CEA-Advisor_April-2023-issue_web

2 CEA ADVISOR APRIL 2023

Leading: Our Perspective

Tell your story At county forums, one-on-one meetings, public hearings, and larger scale events such as CEA’s breakfast with legislators, lawmakers have been hearing your stories. They need to hear more. Every educator has a story that illustrates something

They say that time heals all wounds, but as we round the corner of another year since the start of the pandemic, it’s unclear whether time has really healed any of us. As we travel the state and beyond, hearing and echoing the concerns and hopes for our profession, it strikes us that many of our wounds are still fresh. When teachers speak about stress and burnout, it’s raw. (See page 4.) They describe the intense needs of their students combined with a chronic lack of supports. They talk about

important and compelling— something only an educator can know from firsthand experience. Talk to your legislators; share your story. Being told that teachers need higher salaries does not have the same impact as hearing about the second job you took on to cover student loans, housing, and essentials. Statistics on the need for more teachers, school counselors,

Tell Our Stories, Building Our Case

Kate Dias, CEA President

escalating behaviors and the fact that disrupted learning is often the least of our students’ problems, or our own. As many of us have witnessed, you cannot Bloom unless you Maslow. To add to our challenges, attacks on teachers in the political arena and across social media take an already difficult job and make it nearly impossible. More and more educators are asking themselves, Why? Why do I do this work? Why do I keep trying when I am not supported? Why do I sacrifice my own family for other people’s families? Why, despite my education and experience, am I not respected or trusted? (See page 11.) The stress and burnout are building. The frustration is real. But so is the hope. It’s real—and it, too, is building. Hope fuels us As we talk to our educators— standouts, among the best in the nation—we realize that hope is what fuels them. Hope for our students, hope for our profession, and the belief that education is the great equalizer and the path to opportunity. They know we are one great moment away from inspiration, and they cling to that like a life raft. Just look at our Because of a Teacher campaign for proof. The work we do matters, and our students know it and show it. (See page 12.) This legislative session provides some of the greatest reasons for hope in a very long time. Right now, we have a tremendous opportunity to remake our profession, our future, and our students’ learning experiences into everything they should be. Legislators and state officials are looking at dozens of issues we have come to them about, and they are hearing our voices. (See pages 6-9.) Now is not the time to be silent. We have a historic unpaid student teaching—hurdles that threaten to turn our best and brightest away when we need them the most. We have a chance to see to it that our youngest learners arrive at the classroom door ready to learn, with a play-based pedagogy guiding their learning. We have a chance to ease the burden of standardized testing on all of us, to give our students learning experiences that are enduring and meaningful, and to ensure that our own evaluations and development are meaningful and aimed at our professional growth. We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see our needs and goals codified into an Educator Bill of Rights, and an opportunity to diversify our profession, retain our talented workforce, and rekindle the joy of teaching. Don’t let these opportunities slip through our hands. All of these goals and more are before our legislators right now. They are within our reach, but only if we keep some important conversations going. opportunity to bring teachers’ salaries in line with those of other professions and knock down the hurdles on the path to becoming an educator—from edTPA to student loans and

and other resources is not the same as hearing that students haven’t had a math teacher since September or are throwing furniture for lack of mental health supports. Your stories have the power to change hearts and minds. They are the fuel that moves our initiatives across the finish line. Find your legislators and tell them why protecting education and promoting educator issues matters. Making you a legislative advocate is as simple as talking about your experiences. We already had teachers submit more than 600 pieces of testimony on key bills under consideration right now, and that level of advocacy has not gone unnoticed by legislators. Watch for our CEA Action Alerts for timely updates and opportunities for direct action. Let’s keep that momentum going. If writing isn’t your thing (or even if it is), we have other ways you can make your voice heard. Join us for #RedForEd Lobby Day on April 26 and share your story with legislators in person. Your story is what you bring to the table, and no one else can tell it like you do. Sign up and come to Hartford to make the case for our causes. (See page 3.) Stronger together When you come, you will be surrounded by others like you—colleagues doing the same hard work and meeting the same challenges. You will feel the collective strength that brings. Indeed, the encouragement we need frequently comes from within our own circle. An excellent reminder of the power of our profession was the in between. Gatherings like these remind us of the spark that brought us here. It is through our communities that we find the connections that uplift and guide us through the good and bad. How many times have we heard teachers say that their colleagues are the ones who keep them going? This conference inspired that same feeling for teachers in every corner of the state, at every stage of their careers. Topics ran the spectrum from trauma informed classrooms to the merits of TikTok stardom, and members laughed, deliberated, learned from each other, and—importantly—leaned on each other. Our wounds can be a little raw, but let’s use that to fuel our fight for what is right—an education system that supports students by supporting their teachers. Victories for education this legislative session may be just the salve we need. April 4, 2023 wonderful mix of members at CEA’s Early Career Educator Conference this spring. (See page 10.) We enjoyed the company of CEA Aspiring Educators with their youthful enthusiasm, veterans with decades of experience to guide our work, and everyone

Joslyn DeLancey, CEA Vice President

Donald E. Williams Jr. CEA Executive Director

CEA ADVISOR STAFF Nancy Andrews • Communications Director Lesia Day • Managing Editor Laurel Killough • New Media Coordinator Stephanie Boccuzzi • Graphic Designer Eric Ahrens • Web Designer and Developer Marcus Patterson • Administrative Assistant CEA GOVERNANCE Kate Dias • President Joslyn DeLancey • Vice President Tara Flaherty • Secretary Stephanie Wanzer • Treasurer Tanya Kores • NEA Director Katy Gale • NEA Director

“The stress and burnout are building. The frustration is real. But so is the hope.”

CEA Advisor

April 2023 Volume 65, Number 5 Published by Connecticut Education Association 1-800-842-4316 • 860-525-5641 cea.org

The CEA Advisor is mailed to all CEA members. Advertising in the CEA Advisor is screened, but the publishing of any advertisement does not imply CEA endorsement of the product, service, or views expressed. CEA Advisor USPS 0129-220 (ISSN 0007-8050) is published in August, October/November, December/ January, February/March, April, May/June, and summer by the Connecticut Education Association, Capitol Place, Suite 500, 21 Oak Street, Hartford, CT 06106-8001, 860-525-5641. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, Connecticut. Postmaster: Send address changes to CEA Advisor , Connecticut Education Association, Capitol Place, Suite 500, 21 Oak Street, Hartford, CT 06106-8001.

Production date: 4-5-2023