We are now taking resumes for two teacher positions on the 2008 Gloucester County Professional Development Board. If you are interested in professional development, please consider applying for one of these positions. The criteria is that you:

1. must be a certificated member in our Association
2. can commit to approximately 4-5 meetings between November and February
3. and are not presently serving on a Local Professional Development Committee.

THANK YOU to all of our Gloucester County Members who helped fight the unprecedented attacks on our members and public schools! You were wonderful and I am very proud of each of you!

Thank you to our Region 2 office for their organization and leadership throughout the activities last week.

Thank you to our Government Relations, Communications, Research and other NJEA Divisions for their dedication and expert analyses and advice.

THANK YOU to President Joyce Powell, Vice-President Barbara Keshishian, Secretary-Treasurer Wendell Steinhauer, and Executive Director Vince Giordano for their courage and perseverance on our behalf.

Marie Blistan, President
Gloucester County Education Association

We are so proud of both of you!!!  Thank you for your work on our behalf!

Marie Blistan, President
Gloucester County Education Association

Click here to view the latest Representative Council Minutes (.pdf)

NEA Representative Assembly

Each local affiliate is entitled to send one delegate for each 150 members or major fraction. That means if your local has 150 members, (or at least 76 members, the major fraction of 150), you can send one delegate. If you have another 150, you can send a second delegate.  You need 150 members for each delegate.  For any additional members over and above the 150 (or multiples of 150) you can send one more delegate if you have at least 76 more members.

members:

1-75             cluster with other small local(s) to make up 76 +. for 1 delegate

 76-225  =  1 delegate

226-375  =  2 delegates            

376-525  =  3 delegates 

The official count for the number of members comes from the January 2008 NJEA membership report.

In addition, there is an opportunity to represent GCEA as a state delegate. Contact GCEA's election committee person, Corendia Tinsley, for information on that.

I strongly advise and encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. The NEA Representative Assembly, which meets in early July, is an experience not to be missed! NJ usually has about 700 delegates. The annual meeting runs for four days, but there are preliminary activities that necessitate the delegate's attendance for approximately six days. This year the RA will be held in Washington, D.C. This is a great city, and although delegates won't have much spare time, they should try to fit in as much as possible.

Each morning NJ delegates meet in caucus from 7 am to 9 am. We have a full agenda that prepares us for the business to be carried out at the RA.  NJ delegates sit with their county at caucus and at the RA. There are strict rules concerning attendance, and any deviation could mean a loss of funding.

One huge item each year is the collection of donations for the Fund for Children and Public Education, another name for PAC. In 2007 delegates from NJ were expected to donate at least $150. Many delegates worked to achieve this by collecting from colleagues at home prior to coming to the RA.

As you can see, there is a lot of work involved in being a delegate to NEA RA. However, if you ask any former delegates, "Would you do it again?"  The answer is a resounding "YES!" Add your local's voice to the crowd. Send a delegate to NEA RA.

Congratulations
Wendy Baker, Suzanne Castro, and Susan Clark of Mantua, founders of "The AYUDA Project: American Youth Unite For Dominican Aid"

Jackie Gould, school library media specialist at Clearview High School, is the first recipient of the Miss Rumphius Award presented by the New Jersey Center for the Book at the Liberty Science Center in Sept. 2007.  The Center for the Book is affiliated with the Library of Congress.

The focus of the award for this year was science literacy.  Jackie submitted a web quest for 9^th grade physical science resource room students titled “And the Winner Is…”  The project was created in collaboration with Jim Woolbert, resource room teacher and Donna Armstrong, technology support teacher.  The activity required each student to research an element, to create a six page web site for the element and to convince their classmates that his/her element was the best one on the periodic table.  This project can be replicated as a PowerPoint presentation, a threefold brochure or a movie (Windows Movie Maker). 

• 7 years with Washington Township Schools Support Service Personnel Association
• Employed in the Security Department
• Elected to and served on the executive committee for the past 7 years as Vice President
• Negotiated the past three contracts
• Actively recruited and supported new members for the past 7 years
• Member of the Superintendent’s Liaison
• Pride Chair
• Grievance Committee

 Work Site Responsibilities:

• Mainly located at the high school complex: approximately 1 ˝ mile complex housing 3000 students

• Responsibilities include: directing traffic before and after school, maintaining order in the hallways and ‘public’ areas; assisting the in-house police officers.
• Former career: Retired sergeant for the Camden County Parks Dept. where he worked for 20 years.
• President of FOP for 15 years when he was with the Pennsauken Police Department
• Consultant with other locals during negotiations
• Pennsauken Board of Education member for 12 years; president for 3 years

What makes Sal special: 

Sal believes in leading by example.  He works closely with students who are ‘at risk’ and relates to them about the value of education.  As Pride chair for the WTSSSPA, he procured banners to display at community functions and was responsible for having the Association sponsor Parks and Recreation Sports Teams.

Sal came into the district and organization and immediately became an active member of the Association serving in many capacities.  His expertise and professionalism are respected by his colleagues, administration, parents, students, and board members.   His commitment to public education and its employees is beyond reproach.