Summer-2020-Advisor

REPRESENTING

SUMMER 2020 CEA ADVISOR 13

CONNECTICUT TEACHERS JOIN NATIONAL COLLEAGUES FOR VIRTUAL NEA REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY

Of all the events that ground to a halt amid the nation’s public health crisis, the 2020 National Education Association Representative Assembly (RA) was not among them. On July 2-3, 107 Connecticut delegates joined more than 7,000 of their colleagues from around the country for a virtual gathering to approve a budget and set a strategic plan for the coming year. With a streamlined agenda, the event marked the first all-virtual RA in NEA’s history, and it was the first time in the association’s history that CEA reached its goal of 25 percent ethnic minority participation. “Absolutely nothing, not even a global pandemic, is going to stop the National Education Association from doing its work,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García. The theme for 2020—a highly anticipated election year marked by a sweeping health and economic crisis, a DeVos–Trump school privatization agenda that continues to undermine our public education system, and growing calls to confront the legacy of institutionalized racism—was “Our Democracy; Our Responsibility; Our Time.” As NEA Vice President Becky Pringle put it in her opening remarks: “Delegates, it’s crunch time.” Looking to the future Because the RA was held virtually this year, no new business items were introduced. Still, delegates approved NEA’s proposed budget and strategic plan for 2021, especially

revenues have dried up due to the complete and utter lack of a national response from the president and all who stand with him.” Celebrating educators Delegates also heard from 2020 National Teacher of the Year Tabatha Rosproy, the first early childhood educator to receive the honor. Rosproy, who teaches in Kansas, urged all educators to “elevate the voices of the unheard” in their union and in their school communities. “We need equitable representation of every voice that has struggled to be heard. It is our responsibility as leaders to create a path for all voices to become a part of the process. During this pandemic, and through this revolution of racial equity, educator voice is more important than ever before. You don’t join a team to sit on the bench. You join the team to get out there and play when it’s your time. And now is your time. Look around your meetings and events and make sure diverse voices are represented. Ask yourself today whose voices are we missing? Reach out to them, tell them how important their experiences are, and bring them into the fold.” NEA also awarded its highest honor, The Friend of Education Award, to 17-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg. “Greta is taking on the world for a better tomorrow,” Eskelsen García said. Passing the baton As Eskelsen García’s second three-year term ends on August 31, video tributes to the outgoing president poured in from everyone from Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Rep. James Clyburn, AFT President Randi Weingarten, and Daily Show host Trevor Noah. In her final RA keynote, Eskelsen García urged educators everywhere to continue doing what they have been doing for decades: to help lead the nation down a more equitable, just, and prosperous path. The nightmare of the past three-and-a-half years must come to an end, she said. “We are educators and public servants,” she told delegates. “We are unionists. We are activists. We’re patriots…. We are called on to act. So, what will you do? What will you do for your colleagues; your students; the families you love; the communities where you live? What will you do as we face the most dangerous threat to our democracy that we’ve ever faced?” RA delegates were charged with electing a new NEA president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer, along with new executive committee members. Ballots are being submitted by mail to ensure equity in participation and the security and integrity of the democratic process. The CEA Advisor went to press prior to election results, which are expected on August 6 or, if a runoff is required, August 31. Check nea.org for results.

NEA President Lily Eskelsen García (left) listens as former Vice President Joe Biden answers a question from RA delegate Turquoise Parker during the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly.

critical as school budgets across the nation are hammered by the severe economic downturn, and discussions centered on protecting our democracy and our profession. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of women’s voting rights in her address to the NEA RA was former Georgia Representative and 2018 gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams, founder of the organization Fair Fight to protect the right to vote. “We’re fighting for free and fair elections and working around the country to ensure that we will elect in 2020 people who see us, who hear us, and who will represent our values,” Abrams told delegates. And that includes electing a new U.S. president. On July 3, former

Vice President Joe Biden took part in a town-hall-style conversation with NEA members, where he answered

educators’ questions about confronting racial inequality, reopening schools during the

pandemic, and uniting the nation. After recommending Biden in the Democratic primary in March, NEA’s Board of Directors and PAC Council in May recommended him in November’s general election. “You are the most important profession in the United States,” Biden told delegates. “You are the ones that give these kids wings. You give them confidence. You let them believe in themselves. You equip them. And I promise you, you will never find in American history a president who is more teacher- centric and more supportive of teachers than me.” In her keynote address to the RA, NEA Executive Director Kim Anderson urged delegates to act and demand the U.S. Senate help school districts stave off crippling budget cuts caused by the economic downturn. “NEA, we need to shout at the top of our lungs to the U.S. Senate— to Senator Mitch McConnell,” Biden said. “Stop standing in the way of saving lives, of saving family businesses. Stop punishing public workers because state and local

CEA HOLDS FIRST-EVER VIRTUAL SUMMER EXPERIENCE FOR TEACHERS Professional development focuses on student engagement, teachers’ rights, and best practices in virtual learning When schools shut down in March and went to remote/distance instruction, the learning curve was steep for many, and inequities and a lack of resources in many districts were difficult—if not impossible—to overcome. Large numbers of students were left without adequate adult support and supervision at home, attendance and engagement were spotty, educators raced to provide meals and other essentials for children at risk, and they leaned heavily on their union and one another to navigate their rights, responsibilities, and best practices in a largely unfamiliar virtual learning environment. While the problem of inequity persists throughout the state, much has been learned about how best to teach outside the classroom, monitor student engagement, and facilitate increasingly important discussions about race in the early grades through high school. In a variety of virtual teacher-led sessions from August 3 to 5, CEA members participated in professional development on these and other topics. CEA organizers also shared strategies for local association leaders to conduct new teacher orientations and remain engaged with their members remotely. CEA legal and educational issues experts discussed teachers’ legal rights and responsibilities in a virtual teaching environment, covering issues such as delivering remote instruction, obligations to report, First Amendment rights, and maintaining social media privacy settings on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. For those who were unable to attend, some sessions may be recorded and made available to members only at cea.org . CEA has vastly expanded its virtual professional development offerings to include both live and pre-recorded webinars on everything from lesson differentiation in the age of distance learning to reworking homework when the work is home. See the full suite of offerings at cea.org/professional- development .

NEA President Lily Eskelsen García during her keynote address at the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly.