DSEA Action!

Seeking your vote You decide who will govern DSEA resented here are the candidates running for DSEA president, vice president, Executive Board and state delegate to the NEA Representative Assembly . Uncontested, Pres. Jenner is automatically re-elected. Also elected are the candidates for Sussex County Exec. Board seats and New Castle County Exec. Board seats. There are two contested races: for DSEA vice president and Kent County Exec. Board seats, where there are three people running for two seats. At the DSEA Representative Assembly on March 15, elections will take place for the remaining vacancies: one New Castle County Exec. Board member (four people are running for five positions) and one NEA RA delegate position (four people are running for five positions there also). P When does voting take place? Between January 6 and January 21 - only two weeks! On January 6, 2014, DSEA will email to all members for whom we have email addresses, and mail all others, voting information. Everyone will have the option of making their selections and returning them to DSEA by mail or by voting online. The deadline for casting ballots – whether online or by paper - is the same, January 21, 2014. Preliminary results will be announced on January 27, to be ratified by the Exec. Board on February 11. This information is also available on the DSEA Elections page at www.dsea.org/AboutDSEA/DSEA Elections.html. For president - 3 year term Frederika Jenner Our union is strong, but with the difficult issues we face as public school educators, we must continue to work together to make our union stronger. Decisions made by DSEA, and the stands we take on education issues, have lasting influence not only for our members, but for students we serve and communities in which we live. I know the importance of maintaining relationships with local leaders and members, to enable them to be well-informed, to empower them, and to enlist their active participation in the governance of DSEA. I am committed to member advocacy, shared decision-making, and sound educational policy I recog. nize that the power and strength of DSEA reside in our local associations. I know that effective teaching is vital to student success. I also know that it takes the teamwork of every education professional to support student success. I am proud that DSEA represents food service workers, secretaries, custodians, paras, and bus drivers, as well as librarians, nurses, and student support specialists. In the past two years, DSEA has helped keep members on the job and healthcare and pension benefits intact. Continued funding for education in Delaware has resulted in a minimum number of education layoffs. We have done what it takes to maintain the 4-year salary increase agreement for paras. Members expect that DSEA's Leadership Team and Executive Board will work together to guide us thoughtfully through challenges Frederika Jenner presented by education reform. Positions we take are based on experience and education expertise. The beliefs we assert are intended to ensure the best possible outcomes for members and students alike. I am a proud union member. I respectfully ask for your vote for a second term as President of DSEA. For vice president - 3 year term Michael Brown My name is Michael Brown, a candidate for DSEA's VicePresident. Presently, I am a certified Paraeducator at William Henry Middle School in Capital School District and President of my local union, Capital Paraprofessional Association. Formerly, I served on DSEA's Executive Board until August 2013. Since my initial involvement in the Association, I decided that this work was important to me and I wanted to "dig deeper." In March 2013, I was named DSEA's ESP of the Year. I've attended NEA's Emerging Leaders Academy and have been very active at the state and local levels by participating in many conferences, committees and task forces such as: NEA Representative Assembly NEA Minority Leadership Training NEA ESP Conference DSEA Representative Assembly DSEA Finance Task Force DSEA Human and Civil Rights Task Force DSEA Winter Advocacy Retreat As a member of my local community, I serve as the Artistic Director 4 Nov./Dec. 2013 DSEA ACTION! for Dover's Inner City Cultural League, Inc., a community arts organization that promotes "educational advancement through the arts." Additionally in May 2013, I was promoted to Director of Pegasus Artworks, the after-school arts program for the Boys & Girls Club of Delaware providing arts programming to youth at 48 locations statewide. If elected Vice-President of DSEA, I will continue to foster relationships with our state elected officials to build bridges and bridge gaps within our state's educational system and ensure the voices of all our members continue to be heard. Karen Crouse I was elected by our Executive Board in March to fill this unexpired term. I have previously served as your Treasurer for two terms. I would like to work on helping our members be respected for the role each of us play in the educational world. At the NEA RA this year we were challenged to be part of the "Raise Your Hand" challenge. Therefore, I am challenging you to go to NEA's website and take this pledge. Only together can we show politicians and those that think they know how to educate children what we need, how evaluations should be done, how Common Core should be implemented, and all the other initiatives others think we should be doing. We can sit back and let this be done to us or we can join together one member at a time and show a united force to be reckoned with to make a difference in our profession. I ask you to "Raise Your Hand" and become involved in your local and state association. By donating a few hours, you can make a difference in our profession. When I use the word educator or in our profession I am referring to teachers, paraprofessionals, specialists, secretaries, custodians, child nutrition workers, bus drivers and others having a role in our schools. I have served as president of LFEA a unified local, bargained employee contracts, served as grievance chair and worked on numerous committees to improve the working conditions and rights of our members. I work as a financial secretary at Lake Forest High School, serve as a 4-H leader, and a member of Harrington Fire Company's Ladies Auxiliary I live . in Harrington with my husband Doug and two daughters. @dseafan www.dsea.org

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