Laura's Leadership -

Greetings!! What a busy year it has been so far!!  Your MEA leadership team has been busy- attending meetings, conferences, trying to keep up with all that is happening while trying to make a smooth transition. I have to say, I believe we have a fantastic team put together, and we have a lot of exciting things planned for this year.

As you know, the negotiations process has stalled a bit right now, and we are anticipating our first fact finding session will be after the new year. Not that any time is great for negotiating, but this year seems to be more challenging than ever. The Governor continues to push his “tool kit,” which contains ideas that threaten the very core of collective bargaining. We are doing every thing we can to digest all of the information, and the team is committed to brokering the very best deal for all members.  As teachers in Mahwah, we pride ourselves on our dedication to educating today’s youth.  The current political climate doesn’t deter us from achieving our goals.  As members, please feel comforted by the fact that your Negotiations Team is always working hard for you and they need your continued support at this difficult time.

We have put together a Public Relations committee, and they are a group of enthusiastic members with a ton of great ideas. We are planning ads in the local paper, a new updated brochure, and we are continuing our partnership with the Foundation again this year.

Another thing in the works is a program called “Teacher for a Day.”  This program invites members of the community into our classrooms to do teach- not just talk to the students, but come up with lesson plans and cover whatever topic the class is covering. We will be inviting members of the Board of Education, Mayor and Council, Foundation and Chamber of commerce members.

There are many other terrific things going on in our Mahwah schools.  Please make sure to check our website for more details.

We, the MEA, as well as teachers all over New Jersey, are not just beginning a new chapter, but it is time to begin a new book. “That’s the way it was always done” is not good enough anymore. With teaching, with organizing, with public perception, we may feel as if we are climbing an uphill battle. And maybe we are. But that does not discourage us. As always, we continue to do our best teaching children to think and dream, as well as continuing to think and dream ourselves.

Be well-- Laura