Newsletter

February 2018

NEA-Dallas Board of Directors

President Delna Bryan
Vice President Sheila Walker
A Message from the President VP of Teacher Affairs Hope Lee
VP of DISD ESPs Carmen Behrend
Dear NEA - Dallas Members; Secretary Vivian Bryant
The NEA-Dallas New Dawn Express train is moving along at a very clip Treasurer Angela Davis
pace with the winter weather hitting us full in the face on some days.
Some days it feels like we are in Chicago, on others we are in Dallas. NEA-Dallas would like to congratulate the Teacher of the Year
Which is truly our “windy city” in the United States? It depends on the
history books that you read, or the persons that you speak to on a
particular day. We know that the train has been running along smoothly
on the tracks towards a successful 2017-2018 school year. We have been
getting our students to all the schools where they attend on time every
Beth Poquette Drews
day against all odds. L.V. Stockard Middle School
We thank each bus driver, crossing walk guard, dispatcher, monitor and
all the countless others in the School Bus Transportation Services who
labor lovingly behind the scenes. Thank you for getting the students to
our schools safely in order for them to get that quality instruction taken
care of each day! Thank you also for getting them back home to their
When: Saturday February 10, 2018
parents without a hitch each evening! Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Where: NEA-Dallas
February is the month that we celebrate and honor quite a few African-
6500 Greenville Avenue, Suite 520
Americans who have been the colorful fabrics to knitting this beautiful
quilt that we can now embrace as our country. After celebrating Dr.
Dallas, TX 75206
Martin Luther King’s birthday in January, we can now also reflect on the RSVP: Raya Staley (214) 821-2061 or
legacy that he left us during this auspicious month. Dr. King not only officemanager@logixonline.com
changed the lives of many here in the U.S.A., but for many of the
underprivileged masses around the entire world who were being Come join us for the next General Membership meeting
neglected in their respective countries. Don’t’ miss out on important information & news!
We thank the Black inventors and pioneers like Benjamin Banneker, The following Bylaw Amendment will be voted on at the February
George Washington Carver, David N. Crosthwait Jr., Louis Howard 10, 2018 General Membership Meeting.
Latimer and Garrett Morgan just to name a few. We add the names of NEA Dallas Bylaw Amendment
Mary McLeod Bethune, Shirley Chisholm, Dr. Mae C. Jemison and Section 3
Harriet Tubman to the mix of those to whom we are grateful to, and it Bullet #2
would even make a longer list that could fill more than a page. They all
brought innovations, technologies as well as a different way of living The office of President shall be a full-time release position based on
into our lives. Thanks to this myriad of people, we today have a much the NEA Dallas Membership enrollment. If the membership
enrollment drops below the threshold of 1200 for three consecutive
more comfortable and pleasant world in which to live!
months, then the office of President shall be a part time released
February is also marked as the Month of Love for many who start position with a part time salary. If the membership drops below
thinking about Valentine’s Day right after Christmas. This day is called 700 for three consecutive months, then the office of President
“Friendship Day” in other regions of the globe. It is the day that we shall not be a release position.
thank those closest to us with a small token of our appreciation and
love. Most adults among us can count on some goodies that we get
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot
from students because they think so highly of us. drive out hate; only love can do that.”
In closing, I take the time to wish each and every one of you a Happy  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Valentine’s Day, ¡Feliz Día de San Valentín!, or ¡Feliz Día de la Amistad!
“Do not call for black power or green power. Call for brain power.”
Delna  Barbara Jordan
[REMINDERS]

2/3/18 NEA-Dallas Board Training @ 9 am

2/3/18 Region 20 HoD @ 12 pm
2/5/18 NEA-Dallas Board Meeting @ 6:30 pm
2/8/18 DISD Board Briefing @ 11:30 am
2/10/18 AR Meeting @ 9 am
2/10/18 General Membership Meeting @ 10 am
2/12/18 DCS Dissolution Committee Meeting @ 10 am
2/22/18 DISD Board Meeting @ 6 pm
2/26/18 DCS Dissolution Committee Meeting @ 10 am

NEA-Dallas www.NEADALLAS.com
6500 Greenville Avenue, Suite 520 www.TSTA.org
Dallas, Texas 75206 www.NEA.org
Vote Education First
If we, as educators, do not cast our votes based on a candidate’s position on Monday – Friday
8:30 am – 5:00 pm
education issues, who will?
Lunch Break 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Our votes decide what student success and education policy look like today, [Closed Saturday, Sunday & all DISD holidays]
tomorrow and in the future. Here’s what’s at stake: TSTA Help Center 1-877-ASK-TSTA

• Better funding for public schools or state funds for private school
vouchers

• The freedom to teach and learn or teaching to the test

Malinda McKee Raya Staley
• Smaller class sizes or crowded classrooms TSTA Staff Office Manager
(214) 923-2768 – cell (214) 821-2061
• Professional pay and benefits or inadequate pay and insurance malindam@tsta.org officemanager@logixonline.com
coverage
Elections have consequences. When you take the Vote Education First pledge,
you pledge to cast your votes based on which candidate is best for students, NEA-Dallas neadallas1
educators and public education. Together, we can determine the future of public
education, elevate our profession and provide every child the opportunity to TSTA Help Center
receive a quality education, but we have to vote education first. 1-877-ASK-TSTA
www.TSTA.org

Call or Email Your Congressman Now!

Urge them to Pass the CLEAN DREAM Act NEAMB Signature Discount
When you enroll in the AT&T Signature Discount program, through
NEA-Dallas is partnering with TSTA and NEA to urge our members of Congress to your organization-and have a qualified wireless service agreement-
pass a “clean” Dream Act, that will protect our Dreamers (DACA recipients) you'll save on your monthly service charge for qualifying plans.
without a lot of political add-ons. As an AT&T Signature Discount member, you’ll receive:
We are asking for your help with this important effort. If you will go to the link • 15% off qualified wireless plans & services
below, it will take you to a site where you can quickly and easily send an e- • 20% off eligible wireless accessories
postcard to your own members of Congress urging them to support a clean
Dream Act.
https://goo.gl/nxBwht
For more information and details go to the website listed below:
In solidarity, Union Member discounts available at www.att.com/wireless/NEAMB
Delna Bryan, President
NEA-Dallas

“In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest
tribute.”
 Thurgood Marshall NEA Auto & Home Insurance Program
Brandon Watson – (512) 520-7248
“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.”
 Dr. Mae Jemison
bwatson@calcas.com
 MY STORY
Jay Frederick
Molina High School ; Dallas ISD
Sixteen years ago, I volunteered to become the Association Representative for
Molina High School. At that time, NEA-Dallas was known as Classroom Teachers
of Dallas, a reflection of the era when NEA-Dallas was the ONLY teacher’s
representation organization for DISD. Obviously, time has altered the
landscape. In all honesty, I became the A.R. for Molina in response to a veiled
threat to my job made the previous year by the then principal of Molina. As I
was coming into school on the first day back for the 2002-2003 school year, I
was walking behind the then current A.R. and mentioned to her that I might
need her assistance. She informed me that she was not going to be
representing Molina any longer as she was preparing to retire. I immediately
volunteered. My experience at Molina altered permanently. I discovered that
there was a grievance against the principal that had not been acted on yet and
by the end of the school year that grievance was already moving to level two.
Due to a series of circumstances, including a very serious grievance facing her,
the principal was removed from the campus and re-assigned to an
administrative position downtown. My career as the Molina A.R. had begun in
earnest. As a result of the success of the actions in connection with the
grievance against a largely unpopular principal, the membership for NEA-Dallas
soared. I worked with the leadership of the organization to increase the
membership to become the largest percentage of the faculty and staff of any
school in DISD. The success of the membership efforts even forced the other
organizations to basically give up on recruiting at Molina. The representatives
for the other organizations even joined NEA-Dallas! Needless to say, I was quite
proud of OUR accomplishments in uniting the faculty and staff of Molina into a
solid front the administrative team had to deal with. One of our Assistant
Principals even joined!
Fast forward to 2018 and Molina still maintains the largest percentage of faculty
and staff members who are members of NEA-Dallas of any school in DISD. This
is something I will always be truly pleased to have been a part of. But I will
never feel that it was “my doing”. It takes cooperation and a team effort to
accomplish such and the support I received from the officers and staff of NEA-
Dallas is a key component of these accomplishments. That support and
leadership is why I have been able to be a successful representative these 16
years. For that, I will be eternally grateful. I didn’t know anything about being
an A.R. when I started and people like Dale Kaiser and Angela Davis led me
through the growth that resulted in the successes that NEA-Dallas has had at
Molina. I am certain that such leadership will continue with Delna Bryan.
I would just like to note that in all these years there have been few serious
grievances filed. I would like to think that my willingness to work with the
administrative teams through these years and the ability to act as a counselor
and sympathetic ear to our members is largely responsible for this. But I cannot
say that without quickly adding that had it not been for the quick
responsiveness and knowledgeable staff at TSTA and NEA-Dallas I never would
have been able to achieve the success at Molina that I have been fortunate
enough to have been a small part of.
Teaching is more than just a career, it’s a calling. Being part of a professional
organization like NEA-Dallas is part of making that calling even more powerful.
It helps prepare each of us to do better at our career. It helps us find that spot
where we excel. The training I have received in my years with NEA-Dallas has
made me a better teacher than when I first came to Molina even though I had
many years of teaching under my belt at that time. It is my conviction that
everyone should be a member of a professional organization and especially
NEA, TSTA and NEA-Dallas.
(There are so many people I would like to mention and thank that there is
simply not time nor space to list them all, but I must acknowledge the many
people who have helped me and the vast opportunities for growth I have been
honored with, not the least being this opportunity to be highlighted. I can only
say a humble “THANK YOU” to the many, many people who have helped me!
May they all be truly blessed as richly as they have been a blessing to me!)
Ron Bivins
Pat Raney Service Center ; DCS
My days with Dallas County Schools are what come to mind when writing this to
share with my friends and families. My name is Ron Bivins, currently a school
bus driver, that take our young ones to and from school. I want to give the
name of the organization, but as of November 7, 2017, the agency was voted
against by Dallas County voters. I have been with this company going on three
years, and enjoy seeing and hearing from the: “I do not want to get up and go
to school early in the morning, may I get you to comeback in a hour or two?”
Then, in the afternoon, the same ones get on the bus with all kind of energy, as
to say please get me home quickly, I have lots of homework to do. It appears
to be a conspiracy, against the Have Nots, I mean, the establishment had a well
fund campaign.
We drivers, monitors and school crossing guards, found ourselves fighting a
losing battle. First, there was some administrators, board members, and others
taking money to get a source of income thru. Secondly, there was the firing of
drivers, that had some red-light camera violation from years ago, that were
handled properly by the Department to be left Unnamed. Thirdly there was a
shakeup and then a lot of risk employees were let go, except those that should
have gotten fired. Then, I saw how some members of another department
taking care of their friends. That is when I decided that we needed to get
involved, and not just be one on the sideline throwing flags.
It was Dante Alighieri who stated, “that the darkest places in hell are reserved
for those who maintain their neutrality in time of moral crisis.” I asked all
around, to see if there was an effort, there was none, so I got in the game, late
but I got in. We tried meeting, to organized, and found out that I was not the
only one feeling let down by a company that I get up every morning at 3:30am,
to make sure my life is ready to give joy and hope to our children. By
organizing, we came up with a plan of action, that if the 2,300 employees plus,
would go out and vote, and take ten other people to the polls, we could win the
election.
By getting in the game, I had the privilege of meeting the NEA Dallas President,
Ms. Bryan, who we bumped heads for a second, but then realized, that we are
fighting together. I thank God, that I met her. We were able to meet with some
concerned board members, that got an understanding of what was happening
at the centers. Then, we were able to get board members and administration to
make appearance at all the centers to give updates of the condition of Dallas
County Schools.
We fought, we registered voters, we blocked walk, we did radio interviews, we
reached out to get all the help we could get, but the problem of that while we
were reaching out, most of those that were within were out; and not paying
attention to the battle. They were bitter, they felt as if they have been
bamboozled, and any promise now, would only be another broken promise. We
lost the election, and out of 2,300 plus employees, only 800 showed up and
voted. I’m CRUSHED! However, there is light at the end of every tunnel. Look
for that light!