Join us for the annual Labor Day Parade down King St. in Wilmington, Monday, September 7

Gather at 9am 
Step off at 10am
15th and King Sts. in Wilmington

There is free parking on the streets nearby as well as at the other end of the parade route, in the train station parking garage.
This parade is organized and sponsored by the AFL-CIO of Delaware. Many other unions will also be marching in solidarity.
Stay for a family-friendly Labor Day Fair at the end of the parade route, in Riverfront Park following the parade. 

New this year, several high school bands will be marching with us.
Can't walk that far? We can get you a seat on the Reviewing Stand at Rodney Square. Contact DSEA's Tim Barchak at 1-866-734-5834. 

Recruiting new members, listening to your concerns, letting the Governor hear from you directly ...

Your DSEA officers and staff have been busy recently helping you recruit new members at your New Hire Orientation meetings: talking to new hires about the professional and monetary benefits of joining DSEA, and giving them small gifts as well as money-saving opportunities as they begin their new career. Congratulations to all membership chairs and local officers who work so hard to make these first impressions positive. Cape Henlopen E.A., Indian River E.A, Milford E.A. and Seaford E.A. recruited 100% of the new hires at their orientations.

I know we all thought last year was difficult, but this coming year will have its own challenges.

The strings attached to the millions of federal dollars available through what is called “Race to the Top” funding are threatening some of our core values. For example, to get this money our evaluation system for teachers, specialists and administrators is supposed to have a “preponderance” of weight on student achievement. Right now, it is weighted equally, at 20%, with four other measures of teacher effectiveness. In addition, “student achievement” is to be determined by a single test, not “multiple measures.” NEA and several large state affiliates have responded to preliminary regulations, all of one mind: that single tests do not measure what we need to measure: student growth, student improvement.

And then there is the state’s economic situation. Millions of dollars that we thought would be available will not be because of the court’s ruling against the State regarding sports betting on individual professional games. Instead of improving, the state’s budget situation for next year is not looking rosy at all.

Next year 2010 is an election year for many state and federal office holders: state attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, U.S. senator, U.S. representative, all state representatives and ten state senators. I urge you to consider becoming involved in our endorsement process by being a part of an Interview Teams to help decide which candidates we should – and should not - support. 

 ° YOUR VOICE °
I have begun a "Listening Tour!"
I would like to visit as many schools in Delaware that my schedule will permit. The tour has just two purposes: to hear what is on your mind and to answer your questions. This is the best way for DSEA to represent your interests with the Department of Education, other state agencies, our federal and state legislators, and with state officials.
Please contact Sandy Dearman by e-mail or phone (1-866-734-5834) to schedule a visit. Please know that you can always call or e-mail me, at any time, with your questions and concerns.

Gov. Markell needs to hear from you

Governor Markell has asked DSEA and its local affiliates to help arrange meetings with students and then staff during certain dates in September and October. He would like to hear what’s on your mind and, we expect, paint an even bleaker economic picture for the next fiscal year. 

To date there are nine meetings set up in September and October in Christina, Lake Forest, Appoquinimink, Red Clay, Capital, Indian River, Woodbridge and New Castle County Vo-Tech.

DSEA staff is preparing some talking points on subjects of current interest: salaries, health care benefits, short-term disability program changes, shared decision-making, transparency and accountability, and the federal Race to the Top funding requirements regarding using single test scores for evaluations and turning low-performing schools to charter schools.

We will have these available for you at each meeting site. They are not meant to restrict the conversation, just to give you some starting points for your thoughts.

I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to let him know your thoughts, concerns, fears, as well as hopes for the future.

In unity, 
Diane Donohue
President, DSEA

President Obama to speak directly to America's students

Next Tuesday, September 8 at 12:00 Noon 
(This is a change from the originally scheduled time of 1pm)

On Tuesday, September 8, President Barack Obama will deliver a national address directly to the nation’s students on the importance of education. He is expected to speak for about 15 minutes. He will challenge students to work hard, set goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.

IMPORTANT NOTE: DCET (the Delaware Center for Educational Technology) informs us that neither the Local Area Network (LAN) at your school nor the Wide Area Network (WAN) at the state can support the traffic required for everyone to watch from separate computers in schools across the state. They are recommending that folks watch from one or two locations at each school where many staff and students can gather and watch a single stream.

The address will be broadcast live over the White House website at 12:00 Noon EST. There is information there about the connection.

An e-mail invitation was sent from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to every school principal in the country asking them to have their school participate in the broadcast. (Note: The letter had a different time from the new 12:00 Noon start time posted on the USDOE Website.

In addition, C-SPAN, the cable public affairs network, will cover the president's speech live on its C-SPAN television channel. C-SPAN will also provide live streaming video online at http://www.cspan.org/Watch/C-SPAN_wm.aspx using Windows Media Player.

NEA is one of a half-dozen or so organizations that are making suggested “classroom activities” available. The US Department of Education’s website is providing a ‘hot link’ to all the websites of the supporting organizations. 

To go directly to the materials NEA is providing to support this activity, click here.

Free wipes from Clorox

NEA’s Health Information Network (NEA HIN) has teamed up with The Clorox Company: through Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, educators nationwide can visit http://www.CloroxClassrooms.com and get a free coupon for Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, while supplies last. You will need to register first and may be asked to show your school id when you redeem the coupon.
For more information on how to maintain a healthy classroom, check with your school nurse, or visit www.nea.org/home/32002.htm.

In addition, from NEA's Health Information Network --
Click here for a letter/template provided by the U.S. Dept. of Education that may be helpful for sending communications regarding H1N1 to parents.  

Click here for updated information from the U.S Department of Education on continuing learning if schools are closed because of the flu. 

The NEA Health Information Network website (www.neahin.org/h1n1) is adding resources on a regular basis. Please visit the site to get the latest information.

Have immediate concerns? Contact Jerald Newberry, NEA HIN director, or call him at 202-822-7570.

And, of course, we have public health experts right in our union: our public health nurses and school nurses.

New this year: We have an ad on the Phillies games (WDEL 1150AM) and will be sponsoring high school football and basketball games on The Ticket 1290AM

Maybe you've heard the ad on the Phillies games already: It is delivering the same message as our August Back to School billboards - that our great public schools are where every child can succeed -- and success is about developing the whole child to be successful.  
In case you don't follow baseball, the Phillies are defending World Champions and red hot!
Hear the 60- second Phillies spot now! 

And beginning this month, we are a radio sponsor of the high school football and basketball games which are broadcast live on The Ticket 1290AM.
You can hear the 30-second spot here. 

(If these audio links don't work, go to http://www.dsea.org for this story.)

If you can’t get 1290AM on your radio, the games are also broadcast live via online streaming on "The Ticket's" web site,