NCAE's Strategic Plan

Strategic Priority 1: Grow Our Union

Expanding our membership capacity of rank-and-file members and leaders in each membership category to build local and statewide strength.

Members Lead Our Union

Examples of bodies of leaders:

• Building leaders; Chairs of committees, commissions, & workgroups; Division Presidents and leadership teams; Educators of Color; Emerging leaders; ESP leaders; Local elected leaders; Regional Directors

Examples of types of training:

• Leadership foundations; Role-specific training; Training in the context of a campaign or project

Movement of Power Building Locals

• Differentiated local affiliate support
• Members create strategic campaign plans that build power to win improvements in students’ and workers’ lives
• Statewide campaigns that build infrastructure and test strength and effectiveness
• Support for leadership transitions and succession 
• At least 20 locals with advanced capacity to win

Membership Density 

• Recruitment including direct membership asks by members, local leaders, and/or organizers; targeted and local-run membership blitzes; new employee orientations; local dues experiments; focused membership asks for teachers with alternative licensure pathways; and building strong SNCAE chapters to increase overall retention of public school employees, specifically targeting SNCAE chapters at HBCUs to increase retention of educators of Color
• Retention including exit interviews and collective conversations to discuss where a member engages with the union based on their interests
• Specific targeted plans to increase density and regular statewide campaigns to increase engagement and infrastructure
• At least 20,000 united members and 6 locals with at least majority membership density

Strategic Priority 2: Lead Our Professions

Employ our professional expertise to impact our continuous learning within the organization and within learning communities across the state.

Research 

1. Regular opportunities for two-way communication with members as the experts driving professional development
2. Education, workforce policy and practice trends related to instruction and student services
3. Community Schools as a best practice for creating a student-centered, anti-racist school community

Member-Centered Professional Development

1. Establish a multi-racial cohort of members actively and masterfully leading their profession at their worksites and across the district
2. Member leaders develop and execute high quality, relevant training and professional development based on the department’s research

Resources for All Public School Professions

1. ESP-focused professional development
2. NCAE professional development in school districts in every region

Strategic Priority 3: Restore the Promise of Public Schools and Our Democracy

Strengthen external and community partnerships to implement pro-public education policies by promoting democratic practices on the local and state level. 

Local and Statewide Partnership Building

1. Assessment of external partners; strengthening our relationships with aligned organizations; identifying and consolidating shared values and goals; and effectively asking those partners to mobilize their bases in coordination with our own
2. Strategy for using statewide space held by others to consolidate external partner support on issues that matter to our members and their students or against issues that would harm to our members and their students
3. Consolidating multi-racial public education stakeholders to build collective power and the capacity of staff, parents, and students to lead and utilize democratic processes in the transformation of their school into a Community School

Electoral Strength

1. Increase contributions to the NCAE-PAC to build political power and hold politicians accountable
2. Increase influence with candidates by expanding access to NCAE messaging and candidate preparation
3. Supporting local affiliates with effective and consistent endorsement planning and electoral practices that win campaigns including canvassing in strategic districts

Policy-Maker Accountability 

1. Dynamic power-mapping of state leaders
2. Regular and consistent mass engagements to prepare for and respond to issues with expected or desired action being planned by a state body
3. Set a high standard for interactions and two-way communications with elected officials that is clearly and broadly shared and reinforced through advocacy and lobby efforts
4. Win budgets, laws, and policies that benefit our members and their students and reflect our priorities
5. Stop or amend budgets, laws, and policies that hurt our members and their students and are barriers to our priorities