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COMMUNIQUÉ A PUBLICATION OF THE IOWA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION – MARCH 2016 – Vol. 53, No. 5 IN THIS ISSUE: OPINION Global issues, local solutions ESSA Need to Know MEMBERS AT WORK Going the extra mile 3 13 15 Set it... Set it... and forget it! and forget it! E-DUES AVAILABLE NOW! E-DUES AVAILABLE NOW! FOLLOW US ON: The Iowa State Education Association awarded 34 local affiliates more than $12,850 in grant dollars for community projects this year. Across the state, locals partnered with local organizations to provide sack lunches to low-income families during the summer months, purchase garment bags for Special Olympics athletes, support the town volunteer fire department and dozens of other projects. Locals were able to apply for up to $500 to support a community service or school project. But only those projects which included members working with other community organizations could qualify. The ideal project was Dozens of students pass by Charlene Hartman and Becky Thompson's student services office at Des Moines Area Community College on any given day. Those that stop are usually in for a treat. The office is as homelike as a modern building office space can be. Family photographs, mementos and other keepsakes adorn the walls, desks and file cabinets and an orchid takes up a bit of real estate at one of the windows. It was a gift from a friend. The longtime coworkers and friends are both quick with their smiles and good at what they do. Two qualities which, along with patience, are necessities when helping students with their various financial, admissions, registration, and other, questions. All students are important to Becky Thompson, the Iowa State Education Association's 2016 Educational Support Professional of the Year, but the most vulnerable hold a special place in her heart. Thompson began work at DMACC when the west campus opened in 2001. Before that she worked at a K-12 school and, before that, at a medical office. It's that work experience, she said, that made her question why the first floor bathroom in the brand new DMACC campus wasn't easily accessible. "It's just something you do because you advocate for your students," Thompson said. "I had to fight." She led that fight – which she acknowledges took a lot longer than she first thought – to get ADA compliant automatic doors so all students, regardless of ability, could use the facilities when needed. "Becky has been a leader of innovation and change in student services," Rick Dawson, her supervisor of 11 years , wrote in her nomination letter. "Becky exemplifies all the qualities you look for in a front-line worker." Thompson has led the fight for her colleagues as well. While working at West Des Moines Schools in the 1990s she helped organize custodians. When she moved to DMACC she was soon tapped as chief negotiator for the association and is the DMACC CC ESA longtime vice president. "Interest-based bargaining has gone well over the 10-plus years that Becky has served as chief negotiator," Sandy Tryon, chief human resources officer for DMACC, wrote in her nominating letter. "Since Becky and I view negotiations as an ongoing process throughout the year, the formal negotiations are settled in one or two sessions." Thompson is the only support professional to serve on the statewide Iowa School Employees Benefits Association. Her husband, Mike, recently retired from his work as an arbitrator, but Becky said she doesn't have plans to stop just yet. "No, I like coming in every day," she said. "I'm not sure what I'd do if I didn't have to." Community ties 'All the qualities you look for' See SIOUX CITY page 6 Des Moines Area Community College student Heidi Vokes shares a laugh with Becky Thompson (right) at the west campus student services office in early March. Thompson is the 2016 Iowa State Education Association Education Support Professional of the Year. Michelle Moser, a teacher at Unity Elementary in Sioux City and a member of the Sioux City Education Association, bends down to take the order from a child who was moving through the serving line at the December 15 "Support Siouxland Soldiers" event. The Sioux City Education Association helped cover the cost of meals and take-home boxes with a $500 grant from the Iowa State Education Association Community Outreach Grant program.