Mardi
Gras in Kingwood
Be a Teacher
Club President Karen Behrend drove a
decorated golf cart in the Lone Star
College-Kingwood Mardi Gras parade February
24. The Be a Teacher Club is TSTA-Student
Program’s chapter at the college.Ana Silva,
wearing a hat, walks behind the golf cart.
To accommodate student schedules, the Be a
Teacher Club meets the first Monday of every
month at 12:30 p.m. and the first Thursday
at 4 p.m. Guest speakers are featured at
each meeting, and there are many
opportunities to work with the community.
ESPs
Learn About Their Rights
in TSTA Region 3C
Region 3C sponsored a workshop entitled "ESPs
Have Rights, Too!" on Feb. 28 at the
Pasadena ISD Transportation Building. The
workshop, which was presented by TSTA staff
member Sam Blackman for ESPs from Pasadena
and La Porte, covered student discipline,
Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code,
assault leave for ESPs, checking your
personnel files/records/reports, and ESPs'
right to be involved in political elections
and join associations. Participants said
they felt more empowered and knowledgeable
about their rights after the workshop.
Region 1
Meets in Brownsville
TSTA President Rita Haecker was the
guest speaker at the Region One Winter Conference in
Brownsville. The meeting included a house of delegates and dinner
gala.
Learning to Lead
Leaders in TSTA Region 2D, the Central Texas area, met in Marble Falls Feb.
27-March 1 to perfect their leadership skills.
Read Across America Week in
Laredo
Laredo TSTA/NEA grabbed its crazy hat and with a
bang proclaimed it Read Across America Week.
Students, teachers and educational and city leaders
gathered at the Webb County Court House Feb. 24 to
commit to engaging Laredo’s children in programs and
activities to make them the best readers in the
world.
Laredo
TSTA/NEA leaders Rene De La Vina, Hilario Cavazos
and Dr. Guadalupe Cortes delivered a check to Laredo
ISD Superintendent Dr. Veronica Guerra to promote
children’s reading.
Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas, Webb
County Judge Danny Valdez and Superintendent Dr.
Guerra read NEA’s proclamation to a court house full
of children, parents and educators in crazy hats.
They committed the city and schools to “promoting
reading as the catalyst for our students’
future academic success, their preparation
for America’s jobs of the future, and their ability
to compete in a global economy”.
For 12 years, NEA
has sponsored Read Across America to motivate
children to read and master basic skills. It takes
place on or near March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss.
Across the country, thousands of schools, libraries,
community centers and more participate by bringing
together kids and books. See
http://www.nea.org/readacross for more about
Read Across America and
click here for local newspaper coverage on
Laredo.
South Texas Leaders Meet in Port
Aransas
AOT 1 held an officer’s retreat January 9-11in Port
Aransas. Local officers and leaders from Donna,
Edgewood, Harlandale, Harlingen, Laredo, North East,
San Benito, Southside and Southwest spent the
weekend learning and refreshing their leadership
skills and sharing their experiences with each
other. In addition they also spent time strategizing
and developing region plans for the 2009-2010 year.
Southwest Educators Local Joins Community
Parade
The 8th Annual Blue Santa Parade on Dec. 13 went
through two subdivisions in Southwest ISD, ending at
Miller's Pond Community Center. A festival followed
with entertainment, activities for youth, food
booths and community agency exhibit booths.
Southwest Educators
Association (SEA) participated in the parade. Local
officers decorated the TSTA truck, had students
volunteer to pass out candy and dressed in costume.
The teachers passed out the TSTA Parental
Involvement booklet to the adults, and the students
passed out candy to the kids along the parade route.
The bilingual booklet encourages parents to get
involved in their child’s education and offers them
tips on how this can be done.
This was the third
activity that Southwest TSTA leaders participated in
that involved the community and school district.
This was made possible through the NEA
media grant that started off the campaign in
September with radio ads targeting the Hispanic
population.
SEA officers are planning
additional events this
school year, including a spring membership drive
that will provide teachers with information to help them
work with parents.
Most PAC Payroll
Deductions: Port Arthur Wins Laptop!
We have a winner of the PAC Giveaway Project which
ran from September 1, 2008 through October 31, 2008.
Port Arthur Teachers Association added 223 new
payroll deductions for political action committee
contributions, and they will receive a new laptop
for local association use.
Congratulations to Port Arthur and a big
thanks to all who worked so hard on this contest.
Region 1B Welcomes Legislators to
Brunch
Region 1B had a legislative brunch on
Nov. 22. President Barbara Franklin put the day
together.
Legislators attending were:
U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez; Minnie Sanchez, aide to
Sen. Leticia Van de Putte; and Reps. Joaquin Castro,
Joe Farias and Jose Menendez.
Each addressed
the group, then answered questions from the
audience.
Brownsville Wins Broad Prize
Brownsville ISD has received the prestigious Broad Prize,
which carries $1 million in college scholarships for graduating
seniors.
more
Southwest ISD, TSTA Walk to
Keep Students in School
Volunteers invested a few hours of their weekend to participate
in Southwest ISD's first annual Reach Out to Dropouts walk Saturday,
Sept. 6. But the return on this investment could be huge – for the
district, for San Antonio, and, especially, for the more than 250
students SWISD hopes to convince to return to school.
Members of Southwest Educators Association, the TSTA/NEA local,
were among the volunteer walkers.
“Increasing our graduation rate will benefit San Antonio’s future
and the future of each individual with a high school diploma. Young
adults who complete their high school education provide a
better-prepared and responsible work force contributing to the
quality of life and the economic development of our city,” said Dr.
Velma Villegas, the Southwest ISD superintendent.
“Every Texan will pay a higher price for human services and
criminal justice programs if we don’t significantly reduce the
dropout rate. And our members, such as those in Southwest Educators
Association, know all too well the high cost young Texans and their
families pay when they don’t complete at least high school. We know
that high school dropouts earn about $1 million dollars less on
average over a lifetime than college graduates,” said TSTA President
Rita Haecker. “Addressing Texas’ dropout crisis is one of our top
priorities as the oldest statewide education organization.”
The district’s 13 campuses participated in the Reach Out to
Dropouts walk, encouraging dropouts to
return to school and helping get them back on track to succeed and graduate.
TSTA provided each visited household with a booklet of tips
and tools that parents can put in practice to keep their children in
school.
In late August, TSTA began running four weeks of public service
ads in English and Spanish on San Antonio radio stations encouraging
parents to become involved or more involved in the education of
their children. Parental involvement significantly reduces the
likelihood that children will drop out before completing high
school.
TSTA is also partnering with school districts, such as Southwest
ISD, to support existing dropout prevention and recovery efforts or
help develop new programs.
“The dropout problem is not just a school problem. It’s also a
community problem, and we need the help of community organizations,
teacher groups and businesses to overcome it. Teacher groups
especially are here to provide support and help to school districts.
TSTA is a partner with Southwest ISD to provide training for parents
to reduce dropouts and to encourage students to stay in school,”
Superintendent Villegas explained.
“It gives me and SWISD great pleasure to work with TSTA in order
to promote the core values of SWISD, ‘Reach All, Teach All and
Inspire All.’ I hope that this is just a beginning in the
partnership that we will continue to grow with TSTA to assist the
students of SWISD,” the superintendent added.
Pasadena Educators Association Appreciates Staples
Patrick Hernandez,
president of Pasadena Educators Association and
treasurer of Region 3C, contacted his local Staples
office supply store after reading about its August
16 "Teacher Appreciation Day" in a TSTA
e-newsletter.
“I spoke with the
manager about setting up a table with our TSTA
promotional literature and brochures,” he reported.
“We were given permission with no problem, and we
will be able to enroll those working in Pasadena ISD
as well as surrounding districts.”
Hernandez’s local
emailed all its members to remind them of Teacher
Appreciation Day and to ask them to bring a
teacher who might not yet be a member.
“Periodically
throughout the year, we will be able to remind our
members of Staples support and commitment to public
education,” Hernandez said. “We hope to have
a working relationship with Staples with this as a
first step. And of course, we will promote to our
members the importance of spending their education
dollars to a business that supports public
education.”