We had a great visit with Princess Moss. She toured schools, attended the NSEA Board meeting and attended our C.H.E.E.R. event.  Thanks to the LEA members who atttended the event.  We want to have more events to celebrate the great work of our members!

Remarks by NEA Executive Committee Princess Moss

NSEA/Lincoln Education Association

C.H.E.E.R.!

Celebrate and Honor Educators' Excellence & Results!

October 15, 2011

Hello Lincoln educators, family, and friends!

It is good to be here! On behalf of our 3.2 million NEA members, I am here to C.H.E.E.R. with you! And, boy, do we have something to celebrate!

I am told that there are three types of people in the world:

• Those that say let's watch it happen.
• Those that say let's make it happen.
• And, then, the last group, those that say, WHAT HAPPENED?

Well, there is no question that the 2500 members of the Lincoln Education Association made it happen!

The alarm was signaled in Madison, Wisconsin. But the ringing of the bell to destroy collective bargaining quickly swept across the nation, and even our frenemies --- you know them - one day they are our friend - the next day they are our enemy; hence, the term frenemy --- even our frenemies sought to take advantage of us.

From New Hampshire to Arizona to Florida to right here in Nebraska the mission and goal were the same: to destroy what has always made this nation great and a democracy, the right, the freedom, to have a voice.

Power lies in the collective voice. Our ability to impact working conditions and students' learning conditions lies within that power. YOU, Lincoln, came together with NSEA and used your collective voice and took collective action.

As a Nebraska Husker- any Husker fans out there? - any Husker knows that you never take the field assuming your opponent, or your frenemy - remember it depends on the day whether it's your friend or your enemy - will just lie down in the jaws of defeat. It is understood that you give everything you have and leave it all on the field. For those who are not sports inclined, "leaving it on the field" means that you commit wholly to the game and to winning. And as a Husker, you know that as long as the clock is ticking, the game ain't over . . .

Here in Lincoln, you left it on the field. You stayed in the game. You were tough. You showed resistance, resolve. You stood together. You stood strong. You won!

Whether it was through email, lobbying, tweets, or phone calls, you stood up for the truth. You stood up for what was right, and today we C.H.E.E.R.! Today, we celebrate you for all that you do for public education.

As I think about your journey and America's current landscape, what has been most disturbing through all of this is the narrative that is being told about who is the blame for our current state of affairs.

Unfortunately, educators have been the scapegoats . . .

...Educators who are working hard, caring, loving and most importantly, committed to the achievement of their students.

...Educators who give all they have in the classroom and then have to work two and sometimes three jobs to make ends meet to support their families.

. . . Educators who arrive at school at 6 in the morning and don't leave til well beyond six at night . . .

...Educators who despite the odds show up every day and DELIVER!

I find it interesting thatwe haven't heard much talk about the dealings on Wall Street where state pension funds were sunk into toxic sub-prime mortgage-backed securities.

Or those on Capitol Hill Street, choose "Any Town America," where lobbyists are fighting financial industry oversight.

What about the politicians who are using deficits as a pretext to demonize public employees like us, politicians attempting to steal from our defined benefit pension plans, and, at the same time, deliberately working to bust our unions?

And the bankers, the billionaires, and the corporations who've benefited from a massive transfer of wealth from the middle to the top - who have been protected from paying their fair share of taxes.

Where is that narrative? Where is the uproar? The outrage! The truth!

Instead they want to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class and attack our right to collective bargaining.

 It strikes me as odd that someone would not want an educator to have input, a voice, a say in what goes on in the classroom. I thought we were the experts. After all, we are the ones who work day in and day out with students.

Let no one deceive you. We ARE the experts!

Yesterday, I spent the day touring schools with President Jenni and Executive Director Jim. Let me tell you, folks, you are providing a top-notch learning environment for the students of Lincoln. I saw amazing things being done by our educators . . . from a middle school after school leggos program that made students want to achieve during the day . . . to an elementary school community outreach program that brought parents into the school and made available important resources to some of our most poverty stricken families . . . to high school students engaged - engaged is the operative word - in important dialogue with their teachers.

If I could give you one piece of advice, I would say to you . . . Tell your stories. What I saw yesterday on my school visits underscores the fact that you need to tell your stories. Tell the stories of the positive things that are going on in your classrooms and school buildings. You are the voice of reality. You must tell your stories. Tell them in the grocery store.  Tell them at church.  Tell them to your legislators. Tell them to your neighbors. Tell them to your students' parents.  You must tell your stories. Let no one deceive you, research tells us that the public trusts the teacher's voice.

Let no one deceive you. We need collective bargaining. Some of the best reforms have actually happened because of collective bargaining . . .

The fact that class size is limited, teachers sit on curriculum and textbook committees, districts have adopted teacher mentoring programs are all a result of collective bargaining.

The fact that trained health specialists provide medical care to students in classrooms who need it is a result of collective bargaining.

The fact that teachers have supplies, textbooks, and other materials to teach with is a result of collective bargaining.

The fact that you received a 2.97% salary increase and the salary schedule movement remained protected is a result of collective bargaining.

Classroom climate, furniture, cleanliness, are a result of collective bargaining.  

Where there are no collective bargaining rights, non-educators make educational decisions.  

And when non-educators make educational decisions they make dangerous polices and push for education practices that fail to educate all of our students fairly, equitably, and adequately.

Our public schools have always been our greatest defenders and protectors of democracy. Our opponents have covertly tried to destroy our public schools. We know now that Wisconsin's Gov. Walker's "not so" transparent attempt to destroy public education was not the last.

We must stand on guard - ready to show up and show out for what we know is right for teachers, public education, and our students.

The end of collective bargaining would be the end of democracy!

We will not allow that to happen.

We must stand tall and C.H.E.E.R. for public education.

We must stand tall and C.H.E.E.R. the fact that Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) students scored well above state averages in the Nebraska-wide reading and math test results released last month.

We must stand tall and C.H.E.E.R. the fact that Lincoln students at all grades performed better in mathematics than the average for students across the state

We must stand tall and C.H.E.E.R. the fact that Lincoln students at all grades, save for grade 11, performed better in reading than the average for students across the state.

We must stand tall and C.H.E.E.R. for you, Lincoln's educators, because you are doing your best and leaving it all out on the field.

Moving forward

A building fire couldn't stop you. 

And neither could those who wished to put an end to your right to collectively bargain.

You have risen above every challenge, faced every obstacle and made it clear that attacking the interests of middle class working families is a REALLY bad idea and that the voices of workers will not be silenced!

Let's build on this momentum and continue to do the work we love and inspire the children we educate.

After all, it is because of the children that we do what we do.

That says it all. This is why we must continue to fight!

Congratulations again LEA, and let's keep up the fight for our rights, for public education, and for our students!

Thank you! 

The LPS School Board has been considering sites for the new LPSDO. During the process each Board member received a copy of the LEA survey about what is important when choosing a site.

The District has recommended the two sites below. Please read through the recommendations and handouts.

LEA is now doing a straw poll between the two locations. Please take a couple minutes to share your choice.

Click Here to Share Your Choice for LPSDO

Two possible sites - Seacrest and 5901 O - both recommended as possible new homes for LPS District Offices

The final recommendation was submitted to the Lincoln Board of Education Tuesday evening for a site to build a new Lincoln Public Schools District Office facility: and it was a tie.

Click Here to view the presentation of the finalists

Click Here to view the recommendation packet

LPS Superintendent Steve Joel said - after lengthy study and analysis - that two sites would be suitable:

• The parking lot on the west side of Seacrest Field near Lincoln East High School
• The site of the former District Office building at 5901 O st.

"We're looking at the total value - the location and the cost," Joel said. "We are rebuilding a very important part of Lincoln Public Schools to meet the needs of staff, the needs of students and the needs of families and community...We have to think about how this building will best fit the needs of our community for the next 20, 30 and 40 years."

School Board members discussed the recommendation at length and had varied opinions about the site choice. They will take a final vote on the decision at the Oct. 25 meeting.

Board member Kevin Keller said he has already made up his mind: The Seacrest Field site.

If the School Board chooses the Seacrest option, the current LPSDO site at 5901 O St. - now appraised at $6.3 million - could be sold, he said. "We could use that money for building schools, for acquiring land for future schools. It's a tremendous asset we have that I believe can be used more effectively than for an administrative office...I think it is the best choice for the community."

If constructed at Seacrest, the District Office building would be a multi-level facility - two or three floors - located on a five-acre plot of land owned by the school district near 74th and A streets.

School Board member Barb Baier said she liked the choice of 5901 O St. "I think that central location is a value, a community value," she said. "That option resonates with me. I think it is the compromise solution."

She said that people who lived in some parts of the community - such as at Arnold Heights or the Highlands - would find that traveling to East High would be quite a distance. She said she is also concerned that the East High site "will make it increasingly difficult for our school educators to work in a collaborative way with the employees housed at LPSDO."

If the new building is located at the old District Office site it would also be a two- or three-story building, giving the school district the ability to sell off several acres of the land (appraised at about $2.7 million).

School Board President Kathy Danek said she also favors keeping the District Office building at 5901 O st. "I think we need to stay in a business area," she said. "I've driven through the East High area in the morning, and the reality is this...we would be adding a significant amount of traffic to that area."

School Board member Ed Zimmer said he was "attracted" and leaning strongly toward the Seacrest site and the ability to have additional resources from the sale of 5901 O st. - calling it a way to "balance the need for an effective central office, and improve the situation at East and Seacrest."

"We have four good sites and our staff will build you a great building on whatever site you select," said Scott Wieskamp, director of Facilities and Maintenance at LPS. "We appreciate the support of the community."

Right NOW is the time YOU can help correct the problems with the "No Child Left Behind" law. Congress is starting to discuss reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) - and I need your help to make sure they do it right.

The last time Congress reauthorized ESEA, they passed No Child Left Behind. Not this time. We cannot let Congress get it wrong again. The stakes are too high for students, teachers, and schools.

This time, we need to make Congress pass OUR test - and actually help students and schools. This time we want Congress to propose a bill designed to help those in the classroom-students and educators.

This time, Congress has to get it right.

But the Senate is off to a bad start. The new Senate committeebill:

*                    Still relies heavily on outcomes of test scores instead of supporting true multiple measures of school performance

*                    Prescribes top-down models of school turnaround for struggling schools that are not based on research, don't work, and ignore promising, locally-developed ideas to help students

*                    Takes away teachers' rights to have a real voice in their own evaluation systems.

We know this is the wrong policy for students and educators. But there is still time to improve this bill! And that is why I need your help.

We need to remind our Senators that educators know what works in classrooms and for students and that it's time for them to listen to us.

We need to tell them to stop, think it through, and do ESEA reauthorization right for our students.

And, we need to tell them that educators are aware of what they are doing, we disapprove, and we want them to make changes NOW."

To do this, I am asking you to:

*                    E-mail our Senators today and tell them to make sure ESEA reauthorization is done right.

*                    Keep informed by going to www.educationvotes.org.

Together, we can make sure ESEA reauthorization is done right.

Sincerely,

Nancy Fulton

President, Nebraska State Education Association

(402) 475-7611 or (800) 742-0047

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John Heineman and Jenni Absalon are the NEA Directors representing Nebraska. The NEA Directors are also on the Executive Committee of the NSEA Board. They attend NEA Board meetings four times a year on behalf of you. After each NEA Board meeting they present a report to the NSEA Board Directors. This report provides information about the business of the NEA Board. Because John and Jenni are leaders with LEA we will be including their report in the LEARN.

Click Here to view the Nebraska NEA Directors' Report

New membership enrollment must be a priority of the Association this year. We cannot afford our membership to decline, especially given all of the challenges that LEA/NSEA/NEA are currently dealing with and that loom on the horizon. This is a negotiations year, it is especially important that LEA go to the table with a solid voice and large percentage of members among the educators we will be representing. It is within this current and expected on-going environment that we ask for your concerted effort and challenge you to please do all you can to get current non-members to join.   

Please contact taina.radenslaben@nsea.org for a membership packet or download the membership form CLICK HERE   

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We are fortunate to have the opportunity to share two great sessions on your future planning. You are not too young to learn about retirement. It is never too late to learn!

NSEA Retirement Seminar with Roger Rea

Wednesday November 9^th

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Goodrich Middle School Media Center

 Click Here to RSVP for November 9th

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Planning for Retirement with

Candy Specht and Brian Nieman

Nebraska Retirement Information Sharing Presentation

Wednesday November 16th

4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

NSEA Office 4^th Floor

605 South 14^th (Directly across from the Nebraska State Capitol --- Lincoln Statue)

Email your RSVP to taina.radenslaben@nsea.org

 
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As the weather chills, It is that time of year again, and we are working hard on our annual Raising Coats with Raising Cane's Campaign.  This is our 5^th year and we are excited more than ever at the opportunity we have to bring Coats to those in need this year!

As a recap of last year's success, with your help we were able to raise over 1,500 coats for the People's City Mission.  In addition to that, last years coats brought us to a staggering total of 7,000 Coats in the first 4 years.

Extra Standard Review Dates

2011-12

All Meetings are at the LEA Office

4920 Normal Blvd

     Wednesday

November 2, 2011             Softball                                                     4:00 PM

                                                                        Girl's Golf                                                 4:30 PM

November 16, 2011           Broadway Musical                                    4:00 PM

                                                                        HOSA                                                       4:30 PM

December 7, 2011              Instrumental Music                                   4:00 PM

                                                                        Committee Meets                                      4:30 PM

                                                                                                        Committee Members

     Carol Andringa, LPSDO Box #8

     Rita Bennett, Entrepreneurship Focus Program

     Kevin Deutsch, Mickle

     Karen Dress, East

     John Farrand, East

                                                      Karen Hand, LPSDO Box #39

                                                      Marge Keep, East

                                                      Mary Beth Lehmanowsky, LPSDO Box #33, Co-Chair

                                                      Ray Lowther, LPSDO Box #29

                                                      Deb Rasmussen, Goodrich

                                                      Karen Shelton, Hill, Co-Chair

     David Smith, LPSDO Box #24

     Susette Taylor, Southwest

     Lori Waters, Irving