Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/561083
COMMUNIQUÉ A PUBLICATION OF THE IOWA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION – SEPTEMBER 2015 – Vol. 53, No. 1 IN THIS ISSUE: OPINION Two governors, two vetoes INFOGRAPHIC Ready for back-to-school MEMBERS AT WORK Going the extra mile 3 6 12 Set it... Set it... and forget it! and forget it! E-DUES AVAILABLE NOW! E-DUES AVAILABLE NOW! FOLLOW US ON: For four years, Ryan Wise was the state's point person on its Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) program. Now, he's point person for the entire public education system. Gov. Terry Branstad named Wise his third director of the Iowa Department of Education in five years this summer. The 39-year-old, married, father of two believes the state has made "significant and positive reforms" that place "teachers right at the center of the work, and rightfully so." At July's ISEA Summer Leadership Conference, Wise boiled down his vision for the department into five bullet points beginning with creating partnerships and Beth Harmelink counts out voter registration cards as she sits at the Café Diem Coffee House in Ankeny. Harmelink, a mother of four, is a special education teacher in the Ames School District and a part-time tutor with Beloit Residential Treatment in Ames. It's her other part-time job – as an organizer for the Iowa State Educcation Association – that brought her to this coffee shop to meet with the executive board of the 500-strong Ankeny Education Association. "I think a lot of us were feeling so, so frustrated with what happened in Des We'll remember in November Wise to lead DOE How to elect your boss See page 11 for an FAQ list about why we are organizing for local school board elections and beyond. Election day is September 8 Why school board elections matter See RYAN WISE page 11 See NEA page 8 The Iowa State Education Association partners with the National Education Association to get members and parents involved in school board elections and more. NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, IOWA KIDS ARE THE BEST: More than 200 Iowa State Education Association members marched in the Iowa State Fair Parade which kicks off the Iowa State Fair. Members came from all parts of the state and chanted in unison as they walked from the Iowa State Capitol to the Des Moines Sculpture Park. Marchers wore pink "WE'LL REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER" shirts, carried "Don't Veto Our Future" signs and clapped together "Strong Public Schools" thundersticks.