Concerns Abound

The RCEA held its first representative meeting of the year today at Northside High School. Reps from most of the county's schools were there. Meeting at NHS was a refreshing change of pace from our previous meeting place, NMS. We appreciate all the years that NMS allowed us the use of the facility, and we look forward to our times at NHS this year.


Without a doubt the over-riding concern expressed at today's meeting involved the institution of so many new academic and clerical initiatives. The group created a list of related concerns and that list will be brought before the superintendent. In a nutshell, the group is concerned that teachers are being stretched beyond thin and that the educational program will suffer. The common perception out there among educators in the classrooms is that we are taking a proud, successful school program and turning it upside-down in our attempt to capture those last few NCLB children. We may win those battles, but we risk losing a greater war. Hopefully, we will be able to have serious, professional dialog with the administration over these related concerns.

Speaking of dialog, as part of its week long "Education Nation" summit, NBC News is hosting a Teacher Town Hall with Brian Williams. The Teacher Town Hall is an opportunity for teachers from across the country to share ideas about how to improve education in America. The Town Hall will be aired live on MSNBC at 12:00pm (EST) on Sunday, September 26th. Make your voice heard. To participate in the virtual Town Hall open forum and live voting, please register today at: http://tiny.cc/szsp5.

At the meeting today, Pat Wood-Uniserv director of our region, shared with us that the county schools will receive just over $3 million from the latest federal stimulus package. The money is specifically earmarked to use for education salary, benefits, or positions. The last we heard, the school board was discussing the best way to utilize these funds. Hopefully, they will trickle down to us sooner than later as the intent of the emergency legislation was to get the funds out pronto at the beginning of THIS school year.

We are experiencing challenging times both financially and professionally. Only by voicing our concerns and remaining resolute and true to our beliefs will we be able to move forward in a positive direction.