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News: Do'ers Profile
Polly Sheldon
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Name and profession: Polly Sheldon, administrative assistant
to an assistant superintendent of the Metro Nashville (Tennessee)
school district.
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Notable connections: Lifelong NEA member since the early 1950s
and a governing board member of the Tennessee Teachers Credit Union.
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Accomplishment: Sheldon first entered Nashville schools as
a substitute teacher in 1945 and then advanced through the office
ranks, starting as an elementary school "typist clerk" and progressing
to her current job in Metro Nashville's central office.
A superintendent encouraged staff members to be lifelong learners,
and Sheldon took that advice to heart. She broadened her skill base
and job responsibilities and became a leader in a wide range of professional
organizations, including the old secretarial division of the Tennessee
Education Association.
Today, Sheldon is even more involved. She encourages support personnel
across the country to be active members of NEA's National Council
for ESP, and has helped reorganize the Metro Nashville Support Staff
Association--which represents ESP on strategic administrative committees
and has worked with the administration to reclassify jobs.
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Words of wisdom: "As support staff, we should not allow ourselves
to be 'departmentalized.' We should be knowledgeable about what's
going on in the entire school system, not just in our little corner.
"Support personnel are an integral part of any school system. I encourage
newcomers to think of themselves as professionals, to have a positive
attitude, and to love what they're doing. And I urge all ESP colleagues
to belong to professional organizations and to attend workshops, seminars,
and other professional development activities."
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