COLLECTIVE ACTION FOR COLLECTIVE EXCELLENCE

NSAIINovember, 2015

BUILDING A UNION FOR GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR ALL

Our Path to the Future Must…• Appeal to a new generation of 2 million teachers

entering the profession by helping them become better educators

• Find new ways to engage all of our members more deeply around their professional practice and strengthen their relationship with the union

• Invest in the infrastructure and capacity needed at the national, state and local levels to grow and engage membership, to advance our work for students, and safeguard the organization’s future

Theory of Success… Educator Empowerment to Shape Learning for Students

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One Priority… Many Strategies

Empowered Educators

Membership Organizing

Communications

NEA360

Leadership Development

Fiscal Health

Advocacy

Affiliate Capacity Building

Partnerships

THE BACKDROP…THE CHANGING SHAPE AND DEMANDS ON PUBLIC EDUCATION

We Must Prepare our Members to Meet the Needs of a Changing Student

Population2014 Marked the First Time that the Majority of

Public School Students Were Minority

Source: Pewresearch.org

We Must Empower Our Members to Help Students Overcome Barriers to Learning Low Income Students are Now a Majority in the Nation’s Public

Schools

We Must Engage the More than 2 Million New Teachers with Different Expectations of the

Union

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 20210

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,0003,403,000

3,451,0003,500,0003,549,0003,601,0003,651,0003,694,000

364,000 369,000 373,000 377,000 383,000 386,000 384,000

Projected Total

Projected New

Source: National Center of Education Information – Table 16

We Must Help Fill the Gap Where Support for Educators and Students has Fallen

The Majority of States are Still Funding Schools at Pre-Recession Levels

• At least 30 states provided less funding per student for the 2014-15 school year than they did before the recession 

• At least 20 states cut per-student funding in 2014 

• State funding sources like state income and sales tax revenues have not grown strongly enough to keep up with needs

• Inflation, changing demographics and greater school needs have raised the costs of state-funded education services

1. Alabama

50. Alaska

Source: www.cbpp.org

THE ORGANIZED ATTACKS ON LABOR AND GROWING THREATS TO DEMOCRACY

Fair Share Under Attack

Our Political Process is IncreasinglyControlled by the Top 1% of the 1%

Source: OpenSecrets.org

Absent Major Innovations … and Risk … Labor Will Continue to Manage its Decline

THE NEED FOR CHANGE & INNOVATION THROUGH COLLECTIVE ACTION & COLLECTIVE EXCELLENCE

NEA’s Road to Collective Excellence…2005• Adopted New NEA Mission Statement and Core Values

2006• Adopted a Vision of Great Public Schools for Every Student

2011-12• Engaged Members to Define Quality Teaching and Learning – Commission on Effective

Teachers and Teaching, Joint Committee on Leading the Professions, GPS Indicators

2012 • Adopted Goal 1: Strong Affiliates for Educator Voice and Empowerment & Goal 2: Empowered

Educators for Successful Students

2013• NEA Establishes Major Partnerships around Teacher Quality – BetterLesson, TeachPlus,

Student Achievement Partners, Teaching Channel, National Teachers of the Year

• NEA Develops Member Leadership Competencies

Why do Educators Go Into Education?

To Make a Difference in the Lives of Their Students and Help Them Learn!

EDUCATORS: What Do They Need to Make A Difference?

• Greater Involvement in Decision-Making for Teaching & Learning

• Greater Collaboration With Each Other & Education Stakeholders (Administrators, Parents, Community)

NEA Strategic Statement Adopted by the Executive Committee February 2015

The NEA Executive Committee affirms its commitment to empowering educators and supporting their career development and highest professional aspirations. We seek to enhance NEA and affiliate efforts to engage educators and aspiring educators at the earliest possible point along their professional continuum. To this end, we will embark on an Association-wide dialogue and bring appropriate goals and strategies forward for consideration for the 2016 – 2018 NEA Strategic Plan and Budget.

Eduator Empowerment is……the process by which educators individually and

collectively activate their power to achieve their goals.

Psychological:• Knowledge• Skills• Ability• Disposition

Structural:• Processes• Agreements• Structures

Empowerment: Two Key Elements

NEA will partner with state and local affiliates to strengthen their organizational capacity to: secure opportunities for empowered educators to transform the conditions of teaching and learning through supportive policies, practices and structures; engage and continually deepen relationships with and relevance to members; and grow association membership and strength while thwarting attacks on member rights and union strength.

Goal 1: Strong Affiliates For Educator Voice and Empowerment 

In partnership with state and local Affiliates and parents and communities, NEA will enhance the quality of education professions by supporting the development of educators across their professional continuum for empowerment roles that elevate the quality of professional practice, shape the future of teaching and learning, achieve educational opportunity and equity, advance national, state and district level policies, and create solutions designed to improve student outcomes.

Goal 2: Empowered Educatorsfor Successful Students

Listening to Our MembersStrong Majorities of Our Members Want NEA to:

All Members Millennials… Help members improve as educators

85% 87%

… Help facilitate mentoring and support

81% 85%

… Provide professional development to strengthen their professional practice

79% 84%

… Make it a priority to facilitate access to relevant training and professional development for ESPs

84% (ESPs) 85% (ESPs)

Source: NEA Bi-annual Member Survey, August 2015

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Listening to Our Members …To me it’s the intrusion of politics at national, state, and local level by people who are really, not dumb, but uninformed about a functioning of school, coming in with agendas unwilling to listen to experienced teachers and staff.  (K-12 teacher)

I think [professional development] needs more teacher input, at least in my district and in my area.  [Policymakers] come up with what they think we need, where they should ask us what we need and we might actually pay attention.   (K-12 teacher)

It’s that on-the-job training that’s the most valuable, and it’s really missing. (K-12 teacher) 

Source: NEA RA Delegate Focus Groups, 2015

New Millennials’ Top Priorities for Their Association

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Political campaigns

Voice in state/federal government

Professional development for teachers

ESP training and PD

Reduce disparities for students of color

Increase public respect

Share information about education policies

Working to provide job security

Help members improve as educators

Protect health care/retirement

7.27.67.6

7.77.8

7.97.9

8888888

8.28.4

8.58.68.6

Source: NEA Bi-annual Member Survey, August 2015

THE PATH TOWARD COLLECTIVE EXCELLENCE

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A Focus on Collective Excellence:

Support professional excellence of all educators

Enhance capacity at the national, state and local levels

The Partnership between NEA, State Affiliates and Our Locals

• Resources• Research• Support, scale and

spread efforts• Convene

• Member trust and relationships

• Understanding of local context and needs

• Point of contact

• Bridge between Locals and NEA

• Partnerships• Capacity• Advocacy• Program support

and delivery

NEA

States Locals

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Enhance Capacity at the National, State and Local Levels

• Continue to invest in state affiliate organizational foundation – fiscal health, communications, technology systems (NEA360), data

• Re-envision the focus and alignment of existing leadership development efforts Association-wide

• Develop and implement Local Leadership training program in targeted locals in partnership with state affiliates

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Support Professional Excellence of all Educators

• Scale what works - Accelerate the shift toward professional issues in cost-effective ways by scaling existing programs and testing new ways to engage members and strengthen their ties to the Association

• Meet members’ professional needs - Scan and evaluate existing programs and determine affiliate and local interest and build and scale those programs that allow members to connect with and learn from each other

• Focus on the professional practice and development - Start with targeted locals and expand as resources allow

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Mentor and Support New Teachers

What? High quality mentoring and induction systems delivered “by teachers for teachers”

Why?• Empowers our members by accelerating teacher preparedness and

effectiveness and providing educators a greater voice• Enhances student achievement• Improves teacher retention• Helps address educational inequities

How? Look to existing affiliate and local programs as well as external groups like the New Teacher Center for best practices and lessons learned

Who? NEA members supported by their locals, state affiliates and NEA

Much to think about …much to do.