Pine Bluff Education Association

1. Pine Bluff Education Association • A great public school for every child

2. Your Officers • Ryan Roberts – President • Claudette White – Vice President • Patricia Jones – Secretary/Treasurer PBEA

3. Building Representatives

4. Building Representatives

5. Thanks to … • School Board Members • New Administration • Superintendent Payne • Pine Bluff Commercial • Teachers and Support Personnel

6. Nationally • No Child Left Behind is failing our students • Teachers are under attack from all sides • Charter schools are popping up everywhere • Schools are being forced to compete for limited resources • Reformers that have never taught a day are telling us how to do our jobs

7. Matt Damon Speaks at DC Rally

8. Advocacy • Teachers should be at the forefront of educational reform. • As a teacher, I take great issue at any national and international ranking of our education system that compares us to countries who only send their best and brightest to college. In the U.S., we give everyone a chance to succeed.

9. Advocacy • I also take great issue with people trying to run schools like a business. There are too many factors that make this impossible. • Our children are not products coming off an assembly line. Each one is special and different. • We also do not pick and choose which students to teach. We teach them all.

10. Advocacy • As a professional organization, PBEA advocates for the children and teachers who work day in and day out to teach them. • School Board Meetings • PB Commercial Articles • WWW.PBEA-AEA.COM • Representative Assemblies for Educators

11. Advocacy • PBEA is also has a seat on the AEA Board of Directors. • As your representative, I make sure your voice is heard on the state level as well.

12. So what has your association done for you: • Written articles in support of educators to the Pine Bluff Commercial • Represented Arkansas at the Southeast Regional Conference for NEA • Informed members about Legislative issues concerning Education • Spoke on behalf of professional educators at School Board meetings

13. So what has your association done for you: • Presented at various Teacher-to-Teacher Professional Development opportunities • Worked with the Pine Bluff School District to pay a stipend to teachers who attended the AEA PD Conference last November • Represented your voice at the Representative Assembly in Little Rock • Attending Summer Leadership Training

14. So what has your association done for you: Met with Mike Ross to discuss the reauthorization of ESEA

15. NEA – RA in Chicago 12,000 professional educators attended.

16. NEA - RA • A major thing to come out of the RA was that teachers all across the nation united to voice what they felt an evaluation system should like like. • Multiple domains • What learning looks like • How improvement plans should work • Multiple evaluations throughout the year • Multiple evaluations by different evaluators should be used before it can be used in a disciplinary way

17. Standardized Testing • In Arkansas, there was a powerful push towards using standardized test scores as 50% of your evaluation as a teacher. • The Arkansas Education Association worked with legislators on both sides of the political spectrum to create a fair evaluation system that allows both the teacher and evaluator to offer evidence of teaching and learning. Of the 22 areas of evaluation, test scores only play a limited part in two.

18. Professional Licensure and Standards • Last year I was asked to be your voice on the Ad-hoc Committee for the PLSB that consisted of about 6 teachers, 5 Superintendents, 5 Dept. of Ed officials, and 5 Dept. of Higher Ed representatives. • Our charge: Make recommendations to full board about changes we thought needed to take place.

19. PBEA’s Focus • What is our focus? • Advocate for our kids • Better working conditions • Fair and equal treatment for all employees • Accountability on all sides

20. Meeting Time • Everyone’s voice deserves to be heard! • 2nd Monday of the Month • Old Parent’s Center behind Trice Building on High School Campus • 4:00-5:00 p.m.

21. School Board Meetings • Central Office • 3rd Tuesday of each month • Begins 6:00

22. Collaboration • Education is not an “US” versus “THEM” game. • PBEA acts as a liaison between all parties involved in the system. • Central Administration • Building Principals and Vice Principals • Teachers • Community involvement

23. Liaison Role • I asked the Superintendent and have asked School Board members what message they would want to convey to you. • 1. Teach every single day • 2. Use proper Grievance Procedure

24. Why Join? • For those that aren’t members and those who have let membership slip: • Advocacy for public education. • PBEA has been instrumental in helping secure bonuses almost every year in recent memory. • That alone pays for membership! • Let alone that liability insurance, discounts, great loan rates for car, house, etc.

25. Website • WWW.PBEA-AEA.COM • Current School Board Minutes + my notes • Current Education News • Contact Information • Calendar • Professional Development Materials • Co-teaching • Discipline

26. 5 Year Strategic Plan • August 27 • 8:30 – 2:00 • First United Methodist • Continental Breakfast / Box Lunch • Turkey, Ham, Roast Beef – Ms. Harvey

27. Jack Robey Back to School Bash • August 10th • 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. • Jack Robey Campus • Great community involvement opportunity