Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/197127
Set it... COMMUNIQUÉ E-DUES AVAILABLE NOW! and forget it! A publication of the Iowa State Education Association – OCT/NOV 2013 – Vol. 51, No. 2 One voice can make a huge difference a couple of the kids who were struggling and I helped them with, what I now know are called, interventions. When I saw the kids riding their bikes, they would recognize me and run after me calling, 'Hello, Mr. Jimenez!' The impact I had on those little kids convinced me I wanted to be a teacher," he said. However, it was his experience attending the NEA Representative Assembly at the Georgia World Conference Center in Atlanta in 2013 that really convinced him of the importance of the Association to his profession. When he ran for election as a delegate to Representative Assembly last spring, he said he wasn't quite sure what it was. He was selected as an alternate then bumped up to be a delegate because other delegates couldn't attend. Although Jimenez heard a lot about the ISEA in college, he really didn't know what the Association was all about, so he didn't join as a student member. Junior Jimenez (he-MEH-nes) is the lead, bi-lingual, fourth-grade teacher at JeffersonEdison Elementary School in Davenport, a 100 percent free-andreduced-lunch school. He is 27 years old and this is his fourth year teaching the fourth grade. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with specializations in Reading, Language Arts, ELL, and Spanish. He is now working on his graduate degree in Educational Leadership at Western Illinois University in the QC campus. "I really didn't know what to expect. I looked at it as a trip for the Association and out of Iowa. I love traveling," said Jimenez. Once in Atlanta, he began going to all the meetings. But when all the teachers gathered together, the full impact of the Association on national education issues "hit him hard." "My first year in Davenport, the Association offered an incentive of $100 right then and there or a $1000 loan. At the time, new teachers in Davenport didn't receive their first paycheck until mid-October, so the Junior Jimenez attends his first 2013 NEA $100 really helped," Jimenez said. After RA in Atlanta. that, he became more involved with the Association because of Kathy Mata, a very dedicated Association Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Jimenez moved colleague who worked in his building. to Iowa with his family when he was around 11 years old because his parents thought it would be "She was always telling me, 'Do you want to do this? better raising children in Iowa than in the city. He I think you'd be great at it!' She was very helpful, graduated from Columbus Community High School too," he said. Jimenez began going on small trips, in Columbus Junction, a city of about 1,900 people in like the Midwest Regional Conference, which was in Eastern Iowa. Kansas City that year. Soon, he became the building rep at Jefferson-Edison. He ran and was elected to It was his German teacher, Melissa Uittenbogaard, the Executive Board of the Davenport Education who stood up for him when he was bullied during Association. He then attended the 2012 Delegate high school. She was there for him when other Assembly in Des Moines. teachers did nothing about the bullying and, as a result, she became a major influence in his "The more I learned about the Association, the more life, inspiring him to go into teaching. During his I wanted to be involved and do more," Jimenez senior year, Jimenez was placed in a kindergarten said. He met ISEA President Tammy Wawro over classroom through the School to Career program. the summer and she appointed him to the ISEA Multicultural standing committee. "The teacher I was working with paired me with IN THIS ISSUE 5 Teaching & Learning Include the ISEA Academy in your professional development plans 11 STATE Nominees sought for NEA State Delegate positions "It's bigger than both the Democratic and Republican Conventions. It's amazing because so many people come together to make decisions and influence different issues. One voice can make a huge difference," said Jimenez. When asked what his advice would be to younger teachers, his advice was actually for veteran teachers. "One of my biggest recommendations is for veteran teachers to make it personal and go to those younger teachers and tell them what's out there, what they could be involved in. Yeah, we have social media and we have a lot of ways to communicate on paper, in emails, and flyers. But it was that one other member that came to me and said, 'I think you'd be great at doing this!' or 'I think you'd have a good time doing this!' that made the difference for me. I think if it wasn't for Kathy, I probably wouldn't have run for NEA RA Delegate or the Executive Board and I wouldn't have seen the light," said Jimenez. For information on becoming a delegate to the NEA RA see page 11 in this issue. 15 LEGAL IEP does not stand for "Immensely Easy Process"