Your 2015-2017 NCATA Board of Directors

F A L L
2 0 1 5
NCATA
The North Carolina Association of Teacher Assistants
Your 2015-2017 NCATA
Board of Directors
William K. Johnston, President
Chris Brown, 1st VP
Teresa Sawyer, 2nd VP
Jennifer Tysinger, Treasurer
Marjorie Moore, Secretary
Carolyn Barringer, Parliamentarian
Candace Herring, Historian
Lacy Autry, Legislative
Billie Highland, EHR
Gayle Parker, PDP
Victoria Hampton, D1 President
Sharon Best, D2 President
Cornetta McKey, D3 President
Kathy Revels, D4 President
Dru Davis, D5 President
Sandy Borders, D6 President
Andrea Cranfill, D7 President
Luann Coyle, D8 President
Judy Barnes, Executive Director
Melinda Zarate, Communications Director
It is my pleasure to serve you, the members, as your
NCATA State President. Already this summer NCATA has
been shaking, rattling, and rolling across North Carolina
holding press conferences, meeting with our elected
representatives, and promoting our association. Now more
than ever it is critical that we take a stand against those who
seek to discredit the job we do, the value of teacher assistants,
and the impact that we directly have on students and their
achievement. The cuts that we have endured and continue to
face year after year are unacceptable, unfair, and unjust. For
these reasons we will continue to speak out and to bring
attention to these important issues that teacher assistants face.
It is hard to believe that the summer passed so quickly,
and that we are already into the 2015-2016 school year. Some
school systems around the state have already had to make
difficult decisions to lay-off some of our colleagues. Let’s keep
them lifted in prayer. As we continue to assist our teachers and
students, we must always strive for excellence, put our best foot
forward, and be a guiding light to all those that we encounter.
Your NCATA Board of Directors has set as our goals
over the next two years to work diligently on behalf of each
NCATA member, unite teacher assistants, and strengthen our
association. However, we cannot do this without each of
you! Let’s begin this year by supporting NCATA, joining the
association, and recruiting new members as well as bringing
former members back into the association. When we put away
our differences, unite for a common purpose, and work together
as a team, the sky is the limit. I believe this year can be a
breakout year for NCATA, and the only limits we will have are
those that we place upon ourselves. “ LET’S TAKE THE
LIMITS OFF AND ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS
TOGETHER!”
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,“What lies behind us
and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies
within us.” There is a hero that lies within each teacher
assistant, a champion for children, an advocate for education, a
creative spirit, an unwavering determination, an ability to adapt
to any situation, and the sheer know-how to succeed in
anything that is thrown our way. I encourage you to hang in,
hang out, and hang on because the Rock & Roll Express is
about to leave the station and we are going to shake, rattle, and
roll across North Carolina, continuing to make a difference,
exceed expectations, and be all that we can be!
As your President, I want you to know that I am here to
assist you, listen to your concerns, and to support you in any
way that I can. I welcome your feedback throughout the year,
and encourage you to contact me. You can reach me via email
at [email protected] or by calling me directly at
(910) 874-3255. I look forward to serving you for the next two
years!
Sincerely,
William K. Johnston, Jr.
NCATA State President
FALL 2015
NCATA Members,
Each year brings us a bright new class of shining star students. We
will overcome each challenge while making some memories along
the way for a successful journey. This summer we have reminded
legislators of the need for highly qualified, professional teacher
assistants in K-3 classrooms for the children of North Carolina. Our
students are the future and we have the great opportunity to make a
difference in their academic success.
Membership is critical to our association. I challenge you to be
proactive and take charge to promote NCATA. Let’s begin with the
end in mind by making a plan to recruit at least one new member.
Let’s tap our inner leader. Our membership will double and show the
NC General Assembly we put first the lives of North Carolina’s
children every day.
Our 1st and 2nd Vice-Presidents
Chris Brown and Teresa Sawyer
It is my tremendous honor to serve NCATA and its members as
State Second Vice President. Just as we listen to our students, I will
first seek to understand your needs and then to respond to those
needs. I am here to synergize with my fellow teacher assistants.
When we work together we can accomplish more than working
alone. I value other people’s strengths and learn from them.
Teacher Assistants can think win-win in all we do. On that note
there is no “I” in team and it is not my idea or your idea, but our
ideas that brings NCATA together as the best value in education
around.
NCATA will come together in May and sharpen the saw at our
“Shake, Rattle, and Roll – Teacher Assistants Rock Education”
conference. When teacher assistants work together using the
“Seven Habits of Happy Kids,” (book by Stephen R. Covey) our
concentrated efforts will make the impossible possible for our
teachers and students.
Here’s to our successful journey!
Teresa Sawyer
NCATA 2nd Vice-President
Welcome! First, thank you for allowing me the honor and showing me the trust to serve as your state 1st Vice-President. I take my position
very seriously and will do my best to serve our members to the best of my abilities. I pray everyone had a peaceful and restful summer and
now it's back to work to educate the children our God has sent us. Keep in mind we are God-sent teacher assistants. We were handpicked,
chosen to do this job. This is why we must stress the point to our leaders in Raleigh that teacher assistants are needed in our schools. I
encourage you to write, call and email your legislators, the members in both houses that represent YOU. Our legislators are elected to
represent the interests and needs of the citizens in their districts. The education of our children should be their #1 priority. One definite way to
lose this fight for our jobs is not to fight at all! Make your voice heard!
I encourage you to renew your membership in a timely manner. The deadline for renewal is December 31, 2015. Deadlines will be strictly
adhered to for membership, PDP applications, scholarship applications, and conference registration. I recommend you go ahead and join
online or download and mail in the membership form and fee NOW. NCATA has fought all summer long and will continue to fight for our jobs.
We must do our part and continue to recruit new members. Our association has been around since 1981. As long as there are teacher
assistants, NCATA will continue to represent our interests.
Respectfully,
Chris Brown
NCATA 1st Vice-President
2
FALL 2015
Greetings,
Whew, what a summer this has been! Time to focus on getting back to work, helping
our teachers and most importantly our children. In order to be the best that we can be
as highly qualified, please consider getting your PDP (Professional Development Plan)
completed if you have not done so in the past.
If you received your last PDP certification in 2011, your renewal (64 hours needed for
workshops taken after your PDP submission for 2011) is due NO LATER THAN
December 31, 2015. You should have already received a renewal letter. This is so
important for your own professional development and for counties that give incentives,
well, it definitely helps to get the bonus. By joining NCATA and getting your PDP, the
amount you pay for membership and application fee pays for itself in a matter of
months in the counties that offer the incentives. If you are in a county that does not
pay an incentive for having a PDP, please let us know here at NCATA. We have
experienced people who can assist you in approaching your superintendent and
school board in requesting incentive pay.
Your PDP Committee meets twice a year, in November and in February. The
committee has one member from each district that serves on it (8 people and 1 chair
person). You can go to our web site www.teacherassistants.org and print off a copy of
our PDP booklet under Links and Documents, and select P.D.P. docs for complete
instructions. Please remember to print up and take several of the Certificate of
Completions forms from the booklet with you to any workshops you attend in case you
are not given a course certificate.
When the PDP committee met this year, we reviewed our previous changes and made
a decision to implement the following new changes to help us better serve you and to
hopefully help us review your folders more quickly and efficiently:
• School Continuing Education, County History Reports, or Umbrella Forms will NOW
be accepted, but the names of classes, hours and dates must be listed on the forms.
Remember, we will need your principal’s signature, title and date on these forms or we
will not accept them. If only the year is shown with a set number of hours and no class
names are listed, you must send a Certificate of Completion Worksheet with the
class details.
• Journeyman’s Certificate: We will accept a Journeyman Certificate from NCDOL as
an upgrade to Associate Level I. A list or transcript of courses taken for the Certificate
and a copy of the Certificate will need to be sent with the PDP application and fee for
the upgrade to be accepted.
• Bus Training: We will now accept all hours taken for Bus Training yearly, but there
must be training involved, not just meetings.
• A Certificate of Completion Worksheet MUST be completed for all classes taken
should a course certificate not be available.
• Workshops need to pertain to the student’s education. On the NCATA Certificate of
Completion Form, there is a place for a brief description of course/workshop. Please
try to be very specific in defining the content of the course or workshop.
• If you are a school that does the Safe Schools Training, we need you to put all hours
totaled up on one of our NCATA certificate of completion forms and add a brief
description in the provided area. Have your principal sign and date your form. This will
save us all a lot of time.
• The Effective Teacher Training course for CEU certificates is now highly
recommended but not required. The three alternative courses listed on page 8 are
also highly recommended but not required for CEU certificates.
PLEASE remember to make sure all your forms have signatures, titles of person
signing, and dates on them. Our goal is to better serve you and make this process
easier for all involved. Have a wonderful school year! If I can help you in any way,
please feel free to call or e-mail me.
I am Regina Davis and was recently appointed by NCATA State
President, William Johnston, to serve as your State Conference
Chair for 2015-2017. I am excited and look forward to working on
your behalf these next two years.
Did you enjoy the 2015 conference; are you looking forward to the
2016 conference; and are you excited about all that this year has in
store for NCATA? My answer is YES to all three. I want to take this
opportunity to encourage you to start making plans to attend the
34th Annual Conference where we will be SHAKING, RATTLING,
AND ROLLING THE NIGHTS AWAY! We are looking forward to
another exciting year of workshops, outstanding presenters, and
great fellowship.
As we begin the process of planning this conference, check your
email regularly for lots of exciting news that will be coming your way
throughout the year. The 34th annual conference will be held May
12-15 in Raleigh, NC. The room rate will be $135.00 plus tax for
single through quad occupancy. We will reveal the host hotel on
January 1, 2016 as we open online conference registration. Make
sure to register for conference and to book your room early if you
want to secure a room at the host hotel.
Congratulations to Leslie Perkins from District Two who submitted
the winning 2016 Conference Theme: “Shake, Rattle, & Roll:
Teacher Assistants Rock Education!” Our theme will be centered on
the 1950’s era of rock & roll so break out those saddle oxfords,
poodle skirts, and leather jackets and let’s ROCK RALEIGH!
If you have any questions do not hesitate to email me at
[email protected]. If I do not know the answer to your
question(s), be assured I will find out and get back with you.
Sincerely,
Regina Davis, Conference Chair
Hello,
My name is Jennifer Tysinger and I am your NCATA State
Treasurer. I live in Davidson County and work as a teacher
assistant at Midway Elementary School. This is my seventeenth
year at Midway. I have a dog named Harvey, and he is great
company!
I have served as your treasurer since 2011, and my job is to
handle all things financial. I encourage you to continue to support
NCATA by joining the association. The Board of Directors has
worked very hard during the last year to keep NCATA going and
without the support of our members we would not have survived.
Please mail your membership in before December 31, 2015 or if
you prefer, join online. We do have a PayPal account. If you need
to contact me, my email address is [email protected].
I look forward to working with everyone during the next two years!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Tysinger
Sincerely,
Gayle Parker, PDP Chair, C (336) 577-8749, [email protected]
3
FALL 2015
Legislative News
Welcome back to school, ladies and gentlemen I hope that everyone had a good summer. First, let me say that this has been a busy time for
some of us. I want to thank everyone that participated in the rallies across the state. One thing that has been accomplished is that we have let
many people know about NCATA and what teacher assistants do in our schools.
I believe that this is going to be a good year. I know that we have had our moments but I believe we will make it. From the legislative point of
view, I want to encourage everyone that is not registered to vote to please go and register. If you know someone that isn't register, please
encourage them as well. In May of 2016 we will have state elections and we must make some changes because if changes are NOT made,
we will be where we are now in two years. We must vote in people who believe in public schools and will make funding a priority. The
education of our students and the role of teacher assistants in their education depends on our choices at the polls.
Thank you and have a good year.
Lacy Autry
NCATA Legislative Chair
[email protected]
910-734-6193
E.H.R.~ TAOY & Scholarships
Each year, NCATA designates one teacher assistant as Teacher
Assistant of the Year. The winner is recognized as an exemplary
representative of NCATA and teacher assistants of North Carolina.
NCATA selects a Teacher Assistant of the Year (TAOY) from finalists
in each of the eight districts.
The NCATA Scholarship Program provides financial awards annually to
the children of regular NCATA members who are pursuing higher
education. The scholarship application process is open annually from
September through mid-February. Application packets are available
during that time period through committee members and on the NCATA
website at http://www.teacherassistants.org.
TAOY Eligibility Requirements
The following items are required for all TAOY finalists. All finalists shall
be considered without regard to race, creed, religion, national origin,
sex, or handicap.
· TAOY finalist must be a member of NCATA for two consecutive
years PRIOR to nomination.
· TAOY finalist must be employed as a teacher assistant for a
minimum of two years prior to nomination.
· TAOY finalist must submit a portfolio that follows NCATA guidelines.
· Finalist must be active in NCATA (shows interest and attends
meetings of the association at the local, district, and state level)
Three major factors are considered in awarding scholarships to
applicants who meet the Eligibility Requirements:
1. Academic excellence;
2. Personal qualifications (as shown in applicant statement and in letters
of recommendation - may include leadership, athletic ability,
extracurricular, service work, and/or a combination of all of this and
more); and
3. Evidence of financial need.
The Scholarship Selection Timeline
• October: Scholarship packets out - via web site and committee
members.
• February 8, 2015: Scholarship applications due.
• February 22-23, 2015: E.H.R. Committee meets to consider
scholarship applications.
• March: Scholarship winners (& non-winners) notified and instructions
sent for conference recognition.
• April-May: Scholarship winners send information about banquet
attendance, hotel arrangements.
• June: Information about colleges due from scholarship winners.
• Mid-summer: NCATA sends scholarship funds to appropriate colleges.
District TAOYs go through an interview and portfolio review at the
state level in February and the winner is awarded at our annual
awards banquet.
If I can be of any assistance in either area, scholarship or TAOY,
please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Billie Highland, NCATA State E.H.R. Chair,
[email protected]
4
FALL 2015
I would like to give everyone in District 1 A Great Big Warm Welcome Back! Hope everyone got plenty of rest and
relaxation over the summer. Can’t wait to see everyone so that we can make plans for the upcoming year. For those that
may not know me, my name is Victoria Hampton. I’m your District 1 President. This will be my 29th year with Currituck
County Schools and I have lived in Currituck County most of my life.
Our first executive meeting will be August 29, 2015. Our first meeting will follow by mid-September with our members.
NCATA will send out a blast as soon as the date is confirmed with the library in Williamston. Hope everyone is ready to start
recruiting members, attending workshops, fun activities, and CONFERENCE for the 2015-2016 school year.
Please feel free to contact me by email: [email protected], text or call anytime at 252-455-0128 if you have
any concerns or questions.
Your District 1 President,
Victoria Hampton
Below are your district officers for 2015-2017. Please give them a warm welcome when you meet them in person.
President: Victoria Hampton
V-P & PDP chair: Regina Chappell
Secretary: Lori Byrd
Treasurer & Legislative Chair: Melody Sawyer
Parliamentarian: Gloria Koonce
Historian: Gloria Carter
EHR: Felicia Williams
Chaplain: Judy Moore
Corresponding Secretary: Evelyn Williams
Get Ready!! Get Ready!! Get Ready!!
In District 2 we will be rocking and rolling all the way to conference. Information about our first district meeting will be sent out in a
blast by September 1, 2015.
I'm praying all is well and everyone is keeping the faith. I have a lot of information to share with all of you so attendance is vital. In
order to have change we have to do better and make a stand. Our goal for district 2 this year is to mend relationships and
membership status. Everyone is somebody and each and every one of you matters in this association. Let's be about standing in
unity and making a difference for our students.
I'm here to serve you and to help strengthen our district. I need you!!!! The association needs you!! I hope to see you at the
meeting. I need all local presidents to contact me ASAP. My number is 253-320-0473.
Be Blessed. I have great things in store for us but you have to be a participant to receive the benefits!
Sincerely,
Sharon Best, District 2 President
5
FALL 2015
Hello, my name is Cornetta Mckey. I am the new president for District 3. I learned so much at our Board of Director’s training
last week and I am excited to start building membership in our district and seeing great things happen. It will take teamwork
to encourage each other in our efforts but I know we can do it. Our district needs a Vice-President, Secretary, Historian,
Parliamentarian, and treasurer. Our EHR chair is Frederick McClamb. Our PDP chair is Chellie Cherry. We need a chair to
represent District 3 on the Legislative Committee.
I work as an E.C. Instructional Associate at West Smithfield Elementary. I'm married with 3 adult children, 9 grandchildren,
and another one on the way. I look forward to meeting and working with each and every one of you Please, don't hesitate to
email or call me if I can help you in anyway.
Thank you!
Cornetta Mckey
NCATA District 3 President
Dear District 4,
It is my pleasure to have the opportunity to serve you again as your District 4 President in the 2015-2016 school year.
Summertime has flown by and it is time once again to refocus and begin gearing up to begin a fantastic year. I look forward to
seeing each of you again. Together, with close communication and cooperation between the State, District and Counties, I hope
we will meet our challenges and achieve all our goals this year. Here are a few meetings that have been scheduled:
•
Oneida Cummings, President Robeson County
September 12, 2015 9:00 am Lumberton High School
•
Grace King, President Cumberland County
Meeting/ Membership Drive 4:30/6:00, August 25, 2015, 5566 Hallwood Dr
•
Regina Davis, President Bladen County, August 19, 2015
•
Benita Powell, President Moore County, September 18, 2015
Teacher Assistants “Shake Rattle “N” Roll”
Kathy Revels, District 4 President
PHONE EXTENSIONS for (800) 979-2077:
0 – NCATA Office (Melinda)
1 – President William K. Johnston, Je
2 – 1st VP Chris Brown
3 – 2nd VP Teresa Sawyer
4 – PDP (William and Gayle)
6 – Membership (Melinda)
PHONE EXTENSIONS for (800) 979-2077:
700 – Finance (Jennifer Tysinger)
701 – Legislative (Lacy and Michelle)
703 - EHR (Billie Highland)
702 – District 1 President Victoria Hampton
704 – District 2 President Sharon Best
705 – District 3 President Cornetta Mckey
706 – District 4 President Kathy Revels
707 – District 5 President Dru Davis
708 - District 6 President Sandy Borders
709 – District 7 President Andrea Cranfill
710 – District 8 President Luann Coyle
Extensions for individual users have different
times that the person is available. Most
extensions are available M-F from 4-8 PM. Most
extensions require you enter your name and you
will be announced to the recipient.
6
FALL 2015
Greetings District 5! My name is Dru Davis and I am your new President. I am excited to embark on this journey. As your District President, I
hope to increase the membership base in our district and invite you to contact me any time you would like. I also encourage you to renew your
membership or join NCATA.
My family consists of my husband of 27 years, and our three children, two boys and one girl. My husband is a teacher at West Davidson High
School, and our children range in age from a 20 year old, third year college student, a 17 year old son who is a senior and a 13 year old
daughter who is an eighth grader.
I began my career with Davidson County Schools in 2001 at Churchland Elementary School and have been there ever since. I joined NCATA
in 2008 when I finally realized how important NCATA is and what this organization does for TA’s across the state of North Carolina.
Your new District 5 officers for the 2015 - 2017 term are as follows:
Dru Davis, President [email protected]
Lisa Miller, Vice President [email protected]
Linda Stamat, Treasurer [email protected]
Lori Norris, Secretary [email protected]
Carol Louya, Historian [email protected]
Tina Phillips, Parliamentarian [email protected]
Barbara Hayworth, PDP Chair [email protected]
Dixie Black, E.H.R. Chair [email protected]
I look forward to the next two years as we all work together to make our organization great!
Respectfully,
Dru Davis
District 5 President
Greetings District Six
It is my great honor to represent you as District Six president another term. The summer break is over and we must resolve to get back to
NCATA work. 2014-15 has certainly been a challenging year for all of us. We have been through adversity but we are still here. I am looking
forward to a productive year of increased membership and a continued strong voice of unity. Membership is one of the crucial endeavors in
keeping this organization viable. We must continue to increase our membership and prove that we are operating as a solid unit.
Let’s make our vision a REALITY!
Sandy W. Borders, District 6 President
Helen Collins, Vice-President
Elizabeth Filtwater, Secretary
Carolyn Barringer, Treasurer
Robin Davis, Parliamentarian/Historian
Susan Niday, Legislative
Jerry Sadler, PDP
Sandy Borders, EHR
7
FALL 2015
I’m Andrea Cranfill, your District President for 2015-17. Your officers are here to support you! I want to thank these people for taking on this
IMPORTANT endeavor. Your officers are:
President: Andrea Cranfill, [email protected], cell# (336) 782-5702
Vice President: Lisa Cunningham, [email protected],(828) 465-3360
Secretary: Debbie Crowder, [email protected], (828) 320-4868
Treasurer: Dawn Bradley, [email protected], (704) 489-0772
Treasurer in training: Sherri M. Laureda, [email protected], (828) 474-9789
Historian: Joanne Brown, [email protected], (828) 455-2799
EHR Chair: Connie Gunsley, [email protected], (828) 234-0888
PDP Chair: Ashlyn Montgomery, [email protected], (336) 940-6295
Legislative Chair: Dawn Bradley, [email protected], (704) 489-0772
As NCATA members we ALL have one main objective: To EDUCATE students, staff, and the public on what we do in our public schools! I feel
the hardest groups to educate are our elected local and state representatives. They only see numbers on paper (voters) and groups like us
have officers that work very hard to inform them about the need for teacher assistants in our schools. Let’s show our officers that we are
grateful by getting our membership numbers up!!! Membership numbers are what our elected officials understand because they see those
numbers as votes, but ONLY if the number is big enough. Please, encourage membership in our association by recruiting new members.
Carry forms with you! Put in your name and district on each form.
Please make certain to put correct information on your ownmembership forms because this is how NCATA and I will be able to contact you
about meetings and updates. Communication is important because public schools are a budget target and TA’s are at the top of the list to cut.
Some income is better than none at all. My job and my students are worth fighting for and the $45 cost of my NCATA membership seems
small compared to the lost of my year salary. Thank you and I look forward to working with you in the next two years to grow our membership
and educate the public about the value of teacher assistants!
Sincerely,
Andrea Cranfill
Greetings!
District 8 includes 17 different school systems and there are 863 teacher assistants in those systems according to the 2014-2015 numbers.
Our enrollment was over 200 just 10 years ago and we did decrease down to the teens. Our members only represent 5 of our district’s
school systems. We now have 38 active members so baby steps are good. Our biggest challenge and goal is to get more members and
fill the offices open at this time. I would be glad to come to any local meeting you have and hope to start visiting different areas of our
district.
I challenge each current NCATA member to bring in 2 other members this year. My personal goal for this year in terms of membership is to
get a NCATA member from each of our counties. Even though job security is being questioned everyday, I am very excited to be an officer
this term and envision that NCATA will rise above the current uncertainty coming out of Raleigh and be stronger than ever. The state
officers in place for the next two years are an awesome group of team workers. The district challenge is to become as great as the
leaders. Let us continue reaching up and accomplishing the goals.
Our first meeting will be the middle of September. We will look to filling the committee positions that are currently open.
President: Luann Coyle
Vice President: Open
Secretary: Open
Treasurer: Billie Highland
Historian: Sandy Clark
Legislative: Open
EHR: Sandy Clark
PDP: Luann Coyle
Your NCATA District 8 President,
Luann Coyle, [email protected]
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FALL 2015
Communication is the Key
NCATA
Teacher Assistant of the Year
Andrea Cranfill
Hello. My name is Andrea Morgan Cranfill and I am honored to be
the North Carolina Association of Teacher Assistants’ Teacher
Assistant of the Year. I live in Davie County with my husband and
son. I spent my first 16 years as a teacher assistant working with
students in 1st and 2nd grades. I now work with grades 3-5 in a
self-contained classroom. I have a background in early
childhood education and pre-K.
As your communications director, it is my responsibility to keep
you informed. Our NCATA website, Facebook page, and Twitter
page as well as email blasts throughout the year enable me to
reach out to you quickly and effectively – that is, if you check them.
J It is important that our members have their correct email
address in our records. When renewing your membership for
2016, make certain to check the email address to ensure it is
correct.
I love working with children and I feel it is my calling. During my
years in education I have seen many changes, some good and
some not so much, such as the loss of instructional support for
our classroom students and teachers. I am a passionate person
and membership in my local, district, and state associations has
given me the opportunity to channel that passion to help others.
If you have Facebook and Twitter accounts, please like/follow us
on our association accounts.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/NCATA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ncatas
I have great pride in my job and what I do for students and have
great respect for everyone that works in our schools. Through
NCATA I have found a way to show my gratitude by continuing my
education through workshops to improve my ability to serve the
educational needs of our students today. I consider that the
teacher and teacher assistant relationship is very similar to the
relationship of a doctor and nurse team. Each individual has
different tasks to perform but it is together that we achieve what is
best for the individuals we help.
An informed membership is a powerful membership! Honest,
pertinent, timely communication is the key to our mission: to
promote the important role of teacher assistants in the public
schools, to provide professional development opportunities, and to
work to improve salaries and employment security. NCATA has
been communicating our mission in the many press events we
have during the summer. We have engaged more citizens in our
fight than ever before. WHY? Communication!
To those who sent me your “I am one of the 8,592” photos, thank
you very much! To those who shared our FB posts and Twitter
messages, well done! To those who attended press events and
stood with signs and spoke with reporters, bravo! I appreciate
each and every one of you! You showed that teacher assistants
and their supporters are willing to stand up for what is right and
speak out for what is wrong.
This year I will do my best to support each of you by speaking out
to everyone I can about just how important teacher assistants are
in our schools. I am looking forward to working with all of our
district’s TAOYs in educating others about who we are! I hope to
meet as many of you as possible this year.
Please, stay positive because our students will benefit by how we
handle hard times. Children learn social skills from the examples
they see set by adults. Let us be the example on how working
together can make a difference.
You can contact me at [email protected] or call me at 1800-979-2077, extension 0. That’s the NCATA phone AND fax
number. Oh, and don’t forget our address has changed:
NCATA
PO Box 334
Welcome, NC 27374
Sincerely,
Andrea Cranfill
2015-16 NCATA TAOY
Sincerely,
Melinda K. Zarate
NCATA Communications Director
9
YOUR 2015-2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
FALL 2015