2012 AEA Member Guide - Alabama Education Association

From the President
Dorothy J.
Strickland
AEA President
2011-2013
From the Executive Secretary
Dr. Henry C.
Mabry
AEA Executive
Secretary and
Treasurer
The agenda of the Alabama Education Association puts students at the center of
education improvements. AEA is committed as a professional organization, just as its
individual members are deeply committed, to the success of every child. The teaching
and caring for students in our public schools is a profession. We know that teachers and
education support professionals must work to connect and motivate every student, yet
we need parents and families to help instill values of respect, responsibility, and love for
learning. In Alabama, our elected leaders must invest in classroom priorities that build
the foundation for student learning; early childhood education, smaller class sizes, and
fully-funded programs for reading, math, science, and technology. We need funding for
up-to-date textbooks and computers, and the ability to provide a well-rounded education
that includes history, arts, physical education, and music. AEA is the voice of the education
profession with more than 95,000 members who believe that every student must have
qualified and caring professionals in our schools. Lending your voice as an AEA member
has meant many recent successes in the Legislature. AEA protected the integrity of your
retirement system, stopped charter schools, prevented the loss of 1500 education jobs, began to restore
classroom supplies, stopped diversion, and killed efforts to destroy the Education Trust Fund. We have much to
do for our students and our schools, and your participation in AEA gives us the strength to improve our schools
and improve our profession.
From the Associate Executive Secretary
My predecessor always said that he “woke up in the morning looking for somebody to
sue.” I can tell you from personal experience that he usually succeeded. While I have a different
approach, I want to assure you that the goal of the office of Associate Executive Secretary of
AEA remains the same, to protect and defend the rights of our members. AEA’s legal team is
unmatched in its expertise and experience with education law. Working in concert with our
local UniServ Directors, we can handle any problem from a scheduling issue to a termination
Dr. Gregory T.
Graves
AEA Associate
Executive
Secretary
Another year has come and gone. We saw many changes take place and we are still
standing steadfast in everything we do for public education. Our agenda is the same, and
that is to educate the students of Alabama.
What about the children What about our future They are our future and if we don’t
invest in our future, we will be short-changed. Our students need and deserve a quality education.
We cannot give it to them if we continue to destabilize their opportunity to achieve
and succeed. Educators speak for the children. They are the ones who know what is needed
in a conducive learning environment. Why not give it to them To those of you who teach,
it is always students first. The challenge that was brought before us by the Legislature this
year is not the productive environment we want for our students.
As the voice of public education, we will continue to speak up, speak out; and, most of
all, stand up for what we believe is right when it comes to educating our children, our future.
I want to re-emphasize to all education employees to continue to be the very best that you
can be and stay committed to keeping public education alive and well in Alabama.
“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” - Malcolm Forbes
and everything in between.
While we can’t guarantee that you will never experience employment difficulty, we can
guarantee you that as a member you will get the best advice on your situation available and that
you can count on AEA to be there when you need us the most.