Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/676719
ISEA Communiqué • isea.org April/May 2016 3 OPINION I often wonder what my life would have been like had I not had Kirkwood (Community College) to give me my start. April/May 2016 – Vol. 53 No. 6 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 Kimberly Hupp at 515-471-8000 or email khupp@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 Director: Joshua Brown Executive Director: Mary Jane Cobb Editor: Mike Wiser Editorial Assistant: Kimberly Hupp Visit us on the web at isea.org In 1990, I was a single mother with a four-year old. I held down a job, did my best to parent and lived on a fixed income – all of which is the current reality of many Iowans today. I also was determined to get my college degree so I could one day go into teaching. I was able to afford classes at Kirkwood Community College and successfully navigate single parenthood because my professors understood the circumstances under which I was living. I graduated from Kirkwood with an AA and completed my BA in elementary education at the University of Northern Iowa. Years later, I received a master's degree in educational technology and last year completed my EdD from Walden University. It is clear to me that if not for the wonderful opportunity and affordable classes at Kirkwood Community College I would not be where I am today. Whether it is through adult education where community colleges provide part-time programs for adult students or through basic education programs for adults who have less than an eighth grade education, community colleges work. They offer high school completion programs, training programs for career and technical education and continuing education programs for adults who want instruction to meet pre-occupational training or other needs. Our community colleges also offer concurrent enrollment courses available at the high school level as well parallel programs that provide arts and science courses which transfer to other colleges and universities. This saves big bucks in tuition. Based on a study by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, an independent nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C., "tuition levels for community college students are seldom much more than one-half of what they are at four-year schools." So, it makes sense to continue our investment in our community colleges. This spring, one bright spot in an otherwise cloudy legislative session was the legislature saw fit to increase, in small part, funding for Iowa's community colleges. A minor miracle since education funding overall took a hit. Legislators agreed Iowa's community colleges offer a positive service to Iowans of all ages and it is worth the continued investment to maintain their growth. The amount that was agreed to and passed in each chamber represented a 1.5 percent increase in general aid for a total of just over $204 million for FY 2016-2017. Additionally, there is an appropriation of $500,000 to supplement community college faculty salaries. Even with this good news, our brothers and sisters in Iowa's community colleges fight the same issues as our K-12, education support professionals and area education agency members do: Increasing salaries to a national median, per pupil spending, improving professional development and specific to their concerns, addressing competency and quality among faculty due to increased hiring of adjunct over full-time licensed instructors. Funding for Iowa's community colleges and our public schools, in general, has been a struggle with years of freezes and battles over salaries, per-pupil spending and general aid. Whether you are a K-12 educator, an AEA specialist, an ESP, or a community college faculty member, you bring the same concerns to the table. We are all fighting for our students, our schools and our profession. I often wonder what my life would have been like had I not had Kirkwood to give me my start. This is one of the many things that drives me to lead this association in our fight for quality public education for all students regardless of their ZIP code, access to top-notch public education for all students and respect for our profession which provides so much for the students in our care. Regardless of the impact this spring's legislative session has had, we know we have our work cut out for us in continuing to make students, schools and our profession a priority. Some of us will recuperate over the summer, some will continue in classrooms and some will hold down other jobs – we will all meet back inside the walls of our schools and on our campuses in the fall with the same thoughts in mind. Until then, we will continue our fight for all. A victory for Iowa's community colleges, but more work to do by Tammy Wawro, ISEA president, twawro@isea.org - 9 - 9 - 9 Untitled-2 1 11/16/09 7:33:41 PM - 9