NEAElephant Educators
GOP Convention
GOP
The Ripon Society
Republican Main Street
The Wish List
Welcome to the very first NEA Republican newsletter. We will be publishing this newsletter quarterly to share with NEA members the activities taking place to support NEA's Republican members in becoming active politically and within the NEA.
In August 2007, almost 80 Republican NEA members gathered together in Minneapolis for the first ever Republican Leaders Conference. The conference, which featured panel discussions by NEA Republican members who are state legislators and party activists, was sponsored by the NEA Government Relations Department. The goal of the conference was to assist NEA Republican members in becoming more active in their local and state Republican parties.
Approximately one million of NEA's 3.2 million members are Republicans and have the potential to make a significant impact on Republican Party activities, organization, and platforms in 2008. We hope that this newsletter will provide you with valuable information and inspire you to become more active NEA members and members of the Republican Party.
NEA Board of Directors Members Share Their Experiences
Three NEA Board members, all proud and active Republicans, offer excellent examples for NEA members looking to increase their involvement in the Association and the Republican Party. Bill Wright of Illinois, Craig Ham of Florida, and Ginny Lee Evans of Texas have been very active as NEA members and have helped support NEA's Republican outreach. In brief interviews conducted during the NEA Board meeting in Washington, D.C., in early December, Bill, Craig, and Ginny Lee shared what inspires their involvement in NEA and in the Republican Party.
Bipartisan involvement is critical to strong public schools
All three members of the Board shared a strong conviction that bipartisan political involvement is critical to the success of the pro-public school agenda. "I've become very, very aware that having political activity is the name of the game," Bill Wright says. "It's become so important. And regardless of what political party you're from, you've got to be involved."
Craig Ham adds, "The differences that separate us ideologically probably have nothing to do with education. We need to show solidarity by making certain that our Republican and Democratic members understand the focus, the main mission, and the criticality of the main issues in education. A united front is absolutely critical to NEA's ability to leverage politicians to do the right thing on education and to come up with an authorization bill that really strengthens public schools."
Ginny Lee echoes the statements of her colleagues. "I've been involved in Republican politics for all of my life. As a Republican and talking about public education, it's about both Democrats and Republicans. We need to come together. While we have differences, we really are unified by our love of children and our profession. Policy discussions about public education need to focus on sound policy for our public schools, not the whims of social engineers on either side of the political spectrum. Too often, rather than looking at what's best for kids, policymakers look at what is going to advance their agenda."
Proud NEA members and proud Republicans
All three of NEA's Board members stay politically active through formal roles in their state and county Republican Parties. Bill Wright, a Republican precinct committeeman, says that every NEA Republican member should become active locally to affect change. "To get involved with state or local level politics is actually fairly easy to do. Just go to your township or county meetings and you can get involved very easily. They're always looking for volunteers. Tip O'Neill was right, all politics is local."
Craig Ham, a member of his county Republican Party's executive committee, adds that he uses his role to promote strong public schools: "As Republicans with experience in the classroom, teachers need to understand they do have a collective voice."
Ginny Lee Evans adds, "I am always going to precinct meetings, hoping to change the Republican platform. We can't just close the doors of our classrooms and expect things to take care of themselves. We need to be active and work for what we believe in. It takes a lot of courage to stand up and say 'I'm a Republican!' at an NEA meeting; well, it takes just as much courage to stand up at a Republican Party meeting and say 'I'm a proud member of the NEA.' If we want to have an impact, we need to engage in both organizations."
NEA has published a manual to encourage greater involvement by NEA members in the Republican Party. Participants at NEA's Republican Leaders Conference in Minneapolis received these manuals, which are now available to other interested NEA members. Each manual is specific to state laws and includes resources regarding the political process in each state at each level from county and district chair to state party chair.
If you would like a copy of this manual, please email Erin Duncan at NEA Government Relations at eduncan@nea.org or call Erin at (202) 822-7394.
Jerome Hoynes is a man who wears many hats. He is a social studies instructor at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Ill., an active member of the Republican Party, a loyal NEA member, and now the administrator and moderator of a new online community for Republican NEA members, www.elephanteducators.org.
According to the Web site, "The Elephant Educators Forum is an online advocacy group dedicated to improving American public education through increased cooperation and understanding between Republican Party organizations and teachers' unions. As more than one million loyal registered Republicans who are also loyal active NEA and AFT professionals, we are all devoted to creating great public schools...We understand that our engaged involvement in the political process will assist in changing the dynamics surrounding public school improvement."
Jerome was inspired to create Elephant Educators after NEA's first Republican Leaders Conference in August 2007. "That conference was really moving. You could feel many, many action plans were forming that weekend and that we had backing from the national organization."
Creating the Web forum has been a challenge. "It's been a process. I'm a social studies teacher, and I'm involved in things at school and in the community as well. However, this was a whole new set of challenges to manage an online forum. And it's something you have to keep engaged every day," Jerome says. To assist with the process, another Republican Leaders Conference participant, Michelle Bowman in Tennessee, has been helping to manage the Web site.
"My dream is that all NEA members know that 'hey, if I'm one of those one million Republicans,' they know there is a place they can go to get information about how to get involved in their state," Jerome adds.
"One of the major frustrations is keeping people connected between Representative Assemblies (RAs). And so this online advocacy I hope can transcend the gaps. I want this forum to help Republicans who may not feel connected to the NEA to realize that there are many opportunities to get involved and that they are not alone," Jerome explains.
Moving to 2008, Jerome's goal is for Elephant Educators to become a more active Web site and a source of political and NEA information. "I just know there are thousands and thousands of people who would like to be more active with the GOP and with the union and who feel that doing so is not at odds with one another."
Going to the NEA Regional Conferences?
If you plan to attend any of the NEA's Regional Conferences this winter, please let Erin Duncan at NEA Government Relations know (eduncan@nea.org; (202) 822-7394). NEA lobbyists will be attending the conferences and will have information for NEA Republicans in attendance.
Convention Stipends for Delegates and Alternates Announced
Karen White, director of NEA Campaigns and Elections Department, recently announced the stipends available for NEA members who are named delegates to the national nominating conventions. NEA provides a stipend for its members who attend either national political convention as delegates or alternates.
The stipends are determined based upon distance from the state capitol in each state to the city in which the nominating convention will be held. The Democratic National Convention will be held in Denver, Colo., August 25-28, 2008, and the Republican National Convention will be held in Minneapolis, Minn., September 1-4, 2008.
Persons interested in running as a delegate must comply with their state's requirements to file and run as a delegate. Your state affiliate Government Relations Department can help answer questions about your state's delegate selection requirements. If you decide to run and are elected as a delegate, please send NEA your contact information so that you are included in convention activity updates.
If you have questions about NEA's participation in either national party convention, please contact Carrie Pugh, manager, NEA Campaigns and Elections Department, at cpugh@nea.org or (202) 822-7307.
Click here for a document showing the stipends for delegates from each state.
GOP Convention
GOP
The Ripon Society
Republican Main Street
The Wish List
Welcome to the very first NEA Republican newsletter. We will be publishing this newsletter quarterly to share with NEA members the activities taking place to support NEA's Republican members in becoming active politically and within the NEA.
In August 2007, almost 80 Republican NEA members gathered together in Minneapolis for the first ever Republican Leaders Conference. The conference, which featured panel discussions by NEA Republican members who are state legislators and party activists, was sponsored by the NEA Government Relations Department. The goal of the conference was to assist NEA Republican members in becoming more active in their local and state Republican parties.
Approximately one million of NEA's 3.2 million members are Republicans and have the potential to make a significant impact on Republican Party activities, organization, and platforms in 2008. We hope that this newsletter will provide you with valuable information and inspire you to become more active NEA members and members of the Republican Party.
NEA Board of Directors Members Share Their Experiences
Three NEA Board members, all proud and active Republicans, offer excellent examples for NEA members looking to increase their involvement in the Association and the Republican Party. Bill Wright of Illinois, Craig Ham of Florida, and Ginny Lee Evans of Texas have been very active as NEA members and have helped support NEA's Republican outreach. In brief interviews conducted during the NEA Board meeting in Washington, D.C., in early December, Bill, Craig, and Ginny Lee shared what inspires their involvement in NEA and in the Republican Party.
Bipartisan involvement is critical to strong public schools
All three members of the Board shared a strong conviction that bipartisan political involvement is critical to the success of the pro-public school agenda. "I've become very, very aware that having political activity is the name of the game," Bill Wright says. "It's become so important. And regardless of what political party you're from, you've got to be involved."
Craig Ham adds, "The differences that separate us ideologically probably have nothing to do with education. We need to show solidarity by making certain that our Republican and Democratic members understand the focus, the main mission, and the criticality of the main issues in education. A united front is absolutely critical to NEA's ability to leverage politicians to do the right thing on education and to come up with an authorization bill that really strengthens public schools."
Ginny Lee echoes the statements of her colleagues. "I've been involved in Republican politics for all of my life. As a Republican and talking about public education, it's about both Democrats and Republicans. We need to come together. While we have differences, we really are unified by our love of children and our profession. Policy discussions about public education need to focus on sound policy for our public schools, not the whims of social engineers on either side of the political spectrum. Too often, rather than looking at what's best for kids, policymakers look at what is going to advance their agenda."
Proud NEA members and proud Republicans
All three of NEA's Board members stay politically active through formal roles in their state and county Republican Parties. Bill Wright, a Republican precinct committeeman, says that every NEA Republican member should become active locally to affect change. "To get involved with state or local level politics is actually fairly easy to do. Just go to your township or county meetings and you can get involved very easily. They're always looking for volunteers. Tip O'Neill was right, all politics is local."
Craig Ham, a member of his county Republican Party's executive committee, adds that he uses his role to promote strong public schools: "As Republicans with experience in the classroom, teachers need to understand they do have a collective voice."
Ginny Lee Evans adds, "I am always going to precinct meetings, hoping to change the Republican platform. We can't just close the doors of our classrooms and expect things to take care of themselves. We need to be active and work for what we believe in. It takes a lot of courage to stand up and say 'I'm a Republican!' at an NEA meeting; well, it takes just as much courage to stand up at a Republican Party meeting and say 'I'm a proud member of the NEA.' If we want to have an impact, we need to engage in both organizations."
NEA has published a manual to encourage greater involvement by NEA members in the Republican Party. Participants at NEA's Republican Leaders Conference in Minneapolis received these manuals, which are now available to other interested NEA members. Each manual is specific to state laws and includes resources regarding the political process in each state at each level from county and district chair to state party chair.
If you would like a copy of this manual, please email Erin Duncan at NEA Government Relations at eduncan@nea.org or call Erin at (202) 822-7394.
Jerome Hoynes is a man who wears many hats. He is a social studies instructor at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Ill., an active member of the Republican Party, a loyal NEA member, and now the administrator and moderator of a new online community for Republican NEA members, www.elephanteducators.org.
According to the Web site, "The Elephant Educators Forum is an online advocacy group dedicated to improving American public education through increased cooperation and understanding between Republican Party organizations and teachers' unions. As more than one million loyal registered Republicans who are also loyal active NEA and AFT professionals, we are all devoted to creating great public schools...We understand that our engaged involvement in the political process will assist in changing the dynamics surrounding public school improvement."
Jerome was inspired to create Elephant Educators after NEA's first Republican Leaders Conference in August 2007. "That conference was really moving. You could feel many, many action plans were forming that weekend and that we had backing from the national organization."
Creating the Web forum has been a challenge. "It's been a process. I'm a social studies teacher, and I'm involved in things at school and in the community as well. However, this was a whole new set of challenges to manage an online forum. And it's something you have to keep engaged every day," Jerome says. To assist with the process, another Republican Leaders Conference participant, Michelle Bowman in Tennessee, has been helping to manage the Web site.
"My dream is that all NEA members know that 'hey, if I'm one of those one million Republicans,' they know there is a place they can go to get information about how to get involved in their state," Jerome adds.
"One of the major frustrations is keeping people connected between Representative Assemblies (RAs). And so this online advocacy I hope can transcend the gaps. I want this forum to help Republicans who may not feel connected to the NEA to realize that there are many opportunities to get involved and that they are not alone," Jerome explains.
Moving to 2008, Jerome's goal is for Elephant Educators to become a more active Web site and a source of political and NEA information. "I just know there are thousands and thousands of people who would like to be more active with the GOP and with the union and who feel that doing so is not at odds with one another."
Going to the NEA Regional Conferences?
If you plan to attend any of the NEA's Regional Conferences this winter, please let Erin Duncan at NEA Government Relations know (eduncan@nea.org; (202) 822-7394). NEA lobbyists will be attending the conferences and will have information for NEA Republicans in attendance.
Convention Stipends for Delegates and Alternates Announced
Karen White, director of NEA Campaigns and Elections Department, recently announced the stipends available for NEA members who are named delegates to the national nominating conventions. NEA provides a stipend for its members who attend either national political convention as delegates or alternates.
The stipends are determined based upon distance from the state capitol in each state to the city in which the nominating convention will be held. The Democratic National Convention will be held in Denver, Colo., August 25-28, 2008, and the Republican National Convention will be held in Minneapolis, Minn., September 1-4, 2008.
Persons interested in running as a delegate must comply with their state's requirements to file and run as a delegate. Your state affiliate Government Relations Department can help answer questions about your state's delegate selection requirements. If you decide to run and are elected as a delegate, please send NEA your contact information so that you are included in convention activity updates.
If you have questions about NEA's participation in either national party convention, please contact Carrie Pugh, manager, NEA Campaigns and Elections Department, at cpugh@nea.org or (202) 822-7307.
Click here for a document showing the stipends for delegates from each state.
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