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7/30/2019 IEA Advocate September 2013
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IllinoisEducationAssociation-NEA
100EastEdwards
Springfield,IL62704-1999
AdvocateThe official publication of the 133,000-member Illinois Education Association-NEA Vol. 10 Issue 1 September 2013
TheBookBusPage10
Grantmoneyavailab
le
Page4
Retiredt
eachers
winboar
dseats
Page7
Cindas
Column
Page2
SharedLearningEnvironment
Page8
FutureTeachersClubPage9
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2AdvocateSEPTEMBER 2013
Colleagues,
Every day you enter
your school sites,
ready to provide
the best for your stu-
dents, from pre-school
through higher educa-
tion. Yet, while all of usare working hard to
help mold our students
into productive, educated citizens, many in
the business and political world continue to
disparage our efforts. They claim we, as
union members, only want status quo and
arent willing to adapt. How wrong they
are.
In this time of increased focus on qual-
ity, we have the opportunity to change this
long-held, inaccurate perception by embrac-
ing common core and by sharing what we do
with the outside world.
We, THE professionals, must lead the
profession. What does that really mean?
Partly it means bargaining language that
provides us with the right resources, profes-
sional development, mentoring, etc. to de-
liver the best. But it also includes another
part: embracing new methods, and pushing
for quality for our students. It means learn-
ing the best way to deliver the common core
standards and sharing units, lessons and
ideas with each other.
I agree with the challenge from NEA
President Dennis Van Roekel. He has called
upon educators to work to make sure that
every local association not only focuses on
contract and grievance issues, but also has a
strong group of members who are focused
on the professional issues we are facing,
such as implementing new evaluation
processes, implementing the Common Core
State Standards and preparing for the new
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for
College and Careers (PARCC) tests.
As with many issues, IEA members hold
varying views on common core standards.
The fact is, the standards are here to stay.
Common core, because it is the process ofproviding the technique of teaching, gives
all of us a chance to step into the spotlight.
Who better to take charge of this than
teachers? This is an opportunity to share
ideas, embrace change, to work together for
shared success to lead!
There are many resources available to
help you as these new standards are
adopted. Please see the websites highlighted
in the box below.
Common core standards can help each
person improve his/her teaching and is a
way for educators to come together in de-
signing great lessons. But, it cannot be just
viewed as another list to merely check off in
the curriculum. Common core standards,
alone, arent the panacea for student
learning.
It still comes down to what all research
shows that the biggest influence on stu-
dent learning is the teacher.
Education leader and presenter, Nancy
Flanagan of Michigan, recently wrote about
the effect of poverty on student learning.
Education can help move students out of
poverty but education, alone, cant eradicate
poverty. And then she went on to talk about
common core standards, Pretty much
everyone knows that standards, by them-
selves, have absolutely zero magical trans-
formative power. If test scores improve as aresult of the common core standards, it will
be because teachers decide one at a time,
school by school to reshape their own in-
struction, conforming to these national
standards and the aligned tests.
As I read those words, I thought of the
many, many IEA members I have met who
are doing incredible work with students -
teachers and ESPs from pre-k to graduate
school, and I am confident that we can be
the leaders of our profession Dennis van
Roekel challenges each local to do, and as
our students deserve.And then, I add another piece: we must
make sure that we showcase our work.
Truthfully, we should at least partially ex-
cuse the business and political leaders for
their views after all, do we take the
needed steps to showcase our work, invite
them into our schools, broadcast our ef-
forts? Just as we arent in their places of
business to really know what goes on, they,
too, arent in our schools every day to see
the incredible impact you all have on stu-
dents. So, I say shout it from the rooftops,
talk about all the positives as you meet peo-
ple in the community, tell your students
parents.
You are THE professionals. And we,
together in IEA, can be seen as leading our
profession.
Please see these websites for more information on common core standard s:
www.ieanea.org/resources/common-core-standardshttp://commoncoreil.org
AdvocateIEA Advocate, Volume 10, Issue 1, Sept. 2013. TheAdvocateis published five times annually by the IllinoisEducation Association-NEA. Send correspondence to:[email protected] or IEA Department of Communi-cations, 100 East Edwards Street, Springfield, IL 62704-1999. The IEA-NEA Advocate(ISSN #1540-482X) is theofficial publication of the Illinois Education Association-NEA as a benefit of membership. A non-member sub-scription is available at $10 per year. Periodicals postage
paid at Springfield, IL.
The Illinois Education Association-NEAs mission is to effect excellenceand equity in public education and tobe THE advocacy organization for allpublic education employees.
Cinda KlicknaPresident
Kathi GriffinVice President
Al LlorensSecretary-Treasurer
Audrey SoglinExecutive Director
Charles McBarronDirector of Communications
Bob RayMedia Relations Director
Sarah AntonacciCommunications Specialist
Mark RitterbuschGraphic Designer
Denise WardAdministrative Assistant
Linda RiceSecretary
Postmaster:Send address corrections to Illinois EducationAssociation, attn: Membership Processing, 100East Edwards, Springfield, IL 62704-1999
Please see these websites for more information on common core standard s:
www.ieanea.org/resources/common-core-standardshttp://commoncoreil.org
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SEPTEMBER 2013Advocate3
Gary Williams is much more than ajanitor at Alton Middle School. For many
students there, he is a lifeline.
Williams, who is set to retire this win-
ter, graduated from Alton High School in
1968 and came back to work for the dis-
trict in 1972. Over the course of those 41
years, he has become a fixture at what is
now Alton Middle School.
His care for these children you see
it all around here how much he goes
out of his way to make sure children are
cared for said Brenda Powers, a sixth
grade language arts teacher.
Kids will go through here and maybe
not remember a teachers name, but
theyll always remember his.
Williams has for years run a program in
the school lunchroom where he hires stu-
dents to help him pick up trays, empty
garbage and do other lunchtime clean up
activities.
Since 1990, he has always paid those
kids from his own pocket $6 an hour
for the boss, $5 an hour for the assistantboss and $3 an hour for all the other
workers.
In return, the students must behave in
school and get good grades. If they dont,
their money goes into a kitty that is used
to pay for school trips and other activities
that kids might not be able to pay for on
their own.
But its not just any kids that get these
jobs. Williams has a knack for choosing
the shiest, the most disenfranchised, the
kids who need something positive in their
lives the very most.
I remember a rough childhood and I
wanted to see these kids get a good break
in life. I know some kids go home to a
rough life and I wanted them to be able to
look forward to something. I want to be
able to help them, he said.
Before he was able to pay the students,
Williams would give them a giant cookie
on Fridays to reward them for a weeks
work. They thought it was great.
So, hed pick the kids who needed it
most and hed tell them, When you get
tired of working for me, go play with your
friends.
One day, he said, hed look around and
realize he was working on his own.
Id think, Well, thats the way it was
supposed to work. Now they all had some-
one to play with.
Camille Carpenter graduated eighth
grade in the spring and said her time
working for Williams was wonderful be-cause she got to walk around at lunch
when everyone else has to sit down and
because she made good friends among the
other kids working on the lunch crew.
Hes super nice. Hes just super nice
and friendly to be around, she said.
Williams had to make a devastating de-
cision last January when the amount of
money deducted from his check for Social
Security jumped. There was no way he was
going to be able to pay his students and
still be able to make ends meet at home.
I got my paycheck in January and I
knew I couldnt pay them. I got really
upset. I wrote a letter to each principal
and I had to tell the kids.
Much to Williams surprise, the kids
said they wanted to work for him whether
they were going to get paid, or not.
He was nice enough to pay us and he
came and told everyone he was getting his
pay cut, said Trevor Rister, another of
Williams helpers who graduated in the
spring.
They said, Well, well volunteer, Ris-
ter recalled. His personality is so likeable.
His funness. We just like working with
him. He is a good guy. Its not about the
money. Its about working.
Williams isnt sure what hes going to
do when he retires. He said hell likely sit
around for a few months, but hes pretty
sure hes not going to be able to stay away
from the school.
Ill probably come back and volunteer,or something.
Making adifferenceevery day
Alton janitor gives students first jobs from own pocket
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4AdvocateSEPTEMBER 2013
THE IEA IS EXCITED to announce anew grant program SCORE designed
to allow our early career members to iden-
tify needs in their communities and pro-
vide ways to meet those needs.SCORE Schools and Community
Outreach by Educators is being funded
by the National Education Association
along with the IEA. The program was
started after early career teachers and
ESPs indicated theyd like to do more for
their students if they had the means to
do so.
Our members with 10 years of experi-
ence, or less, have made it very clear that
they want to make a difference in the lives
of their students not just in the classroom
or in the school, but in their communities,
too, said Cinda Klickna, IEA president.
We wanted to provide them with a way
to do that.
Nicole Kurtovich is a fourth grade
teacher in Pekin who, through the IEA
Student Program, became involved in Out-
reach to Teach projects where IEA mem-
bers went to schools over the course of the
summer and provided needed updates and
repairs. Service, to her, is important.
(These kinds of) projects show our
students that we care about them, that we
care about where they come from and we
care about the communities they go hometo at the end of the day, she said. Its
about being a positive role model to
them.
Aaron Bolden is a Rockford music
teacher who is a strong believer in commu-
nity service by educators.
Service is a reflection of doing some-
thing for more than your own means and
your own standards and for the better-
ment of the people around you.
The money is available to teachers or
ESPs who have been on the job 10 years or
less. Grant proposals of $1,000 or less are
encouraged in order to fund as many proj-
ects as possible. Proposals of more than
$1,000 will be considered, but may
not be fully funded.
We WANT to give the money
away, said Meredith Byers, IEA
Early Career Development
and Student Program
director.
We encourage cre-
ativity in the ideas that are
submitted. We know our
members see lots of opportuni-
ties to be of service in their
communities and we just want
to be able to help their dreams ofhelping become reality.
There are no limits on what
kinds of projects can be funded
from food banks, to homework
programs to playground rehabs
anything goes. The possibili-
ties are limitless.
Applications are to be received
by Sept. 30 and grant recipients will
be notified by Oct. 15. The money will
fund activities that are completed no
later than Aug. 15, 2014. Applications
can be done in writing or by video.And, whatever the project is,
there must be an element to it
that is shared through some
type of social media.
There is much more in-
formation available about
the program on the IEA web-
site at www.ieanea.org/score.
Service is a reflection of
doing something for more
than your own means and
your own standards andfor the betterment of
the people around you.
SCOREgrant programTo help with needs
in your communities
$1,000 or less, thoughlarger amounts will beconsidered
Application deadline:Sept. 30
Notification deadline:Oct. 15
Application procedure:Video or writtensubmission
MORE INFORMATION:
www.ieanea.org/score
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SEPTEMBER 2013Advocate5
MORE THAN 40 IEA members descendedupon Lena-Winslow School District #202 to
spruce up the building, grounds and students
learning environments.
The June 7 project was coordinated through
the IEA Student Program and the Lena-Winslow
Teachers Association as part of IEAs Outreach toTeach, a service project that allows IEA members,
who spend each day making a difference in stu-
dents lives, to add a new component to that
commitment.
Many IEA-Retired members showed up to help
out as well.
Im so happy to have teachers from the school
here who helped us, said Krissi Gashaw, an IEA-
SP member and early childhood education major
from Western Illinois University. Its amazing to
be a part of a school district that was so prepared
and organized and happy to have us here. Wereso glad everyone loved it.
Among the projects the crew completed were a
complete repainting of the high school gym,
using scaffolding and all. And, much work was
done outside to the landscaping near the juniorhigh and elementary building.
The Lena-Winslow Teachers Association andthe student program began working together
through physical education high school teacher
Susan Nicholas, a council member in IEA Region
19, who also helped with the project. The local
president of the Lena-Winslow Teachers Associa-
tion is Kyle Benson.
It was an inspiring sight, said Mark Kuehl, a
school administrator.
It was a great day for our commu-
nity and for the association to help us
out, he said. Retired teachers andstudents here helping the community.
This means a great deal to us. They are
a bunch of hard workers. I couldnt be-
lieve we could get done in an after-
noon what weve done here.Outreach to Teach is a national
service project completed by the Na-
tional Education Association StudentProgram in the host city of the NEAs
major convention each summer. Illi-
nois student leaders take part in that
yearly project and wanted to recreate
something similar on a state level.
Their participation has inspired
them for the past several years to
reach out within IEA to active membersin the hopes that their school districts
would be willing to join forces with the
student program to make a difference.
Now that Ive graduated from col-
lege, I look back and realize how impor-
tant this is. Students see the benefit of
helping a community. This event mademe fall in love with our organization. It
made everyone come together and be
cohesive. Its a great experience that I
dont regret at all, Gashaw said.
Lena-Winslowschool districtgets makeover,
thanks to IEA
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6AdvocateSEPTEMBER 2013
to yourself how much youd like to have
a classroom pet? Or, have you had a
great idea for a way to include tech-
nology in your classroom? Maybe
youre looking for tips
on best classroom prac-tices or teacher evalua-
tion. Take a look at these
five spots to get free money
and helpful advice.
The NEA Foundation: www.neafoundation.org/pages/grants-to-educators . There are a number of grantsavailable through the NEA Foundation, including student achievement grants and learning and leadership grants. The foun-
dation also offers on its website great resources for submitting winning applications.Student achievement grants may be used for resource materials, supplies, equipment, transportation, technology or schol-ars in residents. They can be used to support outside-of-school programs, pay stipends, conference fees and other items.
Learning and leadership grants are awarded to support public school teachers, public education support professionalsand/or faculty and staff to fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences or grants to groups tofund study, research or mentoring.
Collaboratory:
www.teachingquality.org/collaborator
The Collaboratory is a virtual community forconnecting, learning and innovating with teachers
to transform education. Its meant to serve as an incu-bator for teachers bold ideas and innovative solutions.
Once you join Collaboratory, you can participate inone or more content labs for focused discussion and
collaboration. Those labs include the areas ofclassroom practice, school redesign, commoncore, teacher evaluation and innovative lead-
ership. There are blogs and pertinentnews, as well.
Have you ever thought
Great Public Schools:www.gpsnetwork.org
The Great Public Schools Network has launched. Itis NEAs online professional network and resource tool
that connects members and the community together topromote student success and improve public education.There are multiple professional networks (group discus-
sions) available and if theres a topic thats notaddressed, you can add one.
In addition, there will be grants awarded throughthe site, so watch this fall for further informa-
tion about whats being offered andhow to apply.
Pet Care Trusts
Pets in the Classroom:www.PetsintheClassroom.org
Heres a unique grant. The Pets in the Classroomprogram is accepting grant applications for the 2013-14 school year. Pre-kindergarten through 8th grade
teachers who want a pet in the classroom or whoalready have one and are searching for help
paying for its care are urged to apply.Teachers can obtain grants for the purchaseof new pets, pet environments or pet food
and supplies for existing classroompets. There are seven types of grants
available, including two newones this year.
IEA Pinterest page:
http://pinterest.com/ieaneaFollow IEA on Pinterest. IEA searchesfor interesting classroom ideas, great artprojects, education theory and tips onteacher evaluation, among other items.Next time youre on Pinterest find usand follow us!
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SEPTEMBER 2013Advocate7
VOTERS AGREE. Theresno one who knows local ed-
ucation needs better than
retired educators.
Thats why in Aprils elec-
tions, at least five former
teachers and IEA members
were elected to their local
school boards.
I was very frustrated
with the direction the
school board was going at
the time. In my opinion,
there was a very strong fac-
tion that believed the pur-
pose of the district was to
put on football games for
Friday night entertain-
ment, said Terry Waldron,
who retired from the dis-
trict in 2011 and was not
only elected to the board in
the spring of 2013, but also
named president.They spent a lot of time
and money recruiting coaches and buying
equipment while cutting back on text-
books and other classroom items at the
same time.
So, Waldron decided to do something
about it. He ran for the board.
He and two others helped unseat the
football-loving faction and he now gets a
say in the districts direction, where
money is spent, the budget, common core
curriculum and other things that impact
his former students and fellow teacherseveryday.
Bob Blade, a former teacher and the re-
tired vice president of the IEA, returned to
Cumberland County and thought his expe-
rience might be valuable to the board of
Cumberland Unit District 77.
I was a fairly decent teacher and I have
two granddaughters in high school and a
grandson who will be starting kinder-
garten this year and I want to make sure
they all get quality educations.
He said there was nothing the board
was doing that made him feel compelled to
run but that he felt he had a civic duty he
should perform. After all, he graduated
from the district and taught in their
district, too.
Blade said there havent been any major
issues that have arisen during his short
tenure but he has seen one place he wants
to make a difference.
One rude awakening happened when Itook the oath of office, he said. There is
a line in there about protecting the tax-
payers interest but there is nothing about
providing a quality education for the kids
in the district. I was just floored by that.
Hes right.
The oath asks board members to up-
hold Illinois laws, encourage and respect
the free expression of opinion, respect the
privacy of students and employees, to
recognize that he or she has no legal au-
thority as an individual but only as part of
a majority of the board, to promise to
abide by the boards decisions and to re-
spect taxpayer interests by serving as a
faithful protector of the school districts
assets.
Nowhere does it mention the quality of
the districts education. Blade intends to
draft some sample legislative language andtalk to his fellow retired educators who
also serve as school board members across
the state to come together to see that the
language of the oath is changed.
I can certainly understand being mind-
ful of community resources, but we also
ought to care about quality education.
When youre sworn into office, that ought
to be the priority, in my opinion, not tax-
payer dollars.
Retired teachers cant stay away from
school, run for boards, win
www.ieanea.org/members/retired/
At least five retired educators andmembers of IEA-Retired won spots ontheir local school boards in the spring2012elections. They are:
Bob Blade, Cumberland Unit
District 77
Terry Waldron, president of Sparta
Community Unit District 140
Alida Graham, Decatur Board of
Education
Kim Kearby, Round Lake Unit
District 116 Linda Volkman, Streator Elementary
School District 44
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8AdvocateSEPTEMBER 2013For more information see
www.ilsharedlearning.org and www.facebook.com/ILSharedLearnin
T
he Illinois
Shared Learning
Environment could
one day provide information
about a students history, learning styles
and a full catalog of quality classroom ma-
terial all in the touch of a few buttons.
Called ISLE, the online platform that
will be cloud-based is currently being devel-
oped to help personalize learning for stu-
dents as well as to give teachers data about
students past attendance, testing results,
disciplinary records and more, even if the
student switches schools or districts.
According to its website, it will feature
dashboards, learning maps and access to re-sources to help educators better connect
with their students.
This summer, two groups of Illinois edu-
cators were invited to focus groups to hear
about ISLE and what it intends to offer
when its complete.
For some, ISLEs vision sounds
promising.
I would love to be able to work with
a specific standard and find everything
of quality around that standard, said
Kelli Murray, a third grade teacher from De-
catur who took part in the focus groups.At our district level, I have been in-
volved for four years creating standards for
math and Im picturing (ISLE) to do that on
a much larger scale. If ISLE could provide
something like that on a greater scale, that
would be phenomenal. To have resources at
our fingertips that are tried and tested
would put teachers at an advantage.
In addition, Murray said, being able to
track students performance, attendance
and disciplinary information from data
stored in a cloud would be helpful.
No matter where a kid was or what dis-
trict they were in, it would be great to be
able to pull from all those resources. There
are a lot of good feelings for that.
ISLE will use inBloom, a company that
was created in response to school adminis-
trators requests to create a secure data
storage resource for student information,and to meld that information with learning
resources.
Illinois is one of five states currently
working on a pilot program to test in-
Blooms work.
Whitney Vanderspool-Snell, another De-
catur teacher who participated in the focus
group for ISLE, said she has mixed feelings
about the technology.
I was impressed with the idea. Its revo-
lutionary in its own way, she said.
She thinks it could be a wonderful tool
to be able to use in a classroom to get a readon a student.
You can look at a student all the way
across the board and see what that student
needs. In bigger classes, and all of our
classes keep getting bigger, its sometimes
hard to think about the individual student
and what we need to do for them. This
would help.
On the other side of that coin, though,
shes concerned that relying more and more
on computers and tech-
nology to teach students what
they need to know eventually dimin-
ishes the art of teaching and even the need
for teachers.
Im afraid technology could end teach-
ing careers because there would be no per-
sonal connection with teachers anymore,
she said.
Larry Frank, research specialist with the
IEA, has been monitoring ISLEs progress
through the Illinois State Board of Educa-
tion.He understands Vanderspool-Snells
concerns but said there is a lot of promise
in offering some courses or materials on-
line to students.
What if you have a kid who is in a rural
area and this kid is great at physics but
cant take anything beyond Physics I be-
cause the school doesnt offer it, Frank
said. In cases like this, a program like ISLE
could be very helpful.
Frank said the IEA is working to see that
some core set of texts and analysis of stu-
dent learning would be available withoutcharge to all Illinois districts. Districts
could then buy other things that inBloom
would offer.
He said the IEA has also been instru-
mental in making sure that the state board
and designers understand in their develop-
ment process what will actually be helpful
to teachers in
the classroom.
For more information see
www.ilsharedlearning.org and www.facebook.com/ILSharedLearnin
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SEPTEMBER 2013Advocate9
Theresa Tippy, a child developmentteacher at Streamwood High School in
Elgin, believes a program within her dis-
trict that allows students to get a taste of
what being a teacher is really like is benefi-
cial in more ways than one.
The Future Teachers Club is sponsored
by the Elgin Teachers Association and is
getting ready to kick of its third year.
Through FTC, students at each off Elgins
six high schools get a chance to get into
classrooms, visit schools that have strong
education programs and build bonds with
others who are interested in becoming fu-
ture educators.
Our ultimate goal is to get students in-
terested in education by giving them
hands-on experience in the classroom as
much as possible, she said.
Once we get them interested, wed like
for them to get their education degree and
teach in our district so we have teachers
who have gone to school here and who
come back home to teach.This grow-your-own idea is often used
with public and private partnerships
where businesses come in to schools to
help train students or get students inter-
ested in certain fields of study.
Its not as common for public schools to
use the grow-your-own idea with its own
students, but its hoped that the program
will continue to be strong and prove suc-
cessful so that the teachers better reflect
the diverse population of Elgin schools.
I would say that the majority of my
classes, 70-80 percent, are Hispanic, saidTippy, who serves as one of two teachers
at Streamwood who work as site coordina-
tors for FTC.
We have a nice cultural mix, but the
majority of our district is Hispanic, so we
have a strong representation in our group
of that culture. I think thats great because
if they come back and teach in our district,
that would be fantastic for us and for our
student population.
Each of the districts high schools has
one or two people who serve as site coordi-
nators for the program. They are responsi-
ble for organizing activities, scheduling
meetings, recruiting members, etc.
Twice a year, all the club members from
every school get together to exchange
notes and they all take field trips together.
The ETA pays for most of those activities.We wouldnt have been able to do a lot
of the things weve been able to do with-
out the ETA. The ETA has been a great
support, Tippy said.
Tippy said her students at Streamwood
pair up and go out twice during
the school year to read to elemen-
tary school students and develop
an activity for the younger stu-
dents to do during class. Some
also do the same for special edu-
cation classrooms at the high
school.They get the hands-on expe-
rience of being in a classroom
and they come to the under-
standing that you have to have
more skills than just standing
up and reciting information in
front of a room, she said.
In addition, the club takes field trips to
community colleges and universities that
offer education programs.
She said several of her students have
gone on to study education at the college
level. Others have decided after being part
of the program that education might not
be their calling.
I think its just as important that ifthey think they want to get into educa-
tion, get into a classroom and work with
students and think, Thats not what I
want to do. Finding that out now is just as
valuable, Tippy said.
Future Teachers Clubintroduces students to
profession at young age
For more information, visit the U-46 Future Teachers Clubwebsite at: http://schools.u-46.org/index.pl?iid=88176
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10AdvocateSEPTEMBER 2013
It was meant to be aone-time thing.
Paulette Walsh and others in the Dis-
trict U-46 Transportation Union in Elgin
came up with an idea in the spring of 2012
that they thought could better connect
their local association with the community
at large.
We were in the middle of negotiations
and that can always be stressful and I was
thinking that I wanted to do something
that would alleviate the stress a little bit,
give back to the community a little bit and
make us really show our worth to the dis-
trict, Walsh said.
So, she came up with the idea of doing
a book drive. The intent was to collect
books from other drivers and give them
away. But the idea quickly spread. School
staff donated books. Parents did, too. A
couple of stores joined in, as well.
Before we knew it, we had so many
books that we didnt know what to do with
them, she said.They sorted through an estimated
2,500 books, categorizing them by age and
weeding out those that were inappropri-
ate. They took a 68-passenger bus and
filled it front to back with two to three
boxes per seat full of books.
The giveaway was set for June 5, 2012.
It was so successful that the trans-
portation local decided to keep carrying
on. To date, theyve participated in 10
Book Bus giveaways. Retiring teachers are
donating books, a local Catholic school
gave them 500 and the United Way sent
10 to 12 boxes their way.
They paired up with the local library,
which has a summer reading challenge.
Every place the Book Bus went, someone
from the library was there encouraging
kids to sign up for the librarys summer
reading program.
Then, Walsh said, the Book Bus paired
up with Elgin Parks and Recreation. Parksand Rec had a free lunch program at lower
income sites in Elgin. They provided a
free, boxed lunch, activities and games and
the Book Bus came along to provide free
books. Theyve also been to the Stream-
wood Fest.
This has been such positive exposure
for our department and the district. We
dont want to look like were just bus driv-
ers. Were employees of the district. Were
not a third party. We want people to know
how much we care about our students.
This was a great way to do it, Walsh said.Our community is very varied and has
been affected greatly by the economy, so
little stresses can seem huge when youre
affected financially in one place or an-
other. To have a program like this that is
free and good for kids and gives parents a
chance to build relationships with their
bus drivers, can make a big difference.
The program could be poised to grow
even more.
For a year, mechanics at the garage
would unload all the books from the bus
after each outing, load them on pallets and
use a forklift to put the pallets up into
storage.
Recently, Elgin decided to buy new
buses and the district agreed to give a
wheelchair accessible bus to the Book Bus
program to use permanently. Its roomier,
accessible and allows the books to be
stored on the bus year round.
Walsh is looking forward to the newschool year and to new relationships the
drivers in her local have made through the
Book Bus.
The first two weeks of school are
crazy. Its not perfect. Theres a lot of
tweaking to the routes, she said. But
when you talk to someone person to per-
son, you get a different feel for them. We
dont just drive our kids to school. Were
counselors, nurses, substitute parents,
EMTs. Were not just driving a bus. When
you talk to people, they understand that.
Walsh said she hopes the idea catcheson elsewhere. She said the biggest compli-
ment to the Elgin Book Bus program
would be if transportation locals in other
districts started Book Bus programs of
their own.
Lets face it: We have competition out
there and if we dont do more and do it
better, then theyre not going
to think were worth it. We
have to do more.
Book Bus Facebook page is www.facebook.com/pages/The-Book-Bus/21580451856576
Book Bus
connectsransportationlocal with
the studentsthey care for
Book Bus
connectsransportationlocal with
the studentsthey care for
Book Bus Facebook page is www.facebook.com/pages/The-Book-Bus/21580451856576
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SEPTEMBER 2013Advocate11
IEA members honored bystate
Twentythree IEA members were hon-
ored at a luncheon this summer for being
outstanding teachers in their areas of
expertise.The Illinois State Board of Education,
IEA and the Illinois Federation of Teachers
honored 36 teachers who had been chosen
teachers of the year by various profes-
sional organizations to which they belong
during a June luncheon at the Governors
Mansion.
The IEA is always proud to help spon-
sor the Teacher Recognition Luncheon, a
wonderful way to thank and acknowledge
Illinois many outstanding educators, said
Cinda Klickna, IEA president. The award
winners have shown exemplary teachingin each of their fields, and they remind us
that great education is being delivered to
our students every day in every school in
Illinois.
Those IEA members who were recog-
nized were:
Hillary Andrlik, of Hinsdale-Clarendon
Elementary District 181, who was recog-
nized as the Illinois Elementary Art Edu-
cator of the Year by the Illinois Art
Education Association.
Joe Barker, Lyons Township High
School in LaGrange, named VFW
Teacher of the Year by the Veterans of
Foreign Wars.
Matthew Beck, Erie Elementary School
in Erie, recognized as GLSENs 2013 Ed-
ucator of the Year by the Gay, Lesbian
and Straight Education Network.
Bryan Bergman, Lyons Township High
School in LaGrange, as the IAHPERD
Young Professional Physical Education
Teacher by the Illinois Association for
Health, Physical Education, Recreation
and Dance.
Karen Brady-Popovich, Metea Valley
High School in Aurora, as the IllinoisHigh School Art Educator of the Year by
the Illinois Art Education Association.
Helene Caliva, Robert E. Clow Elemen-
tary School in Naperville, as the Out-
standing Economic Educator of the Year
by the Illinois Council for Economic
Education.
Kraig Conyer, Hinsdale South High
School in Darien, as IAHPERD Adapted
Physical Education Teacher of the Year
by IAHPERD
Jason Dane, New Trier High School inWinnetka, as IAHPERD Health Educa-
tion Teacher of the Year by IAHPERD.
Dawn Davis, Washington High School in
Washington, as the IAHPERD Secondary
Health Educator of the Year by IAH-
PERD.
Kerry DiFusco, White Eagle School in
Naperville, as a Star in the Classroom by
the Illinois Council for Economic
Education.
Linda Egnatz, Lincoln-Way North High
School, as the Central States Conferenceon the Teaching of Foreign Languages
Teacher of the Year by the Illinois
Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages.
Carl Erbsen, Eastland Elementary School
in Lanark, as the Illinois Agriculture in
the Classroom Teacher of the Year by the
Illinois Farm Bureau.
Patrick Fardy, South High School in
Downers Grove, as a Star in the Class-
room by the Illinois Council for Eco-
nomic Education.
Kimberly Greiwe, Maine East High
School in Park Ridge, as the IAHPERD
Dance Teacher of the Year by IAHPERD.
Christopher Grodoski, Franklin Middle
School in Wheaton, as the Illinois Mid-
dle School Art Educator of the Year by
the Illinois Art Education Association.
Audrey Hill, Collinsville Middle School in
Collinsville, as the IAHPERD Middle
School Teacher of the Year by IAHPERD.
Kate Leckenby, Pleasant Ridge School in
Glenview, IAHPERD Young Professional
Elementary Teacher of the Year by IAH-
PERD.
Matt Maddox, Columbus Elementary
School in Edwardsville, National VFW
Teacher of the Year by the VFW.
Dave Meyer, Sycamore Middle School
in Sycamore, as a Star in the Classroom
by the Illinois Council for Economic
Education.
Jerrine Roderique, Waubonsie Valley
High School in Aurora, named the T.E.
Rine Secondary Mathematics Teacher of
the Year by the Illinois Council of Teach-
ers of Mathematics.
Brenden Schultz, Pecatonica High Schoo
in Pecatonica, as the Illinois Farm to
School Teacher of the Year by the Na-
tional Farm to School Program.
Alison Upton-Dunmore, South Elgin High
School in South Elgin, named a Star in
the Classroom by the Illinois Association
for Economic Education.
IEA members featured inEducation Week
Kimberly Long, a readingand language arts teacher at
Daniel Wright Junior High
in Lincolnshire, wrote an ar-
ticle about the realities of
co-teaching and how to make it work in an
April edition of Ed Week.
Long highlighted five lessons shes
learned from collaborating with a re-
sponse-to-intervention reading specialist
in a seventh grade reading class.
Among those lessons: Trust is a must;
recognize that things will go wrong; clarify
role definitions; communicate and reflect;and actually try it.
Heres a link to her article in the IEA
insider: www.ieanea.org/2013/04/23/
insider-18.
And, Kimber Larson, a sixth grade
teacher in Yorkville, also was featured in
an April Education Week Teacher article
where she wrote about grading donts
that saved my classroom.
Continued on page 12
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12AdvocateSEPTEMBER 2013
Among the tips she uses: she doesnt
mark down for late assignments; she does-
nt assign zeroes; she doesnt award extra
credit; and, she wont grade anything but
end-of-unit assignments.
She said she focuses on growth and de-
velopment and relies on her behavior rulesto guide students toward completing their
work. Heres a link to her article in the IEA
insider: www.ieanea.org/2013/05/07/
insider-for-may-7.
IEA ESP selected forleadership programTracy Harper, a Dis-
trict 300, ESP has
been chosen by the
NEA for its Leaders
for Tomorrow program.The program is a three-session training
process held over an eight-month period
that is open to ESPs who are nominated
for the program that trains current and fu-
ture leaders in leadership attitudes, skills
and knowledge that will enhance their
ability to be a visible, vocal advocate at the
local, state and national levels of the NEA.
Two new trustees namedto TRS BoardRainy Kaplan
of Schaumburg andMark
Bailey of Palos Park have joined the board
of the Teachers Retirement System and
started four-year terms this week.
Kaplan and Bailey are
filling two of the four
seats reserved under
state law for active
TRS members elected by
other active members
across Illinois.
They take the place ofMolly Phalen of Rock-
ford and Jan Cleveland of Carmi, who are
also IEA members who retired at the end
of their latest terms after 16 years of serv-
ice on the board.
Kaplan is a Spanish teacher, head boys
track and field coach at Westmont High
School and a member of both the IEA and
NEA Boards of Directors.
She holds two masters degrees in ad-
ministration from Concordia University in
River Forest and teaching and leadership
from St. Xavier University in Chicago. Shecompleted her undergraduate work in
Spanish and secondary education at
Bradley University in Peoria.
Bailey is the band director at Scott and
River Woods schools in Naperville and has
had a long career as a professional musi-
cian, music teacher and band director at
private and public schools throughout the
Chicago area.
He is currently president of the
Naperville Education Association and
treasurer of IEA Region 39. He holds amasters degree in leadership and adminis-
tration from North Central College in
Naperville and a bachelors degree in in-
strumental music from Luther College in
Decorah, Iowa.
Belden Boy updated tomatch Illinois curriculumstandardsPatricia Harte-Naus, a teacher at Abraham
Lincoln Elementary School in Glen Ellyn,
has written twobooks about a fic-
tional boy from the
1870s, Belden Boy,
and the series is
now aligned with
the Common Core
State Standards and
the required pro-
grams of the states
Bully Task Force.
The Belden Boy
series was inspired by a project Harte-
Naus worked on in the Galena area whereshe helped refurbish a one-room school-
house, a piece of the areas history.
She wound parts of real, historic events
that happened in the area with the fic-
tional tale of a boy who gets bullied in
school. She uses the books in her own
class and hopes the work shes done
spreads to others. For more information,
visit www.beldonboy.com.
Continued from page 11
IEA BOARD OF DIRECTORS ROLL CALL VOTES MARCH 15, 2013
The budget for 2013-2014, including the staffing changes presented at the budget open hearings, shallbe a maximum increase of $2 in dues for every full-time certified member and a maximum increase of$1 for every full-time ESP member.
As required by board policies, a roll call vote was taken and is recorded as follows:
Voting Yes (79): Almgreen, Austin, Bailey, Bear, Beaulieu, Borge, Bradish, Brave, Ann Brooks, AddieWashington for Clark, Collette, Copper, Darin, Diestelmeier, Dwan-Collins, Engfer, Flowers, Freaner, Grimes,
Gunn, Hagemaster, Addie Williams for Hastings, Cann for Hiatt-Hecox, Hile, Hirshman, Horne, Hoynes, Ivey,Jedrzejewski, Jesuit, Johnson, Kaplan, Kilgus, Klausing, Brosteau for Kurtzhals, Lawhorn for Lartz, Light, Love,Lucke, Ludden, Bettis for Madson, Mahrt, McCleary, McGinness, McGrath, Kell for Meyer, Mikos, Miller, Moore,Palmer, Paulus, Piechocinski, Pomykala, Sebak, Sheehan, Shiller, Sholtis, Siegel, Cathy Stewart, Stodola,Susberry Hill, Travis, Triplett, Tully, Turner, Valenta, Vanderjack, Veach, Walker, Walkup, Wallace, Waltmire,Robyn Washington, Weber, Wycislak, Young, Llorens, Griffin, and Klickna.
Voting No (1): Cassens-Mickle.
Absent (10): Frank Brooks, Brown, ODonnell, Palombit, Pierr, Reppen-Lucas, Ricks, Beverly Stewart,Westerman, and Zumbrook.
THE MOTION CARRIED.
MARK BAILEY
RAINY KAPLAN
For more information visitwww.ieanea.org
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SEPTEMBER 2013Advocate13
Bob Haisman Studentof the Year Award
Brittany Archibald
Courage AwardDerrick Schonauer
Bob Haisman Teacherof the Year AwardNicole Kurtovich
The IEA Reg WeaverHuman and Civil
Rights AwardJean Rogers
IEA Friend of Education AwardSen. Michael Frerichsand Rep. Raymond Poe
Congratulations
ESP of the Year AwardAlex Wallace Illinois Nominee forNEA FoundationAwards for Teaching
ExcellenceDr. Beverly Love
IEA-R Mary Lou andKeith Hauge AwardElaine Ferguson
2 0 1 3 I E A R E P R E S E N T A T I V E A S S E M B L Y A W A R D W I N N E R S
Register online at www.ieanea.org
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Legislative Platform OutreachPlease use this form to share your ideas with the Legislative Committee to assist in the development of IEA-NEAs Legislative Platform (one issue per form
Please indicate which section of the Legislative Platform your suggestion applies to (Employee Rights, Retirement, School Finance, Quality Education, or ElectoProcess). If you would like to read the 2013-2014 Platform, please log on to the IEA web page at: www.ieanea.org/legislative/
My IEA-NEA legislative platform comment is:
Section:
Suggestion:
Rationale:
Use additional sheets if necessary.
Please return your comments by Dec. 16, 2013 to:
Legislative Platform Illinois Education Association Government Relations Department100 East Edwards Street Springfield, IL 62704 Fax: 217/544-0691
Email: [email protected]
D E A D L I N E SDo you know a member who deserves recognition, or are you planningto nominate a student for an IEA scholarship?Take a moment to reviewdetails of the awards that will be presented at the 2014 IEA RepresentativeAssembly.
IEA Reg Weaver Human and Civil Rights AwardAn individual IEA-NEA member or an IEA-NEA group may be nomi-
nated for this award, which recognizes those who have performedan outstanding humanitarian/civil rights activity or community service
above and beyond normal association endeavors. An application forthis award, presented by the IEA Human and Civil Rights Committee,will be available on the IEA website, www.ieanea.org in October. Nom-ination inquiries before October may be directed to Kristine Argue,847/359-0300, Ext. 5204. Send completed applications to IEA HumanServices and Civil Rights Award, Attn: Kristine Argue, Illinois EducationAssociation, 553 N. North Court, Suite 210, Palatine, IL 60067-8124,by Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2014.
ESP of the YearThis award is meant to emphasize the contributions of education sup-
port professionals to their association, their schools and their commu-nities. A downloadable application and complete rules are available atwww.ieanea.org. ESP of the Year nominations must be mailed to Cathy
Wyzykowski, IEA-NEA, 2230 Point Boulevard, Suite 400, Elgin, IL 60123-9204 and be postmarked by Nov. 1, 2013.
IEA-NEA Scholarship ApplicationsThe deadline for the 2013-14 IEA-NEA Education Grant is Dec. 3, 2012.
Last year, this program offered 45 scholarships of $1,500 each to chil-dren/legal wards of IEA members. The scholarship program is designedto support those who wish to enter teaching as a career.
Applications are available on the IEA website, from your LocalPresident, from your IEA Region Chair or from your field office.
IEA-Retired AwardsMary Lou and Keith Hauge Retiree Award Given in honor of the lateMary Lou Hauge, first chair of the IEA Council of Retirees, and her late
husband Keith, former editor of the IEA-R Informer, this award recognizesindividuals who have made outstanding contributions to the IEA-NEARetired organization. Applications are due by Jan. 3, 2014.
Bob Haisman Teacher of the Year Award This award, named in honof former IEA President Bob Haisman, recognizes the individual contbutions of a new teacher (a teacher with at least one years experienand not more than five). Applications are due by Jan. 3, 2014.
Haisman Student of the Year Award This award honors an undegraduate Student Program member working toward a degree in eduction. Nominations are due by Jan. 3, 2014.
Applications for all of these awards, as well as details regarding eligbility and qualifications, are available at the IEA website, www.ieanea.or
Nominations and supporting data for the Retiree award, Teacher
of the Year and Student of the Year awards should be sent to LindaWalcher, 617 W. Apple Street, Freeburg, IL 62243.
PROPOSED Bylaw Amendments for 2014 IEA RAProposed bylaw amendments must be received by the IEA Bylawsand Resolutions Committee, in care of the Presidents Office, IllinoisEducation Association, 100 East Edwards, Springfield, IL 627041999, no later than 5 p.m. Central Standard Time, Dec. 13, 2013. Thiwill enable the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee to prepare theproposed bylaw amendments for presentation to the executive committee and for publication in the Advocate. Proposed bylaw amendments submitted after this deadline will not be printed in the
Advocate, and, therefore, will need a three-fourths vote for passageat the Representative Assembly. Forms are being sent to the boardof directors in September and also will be available from theSpringfield Legal Services office at Headquarters. The IEA BylawsValues and Vision can be found in the About section of the IEA website, www.ieanea.org.
The Bylaws and Resolutions Committee has also prepared ModeLocal and Region Bylaws and guidance to help locals revise their cur-rent bylaws. The guidance includes a narrated PowerPoint presentation. These resources can be found under Bylaws, Value and Visionin the About section of the IEA website.
If you have questions, please contact Freddy Hatfill, Chairperson
Bylaws and Resolutions Committee, 23470 Hollow AvenueJerseyville, IL 62052, (618) 498-4559 or [email protected].
Submitted by:
Phone:
Email:
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ELECTION NOTICE: Student Delegates to IEA RAArticle VII, Section 2 of the IEA-NEA Bylaws states that student members shall be allocated one delegate for every100 student members for the April 2014 IEA-NEA Representative Assembly in Chicago. Our membership records asof October 2013 will determine the number of delegates to be elected. Only student members who are enrolled fora minimum of 12 semester hours may be elected to positions representing student members. Delegates will beelected by open nomination and secret ballot. Please use the nomination form printed below and fill in all information.Online forms are available atwww.ieanea.org/about/elections.
Timelines for the election:
Nov. 1, 2013 ................................................Nominations dueNov. 6, 2013 .............. .............. ..Sample ballots and bios sent
Nov. 13, 2013 .............. ............... ...........Deadline for changes
Nov. 18, 2013 ..................................................Ballots mailed
Dec. 11, 2013 ............. .............. ............... ..............Ballots due
Dec. 13, 2013 ................................................Ballots counted
Please type or print your name below exactly as you wish it to appear on the ballot. INCLUDE SPACES AND PUNCTUATION. ONLYONE CHARACTER PER BOX.
NOMINATIONS MUST BE CERTIFIED BY REGISTRARS OFFICE AND SENT BY CERTIFIED MAIL. PLACE ONLY ONE FORM PER CERTIFIEDENVELOPE. SEND TO: PRESIDENTS OFFICE, IEA-NEA, 100 E. EDWARDS, SPRINGFIELD, IL 62704
Please type or print your candidate statement in the space provided below. ONLY ONE CHARACTER PER BOX. SPACES AND PUNCTU-
ATION COUNT AS CHARACTERS. Candidate statements are limited to no more than 100 characters. Statements must not include an ex-hortation to vote for the candidate and must be nonpromotional, factual and objective.
TO BE COMPLETED BY REGISTRARS OFFICE:The above-named student is enrolled for a minimum of 12 semester hours.
Signature Date and Seal
Timelines for run-off election: (if necessary)
Jan. 3, 2014......................................................Ballots mailedJan. 22, 2014 ........................................................Ballots due
Jan. 24, 2014..................................................Ballots counted
Membership identification number
Region Student Chapter
Address
City State Zip
Home Phone ( ) School Phone ( )
Cell Phone ( )
Fax E-mail
Student Signature Name of College/University
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ELECTION NOTICE: Retired Delegates to IEA-RAArticle VII, Section 2 of the IEA-NEA Bylaws states that Retired Members shall be allocated one delegate to every 500 retiredmembers for the April 2014 IEA-NEA Representative Assembly in Chicago. Our membership records show present member-ship at 9,277, which indicates there will be eighteen (18) at large delegates and one (1) ethnic minority delegate. Delegateswill be elected by open nomination and secret ballot. Please use the nomination form printed below and fill in all information.Online forms are available atwww.ieanea.org/about/elections.
Please type or print your name below exactly as you wish it to appear on the ballot. INCLUDE SPACES AND PUNCTUATION. ONLY ONCHARACTER PER BOX.
Please type or print your candidate statement in the space provided below. ONLY ONE CHARACTER PER BOX. SPACES AND PUNCTUATION COUAS CHARACTERS. Candidate statements are limited to no more than 100 characters. Statements must not include an exhortation to vote for tcandidate and must be nonpromotional, factual and objective.
Membership identification number
Former Region Retired Chapter
Address
City State Zip
Home Phone ( ) Cell Phone ( )
Fax ( ) E-mail
NOMINATIONS MUST BE SENT
CERTIFIED MAIL. PLACE ON
ONE FORM PER CERTIFIED ENV
LOPE. SEND TO: PRESIDENTS O
FICE, IEA-NEA, 100 E. EDWARD
Every year at the IEA Representative Assembly (RA),
the IEA budget and the dues level necessary to fund it
are set by 2/3 of the RA delegates present and voting.
Although passage of the budget occurs at the RA, nu-
merous opportunities for member input are given
prior to the budget vote.
The IEA budget committee requests your participa-
tion in preparing a proposed budget for presentation
to delegates at the April 2014 IEA Representative As-
sembly. Broad-based member input is critical in as-
sisting the committee in developing a proposed budget aligned with member priorities.
You will have the opportunity to give the committee direction through the input survey to be
distributed this fall. The survey will be available electronically through the IEA Board of Directors,
IEA Committee Chairs and local presidents. In addition, the survey will be available on the IEA
Members Only website. All surveys will need to be completed by December 1.
In order for the budget committee to represent IEA members, we need input from allIEA mem-
bers. This is the way that your voice can be heard. It is your way of informing the budget committee
what areas of the budget you feel are critical. If you have additional questions or ideas, please contact
one of the budget committee members, said Kathi Griffin.
Once again, two non-voting members of the Illinois Education Association Staff Organization(IEASO) will participate as part of the committee. This inclusion reflects IEA and IEASOs commitment
to collaboratively carrying out the work of the Association.
Its Time for 2014-2015 Budget Input
Timelines for the Election:
Oct. 4, 2013..........................Nominations DueOct. 9, 2013 ......Sample Ballots and Bios Sent
Oct. 16, 2013 .................Deadline for ChangesOct. 30, 2013.............................Ballots MailedDec. 11, 2013 ................................Ballots Due
Dec. 13, 2013 .........................Ballots Counted
Timelines for Run-Off Election: (If necessary)
Jan. 3, 2014...............................Ballots MailedJan. 22, 2014.................................Ballots Due
Jan. 24, 2014..........................Ballots Counted
CREST HI
Eileen Darin (#
CRYSTAL LAKE
Scott Moore (64)#
SPRINGFIELD
President Cinda Klickna (11)Vice President Kathi Griffin (35)
Secretary-Treasurer Al Llorens (27)
BudgetCommitteeMembers
NORMAL
Vickie Mahrt (14)
WOODRIDGE
Mona Johnson (30)
#
#
ROUND LA
Terri Zumbroo#
MOLINE
Bonnie Lartz (18)#
MURPHYSBORO
Beverly Love (2)
SPARTADebi Klausing (4)
SMITHFIELDAnn Brooks (13)#
Two non-voting IEASO representativesto be assigned.
#
#
#
Indicate position sought:K At Large Delegate K Ethnic Minority