Wyoming Education Association’s Electronic Newsletter                                                                       

July 21, 2005

The WEA produces this electronic newsletter in an effort to share timely information with our members. Please forward this newsletter to members you believe would like to receive it. If you are not an original recipient of this e-mail, please consider subscribing by clicking here.  Please send feedback regarding this e-newsletter to Kathy Scheurman, WEA Communications Director, at: kscheurman@nea.org.  This newsletter can also be viewed online at: www.wyoea.org.

ENEWS ARCHIVE

WEA Website:

http://wyoea.org/

NEA Website:  http://www.nea.org

Wyoming Education Portal:

http://www.k12.wy.us

Inside this issue:

·       Update on NEA’s Lawsuit re: NCLB Funding Insufficiency

“The Bargaining Corner”

We’re still waiting to hear about lots of district settlements regarding salary schedules and uses of the “bonus” money, as well as insurance benefits and costs.  Please send your final results after ratification and board approval to ccox@nea.org so we can cover your news!

Last Chance to Register!

The 12th  Annual Basom and Wear Institute, “Equal Access in Wyoming and Beyond”, will be held Mon. and Tues., August 1 & 2, 2005, at the College of Law on the University of Wyoming campus.  Registration deadline is Wed., July 27th.  Registration form and details are available at: http://www.uwyo.edu/edleadership/12th%20Annual%20Registration.pdf.

Read Across America Book Grants Available

The NEA Foundation will make approx. 36 awards of $5,000 each to public schools serving economically disadvantaged students to purchase books for school libraries.  The NEA Foundation makes these awards on behalf of NEA.  The Read Across America Library Book Awards are made possible with generous support from Warner Brothers, Inc., as part of the Polar Express Reading Challenge. There are two deadlines to submit applications: Sept. 15, 2005, and Feb. 1, 2006. Visit www.neafoundation.org for more information and an application.

Update on NEA’s Lawsuit re: NCLB Funding Insufficiency

The judge assigned to the NCLB lawsuit has set a date of Oct. 19th for oral arguments on the U.S. Department of Education's (USDE) motion filed June 29th to dismiss the NEA suit.  The USDE contends that NEA and the plaintiff school districts lack standing to proceed with the lawsuit.  The government argues both that the NEA and its affiliates lack standing and that the various school districts have not adequately pled the basis for their standing.  The government's third argument is that the complaint fails to state a claim on the theory that the unfunded mandates provision does not prevent the imposition of unfunded mandates but only prevents federal officers or employees from adding to the NCLB statutory requirements.

The need for NEA’s lawsuit is greater than ever, since the House of Representatives on June 24th passed the Fiscal Year 2006 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill (HR 3010) that cuts funding for NCLB programs by $803 million, which would bring funding below the level set three years ago in Fiscal Year 2003.

Elaine's Circle: Teaching At Its Best!

Looking for a good read and some inspiration before you return to the classroom this fall?  Praised by NEA president Reg Weaver and many others, Elaine's Circle: A Teacher, A Student, A Classroom and One Unforgettable Year is the true story of an inspiring fourth grade teacher in Eagle River, Alaska, and a 10-year-old boy diagnosed with a terminal cancer.  This book is now available at bookstores and from online publication outlets.

Book Matching Grants Available

The Literacy Empowerment Foundation (LEF) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to assisting educational programs by providing inexpensive children's books. LEF has several programs available to teachers, non-profit groups and reading programs.

One such program, the Matching Book Grant Program, offers Guided Reading and Independent Reading Collections.  LEF has increased the size of the matching grants available to $8,000 per school.  A school can now order $16,000 worth of books and pay only $8,000.  (Any amount purchased from $100 to $8,000 will be matched.) 

This is a limited time offer that requires no special screening or applications.  http://www.colorcodedbooks.org/lef/MBGinfo.htm

Schools Aim to Reverse Lack of Male Teachers

As a new academic year approaches, school districts, education groups and universities are exploring ways to get more men into a field long dominated by women. Their goal is to provide more male role models in class and to diversify the labor pool of dedicated teachers.

The proportion of men in teaching today is at its lowest level in 40 years, according to the National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union.  Only 21 percent of teachers in U.S. public schools are men. In early grades, the gender ratio is even more unbalanced--just 9 percent of elementary school teachers are men.

Chicago Tribune:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northwest/chi-0507190357jul20,1,6989395.story?coll=chi-newslocalnorthwest-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true