Empowered Educators Raise Their Hands for Student Success
By Mary Ellen Flannery
More than 1,000 innovative, empowered educators put their heads and hearts together during NEA’s “Raise Your Hand: Empowered Educators Day” on Wednesday, sharing the awesome and inspiring ways they use their power to make a difference for every child in the nation.
“Every one of you is a leader. Every one of you is using your power and expertise for students,” said Bill Raabe, director of NEA Center for Great Public Schools, to the crowded theater in Denver’s Colorado Convention Center. “This day is about helping you to do that work.”
Co-sponsored by the GE Foundation and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and co-hosted by professor and MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry, the events of Empowered Educators Day typify the work that NEA and its members have undertaken to lead their profession and focus on the success of students. (You can join these efforts by taking part in the NEA Great Public Schools Network atgpsnetwork.org, a gathering place for teachers, parents, and education support professionals to share ideas and resources.)
Daniela Robles speaks during the NEA Raise Your Hand event in the Bellco Auditorium, Denver Convention Center, Wednesday, July 2, 2014 in Denver Colorado. Photo by Rick Runion
“Proceed until apprehended!” exhorted NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. While he has said those three words hundreds of times before, they seemed especially applicable in a room packed with educators working on issues of teacher leadership, community collaboration, and student success. Now is the time, Van Roekel said, for educators to make sure that public schools remain an “essential element of our future,” and that “we can’t deprofessionalize the people who deliver it.”
The day began with a panel dedicated to the development of leadership. “Always ask yourself, ‘Is this good for students?’” advised Iowa State Education Association President Tammy Wawro. (The panel discussion is archived online:http://www.gpsnetwork.org/welcome/ra2014/2014-nea-ra-live-stream-video-archive/) And it continued through numerous showcases of the outstanding work being done by NEA members, their local and state unions, and their allies.
In Milwaukee, for example, the Milwaukee Teachers’ Association Education (MTEA) has taken charge of members’ professional development through a member-led center of teaching and learning. MTEA has Empowered Educators Raise Their Hands for Student Success | NEA Today: