the voice november 2012

NOVEMBER 2012 | THE VOICE | PAGE 1

The

VoiceThe Nebraska State Education Association November 2012

##Nov 2012 Alternative Version.indd 1 10/30/2012 1:53:06 PM

| THE VOICE | NOVEMBER 2012

Carol Kloss McClellan enjoyed a 20-year on-air television career as an investigative reporter. Today she teaches English at Omaha South High School. Find out why she made the transition to teaching on

the

VOICe Nebraska State Education Association

605 S. 14th StreetLincoln, NE 68508-2742 · www.nsea.org

(402) 475-7611 · (800) 742-0047

Volume 66, No. 3ISSN Number: 1085-0783USPS Number: 000-369

Great Public Schools For Every Child

Executive Director Craig R. ChristiansenAssoc. Executive Director Neal ClayburnDirector, Comm and PR Karen KilgarinAssistant Comm. Director Al Koontz

NSEA BoARd of dIRECtoRSPresident Nancy fulton, Wilber-ClatoniaVice President Leann Widhalm, NorfolkNEA Director John Heineman, LincolnNEA Director Jenni Absalon, Lincoln

Official publication of the Nebraska State Education Asso-ciation, Suite 200, 605 South 14th Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-2742. Periodical postage paid at Lincoln, NE, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send address changes to The Voice, NSEA, 605 S. 14th Street, Lincoln, NE 68508-2742.

Published and mailed 6 times yearly according to this schedule: October, November, February, March, April and August. Published online in September, December, Janu-ary and May.

Payment of annual NSEA membership dues entitles Ne-braska educators to receive The Voice. Total cost of pro-ducing 10 monthly issues of The Voice each year is about $2.63 per member.

Advertising rates of The Voice are available from the assistant communications director. All advertisements and advertisers are screened prior to publication. Ap-pearance of an advertisement in The Voice does not nec-essarily imply NSEA endorsement of either the product being advertised or the views being expressed.

Opening Bell

On theCover: Page 14.

UpcomingAssignmentsNov. 3‘Cowboy Up’ atAdvocacy Conference,Scottsbluff Hampton Innn What: Local negotiators

will learn about the effects of new state statutes, and what they mean for the bargaining calendar, among other issues. n Details: Set for Scottsbluff.

Check with your UniServ director at 1-800-742-0047.

Nov. 6General Electionn What: Winners of the May

Primary Elections square off. Re-member to vote, and to consider a candidate’s education platform when casting your ballot! Check the back page of this magazine for NSEA’s recommended candidates, and read President Nancy Fulton’s message on Page 3 to learn how those candidates are selected.

Nov. 18-24American Education Weekn What: Observe the annual

celebration of the teaching profes-sion and public schools.n Details: A different set of

public school stakeholders is hon-ored each day. for details go to:

nea.org/grants/19823.htm

They’re dubbed the “irreplaceables” – teachers who are so successful that they are nearly impossible to replace. On average, each year, they help stu-dents learn two or three additional months’ worth of reading and math, compared to the average teacher, and five or six additional months compared to low performing teachers.

The New Teacher Project (TNTP) has released a report entitled The Ir-replaceables. It studied 2,100 schools, 90,000 teachers and 1.4 million stu-dents in four urban districts, examining the student growth data or value-added results for about 20,000 teachers.

The findings identified teachers who performed exceptionally well (by help-ing students make much more academic progress than expected) to see how their experiences and opinions about their work differed from other teachers’ – particularly teachers whose perfor-mance was exceptionally poor.

The key finding: the real retention crisis is a failure to retain the right teach-ers. Supporting that premise were these primary causes:nPrincipals make far too little effort

to retain Irreplaceables or remove low-

performing teachers.nPoor school cultures and working

conditions drive away great teachers.nPrincipals and districts have little

incentive to change their ways.NEA Secretary Treasurer Becky

Pringle said providing support to teach-ers can create more irreplaceables.

“Teachers who don’t perform up to standards must be given time, support and feedback on instructional practice to improve,” she said. “Those who re-ceive that opportunity and still fail to meet standards should be counseled out of the profession.”

Pringle said an NEA goal is that ev-ery teacher becomes irreplaceable. That can happen with robust, meaningful and regular evaluations with actionable feedback and intensive, individualized support to help teachers improve.

The teacher preparation pipeline also must ensure that every teaching candi-date receives high-quality preparation and is able to meet high standards of practice before being allowed to teach. Prospective new teachers should also pass a rigorous classroom assessment.

To learn more about the study, go to:http://tntp.org

‘The Irreplaceables’NEA Goal: That Every Teacher Becomes Irreplaceable

Cameras at Winnebago Not SIG FundedA story in the October issue of The Voice stated incorrectly that cameras in Win-

nebago classrooms were paid for with School Improvement Grant funds. Superinten-dent Dan Fehringer said the cameras were installed for the safety of students and staff.



Why Mom Never VotedIn early October, I dropped my completed ballot

for the Nov. 6 General Election into a U.S. Postal Service mailbox a block south of the NSEA offices.

My ability to vote early, and by mail, stands in stark contrast to my immigrant mother’s views on voting: she refused to exercise her right to vote.

I enjoy the privilege of trekking to my local courthouse on Election Day. Voting in the spindly-legged and unsteady voting booths is as an Ameri-can event as a football Friday night. I always exit the courthouse displaying my red, white and blue “I Voted” sticker for all to see. In recent years, however, my husband and I have taken advantage of early voting. Our travel and work schedules, and the likeli-hood that we will both be out of town on Election Day, make it an easy decision to cast our votes by mail.

As each Election Day ap-proaches, tension builds. Cam-paigns rev up their efforts. Predictions by pollsters change daily. Some citizens become frustrated and bail, deciding that their lone vote is of no val-ue – even though the act of vot-ing in a free election is perhaps the most important duty of an American citizen. Indeed, we must make sure our family, friends and co-workers understand that the precious act of voting is more than the election of qualified candidates. It is about the preservation of democracy.

Tension at HomeGrowing up in rural Iowa, there was always ten-

sion in my family home as Election Day neared.My mother refused to vote. Regardless of the

election, whether it was local, state or national, Mom felt that she did not know enough about the candidates or issues to cast an informed ballot. More than once she rationalized that her single vote wouldn’t matter anyway. My father couldn’t have disagreed more, resulting in the household tension.

Along with her parents and seven brothers and sisters, Mom immigrated to the United States as a very young child. English was not her first lan-guage, but she was able to skip kindergarten. In fact, her abilities also allowed her to skip third grade. She helped her parents with language issues as they studied for and successfully gained natu-

ralization, thereby earning citizenship for Mom and her siblings. Mom’s parents, my Grandpa and Grandma, were so proud of becoming naturalized citizens. They valued their right to vote. Yet, even as we children became eligible voters, we failed to convince Mom to go to the polls.

Perhaps Mom held the right to vote in such high esteem that she feared casting a ballot with what she felt was a limited knowledge of issues might tarnish the process. Nothing could be further from the truth,

of course. But I wish all Ameri-cans shared her healthy respect for our process of electing lead-ers.

MisconceptionsI want to set the facts straight

on two election-related miscon-ceptions that I encounter fre-quently, particularly in social media settings.

First, “NSEA” does not de-cide which candidates earn As-sociation recommendations. Every candidate for office has an opportunity to complete the NSEA questionnaire stating his or her positions on educa-tion issues. A local, bi-partisan team of NSEA members – your colleagues in your legislative district, for instance – then in-

terview the candidates who choose to complete the survey. It is the final recommendation of the local interview team that NSEA then communicates to you through The Voice, mail, or the NSEA web-site as “the NSEA recommendation.” In actuality, NSEA serves only as the conduit to notify members of the local recommendation.

Another common misconception is that NSEA recommends candidates from only one side of the aisle. In truth, over the past 20 years, the historical percentage of recommended candidates for the of-ficially non-partisan Nebraska Legislature is split almost evenly right down the middle between the two major political parties.

Our elected officials make decisions every day regarding education. Class size, collective bargain-ing, length of school day and year; all are affected by elected officials. Each of our decisions at the ballot box will affect education. Take time to check out NSEA’s recommended candidates on the back cover of this edition. Then use your voting privi-lege and cast your ballot!

President’s Message

“Indeed,

we must make sure our family, friends and co-workers understand

that the precious act

of voting is more than

the election of qualified

candidates. It is about the preservation

of democracy.

”

Making voting easy: NSEA Presi-dent Nancy Fulton mailed her ballot in early October.

...and the Truth About the NSEA Candidate Recommendation Process




www.firstnebraska.org


98 Percent of Voters Say ‘Yes’ to OEA

as Bargaining AgentThe Omaha Education Associa-

tion has won a bargaining unit certi-fication election by an overwhelming 98 percent of the vote. The election result means OEA is certified by the Commission of Industrial Rela-tions as the sole bargaining agent for Omaha Public School employees in the unit.

The CIR office, charged with conducting certification elections in Nebraska, released the results of the election on Oct. 19. Nearly 65 per-cent of those eligible voted in the cer-tification election. The final tally was 2,523 voting yes and 53 voting no.

The certification election was spurred when the Omaha Public Schools Board of Education School Board failed to grant OEA’s request for recognition as the bargaining agent for school year 2013-14. To ensure unit employees would have OEA representation at the bargain-ing table for the 2013-14 school year, members collected certification elec-tion signature cards last spring from an estimated 83 percent of eligible bargaining unit members. Just 30 percent were needed to trigger the election.

Permanent AgentWith the election results in, OEA

becomes the permanent bargaining agent for the bargaining unit com-prised mostly of classroom teachers.

“Both through the signature cards and the vote, it is absolutely clear that OPS employees in the unit see the right to bargain as important,” said Chris Proulx, OEA president.

“The certification election was about the absolute necessity of hav-ing a voice in our workplace – and

that’s good not only for teachers and other education employees, but also for our students and our community,” he said.

“Educators are very cognizant of the fact that our working conditions are our students’ learning condi-tions.”

Legislative PromptThe certification election was

prompted by the Nebraska Legisla-ture’s passage of LB397 last year. LB397 revised collective bargaining statutes and, among other things, set a timetable for the negotiations pro-cess between Nebraska school dis-tricts and local association bargain-ing units.

Under the new statutes, bargaining must begin no later than Nov. 1 each year and conclude by the fol-lowing Feb. 8. If the two sides have not reached agreement by the Feb. 8 date, fact finding is required before a resolu-tion officer, who chooses the offer the officer deems as most reasonable.

The new law also requires that no later

than Sept. 1 each year, the employ-ees’ union must request recognition from the school district as the sole bargaining agent for employees in that bargaining unit. Unions that have previously been certified by the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations are permanently recog-nized as the bargaining agent.

Because bargaining for the 2013-14 contract year will fall under the new calendar set by LB397, local as-sociations needed to request school board recognition last spring for both 2012-13 and 2013-14. Otherwise, the slim 60-day window between the Sept. 1, 2013, recognition request deadline and the Nov. 1, 2013, bar-gaining start-up date would not leave sufficient time to pursue and com-plete a certification election, if nec-essary.

OEA is SecondMost of Nebraska’s 250 school

districts accepted the two-year re-quest for recognition. The Omaha Board of Education accepted OEA’s request for recognition for 2012-13, but did not act on the more critical 2013-14 school year request.

OEA is the second local associa-tion to conduct a certification elec-tion. Earlier this year, the 57 mem-bers of the UmonHon Nation Educa-tion Association collected signatures from 100 percent of members in the

bargaining unit, and subse-quently voted to have the

UNEA serve as the as-sociation’s permanent bargaining agent.

True Landslide!Certification Election Shows Overwhelming Support

for Omaha Education Association, Collective Bargaining“The certification election was

about the absolute necessity of having a voice in our workplace — and that’s good not only for teachers and other education employees but also for our students and our community. Educators are very cognizant of the fact that our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions.”

— Chris Proulx, PresidentOmaha Education Association




ecampus.unk.edu


Educators HealthAlliance Board OKs

2013-14 Rates, BenefitsPremiums for the Blue Cross and

Blue Shield of Nebraska health care plan used by nearly every Nebraska school district will increase by an aver-age of 6.4 percent next Sept. 1.

The Board of Directors of the Edu-cators Health Alliance approved the rate plan in October.

When the 2013-14 premium year starts on Sept. 1, 2013, it will mark 11 straight years with increases of less than 10 percent. In the past seven years, the increase has been 8.8 percent or less. Rates did not increase in 2011-12, and went up by just 2.99 percent this past Sept. 1, all well below national trends.

“The EHA continues to work dili-gently to achieve the rate stability and increases below health insurance indus-try averages that our members expect and deserve,” said EHA Board Chair and Auburn Board of Education Presi-dent Beth Kernes Krause.

NSEA formed the statewide Blue Cross and Blue Shield health care net-work 45 years ago. A 12-member board representing NSEA, the Nebraska As-sociation of School Boards and the Ne-braska Council of School Administra-tors governs the health care plan. NSEA retains six of the 12 voting positions.

Previous rate change announcements have come in the spring. However, with an accelerated bargaining calendar set by new state statutes, this new timing will allow negotiators to account for the 2013-14 rates when bargaining for that school year contract begins after Nov. 1.

NSEA Associate Executive Director Neal Clayburn is the immediate past chair of the EHA Board of Directors. He said the bargaining calendar as set by the new statute has made the rate projec-tion process more difficult for actuaries.

“In order to accommodate that new bargaining calendar, they’re projecting out 23 months,” said Clayburn. “Pre-viously they projected out 18 months. That’s a huge difference.”

Eligibility VerificationThe 2013-14 rates reflect modest

changes to deductibles, coinsurance and copays in order to keep pace with infla-

tion and keep rates as low as possible.Ultimately, the active employee rates

will increase by 6.25 percent for all rate and benefit categories.

The EHA will hire an independent firm to make certain the plan covers only eligible individuals. The State of Nebraska and the University of Ne-braska health insurance plans recently completed a similar process.

The co-pay for an office visit to a family doctor will fall from $35 to $30. The co-pay for a specialist will be $50. The co-pay for a visit to an urgent care site or emergency room will be $75. Those changes will bring the EHA plan into line with other, similar plans.

Out-of-pocket expenses for health care options for active NSEA members will increase by $150, said Clayburn.

Meanwhile, rates for Early Retiree/Direct Bill members will increase by 9.4 percent, following expiration of funds from the Early Retirement Rein-surance Program (ERRP), a part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that temporarily kept early retiree rates in check. Further, the early retiree plan members will see a premium holi-day. They will not see a bill in Decem-

ber 2012, thanks to the ERRP program.

Dental RatesThe dental rates will rise by 5.94 per-

cent for all participants, including active and early retiree categories.

Kernes Krause said the EHA Board was particularly pleased that the rate in-crease will be reasonable in light of the rate pressures on health insurance plans. These pressures result from medical in-flation and provisions of the Affordable Care Act, including expansions in cov-erage to dependents to age 26; the re-moval of copays for nearly all preventa-tive services and coverage for women’s preventative services; and health insur-ance excise taxes beginning in 2014.

Kernes Krause said the board is hopeful that preventative services will result in lower costs in the long term. In the short term, she said preventative ser-vices are adding to the cost, citing a 53 percent increase in EHA preventative services expense in the last 10 months.

The EHA plan covers more than 70,000 education employees, early re-tirees and their dependents.

For more details, go to the website at:www.ehaplan.org/

EHA Sets 2013-14 Rates


www.nppd.com/energy-education


For 20 years, Carol Kloss McClellan was beamed into eastern Nebraska homes on a regu-lar basis as a well-respected investigative report-er and anchor for Omaha-based KETV Channel 7. ‘Carol Kloss’ was as close to a household name as one can get in the local television news business. Two years ago, she left television to become a teacher.

“The first year was just crazy, as it is for any first year teacher,” she said. “It was especially hard for me because of the fact that I felt like I should have known what I was doing. I’ve been in a profession where I’m at the top of my game, and all of a sudden I have to start all over. You kind of have to swallow a lot of pride and be a beginner again.”

Between classes at Omaha South High School, McClellan answered questions about her transition to teaching.

How has the classroom been so far?

“The first year was just insane. All the differ-ent things you need to know as a teacher, and it’s all happening at the same time, with lesson plans, standards, classroom management, the new grading system, just the new culture of working in a school and how schools function.

“The bottom line is you want to make sure you teach the kids something. You’re just con-stantly flying by the seat of your pants.

“The second year has been a little better. You have a set of lesson plans you can tweak. All teachers tell me the third year is when it all comes together. I’m looking forward to that.”

You envisioned a law career?“I did go to law school for a time. It really

didn’t seem to fit my personality, so I ended up getting back into television news. My husband is the lawyer in the family and it suits his per-sonality. It makes more sense for him to do that. Teaching makes more sense for me.”

Broadcast reporters I know are notoriously bad at spelling.

“I would say as a broadcast journalist, my spelling was exceptional. I’m a pretty good

From Camerato Classroom



UponFurther

Reflection After The Voice interviewed

Carol Kloss McClellan in May, she sent this note via e-mail.

“I have been reflecting on our conversation, particularly your question “why teach?”

“One thing that keeps coming to mind is my strong belief in the importance of public schools. I believe public schools are the best way to educate the majority of our children, and they are our nation’s best hope of preserving our republic and making the world a better place.

“At South High, it is readily apparent how many immigrant families have moved to this country to provide their children with educational opportunities that are not available in their home countries.

“I personally am grateful for the education my children and I received in public schools. I try to instill in my students that we should not take our public schools for granted. We need to work together to make them better.

“At this point in my life, toward this goal, I have decided the best role for me is to serve as a front-line teacher.”

speller. I’m kind of a stickler when it comes to grammar and spelling.”

What was the toughest part of your television job?

“Constant deadlines. Coming up with new, fresh material, particularly as an inves-tigative journalist. Sometimes you would venture out on a story not knowing whether it would pan out. It was hard, especially as things got faster and budgets got tighter. Sta-tions just can’t afford to waste their time on stories that aren’t going to pan out.

“There was a time when I could spend more time on investigative stories, really sink my teeth into stuff. I was doing more general assignment stuff toward the end and not the interesting investigative stuff. That’s when I realized it was time for a change.”

Is that why you left television for the classroom?

“As a journalist, you’re an observer. You always feel like you’re on the outside look-ing in. Teaching gives me a chance to be on the inside and see what makes these kids tick, to get inside their brains and figure out how people learn. How do you empower kids to have a better life? How do you teach them basic skills?

“I happened to be on camera every day, in front of an audience. But this audience is right here, in your face, every single day. You have to be ‘on’ from the time the bell rings until the end of the day. And you‘d better be ready for the next day.”

Why high school English?“I could have taught journalism, but I real-

ly wanted to have a pure English experience. I wanted literature, and I like the grammar. It just seemed to be a good fit.

“I have a great variety of kids from strug-gling readers all the way up to honors stu-dents who are fabulous writers. I get to see a lot in one day, and that’s fun. It’s perfect for me, as someone who has been an observer for so long, who is always trying to figure out

how things work.”

What is the toughest part of teaching?

“Classroom management. The majority of kids are here to learn and behave. But the problem is when you have a few kids who just don’t know acceptable behavior. They’re causing problems, and it’s frustrating when you see the majority of kids are there, and of-tentimes you have to give your attention to those who are disrupting.

“It’s a balancing act you figure out as you go along. How much do you put up with? When do you finally send someone to an ad-ministrator, send them out of the room, just so you can teach the majority of kids who are here to learn something?

“The technology, too – kids with their cellphones. Here again, just teaching them proper behavior, that it’s not polite to be texting while the teacher is up in front of the classroom trying to give instruction. It’s something that I really think needs to be fig-ured out.

“Here you have a girl up in front of my class looking up a word on her dictionary on her cellphone. I love to see kids using tech-nology in a constructive way. But 90 percent of the time kids are not using it for academ-ics. They use it for social reasons or for fun and games. There’s a time and place for that, but not in the classroom.”

Were you mentored?“Stacy Rice had my schedule before she

took over as South High librarian. She was my mentor. All the English teachers are good about helping each other out. It’s a really great department to work in.

“I was trying to make a smooth transition from Channel 7 to teaching and in my first year I worked on a provisional commitment certificate, which allows you to do your stu-dent teaching on the job. I didn’t have the traditional student teaching experience. I went right into the classroom on my own. I did have a co-teacher, a special ed teacher,

From Camerato Classroom

For 20 years, Carol Kloss was a Television Fixture in Omaha. These Days, She Teaches Englishat Omaha South High.



because all the special ed kids are main-streamed. He helped me figure out ac-commodations for the special ed kids. But I earned my student teaching expe-rience as I was teaching. That’s another reason that first year was so difficult.”

What makes you say ‘that’s why I want to go to school today?’

“It’s the kids. Good days, bad days, sometimes your worst days are the days that you learn the most. When you see yourself starting to develop relation-ships with people, that’s a lot of fun. And when you see kids develop.

“One of the most rewarding expe-riences has been my creative writing class. We’ve done a lot with poetry, the Nebraska Writer’s Collective and a new competition called ‘Louder Than a Bomb,’ a poetry slam competition start-ed in Chicago. We did our first compe-tition this year (2011-12), and some of my creative writing kids were part of the team. To see some of these quiet kids sitting in the back writing poetry and all of a sudden blossom into performers be-fore your eyes, that was cool. That defi-nitely keeps you coming back.”

You’ve had life experiences. Was that an advantage?

“Some of my younger colleagues wish they had some life experience they could bring to the classroom. I tell them ‘you’ll get your life experience. You’ve got youth, you can relate to these kids.’

“We all have different things we can bring to the classroom. I’m a mother. I bring a lot of that to the classroom, al-though I don’t pretend I could possibly mother all these kids. But I have that perspective.

“In my reading class, we had a series on First Amendment freedoms, the suf-frage movement and the right to vote. As far as First Amendment freedoms, teaching about sourcing, and primary sources and secondary sources, I lived all that as a reporter. I can bring real life examples to the classroom that make it more fun for me. I hope it brings it to life for the kids.”

As a reporter, you covered education. Are there things you know now that you wish you knew then?

“It’s a tough beat to cover. It’s really hard to know what goes on in a class-room unless you actually live it. I don’t know how you could.

“I’ve got one student in particular

who’s really difficult. He has a dif-ficult behavioral problem. He has a tutor who has invested so much time into this kid. She said ‘he really seems like he’s interested in learning.’ One day he just stopped, totally lost inter-est. She had thrown her whole heart and soul into this kid. She came up to me in tears and said ‘I don’t know what to do. I understand now, why you had trouble with him in your class. He’s been causing problems in the Hope Center, he’s disrupting the other kids down there, making it dif-ficult for other kids to concentrate.’ What do you do with him?

“It’s this constant process of trying to do the best you can with every indi-vidual, but then also trying to look at the whole. You have to make sure you do what’s best for the whole, too, and try to figure out what needs to be concentrated on and what you need to let go of. It’s this process that goes on every day, to know how to do it best.”

Have two years on the job given you a perspective on why teachers should be politically active?

“During these first couple of years,

it’s like ‘Politically active? When am I going to have time to do that? I’m just trying to get those lesson plans done ev-ery day.’

“I’m appreciative for the organiza-tion that represents me, because I know somebody has to keep track of that kind of thing. I think resources are very im-portant. Testing and all those issues are very important. No Child Left Behind needs to be revamped. Teachers are in the classroom; they’re the ones that know what goes on, they’re the ones who probably know what’s best, but they’re so busy teaching it’s hard to be politically active.

“I couldn’t be politically active before as a journalist. I had to maintain my ob-jectivity. Now, all of a sudden, I can be politically active, and I enjoy that part of it. That has yet to evolve in my life.”

Postscript:McClellan sent this note in mid-

October:“I’m now well into my third year of

teaching, and discovering that my col-leagues were right. The teaching expe-rience is coming together. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m starting to get the hang of it.”


www.sprint.com/buyback


Negotiators Told New State StatutePushes Long-Range Timeline

The 200 or so negotiators from across Nebraska at NSEA’s 2012 Advocacy Conference learned about certification elec-tions, heard more about the urgency of meeting timelines under the new state collective bargaining statutes and how to analyze a school district’s annual financial report.

NSEA Attorney Scott Norby reminded negotiators that contract talks for 2013-14 should begin soon — by Nov. 1. In what Norby called a “cultural change,” the new bargain-ing calendar will no longer allow contract talks to continue past the start of the new contract year, as happened frequent-ly under the old bargaining statutes.

“That will never happen again,” said Norby.In fact, contract negotiations must be essentially com-

plete by Feb. 8 each year for the following year. After that

date, the process moves to a resolution officer phase.The resolution officer provision “is a key and necessary

part” of the new state statute, said Norby. It provides incen-tive for the bargaining parties to reach agreement, and an avenue for adjudication if they do not.

Drawing on the experience of bargaining unit certifica-tion elections held recently by the Omaha Education As-sociation and the Umonhon Nation Education Association, several negotiators learned about the certification election process. Locals that successfully go through the certification process are permanently recognized as the bargaining unit representative by the Commission of Industrial Relations.

Attendees also learned from NSEA UniServ directors about: multi-year contracts; understanding salary schedules; and how to lay groundwork for contract talks.

Questions about the new bargaining statutes or timeline? Contact your NSEA UniServ director at 1-800-742-0047.

Certification Details: Viewed between NSEA UniServ Directors Duane Obermier, left, and Jackee Wise, right, three NSEA members gather details about certifying their local association as the authorized bargaining agent for teachers. From left are Jill Shields, Fort Calhoun; Colleen Elsasser, Bancroft-Rosalie; and Lee Brogie, Wayne.

Start Negotiating Now

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey told 200 Nebraska educators that, at age 69 and with a child in elementary school, he is a “geezer dad.” That gives him a real stake in public education.

Kerrey, a candidate to return to the Senate, was the guest speaker at NSEA’s 2012 Advocacy Conference in Grand Is-land on Oct. 20. “I very much want to sit down and talk with you folks about what to retain and what to get rid of from No Child Left Behind,” he said. Teachers are putting “way too much energy” in inap-propriate activities contained in NCLB.

Some critics condemn today’s public schools, while romanticizing times past, Kerrey said. The fact is that “our teach-

ers today are much better than they were 30 or 50 years ago, and their quality of effort is better, as well.”

Because many children arrive at school unready to learn, Kerrey said early childhood education may be “the most important thing we do.” Investment in children is what matters, he said.

“My opponent and I are not our fu-ture. My 11-year-old is the future, our children are the future. We’re spending more on Sen. Fischer and me than we are on our children. We’re under-investing in our children today.”

Based on education-related issues, Kerrey is NSEA’s recommended candi-date for U.S. Senate.

Meet, Greet: Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, right, greets Wakefield’s Bill Trenhaile at NSEA’s Advocacy Con-ference in Grand Island on Oct. 20.

Kerrey: Early Childhood Ed Vital



A Baker’s Dozen!Thirteen NSEA members from nine local associations in northeast Nebraska

spent a valuable Saturday learning how to sail through the Navigator software NSEA utilizes to conduct comparability studies for contract negotiations. The members will utilize the results of their studies to reinforce arguments for im-proved salaries and benefits when negotiations for the 2013-14 school year begins.

At right, NSEA UniServ Director Rich Wergin, right, assists Neligh-Oakdale member Frank Gade.

Above, these members and NSEA staffers were on hand for the training. From left are Curtis Reese, Battle Creek; Mark Gehring, Ponca; NSEA UniServ Director Rich Wergin; Mary Anne Long, St. Edward; Darcy Kruger, West Point; Jayne Wimer, West Point; Jackie Delmont, Wisner-Pilger; Alison Kluthe, Wisner-Pilger; Frank Gade, Neligh-Oakdale; Maria Burgos, Elkhorn Valley; Gary Eisenhauer, Battle Creek; Barb Rolf, West Point; Chuck Tramp, Wynot; NSEA Associate Staff member Kathy Hutchinson; and Bill Trenhaile, Wakefield.

Africa? South America? Where Will You Go?More than 50 Nebraskans

Have Received GrantsSince 2001

This past summer, four NSEA mem-bers from two Nebraska schools studied in Africa and South America, respec-tively, courtesy of the Fund for Teach-ers. Is such a trip in your future?

Fund for Teachers offers self-de-signed learning odysseys that allow educators to pursue scientific data, participate in seminars, volunteer with community organizations and observe best practices. Afterward, the teachers return to their classrooms as lead learn-ers to inspire their students and schools.

The Fund for Teachers last spring awarded 463 educators from across the country $1.8 million in grants to pursue self-designed learning adventures. After proposing what they want to learn and where they want to learn it, via an online application, the winning teachers were selected by a committee of civic, corpo-rate, education and philanthropic lead-ers. Among the recipients were these NSEA members:nDouglas Keel, a teacher at R.M.

Marrs Magnet Center in Omaha. Keel participated in the Hispana: Es-cuela de Español program in Lima,

Peru, and afterward toured natural heri-tage sites in Cusco.nLeslie Douglas, Lin Kulm and

Lisa Robinson, of Omaha’s Kellom Elementary School. They observed classrooms in Uganda, and participated in professional development with 400 local teachers in order to inform their

peers in a developing country and to better facilitate the assimilation of stu-dents who immigrated less than 12 months before arriving at school.

Teachers interested in applying for 2013 summer grants may do so online now. For details, visit:

fundforteachers.org


www.joslyn.org


RecognizeTheir Talent!Nebraska has 250 school districts,

hundreds of school buildings and more than 30,000 school employees. Each of those employees has a skill or talent that should be honored.

Any NSEA member may nominate an individual or group for these awards. All mailed nominations must be post-marked by Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, and sent to: NSEA Awards, 605 S. 14th St., Lin-coln, NE 68508-2742. Nominations may also be submitted online, with any required supporting material scanned and e-mailed or mailed to the NSEA. Online forms for the awards, as well as more details, may be found under the ‘Call for Nominations’ link on the NSEA website at:

www.nsea.orgNSEA members are eligible for:nNSEA Rookie of the Year.

For a teacher who sparkled in his or her first year of teaching during the 2011-12 school year.nAward for Teaching Excel-

lence. To a classroom teacher who has excelled over a long period of time.nEducation Support Profes-

sional of the Year. Awarded to an ESP who has excelled in his or her job.

Honorees will be notified in March and announced at Delegate Assembly in Kearney on April 19-20, 2013. Each honoree receives $250. The Award for Teaching Excellence honoree will com-pete for the NEA Teaching Excellence Award and a $25,000 prize.

NSEA members are eligible for these honors:nThe Great Plains Milestone

Award: Recognizes an individual or group that has promoted human and civil rights in their locale or the state.nCommunity Service: Honors

an NSEA member(s) and/or local asso-ciations involved in non-paid volunteer work outside of classroom hours.nLocal Public Relations: Hon-

ors a local association for outstanding communication within the association, and promotion of educational excel-lence in the community.

These awards are also presented:nFriend of Education: NSEA’s

highest award honors an individual or organization that has made a statewide contribution to education.nMedia: Recognizes a news-

paper, television or radio station for outstanding work in covering educa-tion issues and promoting community involvement in education.

In late 1988, with Nebraska teacher salaries lagging well behind compensa-tion to educators in neighboring states, a special NSEA Task Force authored an ambitious plan.

A Special Delegate Assembly – only the third special assembly in the Asso-ciation’s then 120-year history – autho-rized the plan and the ensuing push for the Help Education Lead to Prosperity (HELP) proposal.

Following that special Delegate As-sembly, Nebraska’s Legislature passed LB89 and added $20 million – big money in the late 1980s – directly into teacher salaries in the 1989-90 school year.

Over the years, members at NSEA’s Delegate Assembly have taken action that moved teachers into the state retire-ment system; ap-proved continuing contract language as an accepted practice; took the first steps toward a statewide health insurance plan that was the precursor to the Educa-tors Health Alliance, which today serves teachers and their families statewide.

Yes, NSEA’s annual Delegate Assem-bly is a Big Deal.

“Our delegates have faced some mo-mentous decisions over the years, deci-sions that have changed the course of the Association and education in Nebraska,” said NSEA President Nancy Fulton. “If members want to be engaged and have a voice in their Association’s future, now is the time to begin thinking about that commitment.”

The Association’s 152nd Delegate As-sembly will be held at Kearney on Friday evening and Saturday, April 19-20, 2013.

You, as a dues-paying member of NSEA, are eligible to seek selection to Delegate Assembly. Sadly, about one-third of the delegate slots go unfilled each year, either because members are

unaware of their eligibility, or because they are uncertain how to seek delegate status.

Delegate selection is based on one member, one vote. To ensure equal rep-resentation, one delegate slot is available to represent every 50 members, or major fraction thereof. Thus, any local with 26 members is eligible to select one or more delegates, based on total membership.

Local associations with fewer than 26 members band together in “clusters” to provide delegates. For instance, in 2012, about 30 smaller local associations in

NSEA’s Elkhorn District (northeast Nebraska) were eligible to select a combined 10 del-egates. However, only one cluster delegate from that area attended. Over-all, across the state, NSEA members

filled only seven of 46 available cluster delegate slots in 2012.

The selection process for delegates in the cluster category is quite simple. After Feb. 1, presidents of local associations with fewer than 26 members will receive a letter alerting them to the number of cluster del-egate slots available. The local president needs only to relay to NSEA the names of those members interested in serving as del-egates. NSEA will follow up and provide details to those potential delegates.

In local associations with more than 26 members, the local leadership will de-termine the selection process, which may include an election.

In all cases, if you are interested in at-tending Delegate Assembly, contact your local association president. NSEA will pay mileage, as well as cost for a shared hotel room. Delegate Assembly 2013 is at the Younes Conference Center in Ke-arney.

Questions? Contact your NSEA UniServ director at 1-800-742-0047.

It’s a Big DealWhy You Should Attend NSEA’s Delegate Assembly . . . A n d H o w t o G e t T h e r e

“If members want to be engaged and have a voice in their Association’s future, now is the time to begin thinking about that commitment.”

— Nancy Fulton,NSEA President




www.nebraskablue.com


Six years into the event and Outreach to Teach is stronger than ever!

Nearly 100 members of the Student Education Association of Nebraska (SEAN) rolled into Cedar Bluffs in mid-October to scour, scrub, paint, rake and freshen the building and grounds of the Cedar Bluffs Public Schools. The event followed similar Outreach to Teach events in the past that have brightened schools in Norfolk, Lincoln, Omaha and Grand Island.

On October 13, SEAN members from eight Nebraska universities and colleges hit the ground running for more than six hours of work. Among other projects at the school building they:nPainted concrete blockhouse-style

bathrooms at the football field inside and out after the building had been power washed a day earlier. They also installed new paper towel and soap dis-pensers, as well as sinks.nCleaned bathrooms in the school

and painted the walls of bathroom stalls.nPainted new chalk lines on the

playground for three basketball courts and four four-square courts.nPainted brick pillars and decora-

tive metal work at the front entrance.nCleaned and re-organized the el-

ementary school basement.nPulled weeds, spread mulch, re-

built and placed a sandbox area.nReplaced the planks on picnic

tables in the park area.Cedar Bluffs Superintendent Harlan

Ptomey was pleased with the effort,

which also attracted teachers, custodial staff, and other community members.

“It would take all year to get done what we’re getting done in one day,” Ptomey told KETV Channel 7 News.

NSEA member and Cedar Bluffs teacher Jess Bohling sent an e-mail of thanks to many of the participants.

“Everybody here was amazed at how much you got done and how well you did everything,” she said. “We are so thankful and grateful for the time you

put in. People in the community have made several comments about the work you did outside the building and at the football field.”

NSEA UniServ Director and SEAN Liaison Mike Wiesen said SEAN mem-bers, at the district’s direction, were able to fill two large roll offs with outdated, broken or discontinued school items.

University of Nebraska-Kearney SEAN member Jill Kimbrough chaired the Outreach to Teach event this year.

Picnic Table Rehab: Updating picnic tables in the park area near the Cedar Bluffs School were, from left, Gina Boltz of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Devin Garcia and Sam Carman of Peru State College.

100 @ Cedar Bluffs Outreach

Bright Blue Paint: A decorative metal arch above the main entrance to the Cedar Bluffs school building was repainted by students. At left, Carissa Batenhorst, Wayne State College; and Peru State’s Katie Mann and Ryan Evans work on the painting. At right, Kelan Schumacher and Kathy Venteicher of the University of Nebraska-Kearney paint a basketball court.




www.peru.edu


See Your Student’s ArtOn a U-Haul Van

On the first of every month, a differ-ent U-Haul SuperGraphic is selected for participants to color and to be posted on the U-Haul website.

Participants will share their entry with friends and family to collect votes. Every month, the three most popular U-Haul SuperGraphics from each age group will win a one-of-a-kind prize, along with a $50 gift card. The monthly winners will be entered to win the Su-perGrand prize: The winner’s artwork will be placed on the side of a U-Haul moving van that will be located in or close to the their hometown, along with an official U-Haul unveiling party for friends and family. For details, go to:

uhaul.com/supergraphics/coloringcontest

Kit Tells Story BehindTranscontinental RR

As part of its 150th anniversary celebration, Union Pacific Railroad has introduced a new teacher’s resource kit as a tool to help students learn the history of America’s first transcontinental railroad. Completed in 1869, the transcontinental railroad connected the west to the east and opened it for development and commerce. The resource kit will help educators in grades 3-8 meet national standards for history and social studies.

Educators can order a resource kit by submitting a request form at this link:

uprr.com/software/survey/ssl/150teacherkits.cfm

Grants Now Availablefor High School Athletics

California Casualty, provider of the NEA Auto and Home Insurance Pro-gram, has begun its third year of spon-soring the California Casualty Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grant program that supports public high school athletics.

California Casualty established the athletics grant program because edu-cation budget cuts have drastically re-duced support for school athletics, in some cases forcing school sports to shut down altogether. In the first two years

of the grant program, 69 schools in 26 states received $100,000 in grants.

During the 2013 grant period, a total of $75,000 will be distributed to pub-lic schools across the nation in grant amounts ranging between $1,000 and $3,000. Grant applications will be ac-

cepted until Jan. 15, 2013. California Casualty will notify selected schools and present them with checks by May 15, 2013.

For more details, or to obtain an ap-plication, visit:

CalCasAthleticsGrant.com

Go Mobile and Save with NSEANSEA Membership Mobile App Saves You Cash!

Want instant savings on your mobile device? You’ve got it, with NSEA’s ‘My Deal’ mobile application!

You can save with the My Deals app on your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android devices. The newly unveiled benefit of joining NSEA can save you far more than the cost of membership each year.

More than 100,000 merchants nationwide accept the Access mobile savings when you show the coupon on your phone at check out. That list includes hundreds of Nebras-ka retail and dining sites, from Subway, Applebee’s and Papa Murphy’s to AMC Theaters, Aeropostle, Hertz, Office De-pot, Direct TV, Kmart and more. The mobile app includes these features:nEasy search by category and a user-favorites list for future use.nAbility to find your favorite merchants using the GPS location or maps feature.To get your member deals wherever you go, follow these steps:nVisit the iTunes Store or Android Market and download the My Deals Mobile applica-

tion.nRegister on the application. The registration process has two dialogue boxes for reg-

istration numbers. The first number – 8589 – is for all NSEA members. The second dialogue box requires your personal 10-digit NSEA identification number.

Once you’ve registered the application, you’ll have the My Deals icon (shown here) on your cell phone desk top, and you’re activated and ready to start saving!

News You Can Use


www.nereads.org



www.neamb.com/clickandsave


Is it Right for Your Family, Your Finances?

Save With Dave!Are you ready to save some real

cash?With the holidays

right around the corner, now is the time to visit neamb.com and register for NEA Click & Save, the most popular dis-count program offered by NEA Member Ben-efits to NEA members and their families.

This exclusive shop-ping service offers sav-ings on brand name merchandise from hundreds of top retailers, online stores and local mer-chants. Save on clothing, electronics, restaurants, jewelry, movie tickets and more!

Take advantage of hundreds of exclusive offers available every day through NEA Click & Save. Just reg-ister or sign in at neamb.com and find everyday discounts under the Shop-ping & Discounts tab — or go right to:

neamb.com/ClickandSaveYou can even set up e-mail alerts

for your favorite merchants and be notified in advance of upcoming sales and deals!

You can share the savings with friends and family, too! NEA members are eligible to invite up to four friends and family members to save through NEA Click & Save. After you register or sign in on the NEA Click & Save web page, simply click on the “Invite a Friend” button.

50 Percent Off SmilemakersJust in time for the holiday season

SmileMakers is offering education association members up to 50 percent off on products for the classroom and home, including season-themed decor, gifts, motivational awards and hundreds of other items.

SmileMakers is a partner of NEA Member Benefits. Use special promo code NEAMB when ordering to receive up to 50 percent off, and free shipping on all orders of $25 or more. Visit SmileMakers.com or call 1-888-800-7645 to order. This offer is good through Dec. 31.

David Glenn is Nebraska’s NEA Member Benefits representative.

Glenn

Long-Term CareAnyone who has had a parent or

loved one with a long-term illness knows how expensive care can be, and how exhausting care giving is for a person’s spouse or child. What most people don’t realize is that health insur-ance and Medicare don’t cover long-term care. Medi-caid may pay some-thing toward long-term care, but only if a person meets stringent income requirements.

By definition, a person needs long-term care if they have severe cog-nitive impairment or the inability to perform the activi-ties of daily living: bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring, and continence. An event is considered a long-term care event if the impair-ment will last more than 90 days.

KeepingFamiliesTogether

Imagine if your mother had a stroke and came home from the hospital unable to walk or care for herself without assistance. Your family would go into crisis mode, trying to determine how to take care of her, who should do it and how to pay for it. If your mother had long-term care insurance, a nurse would come to her home, do an assess-ment, and create a plan of care. The insurance company could even rec-

ommend care providers in her area. The cost for caregivers and even home modifications such as grab

bars in the shower or ramps for mobility would be covered up to the policy’s month-ly benefit limit. Your family would be able to spend quality time enjoying her compa-ny rather than taking care of her personal hygiene and medical needs.

There is valuable coverage available at group rates for NEA members and qualified family members.

NEA Member Ben-efits offers a group long-term care insur-ance program devel-oped exclusively for members, their par-ents, grandparents and adult children. The NEA Long-Term Care Insurance Program, underwritten by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, offers a number of convenient features, including a cash ben-efit, the option to in-crease benefits at a fu-ture date and return of premium (less claims paid) if the insured dies before age 69. Members can maintain the policy even if they change jobs. The pro-

gram also offers you and your family free educational materials concern-ing the options available for your long-term healthcare needs.

Find out more about the NEA Long-Term Care Insurance Program at 1-855-632-4582, or by visiting the website at:

www.neamb.com/ltc

Member Benefits

How to Payfor Long-Term Care Services There are several ways to

pay for long-term care ser-vices:nSelf-insure: Use your

own savings. With the average cost of long-term care ser-vices at $73,000 per year and the average care event lasting approximately three years, in this scenario, you would need to save $219,000 to cover your own care. Those costs would obviously double for a couple.nFamily: Depending on

the type of assistance needed, your spouse or children may try care for you themselves to defray costs or they may be willing to reach into their own pockets to help pay for the care you require. But you may not want your spouse or child helping with bathing and toileting or you don’t want to place a financial burden on loved ones.nLong-term care

insurance (LTCI): For only $55 a month, a married 50-year-old individual could potentially purchase a policy with $200,000 in benefits to cover care at home or in a nursing home.




online.nebraska.edu


Have You Heard from NPERS

Lately?Retirement Newsletter

is Now ElectronicIf you haven’t read the newsletter published

by the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems office lately, it’s possible your e-mail address has changed or the e-mail containing the link to the newsletter was caught in your spam filter.

Either way, you’re missing out on impor-tant news relating to your retirement plan. Two years ago, NPERS turned to digital delivery of Retirement News, published in February and August each year. Retirement News is a great way to keep current on the activities and issues that affect your retirement dollars.

NPERS staff sends the link to the newslet-ter to each school district’s administration, and asks that the link be forwarded to retirement plan members. If you miss that e-mail, how-ever, you can always catch up on important retirement news on the NPERS website. Once at the website, look for the ‘Publications’ link to see the latest editions of Retirement News. The website is at:

www.npers.ne.gov

Was it an ‘Official’NPERS Seminar?

This summer, NPERS officials were alerted to at least two instances of newspaper adver-tisements and several direct mailers from “fi-nancial advisors” purportedly offering retire-ment seminars or planning services for NPERS retirees. The programs were not NPERS-sanc-tioned or authorized.

NPERS retirement seminars provide a full-day format with a $20 participation fee, or have been arranged by the local school district, with an NPERS official conducting the seminar.

As a potential retiree, plan members may be targeted by investment advisors offering their services. Such newspaper ads and fliers may be misleading and cause plan members to mistakenly conclude these advisors are affiliated with NPERS. These services and seminars are not sanctioned or connected with the NPERS office or staff. Information provided in these seminars may or may not be accurate or up to date with current legis-lation.

If you have questions about this topic, or about upcoming NPERS seminars in your area, contact the NPERS office at 1-800-245-5712.

Westside’s Bredenkamp Will Advise Federal DOE

Hopes to Influence Legislation, PolicyAs One of 12 Classroom Fellows

A math teacher with the Westside District 66 Public Schools in Omaha is influencing public edu-cation policy at the federal level every day.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan named Westside Community Schools’ Aaron Bredenkamp as one of just 12 teaching Ambassador Fellows for the 2012-13 school year. Bredenkamp is one of six Classroom Fellows who will remain in their teach-ing assignments and participate on a part-time basis. Five others will work in the Department of Education headquarters fulltime. Another will work in the DOE’s Seattle regional office.

Bredenkamp applied and was then interviewed via telephone by current fellows and program staff, followed by a daylong interview process in Wash-ington, D.C. His goal is to help improve two-way communication between the Department of Education and the edu-cational community. “This will include providing outreach and informa-tion on the DoED to teachers and other educational stakeholders, and taking their responses and opinions back to D.C.,” he said.

Bredenkamp will host roundtables on the department’s RESPECT project – a vision on how to improve the teaching profession – and will reach out to other education stakeholders to connect them with department resources. A major push will include sharing resources on the teacher platform on the ed.gov website.

“I want other teachers to see the department as a resource, not a threat, and to help them feel connected to Washington,” he said.

Influencing federal legislation and policy is important, he said.“I think it is essential that we, the educators, have direct input on

legislation and policy,” he said. “We need to join together to guide the direction of education and ensure that legislation and policy are devel-oped that improve education. We cannot allow for these to be devel-oped without our voice.”

Too often, Nebraskans remove themselves from the national con-versation by taking an anti-Federal government stance. Bredenkamp said it is important that Nebraska opinions and practices be heard at the federal level.

“Even though we may not always see eye to eye on all issues, all of our goals are to provide the best education to our children. Therefore, it is essential we work together as much as we can to make sure this happens,” he said.

His Westside colleagues are supportive and excited for Breden-kamp’s opportunity.

“I think by being a Nebraskan and still being in the classroom makes people much more receptive to what I have to share than if they were talking directly with someone from the department,” he said. “Most people have some frustration with the current system and it’s my goal to clarify, share, and educate as needed so they can find some way to have a positive relationship with the department.”

Bredenkamp is a Teach for America Corps member. He taught at the Achievement Academy within Paul Robeson High School in Chicago for three years and has taught at the Career Center, an alternative school, for Westside Community Schools for five years.

Bredenkamp



It’s Easy to Forman NSEA-Retired Local

Have you ever wondered why there is no NSEA-Retired affiliate in your area? Or perhaps you’ve wondered how to organize a retired affiliate.

The process is not that difficult.Set a date for an organizational meet-

ing to gauge interest. Invite interested and retired colleagues (you can obtain a master list from NSEA-Retired). Invite the local active president and perhaps two or more active teachers who are near retirement. Active teachers are in-cluded to understand the importance of having active members join as Pre-Re-tired members, as well as knowing there is a local NSEA-Retired organization.

The retired local holds meetings on a regular basis, with different activities planned at each. The retired local works with the active local, especially in the area of Planning for Retirement and Fi-nancial Planning seminars that NSEA-Retired provides. It may take several meetings to get under way and to solicit commitment from a group of interested retirees. If the decision is to move for-ward, follow these steps:nElect or assign officers.nDraft Bylaws.nDraft a Charter request for ap-

proval by NSEA and NSEA-Retired.nPlan and outline a first meeting.

The first official meeting may include an invitation to the NSEA-Retired presi-dent and/or the NSEA staff liaison.

Startup assistance could come from the NSEA-Retired, which can assist in production of invitations to potential members, with NSEA-Retired also cov-ering postage costs. NSEA-Retired can also provide a 30-45 minute program. On the agenda should be:nNSEA-Retired lapel pins.nPromotion of Lifetime dues.nSales of local memberships.Be sure to contact NSEA-Retired

President Roger Rea, NSEA Staff Liai-son Maureen Nickels or Nickels’ associ-ate staff member, Rebecca Smith, with questions. They can be reached, respec-tively, at these e-mail addresses:

[email protected]@[email protected]

Call Smith at 1-800-742-0047.

Election NoticeNSEA Retired will hold elections in

January for officers and for delegates to both NSEA Delegate Assembly and Representative Assembly in 2013. Of-fices up for election for three year terms this year are: secretary; treasurer; and district directors for Metro No. 1, Pan-handle, and Tri-Valley.

Watch for the request for nomina-tions in the January 2013 issue of The Voice, which will be an online copy. Be sure to get your email address filed with NSEA by logging on to nsea.org and clicking on CONTACT US! Complete the form with your name and current email address. In the “comment box” simply state that you wish to receive electronic copies of The Voice, and ask that your current email be added to the NSEA database. Type “Retired” in the school district box, and click submit.

More Details On Local AffiliatesWe continue our salute to locals with

Omaha and the Central Panhandle.

Omaha EducationAssociation-Retired

Details: Meets at 8:30 a.m. on De-cember 6, March 15 and May 16. Plans include a presentation on federal tax changes on December 6; an OPS Pen-sion plan update by Mike Smith and State Taxation of Social Security and

Public Pension Benefits by Roger Rea on March 15; and a presentation by medical insurance specialist Dr. Richard O’Brian on May 16. Officers: John Jensen is president.

Officers are Virgie Louis, vice presi-dent; Dee Rankin, secretary treasurer; Roger Rea, bookkeeper; and members of the Board of Directors Cheryl Rich-ardson, Walta Sue Dodd, Sharon Hay-enga and Ruby Davis. Reach Jensen at 402-493-7546 or at:

[email protected]

Central PanhandleRetired Education AssociationDetails: Members meet monthly Au-

gust to May. Coming activities include discussion of opportunities for youth in the community. Members raise funds to help the downtown area. They plan a bus tour to attend the NSEA-Retired Fall Conference in Schuyler. Their ma-jor concern: that the president of NSEA-Retired does not have a vote on the NSEA Board of Directors.Officers: The president is Jeanie

Williams. Other officers are Karon Har-vey, vice president; and Janet Gardner, secretary-treasurer. Call or write Wil-liams at 308-635-0759 or:

[email protected]

— Renae Kelly, Editor [email protected]

Is There a Retired Local Nearby?NSEA-R Corner

Thanks, Tom; Welcome Renae! To Tom Black: Thank you for writing and

editing the NSEA-Retired Corner for nearly 16 years.

Black, a former member of the NSEA and NEA Board of Directors, and a long-time social studies teacher at West Point, earned numerous awards from the National Education Association for his work with the Corner. Black will continue to write for and edit the NSEA-Retired Advocate, a separate publication mailed to retired members of the NSEA.

With Black’s departure, the new editor is Renae Kelly, a newly retired teacher from Springfield. A member of Papillion-LaVista Education Association for 33 years. Kelly has a passion for learning and education. She held a National Board Certification as Middle Childhood Generalist from 2002-12, and renewed her certification for 2012-22. We look forward to her becoming an active part of the NSEA Retired!

BlackKellyMarks



Extra Credit

Sally Fellows

Sally Fellows, a long-time NSEA member and teacher at Omaha South High School, died in Omaha on Sept. 3. She was 77.

A native of Ames, IA, Fellows earned a bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College and a master’s degree from Creighton University. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she taught at South High for 35 years, and served as chair of the Social Studies Department. Fellows re-ceived the Alice Buffett Award for Teaching. She was active in the League of Women Voters and be-longed to numerous book clubs. She also directed the OPS Service Learning program for students.

Survivors include a sister and brother and their spouses; a sister-in-law; and nieces and neph-ews. Memorials may be sent to the Omaha Education Association Foundation for scholarships at South High School.

Doug Nabb

Longtime Fremont educator and NSEA member Doug Nabb died in Omaha on Sept. 27. He was 70.

For 31 years, Nabb taught social studies at the junior and senior high levels in Fremont. He also coached football and swimming and was active in the Fremont Education Association. Nabb was a longtime negotiator for the FEA.

Following his retirement in 1999, he worked as a lobbyist for the Fremont Public Schools, working with state senators and policymakers to shape education legislation.

NEA President Dennis VanRoekel has appointed long-time NSEA leader Rebecca Marks, Omaha, to fill a vacancy on the NEA Board of Directors.

A sign language inter-preter and transliterator for the Omaha Public Schools since 1999, Marks will fill the final year on a term as an at-large member of the national board, represent-ing Education Support Professionals. In 2011,

Marks was elected as an Alternate At-Large ESP to the NEA board, which led to her appointment. She previously served a three-year term on the NEA board.

Earlier this year, President Nancy Fulton appointed Marks to serve on the NSEA board as the ESP representative.

Marks joined NSEA in 2000, and helped to bargain the first contract for OPS sign language interpreters in 2001. She has served on the NEA Resolutions Committee for six years; has attended the NEA Western Region Conference several times; and has participated in the NEA ESP leadership training program.

Marks Returns to NEA BoardOmaha ESP Has Long Record of Association Activism

Marks

The Lincoln Edu-cation Association has hired long-time UniServ Director Dan Studer to serve as the Association’s execu-tive director. The LEA Board of Directors also hired Lincoln elementary music teacher Matt Erb to fill Studer’s UniServ post.

The personnel moves came after LEA Execu-tive Director Jim Rea resigned in August.

Studer served as LEA president from 1997-2003 and during his term founded LEA’s Harvest of Books program, which has funneled thousands of books to Lin-coln children. Studer began his teaching career in 1974, and taught English at Ev-erett Junior High, Park Middle School and Lincoln Southeast High School. He served as the UniServ Director for LEA

since 2005.LEA President Jenni

Absalon said Studer is a “seasoned advocate and manager.”

“His commitment to our members and our As-sociation is exceptional and has earned Dan the respect and trust of LEA members,” she said.

Absalon called Erb “an excellent teacher and an involved LEA mem-ber.” He taught at Lakev-

iew and then Kooser elementary schools, has been a faculty representative, served on the LEA School Board Contact Team, the LEA negotiations team and on the LEA Board of Directors. He has attended NSEA Delegate Assembly and the NEA Western Region Leadership Conference. Erb also serves in the National Guard. He began his duties with LEA in late Sep-tember.

Erb Takes Lincoln UniServ PostStuder Will Serve as LEA Executive Director

Studer

Since 1992, the National Teacher Hall of Fame has recog-nized five American teachers with induction. Do you know a teacher who should be honored?

Located on the campus of Emporia State University in Kan-sas, the Hall of Fame is accepting applications for the 2013 induction class. Letters of nomination must be postmarked no later than Jan. 2, 2013. Nomination requirements include:nThe nominee must have a minimum of 20 years of full-

time preK-12 teaching experience.

nThe nominee must hold/have held a valid certificate or license from the state in which he/she is teaching/has taught. nIf selected, the nominee must attend induction activities

in Emporia and other potential locations.Nominations must be submitted on the official form, ob-

tained by calling 1-800-968-3224, or at the NTHF website at nthf.org. If the nomination form is mailed, it must be post-marked no later than Jan 2, 2013. If sent on-line, it must reach the NTHF office no later than Jan. 2, 2013.

Now Open: Nominations for the National Teacher Hall of Fame

Erb



NSEA Candidate Recommendation ProcessCandidates who earn the NSEA recommendation have com-pleted questionnaires on education issues and are interviewed by NSEA members from their district. Local NSEA member committees determine which candidates are deserving of the NSEA recommenda-tion. Candidates are asked questions related to their support for quality public schools, education funding, public school employees, teacher due process, and teacher collective bar-gaining.

If you are interested in serving on a NSEA Candidate Recom-mendation Committee in the future, call NSEA Government Relations at (800) 742-0047.

Vote for Pro-Education candidates!

How Do They Measure Up?

US SENATE

Bob Kerrey

US CONGRESS – DIST 2

John Ewing

NEBRASKA LEGISLATURELD 01 Jerry JoyLD 02 Sen. Paul LambertLD 03 Sen. Scott PriceLD 05 Sen. Heath MelloLD 07 Sen. Jeremy NordquistLD 09 Sara HowardLD 11 Sen. Brenda CouncilLD 13 Sen. Tanya CookLD 15 Mike PetersenLD 17 Van PhillipsLD 19 Jim ScheerLD 21 Sen. Ken HaarLD 23 Vern BarrettLD 25 Sen. Kathy CampbellLD 27 Sen. Colby CoashLD 29 Kate BolzLD 31 Rick KolowskiLD 35 Sen. Mike Gloor LD 37 Sen. Galen Hadley LD 39 Judy DominaLD 41 Sen. Kate SullivanLD 43 Al DavisLD 45 Richard Carter and Sue Crawford

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATIONDist. 1 Lillie LarsenDist. 3 Rachel WiseDist. 4 Rebecca Valdez

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA REGENTS

Dist. 4 Bob Whitehouse Dist. 8 Ann Ferlic Ashford

AMENDMENT 3 Vote ‘Yes’ for three termsfor state senators.


the voice november 2012

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