Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/466345
ISEA Communiqué • isea.org February 2015 3 OPINION I can only tell you that it takes many, many steps to be successful and we are walking those steps with each public hearing, each letter to our local legislator, each conversation we have with parents, community leaders and local politicians. February 2015 – Vol. 52, No. 4 The ISEA Communiqué (ISSN 0019-0624) is published seven times a year (monthly except July & August; plus combined in October/ November, December/January, and April/ May) by the Iowa State Education Association, 777 Third St., Des Moines, IA 50309, 515-471-8000 or 1-800-445-9358. $3.87 of membership dues is for a year's subscription; for nonmembers, the annual subscription is $10. Periodical postage is paid at Des Moines and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address corrections to ISEA Membership Records, 777 Third St., Des Moines, IA 50309. Advertising: To advertise, contact Charles Lapham at 515-471-8000 or email clapham@isea.org. ISEA makes no representations regarding advertised products or services that are not endorsed by ISEA or NEA Member Benefits. Duplicate mailings? To stop duplicate mailings to the same household, contact Kimberly Hupp at 515-471-8000 or email khupp@isea.org. President: Tammy Wawro Vice President: Mike Beranek Treasurer: Tom McLaughlin NEA Directors: Ray Feuss, Joshua Brown Executive Director: Mary Jane Cobb Editor: Mike Wiser Editorial Assistant: Charles Lapham Visit us on the Web at isea.org Not long ago, children toiled in factories for 70 hours per week. It took many years, countless community leaders, parents and other activists to outlaw child labor in the United States. The Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990, but the movement for the bill began years before. It started when people with disabilities challenged societal barriers that excluded them and included parents who fought against the exclusion and segregation of their children. Likewise for the civil rights movements, the equal rights movements, and the environmental movements we see today. All great change requires steps toward that change. Many of those involved do not see the fruits of their labor because the wheels of change take so long. But in the end, with enough pressure, focus and passion, change does occur. We are taking steps toward change to make lawmakers understand what is truly happening in classrooms across Iowa. I am proud to have taken part in and to have witnessed ISEA members' participation in the public hearing on House File 80, a bill which established too-little school funding to truly help Iowa's kids. Speaker after speaker presented personal accounts of the effects of years of budget cuts on their students. Overcrowded classrooms, outdated textbooks, curriculum and technology, cuts to social and mental health programs in spite of rising attendance in those populations most in need, scattered nurses attending to multiple schools, cuts in our special programs like art and PE. The list goes on and the speakers were heartfelt and elegant in their presentations. Yet, many lawmakers remained unmoved. The next day, they voted for too-little school funding and the battle continues. Are we to give up on our students too? Absolutely not. We have been down this road before. We have faced 0 percent Supplemental State Aid causing school districts to make choices that have affected students in harmful ways. We faced budget freezes, cuts, and layoffs, yet still we prevail. We cannot give up. We will continue to ask for increased SSA because it is our job to fight for the students in our care. It is our job to protect their best interests and to continue our movement toward making Iowa schools whole. It is our job to speak on behalf of those who cannot. And it is our job to know what is best for those in our classrooms and to shout this out as loudly and clearly as we are able. We will continue to push for increases because that is what it will take to truly benefit our students. At times it is disheartening, I know. We call upon you each legislative session to fight the negative stories and unscramble the misinformation. I can only tell you that it takes many, many steps to be successful and we are walking those steps with each public hearing, each letter to our local legislator, each conversation we have with parents, community leaders and local politicians. We simply must continue to move forward with our quest to focus on what is best for Iowa's students. We simply must continue to march ahead and not settle for less than what our students are entitled to receive. They count on us to do this for them. We will continue to fight for our students, our schools and our profession throughout this legislative session. We know the uphill battle we face, but the steps we take to correct the misinformation and informing those who are indifferent, are priceless. We will continue to talk about our experiences and we will relay the effects of the inaction on our students. We will hold the policymakers accountable when the time comes. Thank you for your time, commitment and passion for this work and your profession. We are powerful, the wheels are in motion, and while they may be turning slowly they are moving and so many others are joining with us. In the words of Nelson Mandela: "It always seems impossible until it's done." Small steps, big leaps by Tammy Wawro, ISEA president, twawro@isea.org - 9 - 9 - 9 Untitled-2 1 11/16/09 7:33:41 PM - 9