NDEA#39;s Foundation Board of Directors extended the deadline for applications for the Mary Cripps Special Education Scholarship to June 1.nbsp;

This scholarship will be awarded for either graduate or undergraduate work in a recognized area of special education.nbsp;

To view more details and obtain an application blank go to http://www.ndea.org/data/upfiles/pages/Mary%20E%20Cripps%20Application.pdf

You#39;ve seen the movie quot;Bully,quot; now what?

Tips from nation#39;s educators for creating bully-free environment

The newly released film, quot;Bullyquot;, has captured national attention and sparked conversations as moviegoers realize just how serious and prevalent bullying is in today#39;s society. The provocative and emotion-filled documentary opened nationwide in theaters on April 13.nbsp;

quot;This movie is a jarring wake-up call for anyone who didn#39;t realize the implications of bullying.nbsp; No one can watch this movie and not come away changed,quot; said Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association (NEA). quot;So we watch a movie and our emotions get stirred, now what?nbsp; It can#39;t stop with the movie.nbsp;As educators, we are leading the way to create bully-free environments so students can be safe and thrive. Other adults have a responsibility to join with us to help students and put a stop to bullying.quot;

Last year, NEA launched the quot;Bully Free: It Starts With Mequot; campaign which offers guidance to schools and communities on preventing and ending bullying. Along with providing 10 Steps to Stop and Prevent Student Bullying and other resources, research and tools, the campaign encourages adults to take a pledge to help bullied students.nbsp;

quot;It#39;s critical that adults take at least one child to see the movie, and then use it to jumpstart an on-going conversation about bullying,quot; said Van Roekel. quot;I hope it helps us get rid of the myth that bullying isn#39;t really harmful or that it#39;s just a lsquo;rite of passage.#39; Bullying hurts.nbsp; It#39;s wrong and we need to stop it.quot;

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON BULLYING

Findings from the National Education Association#39;s Nationwide Study of Bullying.
This first-of-its-kind, large-scale research study conducted by NEA and Johns Hopkins University, examines different school staff members#39; perspectives on bullying and bullying prevention efforts.

Learn How to Prepare For and Respond to a Crisis
This step-by-step resource created by educators for educators can make it easier for school district administrators and principals to keep schools safe while providing information to schools in the midst of a crisis to help children and staff return to learning as quickly as possible.

Follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/NEAMedia; #bullymovie; #bullyfree

MONDAY, MAY 7, Lee Hirsch, the Director of Bully, would like to get on a conference call with NEA organizers, Bully Free cadre members and others who can help get districts to join the Bully Project Movement and learn about the Million Kids effort to help Educators and students see the Bully film free---help organize field trips and other ways to get students and educators to see this film and talk about NEA#39;s Bully Free, It Starts wth Me and ways

http://action.thebullyproject.com/million

The Conference call times will be 7:15 nbsp;p.m. on Monday, May 7nbsp; ---- There will also be a Wednesday conference call to give people a chance to hear from Lee about their goal to have 1 million students and educators see the film and NEA#39;s bullyfree pledge is even featured on the million kids#39; site.nbsp;

nbsp;Free Conference Call
nbsp;Conference Dial-in Number:nbsp;(559) 726-1000
nbsp;Host Access Code:nbsp;127565#
nbsp;Participant Access Code:nbsp;127565#

Running unopposed,nbsp;the new ESP Director is Tyann Schlenker.

Brenda Seehafer is the new NW Director.

David Marquardtnbsp;was re-elected as SE Director.

Marilyn Keller is the new SW Director.

All of the NEA delegates who rannbsp;will be able to attend the NEA RA.nbsp; They are:nbsp; Deb Johnson, Lois Delmore, Jackie Williamson and Tim Thueson.

All running unopposed for 3-year terms (2012-2015), were the NDEA-R candidates:

Gloria Lokken-President

Bill Hrdlicka-SE Advisor

Sonja Mahlum amp; Larry Nagel, SW Advisors

North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple signed a proclamation in front of North Dakota Teacher of the Year Brenda Werner, her Bismarck High School teachers and North Dakota Education Association (NDEA) President Dakota Draper on May 1, 2012 declaring Tuesday, May 8, National Teacher. nbsp;nbsp;

The proclamation states, quot;whereas teachers make our school great; nbsp;and teachers work to open students#39; minds to ideas, knowledge and dreams; and teachers keep American democracy alive by laying the foundation for good citizenship; and teachers fill many roles, as listeners, explorers, role models, motivators, and mentors; and teachers continue to influence us long after out school days are only members; and our citizens are encouraged to observe this day by taking time to recognize and acknowledge the impact of teachers on our lives.quot;

On May 8^th, teachers across the state of North Dakota and in communities across the whole nation will be in the spotlight on National Teacher Day, as students, parents, school administrators and the general public learn how teachers are making Great Public Schools for every student.

quot;Few other professionals touch as many people as teachers do,quot; notes North Dakota Education Association President Dakota Draper. quot;National Teacher Day is a good time to learn about the contributions educators make to our community every day. We recognize we are role models. That brings satisfaction. It also brings responsibility. We want to take it to the next step.

quot;We believe we all have to work together to make our schools even better,quot; said Draper. quot;That means everyone in the community. Parents, business owners, retirees, other workers, local government, and yes students. nbsp;Public schools are at the heart of any community. When there are problems, we address them. When there are kudos, we share them.quot;

quot;Community involvement brings learning to life,quot; Draper said. quot;This is an opportunity for all of us to reach out to each other. I ask the community to learn about how educators advocate for high standards for students, fair and meaningful evaluations of their work, and resources that go directly to the classroom. Better than an apple or a thank you card, a community#39;s active support of the work we mutually do to teach and care for the community#39;s students would be ample reward for all of us.quot;

The North Dakota Education Association (NDEA) sponsored lsquo;Liberty Day#39; at the North Dakota Capitol Building on April 13, 2012.

Liberty Day is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to educating young Americans about the contents of the U.S. Constitution. nbsp;lsquo;Liberty Day#39; provides teachers with a complete educational resource on the U.S. Constitution and involves youth with a unique, interactive program with a range of people. nbsp;

Fifth-grade teacher Michael Jacobson of Will-Moore School in Bismarck was the teacher chosen to help celebrate lsquo;Liberty Day.#39;nbsp; He and his co-workers, Kevin Currie and Gretchen Masset escorted 54 students to the Capitol at 11:00 a.m. on April 13.nbsp; At 11:15 a.m., the students met with Governor Jack Dalrymple for an informational session and have photos taken.

Starting at 11:45 a.m. students broke out into groups of 10 for rotation purposes to meet with other officials.nbsp; The officials told the students about the office they hold and then the students asked the officials two questions about the Constitution. nbsp;At 12:30 p.m. the public was invited to meet with the students in the Great Hall. nbsp;Students individually asked members of the public a question on the Constitution. nbsp;Each individual then received a book on the Constitution from the student.

The shirts, bags and books and $2 bills for the students were provided by the NDEA.

The annual statewide Teaching and Technology Conference is scheduled June 5-6 at the Best Western Doublewood Inn, Bismarck. This event is open to educators and the public.

The conference offers ways to learn about new applications and innovative teaching techniques from other educational professionals. It will offer one-hour workshops in over 25 topic areas, including,nbsp; Pinterest: A Treasure Chest of Inspiration; The Developing Brain and Destructive Behavior, Skype in the Classroom; and Tips for Teaching Elementary Computer Skills.

In addition, there are eight hands-on sessions available. Hands-on trainings include two-hour sessions on istation, learning in the Cloud, GoogleDocs, learning on the iPad, PowerPoint presentations and Bloom#39;s digital taxonomy.

Keynote presentations will explore Web 2.0 tools for educators and ways to help students make healthy decisions. The Tuesday afternoon general session is an entertaining personality assessment that will help participants become better communicators, assist in conflict management, leadership, teambuilding and understanding why people behave as they do.

BSC#39;s College Continuing Education, Training and Innovation coordinates the conference. Early bird registration by May 11 is $165, after May 11 the cost is $190. Registration includes lunch both days. One graduate credit is available to those that attend both days.

To learn more or register by credit card go to bismarckstate.edu/ceti/tnt or call 701-224-5600 or 877-846-9387.

The documentary quot;Bullyquot; is playing in theaters now.

You#39;ve probably read the reviews on this powerful film. It#39;s one that all middle and high school students, parents, and educators need to see.nbsp; We wanted to share with you some of the NEA tools and resources related to the film quot;Bullyquot; and the quot;NEA#39;s Bully Free: It Starts With Mequot; campaign. We#39;ve loaded these resources on to the www.nea.org/bullfree.

Below is an article from quot;Education Weekquot;

For Educators, quot;Bullyquot; Is a Serious Conversation Starter

By Learning First Alliance on April 12, 2012 8:15 AM

By Dennis Van Roekel, President, National Education Association (NEA)

Your 14-year old son is being tormented by bullies at school and on the school bus. Every day he seems more withdrawn, every day it#39;s harder to get him to go to school.

So you go to the school and talk to an assistant principal. You tell her about the bullying. She tries to reassure you - quot;We#39;re taking care of it.quot; It occurs to you after the meeting that this person sees you as the squeaky wheel to which oil must be applied.

The bullying persists. You return to the school several more times, talking with whomever is available, and again you hear - quot;We#39;re taking care of it.quot;

Your son grows more silent, more depressed. You question him - the bullying hasn#39;t stopped. You are afraid he might commit suicide like some other bullied children have done. You are desperate. Fortunately, you find some help for your son outside of the school.

This is one of the true stories told in the new documentary movie, quot;Bully.quot; The boy#39;s name is Alex and his mother, Jackie Libby, has become a passionate advocate for bullying prevention and for public school employees getting the support and training they need to prevent bullying.

quot;Bullyquot; gives a voice and a face to bullied students by following three of them - Alex, Kelby, and Ja#39;Meya - and it tells us about two other children, Ty and Tyler, who were bullied so relentlessly that they committed suicide. I#39;ve never seen a film like it. Director Lee Hirsch intended for us to feel what it is like to be a child who is bullied - and he succeeded. He also shows us the adults in these children#39;s lives and their sometimes confused and fumbling responses to bullying.

Here#39;s the thing - despite 48 states now having passed bullying prevention laws, despite a mountain of research documenting the negative impact of bullying on students#39; health and education, despite intensive media coverage of bullied students#39; suicides, the myth that bullying is a harmless rite of passage persists.

No one who sees quot;Bullyquot; will ever believe that myth again. This movie should be shown to every school board and in every middle and high school across America. Every school administrator and every school employee who comes in contact with students should see quot;Bully.quot; NEA is urging its members to see the movie. Already showing in New York City and Los Angeles, quot;Bullyquot; opens in more than 45 other cities across the nation on April 13.

What is so very frustrating for educators and researchers who have dug deeply into the issue of bullying is that it is a preventable problem. The tragic suicides of Ty Smalley or Tyler Long could have been prevented. Adults - school employees and students#39; families - ultimately determine the amount of bullying that occurs in any given school, they create the climate, and working together, the adults can eliminate bullying from the school.

NEA#39;s research shows that public school teachers and education support professionals are ready to act, but many of them lack training in the most effective, research-proven measures to take to prevent bullying. It is the responsibility of school districts, with support from their states, to provide this training - and not only to administrators and teachers, but to the wide array of adults who come into contact with students at school: bus drivers, front office staff, custodians, librarians, and food service workers.

Human connection is the key to bullying prevention. This principle is the foundation of Bully Free: It Starts with Me - NEA#39;s campaign to equip caring adults in students#39; lives to stand up, and cease being bystanders.

Any effort to create a safe learning environment for all students in a school must start with the adults having a serious conversation, and the movie quot;Bullyquot; is an excellent conversation starter. This will be a hard one if it is an honest one, especially if downplaying the importance of bullying - quot;kids will be kidsquot; - is embedded in the culture of a school or school district.

Equally hard will be the action steps necessary to eliminate bullying. They will require relationship building and learning new behaviors. Just because the experts say that the problem is quot;solvablequot; doesn#39;t mean solving it will be easy.

But preventing bullying will be far easier than having to deal with another precious child committing suicide because he or she was mercilessly bullied while adults went about their everyday routine.

https://www.facebook.com/KeepItLocalND?ref=ts

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Click on the link above to like quot;Keep It Local ND.

NEA and NDEA are conducting an early enrollment campaign for the 2012-13 membership year.nbsp;

Early enrollment is a commitment to join the Association and pay dues for the 2012-13 membership year. nbsp;Early Enrollment is only available to school employees who have not previously held Active membership.nbsp; nbsp;

This program provides access to a limited number of NEA Member Benefit products and to the NDEA Auto Advantage Insurance and the NDEA Homeowners Insurance which are offered through Horace Mann.nbsp;

School staff, both teachers and ESP, are covered by the $1 million dollar Educators Employment Liability insurance effective on the date the new member signs the early enrollment form.nbsp;

Sign Up Today!

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lsquo;I Can Do It,#39; a Classroom Management Workshop for new teachers (0 to 5 years), is scheduled for June 4-5, 2012 from 8:30 to 4:00 in Bismarck.

Beginning a teaching career can be a daunting and overwhelming experience. Depending upon the school, a new teacher may confront an overcrowded classroom, no mentor, and little time to meet with peers or plan courses.

lsquo;I Can Do It#39; provides new teachers with strategies to help alleviate some stress associated with these issues.

Registration is limited to 25. It is FREE to members and is $50 for nonmembers.

Lunch is provided.

Credit is pending! For more information contact LeAnn Nelson at leann.nelson@ndea.org or call 1-800-369-6332.

The 4^th Annual North Dakota Dropout Prevention Summit is scheduled for Bismarck High School June 6-7, 2012.nbsp; For more information, check out your North Dakota Education News on this site.nbsp; Register now at http://www.ndcel.org/.nbsp; One graduate credit is available through NDSU if you attend both days.

National Board Certification has been touted as the best professional development any teacher can experience, and for good reason! Any teacher interested in finding out more about the National Board Certification process should plan to attend this interactive two-day course.

You#39;ll find out what the certification means, why it#39;s important for every teacher to become certified, and how to get started going through the process. Even if you decide not to pursue certification, you will still learn valuable tips on how to think like a National Board Certified Teacher and improve your instruction to improve student learning. Currently there are 32 National Board Certified Teachers in North Dakota. The state of North Dakota offers funding for this process, so you will also find out how to apply for that.

For more information about National Board Certification go to https://www.nbpts.org/.

Click here for your March ND Education News.

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The NDEA has five seats open on its Board of Directors.nbsp; The election for these seats will be held in April, and winners will take office after the NEA Representative Assembly in Washington, D.C. in July.

Duane Ell of Mandan resigned earlier this year from his position of At-Large ESP.nbsp; His position is open on the Board.nbsp; Tyann Schlenker of Fargonbsp;is running unopposednbsp;for this position.

The Northwest Region Director position will be open, because Rob Anderson of Minot has fulfilled his terms on the Board.nbsp; Brenda Seehafer of Rolla and Lanny Gabbert of Williston are running for this position.

nbsp;Southeast Region Director David Marquardt of Fargo filled the unexpired term of David Paulson of West Fargo.nbsp; Marquardt is running for the Southeast position along with Karen Christensen of Wishek.

Southwest Region Director Linda Maize of Beulah has completed two terms on the Board.nbsp; Tim Thueson of Solen and Marilyn Keller of Mandan are running for Maize#39;s open position.

NDEA-R President Gloria Lokken is running for a second term on the Board.

Running for state delegate positions to attend the NEA Representative Assembly in Washington, DC are: Jackie Williamson of Mandan, Deb Johnson and Lois Delmore both of Grand Forks, and Tim Thueson of Solen.

Ballots will be mailed to NDEA locals not registered for the NDEA Representative Assembly on April 13.nbsp; Delegates attending the RA will receive ballots to take back to locals on April 14.nbsp; Local balloting will take place from April 16-27.nbsp; Ballots must be returned to the NDEA Office April 30.nbsp; The Canvassing Committee will confirm the election results by a conference call at 4:00 p.m. on May 3.

The NDEA-Retired Advisory Council will be holding an election during the same time period.nbsp; Gloria Lokken of Minot will be running for her second term as NDEA-Retired President.nbsp; Bill Hrdlicka of Hankinson will be running for a Southeast position on the Council, Larry Nagel of Shields and Sonja Mahlum of Bismarck will be running for Southwest positions on the Retired Advisory Council.

Retired members can vote for the whole slate of officers and delegates running in this election.

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The 2012 NDEA Representative Assembly will be held at Bismarck#39;s Doublewood Inn on Saturday, April 14.

If you are a local association with membership of 21 or less, the NDEA will help with your expenses.nbsp; If needed, local associations with membership of 21 or less may voucher frac12; the double occupancy room rate per delegate.nbsp; Mileage for one vehicle per local will be reimbursed at 15 cents per mile.nbsp; (Vouchers will be available at registration.)

Please make every effort to have your local fully represented at this very important meeting.

Here#39;s your February issue of ND Education News!

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Click here to view the Januaary 2012 ND Education News.

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Minot Public Children#39;s Library Gets Community-Based Award

The 2011 NDEA Ready Child Community-Based Award went to the Minot Public Children#39;s Library.nbsp;nbsp; The Community-Based Award - honors a community program or initiative that exemplifies or promotes the Ready Child vision statement, the Ready Child mission statement, and/or the Ready Nine.

According to NDEA Member and kindergarten teacher Marlene Srock, the Minot Public Children#39;s Library is more than a place to read books.

quot;Under the direction of Paulette Nelson,quot; says Srock, quot;the staff has created programs that enable learners of all ages to fall in love with literacy and learning.quot;

Children ages 18 months to two years and their caregivers are invited to participate in a side-by-side story time.nbsp; Children ages three to six have the opportunity to choose to attend story times for independent children or story times at which the care giver accompanies them.nbsp; This age can also enjoy holiday puppet shows.

Children ages four years to Grade five and parents interested in building with LEGOs have the opportunity to join the LEGO Club and meet to create different structures and vehicles with LEGOs.

Fun activity-based programs are planned for school-age children on days when children are not in school. Workshops such as By the Light of the Marvelous Moon and Mad Scientist allow children to do all kinds of wacky science activities.

The After School Kids Programs are offered each week during the school year. The library also offers free computer classes for children in Grades three-five.

Guys Read Programs at the Library are evenings scheduled so dads can join their sons for an evening of fun at the library.

Some of the Guys Read Programs include Martial Arts, Gaming, Model Airplanes, and various sports teams from the community.

In addition, the library uses some of the school vacation days to hold family movie days which have been well received by the community. Children of all ages and their parents are invited to attend. nbsp;

Fargo South Bike Club Receives Ready Child School-Based Award

The Ready Child School-Based Award - honors a school program or initiative that exemplifies or promotes the Ready Child vision statement, the Ready Child mission statement, and/or the Ready Nine.

Officer Chris Potter shares his passion for bicycling with the students at Fargo South High School as founder and activity advisor of the Fargo South Bike Club, the first intramural club of its kind in the state of North Dakota.

The Fargo Public Schools partnered with Potter as a bike safety and club consultant when their Safe Routes to Schools grant was tapped to start bike clubs in Fargo middle schools and offer police bike safety presentations to hundreds of elementary school students. Fargo South Student Counselor Jim Keal assists Potter as a club co-advisor.

nbsp;The club started in late 2009 and began to recruit student members in the spring of 2010.nbsp; Club activities focus on teaching young people to ride bicycles lawfully and safely, educating them about traffic laws in order to help them become safe and predictable cyclists.nbsp; Students also learn the benefits of exercise, teamwork, leadership skills, and basic bicycle mechanics, while interacting with positive adult role models.

Bike club members have participated in civic activities like bicycle advocacy and government planning meetings, group rides on local bike routes and trail systems, and tours of local points of interest in combination with club rides. During spring semester, club members completely overhaul a bicycle, rebuilding it into a practical commuter bike that is auctioned off as a club fundraiser. Their latest rebuild is a one of a kind, customized mountain bike designed to match the quot;Project Blue Thunderquot; SRO police squad car, to include new paint, graphics, custom features and new parts. The Blue Thunder bicycle will be auctioned when the car project makes its public debut in May.

Potter considers the bike club one of his most rewarding and valued SRO projects. Providing a unique and fun activity to students who may not be involved in other school activities has helped cement SRO relationships with kids in a non-enforcement environment.

For more information on the Ready Child awards go to http://www.readychild.org/.

New Challenge to Innovate Query Offers $1,000 Awards for Educators#39; Best Ideas

How can interactive technology and game-based learning help students learn? In its latest Challenge to Innovate (C2i) initiative, the NEA Foundation has partnered with Microsoft - US Partners in Learning to encourage public school educators to explore, share, and discuss their responses to this question on the Department of Education#39;s Open Innovation Portal.nbsp; The best 10 ideas, as judged by the C2i community on the portal, will receive $1,000 cash awards and recognition as their solutions are shared with educators nationwide.

quot;Nine out of 10 kids, between the ages of two and 17, play electronic games in the U.S, according to a recent national study. Should these new tools be limited to simple fun, or can they open new doors to learning?quot; said Harriet Sanford, President and CEO of the NEA Foundation.nbsp; quot;The next great teaching frontier is light years away from chalk and erasers. If we change the classroom conversation from a one-way exercise to an engaging process that is constantly being renewed and refined, what would happen? Can gaming and education be combined in effective ways?quot;

Sanford said that the Foundation created C2i last year in partnership with the Department of Education to explore crowd sourcing as a way to exchange ideas and identify innovative solutions to a range of instructional challenges. With the help of an expert panel, the Foundation reviews the community#39;s top selection and gives cash awards for the best ideas. To date, more than 9,350 individuals have joined the C2i community.

Proposed solutions for the gaming challenge will be accepted from Jan. 23 through March 5, 2012. To submit or to review, comment, or vote on solutions, participants must register on the Department of Education#39;s Portal. For details on how to participate or for more information, please visit the Foundation#39;s C2i page at http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/educators/grant-programs/c2i-challenge-to-innovate/.

The next NDEA Ambassadors#39; Meeting is scheduled at the Radisson Hotel in Bismarck on February 24-25.

Registration closes at the Radisson on Feb. 7, 2012.

We encourage all Ambassadors who need sleeping accommodations to share a room with another Ambassador on Friday evening. Mileage will be reimbursed at $.555nbsp;per mile. Vouchers will be available at the end of the meeting.

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Notice of New Rules for Teachers#39; Fund for Retirement (TFFR)
As proposed by the State TFFR Board

The North Dakota Education Association (NDEA) would like to make members aware of proposed changes to TFFR, as proposed by the state board.nbsp; Although most changes were merely housekeeping in nature, members should pay attention to three specific points:

• 82-02-01-01 (5). Bonus Definition. Clearly defines a quot;bonusquot; as an amount paid in addition to regular contract salary that does not increase the member#39;s base pay, is not expected to recur, or is not expected to be a permanent increase. Additionally, these dollars are not eligible for retirement salary. The change is a result of HB 1133, which set specific parameters for eligible retirement salary.
• 82-02-01-01 (13). Performance or Merit Pay Definition. This section defines quot;performance or merit payquot; as an amount paid pursuant to a quot;written compensation plan.quot; This plan links pay to the attainment of specific performance goals and/or duties, and makes these dollars eligible for retirement salary. The change is a result of HB 1133, which set specific parameters for eligible retirement salary.
• 82-04-02-01. Criteria for Eligible Salary Determinations. This chapter creates an outline of the criteria and documentation required by TFFR board to determine which benefits/payments are included as eligible retirement salary. It removes bonus payments from eligible retirement salary.

The North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office isnbsp; conducting a public hearing on January 26, 2012 at 1 pm in the Peace Garden Room.nbsp; Written comments will be accepted through February 10, 2012.nbsp;

For a full summary of the proposed administrative rule changes, go to http://www.nd.gov/rio/tffr/Administrative_Rules_Changes/default.htm.

In December, the Fargo Education Association (FEA) made anbsp;contribution of $4,000 to the FM 105.1 Christmas Wish Program, which gives donations to families or persons in need during the Holiday Season.

The fundraising took place during American Education Week (AEW).nbsp; Teachers and support staff paid to wear jeans in each Fargo Public School building.nbsp; Each building then turned in the money to FEA President Kim Belgarde.nbsp; Not only did all the teachers and support staff participate but so did the administrators in the District.

Belgarde and the FEA aren#39;t finished; donations from now until Christmas are being designated for NDEA member Ginger Deitz, who wasnbsp;seriously injured in a car accident in which her husband died.nbsp; The fundraising is called quot;Jingle for Ginger.quot;nbsp; If you wish to contribute, contact Kim Belgarde at belgark@fargo.k12.nd.us.

Are you an educator with a class project that is short on funding but long on potential? Do you know a teacher looking for grant dollars? ING Unsung Heroesreg; could help you turn great ideas into reality for students.

For 15 years, and with nearly $3.5 million in awarded grants, ING Unsung Heroes has proven to be an A+ program with educators. The program#39;s quot;alumniquot; have inspired success in the classroom and impacted countless numbers of students. Each year, 100 educators are selected to receive $2,000 to help fund their innovative class projects. Three of those are chosen to receive the top awards of an additional $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000.

Applications for the 2012 awards are now available. The application deadline is April 30, 2012. To make it easier for applicants to fill in the required information, the non-essay portion of the application is now a fillable PDF. All that an applicant needs to do is download the PDF and type in that information directly. Applicants still need to complete the essay and budget sections in a separate Word document or other word processing program, and submit all application materials following the process outlined in the application.

ING Unsung Heroes Video

Interview with 2008 First Place Winner Robert Ostmann

Connect with ING Unsung Heroes: nbsp;

University of Mary Student NDEA pre-service teachers are holding a free one-day family camp for students in grades K-3.

Camp Ready Child will focus on providing a fun and educational day for students as well as educating parents about the NDEA Ready Child Initiative and the importance of literacy.

The camp is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 18, 2012, at the AMVETS Post 9 Club in Bismarck.

The first 50 students registered will be admitted into the camp and the registration deadline is Jan. 13. Registered students will receive a free Camp Ready Child T-shirt and other school and learning materials. All campers and family members will receive a free lunch and snack as part of the camp day.

For more information or to register, visit http://campreadychild.weebly.com/ or contact Theresa Ell, University of Mary SNDEA president at 701-426-8872.

Check here for the 2011 November North Dakota Education News

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NDEA#39;s new UniServ Director and Government Relations Specialist is Kayla Pulvermacher of Mandan.

Pulvermacher grew up on the family farm near Crosby, North Dakota, and attended Divide County Elementary and High School.nbsp; While in college at North Dakota State University, Pulvermacher interned for Senator Byron Dorgan in his Fargo office.nbsp; In addition, she helped start the Farmers Union collegiate chapters at the college; she later graduated with a political science degree in 2005.

Pulvermacher began her career with North Dakota Farmers Union in 2005 as a Legislative Assistant. She went on to become the Director of Government Affairs, with responsibilities that included lobbying, assisting the Policy and Action Committee, and research and work on legislative issues.

As a UniServ Director and Government Relations Specialist, Pulvermacher will focus on member services, lobbying and legislative issues.nbsp; Her past grassroots organization experience will lend itself well to the needs of NDEA.

Pulvermacher spends her free time volunteering, talking politics, and playing with her sons Jack and Ty.nbsp; She replaces Josh Askvig, who now works for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

This week we celebrate the 90th year of American Education Week! To help you get the word out, NEA has a toolkit with background info, activity ideas, promo materials, and more: http://www.nea.org/grants/19823.htm.

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Let NDEA know what your local is doing for American Education Week.nbsp; E-mail linda.harsche@ndea.org.

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All ND elementary schools are fully funded to receive a $4 million dollar classroom resource called Adventure To Fitness. nbsp;Due to a clerical error on our part, many members missed the opportunity to meet James Taylor, Executive Director for Adventure To Fitness, and learn of this resource at last week#39;s NDEA conference. nbsp;

Adventure To Fitness, the nation#39;s top classroom physical activity resource, is available to all North Dakota k-5 elementary teachers. nbsp;This fully funded $4 million dollarnbsp;weekly resourcenbsp;provides high-quality, story packed,nbsp;moderate to vigorous, educational classroom activity aligned tonbsp;North Dakota State Standards in Core subjects. nbsp;Please help us spread the word. nbsp;Teacher enrollment takes 30 seconds @ http://www.adventuretofitness.tv/. nbsp;Adventure To Fitness is a suggested Free Resource by the Alliance For A Healthier Generation. Additional information can be seen at:nbsp;adventuretofitness.com/video/full_overview.

Carla Eisenzimmer, a paraprofessional in Bottinau, was named the Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year.

Carlanbsp;has been a driving force in her local for both ESPs and certified members.nbsp; She is part of the Bottineau negotiations team and has completed the NDEA Certified Negotiators Training program.nbsp; Whenever she gets a chance, she promotes this training and encourages members to participate.

As the first ESP to hold an NDEA Regional board seat, Carla has shown other members around the state that no matter what your job description, your voice needs to be heard. Running for state positions and offices in your local are a good way to make that happen and Carla is a shining example.

Most recently, with the resignation of the At-Large ESP Representative on the board, Carla has once again stepped up to take on many of the responsibilities of that vacancy.nbsp; She has been making sure the steps forward ESPs have been making in recent years do not become steps backwards.

Her imagination and energy is unlimited when looking for solutions to problems or while working on projects.nbsp; When she says she will do something, it happens, often long before deadlines.nbsp;

She is a graduate of NEA#39;s Leaders for Tomorrow program and she has not only done justice to North Dakota#39;s ESP image, but proved that small states produce greatness.

Family and friends of Mary E. Cripps, a Grand Forks special education teacher, who died in June, 2011, have established a scholarship within the NDEA Foundation for either graduate or undergraduate students who are pursing initial or advanced training in special education.

The Mary E. Cripps Special Education Scholarship will be award by the Foundation Board of Directors each March.nbsp; Applications will be available starting November 1 at http://www.ndea.org/.nbsp; The deadline for applications will be March 1.nbsp; The amount of the scholarship will be determined by the Board of Directors based on the earnings of the Foundation.nbsp; See scholarship info and application form below.

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Click here for the 2011 October Newspaper.

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nbsp;Gov. Jack Dalrymple and State Superintendent Wayne Sanstead today named Brenda Werner, an English teacher at Bismarck High School (BHS), North Dakota#39;s 2012 Teacher of the Year. The announcement was made during a ceremony at Bismarck High School that was attended by administrators, educators, representatives from the state#39;s education associations, and students. Dalrymple and Sanstead were joined by Bismarck Public Schools Superintendent Tamara Uselman and BHS Principal Ken Erickson.

Werner was selected from a pool of four finalists that included Michelle Bertsch, a math teacher at Fargo North High School; Melessa Bosch, a fourth grade teacher at McKinley Elementary School in Minot; and Mike Voglewede, a high school science teacher at Northwood Public School.

quot;North Dakota has one of the best educational systems in the country and that is due in large part to the great work that is going on in classrooms across our state,quot; Dalrymple said. quot;Brenda exemplifies North Dakota#39;s outstanding teachers who are dedicated to education excellence and to helping our young people achieve their full potential.quot;

quot;Competent and caring teachers make the real difference when it comes to educating our youth and preparing them for the future,quot; Sanstead said. quot;Brenda is a great example of our teachers who are making a difference in North Dakota#39;s schools.quot;

Werner has been teaching at BHS since August 2001 and currently teaches Advanced Placement and English composition and literature courses to grades 10-12. She serves as advisor of the Writer#39;s Club and Literary Magazine, technology integration mentor and district curriculum mapping coordinator, and is active with the District Literacy Committee, District Essential Mapping Team, KAPLAN Curriculum Committee, School Improvement Team, and NCA Accreditation Team.

She is also a part-time assistant professor of education and online coordinator with the University of Mary in Bismarck, teaching graduate level courses, supervising practicum students and mentoring student teachers. Werner graduated from Minot State University with a double major in English and Physical Education and received her doctorate from the University of North Dakota in Education.

quot;I view teaching as a calling and a privilege,quot; Werner said. quot;I have always had a passion and natural curiosity for learning and it is rewarding, indeed, to play a role igniting in students the desire and confidence to learn.quot;

The Teacher of the Year program recognizes and honors the contributions of America#39;s classroom teachers.nbsp;The program is the oldest and most prestigious commendation to focus public attention on excellence in teaching.nbsp;The state#39;s Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction in conjunction with the Council of Chief State School Officers and ING.nbsp;

Nominations for Teacher of the Year must come from a teacher, school administrator, school district trustee, local education association, student or parent, and are reviewed by an eight-member selection panel. Werner will now advance to the national Teacher of the Year program.

There#39;s nothing like the excitement that accompanies the start of a new school year-but for educators, the pressure is ON!nbsp; You#39;re about to welcome dozens of new students for their best educational experiences ever, but you also have homes, families, and other non-school obligations that demand your attention.

That#39;s why NEA Member Benefits is extending a helping hand-through important member-only programs, services, discounts, informative articles, and online courses designed to help you make a smooth transition into fall and a productive school year.nbsp; Getting back to school will be a lot easier with these sweet opportunities:

NEA Exclusive $100 Statement Credit Offer! Apply now for your own NEA Credit Card^SM with WorldPointsreg; rewards and receive a $100 statement credit after qualifying transactions.

20% Discount at Lesson Planet!nbsp; Eliminate guesswork and save valuable time searching online for resources, activities and lesson plans for your students. For only $39.99 per year (regular price: $49.99/year), gain access to Lesson Planet#39;s 350,000+ teacher-reviewed and rated curriculum resources for pre-K through grade 12 educators!

Enter to Win $1,000 in VISA Gift Cards!nbsp; September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, and the NEA Members Insurance Trustreg; is sponsoring the quot;Who Do You Lovequot; contest to encourage you to think seriously about life insurance as an expression of love. From now through the end of September, enter the contest by submitting a photo and brief story online at www.MyNEALife.com and you could win two $500 VISA gift cards-one for you and the other for your loved one!

Save up to 50% at SmileMakers!nbsp; Now until December 31, 2011, get free shipping on all orders (no minimum) and up to 50% off classroom deacute;cor, student rewards and more!

Win a $7,500 School Lounge Makeover!nbsp; Compliments of California Casualty, provider of the NEA Auto amp; Home Insurance Programreg;, four lucky schools will be able to transform their school lounges from ordinary to positively extraordinaire!nbsp; Enter at:nbsp; http://www.schoolloungemakeover.com/

Get more details on these and other great Back to School offers at www.neamb.com/backtoschool or call the NEA Member Service Center at 1-800-637-4636.nbsp; Have a wonderful school year!

NDEA 2011 Instructional Conference Features Jo Anderson, Jr.

nbsp; The main speaker for the 2011 NDEA Instructional Conference at the Century High School Theatre at 9:00 a.m. Oct. 20, 2011 is Jo Anderson, Jr.

nbsp; Anderson is a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, and works on a variety of issues including teacher outreach and relations. He recently came to the Department having served as the Executive Director of the Illinois Education Association-NEA (IEA-NEA) since 2005. Prior to this, he held a variety of other positions with IEA-NEA, working particularly on efforts of the union to involve its leaders and members in improving student learning and the public school system in Illinois.

nbsp; In 1987, he helped found the Consortium for Educational Change (CEC), a network of 75 school districts throughout Illinois working on school transformation through collaborative partnerships. He served as Executive Director of CEC for 18 years. He has a background in community organizing and was affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation. He was a university instructor in philosophy and political science.

Before Anderson#39;s presentation, North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple will address the General Session.

Joel Heitkamp of KFGO in Fargo will be broadcasting his show from the Conference.

Bismarck#39;s Century High School is the site for the main speaker, sectionals and exhibits. The exhbits will run Thursday from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. - Noon.nbsp; The Radisson will be the headquarters hotel.nbsp;

The Radisson will be the headquarters hotel.nbsp;

The Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Dance and Sport Sectional will feature James Taylor. nbsp;He is Executive Director of Adventure to Fitness: a Florida corporation established with a mission to inspire children to lead healthy lifestyles through imagination, education, and movement.nbsp; As a founding partner Taylor successfully expanded the business from supporting a handful of schools, to a nationwide reach of elementary schools across 38 states.nbsp;

Prior to assuming this role in 2008 Taylor served as President and CEO of Jet Sports.nbsp; For 13 years he was widely recognized as a children#39;s health advocate, advancing the needs of students of all skills and sizes who would otherwise never experience the joys of organized sports.

Armed with a business education from Michigan State, in 1988 Taylor assumed ownership in a struggling health club that he quickly restructured.nbsp; Over the next seven years Taylor designed, built and staffed a chain of private and corporate health facilities before retiring from the field in 1995.

His extensive work in fitness and youth sports has earned recognition and certifications from the International Sports Sciences Association, International Fitness Professionals Association, National Alliance for Youth Sports, National Youth Sports Coaches Association, and FAHPERDS (Florida Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Dance and Sport).nbsp; Additionally Taylor has received personal recognition from the United States Navy for his work with military children, and was part of Florida#39;s American Red Cross Wildfire Disaster Relief Operation.

Today Taylor is a consultant to a private sport conglomerate and sits on multiple community boards.nbsp; He is a constant supporter of physical education teachers across the nation.nbsp; His advocacy has allowed him to personally address and work with thousands of educators, hundreds of school superintendents amp; principals, Florida#39;s State Surgeon General as well as Department of Education and Department of Health agencies across the nation.nbsp; Politically Taylor has provided guidance to the Governor#39;s office, State amp; National Physical Education Associations, Presidential Candidates, Senators and members of Congress.

Taylor raised his son Dakota as a single parent; from the age of six months to the 19-year-old college sophomore he is today. nbsp;nbsp;When Taylor is not working, you will find him playing racquetball with his son or hiking with his new Fianceacute;e, Penny.

Start making your plans now to attend your 2011 Instructional Conference.nbsp; Watch for more information about the Instructional Conference in the North Dakota Education News.

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Register Here!

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Ready Child and First Lady (Betsy Dalrymple)nbsp;Promote Imagination Library

First Lady Betsy Dalrymple is on a mission to help North Dakota#39;s children be ready for school.nbsp; The former elementary school teacher and school board member has been traveling the state encouraging communities and schools to adopt Dolly Parton#39;s Imagination Library Program, and NDEA#39;s Ready Child Initiative is helping her with the project.nbsp; Recent local meetings have been held in Wahpeton, Napoleon, Wishek, and Linton.nbsp; Dalrymple credits NDEA Vice-President and Ready Child Commission Chair Mark Berntson with giving her the idea of taking up the program as her primary initiative.nbsp;

Imagination Library was started in 1995 by singer Dolly Parton for the children in her Tennessee hometown.nbsp; By 2000 the program had gone nationwide!nbsp; Imagination Library provides a free, developmentally appropriate book each month to participating 0- to 5-year old children.nbsp; The books are addressed to the children and arrive by mail.nbsp; The approximate cost is $25 per child per year and all children are eligible, regardless of income.

Communities can join Imagination Library by following six easy steps:

1. Define the geographic area (county, school district, REA, etc.)

2. Raise or identify the necessary funds

3. Identify a Local Champion (school, United Way, etc.) to administer the program

4. Complete some paperwork

5. Order registration brochures

6. Host a rollout event (the First Lady would likely attend but Dolly Parton probably wouldn#39;t!)

NDEA encourages its local associations to partner with the First Lady and likeminded parties in their communities to get on board with Imagination Library.nbsp; By providing books to kids students will come to school with better early literacy skills, will experience greater success, and will be easier to teach!

What can you do if you#39;re interested??

Contact NDEA Vice-President Mark Berntson and start talking to other caring adults in your community about teaming up for kids!nbsp; Mark Berntson, markberntson@hotmail.com, 701-799-6528.

quot;Working together, the NDEA and the NDEA Foundation maintain disaster relief funds designed to assist members who suffer losses to personal educational property,quot; said NDEA President Dakota Draper.nbsp;

For the purposes of this fund, the covered personal property includes, but is not limited to, teaching supplies, books, electronic equipment, tools, uniforms, etc.nbsp; These losses may be the result of disasters such as tornadoes, floods (which have recently covered the state of North Dakota) or fire.nbsp; The losses must not be covered by insurance, but may include any deductibles paid by the member.nbsp; Applications will be submitted to the NDEA Disaster Relief Committee, 410 East Thayer Avenue, Bismarck ND 58501-4049.

The committee, comprised of the Association President or designee, the Foundation President or designee and the Executive Director or designee, will review applications and make determinations as to the amount covered by any awards.nbsp; In the event of a disaster effecting more than one member, the awards will be considered in the order they are received and the funds may be prorated to the members applying.

Individual donations can be sent to the NDEA Foundation Disaster Fund.nbsp; The donations to the Foundation may be tax deductible as a charitable contribution to a 501(c)(3) charity.nbsp; The funds donated to the Foundation can be used only for replacing personal property used to assist the member perform his or her educational duties.nbsp;

Local Associations or other groups not desiring or needing a tax deduction may contribute to the NDEA Disaster Relief fund.nbsp; The NDEA fund has broader ability to reimburse losses which are not as closely related to a member#39;s educational duties.nbsp;

The Disaster Relief Committee will consider each application and determine from which fund any reimbursement should come.nbsp;

Application for Disaster Relief Fund.

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The North Dakota Education Association (NDEA) will be hosting a two-day Educator Flood Relief Day for Association members affected by this summer#39;s devastating floods.

quot;To show our support, NDEA staff will be in Minot and Bismarck on Aug. 18-19, 2011 to provide members with financial assistance from the Association#39;s crisis fund,quot; said NDEA President Dakota Draper. nbsp;nbsp;quot;In addition, we will compile a list of needs to determine if the Association can provide assistance with school supplies, home cleanup, and/or setting up classrooms. quot;

The Association will be in the following locations from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 18 and Friday Aug. 19.

Bismarck/Mandan Area-NDEA Office, 410 E. Thayer Ave., Bismarck, ND, 58501, park in the downtown Parkade and walk to our building and come up to the second floor.nbsp; The NDEA building is directly north of the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot.

Minot Area---Horacenbsp; Mann Office of Jason Rohrer, 216 S Broadway, Suite 105, Minot, ND, 58701, park behind the building and come into the offices on the first floor.

quot;This has been a difficult summer for NDEA members and their students,quot; said Draper.nbsp; quot;The Association hopes it can provide a little relief and support.quot;nbsp;

If you have questions or concerns about this event for NDEA members, please contact Josh Askvig (701-223-0450; josh.askvig@ndea.org) or Deanna Paulson (701-281-7235); Deanna. Paulson@ndea.org).

Donations can be sent to the NDEA Foundation Disaster Relief Fund, 410 E. Thayer Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58501.nbsp; this is a 501(c)3 tax exempt charity, so donations may be tax deductible.

For Minot flood members, Horace Mann Educators willnbsp;be having a drawing for two Black Eyed Peas tickets.

The NEA provided Educators Employment Liability (EEL) Program excludes from coverage the rendering, teaching or supervising of medical services.

There are exceptions to the exclusion whereby the regular EEL plan does provide coverage for first-aid and regular nursing services rendered by a school nurse and physical, occupational, or psychological therapy or treatment rendered by an appropriately licensed or certified practitioner.nbsp; In addition, certain activities related to the administration of oral prescriptions, emergency first-aid services and health care services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act are covered by the basic EEL Program.

NEA/NDEA members who are licensed as a nurse, occupational therapist, physical therapist, dental hygienist or athletic trainer should obtain a copy of the Certificate of Insurance for the EEL program from their local association or UniServ Director.nbsp; If after reviewing the Medical and Related Arts Exclusion language (section VII.A.8), members believe the activities they perform are not covered by the basic EEL program, they should contact their UniServ Director.nbsp; NDEA is prepared to purchase a rider for these individuals.nbsp; The rider extends the basic coverage to include claims arising out of the rendering, teaching, or supervising of medical, dental, surgical, nursing, or other similar services in the course of the Insured#39;s educational employment activities.

In summary, NDEA believes that all health occupations teachers and athletic trainers who teach students to perform various medical-related skills need to have the EEL extension.nbsp; The extended coverage is available only after NDEA receives a request from the member and NDEA submits the required premium.nbsp;

For further information, contact gary.rath@ndea.org or call NDEA at 1-800-369-6332 or your UniServ director.

Mary Eldredge-Sandbo, a Biology educator at Des Lacs/Burlington High School, is a recipient of the California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence, one of the nation#39;s most prestigious awards for public educators.

Eldredge-Sandbo is one of 35 awardees who will be honored at the NEA Foundation#39;s Salute to Excellence in Education Gala to be held in Washington, DC on February 10, 2012.nbsp; Known as the Academy Awards of public education, the gala attracts more than 850 of the nation#39;s leaders from public education, philanthropy, and the private sector.

quot;We give these awards annually to educators.nbsp; In addition, the educator#39;s school will receive a $650 award.nbsp;

quot;Educating our youth is sonbsp;critically important. California Casualty is proud to partner with the NEA Foundation to pause and celebrate excellence in teaching,quot; said Beau Brown, President and CEO of California Casualty.

Eldredge-Sandbo was nominated by the North Dakota Education Association, National Education Association#39;s state affiliate in North Dakota.nbsp; Photos and names of all of the state nominees can be found here.

From the 35 state awardees, five finalists will be selected to receive a $10,000 cash award. At the conclusion of the Washington, DC gala, one finalist will be named the nation#39;s top educator and receive an additional $25,000.

The NEA Foundation and the National Education Association jointly present the awards with support from NEA Member Benefits, the Horace Mann Companies, California Casualty, and the Pearson Foundation.nbsp;

To enter, visit www.neamb.com/prize or call the NEA Member Service Center at 1-800-637-4636.

Visit www.neamb.com prize for official rules and eligibility.

Staples Teacher Appreciation Day will be held on Saturday, August 13 from 9 am to noon.nbsp;

This year#39;s events will include a quot;Goodie Bagquot; with all sorts of special values to the first 100 educators in attendance, while supplies last.nbsp;nbsp;

Attached is a flyer detailing this year#39;s Staples Teacher Appreciation Day events www.staples.com/teacherday.nbsp;

quot;North Dakota lost an honest and articulate man when Senate Majority Leader Bob Stenehjem died in a car crash in Alaska on July 18, 2011,quot; said NDEA President Dakota Draper.nbsp;nbsp; quot;Our prayers and thoughts go out to his family.nbsp; He will be remembered for his dedication to the state and its citizens.quot;

Engage and inspire your K-12 students to increase sustainable, earth-friendly behavior in their neighborhoods and communities.

Earn a grant of up to $1,000 to implement your innovative education program, activity, lesson, or event to excite students about going green, caring for the earth and creating a sustainable future.

The Green Across America Program is sponsored by Target, which proudly supports K-12 schools through innovative giving programs.

For complete rules and instructions on how to apply online, visit www.neamb.com/green.

Note:nbsp; All applications must be submitted onlinenbsp;by July 30, 2010.

NEA Vice President Lily Eskelsen visited Fargo, ND on May 16, 2011 for a Celebration of Education Rally, which was organized by Fargo President Kim Belgarde at South High School.nbsp; Before the rally, Eskelsen stopped by Discovery Middle School to talk with about 200 sixth graders.

She told the sixth graders that she wanted their input to take back and give to President Obama, because he doesn#39;t know what#39;s happening in schools like Discovery and he wants to know.nbsp; From there, Eskelsen proceeded to ask the students questions like:nbsp; What will make your schools great?nbsp; What makes a good teacher?nbsp; Do you think students should be graded on test scores alone?nbsp; The students were really enthusiastic and all wanted to answer the questions.

According to Eskelsen, she will take the information back and put it along with photos of the students on her blog called, Lily#39;s Blackboard at http://lilysblackboard.org/2011/05/that%c2%b4s-what-i-am/.

At the Rally Eskelsen said, quot;North Dakota is doing something that is not happening anywhere else in the country.nbsp; You are celebrating.nbsp; You are actually talking to each other.nbsp; You are not diminishing public education.quot;

Eskelsen told the audience that one out of every 100 Americans is a member of the NEA, and the real privilege for the one in every 100 Americans is to be able quot;to work in the classroom.nbsp; quot;We are the people who know what#39;s happening in the classroom and with the students,quot; she said.

She asked and answered what gets teachers into the profession and what keeps them there.nbsp; quot;We wanted to change the world, and we wanted to do it through children.quot; she said.nbsp; quot;We stay because we love.nbsp; We love your kids like parents love their kids that#39;s why this is not just a job for us.quot;

quot;Eighty percent of the richest Americans in the Country send their kids to public schools,quot; she said.nbsp; quot;There are some schools that are not the best, but those are the ones that serve the poor kids.quot;

According to Eskelsen, opponents want to privatize our public schools, but we know that children don#39;t come in the one size fits all concept.nbsp; quot;We know what#39;s at stake,quot; she said.nbsp; quot;People are going to be talking about public schools more than before.nbsp; Speak up, smile, and be prepared to tell something good about public education.quot;

quot;We#39;re fighting to give our students everything that they need to succeed, and we should celebrate,quot; she said.nbsp; quot;We are not capable of standing on the sidelines.nbsp; They cannot stop us because we believe.nbsp; It#39;s a mission that#39;s written across our hearts.quot;

Click here to view the 2011 May ND Education News.

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Click here for Health Insurance Reform Negotiations Questions.

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The NDEA Representative Assembly along with the North Dakota Public Employees Representative Assembly voted on April 9, 2011 to move forward with the following mission statement and principles of unity with the understanding that upon these two items, the Unity team will now begin to draft a constitution for a newly merged organization (NMO).

NMO Mission Statement

To create a better North Dakota by giving voice to public and education employees

NMO Principles of Unity

#9632; To champion free, high-quality education for all of North Dakota#39;s children.

#9632; To champion high-quality public services for all North Dakotans.

#9632; To be innovative and prepared to meet the challenges of the future.

#9632; To enhance the professional, personal and economic well-being of members.

#9632; To provide unstinting service to Members.

#9632; To be a union that is open, inclusive and transparent.

#9632; To promote democracy and social justice both inside and outside the organization.

#9632; To be a respected voice at all levels of government.

#9632; To value members#39; dues dollars through responsible economic stewardship.

It is further understood that this is not a vote of merger on the part of the Board and/or the NDEA Representative Assembly, but only a vote to proceed with the big task of writing a constitution for the NMO based upon the mission statement and the principles of unity above. For merger to actually occur, both respective representative bodies of the NDEA and the NDPEA would need to vote in the 2/3rds affirmative on the new constitution for the NMO.

Here#39;s what NDEA President Dakota Draper, Special Guest Montana Education Association - Montana Federation of Teachers (MEA-MFT ) President Eric Feaver, and NDPEA President Greg Feist had to say about Unity.

nbsp;quot;If ever a metaphor were true, delegates of the NDEA and delegates of the NDPEA we are at a crossroad,quot; said NDEA President Dakota Draper.nbsp; quot;We can continue down the road to merger, or we can stop.nbsp; NBI #1 is only a motion for us to continue the process of merger by having the Unity team begin the process of drafting a constitution for a newly merged organization called NMO. NBI #1 is not a motion to merge.quot;

Draper told the delegates he wanted to be clear.nbsp;nbsp; quot;If you vote yes today, you will not be merging the NDEA and the NDPEA,quot; he said. nbsp;nbsp;quot;A yes vote today says---continue the process in a big, big way.nbsp; A no vote today says--- stop the process.nbsp; Writing a new Constitution will be a big, big job, and the Unity team and the leadership want to know if this is something you really want to do.quot;

In the last ND Education News, I made my position very clear,quot; he said.nbsp; quot;I believe the process of merger should continue.nbsp; I believe we, the NDEA and the NDPEA, have much to gain as a merged organization.quot;

Draper said he made his case on four points:

1.nbsp; Two are worth more than one.nbsp; (Resources of two state and two national affiliates)

2.nbsp; Two have the potential to increase growth and market power by not competing against each other.

3.nbsp; Two have a better chance of survival in an ever increasing world of threats.

4.nbsp; Two can better expand membership base (That we can become an association of many different types of educators and public employees).

quot;This will be your decision, you will decide,quot; he said.nbsp; quot;Your Board of Directors has brought it this far, now the ball will be in your court.nbsp;

quot;To help you decide we are honored this day, to have with us, a friend to public education everywhere, a friend to public employees everywhere, and a personal friend of both Greg and myself. . . nbsp;Eric Feaver, President of the MEA-MFT, one of the four merged associations in the NEA and AFT family,quot; said Draper.

MEA-MFT President Eric Feaver told the delegates that NDEA and NDPEA were pretty much following the same path that Montana did when their organizations merged.nbsp; quot;We wrote a constitution in three meetings,quot; he said.

quot;You can#39;t answer every question before you start,quot; he said.nbsp; quot;Most things will take care of themselves somewhere down the road.nbsp; quot;In fact, our constitution is a living and changing document, and we#39;ve changed it many times.quot;

We had a push back when we merged from members who didn#39;t want us to organize ESP.

He told the delegates that MEA-MFT#39;s first merger was with the AFT, which explains the MEA-MFT.nbsp; quot;Now, we are proceeding down the same path as North Dakota and trying to merge with the North Dakota Public Employees Association.

nbsp;quot;We recently had a huge rally at the Capitol in Helena,quot; said Feaver.nbsp; Our Legislature is going straight to lsquo;hell#39;.nbsp;nbsp; Our last property tax increase was back in 1995, and we#39;ve faced many ballot issues.nbsp; Without our merger that rally would not have been possible.nbsp; It shows how important it was to merge both organizations#39; communications, lobbying and public relations efforts.quot;

quot;Is there anyone here who believes the middle class can survive without unions?nbsp; quot;If there is,quot; said Feaver, quot;just look at what#39;s happening to our colleagues all over the nation. Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida to name a few.nbsp; These state associations are losing their bargaining rights, but they are fighting the system together...not alone.nbsp; They are fighting the systems with unions of policemen, firemen, etc.

Feaver gave the joint delegates this advice, quot;If we just keep on growing and don#39;t drop an oar, it#39;s going to get better and you#39;ll be stronger.quot;

NDPEA President Gary Feist said, quot;As a union, we know that we all have to stand united, and that our greatest asset is the power of our combined numbers.nbsp; As we witnessed in the massive protests in Wisconsin, a broad coalition of citizens banded together to express their concerns over the loss of collective bargaining rights.nbsp; It was public workers, teachers, prison guards, snow plow drivers, fighting to protect their fundamental rights as employees, but also it was citizens who weren#39;t even affected by this piece of legislation, police officers and firefighters, students and workers from the private sector.nbsp; By standing together, the power of our labor unions is expressed when we combine our voices and speak out for what we believe.quot;

Feist said in times like these we must all stand together to fight for the issues we believe in and the quality education and public services that we provide each and every day to the citizens of this great state.nbsp; quot;We are one,quot; he said.

According to Feist, NDEA and NDPEA, through all of their members across the state, make a difference in the lives of citizens of North Dakota.nbsp;

Combining our organizations will enable us to be stronger in fighting off attacks on public services and allow us to advocate for the things that all the citizens of North Dakota want for their families, for the highest quality in education and public services for everyone in this state to enjoy.quot;

quot;The Board of Directors and members of NDPEA are glad to be here today; to join hands with everyone at the NDEA and to take the first steps in our journey together, toward standing up as one powerful voice in the interest of the educators and public workers of North Dakota,quot; said Feist.

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Hello it#39;s Friday April 29, 2011 and I am Dakota Draper, NDEA President.nbsp; The 62^nd ND Legislative Assembly has adjourned for good. I can tell you that your NDEA Lobby Team is glad it#39;s over as we usually are after all sessions.

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the work you did as members this session.nbsp; Because of your help we generated over 1,500 member messages this session.nbsp; If it wasn#39;t for members, like you, being engaged and lobbying your legislators back home, this session would not have been nearly as successful.

Some highlights from the last 78 legislative days-

We successfully kept safe and secure retirements intact through our action on four bills- our support of HB1134 - the TFFR fix we supported and SB2108 - the PERS fix we supported led to their passage.nbsp; Our efforts opposing HB1228 - the PERS Definednbsp;Contributions Plan and HB1258 - the TFFR Definednbsp;Contributions Plan helped lead to their failure.nbsp; We also successfully fought off efforts to tax any increase in teacher retirement contributions in HB1134.nbsp;

However, we cannot rest here as this discussion will likely continue in the coming months and future legislative sessions.nbsp; Stay engaged through www.ndea.org/ppp or by signing up to be a Pension Protector at http://www.ndea.org/.

We were part of the group that took a stand and ensured that schools have proactive policies in place to protect students from bullying.nbsp; This led to the passage of HB1465 - dubbed the bullying bill.nbsp; We were proud to stand with the ND Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and other partners that had a hand in crafting this bill to see it passed and signed into law.

Of course we had our share of setbacks.nbsp; For example, not taking advantage of this time and being able to provide some real positive change and education reform regarding the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Plan.nbsp; However, overall the session was one of positive momentum and you can see the full Legislative Wrap up at www.ndea.org/legislative.

We also have provided the necessary funding info on the site for your use during this bargaining session.

Again, I cannot thank you enough for the work you did back home this session.nbsp; We will need to continue this engagement as we move forward towards making Great Public Schools - A Basic Right for Every Child a reality in North Dakota.

When:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Monday, May 16, 2011
Time:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 4:45 p.m.
Where:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Fargo South High School
Guest
Speaker:nbsp;nbsp;Lily Eskelsen, The National Education
nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Association Vice President

RSVP:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Lindsey Sorenson, NDEA Eastern Office lindsey.sorenson@ndea.org; or 701-281-7235; or 1-800-304=6332.

Sponsored by:nbsp; The Fargo Education Association, the West Fargo Education Association, and the NDEA.

Action #39;11:nbsp; Talking About Respect is schedule Aug. 2-3, 2011 at Bismarck#39;s Ramkota Inn.nbsp; Registration and lunch is scheduled from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Opening comments and a welcome begins at 12:45 with Organizing: Reaching for Respect runs from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.nbsp; In this session, participants will learn how to recruit and organize members so that we can achieve the best teaching and learning environment for our students and our members.nbsp; Together we can accomplish our goals and affect the decisions that are made in our schools.nbsp; Let#39;s explore how to talk about it!

At 6:00 p.m. participants are invited to a picnic and steak fry (details coming).

Wednesday morning opens with a breakfast at 7:15 a.m.nbsp; At 8:00 a.m.nbsp; There will be an NDEA and NEA Member Benefits Session---How can you use financial benefits to recruit and reward and retain our members?nbsp; Association membership shouldn#39;t cost as much as it PAYS!nbsp; It#39;s easy to talk about membership if we know what to say!

Lunch will run from noon to 1:00 p.m.nbsp; Afternoon sessions include:nbsp; Leadership:nbsp; Herding Cats---How can we get the local business of the Association done and do our jobs---and stay sane?nbsp; Half the battle is know WHAT to do and when to do it.nbsp; The other half of the battle is engaging members and involving everyone in the conversation.nbsp; Organizing:nbsp; Building Respect---Now that we have designed and implemented our organizing campaign, how do we continue to grow and use our solidarity to motivate our members and move closer to our goals?nbsp; We need to network with each other and with our members---expand the conversation!

Wrap-up is from 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

NDEA will reimburse locals for the following:nbsp; One-half of a double room per participant; IRS rate per mile for one care (1-4 participants); IRS rate per mile for a second car (5-8 participants).

Call the Bismarck Ramkota to make your reservations for Tuesday evening, Aug. 2---701-258-7000.nbsp; Please be sure to ask for the NDEA block of rooms.

To register go to http://www.ndea.org/events/?view=73.

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Third Annual Dropout Summit Includes Bullying

The third annual North Dakota Dropout Prevention Summit will be held at Bismarck State College on June 8-9, 2011.

Day one of the Summit, June 8, 2011, will be on Bullying and features author Rachel Simmons.

Rachel Simmons is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, and The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence. As an educator and coach, Simmons works internationally to develop strategies to address bullying and empower girls.

After graduating from Vassar College, Simmons won a Rhodes Scholarship from New York in 1998. She attended Oxford University, where she began her study of female aggression.

The co-founder of the Girls Leadership Institute, Rachel currently serves as a consultant to schools and organizations around the world. She has worked as a classroom teacher at Miss Hall#39;s School in Massachusetts and the Roedean School in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Simmons was the host of the recent PBS television special, quot;A Girl#39;s Life,quot; and writes an advice blog for girls at TeenVogue.com.

Simmons has appeared on Oprah, is a frequent contributor to the Today Show, and appears regularly in the national media. Odd Girl Out was adapted into a highly acclaimed Lifetime television movie. Simmons lives in western Massachusetts with her West Highland Terrier, Rosie, who is currently taking private workshops with Rachel to learn how to stop bullying other dogs.

Wendy Troop-Gordon from the North Dakota Attorney General#39;s Office will give a session on Bullying 101, and there will be several breakout sessions:nbsp; Girls Online, GLBT Bullying, Cyberbullying and Boy Bullying.

After lunch, sessions will include Suicide and Bullying, North Dakota#39;s New Anti-Bullying Law HB1465, Bullying in the School Curriculum and Action Planning.

Day two of the Summit, June 9, 2011 will be the Dropout Summit. Sessions will include:nbsp; North Dakota Dropout Statistics, Don Kaiser and Greg Gallagher, DPI; Bridging Research and Practice, Dr. Mark Dynarski, author Dropout Prevention:nbsp; A Practice Guide.

Breakout sessions include System-wide Coordination of Dropout Prevention Efforts, Alternative Schools and Settings, Career and Technical Academy Tour, American Indian Dropout Prevention and Rethinking the Elementary Experience.

Credit is available for those attending both days, and attendance as a school, district, or community team is highly encouraged.

Pre-registration is recommended by May 20, 2011, for Conference and meal planning.nbsp; The fee per person is $40 per day in advance (cash or check only) and includes continental breakfast and lunch.nbsp; A $50 per day registration fee will be collected on-site for those who are not pre-registered.

Checks should be made payable to: North Dakota Council of Education Leaders (NDCEL).nbsp; Mail the registration form below and payment to: Mark Berntson, 66 Evergreen Circle, West Fargo ND 58078.nbsp; Any questions can be referred to Berntson@west-fargo.k12.nd.us.

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The Legislative Assembly is completing what is hoped to be the last full week of legislative activity and will not be able to sine die (end) today as they had hoped.nbsp; Even though many of the conference committees have completed their work and come up with compromises that will eventually be adopted by the legislators.nbsp; The best bet for a sine die (end) is now on Wednesday, April 27^th - but they do have until May 2^nd to finish their business.nbsp;

The conference committee on SB2150 has been meeting regularly this past week and finished this bill, which will now go to the full Senate and House for final consideration.nbsp; Unfortunately, this bill did not include any provisions or funding for the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Plan that the NDEA, NDSBA, and NDCEL supported and that were included in the ND Commission on Education Improvement. nbsp;nbsp;See the final amendments to SB2150 here and we will provide further explanation of the changes in the bill next week.

Also, the conference committee on HB1134 (TFFR bill) met on Friday.nbsp; They removed the teacher tax provisions.nbsp; The bill now goes to the House for final passage.nbsp; Keep contacting your legislators to vote yes for HB1134. Send your legislator a message today encouraging them to pass HB1134.

The 63^rd Legislative Assembly will wrap up next week.nbsp; Stay tuned for more information coming your way and keep following us on Facebook and Twitter!

May greets Teacher Appreciation Week and SmileMakers is celebrating with a special offer May 2-6 for your members.nbsp;

Use code NEASMILE when ordering and receive: 15% off all orders; free shipping no minimum; free collection of 144 Alphabet Smile Bands with any order of $25 or more.nbsp; Smile Bands are red hot and the free gift (catalog item #JL479) is a $12.99 value.nbsp;nbsp;

SmileMakers, a Staples company, is an NEA Member Benefits partner.nbsp; Members can order online (http://www.smilemakers.com/), by catalog, by phone (888-800-SMILE), or by FAX (877-567-7645).

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Hello, I am NDEA Executive Director Greg Burns and this is the NDEA legislative update for Saturday, April 16th, 2011.nbsp;

Unfortunately, this week the House passed SB2311.nbsp; This is the bill that requires that the Teacher of the Year be announced in an empty hall in the Capitol rather than at the NDEA Instructional Conference.nbsp; The bill passed on the House floor 50-40-4 (see the vote here).

The Conference Committee has started meeting in earnest on HB1134- the TFFR fix bill.nbsp; The Conferees are Representatives Grande, Streyle, and Amerman, and Senators Sorvaag, Schaible, and Nelson. We support the Senate version of this bill that provides the necessary corrections to ensure that all educators continue to receive a safe and secure retirement.nbsp; The House version of this bill contained an amendment that prohibits school districts and teachers from negotiating the contribution increases.nbsp; This amendment would tax approximately 4,000 teachers an additional $60-$220 a year on top of the benefit reductions and contribution increases included in HB1134.nbsp; Continue to contact the conference committee and your legislators and remind them to keep off the House teacher tax increase and pass the original version of HB1134.

The Conference Committee on SB2150 has begun working hard to try and iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions of this bill.nbsp; This bill also contains the continued language about ensuring school districts use 70 percent of new money for teacher compensation. We are also fighting hard to restore the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Program (STEC-P) to SB2150.nbsp; Currently the Senate version of this bill contains only a study of this for the future, while the House version contains $700,000 to develop but not implement these alternative compensation plans.nbsp; Contact the Conference Committee today and ask them to restore funding to implement the STEC programs.

Next week your lobby team will be busy monitoring the Conference Committees on these two bills and some other minor issues. Remember you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well as the website.nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;

Thanks again for you all you do to lobby your legislators back home!

Hello, I am NDEA President Dakota Draper and this is the NDEA legislative update for Friday April 8, 2011.nbsp;

This week has been busy at the Legislature as they begin to wind down towards final adjournment.nbsp; On Friday, April 8^th the full Senate considered HB1134---the bill to shore-up the TFFR fund. During debate on the Senate floor, Senator Carolyn Nelson out of Fargo offered an amendment to remove the House amendments that prohibit school districts from paying any of the employee increased contributions. nbsp;The amendments passed by a vote of 24-22 (see the vote here). Make sure you tell those Senators who supported the amendment thank you!nbsp; The bill was thus amended, and returned to its original form (which was submitted by TFFR Board, supported by member and employer interest groups, and studied during the interim by the Legislative Employee Benefits Programs Committee).nbsp; After additional discussion relating to the funding of the pension plan, the Senate voted on HB 1134, and passed it by a vote of 38-8 (see the vote here).

Because the House and Senate approved the bill in different forms, the bill will be returned to the House. It is likely that the House will not concur with the Senate amendments, and it will probably go to a Conference Committee to work out the differences.

Also, this week the House Appropriations Committee finished its work on SB2150. There were a number of amendments to this legislation. The most significant amendment was regarding the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Plan (STEC-P). nbsp;The Appropriations Committee amended STEC-P so that local districts can build plans and get reimbursed for the work of putting together plans. However, there is NO funding to implement the plans. This means that districts will not have resources to implement these ideas even if they get approval from the review panel in the bill.nbsp;

There was also a lot discussion in the Appropriations Committee about the House Education Committee#39;s amendments putting in additional resources for rapidly growing school districts (defined as districts that grow by more than a certain percentage and a minimum of 25 students between the end of the school year and the start of the new school year).nbsp; This amendment was primarily aimed at school districts in northwest North Dakota, but would apply statewide.nbsp; The House Appropriations Committee left these provisions in the bill but it is likely this will be heavily debated on the House floor when it is considered next week.nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;

The House Appropriations Committee also finished its work on SB2013, the DPI Budget bill.nbsp; The Committee also amended this bill a lot including amendments that reduced the per student payment from the Senate version of the DPI budget, removing the funding for alternative middle schools, and reducing some contingency funding for transportation. nbsp;However, a more significant amendment regarding the North Dakota Teacher of the Year Announcement was added to this bill.nbsp; The amendment requires the Teacher of the Year to be announced in an empty hall in the Capitol. nbsp;There is another bill currently in Conference Committee that deals with this issue and we are working to get this amendment out of SB2013.nbsp; We encourage you to send your legislators a message at www.ndea.org/legislative encouraging them to support the House version of SB231. Click here to send your legislators a message in support of SB2311 as amended by the House.

Finally, this week the Senate considered HCR3046.nbsp; This resolution would propose an amendment to the North Dakota Constitution doing away with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education.nbsp; It would replace these two entities with an appointee of the Governor and an advisory board appointed by the Governor. nbsp;We opposed this resolution and the Senate defeated this resolution by a vote of 7 to 40.

Next week will be mostly focused on Conference Committees. Conference Committees are made up of three members of the House and three members of the Senate who meet to iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bills.nbsp; There will be plenty of education related conference committees including the conference committee on SB2311--- Teacher of the Year bill, HB1270--- dealing with teacher licensure for out of state individuals trying to be licensed in North Dakota, and HB1134- the TFFR fix bill. Again, we appreciate all you are doing back home to lobby your legislators.nbsp; We encourage you to continue to follow us on Facebook or Twitter and keep contacting your legislators!

Hello, I am NDEA President Dakota Draper and this is the NDEA Legislative Update for Friday April 1, 2011.nbsp;

This week has been busy at the Legislature as they begin to wind down towards final adjournment.nbsp; The House Education committee voted out SB2150 this week. The House Education Committee made many amendments to this bill, and you can find the summary here.nbsp; The most significant amendment was to restore the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Plan (STEC-P). nbsp;The STEC-P amendment restores the program at $4 million and contains some protections for small schools to ensure they get funding.nbsp; The bill now goes to the House Appropriations Committee for further consideration.

The House also finished its work on SB2311.nbsp; This is the bill that would have required the Teacher of the Year to be announced in an empty hall in the Capitol. The House Education Committee upon the recommendation of North Dakota Teacher of the Year Karen Toavs amended this bill to require that the Teacher of the Year first be announced at the NDEA Instructional Conference and then that the Governor and Superintendent of Public Instruction hold a second ceremony recognizing the Teacher of the Year.nbsp; We supported this bill after it was amended, and it was passed by the House by a vote of 72-22.nbsp; This bill will likely end up in a conference committee and the two version of the bill will be worked out by members of the House and Senate. Click here to send your legislators a message in support of SB2311 as amended by the House.

The House also passed SB2108.nbsp; This bill is the legislation to shore up the NDPERS retirement plan for our education support professionals (ESP).nbsp; The House DID NOT amend this bill and it now goes to the Governor for his signature.nbsp; This is an important step in ensuring safe and secure retirements for all educators in North Dakota.

Also this week the Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee voted out HB1134- the bill to shore-up the TFFR fund. Unfortunately, the Senate did not amend out the section of the bill that prohibits school districts from paying any of the employee increased contributions.nbsp; They did move the language so that it only affects school districts that currently pay the full-teacher contribution.nbsp; However, this will still cost approximately 4,000 teachers on average $220 in taxes a year, in addition to the contribution increases. Visit www.ndea.org/ppp to see if your school district is affected by this amendment. The NDEA is working hard to get the full Senate to take out this bad amendment and we need your help contacting your Senator and telling them to remove the teacher tax and then pass HB1134.nbsp; The Senate will likely take action next week.

Next week the Senate Education Committee will be hearing HCR3046.nbsp; This bill would propose an amendment to the North Dakota Constitution doing away with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education.nbsp; It would replace these two entities with an appointee of the Governor and an advisory board appointed by the Governor. We believe taking the direction of education out of the hands of the voters would not serve the parents of our state#39;s public school children very well and we oppose HCR3046.nbsp; Click here to send your Senator a message asking them to vote NO on HCR3046.

The rest of the week is busy as the Legislature will finish passing its version of bills and conference committees will start.nbsp; Conference committees are made up of three members of the House and three members of the Senate who meet to iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bills.nbsp; There will be plenty of education related conference committees and one conference committee has already been appointed for HB1270---dealing with teacher licensure for out of state individuals trying to be licensed in North Dakota---a bill we support with the House amendments.

Again, we appreciate all you are doing back home to lobby your legislators.nbsp; We encourage you to continue to follow us on Facebook or Twitter and keep contacting your legislators!

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View Your March, 2011 ND Educaton News here.

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Hello, this is NDEA President Dakota Draper and this is the legislative update for Friday March 25, 2011.nbsp;

This past week the NDEA was busy working on SB 2150, the bill that contains the policies discussed by the North Dakota Commission on Education Improvement. The House Education Committee has started working on this bill, and unfortunately they removed the Senate amendments that authorized mandatory kindergarten starting at age six and raising the dropout age to 17.nbsp; However, we have begun the discussion with the House Education Committee to restore the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation (STEC-P) plan that was removed from the Senate version of this legislation.nbsp; Visit www.ndea.org/legislative to learn more about the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Plan (STEC-P) and we encourage you to send your legislator a message in support of STEC-P here.

We are also still lobbying hard to beat back SB2311. This bill would prevent the North Dakota teacher of the year from being recognized in front of his or her peers.nbsp; We believe that the Teacher of the Year should be recognized in front of fellow educators not in front of an empty hall, and we need your help in nbsp;sending that message to yournbsp;representative today encouraging them to vote NO on SB2311!

This week the NDEA was also working hard to ensure safe and secure retirements for all educators.nbsp; The House Government and Veterans Affairs (GVA) committee voted to give SB2108 a Do Pass Recommendation.nbsp; Important in this is that the committee did NOT amend this bill to include a defined contribution or to make other changes.nbsp; This is a positive step, and we hope the full House will pass this bill so it can be sent to the Governor for his approval.

The Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee continue to deliberate on HB1134. nbsp;nbsp;The Committee is discussing the amendment added in the House that bars the employer from paying any of the required increased employee contribution.nbsp; The committee is also discussing the legal implications of the change in the unreduced retirement age.nbsp; Keep checking www.ndea.org/ppp for the latest information on all retirement issues.

Next week the NDEA lobby team will be busy monitoring the discussions related to retirement issues and specifically watching SB2108---the PERS bill we support or HB1134---the TFFR bill we support.nbsp; Please keep contacting your legislators about these bills and visit www.ndea.org/ppp to learn more.

Also, we will continue our work in trying to restore the STEC Plan into SB2150. On Monday, the House Education Committee will be trying to put its final touches on SB2150 so that it can be moved forward to the Appropriations Committee. nbsp;nbsp;On Monday, the House Education Committee will continue working on SB2150.

Again we encourage you to visit www.ndea.org/legislative or follow us on Facebook or Twitter to learn more about what is happening and to contact your legislators about issues of importance to public educators.

National Board Certification/Take One!nbsp; Jumpstart Workshops Scheduled

Two jumpstart workshops will be conducted this summer for interested participants who want to gain an understanding of the components, process and requirements before applying for National Board Certification candidacy or quot;Take One!quot;nbsp;

National Board Certification and quot;Take One!quot;nbsp; are both high quality job-embedded professional development opportunities.nbsp; If you have been considering applying for National Board Certification or quot;Take One!quot;, but you are not sure what it all entails, then this workshop is for you.nbsp;

Optional graduate credit is available.nbsp; Twenty-five is the maximum at each site.nbsp;nbsp; Lunch is included.nbsp; For more information contact LeAnn Nelson at leann.nelson@ndea.org or 701-223-0450 (1-800-369-6332) or Kimberly Rensch at renschk@fargo.k12.nd.us.nbsp;

Register online at:nbsp; http://www.ndea.org/events/register.asp?id=29

Fargo:
Location:nbsp; Carl Ben Eielson Middle School
1601 13^th Ave
Fargo, ND 58102
Date:nbsp; June 15 amp; 16, 2011
Time:nbsp; 8:00 - 5:00

Bismarck:
Location:nbsp; Hampton Inn ((701) 751-3100))
nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;1440 Mapleton Avenue
nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Bismarck, ND 58501
Date:nbsp; June 21 amp; 22, 2011
Time:nbsp; 8:00 - 5:00

Hello, this is NDEA President Dakota Draper and this is the legislative update for Friday March 18, 2011.nbsp;

This past week the NDEA testified in strong support of HB1134.nbsp; As you know, this bill would make the necessary changes to the Teachers Fund for Retirement (TFFR) system that we helped craft last year.nbsp; This bill also contains an amendment that would prohibit school districts that pay both sides of TFFR from paying any of the increased teacher contributions required by this bill.nbsp; We emphasized to the committee the negative tax implications for both members and the school district of this amendment and asked that the amendments be removed and instead to pass the bill as it was originally introduced (Read the testimony here).nbsp; You are encouraged to visit www.ndea.org/legislative and contact the Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee today and ask them to remove the prohibition on school districts paying any increases. Click here to send them a message. nbsp;

We also testified in the House Education Committee in support of SB 2150, the bill that contains the policies discussed by the North Dakota Commission on Education Improvement. SB2150 contains many good initiatives including amendments that authorize mandatory kindergarten starting at age five and raising the drop-out age to 17.nbsp; In our testimony on Tuesday, we asked the House Education Committee to restore the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation (STEC-P) plan that was removed from the Senate version of this legislation.nbsp; Visit www.ndea.org/legislative to learn more about the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Plan.

We are also still lobbying hard to beat back SB2311. This bill would prevent the ND teacher of the year from being recognized in front of his or her peers.nbsp; We believe that the Teacher of the Year should be recognized in front of fellow educators not in front of an empty hall, and we need your help in nbsp; sending that message to yournbsp;representative today encouraging them to vote NO on SB2311!

Next week the NDEA lobby team will be busy monitoring the discussions related to retirement issues and specifically watching to see any amendments on SB2108- the PERS bill we support or HB1134- the TFFR bill we support.nbsp; Please keep contacting your legislators about these bills and visit www.ndea.org/ppp to learn more.

Also, we will be testifying in support of ensuring that the state continues to encourage National Board Certification and provides those with the certification the promised stipends in SB2013.nbsp; Further, we will be testifying against HB1211, this bill further weakens home school monitoring. Finally, we will be monitoring HCR3046, this resolution would propose a constitutional amendment that would do away with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Higher Education and combine K-College under a Commissioner of Education appointed by the Governor, with an advisory board appointed by the Governor.nbsp;

It is a busy week and we appreciate all you are doing back home to help lobby legislators.nbsp; Your emails and contacts make a difference so please help out today and remember DO NOT use your school email address.

On March 11, Japan was hit with one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history, soon followed by a massive tsunami. As all of us have seen in the news, the death and destruction have been enormous. During this time of crisis, NEA is working with Education International (EI) to establish a Solidarity Fund that will assist our colleagues at the Japan Teachers Union (JTU).

EI reports that the prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima have suffered great damage. In addition to the immediate humanitarian needs around shelter and medical care, there will be longer-term needs around rebuilding communities and schools.

NEA is participating in the EI Solidarity Fund, which support education union members who are negatively impacted by natural and man-made disasters.

To donate, checks should be made out to the National Education Association, with quot;Japan Earthquake Solidarity Fundquot; in the memo line.

Checks can be mailed to:
Japan Earthquake Solidarity Fund
National Education Association
1201 16th Street NW, Suite 614
Washington DC 20036

quot;In a blatant abuse of power, Wisconsin Republican lawmakers dealt a blow to the working class on March 8 with passage of the anti-union provisions of Gov. Walker#39;s Budget Adjustment Bill on an 18-1 vote,quot; said NDEA President Dakota Draper.nbsp; quot;No Democratic Senators were present. The bill strips collective bargaining rights for public workers. The Wisconsin Senate requires a quorum to take up any measures that spend money. But Republicans on Wednesday split from the legislation a proposal to curtail union rights, and a special conference committee of state lawmakers approved that bill a short time later.quot;

quot;Wisconsin#39;s Republican lawmakersnbsp;met in the dark of night, in a near-empty Capitol, and stretched their authority to the breaking point in an attempt to ram through legislation that the public does not support and that will harm thousands of the American working class,quot; said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. quot;Its legality is dubious. Its intent is mean spirited. It is perhaps the most grievous example of how democratic decision making should not take place. The Governor and his legislative minions should be ashamed of what they#39;ve done.quot;

What now?

quot;In less than a day, my email box is approaching capacity as members and leaders both inside and outside of North Dakota are expressing rage and disgust at what has taken place in Wisconsin,quot; said Draper.nbsp; quot;The leaders in Wisconsin who have done this have struck at the very heart of the middle class, and I believe people across this country feel the need this day to stand up and be counted.nbsp; Enough is enough!quot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;

Draper said that he gave a phone interview to one of the local newspapers and was asked if he believed what was happening in Wisconsin could happen here. nbsp;quot;I responded with what I believe, no, North Dakotans are basically and solidly a fair and just people and wouldn#39;t stand for such a thing.nbsp; I still believe that.quot;

quot;But on this day, we need to be as one with our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin,quot; he said.nbsp; quot;They are our colleagues who teach and work in schools just like you and I.nbsp; And this day, they need to hear from us.quot;nbsp;

Here are some things you can do:

• Sign up at educationvotes@nea.org to receive information and add your name to the growing list of members who want to make a difference.
• Sign the national petition online to add your voice to the collective voice that is rising in volume: http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/nationalpetition/
• NEA has established a fund to help with the growing expenses in this campaign. From NEA: We need you to be active in this struggle. Donate to the NEA Fund. (please)
• If you know of an educator and/or public employee in Wisconsin, let them know how you appreciate their efforts on the behalf of all of us. Let them know that we#39;re with them, and we stand with them in pride. If you don#39;t know anyone in Wisconsin, then send our good friend, Mary Bell - President of WEAC your message: bellm@weac.org .

quot;Let#39;s let Wisconsin hear our voices,quot; said Draper.nbsp;

This past week the NDEA testified in strong opposition to SB2311.nbsp; This bill would prevent the ND teacher of the year from being recognized in front of his or her peers.nbsp; The Teacher of the Year should be recognized in front of fellow educators not in front of an empty hall.nbsp; Send yournbsp;representative a message today encouraging them to vote NO on SB2311!

Also, the NDEA testified in support of SB2108, the bill to shore-up the ND Public Employee Retirement System.nbsp; This bill will increase employee and employer contributions each by 1 percent a year for the next two years and is awaiting amendments from the committee.nbsp; Visit www.ndea.org/ppp to learn more about this bill and stay tuned for more information on what happens to this bill.nbsp;

Next week the House Education Committee will be hearing testimony on SB 2150, the bill that contains the policies discussed by the North Dakota Commission on Education Improvement. SB2150 contains many good initiatives including amendments that authorize mandatory kindergarten starting at age 5 and raising the drop-out age to 17.nbsp; In our testimony on Tuesday we will be asking the House Education Committee to restore the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation (STEC-P) plan that was removed from the Senate version of this legislation.nbsp; Visit www.ndea.org/legislative to learn more about the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Plan.

On Thursday the Senate Government and Veterans Affairs committee will be hearing HB1134.nbsp; This bill would make the necessary changes to the Teachers Fund for Retirement (TFFR) system that we helped craft last year.nbsp; This bill also contains an amendment that would prohibit school districts that pay both sides of TFFR from paying any of the increased contributions required by this bill. This could cause some serious tax implications for both members and the school district and undermines the collective bargaining law. The NDEA will be asking for these amendments to be removed and instead to pass the bill as it was originally introduced.nbsp; You are encouraged to contact the Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee and ask them to remove the prohibition on school districts paying any increases today. Click here to send them a message. nbsp;

Also, we will be working on a bill that clarifies when out of state teachers come to North Dakota what requirements need to be met to get a North Dakota teaching license.nbsp;

It is a busy week and we appreciate all you are doing back home to help lobby legislators.nbsp; Your emails and contacts make a difference so please help out today and remember DO NOT use your school email address.

Again we encourage you to visit www.ndea.org/legislative or follow us on Facebook or Twitter to learn more about what is happening and to contact your legislators about issues of importance to public educators.

NDEA Celebrates Read Across America at Capitol

On the North Dakota Legislators first day back at the Capitol after Crossover, NDEA celebrated Read Across America by having proclamations read in both Houses of the Legislature and having red and whitenbsp;Dr. Seuss hats everywhere.

We were honored to have Beth Romfo#39;s first-grade class from Will-Moore School in the House Chambers during the reading of a proclamation making March 2^nd NDEA Read Across America Day. Beth also was the CAT for the Day, and her principal Joyce Hinman helped out.

Besides sitting with and learning from Representatives on the House Floor, students got to meet with Governor Jack Dalrymple, First Lady Betsy Dalrymple, and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem.

President Dakota Draper also read to Chris Dettlaff#39;s class at Jeanette Myhre School in Bismarck.

NDEA sponsors Read Across America Day each year to Celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss and promote reading and adult involvement in the education of our youth.nbsp; For photos of the event, go to http://www.ndea.org/.nbsp; And, if you have photos you would like to share, please send them to linda.harsche@ndea.org.

What#39;s on the Agenda at the Legislature Next Week?

Now for a quick overview of what#39;s happening next week.nbsp; On Tuesday, March 8^th, SB2226 will be heard in the House Education Committee at 9:00 a.m.nbsp; This is the compulsory attendance bill.

Wednesday, March 9^th, SB2311 will be heard in the House Education Committee at 2:15 p.m.nbsp; SB2311 takes the Teacher of the Year Ceremony away from the NDEA Instructional Conference and puts it in the Memorial Hall at the Capitol sometime in September.nbsp; We strongly oppose this bill and encourage you to contact your Representatives to tell them to vote NO on SB2311.

Last but not least is SB2108, which will be heard Thursday in the House Government Affairs Committee at 9:30 a.m.nbsp; This is the Public Employee Retirement System bill which increases the employer and employee contributions by one percent each year for the next two years.nbsp; We support this bill as a common sense measure to restore the PERS Retirement Fund for educators in PERS.nbsp;

Remember, contact your legislators at www.ndea.org/ppp and tell them to support this legislation.

You can learn more about where the Legislature is in the process and our positions by visiting our website at www.ndea.org/legislative.nbsp;

Also, remember to find us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on what the latest happenings are regarding the Legislative Session.

We will need to keep up the pressure during the second half of the Session to ensure that we continue to strive for Great Public Schools for every child.nbsp; So, visit www.ndea.org/legislative often.nbsp;

The days when bullying was seen merely as a rite of passage or thought of as quot;kids being kidsquot; are long gone. As recent high-profile tragedies make clear, bullying is an issue that must be taken seriously and addressed head on.nbsp;Recognizing the enormous physical, emotional, and academic toll that bullying can take on students, the NEA today announced a new initiative, quot;Bully Free: It Starts With Me,quot; a national campaign to engage adults in stopping bullying whenever or wherever it occurs.nbsp;

Bullying is serious, it can come in many forms, and it always hurts,quot; said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. quot;We know that one caring adult can make a world of difference to a bullied child. One caring adult, who takes the time to listen, who steps in when they see or hear bullying, can change a child#39;s life. Teachers, counselors and school employees are united in tackling this problem. Our students are counting on us.quot;

Information on NEA#39;s quot;Bully Free: It Starts With Mequot; campaign, as well as resources and training information, can be found at www.nea.org/bullyfree. Adults who pledge to help bullied students will make themselves known as individuals who will listen carefully to the student who comes to them with a concern about bullying. They will also agree to take action to stop the bullying. NEA, for its part, promises to provide those caring adults with the tools and resources they need to provide solace and support for the bullied student, to ask the right questions, and to take the appropriate actions to stop the bullying.

quot;Before technology such as e-mail, cell phones and social networking sites, students might be able to leave bullies behind when they went home from school each day,quot; said Van Roekel. quot;But now, bullies can send messages to their victims through text messages and on computers at any time of the day or night-and it#39;s critical that responsible and caring adults feel they have the resources they need to address all of the kinds of bullying behaviors that students face.

quot;We have a team of people who work with students every day, everyone from the classroom teacher and the bus driver to the cafeteria worker and the administrative staff,quot; said Van Roekel. quot;We are encouraging them to take the lsquo;Bully Free: It Starts With Me#39; pledge by publicly announcing that they will take whatever steps necessary to make sure that all of our students are safe and ready and able to learn.quot;

Van Roekel encourages parents to take notice of their children#39;s behavior, appearance and mood, both for signs of a child being bullied or one who may be engaging in bullying behavior.nbsp; quot;We need to continue to foster the active involvement of teachers, administrators, education support professionals, parents and the larger community in a whole school initiative to eliminate bullying and harassment. It is our shared responsibility to make sure that every child feels safe at school. Working together, we can make our nation#39;s public schools bully free.quot;

For more information on quot;Bully Free: It Starts With Mequot;: www.nea.org/bullyfree

Follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/NEAMedia

It is Crossover at the Legislature

This is the official halfway point of the North Dakota Legislature.nbsp; All of the bills passed by the House now go over to the Senate for consideration, and all of the passed Senate bills go over to the House. With that in mind, here is a quick review of what happened in the first half of the session.#39;

First, SB2150, this bill was the result of the work done during the 2009-2010 Interim of the North Dakota Commission on Education Improvement. SB2150 was heavily amended during the course of the Senate Education Committee#39;s work.

In all there were about 40 amendments to the original version of this bill. The most significant amendment was that the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Program (STEC-P) was removed from this legislation.nbsp;

Of great concern is the fact that STEC-P would have allowed local school districts, who were willing, to set up alternative plans for teacher pay in a safe and secure setting with sustained funding.nbsp; If this is not completed we may end up having some very bad measures come from federal reauthorization that we don#39;t like.nbsp; We are still trying to negotiate a version of this plan to put back into the bill on the House side.nbsp;

Information on Retirement Plans

As you all know by now there was and will continue to be significant discussions about educator retirements.nbsp;

Remember, for retirement specific information visit our Pension Protector website at www.ndea.org/ppp.

In the first half of the session we were actively involved with four big bills SB2108, HB1134, HB1228, and HB1258.

First SB2108nbsp; nbsp;This bill is the PERS Board request to increase contributions one percent a year each for the employee and the employer for four years.nbsp; The Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee did not want to obligate future legislatures with this burden and reduced the increases to 1percent a year each for the next two years.nbsp;

The bill passed the Senate and now goes to the House for consideration.

HB1228 would have required new public employees hired after August 1, 2011 to participate in a defined contribution retirement plan.nbsp; It did exempt political subdivisions, judges, and law enforcement retirement plans.nbsp;

This bill would have had a large fiscal impact on the PERS fund and would have increased the shortfall from the current level of just over $400 million to well over $700 million.nbsp;nbsp;

On Friday Feb. 18, 2011 the House of Representatives defeated this bill by a vote of 47-46 with one legislator absent and not voting.nbsp; The reason it was defeated was a Constitutional majority of those elected (i.e. 48) was needed to pass the bill and they only had 47.nbsp; We thought they would try to bring this bill back on Monday, Feb.21 but they did not have enough votes because we worked the floor to prevent it.nbsp; nbsp;

We have heard that the House is looking at amending some of the provisions of HB1228 into other bills such as SB2108.nbsp; We will keep you updated and will need your help defeating back any attempt to do so.

HB1134 was the bill that the TFFR Board proposed with the work of the NDEA, NDCEL, NDSBA, and the NDRTA. The bill was amended by the House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee to prevent school districts that pay both sides of TFFR from paying any of the employee increases.nbsp;

We worked to try and defeat this amendment, but it was passed onto the bill.nbsp; The House of Representatives voted 92-2 to pass this bill. This bill now goes to the Senate and we will be working hard to correct the amendment.

HB1258 was the TFFR version of HB1228.nbsp; It would have placed all new teaching hires after July 1, 2012 into a defined contribution retirement system.nbsp; If passed alone it would have more than doubled the shortfall increasing it from about $420 million to more than $870 million.nbsp; Also, it would have made the fund go broke nine years faster than doing nothing.nbsp; The House of Representatives voted 38-56 to defeat this bill.

There were many other issues we were involved in during the first half of the session.nbsp; You can learn more about where they are at in the process and our positions by visiting our website at www.ndea.org/legislative.nbsp;

Also, remember to find us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on what the latest happenings are regarding the legislative session.

Get Prepared for the Second Half

I want to thank you all for your excellent lobbying back home during the first half of the legislative session, and we had many successes because of it.nbsp;

We will need to keep up the pressure during the second half to ensure that we continue to strive for Great Public Schools for every child.nbsp;

The Legislature resumes Wednesday March 2, 2011, and we will be helping them celebrate Read Across America at the Capitol on that day.

Stay tuned for what looks to be an exciting second half of the session.

Defined Contribution Fails; HB1134 (TFFR Bill) Passes House

This morning the North Dakota House of Representatives defeated HB1258 by a vote of 38 to 56.

HB 1228 was also defeated, but the vote was much closer at 47 to 46 with 1 abstaining.nbsp; HB1228 was defeated because for a bill to pass the North Dakota House it needs a constitutional majority of 48 votes.nbsp; Therefore it was defeated by just one vote.nbsp; To see a tally of the final votes go to HB1228 or HB1258.

HB1134 passed with an overwhelming majority 92 to 2.nbsp; This is the bill that we are supporting that would quot;fixquot; TFFR going forward. HB1134 now moves on to the Senate for consideration.

Many thanks are in order this morning, but most of all to our members.nbsp; You made the difference!!nbsp; One representative sited how he was hearing over and over how teachers (present and future) didn#39;t want a defined contribution plan.nbsp; Your collective voices were heard and thank you, thank you, thank you for your support.

And many thanks to those Legislators who stood up and stood against a very bad couple of bills and for a good one.nbsp; We recognize the courage and fortitude it took them to do that, and we thank them for it.nbsp;

As your president I must also thank your legislative team who worked tirelessly on your behalf for this day.nbsp; NDEA Executive Director Greg Burns spearheaded a strategy that turned the impossible into the possible.nbsp; UniServ Director Josh Askvig has ceaselessly worked the hallways and committee rooms on this and countless other issues.nbsp; Professional Development Director LeAnn Nelson has also been camped out up at the Capitol working hard for you on this and other issues. And, Communication Director Linda Harsche has been carefully crafting our message.nbsp; These people, their colleagues and the support staff behind them have all done a great job.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;

While we are pleased with this day#39;s results, we need to temper that with the reality that there is much more work to do.nbsp; The Legislature has not yet reached the halfway point and there are still many more bills that we have a stake in, both positively and negatively.nbsp; Therefore we will continue to be vigilant and work hard on your behalf with your help and support.

Hello, my name is Josh Askvig, a lobbyist and UniServ Director for the NDEA.nbsp; This is the legislative update for Friday February 11, 2011.nbsp;

SB2150 Passed Committee with Amendments

This week the Senate Education Committee passed SB 2150, the bill that contains the policies discussed by the North Dakota Commission on Education Improvement. SB2150 contains many good initiatives including amendments that authorize mandatory kindergarten starting at age 5 and raising the drop-out age to 17.nbsp;

However, the Committee decided to strip out the very important provisions of the Supplemental Teacher Effective Compensation Plan.nbsp; These provisions would have established a process for teachers and school boards to set up alternative compensation plans in a safe and secure setting that ensures complete agreement on the plans before they can be approved.nbsp;

While we are disappointed in these provisions being stripped out in the Senate version of the bill, we will work hard to restore this program in the House of Representatives.nbsp;

Visit www.ndea.org/legislative to learn more about the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Plan.nbsp;

The bill now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee and will be considered by the full Senate soon.

Busy Week for Retirement Bills

This was also a busy week for various retirement bills. The ND Public Employee Retirement System bill, SB2108 the bill that the NDEA supports and will increase employee and employer contributions each by 1 percent a year for the next four years was amended in committee.nbsp; The Senate Government and Veterans Affairs Committee changed the bill so that there is only a 1 percent increase each over the next two years. This amendment passed by a 5-2 vote and the bill now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further consideration.

On the Teachers Fund for Retirement side of things the NDEA has been busy lobbying on HB1134 (the bill we want) and HB1258 (the bill we oppose).nbsp;

Both bills have been passed out the House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee with a quot;Do Passquot; Recommendation.nbsp;

On Thursday February 10^th the House Appropriations Committee discussed HB1258, this is the legislation to place all new teachers into the Defined Contribution plans.nbsp; Our concern is that if HB1258 passes the fund will run out of money nine years faster than if we do nothing and there is NO money in the bill to pay for the current benefits owed.nbsp;nbsp;

Contact Your Legislators; Do Not Use School Email Address

We need your help contacting legislators today to ask them to vote NO on HB1258 and instead pass HB1134.nbsp; Your emails and contacts make a difference so please help out today and remember DO NOT use your school email address.

Next week we will continue to lobby for ensuring a safe and secure retirement and continue our work on providing funding and adequate resources for teacher compensation and a Great Public School for Every Child.nbsp; Again we encourage you to visit www.ndea.org/legislative to learn more about what is happening and to contact your legislators about issues of importance to public educators.

Hello I am NDEA President Dakota Draper and this is the legislative update for Friday, February 4^th.

First, let me apologize for the missing legislative update last week.nbsp; As some of you may know, we have had some family and health issues among staff at the NDEA and unfortunately this prevented us from doing an update last week.nbsp; I hope you understand that we believe family always comes first and hopefully we will have better and healthier days ahead.

So what has happened in the last two weeks? Well Lots!

First, just yesterday the House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee voted to approve three retirement bills.nbsp; The first, House Bill 1134, a bill we strongly support, was given a 12-1 Do Pass Recommendation.nbsp; This bill is necessary to ensure that the funds health is restored and ensure that teachers continue to receive a safe and secure retirement.

The second bill was HB1258, this bill would remove new teachers from the defined benefit program in TFFR and place them in a defined contribution program. nbsp;

As you know, we oppose HB1258 because of the damage it does to the Teachers Fund For Retirement.

The third bill was HB1228, this bill would do the same thing to the ND Public Employees Retirement system as HB1258.nbsp; It would wreck the fund and create large liabilities for the state.

Both HB1258 and HB1228 would eliminate safe and secure retirements for all ND educators.nbsp;They would make the retirement plansnbsp;less secure, more costly to run, and provide smaller benefits for retirees than the current plans in place, it places current benefits for current educators at risk as well by underfunding the pension.nbsp;

In anticipation of these actions the NDEA has begun running radio ads around the state encouraging the general public to urge their legislators to vote NO on HB1228 and HB1258.nbsp;

We encourage you to visit www.ndea.org/ppp to listen to the radio ad and send your legislators a message encouraging them to support HB1134 and oppose HBs1228 and 1258.

It may sound like all we have been dealing with is retirement issues and while that has taken up a lot of our time we have also been very busy working on the ND Commission on Education Improvement#39;s recommendations contained in Senate Bill 2150.

This bill has been heard by the Senate Education Committee and they have begun amending the bill to make some changes.nbsp;

Senate Bill 2150 contains the recommendations to authorize the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Plan.nbsp; As you may know, this plan would allow school districts to build alternative compensation proposals in a safe setting that ensure teachers and school district completely agree on a plan before proceeding.nbsp;

We have been hearing from legislators that administrators are telling them that they don#39;t support this plan and want to reduce funding for public education by eliminating this plan.nbsp;

In our judgment they are doing so out of fear and because it may create some additional work for them.

Let me assure you, the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Plan is a good one and we cannot wait any longer to get something like this implemented.nbsp;

If you are approached by your administrator urging you to contact your legislators in opposition of this plan, tell your administrator to instead exercise leadership and get on board.nbsp;

This plan is NOT merit pay and when done right could drastically improve educator salaries in ND.

Visit www.ndea.org/legislative to learn more about the Supplemental Teacher Effectiveness Compensation Plan and to send your legislator a message in support.

So what is due for the week ahead?nbsp;

Well, committee hearings are beginning to gear down and the committees will start working in earnest to get bills to the full Senate or House for final consideration before the cross over break.nbsp;

There are a couple of hearings on minor bills related to school curriculum requirements and another small bill related to administrator retirement.nbsp;

We will spend most of the week pressing for our priorities on retirement and teacher compensation.

I cannot emphasize this enough, we need your help beating back HB1228 and HB 1258.nbsp; These bills are bad news for future educators, bad news for current educators, and bad news for retirees.nbsp;

If you haven#39;t already visit www.ndea.org/ppp, educate yourself and contact your legislators today to share your concerns.nbsp; Even if you have do it again!nbsp;

Also, if you get a chance most districts hold legislative forums with legislators back in their home districts on the weekends.nbsp; Find out when they will be held, attend and express your concerns.nbsp; It will take all of us working together to ensure that we have safe and secure retirements in the future.

Thanks for all you do!

Association Testifies Against Definednbsp;Contribution Plan

First, I would like to thank NDEA Retired Member Wayne Triska, and two student members, Patrick Paradis from the University of Mary and Mathew Quintus from Dickinson State University for testifying today along withnbsp;I against HB 1258-the bill that undermines the security of TFFR.

As all of you know, retirement is a reward for a life#39;s work.nbsp; In order for it to be rewarding, your retirement funds must be safe and secure.nbsp; One should not have to worry about if they will have enough to get through the remaining days of his/her life, but should enjoy retirement with family and friends.nbsp; That is why providing retirement security is the right thing to do.nbsp;

The best way to provide retirement security is to ensure that retirees have strong defined benefit retirement plans as provided under current statute.nbsp;

Make sure you continue contacting your legislators and telling them to vote against HB 1258. nbsp;This bill would be bad for educators, bad for future educators and bad for North Dakota.nbsp; Also, we need them to support HB 1134, which requires no appropriations to administer and continue the defined benefit plan.

ESPB Bill Needs quot;Noquot; Vote

We also testified against HB1270 this week, which would be a major overhaul of teacher licensure.nbsp; This is HB 1270.nbsp; We need you to contact your legislators and ask them to vote no on HB1270.

Next Week#39;s Action

Next week, we will be testifying on thenbsp;North Dakotanbsp;Commission on Education Improvementnbsp;bill on Tuesday at 9 a.m. in the Senate Education Committee.nbsp; SB2150 contains funding increases for the new biennium plus alternative teacher compensation issues.

Also, next week, we will be testifying on HB1465, a bullying bill. NDEA worked hand-in-hand with the Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem on HB1465 to prevent bullying in schools.

Once again, visit www.ndea.org/ppp to contact your legislators and ask them to vote No on HB 1258---we must keep a defined benefit for your retirement in place.nbsp; A defined benefit is the only way to keep your retirement safe and secure.nbsp;

Please don#39;t hesitate to contact your legislators today!!

January, 2011 North Dakota Education News

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On Tuesday of this week, NDEA testified on SB2135, which raises the income eligibility level for access to the Children#39;s Health Insurance Program.nbsp; The Association strongly supports this bill because it supports the efforts of the NDEA Ready Child Initiative...to unite adults in doing what#39;s best for kids.

Friday, we were in the House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee testifying on HB1134 in order to maintain safe and secure retirements for you---our members.nbsp; Defined benefit plans offer a more secure retirement, so you can enjoy retirement and not fret about it.nbsp; Go to www.ndea.org/ppp and contact your legislators.nbsp; Tell them to support HB1134.

Next Week Dubbed Just Say lsquo;No#39; Week!

Tuesday Jan. 18^th at 10:00 a.m. in the House Education Committee, HB 1270 will be heard.nbsp; The bill greatly reduces a teacher#39;s input on the teacher#39;s licensing process through the Educational Standards and Practices Board (ESPB).nbsp; While ESPB may need a review, let#39;s not throw out the baby with the bath water.nbsp; Teachers should not be a minority on their own licensing board.nbsp; Contact your legislators at www.ndea.org/legislative and tell them to vote lsquo;no#39; on HB 1270.

On Friday, two bills that would undermine retirement security and dig a deeper hole for TFFR and PERS are being heard.nbsp; HB 1258,nbsp;a bill related tonbsp;TFFRnbsp;plan options, whichnbsp;would completely undermine the possitive effects of HB 1134,nbsp;is being heard at 9 a.m., and HB 1228, the PERS plan options bill, which would completely undermine the positive effects of SB2108, is being heard at 10:00 a.m.nbsp; NDEA will oppose these bills to make sure our members have a safe and secure retirement.

Visit www.ndea.org/ppp to read the bills and encourage legislators to vote lsquo;no#39; on HB1258 and HB1228. nbsp;Make sure legislators hear from you! ACT NOW!

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Library of Congress Announces Teacher Institutes

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The Library of Congress has announced its 2011 Summer Teacher Institutes.nbsp; The five-day institutes are designed to introduce educators to the millions of digitized primary sources available on the Library#39;s Web site.nbsp;

The session will give teachers the tools to use these resources in their classrooms and provide teachers with the opportunity to work with other teachers from across the country and share strategies for effective classroom activities.nbsp;

Thre will be seven individual five-day sessions held at the Library of Congress in 2011.nbsp; Sessions are free and fill up fast.nbsp; Interested teachers are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, but not later than the February 4 application deadline.nbsp;

The 2011 sessions will be held on the following dates:

Session 1:nbsp; May 23-27
Session 2: nbsp;June 6-10
Session 3: nbsp;June 13-17
Session 4:nbsp; July 11-15
Session 5:nbsp; July 18-22
Session 6:nbsp; August 1-5
Session 7:nbsp; August 8-12

For additional information and to apply for the Summer Teacher Institute, go to:
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/teacherinstitute/apply

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Watch NDEA President Dakota Draper on You Tube

During the 2011 North Dakota Legislative Session, your Association is going to keep you updated and involved through numerous venues which include our web site, Facebook, Twitter, our cyberline, and you#39;ll be seeing your President Dakota Draper weekly on our web site throughnbsp;You Tubenbsp;at http://www.ndea.org/news/?view=124nbsp;nbsp;

TFFR Bill Being Heard Next Week Tell Your Representatives to Support HB1134---It Supports Strong Defined Benefit Pensions

HB 1134, the TFFR bill to ensure a safe and secure retirement for all current and future educators is being considered next week Friday, Jan. 14, at 10:00 a.m. in the House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee.nbsp; Have you sent your legislator a message about it yet? If not do so here: http://capwiz.com/nea/nd/issues/alert/?alertid=21382536amp;type=STamp;azip=58701amp;bzip=9357amp;show_alert=1nbsp;nbsp;and make sure you use your home e-mail address when contacting legislators.

Don#39;t know about the pension concerns?nbsp; Learn more at the NDEA Pension Center: www.ndea.org/ppp

Have you signed up to be a Pension Protector yet?nbsp; If not you can do so today and help ensure safe and secure Pensions for ALL Public Educators.nbsp; Click here to become a Pension Protector today!

Follow the latest Pension news on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ndeapppnbsp;or search for us on http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/NDEA/1573159876.

PERS Bill Up on Thursday

SB2108, which pertains to the Public Employees Retirement System, will be heard at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday in the Missouri River Room.

Based on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, NDEA has determined members who itemize deductions on their federal income tax return for the 2010 tax year may, depending on their individual tax circumstances, deduct 88 percent of their state Association dues.

Considering the 2010-11 dues amount of $300, those who itemize deductions on their tax return may deduct $264.00.nbsp; The NEA dues of $166 and any local dues may be deducted in their entirety.nbsp; For ESP members, the amount of deduction for NDEA Dues is $132.88 and for NEA dues it is $96.50.nbsp; The dues amount includes the special assessment for public relations, the crisis fund and the NDEA disaster relief fund.nbsp; Both of these were established by the NDEA Representative Assembly.

This provision exists because NDEA is classified as a 501(c)(6) organization and that designation does not allow deduction of that portion of the dues spent on lobbying activities.nbsp; NEA and local associations are organized under a different section of the tax code and are not governed by the lobby tax rule.

NDEA will compute the deductible amount for the tax year 2011 and will provide notice of that amount with the 2011-2012 membership material. It is estimated that the deductible amount will be about 87 percent. The change in deductible percentage is the result of the amount of Association resources expended for lobbying.nbsp; The 2011 tax year is a legislative year.

Members who are paying dues based on part-time employment or who became members after the start of the school year should contact the NDEA office for the appropriate amounts.

Members may also deduct the $1.00 special assessment for the NDEA Foundation.nbsp; The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

The NDEA Canvassing Board met by phone of December 22, 2010. The new Southeast Director on the NDEA Boardnbsp;isnbsp; David Marquardt of Fargo.nbsp; Marquardt beat Gale Haug of West Fargo in a special runoff election.

David Marquardt, a first grade teacher in Fargo, serves as a Fargo Education Association alternate negotiator.

Marquardt earned his Bachelor#39;s Degree in Elementary Education from Minnesota State University - Moorhead and his Master#39;s Degree from NDSU in Elementary Administration.nbsp; He has been teaching in Fargo for the past 12 years and has also coached in the Fargo District for that length of time.

nbsp;Besides being a member and on the North Dakota Reading Association Valley Reading Council Board for the past 10 years, Marquardt has also been a Project WET facilitator in the state since 2002.nbsp; He has received several awards for his hours of promoting water education to thousands of students and educators throughout North Dakota.

Marquardt#39;s wife is a social worker for Fargo Public Schools.nbsp; They have three children, Leah, Lincoln and Avery.nbsp; In his spare time, he coaches their summer league activities.

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Proposed Constitutional Amendment

Article VIII, Section 5

The majority of votes cast shall be required for election.nbsp; In the event no candidate receives a majority of votes cast, a runoff election shall be conducted by secret ballot, which ballot shall include the names of the two (2) candidates polling the highest number of votes.nbsp; If a special election called by the Board of Directors is conducted to fill a vacancy in an Association office, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be elected.

North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple gave his first Executive Budget Address Dec. 8, 2010 at the State Capitol in Bismarck.

quot;Much of the work of preparing our youth for tomorrow was begun by the Governor#39;s Commission on Education Improvement, which I had the honor of chairing and this budget continues to make these kinds of investments,quot; Dalrymple said. nbsp;(NDEA#39;s Executive Director Greg Burns and President Dakota Draper served on the Commission.)nbsp; quot;Our work brought about the greatest reform of K-12 funding in our history, and now we must finish the task.quot;

Dalrymple explained that after completing work on equity in 2007, the commission continues to work on education adequacy, and will now propose significant improvement in the quality of instruction in our schools.nbsp; To achieve this, the Executive Budget proposes an increase of $102 million.

The figure includes $54 million to finish the work on adequacy which began in the current biennium, as well as $32 million to fund an increase in the per student payment of $100 for each year of the biennium.

quot;Now that we have strengthened core curriculum and established scholarships for student performance,quot; said Dalrymple, quot;the Commission is bringing forward a voluntary system of alternative Teacher compensation designed to reward teachers for achieving improved student success by improving teacher proficiency.quot;

According to Dalrymple achieving student success means having a highly effective teacher in the classroom every day.nbsp; quot;An Alternative Teacher Compensation System will provide for supplemental teacher pay based upon multiple components including, for example:nbsp; hard-to-staff positions; added knowledge, skills or responsibilities such as mentoring, coaching or instructional leadership.quot;

Dalrymple went on to say that the plan will be developed locally by teachers and school boards.nbsp; No teacher will suffer a reduction in pay as a result of these voluntary plans for supplemental performance pay.nbsp; quot;We Commission believes that we can no longer compensate teachers solely on the basis of years of service,quot; he said.nbsp; quot;We must take a first step in beginning to reward teachers for good performance in the classroom.

(More information will be available as NDEA Lobbyists review the complete budget.)

Here is a link to Alternative Compensation.

Click here to view the November issue of North Dakota Education News.

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ReadyChild is an initiative of the NDEA to help North Dakota adults work together with NDEA members to meet the needs of North Dakota children.nbsp; By meeting those needs, we believe all children will succeed.nbsp; Its vision is to unite North Dakota adults in doing what#39;s best for kids in order to help every North Dakota child be ready for learning and ready for life.

The ReadyChild Commission has produced a public service announcement to be shown on television stations across the state. nbsp;Each month, we will publish a couple of slides from the public service announcement entitled quot;We Need You.quot;nbsp; nbsp;If you would like to view the complete announcement, simply go to www.ndea.org/readychild.

At the site, you will also find information on how to donate to ReadyChild, and there are sections especially for parents, teachers, ESP, kids, and teens.

Learn more about ReadyChild.nbsp; Check out www.ndea.org/readchild today.

NDEA Member Karen Toavs of Williston was named the 2011 North Dakota Teacher of the Year by Governor John Hoeven at the NDEA Instructional Conference Oct. 21 in Bismarck.

Karen, who teaches eighth grade Language Arts at Williston Middle School, never planned education to be the focus of her life, but it has guided her entire adult career.nbsp; To date, she has been a teacher for a total of only seven years, with one additional year of experience writing curriculum.

She loves curiosity and holds it at the center of her teaching philosophy.nbsp; Karen believes when people are curious, they naturally learn and excel in their thinking; a primary goal she holds for all her students.nbsp;

Reform in public education is likely to be a constant issue for Americans, politicians and educators in the future said Toavs.nbsp; She believes as the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind is debated, the search for student success will continue because everything from testing score data to studies by leading institutions agree that American students are falling behind students in other developed nations.

According to Karen, this is an inherent crisis given today#39;s technology-based world.nbsp; She believes American students are simply not being educated to work in American cities in production roles.nbsp; quot;Americans can agree the Industrial Era is obviously over, so the skills and training of that era are not enough to remain competitive on a world scene.quot;

Karen says that what many Americans, including its teachers and politicians, are not aware of is that sociologists are now suggesting the Information Era has also ended.nbsp; She believes the challenge for American youth may be much greater than having operational knowledge of widespread technology.

Other finalists were Jean Melicher of Harwood, Barb Rood of Grand Forks and Kathy Fisher of Fargo.

Nearly twenty years ago, a group of visionary NDEA leaders established the NDEA Foundation.nbsp;nbsp;

Since then, 163 individuals have directly benefited from the program through scholarships and grants.nbsp; With the 16 awards given in 2010, more than $104,000 has been distributed over the course of the Foundation#39;s history.

Since 1991, endowments have been established to honor long-time special education teacher and state legislator Bill Oban, long-time North Dakota math, science and English teachers Ron and Ann Anstrom and past NDEA Board Member, UniServ director and Executive Director Joe Westby.nbsp;

In addition, the Foundation has established a special grant contribution to recognize the role Education Support Professionals play in the day-to-day activities of North Dakota#39;s public schools.

Gloria Lokken, current President of the Foundation#39;s Board of Directors, recently announced that in observance of the 20th anniversary of the Foundation a special 20/20 Club has been established.nbsp; To join this special group of Foundation supporters, Lokken asks that a donation of $20 or more be made to the Foundation.nbsp;

This giving club will allow the Foundation to expand its goal of quot;sowing the seeds for the future improvement of education in North Dakota through a program of scholarships and grants.quot;
Donors will be recognized in the North Dakota

Education News and on the Foundation page of the NDEA website, www.ndea.org.

Donations made to the 20/20 Club will be held in trust by the Foundation and used for the various scholarships and grants established by the Foundation.nbsp; To donate, mail donations to the following:
20/20 Club
NDEA Foundation
410 E Thayer Avenue
Bismarck ND 58501-4049.

Because the Foundation is recognized as a 501(c)(3) charity by the IRS, gifts maybe tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.

Click here for the September Issue of ND Education News.

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The finalists for the 2011 North Dakota Teacher of the year were recently announced.nbsp; They are from left to right:nbsp; Karen Toavs of Williston Middle School; Kathy Fisher of Fargo South High School;nbsp;Barb Rood of Grand Forks#39; Phoenix Elementary; and Jean Melicher of West Fargo#39;s Harwood Elementary.nbsp; The North Dakota Teacher of the Year Program is facilitated by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, and the 2011 Teacher of the Year will be announced by Governor John Hoeven at the NDEA Instructional Conference Oct. 21 in Bismarck.

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The U.S. Senate today approved legislation (61-39) containing much-needed funds to help states cope with the Great Recession and to fund an extension of the increased federal match for Medicaid (FMAP). An amendment offered by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.),nbsp; and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) to H.R. 1586, the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act, would create an Education Jobs Fund to stave off massive layoffs of educators and harmful cuts to education programs. According to a NEA analysis, the fund will preserve the jobs of approximately 138,000 educators. Both the education jobs funding and the FMAP extension are fully paid for. The Congressional Budget Office confirmed yesterday that H.R. 1586 will actually reduce the budget deficit by $1.4 billion over the next decade.nbsp; Both North Dakotanbsp;US Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad voted for the legislation.nbsp;

The measure now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The action by the Senate comes at a critical time. School budgets across the country have already been cut to the bone, forcing massive layoffs of teachers and education support professionals. Some districts are moving to four-day school weeks, gutting critical services and programs for students, or even closing schools entirely. Other districts are projecting class sizes to double as a direct result of the layoffs.

The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Dennis Van Roekel:

quot;We applaud the Senate for voting to address students#39; needs. We commend Sen. Harry Reid for bringing this legislation to the floor of the Senate, and we are especially grateful to Sens. Patty Murray, Charles Schumer, and Tom Harkin for offering the Education Jobs Fund amendment.

quot;Today, with the passage of this important legislation, we are now a step closer to making sure that children do not bear the brunt of our nation#39;s economic woes. The education jobs fund will keep tens of thousands of educators in schools and classrooms and off of unemployment lines. Most importantly, however, the much-needed funds will keep class sizes from ballooning and prevent even more harmful cuts to education programs for students.

quot;We thank Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins for putting our students#39; needs before partisan politics.

quot;We also applaud the action of the Senate to extend federal support for FMAP.nbsp; This important funding will help prevent additional funding cuts in the states and maximize money going to education.

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For the fourth year, Wells Fargo is honoring North Dakota#39;s Teacher of the Year on its ATMs across the state.nbsp; From now until Oct. 4, most of Wells Fargo#39;s 28 ATMs in North Dakota will feature a screen congratulating 2010 Teacher of the Year Mary Eldredge-Sandbo.

Wells Fargo#39;s ATM users also can learn more about Eldredge-Sandbo#39;s teaching achievements by simply pressing a button on the screen. nbsp;

quot;At Wells Fargo, we believe it#39;s important to celebrate great teachers who encourage, support and inspire great results from the students they teach in our communityquot; said Kurt Mattox, regional president for Wells Fargo in North Dakota. quot;We congratulate Mary Eldredge-Sandbo and thank all of our teachers for their service. Our entire community benefits from their work, and we want to show our appreciation by honoring one of North Dakota#39;s best.quot; nbsp;

Eldredge-Sandbo is a teacher at Des Lacs-Burlington High School in Des Lacs, N.D. nbsp; It#39;s estimated more than 44,158 Wells Fargo customers will view the ATM screen honoring Eldredge-Sandbo.

She will be one of 44 teacher of the year award winners who will be recognized in 39 states and the District of Columbia with ATM messages from Wells Fargo.

Make your plans now to attend NDEA Action 2010 Aug. 3-5 at the Seven Seas in Mandan.

The Conference will feature sessions on Our Changing World, Bullying, ESPB Licensure, TFFR/PERS, Nonrenewals/Contracts, Local Leadership, Advocacy, Priority Schools/SIG, and Membership.

A second track for Certified Negotiators is also scheduled.nbsp; Members interested for Certified Negotiators should contract your UniServ Director.

NDEA will pay for the full cost of a standard room at the Seven Seas.nbsp; (You must book your own room by calling 663-7401 or 1-800-597-7327. (You must first pay for your room then voucher your stay to NDEA for reimbursement.) nbsp;The Association will also pay for meals during the Conference.nbsp; At the final session on Thursday, Aug. 5, each participant will receive $20.00 for miscellaneous expenses.

A Tuesday evening Steak-in-the-Park Event has been planned, but Wednesday evening#39;s dinner and entertainment is nbsp;on your own (which you can also voucher).

Bring your family and enjoy the Water Park at the Seven Seas and other events that Bismarck/Mandan has to offer.

Click here to register.nbsp; You do not need your individual ID to register.

Click here for agenda.

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Engage and inspire your K-12 students to increase sustainable, earth-friendly behavior in their neighborhoods and communities.

NEA#39;s Green Across America grants of up to $1,000 are available to help you implement your innovative education program, activity, lesson or event to excite students about going green, caring for the earth and creating a sustainable future.

The Green Across America Program is sponsored by Target, which proudly supports K-12 schools through innovative giving programs.

How to Apply
Click the quot;Apply Nowquot; button above to begin the online application.

The application must be completed in one session. You will not be able to save your responses and return to them later.

If you would like to prepare your application responses before beginning the online application, you can download a Grant Application Worksheetnbsp;(.doc, 386K). The worksheet contains all the application questions to help you plan and write your responses. Please note: Only online grant applications will be accepted for this program.

All applications must be submitted online by
July 30, 2010.

Please see the complete rules for details.

Apply here for the grants.

Alicia Bata of Cavalier was reelected NEA Director.

David Woods of Wahpeton won the At-Large Ethnic-Director slot over Bill Azure of Belcourt.

Kim Belgarde of Fargo, who challenged Karen Askerooth of Valley City is the new Southeast Director.

Candidates who ran unopposed were:

Southwest Region Director Nick Archuleta of Bismarck was elected to a second term.

Brad Srur of Grand Forks was elected Northeast Director.

Carla Eisenzimmer of Bottineau is the new Northwest Director.

Elected to the Higher Education position on the Board is Doug Munski of UND.

Delegates elected to the NEA Representative Assembly in New Orleans, LA this summer are: Kim Belgarde of Fargo, Amber Klebsch of Strasburg, and Sarah Lacher of Fargo.

The NEA Health Information Network (NEA HIN) is conducting a web site assessment.nbsp; NEA HIN#39;s goal is to get a better understanding of what NEA affiliates and members want and need from our website.

To help us do this, we ask that you click on the link below and complete the questions:

• nbsp;NEA HIN web site assessment

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By participating in the site assessment you will help NEA HIN provide the most useful and relevant health and safety materials for NEA members through our web site.nbsp; For more information, you may contact NEA HIN at 202-822-7570 or contact Jerry Newberry (jnewberry@nea.org) or Zachary Kolsky (zkolsky@nea.org) via email.

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To learn more about NEA HIN, please visit http://www.neahin.org/, www.facebook.com/neahin, or www.twitter.com/neahin

May, 2010 ND Education News

March, 2010 ND Education News

February, 2010 ND Education Newsnbsp;

January, 2010nbsp;ND Education News

November, nbsp;2009 Issue ND Education News,

October, nbsp;2009 ND Education News.

September, 2009 ND Education Newsnbsp;

quot;ND teachers and ESP have not suffered many layoffs due to the economy down-shift, but many of our colleagues in other states have.nbsp; Over 100.000 school teachers and ESP will be laid off across the nation this year.nbsp; Many times our fellow NEA members across the nation nbsp;have come to our aid in our time of need, now it is our time to come to theirs.nbsp; nbsp;For these reasons we are asking for your help and support nbsp;for colleagues nationally by calling 1-866-608-6355 and asking ND Congressmen to vote for the jobs bill funding.quot; said NDEA President Dakota Draper.

View NEA video regarding the situation.

NDEA member Carla Eisenzimmer of Bottineau has been selected to participate in the NEA ESP Leaders for Tomorrow program.

The goal of the program is to train participants to be leaders at the local and state level in order to build membership and capacity. The session dates are July 21-25, 2010, November 12-14, 2010 and March 6-13, 2011. NEA covers all expenses, including lost wages for participants.

Eisenzimmer was recently elected to serve as Northwest Director on the NDEA Board of Directors.

NDEA Member Shelly Sinner, a sixth-grade teacher at Cass Central Public School, received $500 for herself and another $500 to donate to an education-related, not-for-profit organization of her choice. The money came from The Horace Mann Companies as part of its quot;Educators Run Away with 65Kquot; Sweepstakes.

Horace Mann insurance agent Shawn Rehm made the presentation to Sinner on May 11, at the Casselton School.

Sinner was one of many educators and other school employees from across most of the United States who entered the quot;Educators Run Away with 65Kquot; Sweepstakes between Jan. 6 to April 20, 2010. The sweepstakes awarded a total of $65,000 in prizes and donations. The award amounts range from a grand prize and donation of $20,000, a first place prize/donation of $9,000, and numerous $1,000 and $500 awards. Half of the total award amount is given to the prizewinner, with the other half donated in the winner#39;s name to one or more not-for-profit, education-related organizations.

Horace Mann is the largest national multiline insurance company focusing on educators#39; financial needs.nbsp; Horace Mann provides auto and homeowners insurance, retirement annuities, life insurance and other financial solutions. quot;Founded by Educators for Educatorsquot; in 1945, the company is headquartered in Springfield, Ill. For more information about the company, visit http://www.horacemann.com/.

Great Teachers Make Great Public Schools

On National Teacher Day, thousands of communities take time to honor their local educators and acknowledge the crucial role teachers play in making sure every student receives a quality education. This year#39;s event takes place on May 4, 2010.

Teacher Thank-You Project

2010 Artwork and Materials Available

Be sure to download our 2010 poster and Web banners. Also, take a look at our sample proclamation, news release, and activity ideas to plan an unforgettable National Teacher Day event in your community.

For for information go to http://www.nea.org/grants/1359.htm

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The North Dakota University System offers a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Student Loan Forgiveness Program for which some NDEA members may be eligible.nbsp;

College graduates employed for at least one year in science, technology, engineering or math-related occupations in North Dakota may be eligible for up to $6,000 in student loan forgiveness. For more information, go to http://ndus.edu/students/financial-aid/details.asp?id=467.

The Second Annual North Dakota Dropout Prevention Summit will take place Monday, June 7^th at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck. The summit will be an excellent opportunity for teachers, administrators, counselors, parents, school board members, and other child advocates from around the state to learn from one another and discover ways to keep North Dakota#39;s kids on track and in school!

Attached are a tentative schedule and a registration form. nbsp;Please print the form, complete the form, and send payment as indicated.

We ask that you forward this message to anyone you think might be interested.nbsp; nbsp;Last year#39;s summit was a big success and we#39;re hoping word of mouth will help draw an even bigger crowd this time around. nbsp;Please spread the word so we can do even more good!nbsp; nbsp;We#39;d especially like to encourage you to come to the summit with other people who live and work in your school or community.nbsp; nbsp;A team approach really seems to work well when it comes to dropout prevention.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to contact NDEA Vice President Mark Berntson at berntson@west-fargo.k12.nd.us.

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When the reauthorized Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) took effect on January 1, 2009, it amended a provision relating to the meaning of #39;disability#39; in both the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 is a provision in the Rehabilitation Act that affects entities that receive public funds, such as public schools.nbsp;

Section 504 requires that students with disabilities receive appropriate educational services designed to meet their individual needs to the same extent as the needs of students without disabilities are met. An appropriate education for a student with a disability under the Section 504 regulations could consist of education in general education classrooms, education in general education classes with supplementary services, and/or special education and related services.

504 eligibility should be extended to students whose impairments substantially limit major life activities other than just learning. For example, a student with asthma or attention deficit disorder (ADD) might be eligible for a 504 plan. The 504 accommodations could include a variety of special supports that ensure that the school or learning environment does not discriminate against the student because of his/her disabling condition, such as extra time for testing, a break during the day, audio recording of lessons, note taking assistance, etc.

Students who are not academically behind

Most important, a student does not have to be academically behind in order to qualify for accommodations or services under a 504 plan. However, if a student requires special education or related services, school districts usually develop Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) under the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Recently, a Michigan district avoided violating the law by ultimately applying the correct Section 504 eligibility standard to determine if a student with asthma was eligible for services. Memphis (MI) Community Sch., 54 IDELR 61 (OCR 2009). Here, school officials initially decided a medical management plan or health plan -- rather than a 504 plan -- was more appropriate because the student#39;s asthma did not impact his education. His parent disagreed and promised to obtain additional medical information for consideration. Meanwhile, the district continued implementing the 504 plan. After attending a training on the ADA Amendments Act, staff agreed the student was 504-eligible because his asthma substantially limited the major life activity of breathing.

Schools should revise existing 504 policies and procedures that are inconsistent with the reauthorized ADA to ensure compliance. To start, extend 504 eligibility to students whose impairments substantially limit major life activities other than just learning. Also don#39;t assume a health plan is a legal stand-in for a 504 plan.

Retailiation is prohibited

The US Office of Civil Rights (OCR) also clarified the protections afforded those who are advocating on behalf of individuals with disabilities. Retaliation against educators who are advocating for their students is prohibited. In a Q amp; A published on March 27, 2009, the OCR stated: nbsp;quot;Retaliatory acts are prohibited. A recipient is prohibited from intimidating, threatening, coercing, or discriminating against any individual for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured by Section 504.quot;

The US Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Q amp; A addressing the impact of the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Amendments Act can be found at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html. Anyone who gives advice to educators about Section 504 should be familiar with this information.

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Why not control your paycheck and earn interest on your money? nbsp;NDEA#39;s Dues Credit Trust has been helping members since 1981 develop better budgeting techniques and giving them an opportunity to earn interest on their salary as they earn it. nbsp;For enrollment forms visit www.ndea.org and go to the Member Benefits page.nbsp; The interest earned is generally higher than what an individual can earn because of the quot;investing powerquot; of Association members joining together to reach a common goal-earning a higher rate of return on their salary while balancing their paycheck over 12 months.

While the interest rates for short term investments are at or near record lows, it is projected that the return for members who are participating in the program this year will exceed the benchmark Bank of North Dakota Money Market account rate by at least 1.63 percent.nbsp;

To gain the best value from the program, most participants change the frequency of their payroll checks from 12 months to 9 months.nbsp; While school district rules vary as to when the change must be made, federal rules require that the change be made before any salary is earned under the terms of the contract.nbsp; This generally means that any change in the frequency of payroll must be made prior to the first workshop day in the fall.nbsp; For enrollment forms go to http://www.ndea.org/benefits/?dues_credit_trust .

A participant whose salary is taken on a nine-month basis can invest a portion of each check in the Dues Credit Trust Program. nbsp;The Trust will deposit three electronic checks into the member#39;s bank account. nbsp;The program offers a great deal of individual flexibility. nbsp;There are programs designed for members paid on an 8, 9, 10 or 12 month basis. nbsp;A special investor program can be tailored to an individual#39;s personal financial situation.

The August deposit will include interest earnings. nbsp;From that check, NDEA will automatically deduct any dues and a $10 service charge.

The plan begins Oct. 1 of each year. nbsp;All investments are handled through members#39; personal checking accounts. nbsp;They are not payroll deducted by the school district.

The funds received by the Dues Credit Trust are invested in U.S. government securities, FDIC-insured certificates of deposit, money market funds comprised exclusively of U.S. government securities, and in the Bank of North Dakota.

To enroll complete the enrollment form and the automatic withdrawal form found at http://www.ndea.org/benefits/?dues_credit_trust and mail to DCT, 410 East Thayer Avenue, Bismarck.

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NDEA Student Chapters from across the state were involved in a Community Outreach-to-Teach Project on Saturday, March 27. nbsp;They planned on conducting this outreach project last year in Mapleton, but it had to be postponed due to the flood. nbsp;

The President of SNDEA last year, Brooklyn Schaan of Minot State University, worked with UniServ Director, Deanna Paulson, to help identify Mapleton.nbsp;Alisha Webster also from MSU worked on the project this year.nbsp;nbsp;

There were approximately 60 students participating in this year#39;s Outreach-to-Teach event.nbsp; nbsp;Students attending are education majors from many of North Dakota#39;s higher education institutions: nbsp;NDSU, UND, U of Mary, MiSU, MaSU, VC, DSU, UTTC.

quot;The school is the heart of any community.nbsp; This is why it is not only important for teachers to connect with the students they teach but also the community as a whole,quot; said NDEA Director of Professional Development LeAnn Nelson.nbsp; quot;One goal of this project is to help pre-service teachers understand the importance of making that connection when becoming active teachers.quot;

Not only did pre-service teachers volunteer for the event but also other individuals and businesses from the Mapleton community and the surrounding area.

*Laney#39;s Plumbing and Heating - Fargo

*Adamnbsp;Blessum - Construction

*Teachers, ESP and other community members - providing breakfast and lunch

*Teachers and retired teachers from surrounding communities

*Higher education advisors

*UniServ director Deanna Paulson and NDEA Board Member David Paulson

The West Fargo Shopping Center donated water and Pepsi products.

So what did pre-service teachers do?nbsp; There were about thirteen different rooms identified for the project:nbsp; nbsp;K-6 classrooms, Title, Special Ed., Staff Workroom, Library, Office, etc.nbsp; nbsp;Staff at Mapleton identified what they would like students to fix in their rooms.nbsp; The activities ranged from sanding, painting, staining, putting up corkboards, fixing bookshelves, and building bookshelves.

The staff workroom was the most time intensive. The workroom is in an old shower area.nbsp; The work table is located in the shower stall.nbsp; Laney#39;s Plumbing and Heating removed and capped most of the shower heads, and then students primed and painted the room.

Volunteers, donations and an NEA-Student Program Grant helped finance the project.

(Photos of the event are posted on the revolving portion of this website.)

Click here for your March NDEA News.

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The fourth annual Financial Literacy and Education Summit webcast will be on Monday, April 19th, 9-11 a.m. Central Time. The webcast is free and is a joint project of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Visa. nbsp;To view the webcast, members need to register in advance at http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/.nbsp; This year#39;s topic is quot;Advancing Financial Stability and Responsibilityquot; and it targets financial literacy educators, their students, math teachers and anyone in general who wants to know more about how to best navigate personal finances. nbsp;The webcast will feature an introduction by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, and a guest appearance by Michelle Green who heads President Obama#39;s financial literacy effort at the Treasury Department.

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Note that the Practical Money Skills website is a year-round free classroom resource.nbsp; Click on quot;For Educatorsquot; on the top banner and there is a wealth of financial literacy curriculum for students of all ages. nbsp;The home page#39;s quot;Innovative Educatorquot; column recognizes a financial literacy champion. Ms. Debbie Brewster from Wisconsin#39;s DeForest Area School District is currently featured.nbsp; Her school#39;s quot;Reality Dayquot; each May teaches seniors life lessons about finances and careers. nbsp;You can nominate a colleague for similar recognition at http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/.

NDEA Member Colleen Gregory, a teacher first grade teacher at Minot#39;s Washington Elementary won the hats NDEA gave away for Read Across America Day on March 2, 2010.nbsp; Here is the e-mail that Gregory sent to win the hats for her students:

Oh the things we will do on that day of all days...

Will make learning fun in so many ways!

We#39;ll read books that rhyme and have a good time with the Cat in the Hat and all of his friends...and that#39;s that!

We plan to:

Read lots of books-for sure! (Parents and grandparents are usually invited in to read during the week of March 2.)

We will make Yertle the turtles from paper bowls. We#39;ll stack them up high and then measure them and record on a graph and table as a part of our Math lesson.

We#39;ll play a Seuss Game called-I Can Do That!-We do lots of wacky things with lots of wacky things (props) and have fun like the Cat did on that rainy day in his story. You might have to...Slide under the trick-a-ma-stick with a cake on your head! Some not so serious fun that even THE CAT himself would try.

I have my first graders draw a picture of the cat in a draw with me lesson. Yikes! That means I need to practice again. Last year the students#39; cats turned out so cool!

We#39;ll have a snack of red fish/blue fish and green eggs and ham. We#39;ll make a graph to practice our graphing skills.

We will use some of the online Seuss games on our Smart Board

I usually get dressed up in my cat costume and go out in the Commons with the Breakfast crowd and read Seuss Books while they eat. (There will be a few students who will join me in reading...I am sure!) Just a little Seusstastic Fun!

Oh the Places we#39;ll go with Dr. Seuss and the Cat. And what fun it would be to have hats for my class! Yes...we make our own hats but to have the real thing would be seusstastically wonderful!

Thank you! Thank You!

For the chance to win hats!

You#39;ll make my class happy!

You#39;ll make my class glad!

We#39;ll have one of the best Seuss Days

We ever have had!

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Click here to view the February Issue of ND Education News.

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Once again, the Lignite Energy Council is offering its popular Teacher Education Seminar to elementary, middle and high school teachers in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana. The 2010 Lignite Teacher Education Seminar: Energy, Economics and Environment, to be held June 14 - 17 at Bismarck State College, will offer two graduate credits and four days of instruction, hands-on activities and facility tours.

nbsp;quot;Educators are encouraged to register early because space is limited and the seminar fills up quickly,quot; said Renee Walz, Lignite Energy Council director of member services and education. quot;Each year the seminar includes a variety of speakers and different tours. We encourage teachers who have taken the seminar several years ago to consider taking it again if a refresher is needed.quot;

Last year, the seminar expanded to four days, which provides more time for additional topics and teachers have the opportunity to receive two graduate credits. Economics of the industry, job creation, the need for more workers, energy conservation and transmission are all topics that are becoming more important to our state and the surrounding region.

On the third day of the seminar, attendees will tour a lignite mine, a power plant fueled by lignite and the Great Plains Synfuels Plant. In addition, teachers tour the visitor#39;s center at Fort Mandan, near Washburn, ND, where the Lewis amp; Clark Expedition spent its first winter. The visitor#39;s center was constructed with the use of coal combustion byproducts.

Teachers from all grade levels are encouraged to apply to the program. Application materials will be sent to teachers and schools throughout the region, and applications are to be returned by April 15. Online application for North Dakota teachers or more information is available by visiting http://lignite.com/teachers.

Teachers who attend the seminar and complete a lesson plan can chose one of three North Dakota universities to receive their graduate credits from: University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University and Minot State University. The Lignite Energy Council is providing sponsorships for North Dakota teachers, and out-of-state teachers are eligible to receive scholarships from sponsoring utilities.

NDEA President Dakota Draper has recorded a Read Across America Spot. Listen to it during the Joel Heitkamp show daily across the state.

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Click here to view your January ND Education News online.nbsp; All the links are live on the newspaper, so no need to go searching the Web.nbsp; Just click on the links and find great information or sign up for scholarships and awards.

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Most states require that new educators pass the standardized Principals of Learning and Teaching test before they can become licensed. Check out NEA#39;s tutorial for ways to relieve test anxiety, sample questions, and more. Member login required. *Free (and accessible) exclusively to NEA members.

http://www.nea.org/home/praxis.htm

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The NDEA Student Education Association has scheduled an Outreach-to-Teach for Saturday, March 27 for the Mapleton Public School.nbsp; Students from SNDEA Chapters around the state will travel to Mapleton on that day and try to complete a quot;wish listquot; of the teachers in Mapleton.

Some of the items on the quot;wish listquot; include building bookshelves, covering blackboards with corkboard, painting different items, fixing shelves, and extending bulletin boards.

There will possibly be around 50 students attending the event.nbsp;nbsp; Retired teachers, community members, active teachers and ESPs are also invited to help complete the quot;wish list.quot;

On the national level, students complete Outreach-to-Teach projects during the NEA Representatives Assembly each summer.nbsp; This summer#39;s a project will be chosen in the New Orleans area.

Based on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, NDEA has determined members who itemize deductions on their federal income tax return for the 2009 tax year may deduct 89 percent of their state association dues.nbsp;

Considering the 2009-10 dues amount of $298, those who itemize deductions on their tax return may deduct $265.22.nbsp; The NEA dues of $162 and any local dues may be deducted in their entirety.nbsp; For ESP members, the amount of deduction for NDEA Dues is $133.50 and for NEA dues it is $93.50.nbsp; The dues amount includes the special assessment for public relations and the NDEA disaster fund.nbsp; Both of these were established by the NDEA Representative Assembly.

This provision exists because NDEA is classified as a 501(c)(6) organization and does not allow deduction of that portion of the dues spent on lobbying activities.nbsp; NEA and local associations are organized under a different section of the tax code and are not governed by the lobby tax rule.

NDEA will compute the deductible amount for the tax year 2010 and will provide notice of that amount.nbsp; It is estimated that the deductible amount will be about 92 percent.nbsp; The change in deductible percentage is the result of the amount of Association resources expended for lobbying.nbsp; The 2009 tax year was a legislative year.

Members who are paying dues based on part-time employment or who became members after the start of the school year should contact the NDEA office for the appropriate amounts.

Members may also deduct the $1.00 special assessment for the NDEA Foundation.nbsp; The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

nbsp;

Local Associations, individual members and groups of members are eligible to apply for the NDEA Foundation#39;s Educational Grant Program.nbsp; Application deadline is March 1.nbsp;

Gloria Lokken, NDEA Foundation President, encourages members to submit applications for new or creative projects that meet the Foundation#39;s goal of enhancing public education in North Dakota.nbsp; Lokken says that projects in the past have been awarded grants from $250 to over $1,000.nbsp; The exact amount of the grants will be determined in March based on the investment earnings and non-restricted donations to the Foundation.nbsp; The topics have ranged from assisting with a three-day dinosaur gig to a project involving the use of IPODs.nbsp;

In explaining the application procedure, Lokken encouraged members to look at the project description list as a suggestion as to what should be included in the application.nbsp; The detailed budget, she adds, is very important because the Board may award funding for only selected parts of a project.nbsp;

nbsp;

On Dec. 8^th, NDEA President Dakota Draper surprised Lisa Bordan-King of Minot State University (MSU) with the first ever Ready Child Community-Based Award.

The Reading Clinic Program was started by Lisa Bordan-King at Minot State University a few years ago to help college students get clinical practice for reading concentration.nbsp; The program is offered year round to students of all ages.nbsp; The number of students it takes depends on how many college student teachers there are.nbsp; quot;I was one of the student teachers and watched how the clinic influenced and changed my student as well as many others,quot; said Brooklyn Schaan, who now teaches in Garrison.nbsp;

The Reading Clinic really focuses on the Ready Child Mission in that it helps children improve and practice reading skills essential to life.nbsp; In order to meet goals, the clinic must have caring teachers and parents/guardians, provide a safe learning (and fun) environment, and give both the child and student an opportunity to give back the knowledge and skills to help or be helped.

Many of the children that do the Reading Clinic are recommended by a teacher or parent for the extra help.nbsp; These children are not very excited to be in the program, because their self esteem is so low.nbsp; And, their self esteem is low because they feel they are horrible at reading.nbsp; The Minot State Reading Clinic Program helps those struggling readers not only with knowledge but with encouragement and a safe haven to practice in an environment where they feel safe.

The children get one-on-one time to practice reading skills through games, activities, books, internet, buddy reading and more.nbsp; The children learn strategies to help them when at school, and the program provides a role model for them to look up to.

quot;The MSU faculty who prepare the students (college students) for this Clinic are outstanding and really give back to others more than they know,quot; said Schaan.nbsp;

quot;Lisa Bordan-King in partnership with MSU should receive the Ready Child Award.nbsp; Not many people know the impact they have made on the community children as well as on their college student teachers,quot; Schann said.

NDEA Member Darlene Musland had quite a surprise on Dec. 1, when President Dakota Draper arrived at the Edgeley School to present the first evernbsp;NDEA Ready Child School-Based Award.

Musland received the award for the Dickey/LaMoure Early Childhood Education Program, which is a program that is preschool designed and meets the needs of students with special needs.

To enhance the students#39; learning, an average of 16-20 typical preschoolers (4-6 students each quarter) are reverse integrated into the class to serve as language/social role models.nbsp; Pre-literacy activities are incorporated into the program daily.

Four times a year, the preschool class presents a program to parents, grandparents and friends.nbsp; Every month, the preschool class the kindergarten class do an activity together.nbsp;nbsp; Throughout the year, the third-grade class and sixth-grade class assist the preschoolersnbsp;in making bread, decorating gingerbread house, science experiments and writing letters.nbsp; The community is involved in providing several field trip experiences such as: feeding horse, picking apples, visiting the post office, fire station, nurses, police officers, etc.nbsp; The class also sends cards to veterans and soldiers on various holidays.

Musland has presented workshops on quot;Reverse Integration of Typical Preschoolers into an Early Childhood Special Needs Classquot; at the North Dakota Pathfinders Conference, and quot;Incorporating Pre-Literacy Activities into your Daily Preschool Curriculumquot; at the North Dakota State Reading Conference.

The Ready Child School-Based Award honors a school program or initiative that exemplifies or promotes the Ready Child Vision Statement, the Ready Child Mission Statement, and/or the Ready Nine.

Deadline for next year#39;s nomination is June 15, 2010.nbsp; Nominations can be found at http://www.ndea.org/readychild/?ready_child_awards_nomination_form.

nbsp;

ND Education News, November 2009

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The NDEA Board of Directors is requesting that members and locals help raise funds for the North Dakota National Guard Memorial for the Fallen in the Global War on Terrorism.

Donations can be made individually or local Associationsnbsp;may want to have fundraisers to accumulate significant donations for the Memorial.nbsp; Why not have a jeans day or wear red, white and bluenbsp;to raise money for the Memorial?

As North Dakota National Guard Major General David Sprynczynatyk says, quot;I appreciate your support and patriotism to the Service Members of our great state.nbsp; Let us not forget our fallen warriors.quot;

NDEA plans to present the contributions raised to fulfill our pledge to the National Guard on Thanksgiving, 2009. nbsp;So, please send your contributions in whatever amount to NDEA, 410 E. Thayer Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58501 no later than December 18, 2009.

The Memorial, which is located just outside the National Guard Headquarters at Fraine Barracks in Bismarck, will offer a location for families and friends to reflect on the lives of all fallen heroes.nbsp; It will be a lasting tribute that embodies their courage, integrity, loyalty and character; and its construction shows support for those who have died in defense of our freedom.

Also included in the Memorial are the names of those North Dakotans from all branches of service, active duty and reserve, who lost their lives fighting for our nation in support of the Global War on Terrorism.nbsp; It is open to the public.

Guidelines for contributing to this worthwhile cause are simple:

*Individuals or local associations can contribute.

*Checks should be made out to the North Dakota National Guard Foundation.

*Contributions should be mailed to NDEA, 410 E. Thayer Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58501.

*Receipts will be provided to individual donors.

You may rely on the National Guard Foundation#39;s IRS recognized tax-exempt status granted under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code, to take a tax deduction for your contribution.

If a local is planning a lsquo;large#39; fundraiser and needs further information, contact gary.rath@ndea.org for guidelines.

NEA Health Information Networknbsp;is finalizing the design of a Pandemic Flu Guide to assist members and leaders in preparing for and responding to a pandemic outbreak. A link will be provided as soon as it is available.

The NEA HIN Web site (www.neahin.org/h1n1) is adding resources on a regular basis.nbsp; Please visit the site to get the latest information.

nbsp;

Looking to continue your education?nbsp;Horace Mann Scholarshipsnbsp;can help.nbsp;Horace Mannnbsp;scholarships are awarded annually in May and are paid directly to each recipient#39;s college or university for tuition, fees and other educational expenses. Scholarships include:

• One, $5,000 scholarship payable over four years.
• Fifteen, $1,000 scholarships payable over two years.
• Twenty, one-time $500 scholarships.

You#39;re eligible to apply if you#39;re:

• Anbsp;K-12 educator, with at least two years of teaching experience;
• Currently employed by a U.S. public or private school; and
• Planning to enter a two- or four-year accredited college or university.

Applicants will be judged on a written essay and their school and community activities. While financial need is not a consideration, those with all educational expenses paid through other scholarships and/or grants are ineligible.

Deadline is March 1, 2010.

nbsp;

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Click on the links at the bottom of this page to hear the two radio spots recorded by NDEA President Dakota Draper pertaining to American Education Week. nbsp;NDEA will be playing these spots across the state from now until Nov. 21.nbsp;

nbsp;

NEA#39;snbsp;American Education Week (AEW) spotlights the importance of providing every child in America with a quality public education from kindergarten through college, and the need for everyone to do his or her part in making public schools great.

Our annual tagline, Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility, reflects the Association#39;s calling upon America to provide students with quality public schools so that they can grow, prosper, and achieve in the 21st century.

In 2009, the 88th annual American Education Week will take place November 15-21. Each day during the week spotlights a different aspect of school life:

Monday, November 16 is Open House Day, a day on which millions of Americans will celebrate public education with national commemorations and local community events.

On Tuesday, November 17 schools across the nation will invite parents into the classroom for a hands-on experience of what the day is like for their child. The initiative is designed to spotlight the importance of parental involvement.

Ongoing research shows that parental involvement in schools improves student achievement, reduces absenteeism, and restores confidence among parents in their children#39;s education. For resources on parental involvement, visit www.nea.org/parents.

Wednesday, November 18 will be set aside as a special day to honor Education Support Professionals---the secretaries, paraprofessionals (classroom aides), maintenance people, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and other whose services to schools are invaluable.

Thursday, November 19, schools nationwide will host Educator for a Day as part of the NEA#39;s American Education Week celebration, Nov. 11-17, 2009.nbsp; Educator for a Day events allow individuals from the community to serve as an educator to get a glimpse of a day in the life of a school employee.nbsp; The visiting educator performs the duties of the regular educator in a normal day---teaching class, performing lunch and corridor duty, recess supervision, among other responsibilities.nbsp;

The program, originally developed by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, enhances understanding among educators and community leaders.nbsp; In addition, it demonstrates to public officials and other decision-makers, the successes and challenges our teachers face and underscores the need for adequate staffing, materials, and facilities for students.

Friday, November 20 is being set aside as Substitute Educators Day, a day to appreciate the educators who are called upon to replace regularly employed teachers and other school employees who are on sick or other leave.nbsp; They are a critical link in the education of public school children.

NEA was one of the creators of and original sponsors of American Education Week (AEW).nbsp; Realizing that 25 percent of the country#39;s World War I draftees were illiterate and 9 percent were physically unfit, representatives of the NEA and the American Legion met in 1919 to seek ways to generate public support for education.

The conventions of both organizations subsequently adopted resolutions of support for a national effort to raise public awareness of the importance of education. In 1921, the NEA Representative Assembly in Des Moines, Iowa, called for designation of one week each year to spotlight education. In its resolution, the NEA called for: quot;An educational week ... observed in all communities annually for the purpose of informing the public of the accomplishments and needs of the public schools and to secure the cooperation and support of the public in meeting those needs.quot;

The first observance of American Education Week occurred December 4-10, 1921, with the NEA and American Legion as the cosponsors. A year later, the then U.S. Office of Education joined the effort as a cosponsor, and the PTA followed in 1938.

Other co-sponsors are the U.S. Department of Education and national organizations including the National PTA, the American Legion, the American Association of School Administrators, the National School Boards Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the American School Counselor Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National School Public Relations Association, the National Association of State Boards of Education, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

For tips on celebrating AEW and additional materials visit www.nea.org/aew/index.html.

nbsp;

On Nov. 4, Governor John Hoeven signed a proclamationnbsp;designating November 18, 2009 North Dakota Education Support Professionals Day.nbsp; Present at the signing were At-Large Education Support Representative Duane Ell of Mandan, NDEA Executive Director Greg Burns, NDEA President Dakota Draper, and Lorry Upgren, a secretary at Rita Murphy School in Bismarck.

In 2009, the 88th annual American Education Week will take place November 15-21. Each day during the week spotlights a different aspect of school life:

Wednesday, November 18 will be set aside as a special day to honor Education Support Professionals---the secretaries, paraprofessionals (classroom aides), maintenance people, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and other whose services to schools are invaluable.

NEA has created posters to help celebrate Education Support Professionals Day - Wednesday, November 18 - including posters for nine ESP job categories. The posters, available in black amp; white as well as color, can be downloaded at www.nea.org/aew or through Creative Companion.

Congressman Earl Pomeroy held a press conference in Bismarck on Monday, November 2, 2009, to announce the introduction of new legislation to help defined benefit pension plans weather the historic economic downturn.

quot;This will keep employers from having to lay off workers in order to fully fund their pension plans,quot; he said, and help employers keep workers#39; pension plans active.quot;

Pomeroy said a wide range of employers in North Dakota offer defined benefit pension plans for their employees, from businesses to rural electric cooperatives, the Girl Scouts and the North Dakota Education Association, all of whom will benefit from this legislation.

According to Pomeroy without help from Congress many employers face pension costs that are double, or more, of those in 2008, and will be forced to freeze their pensions or cut their workforce as a result.nbsp; The bipartisan bill recently introduced by Congressman Pomeroy will provide the relief necessary to restore pension plans to soundness over time and keep employers across North Dakota from having to make this untenable choice.

Representatives of Unisys Corporation, the Girl Scouts, and Super Valu also spoke and praised Pomeroy for his efforts on getting this legislation passed before the end of this year.

When introducing NDEA Executive Director Greg Burns, Pomeroy said Burns was an expert on pension plans in the NEA family, and that he was instrumental in the bill#39;s longer, steady level amortization.nbsp; quot;Fifteen years of amortization might be the most important part of this bill,quot; Pomeroy said.

Burns praised Pomeroy#39;s legislation, known as the Pomeroy-Tiberi nbsp;(R-OH) Preserve Benefits and Jobs Act.nbsp; quot;Allowing these pension funds to go belly-up because of a once-in-a-century economic crash would further hamper, if not completely derail the economic recovery,quot; he said.

According to Burns the legislation is an ingenious approach to maintaining these funds because:nbsp; the act calls for no additional funding; it provides defined benefit pensions without undoing any of the provisions of the PPA; and it allows these pension funds to recover simply by giving them the time to recover.

quot;Passage of this bill will mean that jobs will be saved, the fledgling economic recovery will continue, and that defined benefit pensions will continue to be a viable benefit for millions of American workers and their families, said Burns.

Gov. John Hoeven announced in late October an innovative partnership to enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in North Dakota with the goal of training tomorrow#39;s engineers, especially in the aerospace industry.

The Real World Design Challenge is a partnership between the state of North Dakota, NASA, the U.S Department of Energy, FAA and others. Schools establish teams of 3-7 students who will participate in the 2010 state challenge which will address fuel efficiency in aviation.

Student teams will spend several months generating solutions to the challenge.

A winning team from each participating state will be invited to compete in the RWDC national challenge. The U.S. Department of Energy will host the RWDC National Event in Washington, D.C., in March 2010. The top national winners will receive prizes, awards, and recognition from leaders in government, industry, and higher education.

quot;The Real World Design Challenge will promote and enhance STEM education in the state of North Dakota,quot; Gov. Hoeven said. quot;The challenge will bring together education, industry and government to prepare our young people in these vital careers, which in turn will help to expand our workforce for the future.quot;

During the 2009 legislative session the Governor included $1.5 million in his executive budget for STEM Teacher Education Enhancement Programs.

The program will provide North Dakota teachers and students free access to some of the world#39;s most advanced mechanical engineering and design software as part of a national design competition. The Challenge strengthens professional development for teachers through training and industry collaboration. Mentors from National Laboratories, the FAA, industry and higher education provide support using a web-based global engineering backbone.

The Real World Design Challenge bridges the needs of industry with the future of education, and teaches innovation, creativity, and collaboration using the expertise that industry, government and higher education have been honing for decades. The goals of the initiative are to inspire and engage all students in science, technology, engineering and math education and highlight the potential future workers in science and engineering fields.

The aerospace industry faces a very significant shortage of engineers. Between 60,000 and 68,000 engineers in the U.S. aerospace industry will retire by 2010 and only half of those will be replaced. With modest growth in the U.S. aerospace industry, there will be a shortage of 40,000 to 85,000 engineers by 2010.

The deadline for submissions and registration is November 16, 2009.

For more information on the Real World Design Challenge please contact Larry Taborsky at 328-9655 or ltaborsky@nd.gov.

Mary Eldredge-Sandbo, a high school biology teacher at DesLacs-Burlington, was named the 2010 North Dakota Teacher of the Year during the NDEA Instructional Conference General Session Oct. 22, 2009 at the Grand Forks Alerus Center.

After graduating from college with a degree in biology, Eldredge-Sandbo wasn#39;t quite ready to get a lsquo;real#39; job.nbsp; Instead, she went back to school to get her teaching degree and encountered professors who presented teaching as a noble and exciting profession.nbsp; nbsp;quot;That year of education classes and student teaching served me well,quot; she said.nbsp; quot;By the time I was through, I was eager to start my career.quot;

After twenty-six years of teaching, Eldredge-Sandbo continues to love her career choice.nbsp;nbsp; quot;It is truly a joy to work with students as I strive to encourage inquiry and foster an appreciation for the complexity of life,quot; she said.nbsp; quot;When I hear a former student has decided on a career in which they use biology, I hope something they learned in my class helped them make the decision to continue learning more about DNA or cells or the workings of the body or interactions in the environment.nbsp; And, when I hear from a graduate who has something positive to say about his or her time in my class or a question about a career choice, I consider it the greatest compliment of all.quot;

Eldredge-Sandbo has a master#39;s degree in science education and has obtained National Board Certification.nbsp; Most recently she has been involved with technology integration in her school and has helped write several grants that have provided equipment and professional development.

quot;This has presented many opportunities for our entire district to work together as we integrate technology into our curriculum,quot; she said.nbsp; quot;Not only is there collaboration among the faculty, but also with students as we all learn new ways to explore our world, share what we are learning and make new connections as we become more adept at using technology to make learning more meaningful.quot;

quot;All of these experiences have taught me what I didn#39;t know when I started teaching,quot; she said, quot;that education isn#39;t nearly as much about telling students what we know as it is about learning, sharing, growing and then sharing some more.quot;

quot;I hope the contributions I make to education, small as they may be, are significant enough to help a student know that he or she is important beyond words and capable of doing marvelous things in an amazing world that holds endless possibilities,quot; she said.

The 2009 finalists for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching were recently announced.nbsp; NDEA members who are finalists include:nbsp; Sara Forness of West Fargo for science and Fred Strand of Hatton for mathematics.

This year#39;s program honors secondary (7-12) science and math teachers.nbsp; Nominations for the 2010 program, which honors elementary (K-6) science and math teachers, are currently being sought.

NDEA member finalistsnbsp;were recognized and honored at the NDEA Celebration of Excellence held during the Instructional Conference in Grand Forks.

Register Your Student Today atnbsp;http://www.kfgo.com/JoelHeitkamp.php...the Joe Heitkamp Shownbsp;

NDEA recently started a new public relations campaign with KFGO radio out of Fargo.nbsp; KFGO is providing the Association with five 30-second ads a week during the Joel Heitkamp Show...which is syndicated statewide.nbsp;

NDEA will write and determine content of the ads and change the theme for special events such as:nbsp; Back-to-School, Instructional Conference, American Education Week, National Teacher Day, etc.

Along with the ads, one student a month will host the show with Joel Heitkamp.nbsp; Each student#39;s teacher will be taped introducing the student before the show he/she co-hosts with Heitkamp.

Teachers can register their quot;livelyquot; student by signing on to the KFGO Website atnbsp;http://www.kfgo.com/JoelHeitkamp.php and completing and application form.nbsp; nbsp;A selection committee of the NDEA Executive Board will choose students from both small and large schools and make sure there is a good regional distribution.nbsp; Each month, the student chosen will co-host the show with Heitkamp.

Some of the criteria for the student:

*Must be a junior or senior in high school

*Being able to converse with Joel Heitkamp on subject matter/matters

*Being responsible for some of the production of the show including:

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Subject matter

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Inviting on-air guests

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Responding to questions from callers

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Must have an outgoing personality

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Must be able to get to the show site on the assigned day

Must enter a brief paragraph stating why he/she would like to be a co-host with Joel Heitkamp and what he/she would like to discuss on the show.

NDEA President Dakota Draper was featured on the Heitkamp Show to kick-off the contest in late August.nbsp; And, he will appear on the show talking about education issues at least once a month.

The objective is to get the organization positive public relations throughout the year, and also allow a venue for issues.nbsp; But, the best part of the campaign is that a teacher and student will be featured on the Joe Heitkamp Show once a month.nbsp; When you hear the following ad, simply click on http://www.kfgo.com/ and fill out the application form under the NDEA logo.nbsp; Listen to the promo ad.

Teachers, if you know a junior or senior who has interest in speaking and wants to be on the radio, you can nominate them to be a co-host with KFGO#39;s Joel Heitkamp.

Students will be responsible for the subject matter, inviting some on-air guests and responding to questions from callers on News and Views with Joel Heitkamp.nbsp;

You can be on the radio too.nbsp; One student per month will be chosen by NDEA.nbsp; Go to www.kfgo.com to learn more and nominate a student today.

Below is a copy of the Back-to-School ad, which will also be running on KFGO:

Hi, I#39;m NDEA President Dakota Draper welcoming everyone back to school for another year.

Public school educators equip our youngsters with many skills.

They teach students to read and do math.

They teach children history and science.

They help them learn how to solve problems, resolve conflicts and cooperate with each other.

Educators care about how and what their students learn.

Educators want all of them to succeed.

Just like you--their parents and community members.

Together, we are making great public schools for every child.

Brought to you by the North Dakota Education Association where Great Public Schools Are a Basic Right and Our Responsibility.

nbsp;

Outlook Vision is now a national discount made available to members through NEA Member Benefits.nbsp; Effective December 1, any request for new Outlook Vision cards submitted to the NDEA office will be returned.nbsp; Members are encouraged to continue to use the Outlook Vision program by going to the Outlook Vision page on the NEA Member Benefits Website http://www.neamb.com/xchg/neamb/xsl/hs.xsl/-/home/1208_947.htmnbsp;nbsp;

nbsp;

The program now cost only $10 per year and has been enhanced to provide additional services.nbsp; Members with comments or concerns should email them to gary.rath@ndea.org.

MSU Moorhead is planning to hold the second annual TEAM Work Symposium:nbsp; Teaching ELLs with Academics in Mind on November 18 amp; 19, 2009.nbsp; The theme is Pulling Together for ELLS:nbsp; Content and Language Instruction. nbsp;Kate Kinsella, a teacher educator in Secondary Education at San Francisco State University, will be the keynote presenter and provide training on November 18 on explicit language development.nbsp; She is a sought after consultant and conference presenter across the country.

The symposium begins on Wednesday, November 18 at 8:00 am with registration and a continental breakfast.nbsp; Kate Kinsella will give the keynote address, quot;Structured and Accountable Classroom Language Use Across the Curricula:nbsp; A Key to Narrowing the K-12 Verbal Gapquot; followed by workshops on language development and structured student interactions. nbsp;On Thursday, November 19 the conference will continue with several presenters from North Dakota and Minnesota presenting concurrent sessions.nbsp;

The cost for the symposium is $85.00, which includes a continental breakfast and lunch both days.nbsp; One undergraduate or graduate credit is available to participants who attend both the pre-conference and entire conference.nbsp; Undergraduate credit is $95.00 or graduate credit is $115.00.nbsp;

For more information contact Continuing Studies at 218-477-5862 or e-mail contstdy@mnstate.edu.nbsp; A registration form can be found at www.mnstate.edu/continue .

For your convenience, here is a pdf of thenbsp;October issue of ND Education News.

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NEED Anbsp;HOTEL ROOM?nbsp;

The NDEA 2009 Instructional Conference is set Oct. 21-23 in Grand Forks. nbsp;Featured speaker will be Marilee Sprenger, an educator with extensive experience in elementary and secondary and university settings.nbsp;View thenbsp;final program.

Sprenger specializes in staff development training that interprets educational research into practical applications and techniques. nbsp;Since the 1980s, she has actively pursued the goal of remaining current on learning techniques and how the brain functions. nbsp;As a classroom teacher, she has taken the suggestions of current brain research and applied them at all levels.

Sprenger is currently an Adjunct Professor on Brain Compatible Teaching Strategies at Aurora University, IL.

Her keynote address is entitled: nbsp;Brain Compatible Teaching: What every educator needs to know.

Sprenger explains we#39;ve learned more about the brain and how it functions in the past two decades than in all of recorded history. quot;Today#39;s imaging techniques allow us to look at the specific brain areas a person uses when recalling a noun versus a verb, or when listening to music versus composing a song,quot; she said. nbsp;quot;The more we understand about the brain, the better we#39;ll be able to educate it.quot;

Sprenger will also present to the Gifted and Talented Section.nbsp; Her workshop is entitled:nbsp; From Attention to Retention: Seven Steps for Learning and Memory.nbsp; Memory is the only evidence we have of learning. In this session you will be introduced to seven steps to take information through the various memory processes to create permanent memories. The steps cover attention to retention and there will be an emphasis on the importance of creating emotional memories every step of the way.nbsp; Strategies will be shared to use immediately with students.

In a Thursday afternoon breakout session, Sprenger#39;s session entitled: Four Ways to Help You and Your Students Remember, will share, model and practice brain rules and brain tools that teachers can take back to their classrooms and use immediately. nbsp;quot;As educators, we change brains every day,quot; said Sprenger, quot;let#39;s wire them for success. nbsp;Impress your students with your ability to build their memory powers.quot;

Sectionals are also bringing in some top names speakers. For instance, the Art Sectional is bringing in Monte Yellow Bird Sr.nbsp; Yellow Bird, known in the art world as Black Pinto Horse, is a nationally known artist, cultural/educational consultant, presenter, and storyteller. A member of the Arikara and Hidatsa Nation from White Shield, ND, he currently resides in Great Falls, MT, where he served during the fall of 2007 through the spring of 2008 as the Artist-in-Residence with the Great Falls Public Schools and Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art.nbsp; When he is not performing educational programs throughout the United States, or working in his studio, Yellow Bird hardly misses an opportunity to share his insights, talents and experiences at national and regional events, as well as pursue other art opportunities as time allows.

Black Pinto Horse is devoted to a positive expression of the harmonic balance between humanity and nature. nbsp;Through his art and teaching, he offers a multitude of gifts, and his optimism shines through in his motto: quot;We are on this earth for such a short time, if you#39;re going to shine, shine brightly.quot; Rife with symbolism, Black Pinto Horse#39;s visual expressions honor his spiritual roots, indigenous heritage, and modern and contemporary art traditions through a bold use of color and design combined with a pictorial narrative that activates the viewer#39;s imagination. He is motivated by a passionate desire to build connections between the past and the present with a hopeful eye toward a brighter future built around empathy and understanding between the diverse communities of which the nation is comprised.

To learn more about Black Pinto Horse, visit the artist#39;s website, www.blackpintohorsefinearts.com.

Drivers Education Sectional will feature Lou Gervino, Manager of Driver Education amp; Training, Manitoba Public Insurance, Winnipeg, Manitoba.nbsp; Gervino#39;s session entitled: The 60-Second Driver is a series of one-minute commercials that covers the rules of the road, driving techniques and general road safety and driving information.

FLAND#39;s presenter, Susan Gross, is an educational consultant and has been invited to consult throughout the US and internationally. She is passionate about teaching, particularly foreign language.

Participants leave her workshops inspired by her dedication and enlightened by her fresh, clear presentation. She shows how to help students learn faster and remember content longer. Her teaching techniques are research-based, effective and most importantly... they work! They are so effective in fact, that it is not unusual for participants to return three or four times!

The Library Media Sectional features Dan Fisher, who is a former banker now author living in Fargo.

Dan started The Copper River Group about a year ago and spends his time as a consultant to financial institutions on technology and payment issues along with writing and publishing books on a variety of topics.

Music#39;s top presenter will be Dr. Chung Park who is music director and conductor of the Idaho State Civic Symphony and Professor of Upper Strings at Idaho State University. nbsp;He is also music director and conductor of the critically acclaimed Miami-based living music ensemble, Project Copernicus.

Dr. Park has earned accolades as both a conductor and string pedagogue. He recently received the quot;Distinguished Service Awardquot; from the North Dakota chapter of the American String Teachers Association and his conducting has been lauded as quot;revelatoryquot; by composer Steve Reich and quot;masterfulquot; by Lawrence Johnson of the Miami Herald.

Dr. Park has held positions at the Universities of North Dakota, Miami, Chicago, and Indiana University-South Bend, as well as youth orchestra positions in Grand Forks, ND, Miami, FL, and South Bend, IN. He holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, the University of Illinois, Western Michigan University, and he earned his doctorate at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL. Further studies include the Monteux School, South Carolina Conductor#39;s Institute, Tafelmusik Institute, Aspen Festival and the International Festival-Institute at Roundtop, Texas.nbsp; Following his master#39;s work at the University of Illinois, Park studied in Hannover, Germany, with violist Hatto Beyerle of the Alban Berg Quartet.

Linda Jenkins, the field-based coordinator for Response to Intervention (RTI) for the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, will be presenting workshops on Response to Intervention (RTI).

Her 40-year career in education began in Arizona with Bachelor#39;s and Master#39;s degrees from the University of Arizona. She then taught in Tucson, AZ; Shreveport, LA; Osan AFB, South Korea; Bountiful, UT; and Grand Forks, ND. She was the director of special education for the Grand Forks Special Education Unit for 15 years. nbsp;

Response to Intervention (RTI) is the practice of providing high-quality instruction and interventions matched to student need, monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about changes in instruction or goals, and applying student-response data to important educational decisions.

RTI should be applied to decisions in general education, remedial education and special education to create a well-integrated system of instruction/ intervention guided by student outcome data. nbsp;This session will cover critical implementation components, resources available, research, and wisdom from the field for participants interested in beginning or reviewing the RTI process.

The Alerus will be the site for the main speaker and exhibits, and the Canad Inn (attached to the Alerus) will be the headquarters hotel. Sectionals will be held at Red River High School. During the General Session, Governor John Hoeven will announce the North Dakota Teacher of the Year, which is sponsored by the Department of Public Instruction. Instructional Conference Chair this year is NDEA Retired Member Dan Hinnenkamp.

nbsp;

Gov. John Hoeven today encouraged school, community and church bands and choirs across North Dakota to submit an application to serve as the 2009-2010 Governor#39;s Official State Band and Chorus.

The Governor and First Lady will select the Governor#39;s Band and Chorus from the applications received based on musical talent, achievement and community involvement. The band and chorus may be invited by the Governor to perform at official state functions held throughout the year.

Interested groups should submit a letter of application, references and a musical recording to the Office of the Governor by Monday, October 26. Please send materials to: Office of the Governor, Attn: Jody Link, State Capitol, 600 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, N.D. 58505

nbsp;

For the 19^th consecutive year, NEA will announce the National ESP of the Year recipient as part of its ESP National Conference. The 2010 recipient will be announced on March 12 from Las Vegas, NV.

Who will the receive this prestigious Association Award? Your members can help make that decision.

There are two pathways for making a nomination:

State Nomination: A state affiliate may submit one nominee through its ESP Award system.nbsp; A state award system is one developed by the state Association that gathers nominations through local affiliates and selects one statewide nominee.nbsp; A submission by a state affiliate requires the signature of the state president.

Local Nomination: If a state affiliate does not yet have an ESP award system in place for the 2009-2010 school year, the affiliate may inform local affiliates that they may submit one nomination directly to NEA.nbsp; A submission by a local requires the signature of the local president.

Attached is the nomination form for the 2010 ESP Award that includes a description of the award#39;s criteria and selection procedure.nbsp; We#39;ve also included the guidelines and a checklist that we hope will be helpful in the nomination process.

Nominations must be received by NEA no later than the close of business, Friday, December 11, 2009. For more information, contact Dina Simon -(202) 822-7130 - or - dsimon@nea.org.nbsp;

nbsp;

There is a bogus organization conducting a phishing scam of educators - including many NEA members

They call themselves the National Teachers Education Association and are using NEA#39;s address as their contact information. The message identifies itself as coming from the Executive Secretary - Susan Landen.

The message tells recipients that they have been nominated for induction into the National Teachers Hall of Fame - and directs them through a series of internet prompts to find out more - and asking the recipient for more information.

There is a National Teachers Hall of Fame. It#39;s in Kansas, and NEA has been a long-time supporter. But this is NOT a Hall of Fame initiative.

NEA#39;s ITS Department has reported the information to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), http://www.antiphishing.org/.nbsp; (The APWG is the global pan-industrial and law enforcement association focused on eliminating the fraud and identity theft that result from phishing, pharming and email spoofing of all types.)

ITS suggests that members who receive a similar e-mail:

* Forward phishing emails to spam@uce.govnbsp;

* Report phishing email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org.

* File a complaint at ftc.gov

NEA ITS also suggests that everyone visit the site - http://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/phishing.aspxnbsp; - to get more information on Phishing Scams and to find out how you can protect yourself.

The 2010 National C.L.E.A.N.^TM Awards application package is now available at www.neahin.org/cleanaward/. The C.L.E.A.N. stands for Custodial Leaders for Environmental Advocacy Nationwide. The deadline for application/nominations is December 7, 2009.

The national C.L.E.A.N.^TM Award will recognize the contributions that custodians make to public health in their schools, communities, and their profession. The award will be presented to a school custodian that demonstrates outstanding leadership in the field of school cleanliness, and reflects the contributions that education support professionals (ESP) can make to public health. The award program is a joint initiative of the National Education Association (NEA), the NEA Health Information Network (NEA HIN) and the Soap and Detergent Association (SDA).

Up to five awards will be presented to one top recipient and four runners-up. The awards will recognize a single custodian or a team of custodians from one school. Applicants may self-nominate or they may be nominated by someone in their school, district, or state/local affiliate. Only current NEA members are eligible to apply.

The National C.L.E.A.N. Award recipients will receive:

• All expense paid trip, including travel, lodging, meals, and salary reimbursement, to the NEA National ESP Conference to receive award
• Cash Award
• One year NEA and National Council of Education Support Professionals (NCESP) membership
• Products/Supplies for school
• School celebration for the top-recipient on National C.L.E.A.N. Day, which may include a visit by representatives from NEA and SDA
• Recognition in national, state, and local publications and magazines

To learn more about the program and to see 2009 winners, visit http://www.neahin.org/cleanaward/winners.html

nbsp;

The NDEA Education Support Professionals#39; (ESPs#39;) Conference is scheduled for Minot#39;s Comfort Inn on Sept. 26, 2009.

The Conference will convene at 8:00 a.m. with a hotel continental breakfast followed by registration at 8:30 a.m.

ESP Representative on the NDEA Board of Directors Duane Ell of Mandan and NDEA Director of Professional Development LeAnn Nelson will start the day with a welcome. nbsp;A session on Membership and Resources is scheduled for 9:15 a.m.

At 10:00 a.m. Gene Grooms from G amp; G Consulting will present a session on How to be More quot;Professionalquot; in My Association/Union Role!

Grooms#39; session will continue after a working lunch with a panel of attendees to the NEA ESP Conference last March.

The Conference will end with an NDEA Staff and Presenters#39; Panel You Ask - We Will Answer Session and a closing by NDEA President Dakota Draper.

Click here and listen to the new radio ad being played around the state inviting members to the 2009 NDEA Instructional Conference in Grand Forks.

The script of ad reads:

Hi, I#39;m NDEA President Dakota Draper.nbsp;

The 2009 School Year has begun, so it#39;s time to start thinking about the NDEA Instructional Conference scheduled in Grand Forks Oct. 21-23.

Roundup your colleagues and meet us in Grand Fork for two days of some of the best professional development available for educators in North Dakota.

You can pre-register for this event by going to our web site at http://www.ndea.org/.

Please join us Oct. 21-23 in Grand Forks.

Brought to you by the North Dakota Education Association where Great Public Schools Are a Basic Right and Our Responsibility.

Listen to Welcome Back to School Ad.

nbsp;

nbsp;

The finalists for the 2010 North Dakota Teacher of the Year were recently announced.nbsp; They are from left to right:nbsp; Craig Erickson, a marketing education teacher at Fargo#39;s North High School, Max Laird, a science teacher at Community High School in Grand Forks, Mary Eldredge-Sandbo, a high school biology teacher at DesLacs-Burlington, and Mike Voglewede, a biology teacher at Northwood.nbsp; The finalist will be announced at the NDEA Instructional Conference in Grand Forks on Oct. 22.nbsp; Watch the October issue of North Dakota Education News for a complete story on each candidate.

The North Dakota Teacher of the Year Program is coordinated by the Department of Public Instruction.

Student representatives from SNDEA campuses will conduct their Fall Orientation Meeting in Carrington on Sept. 19 at the Chieftain Inn. This meeting provides students an opportunity to meet new campus officers and plan for the upcoming year. For more information about SNDEA or the Fall Orientation Meeting contact your SNDEA campus advisor or president. SNDEA President is Alisha Webster from Minot State Unversity.

Your campus advisors:nbsp; Dr. Lou Aronson, DSU Extended Campus at BSC; Noel Wax, DSU; Dina Laskowski, JC; Neil Race, MaSU; Pat Jorgenson, MiSU; Jeanette Hoffman, NDSU; Lean Hamann, UTTC; Dr. Daphane Ghorbani, U of Mary; Dr. Linda Holdman, UND; and Amy Anderson, VCSU.

Your contact at NDEA is leann.nelson@ndea.org.

H1N1 (referred to as quot;swine fluquot;) is a respiratory illness caused by the Influenza A virus that can be transmitted among humans.nbsp; In April 2009, a surge of cases was documented by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).nbsp; The main mode of transmission, similarly to seasonal influenza, is personal contact:nbsp; touching, coughing, sneezing, and kissing.

Whether the U.S. will experience a pandemic this fall when schools are back in session is a hot topic right now.nbsp; NDEA recommends that all educators:

• 1. Find out what your school and school district plans are for H1N1 outbreaks.
• 2. Learn about what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend regarding schools#39; responses during the coming school year: www.flu.gov/plan/school/schoolguidance.html.
• 3. Teach your students to be aware of the symptoms of this flu and of taking proper precautions at school and home to avoid the virus.
• 4. Stay up to date on what your local health department, school board, and the CDC have to say.

The most important thing to keep in mind is proper hygiene, respiratory quot;etiquette,quot; and routine cleansing, e.g., hand-washing.nbsp; You can learn a lot at the NEA Health Information Network, a good source of information for members at http://www.neahin.org/.

Read the NEAHIN latest newsletter here.nbsp;

Why not control your paycheck and earn interest on your money?nbsp; NDEA#39;s Dues Credit Trust has been helping members since 1981 develop better budgeting techniques and getting an opportunity to earn interest on their salary as they earn it.nbsp;

The interest earned is usually higher than what an individual can earn because of the quot;investing powerquot; of Association members going together to reach a common goal---earning a higher rate of return on their salary while balancing their paycheck over 12 months.

This past year has been turbulent for both the domestic and the international financial markets.nbsp; Everyone has read articles about large banks being bailed out by the federal government, auto makers filing for bankruptcy, and interest rates falling to record lows.nbsp; All of these have either a direct or indirect effect on the earnings of the Dues Credit Trust Program.

Despite the turmoil, the Dues Credit Trust Program has again exceeded the Bank of North Dakota money market rate.nbsp; That rate is .40 percent while the Dues Credit Trust Program is returning 2.86 percent---2.46 percent more than received by investing in the Bank of North Dakota money market account.

Dues Credit Trust money has always been invested in FDIC-insured certificates of deposit and various government-backed investments.

Here#39;s how it works:

A participant whose salary is taken on a nine-month basis can invest a portion of each check in the Dues Credit Trust Program.nbsp; The Trust will deposit three electronic checks into the member#39;s bank account.nbsp; The program offers a great deal of individual flexibility.nbsp; There are programs designed for members paid on an eight, nine, ten, or twelve month basis.nbsp; A special investor program can be tailored to an individual#39;s personal financial situation.

The August deposit will include interest earnings.nbsp; From that check, NDEA will automatically deduct any dues and a $10 service charge.nbsp; The plan begins Oct. 1 of each year.

For more information or enrollment forms, contact your UniServ director or call 223-0450, 800-369-6332 or email comments@ndea.org.

Over the summer NDEA has been working with Kranzler Kingsley and K2 Interactive to design a completely new Web site.nbsp; The new Web site will allow for continuing expansion/additions, but here is a brief look at some of the improvements you will find here as we continue to expand the site.nbsp;

Improved Navigation:nbsp; You will find the new version of the NDEA Web site easier to navigate, thus reducing the amount of time---and the number of clicks---necessary to find the information you need.

Constantly Updated Material:nbsp; Each area of the Web site has been assigned to the staff person or persons in charge of specific assignments within the Association.nbsp; Thus, each area will be updated by that staff person or persons in a timely manner, so that information should never get lsquo;old.#39;nbsp; You should be able to go to http://www.ndea.org/, and always find the most current information.

News and Photos Updated Constantly:nbsp; With the new features added to this Web site, news and photos can be updated constantly.nbsp; Thus, the front page of the site will never look outdated.nbsp; It will always be refreshed, with the most current news.

Improved Search Function:nbsp; The search function on our Web site is greatly improved, thus making it easier for you to search the entire Web site for the information you want and need.

NDEA Members-Only Area:nbsp; Our revised Web site will include a Members-Only Area; where you can find important Association information that can only be accessed by NDEA members...such as bargaining information and contracts.

Easy Access to Members-Only Area: You will be able to access the Members-Only-Area simply by using your membership number, which can be found on your new Access Card (membership card) or on the label of this newspaper.

Ready Child Area:nbsp; NDEA#39;s new initiative, Ready Child has been incorporated into this Web site.nbsp; However, you can still access this helpful Web site by going to http://www.readychild.org/.

In order to get to the NDEA Members-Only-Area, simply use your membership number found on the label of your September newspaper. Place the number in the User Name Area, and set your own password.

Earlier this year the NDEA Board of Directors unanimously approved two changes to the process of recommending candidates for the State Legislature.nbsp; The first change will require the Association to publish the votes used to record legislators#39; vote records on education and education related issues.nbsp; The second change is that a legislator#39;s performance will now be based on votes during both sessions of the Legislative Assembly during their most recent term in office.nbsp;

The Government Relations Commission (GRC) recommended to the Board of Directors to publish the vote scores of legislators.nbsp; quot;This will allow all of our members to see how elected officials are voting on issues of importance to public educators and their professional and economic well-beingquot; said NDEA President Dakota Draper.nbsp; This change will begin for the 2009 vote records and in August the GRC and Board of Directors approved the bills to be used to compute the 2009 scores (Click here to see the 2009 vote record).nbsp; Prior to this action the NDEA had kept its vote records confidential and they were only revealed to the Government Relations Commission (GRC), Board of Directors, and candidate interview team.nbsp;

The GRC also recommended the Board of Directors require the vote records be calculated over both sessions of the Legislative Assembly during a legislator#39;s term in office.nbsp; When a State Senator or Representative is elected they serve a four-year term in office.nbsp; During a term they serve and vote in two legislative sessions.nbsp; Previous policy had allowed the use of only the most recent legislative vote record not the records over the term in office.nbsp; This change means legislators will need to score a minimum of 70 percentage points over two sessions to be considered for a performance recommendation. quot;This allows members to evaluate candidates on their whole record of performance while servingquot; said GRC Chairman Michael Porter.

Vote records, recommended by the GRC and approved by the NDEA Board of Directors, are used to determine performance recommendations from the NDEA for legislators who show a commitment to public education and our members#39; professional and economic well-being.nbsp; To receive a performance recommendation an incumbent must score at least 80 points.nbsp; Seventy of those points must come directly from the vote records during the previous term in office.nbsp; Another 20 points may be awarded or subtracted to the total score for a legislator#39;s leadership, accessibility, rationale for votes, and committee work in support or opposition to NDEA issues.nbsp; If the total score reaches 80 points then the GRC and Board of Directors must vote to approve the performance recommendation.nbsp; Even if they do not meet the performance recommendation standards, legislators can still receive a recommendation for office by going through the local interview process.

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month-and no better time to remind NEA members of the many ways life insurance can safeguard their families#39; financial security.nbsp;

An alarming number of Americans lack adequate life insurance protection, and NEA members are no exception. Surveys show that 86 percent of members are underinsured. For this compelling reason, the NEA Members Insurance Trust has teamed up with the non-profit Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Educationnbsp;to ensure this educational campaign reaches the members of the NEA.

During September you#39;ll have a chance to:

• Test your insurance IQ and enter to win a $100 Visa gift card
• See a video message from the 2009 LIAM national spokesperson, Chris Noth
• Read featured member stories
• Register your beneficiary for NEA Complimentary Life Insurance
• Get the protection your family needs
• Have fun along the way!

For additional information please visit http://www.neamb.com/home/621.htm.

NDEA member, Verna Rasmussen, a first grade teacher at Westside Elementary in West Fargo, was recently nominated by the NDEA for The NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence.nbsp;

Although Rasmussen was not selected to move on to the next round, judges said her accomplishments were truly extraordinary.nbsp; NEA commended Rasmussen for her dedication to the profession and the Association.nbsp; The Foundation will send $750 to her school this fall, and she will attend the NEA Foundation#39;s 15^th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Gala in Washington, DC next February.

Rasmussen says that her greatest accomplishment in her educational career is knowing that she has helped nearly 400 children learn how to read.nbsp; quot;The joy of helping a young, unsure, hesitant reader blossom into a strong, independent, confident reader is a miracle I get to share in each year as I welcome a new group of children into my classroom,quot; she said.nbsp; quot;What greater satisfaction could a person ask for?nbsp; I feel honored and privileged to have made a life-long impact on so many lives.quot;

Acceptable Use Policy

Check if your employer has an Acceptable Use Policy for using technology. Your district likely has separate policies for students and employees. The Acceptable Use Policy should define where, when, and how long employees may use computers and network services.

Be Prudent About Content

Don#39;t access, accept, or transmit anything that can be interpreted as obscene or pornographic. Review the Acceptable Use Policy about any other potentially objectionable material.

Non-Commercial Use

School amp; college networks usually prohibit using their network and computers for commercial purposes, such as promoting a personal business.

Protect Student Information

All confidential student data such as Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), grades, and all other private data must be secured, even on a computer. Establish a password that will limit access to computers you use for confidential material, and do not share your password with others (ask your technology staff for assistance if needed).

Your Public Employer Owns Your

Email

Do not send anything you wouldn#39;t want read by your employer, or possibly the public. The school district owns and controls the email system. Even deleted email can be retrieved and used in lawsuits. Do not send any confidential or private email at work.

Monitoring Student Use

You might be held responsible for inappropriate student use of technology. Because it is impossible to supervise student use at all times, check if your district has a quot;reasonable supervisionquot; standard. If you have any questions about proper use of technology in your district, contact your NDEA UniServ director.

Don#39;t feel you have to do everything. You can#39;t and you won#39;t. So why worry about it?

Keep a quot;things to doquot; list. Review it daily and do at least one or two things. When you cross something off the list, you will have a sense of accomplishment.

Rid yourself of worry. A study has shown that 40 percent of the items people worry about never happen; 35 percent can be changed; 15 percent turnout better than expected; 8 percent involve needless concern; and only 2 percent really deserve attention.

Learn to plan. Disorganization breeds stress. Having too many projects going at the same time causes confusion, forgetfulness, and a terrible sense of incomplete tasks hanging over one#39;s head. Plan ahead. Develop your own personal style of getting things done in a calm, orderly way. Whenever possible, take on projects one at a time and work on them until completed.

Learn to play. You need to regularly escape from the pressures of life and have fun. Find pastimes or hobbies that are absorbing and enjoyable regardless of your level of ability.

Recognize and accept limits. Most of us set unreasonable and perfectionist goals for ourselves. But we can never be perfect (or even come close), so we often have a sense of failure or inadequacy no matter how well we perform. Reevaluate your goals with ruthless realism. Are they achievable? Or do they reflect an effort to reach perfection, certainty or ultimate security in a very imperfect world? Is that what life is really all about?

Learn to tolerate and forgive. Intolerance and judging of others can lead to frustration and anger. Try to really understand the other person#39;s concerns and fears. Try to see the pressures on them. This will make you feel more accepting of them even if you do not agree with their behavior options.

Be a positive person. Avoid criticizing others. Learn to praise the things you like in others. Focus on the good qualities of those around you. Excessive criticism of others almost always reflects dissatisfaction with oneself.

Avoid unnecessary competition. Many competitive situations cannot be avoided. But too much concern with winning in too many areas of life creates tension and hostility. It is generally desirable to minimize competitiveness and concern with winning.

Get regular physical exercise. Check with your physician before beginning any exercise program. You will be more likely to stay with the program if you choose one that you really enjoy rather than one that seems like drudgery. It is difficult to overstate the importance of regular, vigorous exercise for good physical and mental health.

Talk out your troubles. Find a friend, member of the clergy, counselor or therapist you can be open with. Expressing your quot;bottled upquot; tension and concerns to an understanding and sympathetic ear can be incredibly helpful.

For the purposes of this fund, the covered personal property includes, but is not limited to, teaching supplies, books, electronic equipment, tools, uniforms, etc. These losses may be the result of disasters such as tornadoes, floods (which have recently covered the state of North Dakota) or fire. The losses must not be covered by insurance, but may include any deductibles paid by the member. Applications will be submitted to the NDEA Disaster Relief Committee, 410 East Thayer Avenue, Bismarck ND 58501-4049.

The committee, comprised of the Association President or designee, the Foundation President or designee and the Executive Director or designee, will review applications and make determinations as to the amount covered by any awards. In the event of a disaster effecting more than one member, the awards will be considered in the order they are received and the funds may be prorated to the members applying.