UNITY. Europe. Special Election Issue. Oh, the Places You ll Go!

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1 Volume 33, Issue 1 February 2015 Europe UNITY Special Election Issue This issue will predominately deal with the upcoming European Area Council s selection of delegates to this summer s NEA Representative Assembly to be held in Orlando, Florida. Inside you will find short biographies and photos of all the candidates. Ballots should be in your hands in about a week from the time this Unity has been published. Please note that each Division will be electing its own delegate and each Area will elect an At-Large delegate, as well. This makes it especially important to vote in both races listed on the ballot sheet. Should any one candidate win both elections, then the candidate will choose which one to accept and which one to decline. Please see the excerpt below from the NEA RA election rules: "It is permissible for a member to be nominated and run for election for as many positions as he/she is eligible, e.g., local and state. A member elected to more than one position must decide which position to accept and must notify the state and/or local affiliate no later than May 15 of the position accepted and the one refused. This notification will release the unused position to the successor delegate. The member who chooses one position in preference to another relinquishes all claim to the released position. Oh, the Places You ll Go! Mark your calendars, as this March 2, 2015, is NEA s Read Across America Day This year, the book is the Seuss classic, Oh, the Places You ll Go! The NEA is building a nation of readers through this signature program. Now in its 17 th year, this year-round program focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources. INSIDE THIS ISSUE NEA Representative Assembly 2 Candidate Information 2-5 Dues Deductions 6 GPS Network 7 Volume 33 Issue 1 The UNITY is a publication of the Federal Education, European Area. Past issues of the UNITY may be found at communication/pub/unity.htm Address Inquiries to: Alex Veto FEA Europe Area Director CMR 411 Box 226 APO AE

2 Bavaria Division Kevin Drury Michael Priser Candidate for Bavaria Europe South NEA RA at Large Candidate for Bavaria Europe South NEA RA at Large Years Teaching: 12 Years in DoDEA: 12 Current Duty Station: Rainbow ES FRS Bamberg ES FRS Rainbow ES CANDIDACY WITHDRAWN Years Teaching: 38 Years in DoDEA: 24 Current Duty Station: Vilseck HS FEA President FEA Vice-President FEA Europe Area Director FEA Hessen Division Representative Seattle Education Associate Board of Directors Special Schools Education President (Salem, Oregon) NEA Representative Assembly 2015 in Orlando, Florida The 2015 NEA-RA will be held July 2-6 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The NEA-RA is considered to be the largest democratically elected decision making body in the world, with over 8,000 delegates typically in attendance. In addition to the NEA-RA, Orlando will also host FEA s Annual Membership Meeting on June 30 and July 1 at the B Resort & Hotel. The FEA meeting is open to ALL members and offers attendees an opportunity to hear from and speak with the FEA Board of Directors and staff. Hope to see you there! 2

3 Kaiserslautern I Division Pamela Garrett Micheline Huntley I Division NEA RA I Divison NEA RA and Europe South NEA RA at Large Years Teaching: 38 Years in DoDEA: 28 Current Duty Station: Ramstein ES President of the Kaiserslautern Area Education FRS Ramstein ES Years Teaching: 26+ Years in DoDEA: 26 Current Duty Station: Ramstein IS FR Wetzel ES President of the Baumholder Area Education Vice-President of the Baumholder Area Education Vice-President of the Okinawa Area Education Wetzel Human Civil Rights Coordinator MARLC Participant FEA-NEA Mid-Atlantic Participant John F. Kennedy August 30, 1960 Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor. 3

4 Kaiserslautern II Division Nancy Almendras Lahoma Hendrix II Division NEA RA and Europe North NEA RA at Large Years Teaching: 37 Years in DoDEA: 35 Current Duty Station: Wiesbaden HS Kaiserslautern 2 Division Representative Heidelberg Division Representative American Educators Okinawa President Wiesbaden Education President FRS NEA-RA Delegate NEA Diversity Cadre II Divison NEA RA Years Teaching: 7 Years in DoDEA: 7 Current Duty Station: Bitburg ES FR Bitburg ES Human Rights Coordinator RA Representative Amy Rush II Division NEA RA and Europe North NEA RA at Large Years Teaching: 18 Years in DoDEA: 15 Current Duty Station: Patch ES 4 Union Service & Offices Held: FRS Patch ES Heidelberg Division and Stuttgart Human Civil Rights Coordinator Kaiserslautern II Division Human Civil Rights Coordinator

5 Isles Division Wanda Gardner Anita Lang Candidate for Isles Europe North NEA RA at Large Candidate for Isles Europe North NEA RA at Large Years Teaching: 35 Years in DoDEA: 17 Current Duty Station: Menwith Hill EHS Isles Division Human Civil Rights Coordinator Menwith Hill EHS Civil Rights Coordinator Years Teaching: 31 Years in DoDEA: 21 Current Duty Station: Lakenheath HS FRS Lakenheath HS Lakenheath Education Officer Positions for 10 Years President of the Local Isles Division Representative FEA Secretary/Treasurer Melinda Newport Candidate for Isles Division NEA RA Years Teaching: 30 Years in DoDEA: 26 Current Duty Station: Lakenheath HS Union Service & Offices Held: FRS Lakenheath HS & Oslo American School Human Civil Rights Coordinator AT Mahan HS & Lakenheath HS LUR (FRS) Bahrain Vice-President Lakenheath Education 5

6 Your Professional Works For YOU! Each Member Has Access to Expert Legal Advice & Services FEA Fights to Ensure You are Paid Correctly FEA Protects Against Unwarranted and Unjust Personnel Actions FEA Provides Complimentary Life Insurance Through NEA FEA Provides FREE $1 Million Liability Insurance Coverage FEA Negotiates Educational Issues That Affect Teachers Daily FEA & NEA Are Fighting For Your Rights as Federal Workers Additionally, all of these are thanks to FEA Actions: You have the right to make your own RAT Travel arrangements. Educators pay NO taxes on LQA. You are entitled to a Duty-Free lunch. Changing or Cancelling Dues Deductions The September 1st deadline has passed for FEA members who wanted to change their method of dues payment for the SY. However, please plan now for the September 1, 2015, deadline for the school year. Payroll dues deductions continue annually unless the finance office receives word from the member to halt it. If you are transferring to ANY DoDDS school in Europe, Cuba, the Mediterranean or the Pacific, OR you are going on leave with full pay, your deductions will continue. The cannot stop any deductions on behalf of members just as it cannot begin deductions for a member. FEA members who wish to halt their payroll dues deductions for the next school year must submit a Cancellation of Payroll Deductions for Labor Organization Dues, Form SF1188 (available from your personnel contact) or a formal written letter of explanation, including Social Security Number to John Crowe, FEA Europe Membership Processor, with a copy to their DoDDS Customer Service Representative at the Area Office, by September 1, 2015 (for SY). Please send by , via digital sender, or regular mail to: JOHN CROWE PSC 41 Box 3723 APO AE cj_clinton@hotmail.com 6

7 The GPS Network Are you looking for great ideas to spice up your classroom? Do you have some great lessons that you d like to share with others? Do you want to collaborate with colleagues from around the globe? Are you interested in free training on a variety of subjects? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is for you. The Great Public Schools network is a free resource for all NEA members. Signing up is easy! Once you sign up, you can join collaborative groups, sign up for webinars, download/upload lesson plans, and much, much more. Remember to choose FEA as your association. THERE ARE OVER 150 GROUPS OF EDUCATORS WORKING TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF STUDENTS AROUND THE GLOBE. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF RESOURCES. ALL ARE EDUCATOR CONTRIBUTED AND EDUCATOR VETTED RESOURCES THAT HAVE BEEN ORGANIZED TO BETTER SERVE YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS. THESE COLLECTIONS BRING TOGETHER THE BEST: Educator-led and student-led, inquiry-based instruction Assessment activities, projects, labs, and interactive simulations Materials include lessons, units, complete etextbooks, and complete courses Supports include printable student materials, fiction and nonfiction ebooks, labs, projects, videos, interactive simulations, assessments, rubrics, and more In addition, there is professional development at your fingertips. Curriki, the National Education s partner for the Great Public Schools (GPS) Network, offers a library of online professional development resources as an easy and convenient way to learn more about how you can engage with others on the network. Both free and paid options are available for training on every feature of Curriki, as well as ways to incorporate Curriki Open Educational Resources into your classroom, school, library, and district. Start by visiting their library of free Tutorial Videos. Curriki Professional Development Workshops focus on innovative concepts and practices related to open education curriculum, and digital and social learning. Curriki will show you how to use Open Educational Resources (OERs) with simple, step-by-step tools. Each workshop can be delivered face to face at your facility, asynchronously online, or as a hybrid of the two delivery methods. 7