Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1223970
COMMUNIQUÉ A PUBLICATION OF THE IOWA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION – MARCH 20 – Vol. 57, No. 5 IN THIS ISSUE: Essay contest Compare districts Delegate Assembly 3 7 8 Make the world your classroom With union, you're never alone FOLLOW US ON: By Mike Wiser, mwiser@isea.org By Mike Wiser, mwiser@isea.org see UNION on page 10 Coral bleaching happens when the algae – reacting to pollution and/or warmer water temperatures – that provides food and color to coral, becomes stressed and dies. Without its food source, coral pales to a brilliant white, becomes more susceptible to disease and dies. The result is devasting to the marine life which depends on the coral to survive. But what about the human populations that depend on the reefs for fishing, tourism or in other ways? Waukee's Liz Wagner aims to find out this summer when she travels to the Maldives, a small island nation located in the Arabian Sea which lost 60 percent of its reefs in 2016 when water temperatures rose to 87 degrees Fahrenheit. Once she returns to school in the fall, she'll work with staff in the science department so students will be able to have complimentary lessons at the same time. "The joint social studies-science lesson seemed like a natural fit," Wagner said, "because it will help bring awareness on how these problems, like climate change, have real affects on people and society." The National Education Association Foundation is underwriting part of the trip led by Global Exploration for Educators with a $2,000 Learning and Leadership grant. Wagner's grant was one of 44 funded nationwide in the latest round of grants from the NEA Foundation. The grants are open only to NEA members and support high- quality professional development. Megan Berka, program officer with the NEA Foundation, said evaluators appreciated Wagner's interdisciplinary approach to her project. "Her project was clear and she had a plan," Berka said. The foundation funds 120 grants annually over three submission rounds and typically receives 800 -900 applications during that period. "I have to say I wasn't sure if I was going to get it," Wagner said. "I talked to a friend in Washington state when I was applying who had gotten (a grant) before." She asked her friend about her idea for the project. They discussed her approach and she solicited any tips he might have. "I thought this was an original idea, so I applied, and, really, I kind of forgot about it," Wagner said. "Then, in October, I was checking my email during my planning period and I saw one from the NEA and it was 'Oh my God, I got this grant.'" Tammy Ryan says the fight to clear her reputation was exhausting, an ordeal she never dreamed she'd have to undertake. But more than the job the school board snatched and the career the superintendent tried to kill, Ryan agonized over what the people who knew her thought: did they believer her or the story that some were telling about her? In April 2018 Ryan, a special education teacher at Metro High School in Cedar Rapids, was thrown into a social media maelstrom of race, politics and public education centered around an African-American baby doll hung from a string. With some in the community quick to condemn and a school administration and board aiming to, as District Court Judge Kevin McKeever would later put it, "scapegoat a public servant who had done more than most to address the cultural conundrum that is racism in America," Ryan turned to her union. "It was life-altering," said Ryan, now retired from the Cedar Rapids School District. Waukee Education Association member Liz Wagner responds to a student's question during class at Prairieview School. Wagner received a $2,000 grant from the National Education Association Foundation to study the impact of coral bleaching in coastal communities. MIKE WISER/IOWA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION How to Apply The NEA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that provides grants, fellowships and resources to educators, students and districts. The best way to find out about all the grant opportunities for NEA and ISEA members is to visit the foundation's website at www.neafoundation.org ISEA takes CRCSD to court.