Cover: Making an Impact
Meet the women of NEA-Retired who are improving public education on school boards across the country.
The Things You Can’t Throw Away
Take a trip down memory lane with NEA-Retired members who share their most beloved keepsakes from their teaching days.
‘Stand Up and Be Counted’
At the virtual NEA-Retired Annual Meeting, delegates spoke out and took action to support public education.
Teaching in the Era of Polarization
The nation is more politically divided than it has been in decades. And many teachers feel they can no longer stand on the sidelines.
A Back to School Like No Other
As students and educators return to the classroom—some for the first time in 18 months—we must address the social and emotional needs of the whole school community. Hear from educators who share their experiences and advice for supporting mental health and well-being.
Finding the Lost Students of the Pandemic
Some 3 million students simply disappeared during remote learning. Educators went to herculean lengths to locate their missing students—and their work continues today.
2021 Teacher of the Year
Special educator Juliana Urtubey has been named the national Teacher of the Year for her work in creating equitable schools.
Departments
First and Foremost
Teaching the Truth About Systemic Racism
The Benefits of Starting School Later
An increasing body of evidence is showing that later school start times are making a difference in students’ lives, including improved educational outcomes and mental well-being. Physicians have been advocating for later start times for more than two decades, and the body of literature linking adolescent sleep with increased student success has only grown in depth and rigor.
A new study in Minnesota found that when four school districts postponed the start of the school day by 20 to 65 minutes, grades improved slightly. Contrary to widespread concerns that students would only stay up later, students actually reported that they slept longer. Still, despite this mounting data, very few schools start the day at 8:30
Parental Support of Educators Stayed Strong During Pandemic
From the moment COVID-19 first shuttered school buildings, educators have risen to the challenges the pandemic created, doing everything they could to keep students happy, healthy, and learning. And though some educators may feel beat up by the stress, research shows that parents not only appreciate educators, but also empathize with their struggles and trust them to make the right decisions.
The poll, conducted in March by GQR Insights and Action, found that 86 percent of parents polled agreed that educators faced enormous stress during the pandemic as they learned new online platforms and managed in- person and online instruction at the same time.
The poll also showed that parents and guardians generally trusted teachers unions (66 percent) and teachers (64 percent) to make the right decision about when schools should reopen.
Parents’ responses when asked if educators faced an enormous amount of stress during the pandemic
Rethinking Grading
"For a long time, students who have fewer resources and weaker grading practices. Embedded in the grade is the timing of when it is completed. Too many things outside of students control can make it impossible to complete on time. What actually matters is what is the learning, not the timing of the learning.
Grades should reflect academic performance and learning, and we should not use them as a way of managing or evaluating behavior. And now, when so many more students have been affected by the pandemic, we have the opportunity to distinguish and more clearly articulate what a grade should represent.”
- Joe Feldman, Author of Grading for Equity
College Enrollment Falls During Pandemic
According to the High School Benchmarks report from the National Student Clearinghouse, college enrollments had dropped by 6.8 percent by November 2020— more than quadrupling the pre-pandemic rate of decline. Overall, 56.5 percent of the 2020 graduating class enrolled in postsecondary school immediately after graduating, compared with 60.5 percent of the 2019 graduating class.
Schools with more low-income students of color experienced much greater declines compared with those from affluent schools. High-poverty high schools sent 46 percent of 2020 graduates to college this past fall, com- pared with 70 percent of graduates from low-poverty schools. This is a wider gap than in 2019, confirming concerns that the pandemic was more disruptive to low-income families and their plans for college.
Departments
Expect the Unexpected: A Note from NEA-Retired President Sarah Borgman
Expect the unexpected, believe the unbelievable, and achieve the unachievable.
President’s Viewpoint
“We have a chance to make significant strides forward for all students.”
Member Spotlight: ‘Science Grandpa’ Teaches Kids to Shoot For The Stars
Bruce Stedman describes how he continues his passion of working with kids on science experiments into his retirement.
The Bulletin Board
Helping Union Members Get Vaccinated
Retired educator Pam Kellar was able to get a COVID-19 vaccine quickly, because she is 75. But it was not so easy for younger union members. Kellar, who is president of the Michigan Education Association-Retired chapter in the town of Warren, spent weeks on the phone and online scheduling appointments for her fellow educators. The former elementary school teacher navigated three hospital systems and the local health department to snag appointments for active and retired colleagues. “Except for my neighbors, everyone I’ve made an appointment for has been a union member,” she says.
Traveling the Underground Railroad
Retired teacher Muneerah Higgs helped make Black History Month an in-person learning experience for students at New Jersey’s Lawnside Public School, even during remote learning. A former third- grade and middle school social studies teacher with a passion for African American history, Higgs teamed up with genealogist Shamele Jordon to make her town’s history come alive for students.
Lawnside, known as Snow Hill before the Civil War, became a stop on the Underground Railroad as well as a safe haven for free Black people and runaway enslaved people. To help students experience this history first-hand, Higgs and Jordon created a project called “Visualizing Your Past.” They provided students with packets of cards featuring local historical figures and places. Every week, Higgs taught a virtual history class based on the cards, ending with a challenge to students: Take a selfie at one of the sites or make a video or creative project about one of the topics.
The innovative project drew the attention of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Higgs has also been selected to write the curriculum for her state’s Amistad project, which requires educators to teach the history of Africans and African Americans in the U.S. “This is the history of America,” Higgs says. “Without it, American history is incomplete and inaccurate.”
Putting Books in the Hands of Children
Oregon Education Association-Retired (OEA-Retired) board member Janet Jackson and her Literacy Committee have distributed 18,496 books to students across the state since 2009. Her team—which also includes OEA-Retired members Kathryn Warrior, Matt Falby, and Sandy Grzeskowiak— have delivered books to schools, clinics, social service agencies, dental offices, farmer’s markets, laundromats, school lunch programs, and more, reaching children in every county. They have only one rule: The sites must allow children to take the books home for keeps.
After wildfires swept across parts of Oregon in summer 2020, they provided books to students who were impacted by the fires. Jackson received an envelope full of thank you notes from a first grade class, and a giant thank you card from fifth and sixth graders. Jackson says: “This is the best volunteer job I’ve ever had.”
NEA Representative Assembly
NEA leaders, President Joe Biden, and Stacey Abrams speak to delegates about the opportunities ahead.
