iea advocate september 2013

7/30/2019 IEA Advocate September 2013

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IllinoisEducationAssociation-NEA

100EastEdwards

Springfield,IL62704-1999

AdvocateThe official publication of the 133,000-member Illinois Education Association-NEA Vol. 10 Issue 1 September 2013

TheBookBusPage10

Grantmoneyavailab

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Retiredt

eachers

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Cindas

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2AdvocateSEPTEMBER 2013

Colleagues,

Every day you enter

your school sites,

ready to provide

the best for your stu-

dents, from pre-school

through higher educa-

tion. Yet, while all of usare working hard to

help mold our students

into productive, educated citizens, many in

the business and political world continue to

disparage our efforts. They claim we, as

union members, only want status quo and

arent willing to adapt. How wrong they

are.

In this time of increased focus on qual-

ity, we have the opportunity to change this

long-held, inaccurate perception by embrac-

ing common core and by sharing what we do

with the outside world.

We, THE professionals, must lead the

profession. What does that really mean?

Partly it means bargaining language that

provides us with the right resources, profes-

sional development, mentoring, etc. to de-

liver the best. But it also includes another

part: embracing new methods, and pushing

for quality for our students. It means learn-

ing the best way to deliver the common core

standards and sharing units, lessons and

ideas with each other.

I agree with the challenge from NEA

President Dennis Van Roekel. He has called

upon educators to work to make sure that

every local association not only focuses on

contract and grievance issues, but also has a

strong group of members who are focused

on the professional issues we are facing,

such as implementing new evaluation

processes, implementing the Common Core

State Standards and preparing for the new

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for

College and Careers (PARCC) tests.

As with many issues, IEA members hold

varying views on common core standards.

The fact is, the standards are here to stay.

Common core, because it is the process ofproviding the technique of teaching, gives

all of us a chance to step into the spotlight.

Who better to take charge of this than

teachers? This is an opportunity to share

ideas, embrace change, to work together for

shared success to lead!

There are many resources available to

help you as these new standards are

adopted. Please see the websites highlighted

in the box below.

Common core standards can help each

person improve his/her teaching and is a

way for educators to come together in de-

signing great lessons. But, it cannot be just

viewed as another list to merely check off in

the curriculum. Common core standards,

alone, arent the panacea for student

learning.

It still comes down to what all research

shows that the biggest influence on stu-

dent learning is the teacher.

Education leader and presenter, Nancy

Flanagan of Michigan, recently wrote about

the effect of poverty on student learning.

Education can help move students out of

poverty but education, alone, cant eradicate

poverty. And then she went on to talk about

common core standards, Pretty much

everyone knows that standards, by them-

selves, have absolutely zero magical trans-

formative power. If test scores improve as aresult of the common core standards, it will

be because teachers decide one at a time,

school by school to reshape their own in-

struction, conforming to these national

standards and the aligned tests.

As I read those words, I thought of the

many, many IEA members I have met who

are doing incredible work with students -

teachers and ESPs from pre-k to graduate

school, and I am confident that we can be

the leaders of our profession Dennis van

Roekel challenges each local to do, and as

our students deserve.And then, I add another piece: we must

make sure that we showcase our work.

Truthfully, we should at least partially ex-

cuse the business and political leaders for

their views after all, do we take the

needed steps to showcase our work, invite

them into our schools, broadcast our ef-

forts? Just as we arent in their places of

business to really know what goes on, they,

too, arent in our schools every day to see

the incredible impact you all have on stu-

dents. So, I say shout it from the rooftops,

talk about all the positives as you meet peo-

ple in the community, tell your students

parents.

You are THE professionals. And we,

together in IEA, can be seen as leading our

profession.

Please see these websites for more information on common core standard s:

www.ieanea.org/resources/common-core-standardshttp://commoncoreil.org

AdvocateIEA Advocate, Volume 10, Issue 1, Sept. 2013. TheAdvocateis published five times annually by the IllinoisEducation Association-NEA. Send correspondence to:[email protected] or IEA Department of Communi-cations, 100 East Edwards Street, Springfield, IL 62704-1999. The IEA-NEA Advocate(ISSN #1540-482X) is theofficial publication of the Illinois Education Association-NEA as a benefit of membership. A non-member sub-scription is available at $10 per year. Periodicals postage

paid at Springfield, IL.

The Illinois Education Association-NEAs mission is to effect excellenceand equity in public education and tobe THE advocacy organization for allpublic education employees.

Cinda KlicknaPresident

Kathi GriffinVice President

Al LlorensSecretary-Treasurer

Audrey SoglinExecutive Director

Charles McBarronDirector of Communications

Bob RayMedia Relations Director

Sarah AntonacciCommunications Specialist

Mark RitterbuschGraphic Designer

Denise WardAdministrative Assistant

Linda RiceSecretary

Postmaster:Send address corrections to Illinois EducationAssociation, attn: Membership Processing, 100East Edwards, Springfield, IL 62704-1999

Please see these websites for more information on common core standard s:

www.ieanea.org/resources/common-core-standardshttp://commoncoreil.org


3/16

SEPTEMBER 2013Advocate3

Gary Williams is much more than ajanitor at Alton Middle School. For many

students there, he is a lifeline.

Williams, who is set to retire this win-

ter, graduated from Alton High School in

1968 and came back to work for the dis-

trict in 1972. Over the course of those 41

years, he has become a fixture at what is

now Alton Middle School.

His care for these children you see

it all around here how much he goes

out of his way to make sure children are

cared for said Brenda Powers, a sixth

grade language arts teacher.

Kids will go through here and maybe

not remember a teachers name, but

theyll always remember his.

Williams has for years run a program in

the school lunchroom where he hires stu-

dents to help him pick up trays, empty

garbage and do other lunchtime clean up

activities.

Since 1990, he has always paid those

kids from his own pocket $6 an hour

for the boss, $5 an hour for the assistantboss and $3 an hour for all the other

workers.

In return, the students must behave in

school and get good grades. If they dont,

their money goes into a kitty that is used

to pay for school trips and other activities

that kids might not be able to pay for on

their own.

But its not just any kids that get these

jobs. Williams has a knack for choosing

the shiest, the most disenfranchised, the

kids who need something positive in their

lives the very most.

I remember a rough childhood and I

wanted to see these kids get a good break

in life. I know some kids go home to a

rough life and I wanted them to be able to

look forward to something. I want to be

able to help them, he said.

Before he was able to pay the students,

Williams would give them a giant cookie

on Fridays to reward them for a weeks

work. They thought it was great.

So, hed pick the kids who needed it

most and hed tell them, When you get

tired of working for me, go play with your

friends.

One day, he said, hed look around and

realize he was working on his own.

Id think, Well, thats the way it was

supposed to work. Now they all had some-

one to play with.

Camille Carpenter graduated eighth

grade in the spring and said her time

working for Williams was wonderful be-cause she got to walk around at lunch

when everyone else has to sit down and

because she made good friends among the

other kids working on the lunch crew.

Hes super nice. Hes just super nice

and friendly to be around, she said.

Williams had to make a devastating de-

cision last January when the amount of

money deducted from his check for Social

Security jumped. There was no way he was

going to be able to pay his students and

still be able to make ends meet at home.

I got my paycheck in January and I

knew I couldnt pay them. I got really

upset. I wrote a letter to each principal

and I had to tell the kids.

Much to Williams surprise, the kids

said they wanted to work for him whether

they were going to get paid, or not.

He was nice enough to pay us and he

came and told everyone he was getting his

pay cut, said Trevor Rister, another of

Williams helpers who graduated in the

spring.

They said, Well, well volunteer, Ris-

ter recalled. His personality is so likeable.

His funness. We just like working with

him. He is a good guy. Its not about the

money. Its about working.

Williams isnt sure what hes going to

do when he retires. He said hell likely sit

around for a few months, but hes pretty

sure hes not going to be able to stay away

from the school.

Ill probably come back and volunteer,or something.

Making adifferenceevery day

Alton janitor gives students first jobs from own pocket


4/16


THE IEA IS EXCITED to announce anew grant program SCORE designed

to allow our early career members to iden-

tify needs in their communities and pro-

vide ways to meet those needs.SCORE Schools and Community

Outreach by Educators is being funded

by the National Education Association

along with the IEA. The program was

started after early career teachers and

ESPs indicated theyd like to do more for

their students if they had the means to

do so.

Our members with 10 years of experi-

ence, or less, have made it very clear that

they want to make a difference in the lives

of their students not just in the classroom

or in the school, but in their communities,

too, said Cinda Klickna, IEA president.

We wanted to provide them with a way

to do that.

Nicole Kurtovich is a fourth grade

teacher in Pekin who, through the IEA

Student Program, became involved in Out-

reach to Teach projects where IEA mem-

bers went to schools over the course of the

summer and provided needed updates and

repairs. Service, to her, is important.

(These kinds of) projects show our

students that we care about them, that we

care about where they come from and we

care about the communities they go hometo at the end of the day, she said. Its

about being a positive role model to

them.

Aaron Bolden is a Rockford music

teacher who is a strong believer in commu-

nity service by educators.

Service is a reflection of doing some-

thing for more than your own means and

your own standards and for the better-

ment of the people around you.

The money is available to teachers or

ESPs who have been on the job 10 years or

less. Grant proposals of $1,000 or less are

encouraged in order to fund as many proj-

ects as possible. Proposals of more than

$1,000 will be considered, but may

not be fully funded.

We WANT to give the money

away, said Meredith Byers, IEA

Early Career Development

and Student Program

director.

We encourage cre-

ativity in the ideas that are

submitted. We know our

members see lots of opportuni-

ties to be of service in their

communities and we just want

to be able to help their dreams ofhelping become reality.

There are no limits on what

kinds of projects can be funded

from food banks, to homework

programs to playground rehabs

anything goes. The possibili-

ties are limitless.

Applications are to be received

by Sept. 30 and grant recipients will

be notified by Oct. 15. The money will

fund activities that are completed no

later than Aug. 15, 2014. Applications

can be done in writing or by video.And, whatever the project is,

there must be an element to it

that is shared through some

type of social media.

There is much more in-

formation available about

the program on the IEA web-

site at www.ieanea.org/score.

Service is a reflection of

doing something for more

than your own means and

your own standards andfor the betterment of

the people around you.

SCOREgrant programTo help with needs

in your communities

$1,000 or less, thoughlarger amounts will beconsidered

Application deadline:Sept. 30

Notification deadline:Oct. 15

Application procedure:Video or writtensubmission

MORE INFORMATION:

www.ieanea.org/score


5/16


MORE THAN 40 IEA members descendedupon Lena-Winslow School District #202 to

spruce up the building, grounds and students

learning environments.

The June 7 project was coordinated through

the IEA Student Program and the Lena-Winslow

Teachers Association as part of IEAs Outreach toTeach, a service project that allows IEA members,

who spend each day making a difference in stu-

dents lives, to add a new component to that

commitment.

Many IEA-Retired members showed up to help

out as well.

Im so happy to have teachers from the school

here who helped us, said Krissi Gashaw, an IEA-

SP member and early childhood education major

from Western Illinois University. Its amazing to

be a part of a school district that was so prepared

and organized and happy to have us here. Wereso glad everyone loved it.

Among the projects the crew completed were a

complete repainting of the high school gym,

using scaffolding and all. And, much work was

done outside to the landscaping near the juniorhigh and elementary building.

The Lena-Winslow Teachers Association andthe student program began working together

through physical education high school teacher

Susan Nicholas, a council member in IEA Region

19, who also helped with the project. The local

president of the Lena-Winslow Teachers Associa-

tion is Kyle Benson.

It was an inspiring sight, said Mark Kuehl, a

school administrator.

It was a great day for our commu-

nity and for the association to help us

out, he said. Retired teachers andstudents here helping the community.

This means a great deal to us. They are

a bunch of hard workers. I couldnt be-

lieve we could get done in an after-

noon what weve done here.Outreach to Teach is a national

service project completed by the Na-

tional Education Association StudentProgram in the host city of the NEAs

major convention each summer. Illi-

nois student leaders take part in that

yearly project and wanted to recreate

something similar on a state level.

Their participation has inspired

them for the past several years to

reach out within IEA to active membersin the hopes that their school districts

would be willing to join forces with the

student program to make a difference.

Now that Ive graduated from col-

lege, I look back and realize how impor-

tant this is. Students see the benefit of

helping a community. This event mademe fall in love with our organization. It

made everyone come together and be

cohesive. Its a great experience that I

dont regret at all, Gashaw said.

Lena-Winslowschool districtgets makeover,

thanks to IEA


6/16


to yourself how much youd like to have

a classroom pet? Or, have you had a

great idea for a way to include tech-

nology in your classroom? Maybe

youre looking for tips

on best classroom prac-tices or teacher evalua-

tion. Take a look at these

five spots to get free money

and helpful advice.

The NEA Foundation: www.neafoundation.org/pages/grants-to-educators . There are a number of grantsavailable through the NEA Foundation, including student achievement grants and learning and leadership grants. The foun-

dation also offers on its website great resources for submitting winning applications.Student achievement grants may be used for resource materials, supplies, equipment, transportation, technology or schol-ars in residents. They can be used to support outside-of-school programs, pay stipends, conference fees and other items.

Learning and leadership grants are awarded to support public school teachers, public education support professionalsand/or faculty and staff to fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences or grants to groups tofund study, research or mentoring.

Collaboratory:

www.teachingquality.org/collaborator

The Collaboratory is a virtual community forconnecting, learning and innovating with teachers

to transform education. Its meant to serve as an incu-bator for teachers bold ideas and innovative solutions.

Once you join Collaboratory, you can participate inone or more content labs for focused discussion and

collaboration. Those labs include the areas ofclassroom practice, school redesign, commoncore, teacher evaluation and innovative lead-

ership. There are blogs and pertinentnews, as well.

Have you ever thought

Great Public Schools:www.gpsnetwork.org

The Great Public Schools Network has launched. Itis NEAs online professional network and resource tool

that connects members and the community together topromote student success and improve public education.There are multiple professional networks (group discus-

sions) available and if theres a topic thats notaddressed, you can add one.

In addition, there will be grants awarded throughthe site, so watch this fall for further informa-

tion about whats being offered andhow to apply.

Pet Care Trusts

Pets in the Classroom:www.PetsintheClassroom.org

Heres a unique grant. The Pets in the Classroomprogram is accepting grant applications for the 2013-14 school year. Pre-kindergarten through 8th grade

teachers who want a pet in the classroom or whoalready have one and are searching for help

paying for its care are urged to apply.Teachers can obtain grants for the purchaseof new pets, pet environments or pet food

and supplies for existing classroompets. There are seven types of grants

available, including two newones this year.

IEA Pinterest page:

http://pinterest.com/ieaneaFollow IEA on Pinterest. IEA searchesfor interesting classroom ideas, great artprojects, education theory and tips onteacher evaluation, among other items.Next time youre on Pinterest find usand follow us!


7/16


VOTERS AGREE. Theresno one who knows local ed-

ucation needs better than

retired educators.

Thats why in Aprils elec-

tions, at least five former

teachers and IEA members

were elected to their local

school boards.

I was very frustrated

with the direction the

school board was going at

the time. In my opinion,

there was a very strong fac-

tion that believed the pur-

pose of the district was to

put on football games for

Friday night entertain-

ment, said Terry Waldron,

who retired from the dis-

trict in 2011 and was not

only elected to the board in

the spring of 2013, but also

named president.They spent a lot of time

and money recruiting coaches and buying

equipment while cutting back on text-

books and other classroom items at the

same time.

So, Waldron decided to do something

about it. He ran for the board.

He and two others helped unseat the

football-loving faction and he now gets a

say in the districts direction, where

money is spent, the budget, common core

curriculum and other things that impact

his former students and fellow teacherseveryday.

Bob Blade, a former teacher and the re-

tired vice president of the IEA, returned to

Cumberland County and thought his expe-

rience might be valuable to the board of

Cumberland Unit District 77.

I was a fairly decent teacher and I have

two granddaughters in high school and a

grandson who will be starting kinder-

garten this year and I want to make sure

they all get quality educations.

He said there was nothing the board

was doing that made him feel compelled to

run but that he felt he had a civic duty he

should perform. After all, he graduated

from the district and taught in their

district, too.

Blade said there havent been any major

issues that have arisen during his short

tenure but he has seen one place he wants

to make a difference.

One rude awakening happened when Itook the oath of office, he said. There is

a line in there about protecting the tax-

payers interest but there is nothing about

providing a quality education for the kids

in the district. I was just floored by that.

Hes right.

The oath asks board members to up-

hold Illinois laws, encourage and respect

the free expression of opinion, respect the

privacy of students and employees, to

recognize that he or she has no legal au-

thority as an individual but only as part of

a majority of the board, to promise to

abide by the boards decisions and to re-

spect taxpayer interests by serving as a

faithful protector of the school districts

assets.

Nowhere does it mention the quality of

the districts education. Blade intends to

draft some sample legislative language andtalk to his fellow retired educators who

also serve as school board members across

the state to come together to see that the

language of the oath is changed.

I can certainly understand being mind-

ful of community resources, but we also

ought to care about quality education.

When youre sworn into office, that ought

to be the priority, in my opinion, not tax-

payer dollars.

Retired teachers cant stay away from

school, run for boards, win

www.ieanea.org/members/retired/

At least five retired educators andmembers of IEA-Retired won spots ontheir local school boards in the spring2012elections. They are:

Bob Blade, Cumberland Unit

District 77

Terry Waldron, president of Sparta

Community Unit District 140

Alida Graham, Decatur Board of

Education

Kim Kearby, Round Lake Unit

District 116 Linda Volkman, Streator Elementary

School District 44


8/16

8AdvocateSEPTEMBER 2013For more information see

www.ilsharedlearning.org and www.facebook.com/ILSharedLearnin

T

he Illinois

Shared Learning

Environment could

one day provide information

about a students history, learning styles

and a full catalog of quality classroom ma-

terial all in the touch of a few buttons.

Called ISLE, the online platform that

will be cloud-based is currently being devel-

oped to help personalize learning for stu-

dents as well as to give teachers data about

students past attendance, testing results,

disciplinary records and more, even if the

student switches schools or districts.

According to its website, it will feature

dashboards, learning maps and access to re-sources to help educators better connect

with their students.

This summer, two groups of Illinois edu-

cators were invited to focus groups to hear

about ISLE and what it intends to offer

when its complete.

For some, ISLEs vision sounds

promising.

I would love to be able to work with

a specific standard and find everything

of quality around that standard, said

Kelli Murray, a third grade teacher from De-

catur who took part in the focus groups.At our district level, I have been in-

volved for four years creating standards for

math and Im picturing (ISLE) to do that on

a much larger scale. If ISLE could provide

something like that on a greater scale, that

would be phenomenal. To have resources at

our fingertips that are tried and tested

would put teachers at an advantage.

In addition, Murray said, being able to

track students performance, attendance

and disciplinary information from data

stored in a cloud would be helpful.

No matter where a kid was or what dis-

trict they were in, it would be great to be

able to pull from all those resources. There

are a lot of good feelings for that.

ISLE will use inBloom, a company that

was created in response to school adminis-

trators requests to create a secure data

storage resource for student information,and to meld that information with learning

resources.

Illinois is one of five states currently

working on a pilot program to test in-

Blooms work.

Whitney Vanderspool-Snell, another De-

catur teacher who participated in the focus

group for ISLE, said she has mixed feelings

about the technology.

I was impressed with the idea. Its revo-

lutionary in its own way, she said.

She thinks it could be a wonderful tool

to be able to use in a classroom to get a readon a student.

You can look at a student all the way

across the board and see what that student

needs. In bigger classes, and all of our

classes keep getting bigger, its sometimes

hard to think about the individual student

and what we need to do for them. This

would help.

On the other side of that coin, though,

shes concerned that relying more and more

on computers and tech-

nology to teach students what

they need to know eventually dimin-

ishes the art of teaching and even the need

for teachers.

Im afraid technology could end teach-

ing careers because there would be no per-

sonal connection with teachers anymore,

she said.

Larry Frank, research specialist with the

IEA, has been monitoring ISLEs progress

through the Illinois State Board of Educa-

tion.He understands Vanderspool-Snells

concerns but said there is a lot of promise

in offering some courses or materials on-

line to students.

What if you have a kid who is in a rural

area and this kid is great at physics but

cant take anything beyond Physics I be-

cause the school doesnt offer it, Frank

said. In cases like this, a program like ISLE

could be very helpful.

Frank said the IEA is working to see that

some core set of texts and analysis of stu-

dent learning would be available withoutcharge to all Illinois districts. Districts

could then buy other things that inBloom

would offer.

He said the IEA has also been instru-

mental in making sure that the state board

and designers understand in their develop-

ment process what will actually be helpful

to teachers in

the classroom.

For more information see

www.ilsharedlearning.org and www.facebook.com/ILSharedLearnin


9/16


Theresa Tippy, a child developmentteacher at Streamwood High School in

Elgin, believes a program within her dis-

trict that allows students to get a taste of

what being a teacher is really like is benefi-

cial in more ways than one.

The Future Teachers Club is sponsored

by the Elgin Teachers Association and is

getting ready to kick of its third year.

Through FTC, students at each off Elgins

six high schools get a chance to get into

classrooms, visit schools that have strong

education programs and build bonds with

others who are interested in becoming fu-

ture educators.

Our ultimate goal is to get students in-

terested in education by giving them

hands-on experience in the classroom as

much as possible, she said.

Once we get them interested, wed like

for them to get their education degree and

teach in our district so we have teachers

who have gone to school here and who

come back home to teach.This grow-your-own idea is often used

with public and private partnerships

where businesses come in to schools to

help train students or get students inter-

ested in certain fields of study.

Its not as common for public schools to

use the grow-your-own idea with its own

students, but its hoped that the program

will continue to be strong and prove suc-

cessful so that the teachers better reflect

the diverse population of Elgin schools.

I would say that the majority of my

classes, 70-80 percent, are Hispanic, saidTippy, who serves as one of two teachers

at Streamwood who work as site coordina-

tors for FTC.

We have a nice cultural mix, but the

majority of our district is Hispanic, so we

have a strong representation in our group

of that culture. I think thats great because

if they come back and teach in our district,

that would be fantastic for us and for our

student population.

Each of the districts high schools has

one or two people who serve as site coordi-

nators for the program. They are responsi-

ble for organizing activities, scheduling

meetings, recruiting members, etc.

Twice a year, all the club members from

every school get together to exchange

notes and they all take field trips together.

The ETA pays for most of those activities.We wouldnt have been able to do a lot

of the things weve been able to do with-

out the ETA. The ETA has been a great

support, Tippy said.

Tippy said her students at Streamwood

pair up and go out twice during

the school year to read to elemen-

tary school students and develop

an activity for the younger stu-

dents to do during class. Some

also do the same for special edu-

cation classrooms at the high

school.They get the hands-on expe-

rience of being in a classroom

and they come to the under-

standing that you have to have

more skills than just standing

up and reciting information in

front of a room, she said.

In addition, the club takes field trips to

community colleges and universities that

offer education programs.

She said several of her students have

gone on to study education at the college

level. Others have decided after being part

of the program that education might not

be their calling.

I think its just as important that ifthey think they want to get into educa-

tion, get into a classroom and work with

students and think, Thats not what I

want to do. Finding that out now is just as

valuable, Tippy said.

Future Teachers Clubintroduces students to

profession at young age

For more information, visit the U-46 Future Teachers Clubwebsite at: http://schools.u-46.org/index.pl?iid=88176


10/16


It was meant to be aone-time thing.

Paulette Walsh and others in the Dis-

trict U-46 Transportation Union in Elgin

came up with an idea in the spring of 2012

that they thought could better connect

their local association with the community

at large.

We were in the middle of negotiations

and that can always be stressful and I was

thinking that I wanted to do something

that would alleviate the stress a little bit,

give back to the community a little bit and

make us really show our worth to the dis-

trict, Walsh said.

So, she came up with the idea of doing

a book drive. The intent was to collect

books from other drivers and give them

away. But the idea quickly spread. School

staff donated books. Parents did, too. A

couple of stores joined in, as well.

Before we knew it, we had so many

books that we didnt know what to do with

them, she said.They sorted through an estimated

2,500 books, categorizing them by age and

weeding out those that were inappropri-

ate. They took a 68-passenger bus and

filled it front to back with two to three

boxes per seat full of books.

The giveaway was set for June 5, 2012.

It was so successful that the trans-

portation local decided to keep carrying

on. To date, theyve participated in 10

Book Bus giveaways. Retiring teachers are

donating books, a local Catholic school

gave them 500 and the United Way sent

10 to 12 boxes their way.

They paired up with the local library,

which has a summer reading challenge.

Every place the Book Bus went, someone

from the library was there encouraging

kids to sign up for the librarys summer

reading program.

Then, Walsh said, the Book Bus paired

up with Elgin Parks and Recreation. Parksand Rec had a free lunch program at lower

income sites in Elgin. They provided a

free, boxed lunch, activities and games and

the Book Bus came along to provide free

books. Theyve also been to the Stream-

wood Fest.

This has been such positive exposure

for our department and the district. We

dont want to look like were just bus driv-

ers. Were employees of the district. Were

not a third party. We want people to know

how much we care about our students.

This was a great way to do it, Walsh said.Our community is very varied and has

been affected greatly by the economy, so

little stresses can seem huge when youre

affected financially in one place or an-

other. To have a program like this that is

free and good for kids and gives parents a

chance to build relationships with their

bus drivers, can make a big difference.

The program could be poised to grow

even more.

For a year, mechanics at the garage

would unload all the books from the bus

after each outing, load them on pallets and

use a forklift to put the pallets up into

storage.

Recently, Elgin decided to buy new

buses and the district agreed to give a

wheelchair accessible bus to the Book Bus

program to use permanently. Its roomier,

accessible and allows the books to be

stored on the bus year round.

Walsh is looking forward to the newschool year and to new relationships the

drivers in her local have made through the

Book Bus.

The first two weeks of school are

crazy. Its not perfect. Theres a lot of

tweaking to the routes, she said. But

when you talk to someone person to per-

son, you get a different feel for them. We

dont just drive our kids to school. Were

counselors, nurses, substitute parents,

EMTs. Were not just driving a bus. When

you talk to people, they understand that.

Walsh said she hopes the idea catcheson elsewhere. She said the biggest compli-

ment to the Elgin Book Bus program

would be if transportation locals in other

districts started Book Bus programs of

their own.

Lets face it: We have competition out

there and if we dont do more and do it

better, then theyre not going

to think were worth it. We

have to do more.

Book Bus Facebook page is www.facebook.com/pages/The-Book-Bus/21580451856576

Book Bus

connectsransportationlocal with

the studentsthey care for

Book Bus

connectsransportationlocal with

the studentsthey care for

Book Bus Facebook page is www.facebook.com/pages/The-Book-Bus/21580451856576


11/16


IEA members honored bystate

Twentythree IEA members were hon-

ored at a luncheon this summer for being

outstanding teachers in their areas of

expertise.The Illinois State Board of Education,

IEA and the Illinois Federation of Teachers

honored 36 teachers who had been chosen

teachers of the year by various profes-

sional organizations to which they belong

during a June luncheon at the Governors

Mansion.

The IEA is always proud to help spon-

sor the Teacher Recognition Luncheon, a

wonderful way to thank and acknowledge

Illinois many outstanding educators, said

Cinda Klickna, IEA president. The award

winners have shown exemplary teachingin each of their fields, and they remind us

that great education is being delivered to

our students every day in every school in

Illinois.

Those IEA members who were recog-

nized were:

Hillary Andrlik, of Hinsdale-Clarendon

Elementary District 181, who was recog-

nized as the Illinois Elementary Art Edu-

cator of the Year by the Illinois Art

Education Association.

Joe Barker, Lyons Township High

School in LaGrange, named VFW

Teacher of the Year by the Veterans of

Foreign Wars.

Matthew Beck, Erie Elementary School

in Erie, recognized as GLSENs 2013 Ed-

ucator of the Year by the Gay, Lesbian

and Straight Education Network.

Bryan Bergman, Lyons Township High

School in LaGrange, as the IAHPERD

Young Professional Physical Education

Teacher by the Illinois Association for

Health, Physical Education, Recreation

and Dance.

Karen Brady-Popovich, Metea Valley

High School in Aurora, as the IllinoisHigh School Art Educator of the Year by

the Illinois Art Education Association.

Helene Caliva, Robert E. Clow Elemen-

tary School in Naperville, as the Out-

standing Economic Educator of the Year

by the Illinois Council for Economic

Education.

Kraig Conyer, Hinsdale South High

School in Darien, as IAHPERD Adapted

Physical Education Teacher of the Year

by IAHPERD

Jason Dane, New Trier High School inWinnetka, as IAHPERD Health Educa-

tion Teacher of the Year by IAHPERD.

Dawn Davis, Washington High School in

Washington, as the IAHPERD Secondary

Health Educator of the Year by IAH-

PERD.

Kerry DiFusco, White Eagle School in

Naperville, as a Star in the Classroom by

the Illinois Council for Economic

Education.

Linda Egnatz, Lincoln-Way North High

School, as the Central States Conferenceon the Teaching of Foreign Languages

Teacher of the Year by the Illinois

Council on the Teaching of Foreign

Languages.

Carl Erbsen, Eastland Elementary School

in Lanark, as the Illinois Agriculture in

the Classroom Teacher of the Year by the

Illinois Farm Bureau.

Patrick Fardy, South High School in

Downers Grove, as a Star in the Class-

room by the Illinois Council for Eco-

nomic Education.

Kimberly Greiwe, Maine East High

School in Park Ridge, as the IAHPERD

Dance Teacher of the Year by IAHPERD.

Christopher Grodoski, Franklin Middle

School in Wheaton, as the Illinois Mid-

dle School Art Educator of the Year by

the Illinois Art Education Association.

Audrey Hill, Collinsville Middle School in

Collinsville, as the IAHPERD Middle

School Teacher of the Year by IAHPERD.

Kate Leckenby, Pleasant Ridge School in

Glenview, IAHPERD Young Professional

Elementary Teacher of the Year by IAH-

PERD.

Matt Maddox, Columbus Elementary

School in Edwardsville, National VFW

Teacher of the Year by the VFW.

Dave Meyer, Sycamore Middle School

in Sycamore, as a Star in the Classroom

by the Illinois Council for Economic

Education.

Jerrine Roderique, Waubonsie Valley

High School in Aurora, named the T.E.

Rine Secondary Mathematics Teacher of

the Year by the Illinois Council of Teach-

ers of Mathematics.

Brenden Schultz, Pecatonica High Schoo

in Pecatonica, as the Illinois Farm to

School Teacher of the Year by the Na-

tional Farm to School Program.

Alison Upton-Dunmore, South Elgin High

School in South Elgin, named a Star in

the Classroom by the Illinois Association

for Economic Education.

IEA members featured inEducation Week

Kimberly Long, a readingand language arts teacher at

Daniel Wright Junior High

in Lincolnshire, wrote an ar-

ticle about the realities of

co-teaching and how to make it work in an

April edition of Ed Week.

Long highlighted five lessons shes

learned from collaborating with a re-

sponse-to-intervention reading specialist

in a seventh grade reading class.

Among those lessons: Trust is a must;

recognize that things will go wrong; clarify

role definitions; communicate and reflect;and actually try it.

Heres a link to her article in the IEA

insider: www.ieanea.org/2013/04/23/

insider-18.

And, Kimber Larson, a sixth grade

teacher in Yorkville, also was featured in

an April Education Week Teacher article

where she wrote about grading donts

that saved my classroom.

Continued on page 12


12/16


Among the tips she uses: she doesnt

mark down for late assignments; she does-

nt assign zeroes; she doesnt award extra

credit; and, she wont grade anything but

end-of-unit assignments.

She said she focuses on growth and de-

velopment and relies on her behavior rulesto guide students toward completing their

work. Heres a link to her article in the IEA

insider: www.ieanea.org/2013/05/07/

insider-for-may-7.

IEA ESP selected forleadership programTracy Harper, a Dis-

trict 300, ESP has

been chosen by the

NEA for its Leaders

for Tomorrow program.The program is a three-session training

process held over an eight-month period

that is open to ESPs who are nominated

for the program that trains current and fu-

ture leaders in leadership attitudes, skills

and knowledge that will enhance their

ability to be a visible, vocal advocate at the

local, state and national levels of the NEA.

Two new trustees namedto TRS BoardRainy Kaplan

of Schaumburg andMark

Bailey of Palos Park have joined the board

of the Teachers Retirement System and

started four-year terms this week.

Kaplan and Bailey are

filling two of the four

seats reserved under

state law for active

TRS members elected by

other active members

across Illinois.

They take the place ofMolly Phalen of Rock-

ford and Jan Cleveland of Carmi, who are

also IEA members who retired at the end

of their latest terms after 16 years of serv-

ice on the board.

Kaplan is a Spanish teacher, head boys

track and field coach at Westmont High

School and a member of both the IEA and

NEA Boards of Directors.

She holds two masters degrees in ad-

ministration from Concordia University in

River Forest and teaching and leadership

from St. Xavier University in Chicago. Shecompleted her undergraduate work in

Spanish and secondary education at

Bradley University in Peoria.

Bailey is the band director at Scott and

River Woods schools in Naperville and has

had a long career as a professional musi-

cian, music teacher and band director at

private and public schools throughout the

Chicago area.

He is currently president of the

Naperville Education Association and

treasurer of IEA Region 39. He holds amasters degree in leadership and adminis-

tration from North Central College in

Naperville and a bachelors degree in in-

strumental music from Luther College in

Decorah, Iowa.

Belden Boy updated tomatch Illinois curriculumstandardsPatricia Harte-Naus, a teacher at Abraham

Lincoln Elementary School in Glen Ellyn,

has written twobooks about a fic-

tional boy from the

1870s, Belden Boy,

and the series is

now aligned with

the Common Core

State Standards and

the required pro-

grams of the states

Bully Task Force.

The Belden Boy

series was inspired by a project Harte-

Naus worked on in the Galena area whereshe helped refurbish a one-room school-

house, a piece of the areas history.

She wound parts of real, historic events

that happened in the area with the fic-

tional tale of a boy who gets bullied in

school. She uses the books in her own

class and hopes the work shes done

spreads to others. For more information,

visit www.beldonboy.com.

Continued from page 11

IEA BOARD OF DIRECTORS ROLL CALL VOTES MARCH 15, 2013

The budget for 2013-2014, including the staffing changes presented at the budget open hearings, shallbe a maximum increase of $2 in dues for every full-time certified member and a maximum increase of$1 for every full-time ESP member.

As required by board policies, a roll call vote was taken and is recorded as follows:

Voting Yes (79): Almgreen, Austin, Bailey, Bear, Beaulieu, Borge, Bradish, Brave, Ann Brooks, AddieWashington for Clark, Collette, Copper, Darin, Diestelmeier, Dwan-Collins, Engfer, Flowers, Freaner, Grimes,

Gunn, Hagemaster, Addie Williams for Hastings, Cann for Hiatt-Hecox, Hile, Hirshman, Horne, Hoynes, Ivey,Jedrzejewski, Jesuit, Johnson, Kaplan, Kilgus, Klausing, Brosteau for Kurtzhals, Lawhorn for Lartz, Light, Love,Lucke, Ludden, Bettis for Madson, Mahrt, McCleary, McGinness, McGrath, Kell for Meyer, Mikos, Miller, Moore,Palmer, Paulus, Piechocinski, Pomykala, Sebak, Sheehan, Shiller, Sholtis, Siegel, Cathy Stewart, Stodola,Susberry Hill, Travis, Triplett, Tully, Turner, Valenta, Vanderjack, Veach, Walker, Walkup, Wallace, Waltmire,Robyn Washington, Weber, Wycislak, Young, Llorens, Griffin, and Klickna.

Voting No (1): Cassens-Mickle.

Absent (10): Frank Brooks, Brown, ODonnell, Palombit, Pierr, Reppen-Lucas, Ricks, Beverly Stewart,Westerman, and Zumbrook.

THE MOTION CARRIED.

MARK BAILEY

RAINY KAPLAN

For more information visitwww.ieanea.org


13/16


Bob Haisman Studentof the Year Award

Brittany Archibald

Courage AwardDerrick Schonauer

Bob Haisman Teacherof the Year AwardNicole Kurtovich

The IEA Reg WeaverHuman and Civil

Rights AwardJean Rogers

IEA Friend of Education AwardSen. Michael Frerichsand Rep. Raymond Poe

Congratulations

ESP of the Year AwardAlex Wallace Illinois Nominee forNEA FoundationAwards for Teaching

ExcellenceDr. Beverly Love

IEA-R Mary Lou andKeith Hauge AwardElaine Ferguson

2 0 1 3 I E A R E P R E S E N T A T I V E A S S E M B L Y A W A R D W I N N E R S

Register online at www.ieanea.org


14/1614

Legislative Platform OutreachPlease use this form to share your ideas with the Legislative Committee to assist in the development of IEA-NEAs Legislative Platform (one issue per form

Please indicate which section of the Legislative Platform your suggestion applies to (Employee Rights, Retirement, School Finance, Quality Education, or ElectoProcess). If you would like to read the 2013-2014 Platform, please log on to the IEA web page at: www.ieanea.org/legislative/

My IEA-NEA legislative platform comment is:

Section:

Suggestion:

Rationale:

Use additional sheets if necessary.

Please return your comments by Dec. 16, 2013 to:

Legislative Platform Illinois Education Association Government Relations Department100 East Edwards Street Springfield, IL 62704 Fax: 217/544-0691

Email: [email protected]

D E A D L I N E SDo you know a member who deserves recognition, or are you planningto nominate a student for an IEA scholarship?Take a moment to reviewdetails of the awards that will be presented at the 2014 IEA RepresentativeAssembly.

IEA Reg Weaver Human and Civil Rights AwardAn individual IEA-NEA member or an IEA-NEA group may be nomi-

nated for this award, which recognizes those who have performedan outstanding humanitarian/civil rights activity or community service

above and beyond normal association endeavors. An application forthis award, presented by the IEA Human and Civil Rights Committee,will be available on the IEA website, www.ieanea.org in October. Nom-ination inquiries before October may be directed to Kristine Argue,847/359-0300, Ext. 5204. Send completed applications to IEA HumanServices and Civil Rights Award, Attn: Kristine Argue, Illinois EducationAssociation, 553 N. North Court, Suite 210, Palatine, IL 60067-8124,by Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2014.

ESP of the YearThis award is meant to emphasize the contributions of education sup-

port professionals to their association, their schools and their commu-nities. A downloadable application and complete rules are available atwww.ieanea.org. ESP of the Year nominations must be mailed to Cathy

Wyzykowski, IEA-NEA, 2230 Point Boulevard, Suite 400, Elgin, IL 60123-9204 and be postmarked by Nov. 1, 2013.

IEA-NEA Scholarship ApplicationsThe deadline for the 2013-14 IEA-NEA Education Grant is Dec. 3, 2012.

Last year, this program offered 45 scholarships of $1,500 each to chil-dren/legal wards of IEA members. The scholarship program is designedto support those who wish to enter teaching as a career.

Applications are available on the IEA website, from your LocalPresident, from your IEA Region Chair or from your field office.

IEA-Retired AwardsMary Lou and Keith Hauge Retiree Award Given in honor of the lateMary Lou Hauge, first chair of the IEA Council of Retirees, and her late

husband Keith, former editor of the IEA-R Informer, this award recognizesindividuals who have made outstanding contributions to the IEA-NEARetired organization. Applications are due by Jan. 3, 2014.

Bob Haisman Teacher of the Year Award This award, named in honof former IEA President Bob Haisman, recognizes the individual contbutions of a new teacher (a teacher with at least one years experienand not more than five). Applications are due by Jan. 3, 2014.

Haisman Student of the Year Award This award honors an undegraduate Student Program member working toward a degree in eduction. Nominations are due by Jan. 3, 2014.

Applications for all of these awards, as well as details regarding eligbility and qualifications, are available at the IEA website, www.ieanea.or

Nominations and supporting data for the Retiree award, Teacher

of the Year and Student of the Year awards should be sent to LindaWalcher, 617 W. Apple Street, Freeburg, IL 62243.

PROPOSED Bylaw Amendments for 2014 IEA RAProposed bylaw amendments must be received by the IEA Bylawsand Resolutions Committee, in care of the Presidents Office, IllinoisEducation Association, 100 East Edwards, Springfield, IL 627041999, no later than 5 p.m. Central Standard Time, Dec. 13, 2013. Thiwill enable the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee to prepare theproposed bylaw amendments for presentation to the executive committee and for publication in the Advocate. Proposed bylaw amendments submitted after this deadline will not be printed in the

Advocate, and, therefore, will need a three-fourths vote for passageat the Representative Assembly. Forms are being sent to the boardof directors in September and also will be available from theSpringfield Legal Services office at Headquarters. The IEA BylawsValues and Vision can be found in the About section of the IEA website, www.ieanea.org.

The Bylaws and Resolutions Committee has also prepared ModeLocal and Region Bylaws and guidance to help locals revise their cur-rent bylaws. The guidance includes a narrated PowerPoint presentation. These resources can be found under Bylaws, Value and Visionin the About section of the IEA website.

If you have questions, please contact Freddy Hatfill, Chairperson

Bylaws and Resolutions Committee, 23470 Hollow AvenueJerseyville, IL 62052, (618) 498-4559 or [email protected].

Submitted by:

Phone:

Email:


15/1615

ELECTION NOTICE: Student Delegates to IEA RAArticle VII, Section 2 of the IEA-NEA Bylaws states that student members shall be allocated one delegate for every100 student members for the April 2014 IEA-NEA Representative Assembly in Chicago. Our membership records asof October 2013 will determine the number of delegates to be elected. Only student members who are enrolled fora minimum of 12 semester hours may be elected to positions representing student members. Delegates will beelected by open nomination and secret ballot. Please use the nomination form printed below and fill in all information.Online forms are available atwww.ieanea.org/about/elections.

Timelines for the election:

Nov. 1, 2013 ................................................Nominations dueNov. 6, 2013 .............. .............. ..Sample ballots and bios sent

Nov. 13, 2013 .............. ............... ...........Deadline for changes

Nov. 18, 2013 ..................................................Ballots mailed

Dec. 11, 2013 ............. .............. ............... ..............Ballots due

Dec. 13, 2013 ................................................Ballots counted

Please type or print your name below exactly as you wish it to appear on the ballot. INCLUDE SPACES AND PUNCTUATION. ONLYONE CHARACTER PER BOX.

NOMINATIONS MUST BE CERTIFIED BY REGISTRARS OFFICE AND SENT BY CERTIFIED MAIL. PLACE ONLY ONE FORM PER CERTIFIEDENVELOPE. SEND TO: PRESIDENTS OFFICE, IEA-NEA, 100 E. EDWARDS, SPRINGFIELD, IL 62704

Please type or print your candidate statement in the space provided below. ONLY ONE CHARACTER PER BOX. SPACES AND PUNCTU-

ATION COUNT AS CHARACTERS. Candidate statements are limited to no more than 100 characters. Statements must not include an ex-hortation to vote for the candidate and must be nonpromotional, factual and objective.

TO BE COMPLETED BY REGISTRARS OFFICE:The above-named student is enrolled for a minimum of 12 semester hours.

Signature Date and Seal

Timelines for run-off election: (if necessary)

Jan. 3, 2014......................................................Ballots mailedJan. 22, 2014 ........................................................Ballots due

Jan. 24, 2014..................................................Ballots counted

Membership identification number

Region Student Chapter

Address

City State Zip

Home Phone ( ) School Phone ( )

Cell Phone ( )

Fax E-mail

Student Signature Name of College/University


16/16

ELECTION NOTICE: Retired Delegates to IEA-RAArticle VII, Section 2 of the IEA-NEA Bylaws states that Retired Members shall be allocated one delegate to every 500 retiredmembers for the April 2014 IEA-NEA Representative Assembly in Chicago. Our membership records show present member-ship at 9,277, which indicates there will be eighteen (18) at large delegates and one (1) ethnic minority delegate. Delegateswill be elected by open nomination and secret ballot. Please use the nomination form printed below and fill in all information.Online forms are available atwww.ieanea.org/about/elections.

Please type or print your name below exactly as you wish it to appear on the ballot. INCLUDE SPACES AND PUNCTUATION. ONLY ONCHARACTER PER BOX.

Please type or print your candidate statement in the space provided below. ONLY ONE CHARACTER PER BOX. SPACES AND PUNCTUATION COUAS CHARACTERS. Candidate statements are limited to no more than 100 characters. Statements must not include an exhortation to vote for tcandidate and must be nonpromotional, factual and objective.

Membership identification number

Former Region Retired Chapter

Address

City State Zip

Home Phone ( ) Cell Phone ( )

Fax ( ) E-mail

NOMINATIONS MUST BE SENT

CERTIFIED MAIL. PLACE ON

ONE FORM PER CERTIFIED ENV

LOPE. SEND TO: PRESIDENTS O

FICE, IEA-NEA, 100 E. EDWARD

Every year at the IEA Representative Assembly (RA),

the IEA budget and the dues level necessary to fund it

are set by 2/3 of the RA delegates present and voting.

Although passage of the budget occurs at the RA, nu-

merous opportunities for member input are given

prior to the budget vote.

The IEA budget committee requests your participa-

tion in preparing a proposed budget for presentation

to delegates at the April 2014 IEA Representative As-

sembly. Broad-based member input is critical in as-

sisting the committee in developing a proposed budget aligned with member priorities.

You will have the opportunity to give the committee direction through the input survey to be

distributed this fall. The survey will be available electronically through the IEA Board of Directors,

IEA Committee Chairs and local presidents. In addition, the survey will be available on the IEA

Members Only website. All surveys will need to be completed by December 1.

In order for the budget committee to represent IEA members, we need input from allIEA mem-

bers. This is the way that your voice can be heard. It is your way of informing the budget committee

what areas of the budget you feel are critical. If you have additional questions or ideas, please contact

one of the budget committee members, said Kathi Griffin.

Once again, two non-voting members of the Illinois Education Association Staff Organization(IEASO) will participate as part of the committee. This inclusion reflects IEA and IEASOs commitment

to collaboratively carrying out the work of the Association.

Its Time for 2014-2015 Budget Input

Timelines for the Election:

Oct. 4, 2013..........................Nominations DueOct. 9, 2013 ......Sample Ballots and Bios Sent

Oct. 16, 2013 .................Deadline for ChangesOct. 30, 2013.............................Ballots MailedDec. 11, 2013 ................................Ballots Due

Dec. 13, 2013 .........................Ballots Counted

Timelines for Run-Off Election: (If necessary)

Jan. 3, 2014...............................Ballots MailedJan. 22, 2014.................................Ballots Due

Jan. 24, 2014..........................Ballots Counted

CREST HI

Eileen Darin (#

CRYSTAL LAKE

Scott Moore (64)#

SPRINGFIELD

President Cinda Klickna (11)Vice President Kathi Griffin (35)

Secretary-Treasurer Al Llorens (27)

BudgetCommitteeMembers

NORMAL

Vickie Mahrt (14)

WOODRIDGE

Mona Johnson (30)

#

#

ROUND LA

Terri Zumbroo#

MOLINE

Bonnie Lartz (18)#

MURPHYSBORO

Beverly Love (2)

SPARTADebi Klausing (4)

SMITHFIELDAnn Brooks (13)#

Two non-voting IEASO representativesto be assigned.

#

#

#

Indicate position sought:K At Large Delegate K Ethnic Minority

iea advocate september 2013

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