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The Connection
1136 N. Military Ave.
Green Bay, WI 54303
920-496-2440
800-472-5582
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Hello friends,
It's almost Spring Break and that means Early Enrollment starts soon! Early Enrollment is a yearly program where educators who have been curious about joining the union can do so beginning April 1st and not pay dues until September 2022 (receiving up to 5 months free)!
Early Enrollment excludes people who are seeking legal representation, but otherwise these new members can attend union meetings, socials and be included in your local union's communications. Read more about Early Enrollment HERE. We'll be talking more about it at the Just One campaign kickoff and training on Thursday, April 7th. Register HERE.
WEAC and Region 3 are looking for passionate union members to work on summer organizing projects. The goal of summer organizing is to welcome new hires to your district, get to know them and talk to them about why joining the union is important. Region 3 staff work closely with these individuals to teach them all about organizing membership drives.
The program through WEAC and Region 3 will consist of a two-day training, July 20-21 and then continue for 6 weeks. The commitment is 20 hours a week with the Region 3 Directors working with the summer organizers to create a weekly schedule.
If you understand the importance and power of a strong union, and you love meeting new people, this is for you! You can learn more about the Region 3 summer organizing program and apply HERE.
Kristin Lytie
Regional Director
WEAC Region
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Upcoming Events:
March 17, Thursday, NBCT, 5PM
April 13, Wednesday, Region 3 Executive Committee Meeting, Follows 5PM WEAC Pre-RA
April 13, Wednesday, WEAC Pre-RA, 5PM
April 30, Saturday, WEAC RA, Marriott Madison Hotel
May 14, Saturday, Region 3 RA, 10AM
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Campaign Kickoff
Through the Just One campaign last year, we were able to quadruple the number of new members we normally recruit with Early Enrollment! Given it's success, we are continuing this program starting April 1st of this year. We will have training for members who want to participate in the program and learn how to strengthen their union. Our training will be Thursday, April 7th at 4:30. Register HERE.
Members who successfully recruit new members through Early Enrollment will be entered to win up to ten $50 gift cards. Participants will receive weekly email updates containing wins and best practices from around the Region!
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Students head to the polls for a rather sweet list of candidates
Appleton West High School civics students gathered at the polls Monday to vote for Oreo truffles, frosted brownies, brownies, pumpkin bars or cake pops in a mock election designed to increase their civic engagement in future elections.
“We know with voting that people tend to show up to vote when there’s an invested decision,” civics teacher and Region 3 member Bobbie Jo Sorensen said. “If we had just done people, I didn’t think that kids would really feel like that matters.”
The high school’s civics students have been learning about voter requirements in Wisconsin recently and to help replicate that experience for students, Sorensen organized a mock election to teach students how to vote.
“It’s really to encourage them to vote and understand it’s pretty easy to do, so that they participate in their government,” volunteer poll worker and retired civics teacher Becky Frank said.
Sorensen hopes simulating the voting experience will encourage future voter turnout among the students since the youth vote has historically been the lowest age groups for voter turnout. Even in the 2020 General Election when voter turnout was the highest it has been in the 21st Century, according to the 2020 Census data, voters aged 18 to 24 still had the lowest turnout at 51.4%.
“Young people are more likely to participate in pre-voting activities,' Sorensen said. 'They’re more likely to help a campaign, but they’re not turning out.” There are a variety of reasons young people don’t turn out in the same numbers as older age groups, Sorensen said she thinks young people don’t feel like they align with either party. “ There’s nobody they think truly represents them, so instead of voting for a second best, they’re just abstaining and not voting at all,” she said.
To mimic a real election process as much as possible, students were required to locate their voting ward and polling station based on their class and supply an approved photo ID to their poll worker. Volunteers even came in to work the polls to give students an accurate experience of a polling station. “By having volunteers here, we’re trying to simulate that it’s not going to be somebody you know, and it can be a little intimidating,” Sorensen said.
The ballot also included a referendum question that asked students if participating in the mock election would make them more likely to vote when they are eligible. Freshman Nathaniel McCollum said it did. McCollum added he thinks the election process is important to “get people’s opinions out to politicians.”
Others were just as excited to vote for their favorite baked goods as they were to engage in the voting process. “ The best part was getting the sticker,” freshman Abigail Winters said. “I think every vote counts,” Freshman Nathalie Moua said after casting her ballot.
Results of the baked goods general election will be announced Tuesday in the students’ civics classes, and Sorensen will bake the winning dessert for the students.
-Appleton Post-Crescent USA TODAY NETWORK – APPLETON WISCONSIN
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Wisconsin State Statute 118.22 governs the renewal and NON-renewal of full-time teacher contracts
This important deadline is approaching:
For full-time teacher contracts that a District does NOT want to renew for the 2022-23 school year, the school board must notify with a preliminary notice of non-renewal on OR before April 30, 2022. This timeline applies regardless of the reason for non-renewal, i.e., performance, economic reasons, declining enrollment, etc.
A preliminary notice of non-renewal must be voted on and issued by the school board (not an administrator).
Many teachers have already been given some kind of indication that the District is thinking about non-renewal. These teachers may be on a plan of improvement. For teachers under this scrutiny, the preliminary notice of non-renewal may come well before the deadline of April 30th.
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Union members who may be in danger of non-renewal, as well as leaders and building reps working with those members, should contact the Region 3 office as soon as possible.
Once preliminary notice of non-renewal is given to an educator, they only have five calendar days to request a hearing before the school board.
Please do not wait until the preliminary notice has already been issued!
Individual Contract Deadlines:
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April 30 - preliminary notice of nonrenewal
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May 15 - final notice of nonrenewal
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May 15 - issuing individual contracts
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June 15 - accept or reject individual contract
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Wisconsin Lifetime License Background Check
Wis. Admin Code s. PI 34.041 requires educators who hold a valid Lifetime license to submit a request to the department to have a new background check conducted and to confirm employment status at least once every five years. The request shall be made between January 1 and June 30 of the fifth year since the individual's last background check. If your most recent background check was in 2017, you are due to submit an application to DPI in order to maintain your Lifetime license. You must submit this application to DPI by June 30, 2022, to maintain your Lifetime license.
Follow the Application Directions for Background Check to Maintain Lifetime License to submit your background check HERE .
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Next Region 3/GBEA National Board Support Session - March 17
WEAC, Region 3 and GBEA have organized ongoing monthly National Board Support for the 2021-2022 cycle. Sessions will be held in person at the WEAC Region 3 office but with a virtual option and facilitated by Sarah Johnston (Marinette) and Ellie Hinz-Radue (Green Bay).
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The Green Bay Education Association is inviting you to a FREE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT webinar!!
The Professional Learning Committee is hosting Dr Frida Rundell on Saturday, April 2 from 9-11AM. Please consider joining this virtual opportunity to learn more about resilience for caring professionals.
In this online seminar presented by IIRP Staff Member, Dr Frida Rundell, participants will reflect on self-compassion and ways to ensure we are caring for ourselves without judgment in order to provide the best care to our students/clients. Through the lens of the Relational Care Ladder, participants will learn these strategies through an experiential based webinar. Come prepared to analyze your own stress level and increase your self-kindness.
Prof. Rundell has more than 50 years of experience working with children and families facing adversity, from youth with learning difficulties to those who are
homeless, disabled, delinquent or suffering from AIDS. She initiated and developed an undergraduate degree program for child-and youth-care professionals at Durban University of Technology, South Africa. She has also
worked with IIRP community-based programs.
Thanks to a NEA Grant received by the Professional Learning Committee, each participant (up to 50) will receive a gratitude journal and IIRP pen for personal use to continue implementing the strategies and ideas gained from this webinar.
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March 19 @ the Region 3 Office - Bridging Race, Class and Gender and Examining Implicit Bias
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WEAC Region 3 Representative Assembly
May 14, 2022
The WEAC Region 3 RA will be held Saturday, May 8. The RA will be held at the WR3 office, with the option to attend virtually via Zoom.
Delegates to the RA will be electing the following positions to the WR3 Executive Committee: President, Vice President, ESP Member-at-Large, and Zone Leaders. To determine which Zone your local is in, please click HERE. To view the duties of each, please click HERE. In order to be elected to one of these positions, nominees must be a local delegate to the WR3 RA. Send nominations to region3@weac.org.
Local Presidents received an email from WEAC Region 3 on Thursday, March 10th regarding delegate registration. The deadline for registration of delegates is March 31. If your local did not receive this email, please email WEAC Region 3 at region3@weac.org.
Once Region 3 receives delegate certifications, a registration link will be emailed to all certified delegates.
Watch for more information in the coming weeks.
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The WEAC Representative Assembly will be held April 30, with a virtual or in-person option. The in-person meeting will be in Madison. With two options to participate, local associations are encouraged to send delegates to help shape the future of our union.
Local presidents will receive emails to report delegates in early March. The deadline for delegates to register is April 20.
The NEA Representative Assembly is July 2-6 in Chicago, with in-person and virtual options.
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Several elections will be held in conjunction with the WEAC Representative Assembly April 30 in Madison and online.
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WEAC Webinar Wednesday
On Wednesday, April 6, be sure to register for Multi-Sensory Learning Using Arts Integration. When students are exposed to the same content in different subjects and through multiple senses, they are able to make connections across the disciplines. Participants will see examples of cross-curricular lessons that incorporate science, writing, social studies, music, and visual arts.
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Depending on where you live, you may have elections for school board, county board, city offices, county board or judgeships.
Even if you have requested a permanent ballot in the past, you may have to make a new request. Your ballot must be received by 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 5 either by mail, directly to your municipal clerk or at an authorized ballot drop box.
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Candidate Forums - West DePere & Howard Suamico
The League of Women Voters of Greater Green Bay (LWVGGB), a non-partisan voting advocacy non-profit, is hosting virtual candidate forums in DePere and Howard-Suamico. Community members may participate via zoom to hear candidates' positions on the issues. LWVGGB is hosting these forums to provide accurate and timely information for voters to make decisions prior to the general election.
Requested vote by mail ballots are being sent out soon. You may want to wait to complete your ballot until you have listened to the forums.
The West DePere School Board Forum is on Tuesday, March 15 from 6:30-7:15 p.m. The following candidates are participating: Jason Dorn and Jamie Kinjerski, both challengers. Barbara Van Deurzen and Scott Borley, both incumbents, declined to participate.
Both candidates will introduce themselves and answer submitted questions* and questions developed by the LWVGGB. All registered candidates for these positions were invited to participate. The zoom link for this forum
The Howard Suamico School Board Forum is on Wednesday, March 16 from
6:30-7:30 p.m. The following candidates are participating: Teresa Ford (i), Michael Moran and Jason Potts (i). Scott Jandrin (i), Allen McGuire and Amy Rubright all declined to participate.
All candidates will introduce themselves and answer submitted questions* and
questions developed by the LWVGGB. All registered candidates for these positions were invited to participate. The zoom link for this forum is:
Candidate forums will be moderated by Jean Marsch, LWVGGB Board
member.
*To submit questions for the forums, please email lwvggbforums20@gmail.com and please state in the subject line for which forum your question is being submitted. You may also request an "invitation" to view these forums by using the same email. These forums will be available following the specific forum on LWVGGB Facebook page (facebook.com/LWVGGB) and LWVGGB website
The LWVGGB will be hosting additional forums following the primary when final candidates are selected for the Spring General Election in April 2022. If you have questions about your absentee ballot, voter registration or voting locations to go: myvote.wi.gov for all details.
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If you have recently moved, gotten a new phone number or email address, changed schools or banking information, please contact Region 3 staff assistant Debbie Armitage or Sue Clauss. They will be able to make any changes to your records. This information helps us ensure that we are able to stay connected with you.
They can both be reached by phone at 920-496-2440.
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This is an 11.0101(10)(b)(1) communication with WEAC members |
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WEAC Region 3
1136 N. Military Ave.
Green Bay, WI 54303.
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