wallace says it was his ability to inspire students through project-based learning that hooked and inspired the future doctor. “We made foods out of salt dough, we studied the human body and did all these reports,” he says. “There’s no time for that anymore if you’re planning to cover all the standards you have to cover.”

Without hesitation in his voice, Wallace says that if he were in college now, he would not choose to be a teacher. And if he were a student, he would hate it.

“I loved school when I was a kid, but now all we do is teach the standards and test. There’s no time for projects.”

So what are the younger teachers to do? What can be done for teachers who, like Charles Wallace, came into the classroom with a passion and talent to educate children and impact their future?

“We have to buckle down and do the best job we can do,” says Ashland City Elementary teacher Melanie Buchanan, whose classroom is across the hall from Wallace’s. “This, too, shall pass.”

As we observe students playing during recess, teachers share their opinions about their working conditions and the need to preserve what they have.

Wallace looks over the school playground, perhaps trying to guess which child will become a doctor, or a teacher, but he is interrupted by a couple of students running a bit too fast.

“Tammy, be careful, don’t fall,” he says, and jumps into the conversation about current social studies materials. He has more stories to tell.

3 www.teateachers.org

Tennessee’s teachers are stepping up to reverse the anti-public schools agenda at the State Capitol. As of the April 5, 2012, filing deadline, 11 TEA members in nine counties have accepted the challenge of running for the General Assembly.

Dickerson, who teaches English as a second language and is a science coach at Northfield Elementary School in Murfreesboro, is especially vocal about the lack of attention currently given to testing ESL and special-needs students.

Most of the candidates are grassroots politicians fed up with current measures aimed at silencing teachers’ voices in favor of corporate interests and outof-state virtual schools. Shelby Co. EA member James Coley is an incumbent, while Mark Maddox of Weakley Co. EA is seeking to return to the legislature.

“I’m running because good teachers can no longer sit quietly and watch bad politicians destroy our schools and shortchange our kids’ future,” said Gloria Johnson of Knox Co. EA. “The anti-teacher legislation influenced my decision to run.”

Sandy Smith, a veteran member of Hamilton Co. EA, said her retirement from active teaching this year coincided with an opportunity to seek public office.

“The representative in my district never had opposition and voted straight down the party line where education was concerned,” Smith said. “He’s not very knowledgeable in public education and hasn’t been receptive to teacher’s concerns. As I retire, I hope to make a difference in the state legislature.”

Smith said her decision was fueled by what she witnessed during last year’s legislative session, when a slew of anti-teacher bills became law. Like many of her peers, Smith said teachers have to influence education policy for the sake of students and the future of our state.

Luke Dickerson of Murfreesboro EA said teachers lost their voice when collective bargaining rights were taken away by elected officials during the 2011 legislative session.

“My campaign is about bringing the community and parents back into the classroom,” Dickerson said.

“The Republicans say they want less government and less bureaucracy, but teachers have been dealing with so much paperwork and micromanagement since the Republicans have come into office. My campaign is also about seeing students as individuals who need a special plan in order to succeed.”

While stressing the need to change the current teacher and principal evaluation system, Dickerson said he regrets that the outgoing crop of Tennessee’s legislators refused to fund alternative evaluation models which were provided across Tennessee school districts.

“We can’t continue to do the same thing,” he said.

“We’ve tried a lot of assessments. They are a good measure of accountability, but our kids and parents come to us with different needs. We need to give struggling students more after-school support. This is where I want to see our state spend more money, not on evaluation and testing. We have enough of that already.”

“The governor came to our school last year and announced our scores.

Unfortunately, the current accountability model doesn’t take into account that our student population changes year-to-year,” Luke E. Dickerson of Dickerson said. “I Murfreesboro EA have a new student in my classroom who is a refugee from a third-world country. He can’t even count to six in his native language. Testing him under the current system is not an effective measure of his progress.”

Dickerson sees right through Governor Bill Haslam’s rhetoric about improving science education.

“Our science program is being cut due to the lack of funds and we’re forced to look at alternative grants,” Dickerson said. “With the governor saying they are pushing STEM education, the new PARCC exam doesn’t

TEA Members Run for State Legislature

4

May 2012

even have a science portion yet. They are refusing to see educators as experts in the field and hold us accountable for things we don’t teach—which is very disturbing.”

Dickerson encouraged TEA members to donate to local campaigns in support of pro-public education measures and candidates. “Our students and communities deserve professional teachers and small classrooms where teachers are involved in their community, which is what research suggests.”

Tommy Scott Price, who teaches at Coffee Co. Central High School and is a member of Coffee Co. EA, said that his desire to represent teachers caused him to run for a state house seat.

“After the 2011-12 legislative sessions, I didn’t feel that our elected officials represented the interests of teachers in our area. I decided to throw my hat into the race and give people a choice in District 47. I would like to take a real teacher’s perspective on education reform to the state House.”

The complete list of TEA members running for state legislature this year: SD 6 – Evelyn Gill (D), Knox County HD 8 – Grady Caskey (R), Blount County HD 13 – Gloria Johnson (D) Knox County – open seat HD 18 – Anthony Hancock (D) Knox County HD 30 – Sandra Smith (D) Hamilton County HD 34 – Luke Edward Dickerson (D) Murfreesboro HD 47 – Tommy Scott Price (D) Coffee County HD 76 – Mark Maddox (D) Weakley County HD 78 – John Paul Wood (R) Robertson County – open seat HD 81 – Conneye T. Albright (D) Tipton County – open seat HD 97 – James Coley (R) Shelby County, incumbent

In Spite of Hurdles, Many Wins for Teachers in 2012 Legislative Session TEA successfully advocated for Tennessee’s teachers during this year’s legislative session.

Among major wins in 2012: • Passage of a bill to ensure that teacher evaluation ratings are not public records (HB 1908/ SB 1447) • Passage of additional funding for the BEP, including a 2.5% salary increase for BEP funded teachers (HB 3835/SB 3768) • Passage of a bill to prevent abolition of position in order to avoid due process provisions of the tenure law (HB 2738/SB 2693) • Passage of a resolution to require broadbased input on possible changes to the teacher evaluation system (HJR 520) • Defeat of Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to raise class size and eliminate the state teacher salary schedule. In addition to raising class size, this

proposal would have eliminated state funding for possibly hundreds of teaching positions (HB 2348/ SB 2210) • Defeat of a bill which would have allowed individuals who could pass a subject area test to be licensed as teachers (HB 3059/SB 2298) • Defeat of legislation which would have provided a dubious state-paid liability insurance policy for teachers (HB 2170/SB 2478) • Defeat of a bill to mandate a statewide uniform school start date (HB 1805/SB 1471) • Defeat of a proposal which would have provided vouchers for private and parochial schools (HB 388/SB 485) Many thanks to all members who contacted legislators about these important issues. These successes demonstrate that, together, we can accomplish great things for public education.

Are You Registered to Vote? Register in person

at public libraries, county clerk’s offices or visit www.tn.gov/sos

Chattanooga Educator’s Idea Wins National Award When given a chance to voice their thoughts on how gaming can be used in student learning, educators have an unlimited number of ideas. To highlight some of the best, the NEA Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education and Microsoft Partners in Learning, recognized Kimberly Brown, a physical science teacher at Signal Mountain Middle School in Chattanooga. She was selected by her peers and a panel of experts for posting one of the top ten ideas and will receive the NEA Foundation’s Challenge to Innovate (C2i) Gaming Award along with a cash prize of $1,000.

Brown’s idea, “Curriculum APPlications,” is an ongoing classroom activity, in which students use popular, interactive gaming apps to identify relevant science concepts that they are learning in class. Students create mini-posters to be displayed on a section of the classroom wall called the “leader board,” and receive points based on their written explanation of the concept and how it appears in the game.

“Because students love to compete in online games and interactive phone apps, any way of incorporating those activities into the fabric of the classroom is sure to engage students and create an interest in content learning,” Brown said. “Whenever I cover new material, I can hear students discussing which games would go along with the new ideas and how they plan to present them.”

The NEA Foundation uses crowd sourcing on the Department of Education’s innovation portal as a way to ensure that educators have a voice in determining new instructional strategies.

Continuing a multi-year partnership, the Foundation partnered with Microsoft to solicit and share ideas on how gaming could be integrated into the curriculum to meet students where they are highly engaged while improving their learning.

“Game-based learning and interactive technology like this can help build technological and communication competencies valued in the

workplace and the 21st century economy,” said Harriet Sanford, president and CEO of the NEA Foundation. “So we asked educators to share, discuss, and evaluate ideas about how to use these tools to support classroom instruction. We discovered educators who are using technology in fun, creative ways. By initiating this discussion and knowledge sharing, we hope to help educators better equip their students with the skills they’ll need to be successful in college, work, and life.”

Brown is also a member of the C2i community of some 1,000 educators and others, which is hosted on the Department of Education’s Open Innovation Portal.

Members of the community help the NEA Foundation and its partners identify and solve education’s most pressing classroom problems.

Brown’s idea was selected from a pool of 157 nominees across 38 states and five countries by their peers and a panel of educational experts.

Visit www.neafoundation.org for details.

They took your right to bargain!

They took your right to bargain!

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IZ S What will they try to take next?

SS IZE A CL SS S A A You can help STOP this NT E L E C A T E IREM ENT You can help STOP this by protecting your T RET IREM C protecting your T BA COOL byTEA RE membership!

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For more information call TEA at 800.342.8367 ext. 213 or visit www.teateachers.org

For more information call TEA at 800.342.8367 ext. 213 or visit www.teateachers.org

5 www.teateachers.org

Teachers Elect New Leaders, Pledge to Vote for Edu

Sen Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga) receives the 2012 Friend of Education award from Jerry Winters, TEA manager of government relations.

TEACHER APPRECIATION DAY Don’t miss out on the celebration and these great perks: t

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6

May 2012

More than 600 educators from across the state gathered at the Nashville Convention Center on May 11-12 as local delegates to the Tennessee Education Association’s 2012 Representative Assembly.

The Representative Assembly is TEA’s highest governing body and consists of delegate-members who are elected locally by their peers. This year, the delegates elected several new officers. The delegates also honored outstanding educators and citizens, set the organization’s budget and legislative priorities for the upcoming year, and adopted resolutions and business items introduced by delegates.

New this year was an emphasis on the upcoming 2012 election. Attendees were asked to sign a pledge card vowing to register to vote, remember the legislative attacks on teachers in 2011 and vote for education interests – not political affiliation – in 2012. TEA gathered nearly 600 signatures.

TEA President Gera Summerford of Sevier Co. EA and Vice President Barbara Gray of Shelby Co. EA were each re-elected for two-year terms.

Melanie Buchanan of Cheatham County was elected to the National Education Association (NEA) Board of Directors.

Elected to the TEA Board of Directors were Wendy Bowers of McNairy County, Thomas Emens of Memphis, Suzie May of Haywood County, Lauren McCarty of Sevier County, Allen Nichols of Rutherford County, Michael Plumley of Bradley County, Tommy Scott Price of Coffee County, Tanya Thomas-Coats of Knox County and Theresa Wagner of Metro Nashville.

Elected to the TEA Fund for Children and Public Education (TEA-FCPE) Executive Council were Kenneth Emerson of Haywood County, Lynn Eubanks of Blount County, Nancy Holland of Metro Nashville and Pamela Hopkins-Witzel of Hamilton County.

Julie Hopkins of Metro Nashville was elected as Middle Tennessee administrator on the TEA board of directors. Kenneth Martin of Metro Nashville was elected as Middle Tennessee black classroom teacher and Clinton Smith from UT Martin was elected as the Higher Education classroom teacher.

Erick Huth of Metro Nashville was elected Middle Tennessee member on the Board of Trustees of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System. Elected to the Local Education Insurance Committee as Middle Tennessee member was Rebecca Jackman of Clarksville-Montgomery Co.

TEA Executive Director Al Mance (left), President Ge

Delegates discuss agenda items.

TEA delegate signs a voter registration pledge.

ucation in 2012 Elections

2012-2013 Don Sahli-Kathy Woodall Scholarship Winners Sons & Daughters Scholarship ($1,000)

era Summerford (middle) and Vice President Barbara Gray (right) speak at the TEA Representative Assembly in May.

Victor Kuehn Wayne County High School, son of Amelia Kuehn, Wayne County Education Association FTA Scholarship ($1,000) Krista Tate Obion County Central High School Minority Scholarship ($1,000) Ashley Delavega David Crockett High School STEA Scholarships

Newly elected officers appear on RA stage.

President ($1,000) Marilauren Anderson UT Martin $1,000 Winner Jessica Blair UT Knoxville $500 Winner Jared Copeland Tennessee Technological University $500 Winner Sophie Celino East Tennessee State University

Delegates line up to vote on the morning of May 12.

7 www.teateachers.org

8

May 2012

TEA Honors Outstanding Teachers, Supporters of Public Education

Beth Brown (right) of Grundy Co. EA receives the Distinguished Classroom Teacher award from TEA President Gera Summerford during the luncheon ceremony at TEA on May 11.

The Tennessee Education Association presented awards to Tennessee educators and supporters of public education at TEA’s Annual Awards Luncheon prior to the TEA RA. TEA recognized the 2011-12 Distinguished Classroom Teachers. This year’s winners are Mary Brockett (Knox County), Beth Brown (Grundy County), Debbie D’Angelo (Henry County), Allen Nichols (Rutherford County) and Elaine Weaver (Franklin County).

Beth Baker (Metro Nashville) and Priscilla Davis (Johnson County) were awarded the Distinguished New Teacher award in their schools earlier in May. This new award is the first of its kind to honor new teachers in Tennessee.

During the early morning faculty meeting at H.G. Hill Elementary on May 9, the stunned Baker said she thought the delegation that came through the door to present the award was there to take away the school principal.

“I thought they were going to take Connie away,” said Beth Baker, the Distinguished New Teacher Award recipient, referring to Connie Gwinn, the H.G. Hill Middle School principal who led the faculty meeting when TEA President Gera Summerford walked in with Metro Nashville Education Association President Stephen Henry. “Wow!” Baker said. “I feel like a seventh-grader. I don’t know what to say.”

Marilda Smith (Robertson County) received the award for 2012 Distinguished Education Support Professional.

The Distinguished Administrator Award recipients are Julie Hopkins (Metro Nashville) and Julie Thompson (Knox County).

Metro Nashville EA member Beth Baker receives the Distinguished New Teacher award from TEA President Gera Summerford (middle) as H.G. Hill Middle School Principal Connie Gwinn applauds.

TEA President Gera Summerford presents the Distinguished Administrator award to Julie Ann Hopkins (above), principal of Buena Vista Elementary School in Nashville and member of Metro Nashville EA. Marilda Smith (below) of Robertson Co. EA receives the Distinguished Education Support Professional award.

Melanie Buchanan of Cheatham County was recognized as TEA’s nominee for the 2011 National Education Association Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence.

The E. Harper Johnson Human Relations Award for the layperson category was awarded to Gregory Ramos, an attorney in Nashville. The Student Tennessee Education Association (STEA) was recognized in the association category.

Crystal Harper of Memphis received the Susan B. Anthony Award for her work in support of programs and achievements for women and girls.

The $1,000 Sons and Daughters Scholarship was presented to Victor Kuehn (Wayne County High School).

This year’s $1,000 Future Teachers of America Scholarship recipient is Krista Tate (Obion County Central High School).

Ashley Delavega (David Crockett High School) received the Minority Scholarship.

Student TEA President-elect Marilauren Anderson (University of Tennessee Martin) and Jessica Blair (University of Tennessee Knoxville) both received $1,000 STEA scholarships. STEA also awarded $500 scholarships to Sophie Celino (East Tennessee State University) and Jared Copeland (Tennessee Technological University).

TEA’s 2012 Friend of Education Awards were presented to Sen. Andy Berke of Chattanooga, in the individual category, and the Governor’s Books From Birth with Imagination Library, in the organization category.

9 www.teateachers.org

M

ike Blankenship, agriculture education teacher at North Knox Vocational School, has never met a broccoli or tomato plant he didn’t like.

Now he is helping students and their families gain a deeper appreciation for sustainable and nutritious foods through the Food for All (FFA) grant sponsored by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

A longtime instructor for the North Knox FFA

the donation of a tandem-load of topsoil from Claiborne Hauling, a local trucking business.

This soil will come in handy when Blankenship and crew begin planting their Better Boy, Celebrity and Beef Master tomatoes. “These types have resistance to diseases, thanks to their genetics,” he says. “They are a good-tasting tomato.”

Specializing in horticulture and landscaping, Blankenship presides over a program in which students take at least three classes (such

comes from,” says Blankenship. “There’s some background that they don’t realize exists. That’s where we can help.”

Blankenship says the “a-ha” moments come almost every day, and not just from the students.

Teachers have told him that they enjoy eating peas, but have never seen what a pea vine looks like, or expressed bemusement at the fact that broccoli stems are ok to eat.

“Call it agriculture literacy,” he says. “That’s why the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and

Planting the Seeds Of Agriculture Literacy Savings and Discounts

TEA Member Benefits ................................................................ 800.342.8367 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m., CT, M-F 800.342.8262 615.242.8392

and veteran Knox Co. EA member, Blankenship spends more than his allotted time with students, which often leaves evening hours for office work.

When we caught up with him in May, Blankenship was still at the office at 9 p.m., preparing a field trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C., and making sure that everything is in place for the next school day.

As part of the $2,500 grant, Blankenship has created a lineup of year-long service-learning projects focused on developing and implementing sustainable programs to help fight hunger in the local community.

Since grant winners were announced at the beginning of March, Blankenship and his students have planted broccoli, radishes, butter crunch lettuce, salad greens, and sugar snap peas.

“There’s a lot of collateral learning going on when students ask questions about a certain way a plant grows,” he says. “Our big push will be this fall when we have our other beds in production— an additional 600 square feet of growing area.”

Requiring plant beds at least 10 inches in depth, Blankenship is happy to have assistance from some of the career and technical education students. “Toward the end of school there’s a lot of volunteering going on,” he says, grateful for 10

May 2012

TEA Access Benefits ................................................................... 866.245.4552 www.teateachers.org

the Department of Education came together in as Introduction to Horticultural Science, Horace Mann Insurance (west of I-65) ......................................214.548.1714 the career and technical area.”

Greenhouse Management and Floral Design) that (east of I-65) ......................................615.708.4048 Happily married to his wife Joy, a longtime count toward a CTE cluster, which is a component www.horacemann.com Knox Co. EA member who teaches at Holston of the 28 units of credit required for graduation.

NEA Member Services Center ....................................................800.637.4636 a.m.-8:00 p.m., ET, M-F a.m.-1:00 p.m., the ET, Sat. www.neamb.com Middle School, Blankenship makes it a joy to talk He8:00 sees his mission in9:00 popularizing about sustainable nutrition and is eager to share understanding that basic farming can be done by NEA Financial Services ...............................................................877.721.9398 (Car Rental Programs, Credit Programs, Investments, and Loans) more details about his current projects. If you are anyone.

“Agriculture andCard commerce are the two interested in finding out more about his work, words on our state seal,Services yet some of the younger 800.523.5877 NEA Insurance Operations ..........................................

(Life Insurance Programs, Medicalwhere Insurance Programs, etc.)

800.541.4119 email asmirnov@tea.nea.org. students don’t understand their food (For detailed benefits and the most current information, please visit the corresponding websites.)

Stay Connected Through Social Media Stay connected to the Tennessee Education Association through any of our social media connections by visiting any of the following websites:

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Pictured above, left to right: Fresh radish harvest; Hanna Davis, Ryan Cox and Mike Blankenship attend to a raised broccoli bed; Micalee Segers shows off a fresh crop of broccoli with love.

S

Jamie Vollmer delivers keynote speech at Spring Symposium.

By Amanda Chaney pringtime at TEA always includes two important professional development conferences – the TEA Spring Symposium and the Johnella Martin/ TEA Statewide Minority Affairs Conference. Together, these two events reach nearly 400 teachers from across the state.

The 16th Annual Spring Symposium was held March 16 and 17 at the Park Vista Hotel in Gatlinburg. This year’s theme, “The Quest for Excellence,” encouraged participants to move beyond their comfort zones to be the talented, caring and committed educators Tennessee’s students need.

The Symposium’s keynote speaker, Jamie Vollmer, energized attendees Friday night with his opening remarks about building public

TEA UniServ Coordinator Forestine Cole looks to the past in her presentation as “Sis. Sylvia, retired educator from Senatobia, Miss.”

Spring Conferences Educate, Inspire Teachers TEA members share best practices, delve into stress management

Attendees enjoy a breakout session.

Left to right: Rhonda Lankford (Greene Co. EA), Jill Davis and Tiffany Burcham (Humphreys Co. EA), and Comeshia Williams (Shelby Co. EA).

Attendees with NEA Vice-President Lily Eskelsen (center).

support for public education. “We need four things for success in our schools, and it is all about our communities,” Vollmer said. “We must have community understanding, trust, permission to change and support.”

Saturday included a variety of sessions including topics such as implementing Common Core State Standards, virtual learning, the politics of education and other best practices.

The Symposium ended with remarks from NEA Vice-President Lily Eskelsen compelling attendees to have “obnoxious pride in yourself as a teacher.”

The next weekend, TEA members again gathered for a weekend of professional development and fellowship. The Johnella Martin/TEA Statewide Minority Affairs Conference was held in Chattanooga on March 23 and 24 at the DoubleTree Hotel.

This year’s event was all about empowering educators to face – and beat – the challenges that come with being an excellent teacher. The two-day event kicked off with opening remarks from Metro Nashville principal Ronald Powe.

His passionate words encouraged teachers to face their challenges head-on and to always persevere.

Saturday was filled with five different sessions covering everything from the latest technology to differentiated teaching to stress management techniques.

Please visit the TEA website to learn more about these events and the many other professional development opportunities provided by TEA throughout the year.

Paula Hancock, Evelyn Gill, Robin Curry and Antoinette Williams (Knox Co. EA) attend Minority Affairs Conference.

To view more photos, scan this code with your smart phone’s QR reader to visit the TEA website or go to www.teateachers.org.

11 www.teateachers.org

T

eachers in Sumner, Hamilton and Dickson Counties celebrated big legal wins last month as courts supported teachers’ rights to engage in association activities.

On April 3, 2012, the Sumner County Board of Education approved a settlement of a federal court lawsuit filed last year by the Sumner County Education Association (SCEA) and its president Alzenia Walls.

SCEA filed the lawsuit in response to the restrictions imposed by the Sumner Co. school board on the activities and communications of the SCEA and its representatives.

with SCEA representatives at least quarterly to discuss educational subjects and teachers’ concerns.

In Hamilton County, Chancery Court Judge Frank Brown ruled that the county school system cannot refuse to negotiate “reopeners” with the Hamilton County EA under the current contract. The April ruling includes a temporary injunction, which said HCEA is likely to prevail in the lawsuit.

HCEA claimed in its March lawsuit that the school system was obligated to honor the current contract, which is set to expire in 2014, in spite of the bill passed by the state

The SCEA and Walls claimed that those restrictions violated the First Amendment and Tennessee state law. In late December, the federal court issued an injunction against the Sumner Co. school board as a result of some of those restrictions.

“This is a good settlement for the SCEA and for teachers in Sumner County,” Walls said. “It vindicates the principles that led us to believe at the outset that this lawsuit was necessary. We are especially gratified that the director welcomed our proposal to meet regularly to discuss educational and employment concerns. We hope board members will choose to join us in those meetings and that this will mark the beginning of an improved relationship between the Sumner County Board and its teachers.”

Under the terms of the settlement approved by the parties, the director of schools sent a letter to all teachers clarifying that the law allows teachers and their associations to engage in many activities and communications that the board previously restricted. The board also agreed to restore payroll deduction of SCEA dues and to reimburse the SCEA to the tune of $50,000 for attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by the association in pursuing the case.

In an effort to improve relationships between the administration of the school system and its teachers, the director of schools agreed to participate in meetings

legislature last year that outlawed contract negotiations between teachers and school boards.

“The Hamilton County Board of Education shall comply with the parties’ presently existing collective bargaining agreement which predated the effective date for PECCA,” Chancellor Brown wrote in his ruling. “And the Hamilton County Board of Education is temporarily enjoined, pending further Order of the court, from refusing to negotiate the “reopeners” covered by the parties’ collective bargaining agreement.”

In a similar case in Dickson Co., Chancellor George Sexton ruled that the Dickson County EA’s contract with the local school board remains in effect through June 30, 2013, ordering the board to return to the bargaining table to negotiate the reopeners, including teacher pay and benefits.

Patricia Hudson, Dickson Co. High School teacher and chief negotiator for DCEA, told The Tennessean that the issue was more about losing basic rights than it was about money.

“This has never been about money,” Hudson said. “This was about our right to negotiate. When we received the information from the state department at first it didn’t even address those counties that had standing contracts. Then they put out an addendum which did address those counties that had standing contracts, and it clearly said that they should continue to negotiate as they always had.”

Three TEA Locals Prevail in Court

TEA Calendar of Events June 1

June 6-9 June 29/July1 June 30-July 5 July 4 July 21 July/August September 3 September 15 September 28-29

Deadline for submitting nominations for Don Sahli-Kathy Woodall Graduate Scholarship TEA Summer Leadership Academy and Political Academy, Franklin NEA Board of Directors, Washington, DC NEA Annual Meeting, Washington, DC Independence Day TEA Board of Directors, TEA Building Local AR Membership Training (as scheduled by UniServ Staff) Labor Day Tennessee Urban Education Association Council STEA Leadership Conference, Nashville

Need information, services?

Mitchell Johnson Assistant Executive Director for Affiliate Services Donna Cotner Manager of UniServ Tennessee Education Association 801 Second Avenue N., Nashville, TN 37201-1099 (615) 242-8392, (800) 342-8367, FAX (615) 259-4581

UniServ Coordinators

District 1 — Harry Farthing, P.O. Box 298, Elizabethton, TN 37644; phone: (423)262-8035, fax: (423)2628053; Assns: Carter, Hancock, Hawkins, Rogersville, Johnson, Sullivan, Bristol, Kingsport, Northeast State C.C. District 2 — Jennifer Gaby, P.O. Box 70, Afton, TN 37616; (423)234-0700, fax: (423)234-0708; Assns: Cocke, Newport, Elizabethton, Greene, Greeneville, Unicoi, Washington, Johnson City, ETSU. District 3 — Tina Parlier, P.O. Box 74, Corryton, TN 37721; (865)688-1175, fax: (865)688-5188; Assns: Claiborne, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Sevier, Union, Walter State C.C. District 4 — Jon White, Knox County Education Association, 2411 Magnolia Ave., Knoxville, TN 37917-8289; (865)522-9793, fax: (865)522-9866; Assns: Knox, UT-Knoxville, Pellisippi State C.C., TSD. District 5— Jason White, P.O. Box 5502, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; (615)521-1333; Assns: Anderson, Clinton, Oak Ridge, Campbell, Cumberland, Fentress, Morgan, Scott, Oneida, York Institute District 6 — Reba Luttrell, 503 Cardinal St., Maryville, TN 37803; phone/fax: (865)9838640; Assns: Blount, Alcoa, Maryville, Monroe, Sweetwater, Loudon, Lenoir City, Roane, Roane State C.C. District 7 — Jim Jordan, P.O. Box 4878, Cleveland, TN 37320; phone/fax: (423)472-3315; Assns: Bledsoe, Bradley, Cleveland, McMinn, Athens, Etowah, Meigs, Polk, Rhea-Dayton, Cleveland State C.C. District 8 — Theresa Turner, 4655 Shallowford Rd., Chattanooga, TN 37411; (423)485-9535, fax: (423)485-9512; Assns: Hamilton County, Chattanooga State C.C., UT-Chattanooga, Department of Higher Ed. District 9 — Jeff Garrett, 801 Second Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37201; (615)242-8392, ext. 228, or (800)342-8367; Assns: Coffee, Manchester, Tullahoma, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, Sequatchie, Van Buren, White, Warren. District 10 — Shannon Bain, 1001 Rhett Place, Lebanon, TN 37087; phone: (615)547-7769, fax: (615)547-7879; Assns: Clay, DeKalb, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Smith, Trousdale, TTU. District 11 — Arthur Patterson, 101 Copperas Court, Murfreesboro, TN 37128; phone: (615)907-9912, fax: (615) 907-5490; Assns: Cannon, Sumner, Wilson, Lebanon S.S.D., Volunteer State C.C. District 12 — Susan Young, P.O. Box 422, Madison, TN 37116-0422; phone/fax: (615)865-9700; Assns: Cheatham, Rutherford, Murfreesboro, MTSU, TSB, TN Department of Education District 13 — Forestine Cole, Ralph Smith, Metro Nashville, 531 Fairground Court, Nashville, TN 37211; (615)726-1499, fax: (615)726-2501; Assns: Metro Nashville, Nashville State C.C., TSU, Department of Higher Education District 14 — Rhonda Thompson, 801 Second Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37201; (615)242-8392, ext. 321, or (800)342-8367; Assns: Clarksville-Montgomery, Robertson, APSU District 15 — Miley Durham, P.O. Box 10, Lawrenceburg, TN 38464; phone/fax: (931)766-7874; Assns: Bedford, Giles, Lawrence, Lincoln, Fayetteville, Marshall, Moore, Motlow State C.C. District 16 — Jackie Pope, 2326 Valley Grove Dr., Murfreesboro, TN 37128; (615) 898-1060, fax: (615) 898-1099; Assns: Lewis, Maury, Williamson, Franklin S.S.D. District 17 — Cheryl Richardson-Bradley, 801 Second Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37201; (615)242-8392, ext. 233, or (800)342-8367; Assns: Decatur, Dickson, Hardin, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Perry, Wayne District 18 — Maria Uffelman, P.O. Box 99, Cumberland City, TN 37050; phone/fax: (931)827-3333; Assns: Benton, Carroll (West Carroll) Central, Clarksburg, Huntingdon, McKenzie, Gibson, Bradford, Humboldt, Milan, Trenton, Henry, Paris, Stewart, Weakley, UT-Martin, FTA District 19— Lorrie Butler, P.O. Box 387, Henderson, TN 38340; (731)989-4860, fax: (731)989-9254; Assns: Chester, Hardeman, Henderson, Lexington, JacksonMadison, McNairy, Jackson State C.C. District 20 — Karla Carpenter, P.O. Box 177, Brunswick, TN 38014; (901)590-2543, fax: (901)382-1433; Assns: Crockett, Dyer, Dyersburg, Haywood, Lake, Lauderdale, Obion, Union City, Tipton, Dyersburg State C.C. District 21 — Zandra Foster, 3897 Homewood Cove, Memphis, TN 38128; phone/fax: (901)377-9472; Assns: Fayette, Shelby, Southwest Tenn. C.C., University of Memphis.

District 22/MEA — Ken Foster, Executive Director; MEA UniServ Directors: Marilyn Baker, Susanne Jackson, Terri Jones, Tom Marchand, Herman Sawyer, MEA, 126 South Flicker Street, Memphis, TN 38104;

(901)454-0966, fax: (901)454-9979; Assn: Memphis.

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May 2012