Member Spotlight: Read Across America

MCEA teacher leaders inspired students and families through reading at a Read Across America event held on March 2, 2017. The goal was to celebrate literacy and oral language development with MCPS students, families, and the community surrounding Long Branch Public Library.

This area of the county was chosen for many reasons, including supporting the community’s rebuild after the tragic apartment fire that occurred last year. “Many of the families in this community are living well below the average income range for Montgomery County and providing them with free books is a positive way to build their community as well provide them with materials to help their children read more,” said Gaby Yonker, a teacher at Oak View Elementary.

Tahirah Shider, a teacher at Glenallan Elementary, said, “It is important for the union to be involved in events like Read Across America because it promotes literacy and gets children excited about reading.” She expressed MCEA is invested in the community and wants to help both parents and students have opportunities.  

Over 150 elementary students in the area attended. MCEA members planned reading lessons and led center rotations for each group of readers. There were prizes and Simultaneous English/Spanish translation occurred throughout the event for families to access parent modeling techniques of reading strategies. Materials were provided in both languages and free books were given for everyone present.

“I think the union needs to be involved in the community to show a high regard for academics,” Yonker said, highlighting that supporting this type of activity shows MCEA’s (the union’s) commitment to the teachers and the teaching profession.

Both teachers expressed the importance of being part of events outside of their school. “Having conversations with parents about how they have seen improvements in the child’s reading and the importance of reading was a delight,” Shider explained.

“I see my job as not only working with the kids, but getting to know their families as well. I try to help with things that are not only school related, but life related,” stated Yonker.

Thank you from MCEA to all our teacher leaders who were part of this amazing event:

Nikki Woodward- MCITP

Tahirah Shider- Glenallan ES 2nd grade teacher

Gloria Ralph- Glenallan ES 1^st grade teacher

Gabby Yonker- Oak View ES ESOL teacher

Udochi (Doch) Amachi- Oak View ES 5^th grade teacher

Cecilia Pak-Nessan- Primary Development Talent Trainer and Roscoe Nix ES 2^nd grade teacher

Shauntae Fitcheard- College Gardens ES 2^nd grade teacher

Carissa Barnes- Stonegate ES Resource Teacher

Dionna Ricks- Jackson Road ES ESOL teacher

If you wish to be part of future activities such as this, there are many ways to get involved through the union. Please contact your building representative or MCEA UniServ Director to learn more. You can also visit our web site: www.mceanea.org .

The event was hosted by MCEA, the Long Branch Public Library, and Growing Together Inc. CASA, AASAAG, SEIU Local 500, MCGEO UFCW Local 1994, MCCPTA, Impact Montgomery College students, and the NAACP Parents’ Council.

When I March for Student Justice, My Feet Never Get Tired.

On January 21, 2017 women from across the country untied and marched for different reasons. Our educators held signs about the importance of funding education. They listened to speakers talk about the power of women to make a difference in their communities and in the lives of the students they serve. It is important for all of us to recognize the power of the collective voice of educators. Our students all deserve terrific schools filled with all the resources and supports to make them successful. All students deserve opportunities and equitable access to achieve greatness. Right now we, the educators (and yes the union too), are the voices stating ALL students deserve great schools—so fund them. Build them. Support them. Participate in them. Cherish them. And if your school is broken, build a collation (yes, even with the teacher union) to fix it!

Below are reflections from our members who attended the march:

I marched to make my presence known and my voice heard, alongside my fellow marchers who are concerned with women’s rights. We’re concerned particularly about rights to make decisions about our bodies and futures. We also marched to resist the kind of reckless and dangerous leadership coming out of Washington.

The reason women have the rights they have today is because of previous women who have marched for our right to vote and for equality rights. The freedoms we have are not something given, they were hard earned by women from previous generations. The march was energizing and inspiring. It was uplifting in a time that we feel outraged and afraid. It brought hope and solidarity, community and empowerment.

The sheer numbers marching sent a powerful message. It showed the ability of women to organize. This is a time in our country when we need to be seen and heard. This is a time when politicians are centralizing power and trying to force us to accept that this is the direction our country is moving, as if there is nothing we can do about it. This march showed us that we do not have to be silent or invisible.

I encourage MCEA members to march and protest in other ways, because the cabinet nominations (particularly Betsy DeVos) are a real threat to public schools and our profession. They will weaken public education. Instead of elevating public teachers, it would cause us to seem irrelevant and our jobs as not as important as they in fact are in building an educated and informed citizenry that can participate in a democracy.

Amani Elkassabany

Thomas S. Wootton High School

“Participating in the National Women's March was an empowering experience. I chose to march to voice my serious concerns about the current administration's policies, especially those that threaten to dismantle public education.”

Molly Dougherty

Silver Spring Middle School

I marched with my mom, who came up from Florida, for several reasons. I wanted to voice my disapproval of the divisive, racist, and misogynistic rhetoric of the campaign. I wanted to stand and be counted as opposition to anti-American ideals and values. I wanted lawmakers and people around the world to see that the people of this country aren’t always reflected by their government. I wanted to give my mom the gift of feeling supported by kindred voices, something I experience routinely in my progressive neighborhood.  

I can’t even express how uplifted we felt during the March. I talked with so many people from all over the country and listened to powerful, impassioned speakers. The organizers displayed photos and videos from the “sister marches” around the country and the world, which made us all realize that there were marches in every state – even the reddest in the nation – and on all seven continents. I’m now recognizing the power that is waiting to be harnessed.

I’ve participated in other forms of advocacy, and I’ve been to other events on the Mall, but this felt different. The numbers were staggering, and the sense of positivity and hope after months of darkness was uplifting. Most inspiring was the fact that no one seemed to view the March as an end unto itself. Everyone was talking about next steps and continued activism.

We recognize that protest is a privilege. We could demonstrate without fear that our activism would lose us our jobs or our friends. So we marched, in part, for those who couldn’t march for themselves.

Marcy Fine

Richard Montgomery High School

How else can you support public schools?

IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY – Attend an Education Budget meeting with the County Council. Share this link with your colleagues/family/friends, and Click here to sign up for a town hall to attend.  We will be contacting you about meeting up as the date for your chosen Town Hall(s) approaches.  Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there to advocate for our schools!

IN MARYLAND – The Annapolis legislative session is underway, and we've got to talk to our delegates/senators about reducing standardized testing, rejecting school vouchers, supporting the paid family leave coalition, and more. Come lobby our leaders in Annapolis on February 27th in the evening.  MCEA buses will have buses and we'll help coordinate carpools for late-tier elementary schools.  It is SO important that we show our strength on this night  RSVP here today!  If you've never lobbied before or you want a briefing on MCEA's political priorities, come to our Lobby Training on February 22nd at MCEA, 12 Taft Ct, Rockville, MD 20850, from 4:30-6:30.  RSVP at the same link for the lobby night.  

Breaking Stress: How Teacher Leaders Make a Difference

Dayo Adia attended Baltimore City Public Schools until third grade when she transferred to Baltimore County. She recalled the shock of the transition from being considered a solid student to making an E in the fourth grade. Math seemed to be Adia’s downfall, but the grit to never give up comes from her background.

“My mother was my backbone and taught me to understand math, as well as two teachers who drove me” Adia said.

By high school, Adia was tutoring others in math and later earned a degree in math education.

Adia stated that as she got older she became aware of the struggles of urban students. They are marginalized and often not given a holistic view of life. As a high school educator, her goal is to teach her students math concepts as well as how to become an adult. “Kids come home from college and we see each other in the store and they say, ‘hey everything you told me about being an adult was right’, “Adia said. She enjoys those comments as it confirms she is making a lasting impression on her students.

Joining the union and becoming a building representative for Adia was about being a problem solver and a change agent.

“The union here is different,” Adia stated. “We work on teacher leadership and getting support for National Board certification.”

Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) is known for advocating for social justice and change in the public school structure to provide high quality teaching to every student. As the testing and data collection craze, coupled with the lack of teacher autonomy, has hit our public schools, many teachers have become disillusioned with teaching.

“This year felt like teachers walked in the door feeling overwhelmed and stressed,” Adia stated.

She wanted some way for teachers to find the love for their jobs and minimize the stress. When she shared her ideas with fellow MCEA building representatives at her school, they agreed that the whole school needed support. They sat down and planned an entire week of gratitude and stress relief for teachers of Watkins Mill High School during the American Education Week in November of 2016.

Resource Teachers sent notes of thanks to their teachers. The assistant principals and the principal taught classes. The parents of the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) served breakfast on Friday. Teachers also wrote each other notes of support.

“The goal was to spread encouragement,” Adia said. “Many teachers were surprised that administration was willing to do this, but administration was completely on board. Teachers felt acknowledged and appreciated.”

One ESOL educator shared that the assistant principal who taught her ESOL class for 20 minutes was shocked at how large it was and what the needs were. Switching roles seemed to help bring a new perspective of the school and the students’ needs.

Next year Adia says the MCEA building representatives will plan more ahead of time.

“We want to do a college door contest to show where teachers went to school and help showcase different colleges and key facts about them. There is also an idea to include students writing notes of appreciation to their teachers and finding other ways to have students participate in this important week,” Adia stated. 

“Change is getting ready to happen. That is our reality, and if we as a union do not tackle it as a team, then we are going to burn out as individual teachers. Working together will help us and our students make it through the school year.”

Changes to KRA led by MCEA union leaders from Elementary Councils on Teaching and Learning

     

Teachers actively advocate that we’ve swung the testing pendulum too far. They wish for a redefinition of accountability in schools where the measurement is how much time do you give students to learn and how much time do you give teachers to plan for great instruction. At an Elementary Councils on Teaching and Learning (CTL) meeting, PJ Friend was appointed the Kindergarten educator who would describe what it is like to test all kindergarten students in a class at the very beginning of the school year.

PJ Friend Kindergarten Educator at Rachel Carson ES

The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) was designed to measure a student’s readiness for kindergarten based in four main domains. It is supposed to be an achievement gap tool, but many educators stated that the way the test was designed only furthered the achievement gap. Precious time often used setting up a rapport with students and developing routines for school were dismantled by the test’s length and invasive process.

Friend said it is important that the union focus on matters involving curriculum and instruction because, “Teachers are the front lines. We have to implement what MCPS is asking us to do and if the union isn’t involved we wouldn’t have the backing and support we need to handle that responsibility.”

She and others first went to the kindergarten folder and reviewed comments, then brought it to CTL. Soon Friend was chosen by President Betty Weller of Maryland State Education Association (MSEA)  to speak to MSDE and at the General Assembly. Friend stated that she never could have made the changes she and others wanted for their students without the help of MCEA and MSEA.

PJ Friend right at a CTL meeting

“The union let me talk about it. Gave me someone who would listen. Pointed me to others who I needed to talk to. I wrote my testimonies, but they helped me polish it and coached me. If the KRA was just a bunch of teachers talking about it, it wouldn’t have gone anywhere,” Friend said.

The new policy, because of the collective action of unionized teachers means big changes for Montgomery County. The test will be a sampling of kids instead of everyone. The state will determine which children to test and it could be as few as two kids per class. According to MCPS, that is only 10% of students in a class.

“This gives kindergartners the ability to be with their teacher, especially in the first few weeks of school. The changes help teachers be able to start instruction and reading groups sooner. We can start our schedule right away and get the routines of the classroom down. It is an all over good change,” Friend advocated.