Christi Hillis
Ask Christi Hillis why she’s an NEA Fund member, and she’ll eloquently explain that being involved politically is just an extension of her role as a high school health teacher. “The reason I wanted to be a teacher in the first place was to do my part to help create a population of thoughtful, healthy, and critically thinking people who will contribute positively to society,” she says. “Being an NEA fund member is just another way to help move us in that direction.
Hillis hadn’t even worked a day in her classroom before she decided to begin contributing to the NEA Fund. In 2007, during a New Teachers Training in her district, her local president presented opportunities to become involved at the local, state and national level in campaigns and political conventions.
While she acknowledges that the NEA Fund can help address many of the issues facing teachers, and particularly early-career teachers, the most notable of these is funding, and helping control class sizes. So many of her students come to school in need of an adult who cares about them and can talk honestly with them; yet, with 36 students in each class, those connections are fewer and farther between. “In a class of 25 students, I can remember my students’ parents’ names, what sports they like to play, who their best friend is, and other things that are important to them. It’s then that students will more easily get to a place where learning can be a priority and where they feel safe to take academic risks,” Hillis says.
She knows class size is an issue faced by teachers all across Oregon – from the most urban to the most rural schools. The union can help convey these shared issues with legislators and lawmakers – and Hillis is grateful for that. Being an NEA Fund contributor helps Hillis extend her impact, and her experiences, beyond the classroom walls. “It makes me feel like the work we do has a real and tangible impact, and that feels like a success,” she says.
Sandi Rosenfeld
If there were ever a definition for “Portland born and raised,” Sandi Rosenfeld would fit the bill. As a child, she attended Portland Public Schools, and later earned her teaching degree from Portland State University. Now, more than 30 years later, she’s still teaching elementary students in the district she calls home.
Not surprisingly, Rosenfeld forayed into the world of politics – and her involvement with the NEA Fund – because she wanted to be part of the decision-making in her local community for Portland-area schools. “I learned early in my career that public education is run by politics. If you don’t have the right people in office, you can not get things done locally, or nationally,” she says. After attending Oregon’s representative assembly for OEA members, Rosenfeld began to see that her impact in politics could extend beyond her local district – that she could be part of the change on a statewide and national level, too.
Today, Rosenfeld is hard at work on the issues impacting her teaching colleagues in public schools and community colleges across Oregon. Currently, she says, teachers and faculty members are struggling to “do more with less,” especially in this economic climate. “We have less time, less materials, and less support for the classroom. There are not enough hours in the day to get it all done. New teachers are overwhelmed,” she says.
The NEA Fund provides an important step in alleviating the burden of the economic recession on public education, she says. It’s about seeing “the whole picture” – especially how local, state and national issues are interconnected.” Getting members involved is as simple as having them identify one individual issue they’re passionate about, and building involvement from there. For Rosenfeld, some of her greatest achievements as an NEA Fund contributor have resulted from the broadest coalition coming together. Collectively, she and OEA members have defeated anti-education platforms, have helped elect pro-education candidates, and, most recently, helped harness the victory of a tax fairness campaign (Measures 66 and 67) that will provide critical funding to public schools in a time of great need.
Leslie Lindberg-Harper
She lives and works in the Oregon’s capitol city of Salem. But clear across the country in our nation’s capitol, Leslie Lindberg-Harper knows she has a voice in Washington. A para-educator from the Salem Keizer School District, Lindberg-Harper has been involved with the NEA Fund for the majority of her 16-year career in public education. “I want pro-education candidates elected into office. I want the best interests of our students and staff to be brought to the forefront and the issues that face us to be carried out in a positive manner,” she says of her decision to contribute.
Among some of her top priorities – particularly for fellow educational support professionals – are living wage issues, and preventing reduction in force of classified employees. “These have both become very real issues for ESPs,” she says, and both are critical issues for the Oregon Council of Education Support Professionals (OCESP), of which Lindberg-Harper serves as Chairperson.
Lindberg-Harper says there are no shortages of classified members who want to be involved politically, or who want to be part of the decision-making process for policies made affecting our public schools. “Unfortunately, many of our members are quite active and still do not know what the NEA Fund is all about,” she says. Getting members educated on the possibilities takes one simple move: talk, talk, and talk some more. OEA members are engaged in recent ballot measure elections and they’re talking about whom the next Oregon governor should be. Donations to the NEA Fund are a huge reason why those conversations are possible, she believes.
“Our issues are solved by the politicians that we elect, and in order to elect these candidates, we must have a voice to do so.” Lindberg-Harper says. “Donating to the NEA fund is one of the most simple ways to know that you are involved and have made a difference.”
Debby Dorough
After 28 years spent as a teacher, Pensacola’s Debby Dorough knows first hand about the “mighty voice” of educators when they come together, and believes that now more than ever, that voice must be used to demand improved health care for Florida’s educators.
For Dorough, the argument is plain: “The best students are the ones who have the best teachers. We can’t be at our best if we can’t afford the health care to stay at our best.”
Dorough spent years teaching at risk students, and she knows that all of Florida’s public school students will be at greater risk of educational roadblocks when schools cannot compete on the job market. Debby notes that Florida’s schools “can’t keep the best or attract the best without professional salaries for professional work,” which includes the benefits like health care that educators earn and deserve.
The best parts about NEA Fund membership include the “sense of pride” and “making a difference” that come from the Fund’s activities, Dorough said. And when it comes to making sure that Florida’s teachers get the health care they need, Dorough is sure to keep making a difference.
Damon Davis
Native Floridian and FAU alumnus Damon Davis first got involved with the NEA Fund with a clear purpose: to act as an advocate for higher education and public schools and, as he proudly states, “to help make elected officials more accountable to our students.”
Davis, a faculty member at Broward College in Ft. Lauderdale, feels that when it comes to increasing involvement in the NEA Fund, the key to success lies in understanding the issues most important to Florida’s students, so that the NEA Fund could serve as an informed advocate.
According to Damon, “Our universities are seeing program cuts and the layoffs of colleagues” at a time when enrollment is only increasing. The continuing struggles facing Florida’s higher education students is one issue that Damon Davis understands all too well.
For Davis, helping in the historic effort to elect President Barack Obama was the greatest success of his years of NEA Fund membership. But he also knows that one presidential election cannot erase Florida higher education’s serious challenges – it will take sustained effort and involvement to make sure public education becomes one of the highest priorities for elected officials.
Marilyn Dupree
When Marilyn Dupree sees privatized ESPs in Tampa, she doesn’t just think about the damage they do to unions and the higher costs they impose on her community.
Instead, Marilyn finds herself worrying about the harsh impact of privatization on the groups of Floridians that have a particularly hard time fighting back: women, minorities, and – most important to any educator – children. With 23 years of experience as an ESP behind her, Marilyn knows that the decreased public accountability and lower quality performance of privatized ESPs often harm the critical educational goals of Florida’s students.
According to Marilyn, Florida’s ESPs are being “pushed to the brink” by repeatedly being asked to “do more with less,” but Marilyn will not back down from the challenge. She proudly states that she is committed to “giving back to those who give of themselves to make sure our voices are heard and protected,” adding simply, that’s “why we work in schools with children.”
Patti Lochner
“My goal has always been for all children to grow up and become good citizens and make a positive contribution to society,” says Patti Lochner. As a retired teacher who serves on the FEA Executive Cabinet after 40 years spent in public schools, Patti has worked towards that goal for her entire life. Indeed, Patti’s continued commitment reflects her core belief: “As retirees, we still need to be involved.”
From her career’s starting point of running one of the country’s first Head Start programs in 1966, Patti has moved across the country, switched subjects, and even spent time writing a new curriculum for her fellow teachers, all while becoming a pillar of her local community.
As a recent retiree, Patti pushes hard for affordable health care, which she believes should specifically involve lowering the costs of prescription drugs. But Patti remains an educator, and her priorities for the NEA Fund include reforming standardized tests, providing teachers the time they need to plan effective lessons, and restoring the salary and respect that Florida’s teachers have earned.
Patti recalls that when she was in college, she was discouraged from pursuing political science in favor of a job in teaching or nursing. She believes that she’s spent the past decades “making up for it” by being so politically active – and Florida’s teachers have benefitted from her hard work for all those years.
Chris Hobson
According to NEA member Chris Hobson, a 1st grade teacher of seven years, convincing fellow members to get involved and support the PAC is sometimes as easy as “just asking.”
“All the time,” said Hobson, when asked if she encountered a high number of first-time contributors during local PAC drives. “A lot of the time it's because no one had ever asked, or because they thought their dues already covered that.”
Chris remembered one of her first experiences asking for PAC contributions being with the Jackson Public School Secretaries. After hearing about current political issues with a high impact on public schools, they got out their checkbooks right away and made contributions.
“Now that these folks have contributed once, they’ll contribute year after year.”
For Chris, her commitment to her students doesn't start and end inside the classroom. “As teachers, we can’t just go into our classrooms and shut the door to the world around us. We have to talk to one another about the political issues that affect our students and our schools.”
And she plans to continue speaking with fellow members and convincing them to get involved. “This is something I really believe in and that I will do even when I am done teaching. It's about making a difference for our students.”
Tony Nelson
Tony Nelson, a 5th grade teacher in Stewartville, MN, and a member of the Stewartville United Educators negotiation team, believes the time for serious changes to No Child Left Behind has come.
In Minnesota, a state that has one of the top ACT scores in the nation, nearly half of the schools do not meet NCLB’s standard for Annual Yearly Progress (AYP). “There is something flawed when each state makes their own test and is punished for challenging students,” says Tony. That fact, along with the need for adequate funding that can attract the best teachers, is what drives Tony's belief in the need for teachers to get involved with the NEA Fund.
According to Tony, who's been a teacher in Stewartville for 17 years, electing former teacher Tim Walz to Congress and, more recently, Al Franken to the U.S. Senate shows just how important it is to promote people in politics who are going to fight for public education. Now, says Tony, is the time to make sure they become the next champions of public education in Washington.
When asked what he thought the best strategy for building NEA Fund membership was, Tony responded, “It's about approaching teachers one on one, especially when new teachers come into the union.” As a result of his work with the NEA Fund, Tony has found his favorite aspect of involvement to be the rapport he's established with teachers all over the country. “Through Education Minnesota and the NEA, we've built a support group where people can really relate with each other.”
Jody Quinnell
For Jody Quinnell, President of the Tecumseh Educational Association and a teacher and guidance counselor in Michigan for 34 years, the power of making personal connections by discussing the issues relevant to members' lives was the most essential part of the local PAC drives – and the most rewarding.
“It's the power of personal relationships. I had a really positive experience from discussing the issues that affect members' lives and how the PAC can be a part of the solution to these problems.”
Jody recounted one conversation she had with a member on disability who had not been able to work in some time. They spoke about privatization and the tangible effects it has had on her job and livelihood. According to Jody, she saw the connection between her circumstances and the importance of electing leaders who opposed privatization. As a result, the member got involved. “She gave $10. She'll remain involved.”
Jody also saw her efforts as a way to build toward the future and have an effect on future generations. “I got to meet a lot of young educators just coming into the profession who will make great professionals and MEA members.”
Jared Kink
A Washington State U.S. History and English teacher of 10 years and the vice president of the Everett Education Association, Jared Kink has in just three years taken on a leadership role in signing up new PAC members and has delivered results that are proving a model for other locals around the state.
Having already been a committed member of the NEA Fund and the Washington Education Association's PAC (WEAPAC), local president Kim Mead approached Jared and asked him to start a PAC drive. “In the first year of the drive, we got nearly 60% of our member to sign up.” Everett has since been organized to reach an astonishing 74% PAC membership. As a result of that success, many other local leaders sought his advice on what worked so well, and Jared was happy to provide it. He became a WEAPAC board member in 2007 and has helped many other locals design their own PAC drives.
Asked what the critical element of success is, Jared responded that it was about one-on-one contact – and a lot of hard work. “You can’t simply do a mailing or an email and expect to organize new PAC members; you have to have a plan that involves one-on-one communication.”
For Jared, issues pertaining to salary and benefits are front and center when it comes to why organizing and PAC involvement are so important. “We also must always protect our collective bargaining rights from groups who consistently want to erode them. This is why we’re here.”
Asked what he derived most from his involvement, Jared responded, “Being a part of something bigger than myself and benefiting from the collective and institutional power that goes with it.”
Peggy Kiss
According to Peggy Kiss, an elementary school teacher for 37 years and union president for 8, it is vital to let members know about the impact political decisions have in schools every day.
She knows well that state and federal legislation have a direct and immense effect on NEA members’ jobs, students, and the public school system as a whole. “I enjoyed working to remind our members that everything that happens in our schools comes from political decisions.”
Peggy also emphasized that face to face communication is the most effective method to organize participation and produce positive results. “Mail and information dissemination are important, but the personal touch of one-on-one communication is the most effective and important means to helping our members understand the impact of their political involvement.”
And she has the results to show for it. Out of the twelve local units Peggy worked with last fall in Hillsdale, Michigan, nine increased their number of members who make voluntary contributions to the MEA PAC and the NEA Fund.
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"My goal has always been for all children to grow up and become good citizens and make a positive contribution to society,” says Patti Lochner. As a retired teacher who serves on the FEA Executive Cabinet...
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