Last Bell

14 Hours In Colombia

Table of Contents In this Issue Cover Story Features Getting Organized First Person ESP People Last Bell Money Layoffs Para Educators Rural Schools Departments Editor's Note President's Viewpoint Up Front State Report Retirement Leading the Way Debate Dilemma Resources Books by NEA Members Online Change Your Address/ Write a Letter Past Issues

Photo by Glenn Schmidt

By Glenn Schmidt and Bob Fullmer

Bob Fullmer and Glenn Schmidt, both from Wisconsin, went to Colombia last March as part of an eight-member AFL-CIO labor delegation. They wanted to find out why belonging to a union in Colombia carries a potential death penalty--and what they as Americans could do to help. Their delegation met with more than two dozen unions, government officials, academics, United Nations commissioners, and U.S. Embassy officials. Fullmer and Schmidt, NEA Board of Directors members, describe 14 hours out of 10 intense days.

March 11

5 a.m.
There are safety rules in this unsafe country. We're breaking at least five of them:

1. Travel during daylight hours. It is 5 a.m. and we are on a very dark mountain road.

2. Stay in the city. We are leaving MedellÃ]]>ƒƒ‚

3. Stay out of Antioquia. Statistically, the least safe department/state is Antioquia, where we are. If one were to worry about the 3,700 kidnappings last year or the 172 union leaders killed, now would be the time to do so.

4. Don't belong to a union (see above). The total number of union leaders killed in Colombia since 1991 is close to 2,000. We are all union leaders in this van, and we have been meeting with union leaders, some of whom sleep in different places every night because they fear for their lives.

5. Travel in groups or convoys. We are alone....Finally, the airport lights burst into view. Others in our van appear to be oblivious, sleeping, or resigned. Or else they are feigning indifference, as we are.

10:30 a.m.
We are in Cali in the municipal union hall, an old high school with paint peeling off in volumes. Parts of the building are open to the outside, perhaps unintentionally.

We are ushered into the front row at a workers' assembly, where we don headphones to hear the speeches translated. Several hundred workers swelter in the chairs behind us.

Opposition leader Luis Eduardo "Lucho" GarzÃ]]>ƒƒ‚

He launches into a list of challenges facing Colombia: the external debt "strangling the economy"; the deteriorating quality of life; and the NAFTA free trade agreement, which will use "70 percent of our income to pay the speculators."

3:30 p.m.
New auditorium. New crowd. Same people talking. But this time we are in a modern brick building. The crowd is more upscale, too. We could be in Madison. Alas, we are getting a little cranky. Why don't they do air conditioning? You can just about hit the equator with a rock from here.

5:45 p.m.
Our armed caravan (a van, two SUVs and a cab) negotiates Cali's harrowing traffic out to the main water-treatment plant on the Cauca River. The 40-year-old Emcali facility appears to be safe, sophisticated, and running smoothly. Nevertheless it is in imminent danger of being privatized. The union believes the government plans to turn it over to corrupt cronies so they can loot it.

The head of the municipal workers union looks tired as his impassioned speech against privatization is funneled through a British interpreter.

Three Europeans from the International Peace Brigades linger near a short, rounded Colombian woman. Their job is to nonviolently shield her from attack by whatever "dark forces" are threatening her.

Through it all, a bodyguard with an automatic weapon lounges against the railing, while behind him, sugar cane fields are being prepared for harvest and a lone egret trolls for food in the river.

The atmosphere is half danger, half calm.

* * *
Two months later, this facility was bombed, killing three unionists.

While in Colombia, our delegation met with U.S. Embassy staff and Colombian officials from the Interior Department, eventually securing protection (bodyguards, armored vehicles) for three threatened Colombian workers who had accompanied delegation members to Colombia after a year of sanctuary in the United States.

We also met with the national teachers' union, the FederaciÃ]]>ƒƒ‚

More than three million children no longer have a school to attend and teachers continue to be assassinated at a rate of several dozen per year.

So what can we do about it?

There are ways NEA members can help our colleagues in Colombia. The United States government sends a huge amount of foreign aid to Colombia (it is the third largest recipient of U.S. aid). Contact your members of Congress to persuade them to spend our money more on alleviating social problems and securing human rights.

Fore more, e-mail Schmidt, glenn99@aol.com, or Fullmer, fullmer@execpc.com.

Up Front

October 2003   

Accountability or Chaos?

Like a discordant drum roll, announcements recently poured out from state education departments listing schools that had not yet met the requirements of the new federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, now called the No Child Left Behind Act.

The result? Confusion so widespread that many are now asking "where's the common sense?" in all those so-called high standards. Consider this St. Petersburg (Florida) Times editorial: "Gov. Jeb Bush says that Gulfport Elementary School did so well academically last year it is due for a state bonus check of roughly $40,000. President George W. Bush says Gulfport ... performed so poorly that its parents must be allowed ... to pull their children out. Which brother is right?"

Gulfport is hardly the only school left befuddled. Coast to coast, schools long deemed excellent got Fs from Washington under the new rules. Some 70 percent of California schools missed the mark. More than half of North Carolina schools fell short.

Why are so many good schools being tarred? Because the law's complicated math requires that states set their standards high enough to automatically put 20 percent of their students in schools considered below standard. Then it adds dozens of extra hurdles that trip up thousands more schools. In California, for example, the most common cause of failure was not unreachable academic standards, but a rule that requires at least 95 percent of students in each of several categories--students with disabilities, low-income students, and others--show up on test day.

NEA has proposed changes to restore sanity by putting final decisions about school quality back into the hands of educators and their local communities. Who knows best what really goes on inside a school? Certainly not the feds. As the St. Petersburg Times pointed out, "They know only the results of one set of standardized tests."

5 Ways to (Happily) Survive Back-to-School Night

For some, this is a to-die-for event. For others, an annual ritual that's an adventure in disappointment--or disaster. Some advice from those who've been there:

1. Call ahead. Touch base with your new parents and personally encourage them to come out. It may be a little extra work, but it signals--dare we say--that you care.

2. Let them eat cake. The PTA usually serves treats, but just in case, encourage it. Nothing like a little ice cream beforehand to "sweeten" the air.

3. Be enthusiastic. Show you love the stuff you're teaching--and that you have the ability to teach it. Highlight special activities you plan, or training you've received. It'll put those anxious parents at ease.

4. Grin and bear it. You're bound to get a few zingers from the overly eager, but make nice; the next day you'll be glad you did.

5. Follow up. Make a courtesy call or send an e-mail to parents who didn't show. Better now than later to get those communication lines opened.

Lobbying for the Littlest Ones

It's no secret: Almost every teacher begins the school year with students who lag way behind. But it doesn't always have to be that way. Academic readiness begins early--very early. That's why NEA is sounding the call for mandatory, full-day kindergarten and publicly funded, universal preschool programs for three- and four-year-olds whose parents want them. The Association gave a thumbs up to this new policy at its Representative Assembly last summer--a nod to research that shows quality early programs help boost student achievement in the early years and beyond.

"It's a great step for NEA to take," says Patricia Reeves, a 27-year kindergarten teacher in Maryville, Tennessee, and chair of the NEA Early Childhood Educators Caucus. Currently only 10 states require districts to offer full day kindergarten. And while 43 states fund some kind of early learning program, none serve even half of all three- and four-year-olds. "The nationwide push for student achievement demands that we start up front," says Reeves. "I see kids every year who aren't ready for what I'm asked to teach."

As NEA gears up for a nationwide lobbying push, teachers at every level need to get on board. "All of us must educate parents, the community, the school districts, and the states so that we can get these programs funded and working," Reeves says. "Every teacher has a role to play."

Notepad

A Whole Lotto Nothin' for Education?
Voters are frequently sold on the value of state-run lottery gambling by the promise that lottery proceeds will benefit education. But according to a report by the Christian Science Monitor, while some state school systems have benefited from lottery revenues, others have received scant additional funding--and some education budgets have actually declined since lotteries were introduced. Currently, 39 U.S. states and the District of Columbia operate lotteries, and 22 states earmark some funds for education. In Illinois, last year's lottery revenue accounted for only 3 percent of state education spending.

Condoms Don't Equal More Sex
Students who attend schools where condoms are available are no more likely to have sex than their peers at schools that bar them, a study in Massachusetts found. In fact, the study reported, teens who can get condoms--from school staff, from school-based health centers--are actually less likely to be sexually active.

The study, published last June in the American Journal of Public Health, also found that schools providing condoms are more likely to give students usage instructions, which helps decrease condom failure rates.

NJEA: They've Got the Power

If you work in a state with collective bargaining, a "last best offer" from your employer is hardly a free magazine subscription. It can be a package of substandard raises, benefits, or conditions you're forced to accept--without even the signature of your Association.

For more than a decade, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) has pushed for a law barring school boards from imposing their "last best" contract offers on employees. That hard work paid off last summer with passage of a law prohibiting any school employer from "unilaterally imposing" its own terms or conditions on its employees.

The legislation addresses a troubling trend in New Jersey bargaining: Since 1968, management negotiators have imposed contracts on nearly 20 local Associations representing public school and county college employees. The new law requires locals and school boards locked in contract disputes to engage in mandatory fact-finding, with full public disclosure of the fact-finder's report. The statute then empowers the state to appoint a "super conciliator" with power to hold investigatory proceedings and order round-the-clock negotiations until a voluntary settlement is reached.

NJEA won strong bipartisan support for the legislation and thwarted efforts to introduce provisions that allow harsh penalties for striking school employees. Association members are thrilled.

This new law "levels the playing field and returns a sense of fairness and balance to the bargaining process," says NJEA President Edithe Fulton. "It eliminates the unfair advantage managers have had over unions, and it will restore employee morale."

Fuzzy Math

Why would you call a nearly 40 percent student drop-out rate a 1.5 percent drop-out rate?

A) Because you want to look good.

B) Because you're very sloppy.

Houston school officials recently picked (B) in a frenzied effort to explain the ingenious bit of bookkeeping unveiled by a state audit. Turns out that thousands of students who should have been recorded as drop-outs had been swapped to other categories, such as "transferred" or "moved." Across this school district once led by U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige--the man President George W. Bush boasted had made the Texas school system a model in accountability--revelation of the trickery was beyond embarrassing. A New York Times editorial called the official drop-out numbers "the educational equivalent of Enron's accounting results."

Ten days later, the Times reported New York City schools fudge their numbers, too, though (thankfully) not as much as Houston.

Grooming World Leaders

In 2002, he was named National Teacher of the Year for the expertise and passion he brought to high school history and social studies. This year, Chauncey Veatch of Riverside County, California, has created an International Leadership Academy for students of all ages.

"As Teacher of the Year, I was able to travel throughout Europe as an education ambassador," says Veatch. What he noticed, he says, were widespread fears--reflected in the media, in the voices of people in war-torn countries--"that America was leading the world without producing enough world leaders."

Veatch says thoughts of his students inspired him at those moments. "My students are exactly the kind of people we want to project onto the world stage," he says. "Why not provide them with the experience and confidence to lead?" Veatch kicked off his project by sending four of his own students to the NASA-sponsored International Space Camp in Alabama.

Veatch sees his Leadership Academy as a national and international entity someday, but he wants to keep making his biggest contribution from the classroom: He'll split his time teaching high school and Head Start and Even Start. "I know the students of California's Coachella Valley," he says. "I know the literacy needs, and the needs of children of migrant workers. That's where I'll keep focusing most of my energy."

Working That Body?

Must mean you're taking the NEA Fitness Challenge! So let us hear from you. Send your team pics and trail tales to www.neahin.org/challenge, where you can always find fresh health tips and advice, and (if you're not yet on board) discover how to sign up for this year-long wellness program.

When High Tuition Pays--And Big

For most of its 30 years, Sallie Mae, or SLM Corp., has been known for giving a helping hand to students by providing them with federally guaranteed loans. Now, with tuition costs soaring and more students seeking loans, the helping hand is reporting deep pockets--and gigantic profits.

Sallie Mae, which has diversified over the years and now offers a variety of education loans, including loans to attend private K-12 schools, nearly tripled its earnings in the past year. The corporation reported a net income of $372.7 million in the second quarter of 2003--up from $126 million in the second quarter of 2002. The corporation currently manages more than $80 billion in student loans for more than seven million borrowers.

Cut Up By Costs? Tell Congress!

If you're still trying to remember where all your hard-earned cash went last year, here's something to put in your pencil case: Teachers spend, on average, $501 a year for classroom supplies not provided by their districts--and new teachers shell out more than $700.

Congress acknowledged this little secret last year by passing a law that allows teachers and paraeducators a $250 maximum deduction for classroom supplies--even if they don't itemize. This statute expires on December 31, and NEA is lobbying hard for replacement legislation--but with improvements.

The proposed bill, the Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2003, or H.R. 785, would make the tax relief in the old bill permanent, increase the maximum deduction to $400, and extend the write-off to professional development expenses. The bill recognizes that "teachers and paraeducators need help to meet some of the costs of becoming 'highly qualified' under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act," says NEA lobbyist Steve Nousen.

As of August, H.R. 785 had 148 House cosponsors, but it needs a strong push from NEA members to become law. Contact your House member through www.nea.org/lac, and note how long you've been in the classroom and how much you spend out of pocket annually for classroom supplies or training not provided by your district.

Book Focus
Talking With Parents--Effectively

If you get a little clammy at the mere thought of conferences with parents, a noted Harvard education professor says she understands why.

In her new book, The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn From Each Other (Random House), Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot argues that too many parent-teacher meetings are anxious, unconscious replays of the adults' own haunting childhood experiences--rather than productive sessions focused on the needs of the child.

"There's too little training in parent-teacher dialogue, and too much ritual surrounding the meetings, so adults are likely to act out their own defensiveness rather than make real progress," says Lawrence-Lightfoot. "We know from research that the proper involvement of the parent in a child's education is critical--more important than social or economic background--so we need to reshape the parent-teacher relationship."

How to do it? The author says by building trust, including children in meetings, and shooing the "ghosts" that say conferences are confrontational, criticism-driven events. Most importantly, she says teachers must broaden the very definition of the parent-teacher "conversation." No longer should it revolve around a twice-a-year meeting. Essential, she says, is a nurturing, year-long partnership--for the good of the child.

A Great Start

The Hempfield Area Induction and Mentor Program must be doing something right, because in the last six years, only one new hire has left the local school district, located near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Under the program, which has evolved since it began in 1983, all new hires spend three years with their mentors, attending full-day workshops, conferences, and sessions on the legal aspects of teaching. It's been so successful that it received national recognition this summer by winning a 2003 NEA-Saturn/UAW Partnership Award. The annual awards recognize local Associations and school administrations that have developed effective new teacher programs.

The day-to-day, practical advice mentors give new teachers is crucial to their success, says social studies teacher Rich Redmerski, one of the district's mentors. But good mentoring is not just providing information, he says. "It's making sure that person becomes part of the community of educators," says Redmerski, vice president of the Hempfield Area Education Association.

Good mentoring also takes time--and money. Hempfield spends more than $3,000 per new teacher to pay for substitutes on workshop days and provide $600 annual stipends for the mentors. The result is a highly skilled staff with dramatically low turnover. "Our new hires are the best we can get," says NEA member Sue Bosley, Hempfield's staff development leader, "and we want to keep them."

--Cheryl Ross

Baby Face

I started teaching special education at the middle school level 24 years ago. At the time, I shared a classroom and a desk drawer with another special education teacher. One day I was sitting with my older students discussing a lesson when a distinguished looking woman hurriedly threw open the door to my room. She asked, in a rather stern voice, "Where is your teacher?" I slowly raised my hand and meekly said, "Here I am." Later, when I went to get my lunch in the cafeteria line, the cook also thought I was a student and reprimanded me, saying that only teachers could cut ahead of the students! I laugh just thinking about those "good old days" when people mistook me for a student.

--Nancy Grant
Special education teacher
Villisca, Iowa

Got a story?
Do you have a funny or interesting story about your early years in the classroom? E-mail kloschert@nea.org. Please include your name, job title, and the city and state where you work.

Two-Minute Tips

Oops, My Name!
Sometimes it is difficult to get students to put their names on their assignments, so I leave a container of highlighters next to the assignment shelves. I ask my students to highlight their names before turning in their papers. If their names are not there, they notice and remember to include them before submitting their work.

--Denise White
Winder, Georgia

Buddy Sticks
At the beginning of the year, I write each student's name on a large craft stick, which I store in a container labeled "buddy sticks." I use the buddy sticks to team students for group activities, select classroom helpers, choose giveaway winners, and call on students during question-and-answer sessions. This ensures students are chosen fairly and I don't feel like I favor one student over another.

--Kim Downs
Columbia, Kentucky

Spray It Clean
When I use the overhead projector, I keep a spray bottle of water and a roll of paper towels by the machine. That way I don't have to constantly get wet paper towels to clean the transparencies.

-Debbie Barber
Canby, Oregon

NEA 200, Laidlaw 0

Score one for the home team. Members of the Salem-Keizer Association of Classified Employees in Oregon saved the jobs of 200 transportation employees by convincing their school board not to privatize the services.

With help from NEA, the Oregon Education Association, and UniServ consultants, ESP members met with parents, school district officials, and school board members to rally support against a proposed takeover by Laidlaw, a private transportation company.

Laidlaw offered to save the system $500,000 a year, but the Association showed the district the cost effectiveness of the existing system, says Janet McIntire, past president of the local. In fact, Salem-Keizer has one of the lowest per pupil transportation costs in the state. But, more importantly, notes McIntire, the ESPs impressed school officials with their commitment to their jobs and to their students.

"We work to make the ride home and to school a continuation of what happens in the classroom," says Susan Wheeler, a driver for 11 years. "If there were private drivers, there would be a RIF and that would be a disservice to the students."

Double Standard?

What's good for the goose is good for the gander, but apparently it isn't good enough for administrators.

After three years as superintendent of schools in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Wilfredo Laboy has never passed the state's basic teacher licensure exam, a requirement for all state educators. But even after three failures, he's managed to keep his job.

Amazing? More than you know. Turns out that Laboy suspended 24 teachers earlier this year for failing a separate English proficiency test.

But not to fear. Laboy could be next. The state board of education has given him until year's end to pass the exam--or take a hike.

Moving Declaration

In 1776, colonists carried fresh copies of the newly printed Declaration of Independence on horseback up and down the east coast, reading them out loud in town squares to galvanize their compatriots to take government into their own hands.

This year, one copy from that original mass printing (from July 4 and 5, 1776, in Philadelphia) is being carried around the country to galvanize young people to take matters into their own hands--by voting. This copy, one of only 25 known to exist, was discovered in 1989, tucked behind a painting bought at a flea market for $4. Television and film producer Norman Lear bought it as the centerpiece for a campaign to boost participation in democracy by young people.

"I had a great sense that people need to connect with the values, 'All men are created equal, endowed by their creator with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,' those great words," said Lear.

He was right. "People stand in line, kids in tow, for an hour and a half to experience the document," he says. "And they walk away palpably moved--you can see eyes puddling in some cases. We've had 700,000 people so far."

A teacher guide and curriculum materials, including a reading of the document by a galaxy of television and movie stars, are available for downloading free at www.IndependenceRoadTrip.org. You'll also find a schedule for the journey.

Ghosts, Goblins, Sugar Rushes, Oh Yeah?

Well, not everywhere. From coast to coast, schools are swapping traditional Halloween festivities for "Fall Harvest" parties, canceling costume parades and candy-filled celebrations, and allowing students to opt out of class. What's spurring the trend? Health and safety concerns, aversions to scary costumes, and religious opposition to "pagan" and "satanic" themes. But don't ponder the thought of Halloween carrot sticks and celery for too long. For the most part, sugar-filled school afternoons continue full throttle. And is it any wonder? According to parentcenter.com, Halloween candy grosses about $1.93 billion annually; indeed, one-quarter of all candy sales occur between September 15 and November 10. Costumes are right behind in the running; some $1.5 billion gets spent on them yearly. Brace yourselves.

Smile

Teachers hear all kinds of stories about why students don't have their homework. Here's my favorite:
A mother picked up her sick first-grade son's homework and while driving home, she noticed a bag of "birthday treats." Having had a rough day--sick child, doctor's office, etc.--she helped herself to a few of the treats.

Later in the evening, she panicked when she tried to help her son with his homework: all five worksheets had to do with the gummy bears she thought were a "birthday treat." How many did she eat? Were they orange, green, or red? Rather than risk her son's teacher thinking her child couldn't read, write, or calculate, the mom had to confess: "I ate my son's homework."

--Barbara Koski
Warren, Ohio

One of my junior high students just got her braces. I asked her about the experience and who her orthodontist was.
Amazingly, it was the same one I had used when I was in junior high, since I still live in my hometown. I commented, "Wow, I didn't realize that he was still practicing."

She responded, "Oh, he's not--he's doing it for real now."

--Kristi Morris
Goleta, California

Have a funny school story, anecdote or vignette you'd like to share?

By mail:
NEA Today
1201 16th St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

By e-mail:
neatoday@nea.org

Through the Web:
www.nea.org/neatoday

State Report

October 2003   

Alaska

Last summer, NEA-Alaska filed suit to block the layoff of three tenured teachers in Haines and two in Hoonah. The Hoonah district responded by offering the two teachers their positions back.

But despite its failure to document even a 3 percent drop in enrollment, Haines laid off six teachers--amounting to 20 percent of its teaching staff--and cited the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as the basis for "retaining or non-retaining" staff.

A reminder to all districts: Except for new Title I teachers hired in the 2002-03 school year, ESEA does not require teachers currently in the profession to become "highly qualified" until the end of the 2005-06 school year.

Nevada
A lawsuit filed by the Nevada State Education Association (NSEA) strongly influenced a July state Supreme Court decision ordering the legislature to fulfill its constitutional obligations to "raise sufficient revenues to fund education while maintaining a balanced budget."

That same month, legislators reached a funding compromise--avoiding a statewide school shutdown--after NSEA members contacted them en masse and marched in rallies.

"We constantly reminded legislators of their commitment to fund the education budget and did not let them forget the students, teachers, and support professionals," says NSEA President Terry Hickman. "In the end, we walked away with the budget for which we fought."

Texas
Don't mess with NEA people in Texas. In the last legislative session, Texas State Teachers Association members logged in more than 20,000 phone calls to the state Capitol and helped defeat more than 39 bad bills--including measures to create vouchers and "home-rule" districts, water down certification and classroom standards, weaken educator due process rights, and reduce personal leave days and contract rights.

North Carolina
Grassroots lobbying by members of the North Carolina Association of Educators has successfully restored $17 million in cuts for vocational education and $15 million in cuts for teacher assistants. Among other things, the final budget preserves free employee-only coverage under the State Health Plan and provides $50.6 million to reduce class sizes in the second grade.

Massachusetts
Massachusetts Teachers Association President Catherine A. Boudreau has slammed Governor Mitt Romney for "adding insult to injury" by granting pay raises to 2,700 state agency managers "while he and the legislature continue to renege on their obligation to fund the negotiated raises of 8,000 state higher education employees." They have not had a pay increase in three years.

Delaware
Members of the Delaware State Education Association (DSEA) have successfully lobbied for a bill requiring that collective bargaining agreements between public school employers and employees include binding arbitration for grievances. This legislation has been a DSEA priority for many years.

Washington
A state appeals court has handed the Washington Education Association (WEA) a major victory, overturning a lower court decision and declaring that a state campaign-finance law--which bars unions from using nonmembers' fees for political activity without their permission--violates the U.S. Constitution and is an undue burden on union members' rights.

The judge in the lower court ruled incorrectly that WEA intentionally used money from agency fee payers for political purposes without authorization. The case originated with the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, an anti-public education group.

Indiana
Many Midwestern states have responded to the national recession by cutting public education funding across the board. But thanks to intensive lobbying and rallying by the members of the Indiana State Teachers Association, legislators there have offered school districts the ability to access (on a statewide average basis) a 3.3 percent increase for this school year and a 2.9 percent increase next year.

Vermont
Seven years after the Milton school district laid off 11 custodians--and following no fewer than six hearings before an arbitrator, the Vermont Labor Relations Board, and the Vermont Supreme Court--Vermont-NEA has won these employees' right to return to their jobs, along with back pay and benefits.

Minnesota
Governor Tim Pawlenty has named Education Minnesota President Judy Schaubach to a 20-member task force that will consider ways to overhaul the state's K-12 education funding system. Pawlenty says his goal is a new school finance formula that is "fair, equitable, understandable, and also places more emphasis on student performance."

Rural Schools

October 2003   

Ride and Read

Photo by Chris Hall

Spend a morning with rural Kentucky bus driver Tim Southern and witness a classroom on wheels. (Just look out for motion sickness.)

By John O'Neil

Climbing a steep hill, then whipping down an impossibly narrow path, Tim Southern guides his bus through the hollers of northeastern Kentucky. Dawn is just breaking, but Southern's 78-passenger Amtran bus is beginning to hum with activity.

"Stephanie, you need help with science?" he asks as a batch of students board the bus, rubbing sleep from their eyes. "Why don't you sit with Michelle and talk it over."

"We've got CATS testing coming up," Southern reminds his charges as they open their books. "If you need extra help, drop a piece of paper in the cup up here."

"How are you doing on your multiplication tables, Jack?" he asks one boy. "I finished them," is the reply. "Well, be sure to thank Whitney for helping you," Southern cajoles.

For Southern and his Lawrence County colleagues, delivering on public education's promise means literally plucking students from the deep reaches of the hollers and delivering them to safe, clean schools. Southern hops aboard the bus at 5:20 a.m., putting in 87 highway miles before heading up into more mountainous terrain. He makes his first pickup at 6:30 a.m. and doesn't drop the last group of students at school until 7:45.

That's a long ride, and Southern makes sure not a minute is wasted. He's got his kids reading, tutoring one another, and reciting classics like the Constitution's preamble by heart.

"When I first started the route, we had some discipline problems," Southern explains. "I thought--we're wasting too much time here." His twin daughters were then taking part in the district's Accelerated Reading program, which rewards students for reading approved books and answering comprehension questions. Southern figured kids on the route could earn points in the program by reading books during the long stretches to and from school. "Before long, we had a classroom on wheels."

The obstacles facing students on Southern's route are apparent from the winding asphalt and gravel roads through Tadpole and Peach Orchard hollers. ("They call it Peach Orchard, but there's not a peach to be found there," Southern notes.) The route is dotted with ramshackle dwellings and rusted trailers. Lawrence County, with a population of about 15,000, "is the fourth largest county and one of the poorest in the commonwealth," Southern says. At some stops on the route, parents have to drive their kids down to meet the bus because "you can't begin to get a bus up to them."

Once inside the bus, though, students can't escape Southern's playful, nudging guidance, as he quizzes them on their sports teams or their homework. As they climb aboard, several students drop a slip of paper requesting special help in Southern's coffee mug. He'll then ask a teacher if a pupil can do an extra credit assignment to raise a grade, or he may pair up a kid who's weak in a subject with a seatmate who excels in that class.

Transporting students of all ages, Southern finds ways to keep them focused on learning. Friday is current events day, with older pupils reading to the youngest. There are weekly practice spelling quizzes. Reading is the most popular pastime. Southern established a small library of books on tapes (Harry Potter novels are the biggest draw) to pique the students' interest.

The effort's paying off. In the district's Accelerated Reading program, kids on Southern's route last year held down three of the top ten spots in elementary school, three in middle school, and two in secondary school.

He's also proud of kids like Josh, who has spent three years in the eighth grade. Southern paired Josh with Nichole, who helped him with his science--and kept him on task. "Last week, Josh announced to the whole bus that he'd passed his science test," Southern says. "The self-respect was written all over his face."

Southern, who doubles as a paraeducator working with special needs students between his morning and afternoon bus runs, previously served nine years as Lawrence County's police chief. He likes his current job just fine.

"I like to think it's easier to reward than to punish," he explains." I used to go home each night mentally drained. Now, something happens every day on the bus or in a classroom that lets me know I've made a difference. With a little encouragement, some of the poorest students have become stars."

Retirement

October 2003   

Taking Care

Photo by Norman Y. Lono

What do you do when a parent or spouse needs a caregiver? NEA-Retired members who have been there offer insights.

By John O'Neil

In 60 years together, Eleanor and Vic Daut traveled the world, getting their passports stamped in Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean islands. But their life since Vic suffered a stroke in 1992 has been an altogether different kind of journey. Vic has had a series of health setbacks since the stroke and now spends three-fourths of his time in bed. He broke his hip recently and needs help feeding himself and using the bathroom. Eleanor cares for Vic, with the part-time help of a nurse's aide.

"Our life together before the stroke was so active," says Eleanor, who taught special needs students in Bergen County, New Jersey, before retiring in 1994 to care for Vic. "We traveled all over the world and had a home in Florida where we vacationed. Vic also spent a lot of time working with me. I was the yearbook advisor, and Vic was the one providing support at all the flea markets and spaghetti dinners" raising money for school programs.

Now Eleanor provides the support, navigating the rewarding but stressful role of primary caregiver. "It's a 24-hour-a-day job, even if you have help," says Daut, a former local president and chief negotiator in Bergen County and now a member of the New Jersey Education Association-Retired. "It's hard to make schedules to do anything. I still get up at night and go to Vic's room to check on his breathing."

Eleanor and Vic are backed up by excellent retiree health coverage negotiated years ago by her local, the Bergen County Vocational Technical Education Association. "Everything we've needed [for Vic's care] was provided by the fringe benefits we bargained for," including a hospital bed for home and a custom wheelchair. Other NEA-Retired members serving as caregivers also cite the health benefits bargained by the Association for helping them through an extremely challenging period.

As Americans live longer, more seniors require assistance with activities of daily living (ADL), such as dressing, eating, or bathing. With costs of nursing facilities and home health care rising sharply, informal caregivers, such as spouses, sons, and daughters, are picking up much of the slack. The number of households where at least one person over 50 needs help performing ADLs is expected to grow from 23 million to 39 million by 2007, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance. Fifty-two percent of family caregivers also juggle full-time jobs, while 16 percent are retired. Caregiving falls predominantly on women; about 7 of 10 unpaid caregivers are female.

Barbara Axelrod is a typical caregiver. In 2000, she retired from her teaching job in New Jersey and moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, to care for her mother, Ray, now 92. At first, Ray just needed a little help, but she's battled health problems since then that have created limitations for her. "Until she was hospitalized in December [for an infection], she was climbing trails in a local park," Axelrod says. But the illness took a lot out of her. Ray was in the hospital 12 days and lost 12 pounds. Though she needed the medical care, Ray rebelled at the hospital environment, Axelrod says. "At home we take her out for walks or sit outside. She likes her own bed and having family come to visit her in her home." A home health aide helps out daily, allowing Axelrod to run errands and take some time for herself.

Caregiving is an expression of love that can strengthen the bond between those giving and receiving the care. But it can be a strain for caregivers as they try to cope with myriad demands--from the emotional pain of witnessing a spouse's or parent's slow slide into dementia to the physical challenge of hoisting a loved one in and out of bed. The caregiver's own health sometimes falls by the wayside--with serious consequences.

Caregivers use prescription drugs for the treatment of insomnia, anxiety, and depression at rates two to three times the general population, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance. Depression is a common problem; about one-half of women and one-third of men who are caregivers experience depression.

Florida Education Association-Retired member John Haass fought depression while caring for his wife, Carol, who suffered from an unusual infection that baffled doctors and severely limited her activities for almost two years. John took on increasing responsibilities for Carol's care, from helping her to the bathroom to giving her IV antibiotics, all the while trying to navigate the Byzantine world of hospitals, nursing homes, and insurance coverage.

The stress became too much. "I became quite depressed and had to go on antidepressants and have four or five sessions with a psychologist," says Haass. "We had been married for 48 years and were best friends, and it just tore me up that there didn't seem to be anything they could do about it. We thought we were fighting a disease that was going to kill her in the end." (Fortunately, Carol's condition, and her self-sufficiency, have improved considerably since last year.)

Many caregivers also confront money problems and the confusing gaps in insurance coverage when their loved one is shifted between hospital care, nursing homes, and home care. Medicare and Medicaid severely limit coverage of medical supplies and services for home care, and all private health insurance plans have gaps and exclusions.

Anne Burks, who cares for her husband, Bill, credits the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) with ensuring that its members have access to strong retiree health care. She's enrolled in a premium plan that has covered many of Bill's expenses that might otherwise have to be paid out of pocket. "GAE is the reason we have this health insurance, and that has been a blessing," says Burks. "The bills have not hurt us as they would some other people."

Burks says GAE-Retired members provided support as she coped with her husband's decline into dementia. She continued to take Bill to state retired meetings--an activity that helped to sustain her--and members kept an eye out for him as Anne participated in the sessions. "I've gotten wonderful support from my family, my church, and my friends in the Association," she says.

John Haass got letters and calls from leaders in FEA-Retired and offers of assistance. "We try to help one another out," he says. "When people ask, 'What can I do to help?' you've got to say, 'Can you take the shopping list or sit with Carol for a bit while I take a walk?'" Local and state Retired organizations also stand with NEA-Retired by providing speakers at Association meetings and other information on caregiving issues. And NEA Member Benefits offers a range of policies to protect caregivers and their loved ones, including Medicare Supplements and long-term care insurance. (For more on long-term care insurance, see "Should You Buy?").

If you're currently a caregiver, or soon will be, NEA-Retired members offer these tips for getting by:

Educate yourself.

You're going to have to learn a lot about the medical issues facing the person for whom you'll provide care--as well as the care options and insurance coverage that may apply. Michigan member Delphine Rogers' husband, Dick, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) in 1999. She read whatever she could on the disease, did research on the Internet, consulted the local chapter of the ALS foundation, and interviewed occupational and healing touch therapists. The knowledge helped her plan for Dick's care as the disease advanced--and eased some of her uncertainty and stress. She was beginning to research options for hospice care when Dick passed away earlier this year.

Speak up with health professionals.

"Being a patient advocate is really important," stresses John Haass. "You've got to be involved in everything; you can't just say, 'We'll turn it over to the doctors at the hospital or the home health care aide.'" That means asking questions and--if necessary--getting second opinions or taking your concerns up the chain of command. When Carol Haass was hospitalized, John observed her condition declining dramatically one day. Hospital staff were awaiting the results of a lung scan when John, desperate, noticed a surgeon who had operated on Carol previously come through the wing. John grabbed him and insisted he see Carol, and the doctor ordered her into intensive care immediately. John shudders to think what may have happened if they had continued waiting for test results.

Pursue other outlets.

When possible, keep up with hobbies or other outlets to recharge your batteries. Haass, who continued to serve as president of Gulf Coast UniServ-Retired during Carol's illness, says the duties helped shift his focus and "got him out of the hospital for a while." New Jersey member Eleanor Daut volunteers with a dispute resolution committee that supports the local courts by working out community complaints and disputes before they end up in front of a judge. Axelrod takes Hebrew and Yiddish classes and is considering piano lessons. "You've got to get out of the house," she says.

For many caregivers, the increasing demands are balanced by the deepening of their relationships as they enter a new phase of love and understanding. Says Daut: "Vic and I spend our time reflecting upon the past and all the traveling we did and the great times we've had. We're never very far from one another. By caring for Vic for 11 years, I've been his left- and right-hand helper as he was for me earlier in my career. I know God will never give me more than I can handle as his caregiver."

"Caregiving is a journey into the unknown," adds Axelrod. "You never know what each day will bring."

Should You Buy Long-Term Care Insurance?

While costs for long-term care in a nursing facility or at home are increasing rapidly, many people don't realize that health insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid will cover only a fraction of the bill.

The national average for nursing home care is $137 a day--or about $50,000 per year. Medicare covers no more than 100 days in a nursing home for rehabilitation and nursing services, following a recent hospitalization. Medicaid pays a portion of nursing home costs, but individuals must pay costs out of pocket until their assets drop enough to qualify for the program. Not the best option.

Long-term care (LTC) insurance attempts to fill in some of these gaps in coverage. A typical policy provides a "daily benefit amount" for covered services, which may include a room at a nursing facility, adult day care, or costs for medical equipment or beds. Your premium will be affected by the level of benefit you choose.

LTC insurance makes the most sense if you have significant assets to protect and can pay the premiums without unduly affecting your lifestyle. Your premiums will be lower if you buy a policy when you're younger, but you'll also run the risk of purchasing coverage that won't fit your needs much later in life.

Some tips when planning for financing long-term care:

Don't be pressured. Some agents use scare tactics or push you to make a hasty decision. Take your time and get the policy terms in writing.

Research your options. LTC insurance helps relieve the burden of long-term care costs. But there may be other sources of money you could use--such as a reverse mortgage or a disability or life insurance policy that could be converted.

Shop around. If you do decide to buy an LTC policy, make sure to compare policies from several different reputable companies. Make a list of the kind of features you want in a policy--such as home care coverage and inflation protection that increases benefits to reflect future costs--and make sure each policy you consider has all the qualities you're seeking. If necessary, consult an objective geriatric care or case manager to guide you.

--J.O.

A good general source is A Shopper's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance, from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. NAIC, 2301 McGhee St., Suite 800, Kansas City, MO 64108; 816-842-3600; www.naic.org.

NEA-Retired: In Your Corner

The NEA-Retired program, the official retired organization dedicated to the priorities of NEA members, advocates for strong retirement benefits, such as pensions and health insurance. If you or a loved one should need long-term care, these benefits can help to protect your financial security.

You can join NEA-Retired as a lifetime "pre-retired" member, if you are currently an Active NEA member, or join upon your retirement from active service. For more information on the benefits of membership, contact your state affiliate's retired program. Or contact NEA-Retired, 1201 16th St., N.W., Suite 410, Washington, DC 20036.

Resources

October 2003   

Pitfalls and Potholes

NEA Professional Library Book Cover

A Checklist for Avoiding Common Mistakes of Beginning Teachers
By Barbara A. Murray and Kenneth T. Murray
NEA Checklist Series
56 pp. $4.50 NEA members, $5.95 nonmembers
NEA Professional Library, www.nea.org/books

[Book Excerpt]
The nation's workforce of beginning teachers is changing. New teachers are coming to the profession with higher levels of maturity and more varied life experiences. Many of these teachers also leave the education field for other professions because of job dissatisfaction growing out of concerns about a range of issues, from managing student conduct, to balancing school and home life, to dealing with legal issues.

Not only is this attrition a serious loss of good teaching talent, but it is also a waste of the time and resources that went into readying those ex-teachers for the classroom.

Many of the pitfalls encountered by beginning teachers could be avoided if new teachers were simply forewarned, so they would know what to look for. This publication is...a road map around many of the potholes that beginning teachers can encounter on the road to success....

Managing Student Conduct
Teachers and administrators agree that a major concern of all educators is managing student conduct. Our survey of administrators shows that the most troublesome behavior for beginning teachers is the confrontational student.... Remember that effective teachers manage student conduct with the force of their personalities. Focus on preventing student conduct problems so you can spend less time and effort remediating such problems. School principals suggest that beginning teachers should observe the following practices to ensure effective management of student conduct.

• Recognize that you are always the adult, and refrain from getting too close to the students.

• When working with students on school-related projects such as musicals, drama productions, and athletic events, engage only in those social activities that are designed to build rapport and encourage the students. Prudently invite other professional adults such as assistant coaches, directors, and, perhaps, parent booster club members to provide additional support for you and the activity.

• Learn the building policies related to student conduct. You may be able to avoid many student conduct problems simply by being able to recite specific behavior expectations, along with the procedures for administering consequences.

• Familiarize yourself with school policy regarding weapons, threats of physical violence, and school safety in general.

• Resist the temptation to make threats that you do not have the authority to carry out. Most state laws, for example, limit the authority to suspend a student from school to the building principals and their designees.

• Make a practice of speaking privately to individual students about inappropriate conduct. Do not "bait" the student, requiring him or her to save face in front of friends. This could result in a shouting match or worse.

• Establish and regularly communicate classroom rules and procedures. Post and review them frequently with students.

• Manage the class by "walking around" and achieving proximity with as many students as possible, especially those students who are easily distracted.

• Plan your activities to maintain instructional momentum. For example, take attendance while students are engaged in some seat work.

• Learn to do more than one thing at a time. For example, begin orienting students to lesson topics while distributing materials.

About the Authors

Barbara A. Murray is associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Central Florida. She has been a district superintendent, high school and middle school principal, and a teacher at the elementary and secondary levels. She has a Ph.D. in educational administration at Indiana State University. Kenneth T. Murray has worked in public schools as a teacher, high school principal, and superintendent of schools. Now an associate professor of school law at the University of Central Florida, he has a Ph.D. in school administration from Indiana State University and a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law.

NEA Professional Library Resources

More books for beginning teachers. Order online at www.nea.org/books or call 800-229-4200.

The First Year Teacher Teaching with Confidence (K-8), Revised Edition
By Karen Bosch and Katherine Kersey
168 pp. $16.95 members, $20.95 nonmembers
NEA's guide for beginning teachers offers step-by-step daily plans, scripts for parent-teacher conferences, strategies for managing paperwork, and solutions for common discipline problems.

Bright Ideas: A Pocket Mentor for Beginning Teachers, Revised Edition
By Mary C. Clement
56 pp. $4.50 members, $5.95 nonmembers
A handy guide filled with practical tips for new teachers--how to prepare personally and professionally for your new job, how to create a workable classroom management plan, and winning techniques for communicating with colleagues, administrators, and parents.

Best of Teacher-to-Teacher; The Ultimate Beginner's Guide
Teacher-to-Teacher Series
120 pp. $12.95 members, $15.95 nonmembers
Beginning teachers from around the country share their favorite chapters from NEA's teacher-to-teacher series.

The Discipline Checklist; Advice from 60 Successful Teachers Revised Edition
By Ken Kosier
56 pp. $4.50 members, $5.95 nonmembers
Sixty successful teachers share their secrets for maintaining discipline and motivating today's students.

How To Get Grants and Free Stuff
Teacher-to-Teacher Series
96 pp. $9.95 members, $12.95 nonmembers
Find out how enterprising teachers get free resources for their classrooms--fromcomputer equipment to thousands of dollars in grants.

Books by NEA Members

The First Year English Teacher's Guide to Beartraps: 103 Ways to Avoid Common Teaching Errors
By Jon Potter
Help is here for new English teachers from a fellow English teacher. Potter's book consists of four sections, each explaining how things really work in high schools and how to avoid the traps of over-commitment, classroom management, unruly student behavior, and school politics. Topics include office help, parents, substitutes, homework, plagiarism, and school policies and unwritten rules. 236 pp. $18.69 plus s&h from Xlibris Corporation. To order, go to www1.xlibris.com/bookstore or e-mail ser-pott@midcoast.com.

Try Kindness
By Richard L. Biren, illustrated by Harry Norcross
Bullying, fighting, lying, stealing...school principals spend a lot of time dealing with students accountable for these acts. Try Kindness, for grades 3-5, promotes positive student behavior by addressing an appreciation for honesty, respect, and a caring attitude. The book features 37 lessons, each having a defined purpose for developing and promoting kind actions in the classroom as well as at home. The author has more than 24 years' experience as a school counselor. 208 pp. $16.95 plus $6 s&h from Mar*co Products. To order, call 800-448-2197.

Student's Vegetarian Cookbook--Quick, Easy, Cheap, and Tasty Vegetarian Recipes (Revised)
By Carole Raymond
One hundred and forty-two low-cost, vegetarian dishes that require simple ingredients fill this book. Choose from the Hot Lips Fajita, Pad Thai, and Postmodern Chocolate Pudding. Or, go to the "Top 10 List of No-Time-to-Cook Meals" that the author includes. Raymond, a teacher, counsels people on diet and nutrition. 259 pp. $12.95 from Three Rivers Press, Random House Publishers. To order, go to www.randomhouse.com.

After Elaine
By Ann L. Dreyer
Dreyer, a special education teacher for 14 years, writes her first novel as an honest depiction of a family coping with tragedy. After Elaine deals with a rebellious teen's life and accidental death and of her younger sister Gina's struggle to understand the destructive effect it has on their family. Although Gina is aware of Elaine's mistakes, she feels herself experiencing the same anger and despair. 129 pp. $16.95 from Carus Publishing, Cricket Books. To order, go to www.cricketmag.com.

In Print

See Girls Succeed
Many successful women start out as average young girls, but to follow their dreams, they use ambition to overcome self-confidence issues. Dr. Sylvia Rimm's new book, See Jane Win for Girls: A Smart Girl's Guide to Success, helps young ladies realize their full potential and shape their own futures. The book offers motivational tips and lessons, along with advice from real women including congresswomen and TV news anchors. 144 pp. $13.95 from Free Spirit Publishing. To order, visit www.freespirit.com or call 800-735-7323.

Better Schools and Gardens
Schoolyard Mosaics: Designing Gardens and Habitats, by the National Gardening Association, offers advice and tips for creating schoolyard gardens and involving students in the process. Full of diagrams and instructions, the book includes 12 detailed school garden maps and provides examples of integrating nature into curriculums and educational goals. 56 pp. $19.95 from the National Gardening Association. To order, visit http://store.yahoo.com/nationalgardening/11-4508.html or call 800-538-7476.

From Fingers to Calculators
Teach children how numbers were developed and why we need them with Vivian French and Ross Collins' From Zero to Ten: The Story of Numbers. The entertaining book begins with cavepeople and travels through time educating young students on the basics of counting, money, measurement, time, and more. 32 pp. $16.95 from Oxford University Press. To order, visit www.oup-usa.org or call 800-451-7556.

Voices of Courage
Silent No More: Voices of Courage in American Schools, from ReLeah Cossett Lent and Gloria Pipkin, is a collection of compelling stories from teachers and administrators who voiced concerns over public education at the risk of losing their jobs. The narratives depict courage against harmful trends in education and the stories demonstrate love for students by those who truly care. This book will inspire you with tales of the narrators' victories. 160 pp. $17 from Heinemann. To order, visit www.heinemann.com.

A Librarian's Reference Book
Today's technological advances are causing various legal issues that can overwhelm libraries with new troubles. The Library's Legal Answer Book can help librarians overcome these obstacles. Written in question and answer form, Mary Minow and Tomas A. Lipinski's easy to use reference book moves smoothly from topic to topic, offering detailed, current solutions to more than 600 quandaries. 350 pp. $48 from the American Library Association. To order, visit www.alastore.ala.org or call 866-746-7252.

Fitness Made Simpler for Kids
An estimated 15 percent of children and adolescents are overweight, and poor nutrition and lack of physical activity have been proven to cause lower academic success. With Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper's Fit Kids! The Complete Shape-Up Program from Birth through High School, parents can help their children attain healthy lifestyles through diet and exercise. Training instructions, meal plans, and innovative ideas to promote fitness and mental achievement in young students are included. 418 pp. $14.99 from Broadman & Holman Publishers. To order, visit www.broadmanholman.com or call 800-251-3225.

What's Up at HIN

Enforcement of Gun Laws

NEA and the NEA Health Information Network are working with law enforcement and elected officials to improve enforcement of existing gun laws. Americans for Gun Safety, a partner in NEA's Gun Safety Project, produced a 2003 report revealing that 20 of the nation's 22 national gun laws are not enforced. Eighty-five percent of cases prosecuted relate to street criminals in possession of firearms.

Ignored are laws intended to punish illegal gun trafficking, firearm theft, corrupt gun dealers, lying on a criminal background check form, obliterating firearm serial numbers, selling guns to minors, and possessing a gun in a school zone.

For more about gun crime in your state, visit http://w3.agsfoundation.com/. For related resources from NEA HIN, visit www.neahin.org/gunsafety.

Radon Poster Contest

Did you know that 20,000 people in the United States die from lung cancer each year because of indoor radon exposure? Join NEA HIN in recognizing October as Radon Action Month! As part of Radon Action Month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with Healthy Indoor Air for America's Homes, are sponsoring the 2004 Radon Action Month Poster Contest for middle school children. Poster contest themes include: radon awareness, radon risk reduction, and the hazards associated with radon.

To find out how your school can participate, visit www.healthyindoorair.org or contact Barb Allen at 406-994-3531. The contest closes on October 24. For more on radon and its health effects, visit www.epa.gov/radon/.

Healthy Schools Caucus Launched

More than 100 delegates left the 2003 Representative Assembly ready to make a difference as members of the newly formed Healthy Schools Caucus. Launched by Pennsylvania delegate Tom Humensky, Oregon delegate Carolyn Smith-Evans, and Maryland delegate Claire Turner, the caucus co-founders hope to raise awareness about various school indoor air quality issues such as mold, asbestos, and chemical exposure. Other school health issues, including nutrition and stress, will also be addressed.

To read more about the Healthy Schools Caucus and to find out how you can join, visit www.neahin.org/programs/environmental/index.htm.

Add CLASS to Your Community

NEA Student Program members who want to make a difference in the community take note: your student chapter could be the recipient of the next CLASS grant. CLASS (Community Learning through America'S SchoolS) grants answer two of today's most vital needs: building community support for public education and addressing critical educational and social problems facing our communities.

To support the NEA student members making a difference, NEA provides grants of up to $1,000 to fund CLASS projects--outreach projects that address a specific community need and involve a local NEA Student Program chapter and a preK-12 teacher, education support professional, higher education, or retired affiliate.

CLASS Grants have funded local efforts to:

• have a book drive

• conduct a fund-raiser for school supplies and materials

• offer after-school tutoring

• work with a center for at-risk children

• participate in adult-learning programs

• support Big Brothers-Big Sisters of America Inc.

NEA CLASS grants are meant to be a one-time-only award used to fund the start-up and maintenance of the activity.

For more on applying for CLASS grants, visit www.nea.org/student-program/programs/class.html or contact Malcolm Staples at 202-822-7123, mstaples@nea.org.

Connections Conference coming

Don't miss this year's Student Program Connections Conference, November 14-16 in Las Vegas, Nevada, The conference focuses on professional development for future teachers. For more, visit the Student Program Web site at www.nea.org/student-program/.

Fund Your Big Ideas

The NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE) offers hundreds of grants up to $5,000 per project to fund your BIG ideas. The mission of the Foundation is to ensure that all students succeed.

Applications for Innovation and Learning & Leadership grants are accepted on an ongoing, year-round basis. Grants applicants who submit applications by February 1 will be notified by June 15, and applicants who submit applications by June 1 will be notified by November 15. Proposals received after these dates will be included in the next cycle. Grants fund activities for 12 months from the award date.

Innovation Grants fund break-the-mold innovations that significantly improve achievement for underserved learners. Learning & Leadership Grants provide opportunities to engage in high-quality professional development and lead colleagues in professional growth. These grants are available for all subjects, including the arts, literacy, science, and technology.

All practicing U.S. public school teachers in grades K-12, education support professionals, or higher education faculty and staff at public colleges and universities are eligible to apply, with preference given to members of NEA. The Foundation encourages grant applications from education support professionals and teachers and staff with less than seven years of experience in the profession.

Visit the NEA Foundation's Web site at www.nfie.org for complete program details, guidelines, examples of funded projects, and an application. Or call 202-822-7840.

Youth Leaders for Literacy Grants

Grants of up to $500 are available to fund a youth-run, reading-related service project. The grants come from Youth Leaders for Literacy, an initiative of NEA and Youth Service America (YSA) to help youth direct their enthusiasm and creativity into reading-related service projects and to provide them with resources to conduct reading-related activities that benefit others.

During the six-week program period and beyond, we hope to create a groundswell of literacy service in communities across the country.

For more information and to download an application for the 2003-04 year, visit NEA's Read Across America site at www.nea.org/readacross/youthleaders.html.

Other Grants, Awards, and Competitions

VFW Awards

For teachers--The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States' (VFW) National Citizenship Education Teachers' Award recognizes the nation's top elementary, junior high, and high school teachers who teach citizenship education topics regularly and promote America's history and traditions. Nearly 1,000 teachers are nominated from every state, the District of Columbia, and overseas. Fellow teachers, supervisors, or other interested individuals can submit nominations by November 1, 2003, to your local VFW Post.

VFW's National Citizenship Education Teacher Awards include:

• $1,000 cash award for professional development to each of the top K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 teachers

• $1,000 award for each winning teacher's school

• plaques for both the winning teacher and school

• an all-expense-paid trip to attend the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary National Community Service Conference in Washington, D.C. Teachers who win first place in each category will be invited to conduct a workshop at the conference.

For more information, an application form, and to locate your local VFW Post, go to www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=cmty.leveld&did=152.

For students--The Voice of Democracy is an annual national audio essay contest designed to foster patriotism by giving high school students in grades 9-12 the opportunity to voice their opinion about their personal obligations as an American and address their responsibility to our country. Created in 1947, the scholarship program annually provides more than $3 million in scholarships. Contestants write and record a three to five minute essay on an annual theme.

Each VFW Post's first-place winner receives an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., plus the opportunity to compete for national scholarships. The first-place national winner receives a $25,000 scholarship. All national scholarships are paid directly to the American university, college, or vocational/technical school as selected by the recipient.

All scholarship funding is held at National Headquarters in escrow for 10 years from high school graduation. The funds, which are disbursed as needed, may be used for tuition, books, laboratory fees, or other items relating specifically to the student's formal education. Clothing, room and board, and pocket money are not considered authorized expenditures.

The 2003-04 theme is "My Commitment to America's Future." Deadline for entries is November 1, 2003. For more, go to www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=cmty.leveld&did=150.

Toyota TAPESTRY Grants

The 2004 Toyota TAPESTRY program will award 50 grants of up to $10,000 each and a minimum of 20 "mini-grants" of $2,500 each to K-12 science teachers. Interested teachers should propose innovative science projects that can be implemented in their school or school district over a one-year period. Toyota TAPESTRY projects demonstrate creativity, involve risk-taking, possess a visionary quality, and model a novel way of presenting science. If you have a great way to make science come alive, apply for a Toyota TAPESTRY grant. For more information, visit www.nsta.org/programs/tapestry/index.htm.

Nominate a Coach of the Week

The Staples® Coach of the Week program awards 17 accredited K-12 schools $5,000 worth of school supplies each and a visit from their local NFL head coach.

Each week of the NFL regular season, a panel of NFL representatives chooses one head coach who has shown outstanding team leadership as the Staples® Coach of the Week. One entry submitted on behalf of a school in the winning coach's region is drawn randomly and that school wins $5,000 in school supplies from Staples plus a visit from the team's head coach.

There are three ways to enter a school into the program:

1. enter online at www.staples.com/coach

2. enter by mail: Hand print your name, age school name, school phone number, school address, entrant's relationship to school and local NFL team name on a 3.5" x 5" card and mail to "Staples Coach of the Week," PO Box 5252, Ellenton, FL 34222-5002

3. enter by fax: Hand print the information above on 8.5" x 11" paper and fax to 866-430-4450.

The sweepstakes, which is a partnership with Staples, the National Football League (NFL), and CBS Television Network, ends on December 31, 2003. For complete official rules visit www.staples.com/coach.

Study in Japan

The Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program (FMF) provides American primary and secondary school teachers and administrators with opportunities for fully funded, short-term study programs in Japan. Funded by the Japanese government and administered by the Japan-United States Educational Commission, the program will provide significant professional development opportunities for individuals who traditionally may not have had such opportunities, while increasing the level of understanding between Japan and the United States. FMF Teacher Program participants are asked to commit to sharing what they learn about Japan with students, colleagues, and the community.

A minimum of two FMF awards will be given to each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Recipients of the FMF grant will travel to Japan to participate in a three-week program that features an orientation to Japan followed by visits to primary and secondary schools, teacher training colleges, cultural sites, and industrial facilities. Meetings with Japanese teachers and students and homestays with a Japanese family are key components of the program.

Interested individuals may apply online at www.iie.org/pgms/fmf/ for 2004 study visits or call the Institute of International Education at 888-527-2636 for an application. The application deadline is December 10, 2003.

AIDS Prevention Education

Twenty million people, including tens of thousands of teachers, have died from AIDS. Currently, over 40 million people are infected with HIV. Education International (EI), the world's largest confederation of teacher trade unions, joined the fight against the virus in 1995 and has printed an AIDS prevention leaflet in continuation of its activism.

With its publication, "Teachers Against AIDS," EI hopes to motivate teacher involvement in AIDS education. The document, which states facts about the AIDS pandemic and offers methods for volunteering assistance and educating children, is being distributed among all teacher unions and education workers worldwide.

EI partnered with UNESCO, the World Health Organization, Education Development Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNAIDS to organize training programs and field seminars to raise teacher awareness and provide them with the skills needed to discuss AIDS in the classroom.

Copies of "Teachers Against AIDS" can be downloaded from EI's Web site at www.ei-ie.org/aids.htm or ordered from EI's main office at +32 2 224 06 11.

For more on EI's AIDS Prevention through Education program, e-mail Delphine Sanglan at delphine.sanglan@ei-ie.org.

On TV

I Want To Be
HBO Family, everyday during the Jam (preschool) segment of HBO Family (6 a.m. to 3 p.m., during the month).
This series, designed by Kristin Harris Design, is geared for preschool children, and uses their voices to tell their dreams. The two-dimensional graphics are bold, colorful, and captivating, but it is the text that parents and teachers will appreciate. The young children doing the voice-overs explain why they want to be people such as a marine biologist or a mail carrier. Each segment describes why the job is important and how the work can help others. Ten different careers are featured, from an architect to a truck driver; each segment runs 35 seconds.

The Kratt Brothers: Be the Creature
National Geographic Channel, October 5, 8 p.m., ET.
The 13-part series, hosted by the Kratt Brothers of the award-winning PBS shows Kratt's Creatures and Zoboomafoo, gives viewers the chance to "be the creature." The brothers will "live" with their subject for weeks on end to walk in their tracks, swim in their waters, see what they see. Among the animals featured are lions in Bostwana, manatees in Florida, and grizzly bears in Alaska.

Sports Figures
ESPN2, October 6, 4:30 a.m., ET.
Professional athletes use sports to demonstrate math and physics in this series of shows. "Reflecting on Billiards/The Math Reaction" features professional pool player Jeanette Lee as she uses billiards to explain reflection, angles of incidence, and congruent angles. In the second half, baseball player Troy Glaus examines reaction time, velocity, and gravity. Can be taped and used in the classroom with teaching materials located at http://sportsfigures.espn.com.

TLC Elementary School: "Geography of Canada"
The Learning Channel, October 10, 6 a.m., ET.
Part of a series designed for grades K-6, the 30-minute episode explores the climate, topography, demographics, and cultures of Canada's 10 provinces, including the rocky shores, coastal plains, and frozen tundra. The program consists of segments edited from original documentaries and can be used in the classroom for two years with teaching materials at http://discoveryschool.com.

An Era of Innovation
Discovery Channel, October 10, 9 a.m., ET.
This program celebrates the centennial anniversary of powered flight with a reenactment of the Wright Brothers' historic flight. The show can be taped and used in the classroom for one year with teaching materials available at http://discoveryschool.com.

Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During World War II
Cinemax, October 14, 7 p.m., ET.
The Final Solution during World War II was directed at not only Jewish men and women, but also hundreds of thousands of children. Yet throughout Europe, some children were saved by non-Jewish families who hid these children in their houses or pretended the children were their own. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Aviva Slesin, herself a hidden child, details the many ways the children hid. The hidden children have experienced a lifetime of loss because of the separation from first their parents and then their host families. Even younger audiences will find this 71-minute documentary accessible and engaging. Teachers can access more information online at www.secretlives.org/.

On TV listings are provided by KIDSNET, a national resource for children's media in Washington, D.C., www.kidsnet.org, and by Cable in the Classroom's Access Learning magazine at www.ciconline.org.

Diversity Calendar

October

October 1-31--Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History Month
October is the nationally designated month to remember campaigns and efforts to eliminate discrimination and to increase respect and understanding toward individuals in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community. For more, go to www.glsen.org/templates/issues/?subject=2.

October 2--Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday
Indian leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, born in 1869, practiced nonviolent resistance and led the movement for independence from British rule. He was assassinated in 1948. For more, go to www.time.com/time/time100/poc/runnerup2.html.

October 13--Canadian Thanksgiving
Canadians celebrate their harvest on the second Monday in October. For more information, see www.webholidays.com/canada/.

October 19-25-- National School Bus Safety Week
The National Association for Pupil Transportation sponsors this week to help promote a safe environment for bus drivers and students in all states. For information on contests and activities, see www.napt.org.

October 20--Birth of Báb
Since 1819 the Bahá'í observe this day as the anniversary of the birth of the prophet Báb. This is one of the nine holy days of the year when work and school are suspended for those of the Bahá'í faith. For more, visit www.religioustolerance.org/bahai.htm.

November

November 1-30--National American Indian Heritage Month
This month is the time to celebrate cultural contributions American Indian tribes have made to American history and culture. For more information, see www3.kumc.edu/diversity/ethnic_relig/naihm.html.

November 1--Day of the Dead "DÍa de los Muertos"
Throughout Mexico and in parts of the United States, people celebrate this day to remember and honor the deceased with food, drink, flowers, and gifts. For more history and information on this custom, visit www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/history/.

November 11--Veteran's Day
A federal holiday set aside to honor all those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. To learn more of the history on this day see www.va.gov/vetsday/.

Take Note

Test Help for Paraeducators

Plan on taking the ParaPro Assessment? A new book from NEA can help. Review and Practice: How to Prepare for the ETS ParaPro Assessment is a user-friendly guidebook offering tips on how to study for standardized tests as well as what topics to study in order to pass. Full of testing strategies, sample tests, and resources, the book aims to help paras learn what they need to become "highly qualified" under the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

To obtain a copy of Review & Practice, contact your local UniServ director, or the instructional and professional development or communications staff in your local affiliate. Members can register at www.owl.org to download an electronic copy.

Preventing Marijuana Use

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug among American youth. Research shows that youth marijuana use can lead to significant health, social, learning, and behavioral problems. The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign offers the following free marijuana prevention resources for community coalitions and other organizations to use in local outreach efforts. Materials may be downloaded at www.MediaCampaign.org/Publications/Prevention.html or ordered through the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 800-788-2800.

• Youth posters--Two new marijuana prevention posters for youth audiences feature contemporary design and hard-hitting information about marijuana. When ordering by phone, ask for document number AVD 170 ("Words") or AVD 171 ("Skater").

• Youth postcards--Two colorful postcards list misconceptions about marijuana and provides tips on how parents can keep their children from using the drug. When ordering by phone, ask for document number PHD956.

• "Wake Up to the Risks of Marijuana: A Guide for Parents" brochure--This brochure helps dispel popular myths and misconceptions about marijuana and provides tips on how parents can keep their children from using the drug. When ordering by phone, ask for document number PHD956.

• "What Parents Need to Know about Marijuana"--Bilingual brochures are available in English and Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese. A Cambodian-only version is also available. When ordering by phone, ask for document number PHD846 (Cambodian), PHD844 (Chinese), PHD847 (Korean), or PHD845 (Vietnamese).

• Debunking the Myths About Marijuana video--This seven-minute video highlights the latest research and features commentary by leading experts about the effects of marijuana on youth. When ordering by phone, ask for video VHS170, or view or order at www.MediaCampaign.org/Marijuana/Index.html.

• Youth posters (designed for American Indian and Alaskan Native audiences)--Three color posters feature young people and their Anti-Drugs--the things that stand between them and using marijuana. Download at www.MediaCampaign.org/ mg/Print.html or order copies by calling 800-788-2800. Ask for document number AVD155 ("Drumming"), AVD156 ("Pottery"), or AVD157 ("Dancing").

Other easy-to-use materials and resources are available in the Campaign's online Marijuana Awareness Kit that includes:

• the latest research and fact sheets about the risks of youth marijuana use

• suggestions for local outreach and activities and

• template materials, including a news release, letters to the editor, feature stories, and a presentation for use with community organizations.

Download the kit at www.MediaCampaign.org/Marijuana/ActionKit.html.

To discuss specific or tailored anti-drug information needs for your organization, contact the Media Campaign at nyac@aed.org.

Giving by Reading

It's never too early to start developing kids' understanding of the importance of philanthropy and how their individual efforts can help others through a unique "giving by reading" program. Scholastic Book Clubs has kicked off its literacy-based charity program, ClassroomsCare, which:

• teaches kids about the joys and importance of giving,

• shows kids the different ways they can contribute to the lives of other children

• gets kids reading more books!

Teachers of grades K-8 who order from Scholastic Book Clubs in October will automatically receive a free ClassroomsCare participation kit, complete with a poster to record classroom reading, as well as a take-home reproducible letter to get friends and family involved.

For each class that reads 100 books by December 31, 2003, Scholastic Book Clubs will donate 100 new books to one of four charity partners--Save the Children, First Book, the "I Have A Dream"® Foundation, and Reach Out & Read--for a total donation of 2 million books. Each charity will put these books into the hands of children in extremely under-resourced schools and communities.

For more information, go to www.scholastic.org/classroomscare.

On the Web

Colorín Colorado
Check out this site designed for Spanish-speaking parents to help their children learn to read and succeed in school. The bilingual site, www.colorincolorado.org, includes simple, powerful ways to help kids become better students. The site is part of Reading Rockets, WETA's multi-media initiative that provides info on teaching kids to read.

Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro--Virtually
Susan Martin, an eighth-grade science teacher, and Kerri Finlayson, an instructor at North Central Michigan College, will climb Mount Kilimanjaro in January. The trip will be documented at www.womenexplore.org. Interested schools can sign up to receive transmissions directly from the team via satellite phones so students can be involved in the trek and monitor the team's progress. The site will contain lesson plans and activities in math, science, social studies, and language arts to help bring the trip into class.

Connecting with Chemistry
The Chemical Heritage Foundation's site is loaded with online resources to help you teach the history of chemistry and other molecular related science fields. The Classroom Resources link contains history and information on prominent chemists, an events calendar for teachers, and a guide to popular chemistry books. Go to www.chemheritage.org.

Surf the Smithsonian
If you haven't visited Smithsonian's educational site recently, check out www.smithsonianeducation.org. Teachers can search for information by grade level and topic, and the site features plenty of online field trips, lesson plans, and professional development resources. Students can relive the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, make their own online art, and just about anything in between.

Scholarships Online
FastWEB lets students search for scholarships online and has access to 600,000 scholarships representing over one billion in scholarship dollars. Once students fill out an extensive online form, the search engine provides accurate, regularly updated information on scholarships, grants, and fellowships suited to students' goals and qualifications, all for free. However, Students should be advised that FastWEB collects and sells information (such as name, address, e-mail address, date of birth, gender, and country of citizenship) collected through their site. Go to www.fastweb.com/.

Science News for Kids
Scientists are finding ways to make a better French fry. Gecko feet inspire a new kind of adhesive. Astronomers have discovered the oldest planet in the universe. Find these and other science new items at Science News for Kids, a site maintained by the nonprofit Science Service organization. For those wanting to do more than just read about science, the site also includes suggestions for hands-on activities, Web resources, mathematical puzzles, games, and the chance for kids to submit their own work for possible Web publication. Go to www.sciencenewsforkids.org/.

Heads Up From NEA Member Benefits

Members use their NEA credit cards an average of 104,000 times a day!
Credit card companies offer a lot more nowadays than just convenience. The market has become saturated with attractive "rewards" cards that appear more lucrative with each dollar spent. But be careful--a closer look may reveal that they also have high annual fees and limited reward choices.

Now NEA members can apply for the new, no annual fee, NEA WorldPointssm Platinum Plus® Credit Card available through MBNA America Bank. The NEA WorldPoints card offers preferred rates for members and comes with cash, travel, and merchandise reward options. It will be hard to find another rewards program that can beat it! To find out more about the rates, costs, and benefits, or to apply, call 1-800-822-7632 and mention priority code EO9K. You can also apply online at www.neamb.com. Start enjoying the rewards of NEA WorldPoints today!

Modern medicine and healthier lifestyles enable Americans to live longer lives, but the reality is the longer we live, the greater the chances we'll need long-term care.
Consider this: there's a 1-in-1,200 risk of a fire causing major damage to your home, a 1-in-240 risk of an accident totaling your car, but a 1-in-3 risk of your spending 2.9 years in a nursing home. While most NEA members wouldn't dream of not insuring their homes or cars, many haven't insured the risk that's most likely to occur. The NEA MemberCare® Long-Term Care Insurance Program protects assets by helping members cover the cost of care in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or at home.

For more info, call 1-800-884-2675, weekdays, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Central Time, or visit www.neambltc.com.

OWL.org Sports a New Look for Fall!

OWL.org, the professional Web site for NEA members, just celebrated its first birthday--and what an exciting year it has been! Tens of thousands of NEA members have registered on OWL.org to receive access to free online professional resources, tools, and features, or to take high-quality education courses from OWL's online partners. Participation in Works4Me, the weekly e-mail newsletter devoted to practical member-generated education tips, has quadrupled. And that's not all...

To inaugurate its second year, OWL has made some changes to the site to make it easier to use and put more useful information at members' fingertips. The main page of the site has been redesigned to give members a better sense of all the great lesson plans, classroom tips, and feature stories that await them once they register to get access to the members-only areas of the site. And the discussion boards have also been revamped and improved to facilitate member sharing of ideas and information.

If you haven't yet visited OWL and registered, come take a look. If you have registered, but haven't visited for a while, come by and see what's new. Just type in www.owl.org and you're there. And by the way...

Your ideas and suggestions for the site are greatly appreciated, so send us an e-mail with your thoughts and ideas to asktheowl@nea.org.

A Halloween Tradition That's Better Than Candy

On October 31, 1950, a small group of children went door-to-door in Philadelphia with their pastor, collecting Halloween candy for themselves and, at the same time, money to help children around the world. They came up with $17, which they sent to UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund. That was the beginning of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, which has since raised $118 million and become so widespread that the U.S. Fund for UNICEF says one in four adults remembers taking part.

NEA supports Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF and 45 percent of participants are organized through schools. The money helps to provide children with health care and education-$1 can protect a child from polio, and $2.46 can buy a child basic school supplies, according to UNICEF. Teachers use the program to teach everything from geography to math.

During that first collection in 1950, John Roth was a year-old infant, but he grew up to become a social studies teacher. He says he became aware of child poverty around the world while preparing for a high school class on international relations in the late 1970s. "I saw videos about tiny, starving babies," he recalls, "and I'd see my own daughter, who had just been born, in the picture."

Roth was looking for something concrete that his students could do about child poverty, and he wanted ways to personalize the global problems they were studying. Trick-Or-Treat for UNICEF was one of the answers he found, and he continues to use it as a focus for lessons about poverty, sweatshops, and child labor around the world.

In Vermont, Joplin James uses the UNICEF program with much younger children, first and second graders at Shelburne Community School in the town of Shelburne. "They love breaking open the orange UNICEF boxes, pouring the money on the floor and sorting all the coins," he explains. UNICEF connected his children with a specific school in Afghanistan, and James says his children were amazed at how differently the Afghan children lived.

Fore more on how to take part in Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF this year, go to www.unicefusa.org/trickortreat/.

President's Viewpoint

October 2003   

Our Power Partners

NEA President Reg Weaver

I want you to know that when NEA enters the arena to fight for public education, we no longer stand alone.

This is because we have been very busy forging working partnerships with other education groups such as the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), and with community-based organizations such as ACORN, the National Council of La Raza, LULAC, ASPIRA, the NAACP, the National Urban League, and the Public Education Network (PEN).

This partnership building is a crucial element in NEA becoming a more effective advocate for you, your schools, and your students. Teachers and ESPs alone cannot accomplish all that we want to accomplish in our classrooms and work sites without outside support, and neither can NEA.

Take, for example, the new federal education law-- ESEA's so-called No Child Left Behind Act.

Administrators very much share our concerns about this new law.

After all, the law imposes on administrators and educators alike a one-size-fits-all approach. It demands that all students meet the same level of achievement in the same period of time. It forces many administrators to pressure teachers to teach to the test instead of giving students the individual attention they need. It flies in the face of everything both administrators and teachers know about quality teaching and meeting the individual needs of our students.

In addition, the law is all about Washington imposing not just tests, but also a whole new layer of regulations and paperwork. This robs both administrators and teachers of our time,