2012 AEA Member Guide - Alabama Education Association
2012 AEA Member Guide - Alabama Education Association
2012 AEA Member Guide - Alabama Education Association
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
From the President<br />
Dorothy J.<br />
Strickland<br />
<strong>AEA</strong> President<br />
2011-2013<br />
From the Executive Secretary<br />
Dr. Henry C.<br />
Mabry<br />
<strong>AEA</strong> Executive<br />
Secretary and<br />
Treasurer<br />
The agenda of the <strong>Alabama</strong> <strong>Education</strong> <strong>Association</strong> puts students at the center of<br />
education improvements. <strong>AEA</strong> is committed as a professional organization, just as its<br />
individual members are deeply committed, to the success of every child. The teaching<br />
and caring for students in our public schools is a profession. We know that teachers and<br />
education support professionals must work to connect and motivate every student, yet<br />
we need parents and families to help instill values of respect, responsibility, and love for<br />
learning. In <strong>Alabama</strong>, our elected leaders must invest in classroom priorities that build<br />
the foundation for student learning; early childhood education, smaller class sizes, and<br />
fully-funded programs for reading, math, science, and technology. We need funding for<br />
up-to-date textbooks and computers, and the ability to provide a well-rounded education<br />
that includes history, arts, physical education, and music. <strong>AEA</strong> is the voice of the education<br />
profession with more than 95,000 members who believe that every student must have<br />
qualified and caring professionals in our schools. Lending your voice as an <strong>AEA</strong> member<br />
has meant many recent successes in the Legislature. <strong>AEA</strong> protected the integrity of your<br />
retirement system, stopped charter schools, prevented the loss of 1500 education jobs, began to restore<br />
classroom supplies, stopped diversion, and killed efforts to destroy the <strong>Education</strong> Trust Fund. We have much to<br />
do for our students and our schools, and your participation in <strong>AEA</strong> gives us the strength to improve our schools<br />
and improve our profession.<br />
From the Associate Executive Secretary<br />
My predecessor always said that he “woke up in the morning looking for somebody to<br />
sue.” I can tell you from personal experience that he usually succeeded. While I have a different<br />
approach, I want to assure you that the goal of the office of Associate Executive Secretary of<br />
<strong>AEA</strong> remains the same, to protect and defend the rights of our members. <strong>AEA</strong>’s legal team is<br />
unmatched in its expertise and experience with education law. Working in concert with our<br />
local UniServ Directors, we can handle any problem from a scheduling issue to a termination<br />
Dr. Gregory T.<br />
Graves<br />
<strong>AEA</strong> Associate<br />
Executive<br />
Secretary<br />
Another year has come and gone. We saw many changes take place and we are still<br />
standing steadfast in everything we do for public education. Our agenda is the same, and<br />
that is to educate the students of <strong>Alabama</strong>.<br />
What about the children What about our future They are our future and if we don’t<br />
invest in our future, we will be short-changed. Our students need and deserve a quality education.<br />
We cannot give it to them if we continue to destabilize their opportunity to achieve<br />
and succeed. Educators speak for the children. They are the ones who know what is needed<br />
in a conducive learning environment. Why not give it to them To those of you who teach,<br />
it is always students first. The challenge that was brought before us by the Legislature this<br />
year is not the productive environment we want for our students.<br />
As the voice of public education, we will continue to speak up, speak out; and, most of<br />
all, stand up for what we believe is right when it comes to educating our children, our future.<br />
I want to re-emphasize to all education employees to continue to be the very best that you<br />
can be and stay committed to keeping public education alive and well in <strong>Alabama</strong>.<br />
“<strong>Education</strong>’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” - Malcolm Forbes<br />
and everything in between.<br />
While we can’t guarantee that you will never experience employment difficulty, we can<br />
guarantee you that as a member you will get the best advice on your situation available and that<br />
you can count on <strong>AEA</strong> to be there when you need us the most.