Advocate - TSTA

From Africa to the Galapagos with Disney’s top teacher

Texas State Teachers Association/National Education Association FALL 2003

Changing the worldChanging the worldFrom Africa to the Galapagos with Disney’s top teacher

$500 stipendgoes to allprofessionals

In searchof Elvis andVanadium

How doesTSTA's HelpCenter work?

Kudos tothree ESPs

Inside: yourmembershipcard!

Advocate

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NEW MEMBER BENEFIT!

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Our NEW preferred auto-buyingprogram can help TSTA mem-bers save even more. Shoponline at www.tsta.org/benefitsto find a preferred dealer whohas agreed to offer a NO HAS-SLE NO HAGGLE price to TSTAmembers. Visit the contactperson at any one of the follow-

ing preferred dealers to enjoygreat savings and incredibleservice. Prefer the phone? Call800-342-1617 for a personaladvisor to assist you in locating agreat deal on a new or pre-owned vehicle. Check the website daily for dealers beingadded—www.tsta.org/benefits.

AUSTINCecil Atkission GMC, Pontiac800-299-8696Tom [email protected]

David McDavid Acura of Austin888-MyAcuraDoug Abrams, James [email protected]

Henna Chevrolet512-490-0700Carl [email protected]

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATIONTom Light Chevrolet979-776-7000Bubba [email protected]

DALLASCrest Cadillac, Infiniti, Isuzu, Oldsmobile972-578-7511Bob [email protected]

Friendly Chevrolet214-920-1900John Parker, Miguel [email protected]

Park Place: Mercedes, Porsche888-837-6087

Debbie [email protected]

Toyota of Irving972-258-1200Bill [email protected]

DENTONJames Wood: Buick, Cadillac,Chevrolet, GMC, Oldsmobile, Pontiac972-434-1515Robbie [email protected]

DECATURJames Wood: Buick, Chevrolet, GMC,Oldsmobile, Pontiac817-430-0600Audra [email protected]

FORT WORTHFrank Kent: Cadillac, GMC, Honda,Hummer, Oldsmobile, Pontiac817-696-4000Bill Barnes, Joe Snelus, Roger [email protected]

Park Place: Lexus—Grapevine817-416-3100Dorian Jimenez, Tripp [email protected];[email protected]

Vandergriff Honda817-275-3371John Shumaker, Mike [email protected]

HARLINGENBert Ogden Chrysler, Dodge,Plymouth956-423-5555Ray [email protected]

HOUSTONAllen Samuels Dodge713-343-8000J.R. [email protected]

Courtesy Chevrolet713-686-7777Bill [email protected]

Davis Chevrolet713-291-3678Larry Davis, Al Flores, Dave [email protected];[email protected],[email protected]

Mac Haik Ford713-932-5000Scott [email protected]

Russell & Smith Honda713-663-4111Ian [email protected]

Tejas Toyota281-446-0271Russell [email protected]

LUBBOCKGene Messer Toyota806-748-4800Charlie [email protected]

MCALLENBert Ogden: BMW, Nissan956-631-6666David [email protected]

MCKINNEYGillman of Denison: Honda, Mazda,Toyota903-463-9800Vicki [email protected]

PLANOPark Place: Lexus972-407-7000Troy Tucker, Tim Tolson

[email protected];[email protected]

SAN ANTONIOThe Dodge Superstore210-253-3030Scot Carl, Alan [email protected]

SAN MARCOSCecil Atkission GMC, Pontiac800-299-8696Tom [email protected]

SHERMAN-DENISONGillman of Denison: Honda, Mazda, Toyota903-463-9800Vicki [email protected]

SWEETWATERToliver Auto: Buick, Cadillac,Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac915-235-4384George [email protected]

VICTORIAAtzenhoffer: Cadillac, Chevrolet,Mazda, Mitsubishi361-578-0181Leesa [email protected]

On the road again“On the road again” could be my theme song forthe last several months as I have traversed our greatstate attending New Teacher Orientations, membermeetings, and visiting more campuses and worksites than I can count!

pres

iden

t’s m

essa

ge

IIhave experienced the energy and dedica-tion of our leaders and staff who spendhours and hours promoting our fine orga-

nization, its services and benefits, and provid-ing opportunities for all school employees tobecome part of our TSTA/NEA family. Thesevisits give me lots of chances to talk to mem-bers and observe firsthand the hard work youdo everyday on behalf of our children.

Then, as the first six weeks of school passed, Ibegan to notice some energy levels beginning

to wane, some frustrations begin-ning to set in, and more questionsabout retirement and Social Secu-rity were being asked! It seemsthat there are a lot of educatorsunhappy about certain circum-stances regarding, for example,TAKS preparation and also hav-ing to reference the TEKS ob-jectives for every lesson andfor every test question. Theoverwhelming complaints

centered around how the legislature cuthealth insurance stipends, making some folks’paychecks reflect a cut in pay from last year,even some that received small raises fromtheir districts.

Next, I began to notice that frustration andanger were giving way to apathy, a feeling ofpowerlessness, an attitude of being too busyto care. Apathy is so debilitating; it saps ourenergy, it brings us down. So, maybe it’s timefor a “Pep Talk from the Prez”!

You know, I was so proud of you all lastSpring when we, TSTA members, generatedover 20,000 phone calls that beat back 40 bad

bills. Many of you had never called your legis-lator before, and it energized you and madeyou feel powerful! This IS the power of collec-tive action, and it can work on your campusand in your school district! One voice maynot make a difference, but standing togetherwith your colleagues can. Organize and mobi-lize at your local level to speak out against theadministrivia and paperwork that bogs youdown and keeps you from inspiring your stu-dents, from encouraging creative thinking andproblem solving skills, and reenergizing your-self in the process!

There are about 280,000 teachers in Texas.Imagine what we could do if all were TSTAmembers, and if everyone had the courage tomake a call, write a letter, speak to the schoolboard, vote and encourage others to vote, andstand up for what we need in public educa-tion. Our collective voice would soar andchanges could be made by the sheer force ofour power.

Billy Graham said, “Courage is contagious.When a brave person takes a stand, the spinesof others are stiffened.” Never underestimateyour power, my friends. Let us continue tohave the courage to rail against those whowould diminish the quality of public educa-tion, against those who think measuring stu-dents and grading schools make them better,while cutting vital funds needed to do the job.Work within your local association, if possi-ble, to change the circumstances that frustrateyou and your colleagues and students. Havethe courage to make sure we truly leave nochild behind, no teacher unqualified, no man-date unfunded. Together, we can!

—TSTA President Donna New Haschke

UPFRONT

6 A $500 Stipend for All Professionals!As TSTA-backed legislation passed the House and Senate,the TRS board changed the rule on health care stipends;rules for TRSCare may change; more.

MEMBER ADVOCACY

10 1500 Phone Calls and 3500 EmailsThat’s the number of inquiries the Organizing Center forLegal Services and Member Advocacy received in the firsttwo months of school. Featured case: Helen O’Neal getsher coaching job back.

FEATURE

14 Bringing Activism into Her ClassroomGrapevine teacher Sherri Steward-Ganz teaches her ecologystudents that they can make a difference in the world andtheir own neighborhood. Disney has named her the tophigh school teacher in the nation!

ESP CORNER

18 Two NEA Directors and ESP of the YearClaudette Thomas is named the Ronnie Ray ESP Advocateof the Year; Yolanda Molina and Shirley Howard win seatson the NEA Board of Directors.

IN THE CLASSROOM

20 Space, Notes, and VideotapeJ. Eli Lubman shares a teaching idea; NEA Professional Li-brary’s little notes to inspire children; get involved in SpaceDay or apply for NEA grants; Texas Book Festival.

AMAZING MEMBERS

22 In Search of Elvis and VanadiumStan Oberst’s book about Elvis’ travels in Texas is in itsthird printing; Jenny Marshall and husband travel the worldin search of the origins of the elements.

COMING UP

24 Know Someone Who’s Outstanding?Do you know someone who should receive a TSTA/NEAaward? A list of upcoming events, including the NEA West-ern Regional Leadership Conference.

GOVERNANCE

26 Electing Your TSTA/NEA RepresentativesIt’s time to elect delegates to the TSTA and NEA conven-tions! Please note: Elections for the NEA convention will behandled differently this time—your ballot will be in thespring Advocate!

TSTA Advocate: is an officialquarterly publication of the TexasState Teachers Association/National Education Association.

How to Contact Us: Call 877-ASK-TSTA, visit www.tsta.org, orwrite to TSTA, 316 West 12thStreet, Austin, TX 78701. Pleasesend address changes to the at-tention of Membership Recordsor [email protected].

Advertising: If you would liketo advertise, contact NicholeLowery at 512-476-5355, ext.1292.

TSTA makes no representationsregarding advertised products orservices that are not endorsed.

Postmaster: Send addresschanges to TSTA MembershipRecords, 316 West 12th Street,Austin, TX 78701.

PRESIDENTDonna New Haschke

VICE PRESIDENTAnn Heuberger

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORE.C. Walker

DIRECTORJay Levin

EDITORDebbie Mohondro

PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALISTRichard Kouri

PRODUCTION TECHNICIANSusan Martin

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGERLeann Kloesel

ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARYAdriana Roque

SECRETARY/ADVERTISINGNichole Lowery

Copyright 2003 by

Texas State Teachers AssociationNational Education Association

316 West 12th St., Austin, TX 78701www.tsta.org • 877-ASK-TSTA

AdvocateVol. 23, No. 1 FALL 2003

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6 TSTA ADVOCATE

As a result of these conver-sations, Rep. Jim Pitts filedHB 31 to fix the problem. Atpress time, it had unanimouslypassed the House and the lan-guage was also included in theSenate version of HB 7, whichhad passed the Senate andgone to conference committee.

At the end of September,the Teacher Retirement Sys-tem board, meeting after bothof these actions were taken,could see where the legisla-

ture was going and adopted arule that contained the samelanguage that is in HB 31.

Under the new rule, all full-time (30+ hour) employeeswho are not administrators willreceive the $500. “Adminis-trator” is defined as peoplewho spend 50% or more oftheir time in a designated ad-ministrator position—basicallyassistant principal throughsuperintendent. The new ruletakes effect immediately.

Just to clarify: Librarians,counselors, nurses, diagnosti-cians, etc., who make over$50,000 a year will now getthe $500 stipend.

TSTA is still working on alegislative solution becauseTRS rules can be changed atany time; passage of legisla-tion would place the protec-tion in statute where TRScould not change it at a laterdate. Check our web site,www.tsta.org, for updates.

upfro

nt

Counselors, librarians, nurses:

your stipend is back!TSTA worked for weeks with the legislature and key legislators tofix the problem with the $500 stipend not going to counselors,diagnosticians, librarians, nurses and other professional staffwho make more than $50,000 a year.

FALL 2003 7

In addition to the healthcare stipend, HB 7 also con-tains language about TRSCare.If there are no other changesin HB 7 when/if the bill fi-nally passes, the followingare the current and new re-quirements to qualify forTRSCare, the retiree insur-ance program.

After the 78th regular andspecial sessions, there arenow two “rules of 80,” onefor retirement eligibility andthe other for TRSCare, the re-tiree insurance program.

There were no changes inthe requirements for retire-ment eligibility. A person whomeets the “rule of 80,” in-cluding any purchased ser-vice credits for out-of-statetime, etc., can qualify for anunreduced TRS annuity.

The requirements for TRS-Care are as follows:

For the 2003-04 school yearUntil August 31, 2004, a per-son who is eligible to retireunder TRS and has 10 yearsof Texas school experience iseligible to participate inTRSCare upon retirement. Aperson employed in thepublic schools during the2003-04 school year whohas already bought out-of-state time or other servicecredits before August 31,2003, will be allowed to usethat purchased time in orderto meet the new “rule of80” for insurance purposesif they retire before August31, 2009.

Beginning September 1, 2004The new requirements tobe eligible for the TRSCare

retiree insurance programwill be:

(1) Ten years of Texas schoolexperience AND

(2) EITHER be 65 years of ageOR meet the “ruleof 80” with onlyTexas school ex-perience. Fiveyears of the ser-vice time can bemet with militarytime bought inthe TRS system.

After September 1,2004, a person whois eligible to retirebut does not meetthe new TRSCare eli-gibility requirementsmay get the insur-ance but will have topay the full cost ofcoverage until they reach theage of 65 or achieve the in-surance “rule of 80,” as ex-plained above.

For example, a person whois 55 with 20 years of Texasschool experience and fiveyears in another state wouldbe eligible to retire under theretirement “rule of 80” if theperson had bought credit forthose out-of-state years in TRS.

But that same personwould not meet the new re-tiree insurance “rule of 80.”They could get the insuranceat the time of retirement butwould have to pay the fullcost for five years. At age 60with 20 years of Texas schoolexperience they would meetthe insurance “rule of 80” andthereafter their costs wouldbe reduced because of thestate contributions.

Rules for qualifying forTRSCare may change

Looking ahead tothe next special session

“Money is not theroot of all evil. It isthe lack of moneythat is the root ofall evil.”

“Reform should bedone with us and byus, not without usand against us. Yes,you’re a special in-terest group. Yourspecial interest ischildren and publiceducation.”

—NEA President Reg Weaver, speaking atthe Ambassador Academy, where he presented

graduates with certificates this summer.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

IMPORTANT!If you have not yet signed up for the TSTABriefing, our weekly e-newsletter, pleasedo so now! If you’re on the list, we cancommunicate with you immediately whenaction is needed during the next speciallegislative session. You can sign up atwww.tsta.org.

8 TSTA ADVOCATE

America will once again rec-ognize the educators andschool staff who keep herchildren safe, and healthy,and help them achieve duringAmerican Education Week,November 16-22.

Wednesday, November 19 is aspecial day to honor the edu-cation support professionals

who positively impact ourschool communities.

Friday, November 21 honorsthe work of substitute ed-ucators. This year’s theme is“Great Public Schools forEvery Child—America’sPromise.”

Tools you can use are atwww.nea.org/aew.

Savereceipts fortax deductionDon’t forget to save yourreceipts for out-of-pocketexpenses for classroomsupplies and resources totake advantage of up to a$250 federal income tax.

The Educator ExpenseDeduction, which appliesto support professionalsas well as teachers, isauthorized by federal leg-islation strongly sup-ported by NEA. However,this well-deserved tax re-lief will expire after the2003 tax year unlessCongress acts to make itpermanent.

H.R. 785 and S. 695make tax relief perma-nent, increase the current$250 maximum deduc-tion to $400 in the Housebill and $500 in theSenate bill, and expandallowable expenses toinclude professional de-velopment. The billswould take effect this taxyear. Supporters of thebill are encouraged tourge their own electedrepresentatives in Con-gress to support the legis-lation and to sign on ascosponsors.

For more information, callthe IRS Tele-Tax systemtoll-free at 800-829-4477and select Topic 458.

Great Public Schoolsfor Every Child

FALL 2003 9

Musicians supportpublic school musicprogramsTexas Music Project's "Don't Mess With Texas

Music, Volume One" CD features a variety of coun-

try, rock, blues and soul music from nationally

known and emerging Texas artists, including Erykah

Badu, Willie Nelson, The Dixie Chicks, Clint Black, Boz Scaggs, Stevie Ray

Vaughan, Delbert McClinton and others.

The CD will be promoted and sold by several retailers, including Randall's and

Starbucks, and on the Texas Music Project's web site, www.texasmusicproject.org.

It also will be available for use as a fundraiser by local schools. All proceeds from

the sales will benefit music education in Texas schools.

"Everyone supporting the project is doing it because they love music, and because

they understand music education helps kids reach their full potential, regardless

of what they grow up to be," Willie Nelson, honorary chair of the Texas Music

Project, said. The Texas Music Project is a non-profit initiative whose mission is to

help strengthen and restore rigorous music education to Texas schools, raise

awareness of the positive impact music education has on students, and promote

Texas music.

AroundTexasLaredo teachers, librarians,and counselors are getting a$1,600 across-the-board payraise. TSTA member Rene De LaVina, a special education instruc-tor at Cigarroa High School, hadencouraged the board to stronglyconsider the $1,600 for teach-ers, as well as step increases forparaprofessionals.

The Laredo Times also creditedDe La Vina with “persistentlylobbying the board and centraladministration to assign an addi-tional staffer at each campus tolighten the paperwork load oneach special education teacher.De La Vina has characterized thespecial ed teacher’s daily routineas 60% teaching and 40% pa-perwork, ‘at best.’”

�� Did you know that if you are cer-tified, any year in which you sub-stituted for at least 90 days canbe counted as a year of experi-ence on the state pay scale?

A law to that effect passed backin 1998-99 but Garland ISD em-ployees didn’t realize it. GarlandEducation Association ran an ar-ticle on the law in its Augustnewsletter, and TSTA staff mem-ber Charles Axe spoke with thepersonnel director on behalf ofemployees who were owedmoney. The district gave up tofour years of back pay (becausethere is a four-year statute of li-mitations) to qualified individuals.One member worked seven yearsas a substitute; he’ll receive be-tween $25,000-26,000!

10 TSTA ADVOCATE

Here are some examples of casesthat the TSTA Help Center staffand TSTA lawyers are workingon, or have resolved since thebeginning of this school year:

➤The TSTA Help Center as-sisted a Dallas member in col-lecting a retirement bonus forunused sick leave. The mem-ber submitted an applicationfor the bonus in a timelyfashion prior to the DallasISD deadline, yet was told byDISD that his application wasnot timely. After several hoursworth of phone calls withvarious administrators inDISD, the Help Center staffeventually convinced the ad-ministrators and proved thatthe tardiness problem waswith the campus administra-tion, not our member. Thebonus was approved.

➤A teacher resigned from histeaching contract with onedistrict based upon thepromise of a new job in an-other district in UpshurCounty. After working in thenew district for 15 days with-out a contract, he was told heno longer had a job. He con-tacted the TSTA Help Centerfor assistance. The Help Cen-ter staff wrote a letter to thesuperintendent of the seconddistrict in an attempt to re-solve the issue. Soon, the casewas sent to the TSTA lawyerswho filed for a hearing beforethe Commissioner and filed agrievance. Two hours later,the district sent a letter agree-ing to put the member backto work. The member went towork the next day and re-ceived back pay for the timehe was off. This is a classiccase demonstrating the one-two punch of the TSTA HelpCenter and TSTA lawyers.

Practice tip: When trans-

ferring jobs from one school

district to another, never

resign from a contract with

the first school district until

you have a binding contract

with the second school

district in hand. If you do,

you may be stuck without a

job if the promise in the

second district evaporates. It

is O.K. to accept the second

contract “on condition that

my resignation is acceptedby current school districtemployer.”

➤Bus drivers in Deer ParkISD were assisted by theTSTA Help Center when theywere docked three hours forevery day of absence, even ifthey regularly drove middayshifts resulting in an eight-hour day. After a TSTA HelpCenter staff member dis-cussed the issue with the ad-

mem

ber a

dvoc

acy

Since the beginning of the 2003-04school year, the TSTA Help Centerhas received and responded to over

1,500 phone calls and 3,500 emailsregarding TSTA members’ employmentconcerns. The TSTA Help Center is part ofthe TSTA Organizing Center for LegalServices and Member Advocacy and workstogether with the other TSTA lawyers toassist locals and members with employ-ment concerns. The vast majority of alllegal cases pursued by TSTA originate inthe TSTA Help Center.

The TSTA Help Center is open M-F, 7-7(Central time), during the school year. Callus at 877.ASK.TSTA, or e-mail us throughthe TSTA website at www.tsta.org.

When a viable case cannot be resolved inwriting, over the phone, or in the field bythe TSTA Help Center, other TSTA lawyersare frequently called upon to continuethe fight. Since the beginning of the2003-04 school year, TSTA lawyers arehandling over 60 cases around the statein various forms of litigation and griev-ances with school districts.

TSTA: just a phonor email away

TSTA’S LEGALLungwitz, JuliaSchaudies; (froMoore, YolandRamirez.

FALL 2003 11

ministration, the District re-versed their “plus hours” pol-icy and will calculate middayand shuttle shifts into the em-ployee’s computed time.

➤A TSTA lawyer representedtwo teachers of the Edge-wood ISD in separate hear-ings before the Board ofTrustees. The first memberhad been accused of beingrough with a student and, asa result of the charge, was re-

lieved of some of his duties.After a grievance hearing be-fore the board, the board re-instated the member to fullcontract status. The othermember was a probationaryteacher whom the Boardvoted not to renew at the endof the 2002-2003 school year.

The TSTA lawyer convincedEISD to reemploy the teacherfor the following school year.

➤The TSTA Help Center as-sisted a member in the Hous-ton area as she was forced outof her special education aideposition due to her status assomeone with cerebral palsywho is also pregnant. TheTSTA Help Center wrote tothe administration regardingthe member’s rights under theAmericans with DisabilitiesAct and the Pregnancy Dis-crimination Act. The admin-istration reversed its position,reinstated the member andprovided her with accommo-dations to ensure her safetyon the job.

➤In progress: A class actiongrievance is being pursued

for members in the Skid-more-Tynan ISD around a pa-perwork issue. TSTA is claim-ing that the district is inviolation of a new law reduc-ing teacher paperwork, whenthe district is requiring teach-ers to include detailed TAKSinformation in every lessonplan, excessive paperwork,and many unnecessary forms.If you are a teacher in Skid-more-Tynan, we need you toget more members to joinTSTA and join this grievancenow! Call the TSTA HelpCenter for details.

➤In progress: A member innorth Texas was assaulted onthe job. Upon her returnfrom assault leave, the districtinformed her that she nolonger has a position andwould not be paid. The TSTAHelp Center is in communi-cation with the administra-tion in an attempt to get thisissue resolved without loss ofsalary to the member. If thisfails, TSTA will construe theschool district’s action as abreach of contract, and willfile a termination hearing re-quest with the Commissionerof Education.

➤A member in DickinsonISD was injured by a studentin an assault. During her ab-sence, she was unaware thatshe could request assaultleave. She called the TSTAHelp Center a few weeks aftershe returned to work becausethe district refused to pay herfor the two weeks she workedupon her return. The TSTAHelp Center negotiated a re-turn of her salary not only forthe two weeks she worked,but for the entire time shewas out on leave.

➤A member of the YsletaTeachers Association inquiredabout a principal who was re-quiring teachers to attend ablock meeting once a week,thereby depriving the teach-ers of planning and preptime. The TSTA Help Centerempowered the member withthe law which the memberpresented to the principal.The principal acquiesced, butthen added 40 minutes to theteachers’ week in apparent re-taliation. The TSTA HelpCenter directly contacted theprincipal to discuss her deci-sion. After that conversation,the principal informed theteachers that the originalwork schedule would return.

➤A principal in Clint ISDwas mandating that teachershave lunch duty one day aweek during their duty freetime. The Help Center em-powered the campus Associa-tion Representative (AR) withthe law and advised the AR toshare this with the principal.The AR did this, and theprincipal eventually retractedhis requirement that teacherswork during lunch one daya week.

➤Two teachers (one in ElPaso and another in centralTexas) had unrelated casesthat were referred to the StateBoard for Educator Certifica-tion by their respective schooldistricts for alleged miscon-duct and possible certifica-tion sanction. TSTA lawyerswere successful in convincingSBEC that the nature andquality of the evidence whichwas offered in support of thealleged misconduct was soweak as to justify SBEC’sclosing of the cases withoutsanction.

ne call

L TEAM: (back row) Kevin a Guzman, Michael Shirk, Erickront row) Karen Denton, Joeyda King, Susan Salinas, Russell

12 TSTA ADVOCATE

➤A TSTA lawyer has been

assisting a Plano ISD bus

driver in an ongoing em-

ployment dispute with the

school district involving a

reassignment and demotion.

After months of claiming

that her grievances were un-

timely, the Plano schoolboard finally agreed that itsadministrators should hearher grievances.

➤A TSTA lawyer settled acase in Port Arthur on behalfof teachers who claimed theywere not getting the appro-

priate amount of planningand prep time.

➤A TSTA support personnelmember in Conroe ISD re-ported an incident of sexualharassment to the district’spersonnel director. Withinweeks, the member was reas-

signed to another department

and his pay was lowered two

dollars per hour. A TSTA

lawyer pursued a grievance.

The district reinstated him to

his former position and salary

and paid him retroactively for

the time his pay was docked.

Helen O’Neal held a contract for teaching, and a sepa-rate contract for coaching. As we know, the teachingcontract carries with it significant due process protectionfrom being arbitrarily terminated. Supplemental coach-ing contracts ordinarily do not. Supplemental coachingcontracts usually state that employment is at-will, andthat either party may terminate the contract at any time,and without reason. (Note: Some coaches are employedunder a dual or unified “teaching/coaching” contract,where significant due process protections apply to bothaspects of the job.)

In this case, the separate coaching contract was entitled“Addendum to Contract.” Also, the separate coachingcontract stated that O’Neal could not resign from coach-ing without permission of the superintendent, but thatthe school district could terminate her coaching dutiesat any time. (How fair is that?) Furthermore, the coach-ing contract stated that if O’Neal resigned without per-mission, it would also be construed as a resignation fromher teaching job!

In seeking to dismiss her from her coaching contract,several administrators tried to get her to resign but sherefused. A couple of months later, the school boardterminated her coaching contract without notice or anopportunity to defend herself. O’Neal filed a grievancenine days after the school board vote. Board policy re-quires that a grievance be filed within 15 days of thegrievable event.

The school board ruled that her grievance was untimely,and refused to hear it. The school board believed thatshe should have filed a grievance within 15 days ofwhen the administrators asked her to resign.

TSTA appealed the case to the Commissioner of Educa-tion in Austin. TSTA argued that O’Neal’s grievance,filed nine days after the school board vote, was timelybecause she had not been harmed until the board actu-ally terminated the coaching contract. TSTA lawyers alsoargued that her coaching contract was “unified” with herteaching contract for two reasons: 1) The coaching con-

tract was called an“addendum to con-tract” and 2) Becausea resignation from hercoaching contractwithout permissionwould be construed asa resignation from herteaching contract. If itcould be shown thather teaching andcoaching contractswere “unified,” then her coaching job would have thesame due process protections as the teaching job, andthe board could not have dismissed her coaching jobwithout giving her due process.

In one of the worst decisions in a long time, the Com-missioner agreed with the ECISD school board, sayingshe should have filed the grievance when she was toldthat she needed to resign. Needless to say, this was asetback for O’Neal and for all other school employees.Extending that logic, grievance timelines might begin torun when rumors start, instead of when harm occurs.

The Commissioner never addressed the contract issue.

TSTA appealed the case to Travis County District Court.In late September 2003, Judge Jeanne Meurer issued ajudgment reversing the Commissioner of Education, rul-ing that O’Neal’s grievance was timely filed, and that herteaching and coaching contracts were unified. What thismeans for O’Neal is that ECISD wrongfully terminatedher coaching contract without providing her with dueprocess—a significant error that must be remedied.What this means for O’Neal and all other school employ-ees is that grievance timelines do not start running untilharm actually occurs. The ultimate fate of this case willnot be known until all litigation and potential appealshave ended, but for now, chalk one up for Helen O’Nealand the good guys!

—TSTA General Counsel Kevin Lungwitz

Chalk one up for the good guys!

inspiringthe courage

to dream"Sherri's professional life inspires in us all the courage to

dream and the will to make great things happen for students

and thus, our nation, our world, and our collective future."

—Dr. Janet Hood-Hanchey, Grapevine assistant superintendent

herri Steward-Ganz first visited Africa ten years ago.

“This one little school I vis-ited in Lusaka, Zambia…theywere just trying so hard tohave a real school,” she re-membered. “They had 2,000kids and 13 teachers whohadn’t been paid in fourmonths. When they werepaid, their average salary was$12 a month. Little kids werewalking 10 miles to schooland once they got there,there’d be no water to drinkall day long. That little schoolreally stuck in my mind. Ithought, ‘What can I do tohelp them?’”

When it was time the nextschool year for her ecologyclass at Grapevine HighSchool to study global water,she added a personal touch tothe lesson.

“Kids here in America don’tunderstand that half the worlddoesn’t even have clean waterto drink. I decided to showmy slides of Africa to the kidsto show them what it’s like,”she said.

FALL 2003 15

The plight of the children ofLusaka touched the hearts ofthe teenagers living halfwayaround the world in a comfort-able suburb northwest of Dal-las. Between 1995 and 1998,they collected $10,000 worthof school supplies, then$22,000 for a water well andnew classrooms for Lusaka.

“I think our students gotmore out of it than theirsdid,” Steward-Ganz said.

The first group of studentsbought Lion King study kits,filled them with school supplies, and added apersonal letter and colorphoto to each one.

“Zambia has a bigproblem with the poach-ing of elephants andlions. We tried throughour letters to teach thechildren that conserva-tion of wildlife will helpthem in the long run. Wewanted them to knowthat the animals wereworth more to them inecotourism,” Steward-Ganz said.

Thanks to British

Airways, she flew first classwith one student and one ad-ministrator to the school todeliver the supplies.

“There were two pencilsharpeners, decorated withpictures of Simba and Nala,in each study kit. We cameback the next day and all thelittle girls were wearing thepencil sharpeners in their(elongated holes in their)ears,” Steward-Ganz said.

For the next three years,Grapevine students held car

Disney Teacher Award

S

Steward-Ganz’s students nominated her for a DisneyHandTeacher Award. Out of 185,000 nominations nationwide,she was among the 32 chosen. She received $10,000plus $5,000 for her school, as well as national recogni-tion. “It was very uplifting to be around the other Dis-ney honorees; they were all so passionate about whatthey’re doing. I thought I was not in their league.”

Then Disney announced they would narrow the list tothree top teachers, each of whom would receive$25,000 and $5,000 more for their school. “They se-lected the top three based on a three-minute talk andeight slides. I’ve never been so nervous in my life,”Steward-Ganz said. “I showed slides of the Galapagos,Jane Goodall dedicating our center, the water well in

Africa. I thought I was terrible. They told us to think ofwhat we would say if we won. I didn’t even give it athought. I had already figured out who I thought wasgoing to get it.”

She was named Outstanding High School Teacher atthe awards gala at Disneyland. “I was truly shockedwhen they called my name. I think I said somethinglike, ‘I love Mickey!’”

HOW TO APPLY FOR A DISNEY AWARDIt’s easy to nominate someone for a DisneyHand

Teacher Award. Just go to http://disney.go.com/disney-learning/ata/ and fill in the person’s name and school.Nominations for 2004 closed at the beginning ofOctober but a new cycle begins in August.

16 TSTA ADVOCATE

washes and sold t-shirts andhundreds of endangeredspecies chocolate bars. Stew-ard-Ganz gave talks and slideshows to local clubs, askingfor a $50 donation, althoughthey always gave more. Theycollected $11,000 and RotaryInternational matched it.

“Maybe being naïve is agood thing sometimes,” Stew-ard-Ganz reflected. “Everyonesaid, ‘You can’t do that inAfrica, you’ll have to spendhalf the money in bribes.’When we got there, I rented aflatbed truck and picked upsome men who were out ofwork, men whose averagesalary was less than $1 a day,and we got to work. We hadso much money left over afterbuilding the water well thatwe were able to build a newcinderblock science wing andgive the students all newdesks and chalkboards.”

Lusaka was not her first ef-fort to help Africa. In 1992,before she had ever visitedthe country, Steward-Ganzand her students held a blacktie dinner at the DFW AirportHilton featuring Dr. JaneGoodall as the speaker. Manycelebrities, including themayors of both Dallas and

Fort Worth, were there.Tickets were $75; theysold out in four days.

After the speech, theysurprised Goodall witha check for $45,000 forher chimp sanctuary inBurundi. (Due to politi-cal unrest and poach-ing, the sanctuary waslater airlifted to Sweet-waters, a private reservein Kenya.)

Steward-Ganz’ last tripto Africa was in 2000.“Things had changed somuch from the time Ifirst started helping.There’s so much politi-cal unrest, women aretreated so badly, and theAIDS crisis is just over-whelming,” she said.“The misery and suffer-ing are staggering.”

She described “rovingbands of AIDS or-phans.” She’d see themin the dump, lookingfor food. The teenagersuse toddlers as bait;when people stop to tryto help, a pack of armedteenagers will surround androb them, she said. “Walkingdown Kenyatta Boulevard inNairobi one day, we saw a

two-year-old lying in thestreet,” Steward-Ganz remem-bered. “In his hand was aglob of industrial glue; theysniff it, it’s an appetite sup-

pressant. When we bentdown to pick him up, we sawa gang of teenagers comingtoward us. We had to put himback down and quickly leave.”

Galapagos Islands“I had written a lesson plan for the animal intelligence segment of PBS Scientific AmericanFrontiers television show,” Steward-Ganz said. “They called one day in 1998 and asked howI’d like to go to the Galapagos for free as a teacher ambassador. I’m thinking ‘Which of myfriends is playing a joke on me?’”

She spent most of December 1998 in the Galapagos and Ecuador. You can read her journaland see her photos online; from www.pbs.org/safarchive, click on the robot (cool science),then the cyber field trip entitled “Destination: Galapagos Islands.”

“Alan Alda was so nice. What a humanitarian,” she said of the former “MASH” star who is theshow’s host. “He would sit on deck and play Scrabble with us. His knowledge of science blewme away—he’s not just reading a script!”

“She has better placperson in a great ac

—Form

Ecology CenterIt took 18 industrial dumpsters to clean up the trash on the four acres behind thehigh school. The students did it all themselves, ex-cept for the asbestos roofing tiles in the creek bedthat had to be removed by the EPA.

“This was a place where the kids came and got introuble,” Steward-Ganz said. “I wanted to motivatethem. I’d struck up a friendship with Jane Goodalland I told her my idea of wanting to build a naturecenter where the dump was. She said, ‘If you buildit, I will come.’ By April 1990, we had finished thepond, the waterfall, and the nature trails. Dr. Janemade 13 stops in North America on her lecturetour that year. One of those stops was GrapevineHigh School, to dedicate our ecology center.”

Over several years, the kids built and paid for all ofit themselves—a giant aviary, a pond for the duckand the fish, a winding brick walkway, a two-roomcage for the disabled raccoon, nature trails, and aveterans’ memorial with a stage.

“We get football and baseball players. Cheerlead-ers. It’s a cool thing to be involved in, and the kidsrespect it,” Steward-Ganz said. “And the ecologykids are very well respected in our community. SixFlags called to ask them to run their hauntedhouse for March of Dimes, and they’re called tojudge elementary science fairs all the time.”

Biology and chemistry are required to get into theclass but most students have also had physics.“We do advanced placement environmental labs,lots of water chemistry and botany,” she said.

During the summer, Steward-Ganz comes up everyother day to feed the animals: a raccoon, fish, and birds outside; lizards, tropicalbirds, fish, and turtles inside.

FALL 2003 17

devoted her entire life to making the world ace, especially for children. If I can affect just onethe way she has affected my life, I will have madecomplishment.”

mer student Boanna Owens, who now works with Jane Goodall

18 TSTA ADVOCATE

at the representative assembly

Two newNEA directors

Texans Yolanda Molina andShirley Howard were electedas at-large education supportprofessional representativeson the NEA Board of Direc-tors. The election took placeduring the NEA Representa-tive Assembly in New Or-leans in July.

Molina is an NGS entrydata specialist/migrant re-cruiter for Mercedes ISD;Howard is a bus driver withMidland ISD and two-time

winner of TSTA’s Ronnie RayESP of the Year Award.

Texas delegates workedhard in New Orleans to push

their candidates, as shown inthe photos above. On theright end, pictured in the topphoto is Yolanda Molina; pic-

tured in the bottom photo isShirley Howard.

Other Texans serving onthe NEA Board of Directors

CClaudette Thomas is the lead bus driver for PasadenaISD. She provides training to new bus drivers on thepolicy and procedures of Pasadena ISD and, as an

instructor in CPR and first aid, she also provides training toinsure the safety of students being transported on schoolbuses.

But Claudette Thomas believes that driving a bus is aboutmore than transporting students. She works to establish rela-tionships with all the students on her bus. Every day on theway home, she reviews the day with the students to find outwhat they have learned.

She has taken the lead as well in fighting off attempts tocontract out the services provided by education supportprofessionals in her district.

“ESPs are behind the scenes people,” Thomas says, “butnow we are coming to the front because we’re fightingfor our jobs. The administration we have in D.C. seems

to think we can do more with less—meaning ESPs.”

She is a hard-working, hard-charging TSTA leader whodoes what it takes to make things better for educationemployees and kids. We are proud that she’s our TSTA

Ronnie Ray ESP Advocate of the Year!

esp

corn

er TSTA honors theRonnie Ray ESPA

FALL 2003 19

are Fran Valenzuela, Hous-ton, retired director; MikeBuckner, League City, admin-istrator at-large director; and

our Texas NEA directors EvaGonzalez of El Paso, JenniferJones of Fabens, and WandaNealy-Ward of Corsicana.

The NEA RepresentativeAssembly photos in this issuewere taken by Nicki Robersonof San Antonio.

Why I joined TSTA/NEA“I joined TSTA when Ifirst started working forthe school district andI’ve loved every minuteof it. Membershipreminds me of theAmerican ExpressCard slogan, but withTSTA, it’s “Don’t becaught on—or off—the job without it.’You never know whenyou might need yourmembership, for job-related information,

for an update on thelegislature, for dis-counts, or for legalassistance.”

—Claudette Thomas

Advocate of the Year CHARLOTTE IN 2004The 2004 NEA ESPConference will be March12-14, 2004 at theWestin Charlotte Hotelin Charlotte, NorthCarolina.

Look for registrationforms and informationon www.nea.org/esphome beginning inlate fall.

FOR TITLE I PARASWritten in a Q&A format,the U.S. Department ofEducation's 14-pagedocument, "Title I Para-professional Non-regula-tory Guidance," is onNEA's ESP website. Itanswers many of thequestions paraprofes-sionals have about theElementary and Sec-

ondary Education Act,

including general infor-

mation, requirements for

paraprofessionals, para-

professional assessment,

and funding issues.

Available as a PDF or

text document at

www.nea.org/esphome.

ESP TALK

This is the place to dis-

cuss issues related to ed-

ucation support profes-

sionals and the

workplace, including

school safety, privatiza-

tion, benefits, parapro-

fessional training, orga-

nizing, and more. It's

part of OWL, NEA's web

site for members only.

Visit the discussion fo-

rums at www.owl.org.

NEA Resources

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

20 TSTA ADVOCATE

Idea exchangeNURTURING THE NEXTSPIELBERGIf you have access to a cam-corder, your class can cre-ate a fun animated movie.

➤Have the kids write theirown story; for example, WeGo to the Playground.

➤Some children draw thecharacters in the story andcut them out.

➤Others draw or pastedown construction paperfigures for the back-ground—in this example,

maybe trees, sidewalk,grass, swings.

➤Have the childrenset the cut-out char-acters on the back-ground page, filmfor 2 seconds andpress “pause.”

➤Then move thecharacters slightly,

record for two secondsand press “pause.” Repeatuntil the story is finished.

(Maybe the characters arewalking down the sidewalktoward the playground,swinging back and forth onthe swings—you may haveto fold their legs—then re-turning to class.)

➤When you play this videoback, it will create the illu-sion of a moving picture.Children will be amazed tosee the magic and feel in-credible pride!

J. Eli Lubman, ZavalaElementary, Austin

SHARE YOUR IDEASWITH US! Do you have a great bulletinboard or classroom door? Acreative way to teach frac-tions or organize homework?A new strategy for Spanishclass or back-to-schoolnight? Your colleagueswould love to hear!

Drop us an email [email protected] or writeto TSTA Advocate, 316 W.12th Street, Austin, TX78701.

in th

e cl

assr

oom

JJourney with your stu-dents to unchartedgalaxies with this year’s

Space Day Design Chal-lenges—“Blazing GalacticTrails.” Using any planet,moon, comet or asteroid asthe launching point for ex-ploration, students will createan electronic journal of theexpedition, develop a multi-purpose tool for exploringand/or surviving, or design a

working vehicle to help ex-plore a region.

Design Challenges areunique, online learning initia-tives that encourage studentsin grades 4-8 to employmathematical and scientificconcepts, initiate indepen-dent research, promote in-quiry and “real-life” problem-solving, and connect directlywith national standards inscience, mathematics, tech-

nology and language arts. Two teams of Fredericks-

burg elementary teacher TeriBecker’s students won na-tional recognition in 2002.“The Challenges promoteteam research, collaborationand creativity better than anyprogram I have ever used inthe classroom,” she says. Herstudents met with Sen. JohnGlenn, Sally Ride and manyother NASA engineers and

astronauts at the SmithsonianNational Air and SpaceMuseum.

Teams that submit solutionsby March 5 will be consideredfor national recognition andreceive a certificate of appre-ciation signed by Glenn, whois the Space Day co-chair. On-line lesson plans, innovativeclassroom activities, teacherresources and registration areat www.spaceday.org.

Space PioneersBlazing galactic trails in 2003

FALL 2003 21

A word of encouragementmay be all it takes to build upa child’s confidence and boosthis or her self-esteem. NEALunch Mail is three littleboxes of 30 individual cards,each with a different messageon the inside and a spot on

the back for your own per-sonal message.

As an educator, you canuse them as a special rewardfor a job well done. If you’realso a parent, tuck thecard in your child’s lunch-box, under his pillow or

in her backpack.You can buy one box for

$4.95 or all three for $12.95plus postage and handling.

Call the NEA ProfessionalLibrary at 800-229-4200,email [email protected], orvisit www.nea.org/books.

A sandwich and a little encouragement

Looking for a great way toinspire a love of reading inchildren? Consider the TexasBook Festival November 8-9at the State Capitol. It’s a freeoutdoor book fair combiningbook signings, author paneldiscussions, children’s activi-ties, music, readings, andmore.

More than 100 writers willattend, including popularchildren’s authors Ashley Bryan(Beautiful Blackbird), EsméRaji Codell (How to Get YourChild to Love Reading), Lilaand Rick Guzmán (Lorenzo’sRevolutionary Quest), SusanJeffers (Brother Eagle, SisterSky), Sue Macy (Bull’s Eye: APhotobiography of Annie

Oakley), Louis Sacher(Holes), Brian Selznick (TheMeanest Doll in the World),Cynthia Leitich Smith(In My Grandmother’sHouse), Diane Stanley(Being Thankful atPlymouth Plantation),and Adrienne Yorinks(Quack!). For adults,there’s Dave Barry,Roy Blount, Jr., PeterCarey, Oscar Casares,Rod McKuen, DanRather, Gov. AnnRichards, BobSchieffer, Amy Tan,Calvin Trillin, ScottTurow, and HermanWouk. Now in itseighth year, the festi-

val has raised $1.43 millionfor Texas public libraries.www.texasbookfestival.org.

Need a grant?The grants below areavailable from the NEAFoundation for the Im-provement of Educationon an ongoing, year-round basis.

INNOVATION GRANTSNFIE awards up to 200grants per year of $2,000each to teams of two ormore educators to pro-mote collaborative educa-tion innovations that leadto high levels of studentachievement. Preferencewill be given to NEAmembers and educatorswho serve economicallydisadvantaged and/or un-derserved students.

LEARNING ANDLEADERSHIP GRANTSNFIE awards up to 75grants per year of $1,000for individuals or $3,000for a study group to pro-mote high-quality pro-fessional developmentexperiences that lead toimprovements in prac-tice, curriculum, andstudent achievement inthe public school orhigher education insti-tutions. Preference isgiven to NEA members.

GENERAL INFORMATIONAll practicing U.S. publicschool teachers in gradespreK-12, education sup-port professionals, andhigher education fac-ulty/staff may apply.Applications may besubmitted at any timeand are peer reviewed.For grant guidelines andan application form, goto www.nfie.org.

Authors line up for Texas Book Festival

22 TSTA ADVOCATE

““LLong before pink Cadillacsand paparazzi, a musical

yet-to-be named ElvisPresley and his two faithfulsidekicks tore up Texas high-ways, perpetually late for theirnext high school hop, cardealership opening, or Lion’sClub fund raiser. As theydodged tumbleweeds at 110mph to play at every widespot in the road, scores ofabused cars and unwary rattle-snakes sacrificed their lives so

that one day Elvis Presleycould tell a Dallas newspaperreporter, ‘I owe a lot to Texas.They’re the ones who put meover the top.’

“Though to most good ol’boys (and gals) Elvis was amystery wrapped in a riddleinside a pink and black suit,anyone who met him knewhe possessed that certainsomething. No matter whatthe folks in Texas thought ofhis creative wardrobe, dub-

ious bodily exertions, orguitar homicide, all agreedElvis served as an excellentmusical ambassador. Theyjust weren’t sure from whatplanet. These are their stories.”

So begins Elvis in Texas, abook by history teacher andTSTA member Stan Oberstand Lori Torrance. The au-thors spent three years inter-viewing people who saw,heard, and knew Elvis in theearly years. Now in its third

printing, the book documentseach of Presley’s appearancesin Texas, complete with oldphotos, concert posters, andreviews from local newspa-pers. These documents, andthe memories of the peoplewho were there, are now alasting monument to a specialtime in Texas’ rich musicalhistory. Oberst is a teacher atShepton High School inPlano. You can buy his bookon amazon.com or buy.com.

Teacher tracks Elvis through Texas

amaz

ing

mem

bers

FALL 2003 23

We asked people who would agree to be featured in our“Amazing Members” column to please write us. Here’s oneof the letters we received! (If you would like to be featured,please email us at [email protected] or send a note toAdvocate, 316 West 12th Street, Austin, TX 78701.)

In the Winter Advocate 2002, I found a question: “Areyou amazing?” I think the project my husband Jim and Iare doing is terrifically amazing.

Together we are writing a book, Rediscovery of the Ele-ments. We go all over the world collecting pictures anddata about where the elements were first discovered, themines, the laboratories and the scenery and towns aroundthe area.

Our research has taken us to Romania, where Telluriumwas discovered; to Sweden where many elements werediscovered; and about 20 other countries.

We are really excited about the discovery of the mine inRomania since it is over 200 years old and still existed orat least the entrance timbers were there. We had to go toThe University of Texas to get a map of the area fromtheir geology school.

We use a Global Positioning System to mark the placesand draw maps on how to get there. We believe it is his-torically significant since in the next 25 years or so, therewon’t be anyone who can find these places.

We spend our summers researching and locating theinformation. We have published 12 articles so far, andmy photographs have been on two scientific magazinecovers. Our book should be published in about 2006since we still have some research to do and we haveto sort through over 5,000 photographs.

Visit us at www.jennymarshall.com/rediscovery1.htm.

In May, I retired from teaching technology classes atDenton ISD at Calhoun Middle School after 23 years ofteaching and 23 years in NEA/TSTA. Now I am a lifetimemember. My husband Jim teaches chemistry at theUniversity of North Texas.

—Virginia (Jenny) Marshall, [email protected]

Outside the Lomo del Toro, Mexico, Vanadium mine

In search ofthe elements

Looking for a Thorium mine in Levoya, Norway

In front of a 500-year-old house in London

24 TSTA ADVOCATE

MMany of our out-standing TSTA/NEAmembers, region

and local associations, com-munities, businesses, organi-zations, and individuals whoare friends of education de-

serve honors andawards. TSTA

is accepting nomi-nations for awards

contained in this article. Fordetails and/or a nominationform for an award, contactthe Center for Executive andGovernance (877-ASK-TSTA,ext. 1510). Nominations areto be submitted to the Centerfor Executive and Gover-nance, 316 West 12th Street,Austin, TX 78701.

➤Friend of EducationAward: recognizes either (1)an individual or a major sin-

gle accomplishment or careereffort which has greatly im-pacted Texas education andwhich achieves some aspectof educational progress withwhich TSTA agrees; or (2) anorganization/company out-side the field of educationwhich has made an outstand-ing contribution in the fieldof education. Any TSTAmember, local association, re-

gion, or other recognizedgroup (e.g., state-

wide or special com-mittee or caucus) may

make nominations. Aletter or memoran-

dum of nomina-tion should be

submitted, ac-companied by a

biographical statementproviding detailsabout the major sin-

gle accomplish-ment or career ef-

fort supporting the worthinessof the individual or organiza-tion/company to receive thisaward. Nominations must bepostmarked no later thanSunday, November 30, 2003.

➤Ronnie Ray ESP Advocateof the Year Award: recog-nizes a TSTA educationalsupport professional whoseactivities reflect the contribu-tions of ESP to public edu-cation and show outstandingaccomplishments in one ormore of the following areas:innovations to support theday-to-day educationalprocess; professional achieve-ments in his/her classifica-

tion; involvement in the pro-motion of public education inthe community; involvementin local, state, or nationalassociation; and enhance-ment of ESPs’ image inhis/her association, worksite, or community. Thenominee must have been aTSTA/NEA member for threeyears as of January 15, 2004.Nominations must be sub-mitted by a region and/orlocal affiliate. Only one nom-ination may be submitted bya region and/or local affiliate.Nominations must be re-ceived no later than 4:45p.m. on Sunday, November30, 2003. The recipient ofthe award will be submittedas TSTA’s nominee for NEA’sESP award.

➤Frank J. Tejeda Award forPublic Service: recognizes anindividual for service at thestate or national political/leg-islative level on behalf ofpublic school children or ed-ucational employees of Texas.Nominees must be elected orappointed officials that arenot currently employed full-time by a school district.Nominations must be post-marked no later than Sunday,November 30, 2003.

➤Professional, Human, andCivil Rights Awards: recog-nize Texas educators, local as-sociations, regional associa-tions and individuals who arefriends of education for dis-tinguished service and contri-butions in promoting and/or

com

ing

up Honors and awardsKnow someone who’s outst

FALL 2003 25

encouraging professional andhuman rights activities. Cate-gories of awards are: Individ-ual, Special, Mickey LelandMemorial, and the Willie Ve-lasquez Memorial. Nomina-tions must be postmarked nolater than Sunday, February1, 2004.

TSTA also encourages re-gional and local affiliates orindividuals to nominate anindividual, organizationand/or a region or local affili-ate for an NEA Human andCivil Rights Award. For fur-ther information on the indi-vidual award categories andforms, you may view NEA’swebsite at www.nea.org/annualmeeting/hcrawards orwrite NEA Human and CivilRights, 1201 16th Street, NW,Washington, DC 20036-3290(202-822-7705). Nominationsmust be postmarked no laterthan December 15, 2003.

➤Ermalee BoiceInstructional Advocacy/NEA Teaching ExcellenceAward: recognizes, rewardsand promotes teaching excel-lence. Through this award,teaching excellence, publiceducation, and the NEA’sdedicated members arehonored. Nominations mustbe postmarked no laterthan Monday, March 1, 2004.The recipient of this awardwill be submitted as TSTA’snominee for the NEA Foun-dation Award for TeachingExcellence.

Oklahoma to host NEA Western Conference

tanding?Upcoming TSTA/NEA EventsNOVEMBER8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Constitution, Bylaws & Elections Committee Meeting, TSTA

Headquarters

14-16 . . . . . . . . . . . TSTA/TFT Joint Educational Issues Conference, Adam’sMark Hotel, Dallas

16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Community & Instructional Advocacy Committee Meeting,Adam’s Mark Hotel, Dallas

16-22 . . . . . . . . . . . American Education Week

19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . National ESP Day

DECEMBER5-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . TSTA Board of Directors Meeting, TSTA Headquarters

12-13 . . . . . . . . . . . NEA Board of Directors Meeting, Washington, DC

JANUARY15-16 . . . . . . . . . . . NEA Western Regional Minority Leadership Training

Seminar, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

16-18 . . . . . . . . . . . NEA Western Regional Leadership Conference, OklahomaCity, Oklahoma

23-24 . . . . . . . . . . . Legislative Cadre Training

24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TSTA Constitution, Bylaws & Elections Committee Meeting,TSTA Headquarters

25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Legislative & Political Advocacy Committee Meeting, Austin

30-31 . . . . . . . . . . . TSTA Board of Directors Meeting, TSTA Headquarters

31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . School Bell Award entries due

FEBRUARY1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TSTA Board of Directors Meeting, TSTA Headquarters

13-14 . . . . . . . . . . . NEA Board of Directors Meeting, Washington, D.C.

NEA’s Western RegionalLeadership Conference is Jan-uary 16-18 in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma. NEA funds se-lected state affiliate partici-pants based on membership.Last year, NEA funded 16participants from Texas, in-cluding the president, vicepresident, one Board of Di-rectors member, and theTexas NEA Directors. TSTA’spresident selects the remain-ing funded participants.

Each year this conferenceproves to be one of the bestleadership training confer-ences. It provides personalleadership skills as well asbackground knowledge ofNEA, its programs and activi-ties. The conference registra-tion fee for non-funded mem-bers last year was $85. TSTAencourages as many leadersas possible to attend.

As in the past, the WesternRegional Minority Leadership

Training Seminar will be heldprior to the conference inOklahoma City, January 15-16. NEA funds five membersfrom Texas to attend the con-ference. TSTA’s president se-lects these members.

Leaders/members wishing toattend either of the conferencesas a non-funded participantmust submit their request inwriting to TSTA PresidentHaschke no later than 4:45p.m. Friday, November 21.

26 TSTA ADVOCATE

LLet’s go to Washington,D.C., for the 2004 NEA

Representative Assem-bly (RA) July 4-7. Pre-RAmeetings and workshopsbegin on June 26. The firstTexas caucus will be on July 2with the Texas event beingheld that evening.

The exact number of dele-gates from Texas will be de-termined by our TSTA/NEAmembership as of January 15,2004. TSTA will be allocatedone state delegate for every1,000 active (teacher or ESP)and life-active NEA membersand locals will be allocatedone local delegate for every150 members, or major frac-tion thereof.

NEA has established a pol-icy of encouraging ethnic-mi-nority representation reflec-tive of the ethnic make-up ofthe state’s population. Thegoal for TSTA is to elect atleast 48 percent of our totaldelegation from among ourethnic-minority members. Wecannot accomplish this goalunless all of our leaders andcaucuses help recruit ethnic-minority candidates to runfor delegate positions at boththe state and local levels.

Below you will find someof the specific requirementsand timelines for election ofstate and local associationdelegates. Anybody withquestions about the elections,or needing other informationabout the process, should con-tact Sandra Solimine at TSTA,877-ASK-TSTA, ext. 1514 oremail [email protected].

Please note that the time-line and process for the elec-tion of state delegates to theNEA RA is substantially dif-ferent from previous years.

SSTTAATTEE DDEELLEEGGAATTEESSThe Advocate containing bal-

lots for the election of StateDelegates should be received bymembers by March 31, 2004.Ballots must be received atTSTA no later than 5 p.m. onApril 16, 2004. Ballots will becanvassed on April 17 and alldelegates and alternates(“successor delegates”) will benotified by letter.

NEA requires that all elec-tions for state and local dele-gates must be conducted withopen nominations and secretballots. At the end of this arti-cle you will find a NominationForm to seek election as a StateDelegate to the 2004 NEARA. If you would like to runfor a delegate position, pleasecomplete the form (or a copyof it) and return it to TSTA.The form must be receivedby the Center for Executiveand Governance at TSTA nolater than January 15, 2004,in order for your name to ap-pear on the printed ballot.

Each candidate for StateDelegate is entitled to havehis or her name published inthe Advocate, along with astatement of 25 words or lessdetailing his/her professionalassociation involvement.

NEA also requires propor-tional representation for su-pervisory and non-supervi-sory members. In order toinsure this is not violated, su-pervisory members are not el-igible to run for state delegateas outlined above. Instead,they are eligible to run in aseparate election for Category2 State At-Large Delegate(which also includes NEALife Retired members) and/orin the Statewide SupervisoryCluster election. Supervisory

members desiring to seekelection as a delegate shouldcomplete and return theNomination Form (markingthe appropriate box) alongwith the 25-word statement.Only those Supervisory mem-bers who are also local mem-bers may run in the Supervi-sory Cluster election, thoughthe local association has theoption not to participate inthe Cluster. Those Supervi-sory members who do notbelong to a local, or who be-long to a local that opts out ofthe cluster may still run inthe Category 2 election.Again, if you have questionsplease call Sandra Solimine at877-ASK-TSTA, ext. 1514 oremail [email protected].

LLOOCCAALL DDEELLEEGGAATTEESSSince local associations are

allocated one delegate foreach 150 NEA members ormajor fraction thereof, a localmust have at least 76 mem-bers (teacher, ESP and life) toqualify for a delegate. Localswith fewer than 76 membersmay cluster together for thepurpose of electing local dele-gates. Regional Presidents willwork with locals in their re-gions to form those clusters.

NEA will notify locals inmid-February of the numberof delegates allocated for eachlocal. Locals will be providedofficial NEA forms for report-ing data about local delegatesand alternates (“successordelegates”). Those completedforms must be received byTSTA no later than April10, 2004, in order to insureproper credentials at theNEA RA. Locals must con-duct an election that providesfor open nominations and

New NEAState DelegateVoting ProcessBallots for voting forstate delegates to theNEA Representative As-sembly will be placed inthe spring issue of theAdvocate. Members willneed to mark the appro-priate ballot in theAdvocate (no ballotsmay be copied), cut theballot out, place the bal-lot in a sealed envelope,and place the label onthe envelope as the re-turn address. You mustuse the return label thatis provided in yourAdvocate for your ballotto be counted. The re-turn label will have yourname and address,along with other infor-mation to ensure thatyour ballot is properlysorted. The ballot will beseparated from the en-velope before countingto ensure secrecy.

gove

rnan

ce National delegate elections

FALL 2003 27

secret ballots. That can bedone either by delivering anomination form to eachmember (using a local news-letter is permissible), then in-suring each member gets aballot with the names of thosereturning the form, or byholding an all-member meet-ing, with proper notice toeach member, and acceptingnominations at the meeting,then voting by secret ballot.

Locals that include bothsupervisory and non-supervi-sory members must elect del-egates in proportion to theappropriate number of suchmembers. Instructions on howto calculate the proper alloca-tion will be provided with in-formation about the numberof delegates to be elected.

RREETTIIRREEDD DDEELLEEGGAATTEESSTSTA-R/NEA-R delegates

are elected in two electionswith different eligibility re-quirements. Those membersmeeting both sets of eligibil-ity requirements may run inboth elections. Someone whowas an NEA life memberwhile teaching and is cur-rently retired, may seek elec-tion as a Category 2 State At-Large delegate by completingand returning the Nomina-tion Form and marking theappropriate box.

A separate NominationForm is provided for TSTA-R/NEA-R members to seekelection as a TSTA-R/NEA-Rdelegate. The deadline forsubmitting this form (andelection statement of 25words or less) is January15, 2004. For this election,delegates are allocated onedelegate for the first 50 TSTA-R/NEA-R members and anadditional delegate for eachadditional 1,000 TSTA-R/NEA-R members.

SSTTUUDDEENNTT DDEELLEEGGAATTEESSThe TSTA-Student Program

is allocated one delegate forthe first 50 TSTA-SP mem-bers and an additional dele-gate for each 500 members.

These delegates are based onTSTA-SP membership as ofMarch 15, 2004.

TSTA-SP members seek-ing election as a delegateshould use the same form

as for the TSTA-R delegatesand mark the appropriatebox.

The deadline for returningthis form for student mem-bers is March 15, 2004.

N O M I N AT I O N F O R M

NNEEAA RReepprreesseennttaattiivvee AAsssseemmbbllyy AAtt--LLaarrggee DDeelleeggaattee PPoossiittiioonnss——JJuullyy 44--77,, 22000044(This form is also available online at www.tsta.org)

NOMINEE FOR: (Check one)! TSTA-Student Program Delegate Position (Deadline for receipt at TSTA Headquarters is March 15, 2004)! TSTA-Retired Delegate Position (Deadline for receipt at TSTA Headquarters is January 15, 2004)

(Circle One: Mr. Ms.) Name ______________________________________________________________________

Address_____________________________________________________________________________________

City _____________________________________________________ State______________ Zip______________

Home Phone____________________________________Day Phone_______________________________________

Email ______________________________________________________________________________________

University (TSTA-SP Only) _____________________________Social Security No._______________________________

ETHNIC GROUP: (Check all that apply)! American Indian/Alaska Native ! Asian ! Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander! Black ! Hispanic ! Caucasian (not of Spanish Origin)

! YES ! NO TSTA-R: I authorize printing of my ethnicity.! YES ! NO TSTA-R: Enclosed is my election statement of 25 words or less which will be sent with the ballot.

(Note: Statements exceeding 25 words will not be considered.)

Send by U.S. Mail or FAX (512-486-7053) To: Sandra Solimine, TSTA,Organizing Center for Executive and Governance, 316 W. 12th Street, Austin, TX 78701

Signature of Nominee ___________________________________________________________________________


22000044 NNEEAA RReepprreesseennttaattiivvee AAsssseemmbbllyy SSttaattee DDeelleeggaatteessJanuary 15, 2004, 5:00 p.m.—Deadline for receipt at TSTA Headquarters.

(This form is also available online at www.tsta.org)NOMINEE FOR: (Check one)! State At-Large Delegate: Category 1—Teacher, ESP or other Non-supervisor! State At-Large Delegate: Category 2—Administrator or NEA Life Retired! Statewide Supervisory Cluster—Supervisors who are members of a local association*

*Supervisory members whose local chooses not to participate in the cluster are not eligible to run in this election.


Address_____________________________________________________________________________________

City _____________________________________________________ State______________ Zip______________

Home Phone___________________________________ Work Phone_______________________________________

Email _______________________________________Social Security No.__________________________________

Local Association________________________________TSTA Region______ Work site _________________________

Position (Teacher, Principal, ESP, etc.) ______________________________________ ! Supervisory ! Non-Supervisory

ETHNIC GROUP: (Check all that apply)! American Indian/Alaska Native ! Asian ! Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander! Black ! Hispanic ! Caucasian (not of Spanish Origin)

! YES ! NO I authorize printing of my ethnicity.! YES ! NO Enclosed is my election statement of 25 words or less which will be published in the spring Advocate.



28 TSTA ADVOCATE

SState delegate alloca-tions for local associa-tions (including TFA)

to the April 23-24, 2004TSTA House of Delegates willbe mailed to local presidentson January 5.

Delegates are allocated tolocals in a ratio of one (1)delegate for each fifty (50)members or major fractionbased on the local's Active,Life and ESP membership onMay 31, 2003. The policyregarding election of dele-gates, forms, and timelineswill accompany the alloca-tion. Retired and studentmembers are not eligible tobe nominated or elected aslocal association delegates.

Delegates from retiredand student membershipcategories will be elected at-large by their respectivememberships and have dif-ferent timelines as outlinedbelow. Contact SandraSolimine in the OrganizingCenter for Executive andGovernance at 877-ASK-TSTA, extension 1514, oremail [email protected] if youhave questions regarding theelections.

AATTTTEENNTTIIOONN,, RREETTIIRREEDDMMEEMMBBEERRSS::

According to the TSTA By-laws, delegates for the stateHouse of Delegates are allo-cated to TSTA-Retired/NEA-Retired members.

The number of at-largeTSTA-R delegates will bebased on TSTA retired mem-bership as of May 31, 2003.

In order to run for a TSTA-Rat-large delegate position, acandidate must be a memberof TSTA-R and NEA-R.

These at-large retired dele-gates are allocated in the ratioof one (1) delegate to eachseventy-five (75) members ormajor fraction thereof.

Nomination forms must bereceived by January 15, 2004.

Ballots for the election willbe sent to members the weekof February 9, 2004. The

deadline for returning ballotsto TSTA Headquarters isMarch 10, 2004.

Any retired member who isa TSTA-R/NEA-R membermay nominate himself/herselfor another qualified memberfor a retired delegate position.

AATTTTEENNTTIIOONN,, SSTTUUDDEENNTTMMEEMMBBEERRSS::

According to the TSTA By-laws, delegates are allocatedto the TSTA Student Program

in the ratio of one (1) dele-gate for each seventy-five (75)members or major fractionthereof based on unifiedTSTA membership as of May31, 2003. These delegateswill be elected in a statewideelection.

Nomination forms mustreach TSTA Headquarters byJanuary 15, 2004. Ballots willbe mailed to TSTA-SP chapterpresidents the week of January26, 2004. Chapter presidentswill conduct the election andballots must be returned toTSTA Headquarters by March5, 2004. Any member maynominate himself/herself oranother member.

TSTA state conventiondelegate elections


RReettiirreedd aanndd SSttuuddeenntt AAtt--LLaarrggee DDeelleeggaattee PPoossiittiioonnssTTSSTTAA HHoouussee ooff DDeelleeggaatteess——AApprriill 2233--2244,, 22000044

The deadline for receipt of this nomination form at TSTA’s Headquarters is January 15, 2004(This form is also available online at www.tsta.org)

NOMINEE FOR: (Check one)

! TSTA-Student Program Delegate Position! TSTA-Retired Delegate Position


Address_____________________________________________________________________________________

City _____________________________________________________ State______________ Zip______________

Home Phone _____________________________________Work Phone_____________________________________

Email ______________________________________________________________________________________

Social Security No. _____________________________________________________________________________

University (TSTA-SP Only) _________________________________________________________________________

ETHNIC GROUP: (Check all that apply)

! American Indian/Alaska Native ! Asian ! Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander! Black ! Hispanic ! Caucasian (not of Spanish Origin)

! YES ! NO TSTA-R: I authorize printing of my ethnicity.! YES ! NO TSTA-R: Enclosed is my election statement of 25 words or less which will be sent with the ballot.

(Note: Statements exceeding 25 words will not be considered.)



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Have you logged on lately? Many members stop by every week to take advantage of our exclusive offers and valuable financial resources.

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FALL 2003 31

TSTA/NEATexas State Teachers Association/National Education Association

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

AREA CODE HOME PHONE

METHOD OF PAYMENT_____1 Cash/Check _____ 2 Payroll Deduction Authorization (below)

I hereby authorize the______________________________________________ SchoolDistrict to deduct the total amount of the annual obligation as set by the appropri-ate Association governance bodies in _________ equal payments in order to paymy dues to the professional associations and organizations listed and for politicalaction contributions indicated. The authorization will continue in effect for thisschool year and future years, including any increase that may occur, until I givewritten notice to the local by September 15 to revoke. I further authorize any un-paid annual balance to be deducted from my final check. The Local Associationwill notify School District officials of the annual dues amounts for all levels of theAssociation each year.

LOCAL ASSOCIATION HIRE DATE

NAME OF ISD

DATE OF BIRTH

! American Indian/Alaska Native ! Asian! Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander! BlackEthnicity information is optional and failure to provide it will in no way affect your membership status,rights or benefits in NEA, TSTA or any of their affiliates.This information will be kept confidential.

! Hispanic! Caucasian (not of Spanish Origin)! Unknown AREA CODE WORK PHONE

CAMPUS/WORKSITE

POSITION (I.E. CLASSROOM TEACHER, LIBRARIAN, BUS DRIVER, ETC.)

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP

EMAIL AT HOME

EMAIL AT WORK

ANNUAL DUES AND CONTRIBUTIONS AMOUNT

1. Professional Dues—TSTA/NEA (Active) $369.00Professional Dues—New to the profession $251.50

2. Substitute Dues—Full-time $272.25Substitute Dues—Part-time $132.50

3. Educational Support Dues—Full-time $191.00Educational Support Dues—Part-time $ 98.00

4. NEA Fund for Children and Public Education(suggested amount $15.00)

5. TSTA-PAC (see disclaimer below) $ 9.00

6. Region Dues

7. Local Association Dues

TOTAL

✔

DISCLAIMER: The TSTA Political Action Committee (TSTA-PAC) and National Education Association Fund for Children and Public Education collect voluntary contributions from Association members anduse these contributions for political purposes, including, but not limited to, making contributions to and expenditures on behalf of friends of public education who are candidates for federal office. Contribu-tions to TSTA-PAC and The NEA Fund for Children and Public Education are voluntary; making a contribution is neither a condition of employment nor membership in the Association, and members havethe right to refuse to contribute without suffering any reprisal. Although the NEA Fund for Children and Public Education requests an annual contribution of $15, this is only a suggestion. A member maycontribute more or less than the suggested amount, or may contribute nothing at all, without it affecting his or her membership status, rights, or benefits in NEA or any of its affiliates.

Contributions or gifts to The NEA Fund for Children and Public Education, TSTA-PAC and local PACs are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

Federal law requires political committees to report the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer for each individual whose contributions aggregate in excess of $200 in a calendar year.

Federal law prohibits The NEA Fund for Children and Public Education from receiving donations from persons other than members of NEA and its affiliates, and their immediate families. All donations frompersons other than members of NEA and its affiliates, and their immediate families, will be returned forthwith.

MEMBER SIGNATURE DATE

“I decline to contribute to TSTA-PAC and I understand this will not in any way affect my membership status or rights.” _______________INITIAL

Former student member?______YES ______ NO

Annual membership dues to NEA include $4.50 for NEA Today, $2.45 for NEA-Retired and/or $16.00 for the Higher Education publications. The NEA publication(s) receivedby members are based on membership category. Annual membership dues to TSTA include subscription to the TSTA Advocate. Membership is open only to those whoagree to subscribe to the goals and objectives of the Association and to abide by its constitution and bylaws.

LOCAL ASSOCIATION REPRESENTATIVE

_____ Please check if you would like to receive TSTA’s electronic newsletter, theTSTA Briefing, which is distributed by email at least once a week.Send to: ! home email address ! work email address

ETHNICITY

2003-04 Enrollment FormPlease return this completed form to your Association Representative or mail to TSTA Membership Department,

316 West 12th Street, Austin, Texas 78701-9516. If you have questions, call 877-ASK-TSTA.

Please share this copy of the Advocate with othersTexas State Teachers Association316 West 12th StreetAustin, Texas 78701

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PPAAIIDDTexas State

Teachers Assoc.

Texas State Teachers Association and the Texas Federation of Teachers will host a joint educational issues con-ference in Dallas on the weekend of November 14-16, 2003. The conference will feature informative speakersand a huge selection of workshops on educational issues for Texas educators and educational support profes-

sionals. Go to www.tsta.org/classroom for details.

If you are a new teacher, you can earn eight hours of Continuing Professional Education credit toward your statecertification requirement. Experienced teachers may be able to earn local professional inservice credit.

Registration fee is $140 after October 22, which includes lunch and dinner on Saturday. The registration form canbe downloaded at www.tsta.org/classroom.

The Adam's Mark Hotel, located at 400 Olive Street in Dallas, is the conference site. Contact the Adam's Mark Hotelat 800-444-2326 and tell them that you are attending the TSTA/TFT Texas Educational Issues Conference.

It’snottoo late!JJooiinntt TTSSTTAA aanndd TTFFTTTTeexxaass EEdduuccaattiioonnaall IIssssuueessCCoonnffeerreenncceeNovember 14-16, 2003,Adam's Mark Hotel, Dallas

Advocate - TSTA

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