Winter Advocacy Conference 2006

 

Winter Advocacy Conference Refunds

 

Thank you for registering for the IEA’s Winter Advocacy Conference that was scheduled to take place in Springfield, Illinois on December 1-2, 2006.  Again, we regret that the conference had to be cancelled due to weather and road conditions.

 

We are currently processing refunds for conference registration and hotel rooms.  For participants that paid with credit cards, the credit card were credited the week of Dec 11th the amount originally paid.  For participants who paid by check, a refund check is being processed.  Some checks submitted by participants were not deposited prior to the conference and those checks will be voided and returned to the participants via regular mail.   

 

Checks that were received by local associations will be issued to the local association and will be returned to the local president.  It will be the responsibility of that individual to submit the refund check to the local treasurer.   

 

We anticipate that the processing of refunds may take several weeks.  We thank you for your patience and understanding as we undergo a procedure that has never had to take place in the most recent IEA past.  

 

Continue to visit the website and the read the Advocate for information on the school fair funding campaign, Invest in Excellence and please continue to provide your support for the campaign.

 

Please plan on attending the Summer Leadership Academy in Bloomington/Normal, Illinois on July 25, 26 and 27.  We look forward to your continued participation in IEA events.

The Winter Advocacy Conference will help local bargaining team members prepare for future negotiations and much more. This year, the conference is “Invest in Excellence: Great Public Schools for Every Community” and sessions will focus on bargaining, organizational development, tools for building effective locals, professional development and taking action.

 

Invest in Excellence is the theme of the conference and also identifies the campaign that reflects the top priority of IEA and our members; change the current funding system, which denies students statewide the resources needed for an adequate education. Participants will have an opportunity to hear more about the campaign and to discuss statewide efforts with other members, leaders and staff at the conference.

 

Jonathan Kozol

Kozol, a former public school teacher for 30 years, has sought to shine a spotlight on public education, perhaps most famously in his 1991 book Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools and in his 2005 book The Shame of the Nation which offers a searing look at our nation's flagrantly unequal and rapidly resegregating public schools. Kozol will address IEA Winter Advocacy Conference attendees on December 2, 2006.

Kozol’s books will be available at the conference, and he will offer book signing after his presentation.

 

IEA is honored to present Reg Weaver, NEA President, as a speaker on Friday evening of the Conference. Please help us in welcoming Reg as he, along with our own IEA President Ken Swanson, highlights the opportunities to Invest in Excellence.

 

Evaluations from IEA members in their first five years of teaching in the classroom have rated this training program as one of the best. I Can Do It focuses on: successful classroom management; communications and learning styles; interventions for difficult behaviors; creating a smoothly flowing classroom; and building positive parent/teacher relationships. Keeping good teachers and parapros in the classroom is critical. With so many challenges, many do not make it past their fifth year in the classroom. I Can Do It provides valuable training in skill areas needed to survive in a difficult climate.