As president of NCAE -- representing nearly 60,000 educators across the state, I read with great interest the John Locke Foundation’s recommendations on how to recruit and retain quality teachers. In their right-wing think tank world, the key to quality education rests in privatizing our schools, paying teachers for standardized test scores, and stripping all educators of their professional rights. Of course the Locke Foundation also believes that BP is the corporate victim of overregulation and that Wall Street should be left to police their own.
Our Association fights to Fund Schools First, to improve working conditions for educators, and to empower educators to speak out on the challenges our school systems face. NCAE is not a roadblock to student achievement or education reform. What Mr. Hood fails to mention in his column entitled “Why the union blocks reform,” is that it is North Carolina’s failure to appropriately fund public schools that has earned us an “F” from the independent journal “Education Week.” In its 2010 Quality Counts report, the magazine noted that 41 other states spend more per pupil than North Carolina. In our region, North Carolina ranks 11th out of the 12 Southeastern states for education spending.
Yet, also according to Quality Counts, North Carolina has earned a “B+” for standards and accountability, and a “B” for the quality of its teacher workforce. Our state also boasts the highest number of National Board Certified teachers in the nation – a distinction we’ve held for more than a decade. But 20 percent of these highly qualified teachers leave after five years because they see that public education funding is not a priority in North Carolina. So our teachers continue to rate well on performance standards, even in the midst of stagnant and decreasing pay, refuting many of the claims in Mr. Hood’s column.
What NCAE did this past summer during the Legislative session as part of its Fund Schools First campaign, was show elected leaders how students are going without the basics, forcing teachers to seek donations of school supplies and textbooks or spend money out their own pockets to provide needed curriculum materials for students. This persistent underfunding of public education is the real issue that blocks progress for our students.
And it’s not just NCAE that carried this message. Principals, superintendents, parents, and local school board members stood with NCAE as we asked elected leaders to “Fund Schools First.” That’s a goal every one supports and should not be bypassed. Blaming the “union” is such an old, ineffective game. NCAE is a professional organization that stands up for our students and our schools.
Sheri Strickland
President, North Carolina Association of Educators
-------------------------------------------------------------
Jackie Vaughn, manager of the NCAE Communications Department, has earned an NEA State Education Editors “Joe Bland Spirit of SEE Award.” This distinction has been awarded only one other time since it was established in 2006.
Lisa Galley, 2010 president of the State Education Editors,
left, poses with Jackie Vaughn and her Spirit of See award
“This is not an award we give each year,” said Angie McCormick, a past president of the State Education Editors and the communications director at the Georgia Association of Educators. “We only give the award when we feel someone deserves it for outstanding service within the Association family. This award recognizes our colleagues’ exceptional skills, talent, creativity and passion brought to the job each and every day. Jackie Vaughn definitely embodies the spirit of Joe Bland.”
Vaughn’s colleagues from around the nation, many who have worked with her during her entire 30-year career in the Association, offered their comments on her induction into a small and prestigious group of Association awardees.
“I am in awe of her professionalism and I am humbled to call her my friend and colleague,” said Bill Guy, communications consultant for the California Teachers Association. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award. Her creativity is amply evidenced by the slew of awards she and the staff she manages have won over the years. But what I truly love about Jackie is her personal warmth and her spirit of collaboration. I have called on her for advice and support many times, and despite the pressures of dealing with her own work, she has always been ready to help me out.”
Pam Nichols, director of Communications at the Delaware state affiliate, echoed Guy’s sentiments, calling Jackie a “soul-mate in our work,” someone who always has been willing to talk, sharing the challenges and situations that each encountered day-to-day as communications directors.
“She’s a consummate professional and master of her craft,” said Keith Harvie, the Maine Education Association’s communications director. “Jackie has that ‘certain something’ – an ease and a grace. And just like Joe was, she is inquisitive, hard-working, inventive and truly dedicated to the members.”
Mike Lydick, communications specialist for the Connecticut Education Association also noted Vaughn’s compassion for and dedication to her profession and Association members. “She is someone who will go above and beyond to help her colleagues – no matter how busy her schedule. She puts the interests of others above herself. Since Jackie rarely seeks the spotlight or talks about her many accomplishments as a communications professional, this award will bring her the recognition and honor she richly deserves.”
Eddy Gattis, NEA manager for State Communications, who spoke at the SEE awards banquet on behalf of the National Education Association, lauded Vaughn’s accomplishments over the years. He noted that she was the first African-American woman to head an NEA state affiliate communications department. Gattis also mentioned in his remarks that he had wanted to hire Vaughn during his tenure as communications director at the Georgia state affiliate, but could not lure her away from North Carolina.
Criteria for the award include demonstration of strong commitment to a state Association by working for the same organization for more than 10 years; demonstrated creativity in communicating the state Association’s message to internal and external audiences; breaking new ground for communicating with members or the public; giving generously of his or her time to assist colleagues in other states or the NEA; and developing innovative communications programs or publications.
Vaughn received the award at the State Education Editors annual conference held June 22-27 in Nashville, TN. The Spirit of SEE Award was established posthumously in honor of Joe Bland, who was director of communications at the Virginia Education Association.
|
