Dear Members,

Here is a piece I submitted to the The Daily Sentinel to be published as a guest commentary.  I haven't heard anything back, so I thought I'd post it here:

As the school year gears up into full swing, I have had the good fortune to sit in a lot of classrooms around District 51. The energy of both students and teachers is palpable.  Students are learning how to convert mixed numbers into improper fractions, reviewing strategies for reading for meaning in non-fiction writing, and engaging in hands on learning as they investigate ways to separate mixtures.  But just as important, I saw relationships being built between teachers and students.  The quiet girl in the corner is quickly becoming Michelle, the budding artists who likes to draw horses and is worried that , and it made me reflect on just how it was that I decided to spend my professional life in education. 

Like many in our valley during the winter of 1984, my family was still reeling financially from Exxon’s ”Black Sunday” announcement two years previous.  As I walked into Ms. Streeter’s 8th grade math class at Bookcliff Middle School, the list of issues on my mind that morning was much the same as every middle school student in history:  reviewing a fight I had with my dad, an emerging acne problem, a festering sore from my braces that was making it difficult to talk, self-consciousness about my “high water” pants, and somewhere way down on the list, my math homework for Ms. Streeter’s class.  As I took my seat at the back of the class behind Cory, a guy who I made a point to sit near because he had the incredible advantage of having a calculator on his watch, I noticed a bag sitting beneath my seat.   In the bag was a new set of clothes, pants included.  Ms. Streeter never acknowledged her gift to me beyond the private wink she gave in reply to my puzzled look, and so I quickly hid the bag of clothes behind my backpack.   

Ms. Streeter was an excellent math teacher, but she was so much more than that.  The clothes she gave me made my year a little easier.  The fact that she cared enough to go out of her way to make an awkward time in my life a little more bearable continues to shape me.  True, it was the measurable academic skills I graduated District 51 with that allowed me entrance into CU-Boulder with the necessary scholarships for me to afford it, but it was the unquantifiable Ms. Streeter moments (and I had many more) that taught me what it was to be my best self.    

It was 20 years later that I first spoke publicly about that bag of clothes.   I had been honored by two students from Bookcliff Middle School (where, ironically, I was working as an 8th grade math teacher) to speak on their behalf at a Student of the Month luncheon.   Ms. Streeter was also there with a group from Orchard Mesa Middle School, where she obviously was still making a difference in childrens’ lives.  After giving my prepared remarks about the wonderful children I brought, I took a moment to give a long overdue thank you.  Ms. Streeter has since retired from District 51, but like many former teachers, she continues to volunteer in our classrooms.  Teaching is not what she does; it’s who she is, and retirement certainly hasn’t changed that. 

I have taught long enough now to know that experiences like the one I just described are happening every day in our schools.  Despite the national attack on our public education system, the reality is that our schools are packed with Ms. Streeters and the vast majority of parents love both their neighborhood school and the teachers that are waiting for their children.  I would encourage you to reflect on the many teachers that made a difference in your life, and then think about what parts of the value they brought to you would be reflected on a standardized test.  

Best,

Darren

Dear Member,

Hopefully, everyone has had a fantastic start to their school year!   Your MVEA has a lot going on, so please scan through the bullets below:

• The AR Council was a huge success, with only two schools missing due to their Back to School nights.   Areas B, F, and H elected Area Directors.   We also have a new Secretary.  You have an excellent Executive Council with a great vision and action plan for the future of the MVEA.  
• Each building will have a "911 Emergency Meeting" in the next 10 days to bring everyone up to speed on the happenings in the School Board election.   Your AR will be in touch soon.   The building in each Area with the highest volunteer turnout will get a pizza lunch for all members at your school courtesy of CEA!  If everyone has 100% turnout, everyone gets a pizza lunch.  (We're not fooling around with this School Board election!)  To see how your school is doing, look here.  We will update it daily, so check back! 
• We have had 90 new members sign up this month with many of them being returning members, which is amazing!  But we're not done yet.  Make sure each potential member in your building takes a look at our website and watches the video of our members explaining what it means to be a member of the MVEA.  If they choose to sign up, make sure your name is listed on the bottom so we can send you $10 as a thank you.  Our association is able to do more and more to support our profession as we grow in membership!
• The SB191 Educator Effectiveness training on the 7th of September is quickly filling up.  We only have 21 spots left, so if you have had a few questions as you've worked your way through your self-assessment, you might want to sign up here.  It's free to members, and you will receive credit for 4 hours of Professional Development.  We intend to have monthly Professional Development opportunities this month, so be watching for more!
• We'll speak specifically about offers and promotions through MVEA and NEA in the future, but if you want to scan for some great savings opportunities, look here and here.   As an example, member Mary McGuire took advantage of the attorney referral program's two free thirty minute legal consultations per year, and then she used the information to negotiate a great settlement with an insurance agency offsetting many years of her membership dues.  
• No one has forgotten the negotiated settlement from last year that tied us getting the remainder of the 20% of our step to enrollment and grants.  We are keeping a careful eye on the counts and should be able to report out on it soon.   
• Do you have any students or families that need help?  Susana Wittrock with the Office for Advocacy, Outreach, and  Connections is coordinating with the many government and non-profit organizations around the valley to get students and families the help they need.   

Have a great week!

Dear Member,

Hopefully you had a great first week of teaching! 

This week’s news:

• Concerned about the teacher evaluation system under SB 191?  Your association is bringing in Linda Barker to answer your pressing questions and provide some professional development (there will be a 4 hour PD certificate offered!).  The flyer is attached, and the session is limited to 50 members, so sign up here. 
• Your School Board Elections Committee is working hard to finalize their recommendations for this year’s critical school board race.  We should have our pro public education candidates in place by the end of this week, and can begin campaigning shortly thereafter!  Each building will have an “emergency meeting” for members sometime during the next week (if you haven’t already) to inform teachers of the political landscape and encourage everyone to volunteer in some capacity to help preserve public education.   Campaigning need not be confrontational.   The public trusts teachers (our polling says so!).  In fact, they trust us so much oftentimes we don’t even need to explain why we support a particular school board candidate.  All we need to do is post our picks for the school board race on our Facebook page, mail out a few postcards, and – if we choose to – take part in a morning of door knocking (followed by a huge BBQ – more to come on that!).   Filling out a brief form is the first step in being a part of the democratic process in this year’s important school board race so we can be purposeful in our approach, which is key to winning! And we will win…  J
• Remember that we are ratifying our bylaw changes at this week’s AR Council.  Make sure you review the  bylaw changes and give your AR feedback to inform their vote. 
•  Do you like TED Talks?  Here are a few that are absolute “must views”!   
• Each day seems to bring with it a new member enrollment sheet for the MVEA, which is fantastic!  Just remember to sign your name at the bottom of the application as the recruiter so you receive the $10 “thank you” from your association colleagues for helping to grow our professional organization.  
  


Here’s to a wonderful week!

Dear Member,

First, your Executive Council has asked for communications from the President to be brief and to only occur weekly, except in rare circumstances. 

To keep it brief, but still communicate as much as each member wants, major points will be bulleted.  If a person wants more information, they can just click on the link.  Please give feedback if you have any further suggestions.

So, this week’s news:

• Membership is critical for the MVEA to be effective in supporting educational professionals.  We are on a wonderful path in that regard!  With so much happening in public education right now, there are A LOT of potential members that are ready to come back into the fold.  They just need to be asked.  Ask them to go to mvead51.org and watch the video on the homepage.  From there, they can print out the form, fill in as much as they can (and make sure to include your name at the bottom so we can say thank you!), and send it to the MVEA through interdepartmental mail.   We’re growing every day! 

• Filling out a brief form is the first step in being a part of the process to improve public education.  If you haven’t done so yet, please take less than one minute and you can officially say you are no longer part of the problem; you are part of the solution! 

• We are looking at making some bylaw changes.  Take a look at them here.  The major differences are changing the ratio of AR’s from 1:15 to 1:10 so we can encourage more participation, and to change the areas so that instructional levels are aligned (i.e. areas are grouped into elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools) so that all teachers’  voices are represented.   Let your AR’s know what you think, as we will be voting on it on the 22nd of August. 

• A few fun photos! 

That’s all, folks.   I hope everyone had a wonderful first day!

Darren

Dear Member,

 Welcome back.  Your MVEA has been busy over the summer!   Executive Council set the following major goals for this school year:

1)      Ensure the three school board seats that are up for election in November are won by pro-public education candidates,

2)      Increase membership and build the involvement level and leadership capacity of our current members, 

3)      Actively partner with administration in increasing the organizational health of each school, especially surrounding the 
implementation of the new teacher evaluation system, and

4)      Increase our compensation package. 

With these guiding areas of focus, we recognized the need for a web site to help with communication.  Members Becky Johnson, Mike Warner, and Paul Van Camp deserve kudos for the many hours they spent on creating this quality site.   In future letters, I will point out the multitude of resources that are available.  

On the main page you will notice a great video that can be used in recruiting the potential members in your school.  Many thanks to members Brad Thomas, Justin Whiteford, Trey Downey, Tracy LeFebre, Katie Schaffer and former members Mark Schmalz and Vernon Walker for articulating so well why every teacher should join the MVEA.  And we have made it even easier to join this year by having printable membership forms on our website.    

Also, please thank your AR.  They will be a wonderful resource for information as we all push hard for success in reaching our collective goals this year!  They have already spent a day at the AR Training and then were part of a wonderfully successful New Teacher Orientation membership drive.  If you notice your school does not currently have an AR, please decide who will be representing your school this year and let me know ASAP.  

There is so much more to share, but no doubt each of you are hitting information overload as you think about how much needs to be done prior the first bell on August 12th.  Just know that the MVEA is stronger than ever, and that together we will do great things this year!  

Best,

Darren