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UNITED VOICES VOL. 2 NO. 7

AMY NEAL NAMED ND TEACHER OF THE YEAR Whatâ€™s Inside: North Dakota United Foundation Celebrates 25 Years NDU Delegate Assembly Scheduled April 16, 2016 ndunited.org Higher Education Members Invited to the Roundtable

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Postmaster, send address changes to: North Dakota United 301 N 4th Street Bismarck, ND 58501 Linda Harsche Director of Communications Kelly Hagen Director of Field Communications Image Printing Design/Publisher

CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF THE ND UNITED FOUNDATION Twenty-five years ago, the North Dakota United Foundation was formed to promote educational excellence and public service in North Dakota. The Foundation’s goal is to aid public educators and employees, their dependents and students in achieving greater educational success.

AMY NEAL NAMED TEACHER OF THE YEAR

A CONVERSATION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

SCHOSTEK RECEIVES NDU ESP OF THE YEAR AWARD

North Dakota United is two years into the merger that brought together numerous constituencies of public employees and educators into one camp. Foremost amongst the many tasks that stand before our union is for our members, our leaders and our staff to talk to one another, but to also listen. We are all getting to know each other better, so that we can all better understand the issues we all face.

The 2015-16 North Dakota United Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year award went to Heidi Schostek of Dickinson during the ESP Conference at Bismarck’s Ramada Inn. Heidi has been employed at Dickinson High School since 2013, as an In-School Suspension Para.

NOVEMBER 2015 United Voices is the official publication of North Dakota United, 301 N 4th Street, Bismarck, ND 58501.

NDU DELEGATE ASSEMBLY SET APRIL 16 ATTEND TO VOTE IN THE ELECTIONS The NDU Delegate Assembly will once again be held at Bismarck State College, in the National Energy Center for Excellence Bavendick Stateroom on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Your local and chapter presidents will receive report forms for the Assembly as the dates get closer. This is a very important meeting – one where members will have an opportunity to share in the governance decisions of NDU, elect officers and statewide delegates to the 2016 NEA Representative Assembly, which will be held June 30–July 5, 2016, in Washington, D.C.

STATE’S USE OF TEMPORARY WORKERS DEBATED Part-time jobs are a part of our American economy, as is seasonal employment or “temporary” positions. These temporary workers fill in the gaps of the workforce, Leonard Tisi said his job duties included “anything and everything; whatever they needed.” He archived files, photos and videos, and would assist the videographer in recording videos, such as the demolition of the Memorial Bridge in Bismarck in 2008. “My hours were generally 32-35 hours per week, and I told them I wouldn’t give them 40 because I wasn’t full-time,” Tisi said. “Although I did; there were times I gave them 42, 45 hours. It all depended on what they needed. I wouldn’t generally turn down work if they had it. My job could have gone on for 20 years.”

ND United Voices

President’s Post

POLL SHOWS STRONG SUPPORT FOR NDU MEMBERS Public favors educators and public employees As I write this column, I am sitting in the Delta terminal at Reagan National Airport following the AFT Program and Policy Council (PPC) meetings and AFT Executive Council meetings in Washington, D.C. These meetings, like our NEA Super Week meetings, can sometimes get bogged down in discussions of the many challenges educators and public employees face. The challenges are many, of course: ill-conceived schemes to address teacher shortages, inconsistent workplace rules, byzantine tenure and promotion policies in our institutions of higher education, and many more.

By Nick Archuleta NDU President

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Whatever your goals - improved working conditions, a greater voice in decision making, student centered, teacher-led classrooms — the public is with you if you just ask.”

NDU

The Public Loves You

Poll

According to a poll commissioned by North Dakota United, 77 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of ND public employees 66 percent of respondents gave ND public schools a grade of A or B and that same percentage has a favorable view of North Dakota's teacher union.

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Those challenges can be daunting. At NDU, we recognize those challenges and have taken a nonpartisan approach to mitigating them. At the Legislature, we have formed alliances with people from both political parties and several organizations to help mitigate some of the challenges. We have made a conscious effort to be an issues organization, not a wholly owned subsidiary of any particular political party. Our success is based on good relationships, and we take preserving those relationships seriously at NDU. The same is true at the local level, too. It is true that our legislative alliances may not be present in every local, but every local does have NDU’s most important ally: the public! Your professionalism, commitment and passion are on display in your community every day. You have earned the trust and respect of your friends and neighbors because your work and the care with which you engage in it are a constant source of conversation. It is impossible to know how many dinnertime conversations include that funny story Mrs. Woodmansee told in her Spanish class or the extra time Mr. Kosse spent after class helping someone’s son better understand calculus. There are many, many accounts of how Alan, the custodian, helped a kid start her car or how Cathy, the bus driver, greeted each student with a smile as they got on the bus. And I have personally told and heard many stories about the public employees that have gone the extra mile to provide the public with outstanding service. Everything you do, it seems, is evaluated in thousands of conversations each day. And your evaluations are in. What do they say? Well, according to a poll commissioned by North Dakota United, 77 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of N.D. public employees and only 6 percent had an unfavorable opinion. The rest had a neutral opinion or didn’t know. Public school teachers fared quite well in the poll, too. Sixty-six percent of respondents gave N.D. public schools a grade of A or B, and that same percentage has a favorable view of North Dakota’s teacher union. That is a higher favorability rating than either major political party in our state. Furthermore, when asked which group was most important for a school board member to consider, the public rightly chose students as the most important. When asked which group, after students, the public would consider most important, the respondents chose teachers and staff. So the public loves you. Now what? In my view, each local and chapter should be developing an effective means of communicating with the public. Whatever your goals – improved working conditions, a greater voice in decision making, student-centered, teacher-led classrooms – the public is with you if you just ask. Developing a strategy that includes dialoguing with the people you serve is vital to your success. The public trusts you to do the right thing. They want you to succeed because your success is the community’s success. In short, the public gets you. At NDU, we have a team of professionals that can help your chapter or local develop effective internal and external communication strategies. Please do not hesitate to give us a call at 701-2230450, or drop a note at comments@ndunited.org, to get started today.

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NDU DELEGATE ASSEMBLY SET APRIL 16

Attend to vote in the elections By Linda Harsche, NDU Communications

WHEN & WHERE

The NDU Delegate Assembly will once again be held at Bismarck State College, in the National Energy Center for Excellence Bavendick Stateroom on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Your local and chapter presidents will receive report forms for the Assembly as the dates get closer. This is a very important meeting – one where members will have an opportunity to share in the governance decisions of NDU, elect officers and statewide delegates to the 2016 NEA Representative Assembly, which will be held June 30–July 5, 2016, in Washington, D.C. In order to run for office or a delegate to NEA RA, you must request petitions from the NDU Office at 701-223-0450 or comments@ndunited.org, and submit them along with 50 signatures before Feb. 15, 2016.

DELEGATE REPORT FORM

Each local is guaranteed at least one representative. Larger locals are allowed 1 per 50 active members. Report Forms will be sent out to local presidents early next year. If you do not hear from your president, please contact them and tell them you would like to 4

ND United Voices

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ation Public Service and Education Public Service and Education Public Servic attend the NDU Delegate Assembly and represent your local or chapter. The Delegate Report Form must be completed and sent in no later than April 10. More information, including agenda, will be sent to delegates when NDU receives the Delegate Report Form.

individuals): the IRS standard business mileage rate for one car per local, one-half of the cost of a double room at the DA hotel, if necessary, for each delegate and $25 for each registered delegate. In addition NDU will be responsible for breakfast and lunch on the day of the assembly.

MEET-THE-CANDIDATE SOCIAL

ELECTIONS:

As United Voices went to press, the following have filed petitions with 50 signatures for re-election to their NDU positions: NDU President Nick Archuleta, of Bismarck, NDU Vice President of Education Karen Christensen, of Wishek, NDU Vice President of Public Employees Gary Feist, of Bismarck, and NEA Director Karen Askerooth, of Valley City.

Plan to attend the Social on Friday, April 15, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. It will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Bismarck.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS

If you need hotel accommodations, please contact the Radisson at 701-255-6000. Tell them you are attending the North Dakota United (NDU) function when you make your reservation. GUARANTEE your room for late arrival with a credit card or they will release the room at 4 p.m. Room rates are $80.10 single and $95.10 double (plus tax). Please contact the hotel before March 30 to qualify for these rates. After March 30, the room block will be released and reservations will be honored on a firstcome, first-served basis. Mom

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Public Service Perspectives

PREPARE FOR YOUR FUTURE

Public employees can make tax-free contributions to retirement accounts The United States is on the path to a retirement crisis, as many people do not have the necessary savings to take care of themselves and live the life that they dreamed of living upon retirement. According to Fidelity Investments, the median balance of a 401(k) and IRA accounts for households aged 55-64 is a combined total of only $53,000. According to a blog titled “Average 401k Balance by Age,” posted Feb. 2, 2015, at PersonalCapital.com, the median retirement balance for all working-age households is estimated to be $3,000. Investment advisors agree that the key to achieving your investment goals is to start early and continue to contribute to your retirement savings account throughout your working career.

“

By Gary Feist Vice President of Public Employees

We all must take responsibility for our own financial security in retirement by preparing now for our dreams of tomorrow.”

As a public employee and member of the North Dakota Public Employee Retirement System (NDPERS), are you taking advantage of all of the programs that will enable you to achieve retirement security? The state provides each classified employee with a defined-benefit retirement plan, but this plan is just one leg of the three-legged stool that will be necessary to provide you with the income needed for a secure retirement. The other two legs are Social Security and your own personal savings. One way to grow your personal saving is to participate in NDPERS 457 Deferred Compensation Program. The deferred compensation program allows you to put money into your saving account before taxes on a monthly basis. Another benefit of participating in the NDPERS 457 deferred compensation plan is you will be automatically participating in the system’s Portability Enhancement Provision (PEP). As part of the state’s defined-benefit retirement plan, the state contributes 7.12 percent of the employee’s salary into a retirement pool and 7 percent of the employee’s salary (state and employee contribution) is put into the employee’s account. PEP enables an employee to move $25, or up to 4 percent of the state’s contribution made to the retirement pool to the employee’s account each month by making an equal contribution to their 457 plan. The amount an employee is able to transfer to their account is based on the number of years of service they have with 1 percent being allowed to be transferred for one to 12 months of employment, with an additional 1 percent for each year of service with a maximum of 4 percent after 36 months of employment. Some of you may be wondering, why it is important to move up to 4 percent of the state’s contribution from the retirement pool to my account, and how will this improve my retirement security? There are three main benefits of participating in PEP: •

PEP encourages employees to open and continue to make contributions to their 457 plan.

•

If you decide to leave state employment and are not yet vested or want to roll your account into another retirement plan upon leaving state service, you would receive the balance in your personal account. So by participating in PEP, you are growing the cash value of the personal account that would be paid out to you.

•

Participating in PEP also increases the estate value of your retirement account that could be paid to your beneficiaries.

We all must take responsibility for our own financial security in retirement by preparing now for our dreams of tomorrow. Although the defined-benefit retirement plan will provide a guaranteed source of income in retirement, additional resources will be needed to achieve your dreams. NDPERS is offering all of us an opportunity to grow our retirement by offering a deferred-compensation plan that enables us to make tax-free contributions to our retirement accounts, while at the same time allowing employees to transfer the state’s contribution to our retirement pool to the employee’s account, growing the cash value of the plan. Prepare for your future by opening a deferred-compensation plan that starts moving the state’s contribution to your personal account. Additional details of the PEP program can be found on the NDPERS website, www.ND.gov/NDPERS.

ND United Voices

Education Perspectives

EDUCATORS STRIVE FOR RESPECT

Among students, colleagues and community The dictionary defines a professional as “a person who is an expert at his or her work.” We strive for respect as professionals in education. Respect is defined as “esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability.” The North Dakota Education Standards Practices Board (ESPB) is an independent board with the responsibility of teacher licensure, teacher education program approval, professional development and professional practices. The ESPB is responsible for following the code of conduct for all members of the teaching profession. The code of professional conduct as defined by the ESPB is currently based on three principles: commitment to the student, the profession and to the community. The first obligation of a teaching professional is to the students. A professional educator will not deny students the ability to access varying points of view, or suppress ideas relevant to a student’s academic program. Physical abuse or sexual contact cannot happen with a student. An educator cannot harass, discriminate against, or grant a discriminatory advantage to a student. Professional relationships with a student cannot be used for personal gain. Confidentiality is also required by law.

By Karen Christensen Vice President of Education

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The first obligation of a teaching professional is to the students. ”

The second principle deals with the obligation to the profession. An educator will give equitable treatment to all members of the profession and will not discriminate against a colleague in employment practice or evaluation of personnel. An educator will not sexually harass a fellow employee and will safeguard information acquired about colleagues. Complete and accurate applications for licensure and employment will be presented. No false complaints will be submitted, and educators will not distort conditions of employment or breach a professional employment contract. The third principle of conduct deals with community. An educator will be able to distinguish between personal views and the views of the employing educational agency. An educator is not to distort or misrepresent the facts concerning educational matters or interfere in the exercise of political and citizenship rights and responsibilities of others. The code of ethics is a guide to professionals that defines expectations and responsibilities of the educator. In order to drive the level of respect for educators higher, the perception of who you are must also increase. Gone are the days when an educator’s presence alone commanded respect. With the decline of good morals and self-centeredness on the increase, respect will need to be gained by earning it. Others should want to be who educators are. The bottom line becomes integrity. Professionalism and respect are byproducts of an educator’s conduct.

“What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.”

- Karl A. Menninger

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ND UNITED FOUNDATION

SOWING THE SEEDS

OF THE FUTURE

ND United Voices

CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF THE NDU FOUNDATION Donate to the NDU Foundation or Apply for a Scholarship or Grant Twenty-five years ago, the North Dakota United Foundation was formed to promote educational excellence and public service in North Dakota. The Foundation’s goal is to aid educators and public employees, their dependents and students in achieving greater educational success. The Foundation accomplishes this by providing to individual educators, public workers and college students various grants and scholarships designed to enhance their skills. Thus, the Foundation is sowing the seeds for the future improvement of education and public service in North Dakota through a program of scholarships and grants. It was with pride that the Foundation’s Board of Directors established this special alliance with education and public service leaders who understand that their professional growth is the key to success.

Les Snavely

“It seems like only yesterday that we started the Foundation with only $5,000.” said Les Snavely, one of the first Foundation Board members from Bowman. “Because of the generous support of members and friends of NDEA and now NDU, we have been able to give to students and active members $209,000 in scholarships and grants. And, we have grown the principal in the Foundation to over a quarter of a million dollars.”

BUILDING THE FOUNDATION From less than $5,000 in 1991 to over $250,000 in 2013, the Foundation has relied on members and friends of North Dakota United to build its base. In the beginning, members assessed themselves one dollar per year for three years to help the Foundation’s principal grow. The $1 assessment is still in place today and applies to all classes of membership. ndunited.org

The Foundation is vitally interested in sustaining its growth in future years. It provides opportunities for individuals and businesses to recognize the important role education and public service has in North Dakota’s future. Individuals, businesses and local associations are encouraged to consider donations toward the Foundation’s work as an incentive and reward for the role individual educators and public servants have played in their personal development. Individuals or companies interested in supporting the Foundation through direct donations, endowments, insurance policies or estates should contact the Foundation to make the necessary arrangements. As a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt organization, gifts to the Foundation are deductible for federal income tax purposes.

SOWING SEEDS OF THE FUTURE “Sowing seeds of the future” is the goal of the ND United Foundation. As the Foundation enters another 25 years, it looks forward to expanding its role for education and public service.

Gloria Lokken

“The first endowments created within the Foundation were to recognize the service of Bill Oban and Ron and Ann Anstrom,” said former NDEA President Gloria Lokken of Minot. “Since the establishment of the Oban and Anstrom funds, the service of other individuals to North Dakota has been permanently recognized by donations from their family and friends. These endowments, along with the many memorials and other gifts, show the generosity of NDU members and help fund education projects signed to improve public education and public service in our state.” 9

The Foundation hopes to attract more endowments such as the Bill Oban and Mary Cripps Special Education Scholarships; the Ron and Ann Anstrom Scholarship to assist individual English, Math or Science Instructors; the Joseph A. Westby Leadership Award, which is designed to assist a member in developing leadership skills; and the Cindy and Gary Rath Education Scholarship, designated for either Dickinson State University or Valley City State University students. Since it is a 501(c)(3) charity, any donations to the Foundation may be tax deductible with a donation of $5,000 to the Foundation a named scholarship can be created. The principal will be held as a permanent endowment with earnings used to help fund the scholarship. The donor, working with the Foundation, can determine the specific requirements for the endowed scholarship.

and number of awards will depend on the earnings of the endowment fund. 6. Cindy and Gary Rath Education Scholarship: This scholarship assists individuals studying education with a preference to a student attending either Dickinson State University of Valley City State University. 7. The NDU Foundation Ethnic Minority Scholarship: This scholarship will be awarded to a minority preparing to teach. At least two $750 scholarships will be awarded annually. The Foundation will give special consideration to a student attending a tribal college. Funding for this scholarship comes from a special grant from North Dakota United. GO TO: ndunited.org/yourbenefits for application forms.

NORTH DAKOTA UNITED SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED

ND UNITED FOUNDATION SPECIAL AWARDS & GRANTS

Scholarships are available to NDU members, including students and retired members, as well as member dependents. Application deadline is March 1.

1. To be considered for the Joseph A. Westby Leadership Award, the applicant must hold NDU membership and be an advocate for public education or public service in North Dakota. The award is designed to assist a member in developing leadership skills. The NDU Foundation may annually give a stipend of at least $500.

1. NDU Member/Dependent: Available to a member, including a student member or dependent of an NDU member who is pursuing post-secondary education in any field of study including vocational, associate or bachelor degree program. Up to two $750 scholarships may be awarded each year. 2. NDU Education Scholarship: Available to a student member, including student NEA/AFT members in other states who are pursuing an undergraduate degree in education. At least two $750 scholarships may be awarded each year. 3. Bill Oban Special Education Scholarship: Available to an outstanding, undergraduate student who is preparing for a career in special education. One scholarship of at least $500 may be awarded each year. 4. Mary Cripps Special Education Scholarship: Available to either an undergraduate or graduate student pursuing initial or advanced training in special education. One scholarship of at least $500 may be awarded each year. 5. Ron & Ann Anstrom Scholarship Program to assist individual English, Math or Science Instructors: The purpose is to assist individual English, math or science instructors to improve their qualifications by attending summer school or engaging in graduate level courses during the regular academic year, on-line courses or extension courses that are part of a graduate program. The amount 10

Andrea Noonan Fox

â€œOne of the best things about being a part of the teachers union is the camaraderie and the collaboration amongst great teachers. However, there are also financial benefits to being a part of North Dakota United. I was fortunate enough to be a recipient of the Joseph A. Westby Leadership Award in order to further my education by earning a masterâ€™s degree. The award made it easier for me to focus on my studies at the University of North Dakota rather than on financial aid. The scholarship helped me pay for a semester of classes that would have otherwise become a burden. Completing the M.A. in Instructional Design and Technology gave me the knowledge and skills to take a more active role as a teacher leader in both my school and my district. ND United Voices

“I would strongly encourage all members to seek out scholarships and grants from NDU and from their local organizations. The reward and gain far outweighed the minimal time spent on the application. I would also encourage members to reapply, if they have applied in previous years.” –Andrea Noonan Fox, West Fargo. 2. The ND United Foundation Member Grant Program is designed to assist individual members, or a group of members, to improve their skills through continued education research or the development of materials, techniques or activities that improve public service or public education in North Dakota. NDU may award at least $500 annually in this area. 3. The ND United Foundation ESP Award is designed to assist an individual NDU ESP member or a group of ESP members as they strive to improve education or public service in North Dakota. At least $500 may be awarded annually in this area.

GRANT POLICY & PROCEDURES

Forms for the March 1 deadline are available starting in early January at ndunited.org/YourBenefits.

NEA GRANTS CAN PAY YOUR WAY The NEA Foundation offers a variety of grants that could be just what you’re looking for to get a classroom project or a professional development activity off the ground. Here are three ways the Foundation can help: Learning and Leadership Grants provide opportunities for teachers and education support professionals to engage in highquality professional development and to lead their colleagues in professional growth. Grant amounts are $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups studying together. Student Achievement Grants provide $5,000 to improve the academic achievement of students by engaging in critical thinking and problem solving that deepens knowledge of standards-based subject matter. The work should also improve students’ habits of inquiry, self-directed learning and critical reflection.

NEA Fine Arts Grants offer $2,000 to enable fine arts teachers to create and implement programs that promote learning among NAME:to _________________________________________________________________________ The NDU Foundation is not meant be a funding substitute at-risk students. for programs, supplies or equipment that school districts or other Each program has its own application guidelines and deadlines, public entities should provide.ADDRESS: _____________________________________________________________________ which can be found at the NEA Foundation’s website, Instead it encourages projects_______________________________________________________________________________ that are truly innovative and NEAFoundation.org. exploratory in nature – the type of research and development ideas that sometimes fall through CITYthe/ cracks. STATE / ZIP: ______________________________________________________________ Application procedures are simple and designed to encourage the PHONE: ________________________________________________________________________ creativity of the educators applying.

1990–2015

EMAIL: _________________________________________________________________________

To donate to the NDU Foundation complete and mail to:

NORTH DAKOTA UNITED FOUNDATION • 301 N 4TH ST, BISMARCK ND 58501-9803 NAME: __________________________________________________________ Please designate my gift of $ ______________._______ to the following Scholarship Fund: ☐ Bill Oban Special Education Scholarship ☐ Cindy & Gary Rath Education Scholarship ☐ In memory of _________________________________ ☐ Joseph A. Westby Leadership Award ☐ Mary Cripps Special Education Scholarship ☐ NDU General Scholarships & Grants ☐ Ron & Ann Anstrom Scholarship Program to assist individual English, Math, or Science Instructors I wish for this gift donation to remain anonymous and not publicized:

☐

Please make check payable to: ND United Foundation Credit card or debit card donations:

☐ MasterCard ☐ Visa ☐ Discover ☐ AmEx

Credit Card No. (12 or 16 digits)

|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_| Security Code |_|_|_| Expires: Mo. |_|_| Yr. |_|_| Print Name on Card: _______________________________ Cardholder Signature: ______________________________ Online donations: NDUnited.org or scan

NORTH DAKOTA UNITED FOUNDATION • 301 N 4TH ST, BISMARCK ND 58501-9803 ndunited.org

AMY NEAL NAMED TEACHER OF THE YEAR Minot kindergarten teacher honored for classroom contributions By Linda Harsche, NDU Communications

Amy Neal, a kindergarten teacher at Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Minot, was named the 2016 North Dakota Teacher of the Year on Sept. 23, 2015, by Gov. Jack Dalrymple at a special ceremony held at Nealâ€™s school. At a social following the event, North Dakota United President Nick Archuleta gave Neal the NDU Teacher of the Year Traveling Trophy. Neal, an active member of NDU, is a current negotiator and secretary of the Minot Education Association. She has also served as a building representative in Minot, and at the state level has attended NDU Delegate Assemblies and the 2015 Advocacy & Bargaining Conference. She received her Master of Education degree in Elementary Education from Minot State University and her Bachelor of Science degree in Education and Elementary Education from Valley City State University. Besides Minot, Neal has taught in West Fargo and Bloomer, Wis. As Teacher of the Year, a message that Neal would like to convey to teachers would be the importance of using their voice to advocate for the best interests of students. 12

ND United Voices

“My hope is for educators to feel confident enough to use their voice to educate or share their perspective with administrators, legislative bodies and parent/public,” she said. “Educators, administrators and parents are all trying to provide the best environment for children, but it is helpful to understand each other’s perspective.

complete tasks when we work as a team. Taking student teachers and teaching at Minot State University (MSU) have been a direct way for me to help mentor future teachers as others have helped mentor me. I want the pre-service teachers and student teachers from MSU to have the best experiences to start out their teaching career.”

“Even though our perspectives may differ from each other, it is important for teachers, on the front lines, to use our voice and experience to advocate for our students and our profession,” she said.

As a teacher, Neal wants success for her students. “Every student has a ‘next step’ in their educational journey, and I want my students to be ready for their next step,” she said. “I want my students to take as much information that I can possibly share with them for their transition to the next grade level.

To that end, Neal has facilitated professional-development classes and created the North Dakota Kindergarten Association ListServ through EduTech. “This listserv has been beneficial for kindergarten teachers to gather information from each other and beneficial during the legislative sessions to keep teachers updated on early childhood issues that are being decided or debated by representatives. ‘Educating the Legislators’ from the classroom is my own personal way to strengthen the profession,” she said. According to Neal, her involvement with younger children started during her high school and college years, with babysitting, teaching bible school and coaching basketball. “Those positive connections made an impression on me that I couldn’t shake,” she said. However, Neal’s memories from first grade did not involve hugs, encouragement or positive interactions. Her teacher was rigid and intimidating. Her youngest sibling is 10 years younger than her, and Neal worried her sister would have the same negative experience that she had. That’s when Neal decided to become a teacher. “I feel my contributions and accomplishments in education are due to the colleagues that I have surrounded myself with, to help me become a competent and confident teacher. My teaching career started out with the priceless experience of teaching in a kindergarten center with 20 other kindergarten teachers in one building,” she said. “I was mentored by some of the wisest ladies and learned something every day.” When Neal and her husband moved to Minot, it took her a few years to get established with her own classroom in the Minot Public Schools. She immediately got involved with energetic and passionate kindergarten teachers. “With the Minot Kindergarten Team, we have transitioned from half-day kindergarten to full-day kindergarten and have also moved into Common Core Standards,” Neal said. “We continue to learn about and share best practices among our group.” Neal said she feels that because of her awesome experiences that started her career, her contributions to education are a blend of working with a team, her passion for kindergarten education, and the enjoyment of mentoring others. Neal’s experiences with the North Dakota Kindergarten Association, testifying for kindergarten education at the North Dakota Legislature, and facilitating professional-development classes have all been attainable with the help of working with a team of teachers. “I enjoy taking the lead on some activities,” she said, “or helping ndunited.org

“I want my kindergarten students to be academically ready for their next step,” she said. “Even if they are a struggling student, I hope to have provided them with enough experiences to feel successful and to recognize their strengths. My reward is helping students find success.” Neal wants her kindergarten students to be emotionally ready for their next step. “I want them to feel included with their peers, understand consequences, make good choices, accept responsibility, put forth effort and learn from their mistakes,” she said. “My reward is watching a child’s self-confidence develop with experiences and maturity. “I want my student teachers to practice as much as they can and have meaningful experiences in my classroom to be ready for their own classroom,” she said. “I want them to try many strategies in the classroom to have the opportunity to learn from their failures and successes. My reward is watching a student teacher find a job and to feel confident in their new career.” According to Neal, there are many qualities of an outstanding teacher. “I teach with many peers that I would consider ‘outstanding’ in our profession,” she said. “I believe that these teachers continue to learn even when they are not expecting it. I love learning new strategies, getting new ideas, or gathering materials that will help my students reach their potential. Outstanding teachers continue to learn from staff members, students, grade level teams, multiple experiences, and our own successes and failures. As a learner, I continue to ask questions: Why does this strategy work? Who does it work best with? How do I implement it? When do I move on? When do I try again? Does this resemble anything I already do?” The foundation of Neal’s personal teaching style is building positive relationships with her students. “When I have established a positive relationship with a student, they are willing to work harder and behave their best for me,” she said. “Building positive relationships includes: being respectful, sharing responsibility, finding their strengths, building from their weaknesses and making sure they know they are loved no matter what mistakes are made. I spend a lot of time at the beginning of the year modeling expectations and showing them they can be successful even when expectations are high. Kindergarteners actually love and crave responsibility. The more responsibility they have, the more opportunity they have for finding out what they can accomplish. Kindergarten consists of introducing skills from the ground up 13

Neal happily exchanges information with her student

A student asks Neal a question.

and that includes behavior expectations. “When my students work hard and use their best behavior,” she said. “I find success in meeting curriculum demands. When positive relationships are built, great learning takes place and great teaching takes place! “As Teacher of the Year, a message that I would like to convey to teachers would be the importance of using their voice to advocate for the best interest of students,” said Neal. “My hope is for educators to feel confident enough to use their voice to educate or share their perspective with administrators, legislative bodies, and parents/public. Educators, administrators and parents are all trying to provide the best environment for children, but it is helpful to understand each other’s perspective.” “Even though our perspectives may differ from each other, it is important for teachers, on the front lines, to use our voice and experience to advocate for our students and our profession,” she said.

Neal receives the NDU Teacher of the Year Traveling trophy from President Nick Archuleta.

ND United Voices

3 TOY FINALISTS HONORED Myrold, Tomlin-Rohr, Rydell Receive Recognition By Linda Harsche, NDU Communications The other three finalists for the 2016 North Dakota Teacher of the Year award were Heath Rydell of South Elementary in Fargo; Heather Tomlin-Rohr of Louis L’Amour Elementary in Jamestown; and Matthew Myrold of Carl Ben Eielson Middle School in Fargo. Matthew Myrold, a special education teacher at Carl Ben Eielson Middle School in Fargo, began his career as an English student teacher. “I taught ninth-grade English,” said Myrold, “but what I discovered, made my heart hurt. Eighty percent of the student population was eligible for free and reduced lunch. This school did not have enough special education teachers to serve the high need of the building.” According to Myrold, this resulted in substitutes coming in daily and paraprofessionals doing the work of a teacher out of necessity. After one week of student teaching, Myrold called his advisor and told her that he wanted to go to graduate school for special education. “I was once the student I teach now,” he said. “I just did not get it as an adolescent. I was socially and emotionally awkward, at best. If it were not for the educators in my life that saw beyond the behavior, I do not know where I would be today. “The mistakes I have made in my life are my greatest contributions,” Myrold said. “These mistakes have become my greatest assets in the classroom. They have allowed me to experience wonderful challenges and experience some of life’s most beautiful pain. I believe that we need to experience both joy and hardship in order to fully understand and enjoy the complexities of life.” Each year, Myrold opens his classroom to potential and possibilities. “Every student that enters is amazing and an ‘A’ student just waiting to happen,” he said. “If we discover that a child is not learning or struggling with education, it is not the child that must change, it is the teacher. We must be ready and willing to meet each student where they are both emotionally and educationally.” Myrold’s room opens one hour before school starts, and because he has a complete kitchen, his students are welcome to come in and eat; and if they are tired, rest. “I have been blessed with bags of clothing, so if they are looking unkempt or need to bathe,” he said, “I have a complete bathroom set up available to them. My room provides a home-like structure that they may not have otherwise.” “My message is my mission,” said Myrold. “I want to help students discover their brilliance by nurturing them and supporting them throughout their educational adventure from pre-k through the 12th grade and beyond, and to remember why I chose the teaching profession. It was not to write the next great American novel, it was to feed and expand the hearts and minds of the next generation.”

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Heather Tomlin-Rohr, a kindergarten teacher at Louis L’Amour Elementary in Jamestown, believes that where we come from and our personal background, of course, determines the people we become. “Having been raised on a grain farm instilled a very strong work ethic in me and taught me that hard work will pay off if I put every ounce of energy I have into what I believe,” she said. “My family still operates that farm, of which I devote a great deal of my time, and I have since gone on to put the remainder of my energy into my kindergarten classroom.” For a time, Tomlin-Rohr examined being a secondary agricultural education instructor and even enrolled at NDSU to pursue that degree. After spending several weeks in Fargo and some intense soul-searching, she then realized that her true calling was to return to Jamestown, enroll in Elementary Education courses at the University of Jamestown and become an elementary teacher. “Never have I regretted that decision or wondered if I made the right choice,” Tomlin-Rohr said. Tomlin-Rohr’s greatest accomplishments in education and teaching may seem extremely simple but have taken her many years to master. “I believe that I truly make a difference every day in the lives of my students,” she said. “This in and of itself is a profound accomplishment, in my opinion. There are many students I have encountered over the past 13 years in which I am the only consistent adult they have in their life. To me, this is one of the greatest accomplishments as a teacher I can think of.” According to Tomlin-Rohr, in many instances, helping students reach personal potential requires knowledge of some very emotional information. One of the main factors that influence academic achievement is the personal situation the student comes from. “This is a reality that public schools and their teachers are forced to deal with on a daily basis. It is, however, a charge that we all must be willing to accept,” she said. “To me, holding students accountable for their actions, regardless of age, is one of the main ways teachers and schools can help students reach their personal potential as a productive citizen of society.” “I will admit that there are many days when it feels as if teaching is a very thankless profession,” said Tomlin-Rohr. “Teachers who have mastered the art of instruction realize that there are daily battles within the classroom that have to be fought or forgotten. One must be constantly mindful of the various silver linings that appear daily in the teaching process. This can range anywhere from a simple hug to putting a Band-Aid on an accident from recess to accepting a dandelion in the spring as if it were a perfect rose. The key to finding the rewards in teaching is not to wait for the big moments of gratitude, but rather to look daily for those little things that make the teaching profession the best career on the planet.”

Heath Rydell, a physical education teacher at West Fargo’s South Elementary, says his mother and two amazing physical education teachers were a great influence on his decision to become a teacher. Rydell says his mother was always happy as a teacher and that was something he wanted. “She always talked about loving what she did and the students she worked with,” he said. “I got to see the way my mom interacted with her students, the relationships she formed, and the impact she had on them. Her views on teaching and the effort she puts into it are additional motivators for me to be the best.” According to Rydell, two of his elementary physical education teachers were the epitome of great teachers. “They were professionals in the way they approached teaching,” he said. “Their planning, organization, dedication, care and motivation led me to want to be like them.” “My job as a teacher is to understand the students I work with, create ways of meeting their needs, guide them towards becoming life-long learners and taking interest in what is taught, and to help them develop their individual ability to transfer the things they have learned and will learn responsibly into their own lives and their futures.” Rydell thinks the thing that allows him to adhere to his philosophy of teaching is his willingness to create time and opportunities for the students he works with. “Usually, that means meeting before and after school, or using lunch and prep time, but regardless of where the time comes from, I wouldn’t change it,” he said. “I want the students to know they are cared about and are a priority. I want the students to know that their success in physical education, health, the classroom, and other areas of the life matters and is important. I know that I don’t have to wonder if students are doing the things we teach outside of school when I create opportunities for them to participate in those activities at school. I have high expectations of my students and they have the right to maintain high expectations of me. “Teaching is a challenge,” said Rydell. “There is no doubt about it. There are frustrating times and extremely rewarding times. There are times when you feel like you really know your students, and there are times when you wonder what happened to them. Throughout the process, the key is realizing that there is not one right way of teaching and that teachers need to be willing to continue to grow and change to address the needs of their students.”

ND United Voices

From left, Heather Fritz, Paul Johanson, Bruce Maylath, Gary Rath, Lois Sundquist, William Hudson, Clarice Hackman and Nick Archuleta are shown at the first NDU Higher Education Roundtable on Sept. 19 at the Fargo NDU Office.

A CONVERSATION ON HIGHER EDUCATION NDU members and staff discuss higher ed issues at roundtable By Kelly Hagen, NDU Communications

“The idea for the roundtable to bring higher ed members together with staff came to me during a July 2014 training session in Bismarck for the presidents of NDU locals,” said Bruce Maylath, an English professor at North Dakota State University and president of the NDU local on campus. “I was the only president there from higher education. As I listened through the day, I realized that both the NDU staff and the presidents from K-12 locals presumed that the members of my local had the same concerns as they did, mainly That task was the basis for the first of hopefully many NDU Higher because we all teach.” Education Roundtables, which was hosted in the Fargo NDU office on Saturday, Sept. 19. Members representing all of our public Maylath said that frustrations exist within higher education universities in the state of North Dakota were invited to confer with membership due to some of the differences in terms of NDU staff and President Nick Archuleta, to identify the differences, employment between K-12 teachers and higher education, primarily and similarities, that exist between the working conditions of all in the ability of K-12 teachers to collectively bargain with school our varying constituencies, and to mutually flesh out priorities and districts on their contracts of employment, and the inability of all goals for our higher education faculty and staff who are members of other constituencies to do the same under the law. “So much of the North Dakota United. training on that July day centered on matters tied to collective ndunited.org

! bargaining,” Maylath said. “However, there were many other differences left unaddressed as well. So much of the research and service work required of university faculty, with support from university staff, is invisible to the public, including K-12 teachers, yet it constitutes more than half of what faculty members at the state’s research universities are evaluated on. Their jobs are directly tied to these evaluations, without the mediation of collective bargaining.” Maylath spoke to NDU UniServ Director Jane Rupprecht about these frustrations that were being felt over the gaps in understanding between NDU members and among staff, and the two hatched upon the idea of bringing staff and higher education members together to talk, and to listen. He said that newly hired UniServ Director Heather Fritz became heavily involved in the idea in the fall of 2014, and they presented the concept to NDU Executive Director Chad Oban upon his start with the union in July 2015. “The plans for a September roundtable were already firmed up, and Chad gave his imprimatur to the event,” Maylath said. “For us as a staff to gain a better understanding of the higher ed world, it is extremely important to not only listen to their issues, but to find ways to work with them to address these issues,” said Fritz. “Many of us on staff come from the K-12 world and have never walked in the shoes of the higher education faculty or staff. There is no way for us to truly understand their world when we ourselves have not experienced it first-hand. We must listen with empathy and understanding for the issues they are facing on their campuses every day.” President Archuleta said that the inaugural Higher Education Roundtable in Fargo is just the first step in immersing staff to the experiences of higher education members. “This meeting was extremely helpful in identifying the unique challenges facing the higher education community,” Archuleta said. “The first step in overcoming an obstacle is to gain an understanding of the task at hand. The higher education leadership here today increased the knowledge base of everyone in the room. With the continued involvement of the higher education leadership, I am certain that North Dakota United will succeed in becoming the predominant voice for higher education in North Dakota.” NDU members Paul Johanson, from Dickinson State University, and William Hudson, Clarice Hackman and Maylath, all from NDSU, spoke with NDU staff, including Executive Director Chad Oban, Assistant Executive Director Stuart Savelkoul, UniServ Director Geoff Greenwood, and Fritz and Rupprecht, Accounting Specialist Lois Sundquist and Field Communications Director Kelly Hagen, as well as President Archuleta. The conversation lasted several hours, and centered on brainstorming the issues that differ between K-12 education members and higher education, as 18

well as the issues that bind us. The important takeaway from this story on the first-ever NDU Higher Education Roundtable is that this was only the first. Additional roundtables will be held in the future, in different cities across North Dakota. All higher education members of North Dakota United are invited, and strongly encouraged, to take the time to join us for roundtables with NDU staff and leaders. By keeping the conversation going, your entire organization can better identify issues facing higher education, and can better represent this important constituency in how we grow our union. “By the end of the roundtable, the professional staff offered to make higher ed roundtables a regular event so that they can keep abreast of the latest issues in higher ed, perhaps with roundtables held twice a year,” said Maylath. “I look forward to these future discussions and hope that members from throughout the North Dakota University System will take the opportunity to participate.” The next Higher Education Roundtable will be held in conjunction with the NDU Advocacy & Bargaining Conference on Saturday, Feb. 6, starting at 10:15 a.m. at the Quality Inn in Jamestown. NDU needs YOUR help in charting our organization’s direction in better representing the needs of higher education. Please add this date to your calendar, and plan to join us for the next Higher Education Roundtable. “By illuminating the issues,” President Archuleta said, “I believe we can succeed in maximizing the efforts of our staff to provide the assistance necessary for our higher ed locals and chapters to thrive.”

RE-ELECT KAREN ASKEROOTH FOR NEA BOARD DIRECTOR *Proven Local, State, and National Leader *Experienced Educator *Advocate for ALL NDU Members Mr. George Sheridan NEA Executive Director: “I can say objectively that you are a great example of how a single director can become influential through hard work and building personal relationships with colleagues. Ms. Tyann Schlenker NDU ESP Director: Karen Askerooth is dedicated to Education issues and supporting the students of North Dakota. Karen is truly a dedicated advocate for Education. I support Karen Askerooth for NEA Director from North Dakota. Mrs. Sheila Zinke Valley City Public School Educator: Approachable, Stalwart, Knowledgeable, Energetic, Ready to help, Open to new ideas, On task, Trustworthy, Helpful…Just a few of the reasons I’m voting for KAREN ASKEROOTH for NEA Director! Mrs. Toni Gumeringer NDU Board Member Bismarck Public School Educator: Karen Askerooth is a poised, dedicated NEA Director. She takes her job as ND’s lone position on the NEA board seriously and works diligently to make our voices heard and assure our needs are met. Mrs. Nancy Peterson NDU Board Member President of Retired Association I am delighted that Karen Askerooth has decided to run for re-election as North Dakota’s NEA Director. Karen is a hard worker and seeing her advocacy for all members is outstanding. Karen is not afraid to question, research, or speak for NDU members and students.  Karen does a superb job representing us and I ask you to support and re-elect Karen to the NDU Board and as our NEA Director for another term. Mrs. Stacy Adamson West Fargo Public School Educator: I highly recommend Karen Askerooth for re-election. She is an excellent representative for NDU. She is very knowledgeable in the issues that education faces. She listens to the members and is willing to put herself out there for us. Paid for Re-Elect Askerooth Committee/S. Adamson, Chair

Paid for Re-Elect Karen Askerooth

ND United Voices

Miss North Dakota Delanie Wiedrich speaks on Anti-Bullying.

NDU INSTRUCTIONAL CONFERENCE HELD NDU President Nick Archuleta talks on Recruiting Educators.

Split between Mandan and West Fargo this year The 2015 North Dakota United Instructional Conference was held at Mandan Middle School and Liberty Middle School in West Fargo this year on Oct. 22-23, with NDU members from all constituencies invited to attend.

NEA Executive Committee Member Shelly Moore Krajacic talks to participants.

Participants enjoy speaker.

Troy Hutchings of Providence University was the featured speaker at both sites. He spoke on Professional Responsibilities and Ethics. Shelly Moore-Krajacic of the NEA Executive Committee was also a keynote speaker at both sites. Other presentations for participants to choose from included True Colors, by NDU UniServ Director Jane Rupprecht; Flipped Classroom, by Tim Hinz in Mandan and Julia Koble in West Fargo; Election 2016, by NDU Assistant Executive Director Stuart Savelkoul; Current Issues & Trends and Why Politics Affect Me, by NDU Executive Director Chad Oban and Stuart Savelkoul; TED Talks, by Kayla Delzer; Anti-Bullying by Miss North Dakota Delanie Wiedrich; Technology in the Classroom by NDU Director of Professional Development Patty Barrett; Organizing the Retired, by NDU-Retired President Nancy Peterson; Walking the Line by NDU Attorney Mike Geiermann; Assessments to Better Instruction, by LeAnn Nelson; Benefits for the Retired, by NDU Chief Financial Officer Gary Rath; and Current Issues & Trends and Recruiting & Retaining Educators, by NDU President Nick Archuleta and Patty Barrette. North Dakota United would like to thank all of our members in attendance this year at both locations. Your participation was truly appreciated. However, the NDU Board of Directors decided that the Association will no longer present the NDU Fall Instructional Conference, beginning in the fall of 2016.

Student listens intently to Hutchings.

Troy Hutchings of Providence University talks on Ethics.

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Despite the fact that the professional development offered at the Instructional Conference has been well-received by the members in attendance each year, and the work of our staff has been lauded, NDU simply cannot justify the cost of putting on the Instructional Conference for the few members who attend. The two days currently set aside for the IC will remain on the calendar next year, but we will not be holding an IC. The administrators will still conduct their convention on those days. Do not assume, however, that NDU will no longer offer great professional development. We will instead be presenting outstanding professional development in ways that are more efficient and more likely to be utilized by our members. 19

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And we have enough shows that teachers can choose a show that matches their curriculum. So it can be part of what they’re learning.”

DOME IS WHERE THE SCIENCE IS Inflatable planetarium from DSU is available for K-12 student showings By Kelly Hagen, NDU Communications

For any student, the environment in which they are taught is incredibly important to the learning process. The most typical of learning environments is the classroom – surrounded by peers, led by qualified teachers and college professors, protected from the elements by four solid walls within a school building or campus hall. The learning process can take place in all types of structures and environments, however. Students learn at home, or out in the field. They learn in museums, art galleries and music halls. They learn outside of doors and walls, out in nature. Students learn while surrounded by rgular life, in office buildings, in parks and open spaces. Sometimes they learn in domes, too.

Or at least they can, thanks to Dickinson State University and its Discovery Dome. This portable, inflatable dome houses a state-ofthe-art theater that encompasses the full field of vision for up to 30 elementary students, with interactive documentaries on science. Dr. Corinne Brevik is a member of North Dakota United, and teaches in the Department of Natural Sciences for Dickinson State University. She headed the initiative to procure a planetarium-style dome that can travel around the state and present science lessons to school-aged children in schools and at public events. “I think it’s exciting to have the dome come because it’s something new and different,” Brevik said. “And the shows themselves, because they’re professionally made, it’s like going to see an IMAX show. It’s very immersive, it’s very exciting. There’s lots of motion ND United Voices

and there’s lots of action, and in the meantime, they’re very rich in content. They should have a really interesting time and be very engaged, and yet learn something.” For 20-25 minutes, students are surrounded by planets and stars from across the galaxy, erupting volcanoes, violent storms, dinosaurs large and small, white and red blood cells and the tiniest parts of the human body’s immune system, and even Elmo and Big Bird from “Sesame Street,” guiding young students through a tour of the night sky. Lessons offered in the Discovery Dome cover multiple fields of science, and can match up to all grade levels, from preschool up into high school. “We now have, I think, 35 shows,” Brevik said. “As we have additional funding available, we continue to purchase additional shows. At this point, like I said, we have over 30 shows, and we’ve been purchasing so that we can cover a breadth of grade levels. We now have ones for the very small kids; we have ‘Sesame Street’ and all the way up to shows that are very much high schoolappropriate. And then we’ve been trying to cover the breadth of topics, as well. So we’ve got astronomy ones, but we also have biology ones. We have earth science shows. We’ve got a couple shows that are very history-oriented, as well.”

a win-win.” The dome measures in at five meters in diameter and is 10 feet tall. Its compact size puts it securely within the space parameters of fitting into a high school gym or on the stage of a school’s theater. Any teachers or administrators interested in having the Discovery Dome come to your school to teach your students interactive lessons in science should visit www.dsudiscoverydome.com, to find more information and how to contact Brevik for scheduling a show. “We’re happy to go to a school for just one classroom, or for an entire grade level, or for an entire school,” Brevik said. “And we have enough shows that teachers can choose a show that matches their curriculum. So it can be part of what they’re learning. But we’ve had groups of kids who were sitting in the dome, basically screaming because they’re having so much fun. I had a group of first-graders watching the dinosaur one, and they just got louder and louder, and they were very, very into it.”

The Discovery Dome was developed by the Houston Museum of Natural Science and by Rice University, and was purchased by DSU through a STEM grant and a Math-Science Partnership grant. The dome can be transported to any schools interested in its use that are located within two hours of driving time from Dickinson for free, while a minimal fee can be assessed to schools outside of the southwestern part of the state. “We purchased the Discovery Dome in the fall of 2012,” Brevik said. “I had seen a sample of one of the domes at a conference that I was at, and it was amazing and wonderful. We wanted one, but it took us a few years to figure out how to fund it. The last few years, Dickinson State University has had a math-science partnership grant – they’re called MSP grants. It’s a federal grant, and it funds STEM-related activities. And so the purchase of the dome was part of our STEM grant proposal. The grant also pays for it to travel, so it pays for our students to travel with it. And that allows the schools to get it free of charge.”

Scenes from inside the Discovery Dome.

The dome is operated by two DSU students, who travel with the equipment, set it up and handle all programming. So, as the students inside the dome are learning about science from highdefinition, museum-quality projections, the college students in charge of operation are learning valuable lessons in becoming educators and professionals. “It’s part of how we were able to help get it funded,” Brevik said, “because it’s great for the K-12 students, but it’s also great for our university students because they get the experience that they have to be responsible and get to the place on time and be professional. It gives them a lot of really good experience as well, so it’s kind of ndunited.org

EDUCATION SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS GATHER IN BISMARCK 2015 State ESP Conference delivers valuable instruction to members By Linda Harsche, NDU Communications

The statewide ESP Conference was held in Bismarck on Sept. 25-26 at the Ramada Hotel. The conference began with a social on Friday evening. NDU President Nick Archuleta started out the conference by praising the participants for the work they do in schools every day. “No one can do the work the way you do it,” he said.

employees and ESPs had collective bargaining. But he said it is just a tool. It’s not the end all, be all. “Something much more powerful is collective action,” he said. ESP of the Year Heidi Schostek and ESP President Tyann Schlenker presented a session titled “Advocacy Boot Camp.” Then, the conference ended with a group discussion.

NDU Vice President Karen Christensen said she could not imagine having a school without ESPs. “Who would get the roads clear, get the kids to school, feed the students and run the offices?” she asked. Executive Director Chad Oban thanked the teachers and ESP. “Thank you for being here today to learn and take this information home to your colleagues,” he said. “We can do so much more as a collaborative union.” Oban also thanked NDU UniServ Director Pam Kjonaas for all her work on putting together the ESP Conference. NDU Vice President Gary Feist said he wished everyone could be in the schools to see what ESP do every day. “Without you, the school would not run,” he added.

NDU Attorney Mike Geiermann presents to ESP attendees.

NDU UniServ Director Jane Rupprecht presented her session on True Colors, which is a takeoff of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and shows what type of personality you have, which then helps you work with others. Attorney Mike Geiermann helped the participants understand how they can protect themselves from students and not be reprimanded for touching a student. “I don’t advocate that you ever put your hands on kids, but I understand there are times when you have no other choice,” he said. Geiermann explained that corporal punishment is the willful infliction of pain upon a student. “The key word is willful,” he said. “A school district employee who is defending themselves cannot be fired.”

UniServ Director Pam Kjonnas oversees the ESP Conference.

After lunch the 2015-16 ND United Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year title was awarded to Heidi Schostek of Dickinson. Heidi has been employed at Dickinson High School since 2013, as an In-School Suspension Para. NDU Assistant Executive Director Stuart Savelkoul presented a session titled “Stickin’ with the Union – Union History.” Savelkoul told the audience how much better life would be if public 22

UniServ Director Jane Rupprecht shows ‘True Colors’ to participants.

ND United Voices

SCHOSTEK RECEIVES NDU ESP OF THE YEAR AWARD The 2015-16 North Dakota United Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year award went to Heidi Schostek of Dickinson during the ESP Conference at Bismarckâ€™s Ramada Inn. Heidi has been employed at Dickinson High School since 2013, as an In-School Suspension Para. She has a nursing background, but when her own child was having issues at the school, she chose to leave nursing to work at the school to ensure a better school experience for her own children. Heidi cares about all of her students and puts her heart into every aspect of her job. She even opened her home to a student because he had little parental support. ESP of the Year Heidi Schostek shows off her new watch.

She has been involved in her local association, the Dickinson Education Association, and has been instrumental in developing ESP membership in Dickinson. Heidi has promoted several events to increase membership, including a pizza party and upcoming coffee stops. She attends the ESP Advisory Committee meetings, state-sponsored events and the NEAESP Conferences. Heidi is active in her community and promotes education through charitable events and activities that benefit students, families, and members. She sets personal and professional goals for herself that benefit her students and her profession. Heidi enhances the ESP image because she is willing to provide comfort and stability to the teenagers that need support in the classroom, and she provides a safe environment for them at school. Congratulations, Heidi, as the recipient of the ESP of the Year Leadership Award.

NDU President Nick Archuleta and ESP President Tyann Schlenker congratulate Schostek.

The North Dakota United Education Support Professional (ESP) Leadership Award recognizes an outstanding NDU Education Support Professional whose position betters the education profession and the lives of students. Schostek will compete at the NEA ESP Conference in March in Orlando, Fla. The following criteria will be considered for the national award: 1. Professional practice 2. Member advocacy and association involvement 3. Community engagement 4. Personal achievement 5. Enhancement of the ESP image

NDU Vice President Karen Christensen presents a watch to Schostek.

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Communications Corner

By Kelly Hagen Director of Field Communications

TELL US YOUR STORY

NDU magazine is your platform to talk to all our members First off, I would like to thank you for reading this latest issue of United Voices. I’m a parent of a five-year-old, which means that 90 percent of my time is spent chasing after a tiny person, yelling, “Say thank you! Don’t trip! Where are your shoes?!” So it’s important I walk the walk, myself, and that I’m exceedingly polite, too. And that I always know where my shoes are. So thank you, again. I want to talk to you a little bit about the production of United Voices, and all the work that goes into it. If you weren’t aware, UV is a bi-monthly magazine, produced “in house” by North Dakota United. It’s news, written about you, for you and by you. Any kind of member publication like United Voices should be like a mirror, or a really still pond, or maybe even a countertop that you’ve just cleaned really well with a solvent of some sort. You should be able to see your reflection in it. So we aim to spit shine this magazine, every time. When you read United Voices, you should see yourself reflected back at you. If you aren’t able to connect the issues and events we detail inside the magazine every other month to your own experiences as a public educator or employee in the state of North Dakota, you’re not going to connect with the message. That breeds a disconnect with you, our member, and – believe me – that’s the last thing we want to have happen. We sometimes fall short of our goal to represent all of our members in every issue of United Voices. Know that we are trying, though. When we plan out each issue a month or more ahead of publication, stories are chosen based on the audiences they’ll appeal to. Each constituency is considered. Are we representing public employees? Do we have content directed toward higher education? Where is the K-12 content, the ESP-s, the students, the retirees? Best of all is when we can plan for stories that touch on multiple constituencies. In this issue, you’ll find our regular Member Profile

piece written about Dan Conn, who is a professor in higher education, teaching at Minot State University, but he is also the student advisor for the Student-North Dakota United chapter on campus, and his area of expertise is teaching students to be educators in the K-12 environment. That story has appeal to a number of constituencies. Also, you’ll find a story about the Discovery Dome, a project headed up by NDU member Corinne Brevin, of Dickinson State University, which supplies a high-definition, planetarium experience to K-12 teachers and students across the state, free of charge. We can do more, though. Every page of each magazine that is sent to you, the members of North Dakota United, is yours. Each page belongs to you. Every one of you has access to these print pages, as well as all of our platforms for communication, including electronic messaging and social media. If you have a story you want to share with 11,500 NDU members statewide at any time, simply contact the NDU communications team, and we will broadcast that story to every community in North Dakota and every member of our union. We want to hear from you. Strike that; we NEED to hear from you. Because you are the people on the front lines of public education and public service in our state, you are the ones who know what is happening on the ground. If you have a project to promote, a story to tell, an injustice that needs to have some light shone on it, contact us. We will gladly assist you in writing your own story, or we will come to where you are and write that story for you. You can reach the NDU communications team the same way as you would contact any member of the NDU staff: Call us at 701223-0450 or send an e-mail to comments@ndunited.org. You can message us through our social media accounts, at www.facebook. com/ndunited or www.twitter.com/ndunited. Thank you, in advance, for reaching out to us with your story. I am exceedingly polite.

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Member Profile

Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Minot State University Dan Conn in his office.

“

Between my passion for mentoring students and my belief in the union, being an SNDU advisor seemed like a good fit for me.”

CONN IS A GOOD ROLE MODEL As professor and student advisor By Linda Harsche, NDU Communications

As you walk into Swain Hall at Minot State University, you might see a younger-looking guy with dark-rimmed glasses, bright bowtie and a pair of loafers walking at a rapid pace through the hallways. At first glance, you would guess that he is a student. However, you are more than likely seeing Assistant Professor of Teacher Education Dan Conn getting to his next class, hurrying to help mentor one of his students, or going to a Student North Dakota United (SNDU) meeting. According to Conn, he loves teaching, which is what he did in Colorado for 12 years. He taught at a small K-12 school, so he wore a lot of hats. “I taught fifth grade for a while, taught some physical education, and for the last seven years, I mostly taught grades 6-12 social studies and coached football,” Conn said. He was also heavily involved in community and school. Some of his past extracurricular involvement included: student council, football, mock trial, and National History Day. He also served for eight years as a local union president. After interning as an administrator, Conn missed teaching and mentoring young people;

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Conn helps Minot SNDU President Malia Salyards

he wanted less politics and more relationship building. He had visited Minot as a rodeo participant at the age of 19, and he had fond memories of the town. So, when a teaching position opened up at Minot State University, he applied and got the job. His wife, Linda, is the office clerk at Information Technology Central, and his daughter and son attend school in Minot. Minot State University was just the place for him. He was also excited when he was able to start advising SNDU at the University. “Between my passion for mentoring students and my belief in the union, being an SNDU advisor seemed like a good fit for me,” Conn said. When he’s not out observing students teachers, Conn is keeping things exciting in his classroom. “I have to be a good role model for students,” he said. “MSU is a really exciting place to work in many ways.” Sitting in on one of Conn’s Master in Education classes is quite an experience. All the students in his classroom respect him and vice versa. Conn sometimes uses a technique like improvisation with his students. He sends one student outside his classroom and gives directions on how the others should act. “We were play-acting, reading to a kindergarten class,” said Conn. “One of the students, 26

playing the role of teacher, was asked to leave the room while another was told not to move to the front of the room with the students no matter what. “When the student (teacher) returned to the classroom, she called all the students to the front of the room, and then continued to try to get the last student to come forward. When that didn’t happen, the student (teacher) took the whole class back to the lone student. What a unique concept this student had,” said Conn. “I learned something new today, myself.” Conn makes time for his students. “Life can be busy, especially around campus, but there always has been some space in the schedule to mentor students, and that’s where I build the relationships,” he said. “I also have to show mutual care and respect for them. There should be a feeling that we are all in this together. Plus, it is actually a great deal of fun to work together with my students.” At the state level, Conn works closely with ND United’s UniServ Director and Student Organizer Heather Fritz out of Fargo. “On one of my very first calls to Conn, he was already outlining potential projects he wanted to organize on campus,” said Fritz. “His enthusiasm for each new organizing project always makes my ND United Voices

day. Over the past year, he has helped his chapter organize service projects to give to those who are in need. SNDU Minot collected coats, mittens, scarves, gloves and hats for children in the bitter cold winter months in North Dakota.” According to Fritz, they organized with NDU Retired members for a Read Across America event for the Minot Public Schools. “The SNDU read to PK-3 students across Minot on a cold February morning last spring along with retired members of NDU,” Fritz said. “Conn and his chapter promised each child a new book, but due to some mishaps the books did not arrive on time. They then had to roll with the punches that day, but eventually each student received a book as promised. It just meant two trips to the schools which the students loved. “Conn and his chapter organized a panel of first-year teachers for a question and answer session for SNDU members,” she said. “This event was wildly successful. They are currently planning a Mock Interview Event. The event will be open for all SNDU members across the state. They are planning to invite the Education Standards and Practices Board (ESPB) to discuss licensure in the state, the North Dakota Mentor Program and district administration to lead interview panels. Conn is also working on developing a partnership with the local leaders of the Minot Education Association.”

become a team leader,” she said. “He pitched right in.” Conn said his trip to the Student Leadership Conference gave him and his students an opportunity to network with education majors and advisors from across the nation. “I learned about ideas and resources to help support our students better,” said Conn. “Our students learned about the rich tradition and impact of the NEA,” he said. “I would like to attend again because of the fresh ideas and energy we can take back to campus.” According to Conn, said he’s able to do all the things he does, including having a family life, because of the amazing leadership he has at his disposal. “Andrea Ray, our local 2014-15 president, and Malia Salyards, our local 2015-16 president, are strong leaders,” he said. “They both are more than capable of organizing and managing events without me. Strong leaders surround me, and they make it so I do not have to always be there. I even find time to coach my son’s football team.”

According to Fritz, this year Conn is working with the NDU Retired to launch a project called, ‘Adopt a Beaver.’ “The project pairs SNDU members with retired members as mentors,” she said. “It is truly a joy to work with such an inspiring leader.” Conn said the MSU chapter of SNDU has a number of other projects they will be participating in this year. “We are involved in campus activities such as Homecoming Week and Halloween at the Dome,” he said. “We volunteer for Backpack Buddies and with three local PTAs during their Family Fun Night, and we’ve taught a poetry lesson for the Reading Connections Family Carousel.” Fritz said that last June, Conn attended the National Education Association (NEA) Student Leadership Conference with herself and SNDU leaders in Orlando, Fla. “During what’s called the NEA Legacy Service Project, Conn was asked to ndunited.org

Conn explains a problems to his class

TEMPORARY DISCUSSIONS State’s use of temporary workers debated By Kelly Hagen, NDU Communications Part-time jobs are a part of our American economy, as are seasonal employment and “temporary” positions. These temporary workers fill in the gaps of the workforce, including at the State of North Dakota. Because these positions are understood to be temporary or seasonal, the workers at state agencies who fill these roles are considered to be contingent and unclassified, and they do not receive the employment benefits that the full-time, or even some part-time, classified work positions are given. Is the system fair? Some argue that temporary workers are essential to the whole system, filling in when FTEs can’t, and that a full-time temp job is a way for workers to get a foot in the door toward finding something permanent. We hear this same argument made in defense of substitute and “community expert” positions in our teacher ranks, and with adjunct teaching assignments in higher education. But looking beyond the question of benefits to the employer, are contingent work assignments fair to the workers who fill these roles? Leonard Tisi worked in multimedia for the North Dakota Department of Transportation (DOT) for seven years, and was classified as temporary. “I’m a retired federal firefighter, and I was retired at the time I got this job,” Tisi said. “So it was just a temporary job. I enjoyed my job. When I was hired on, I figured temp would be one year, two years, that sort of thing.” Tisi said his job duties included “anything and everything; whatever they needed.” He archived files, photos and videos, and would assist the videographer in recording videos, such as the demolition of the Memorial Bridge in Bismarck in 2008. “My hours were generally 32-35 hours per week, and I told them I wouldn’t give them 40 because I wasn’t full-time,” Tisi said. “Although I did; there were times I gave them 42, 45 hours. It all depended on what they needed. I wouldn’t generally turn down work if they had it. My job could have gone on for 20 years.” Statistics provided by Human Resources Management Service show that 796 temporary workers were employed for the entire calendar year of 2013. Of that number, the solid majority of temps worked less than half-time – 578, or 73 percent. However, 65 temporary workers worked above 90 percent of a full-time schedule, which is based on 2,080 working hours in a year. The Department of Transportation is one of the largest state agencies in terms of employment, with 1,169.5 total positions employed in 2013. Of that number, 90 positions were classified as temporary, representing about 7.7 percent of the total employees at DOT.

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Fifty-eight of the 90 temporary workers at DOT worked less than halftime. “Some examples of these jobs would be pilots, special project coordinators and seasonal help,” said Jamie Olson, spokesperson for DOT. “The Department employs temporary construction help in the summer months and temporary snow plow operators in the winter months.” Nine workers at DOT were employed at above 90 percent of a fulltime schedule in 2013. Working full-time as a temp can be difficult, according to Valerie Barbie-Bluemle, an NDU member, who was one of those nine workers. She started working at DOT in 2007 as an archeological intern, after having received her Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from Minnesota State University-Moorhead. “I was hoping that eventually it would lead to something permanent,” Barbie-Bluemle said. “I was also thinking that this will look good on my resume, and it would be good experience.” During those years as a temp, Barbie-Bluemle didn’t have access to paid leave, so she would have to flex on additional work hours throughout the week to make up for time she needed off, or take that time unpaid. She also got no employer contribution toward health insurance. “They didn’t pay any part of it,” she said. “You had to pay full premium, up until the Affordable Care Act kicked in on Jan. 1 of 2015. There was a time when I was paying full premiums at the state, because I could not get insurance and I wasn’t married, and so I was paying $400-something a month of my salary to have health insurance, because it would have cost me more not to have it.” Temporary workers do not participate in the same group health insurance plan as permanent employees do, which is administered through Sanford Health Plan and features no premium costs to the employee. Instead, temporary workers can buy into a health insurance plan for approximately $544 monthly for a single plan, or $1,312 for a family. A part-time/temporary employee employed on or after January 1, 2015, is only eligible to participate if the employee is employed at least 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month. Premium payment by the employer is pursuant to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In addition, temporary workers can’t apply for mortgages or loans, as lenders won’t consider wages earned in a temp job. They are classified as “at-will,” and therefore have fewer job protections than full-time classified employees. Their pay increases are not tied to the same formula that is budgeted by the governor and approved by the state Legislature each biennium for all classified FTEs of the state. As a result, their raises can be arbitrary – larger some years, and smaller, or nonexistent, in other years. In the last legislative session, North Dakota United worked with state Sen. George Sinner on a bill that would have automatically made any full-time temporary employee working for the state, who had been in their position for at least two years, into a classified full-time employee (FTE), and they would receive the same benefits and compensation that FTEs of the state receive. “Senate Bill 2290 was designed to address an issue that exists in state government regarding a loophole for temporary employees,” Sinner said. “In order for a state agency to create and fill a new position, they

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need to get approval from the state Legislature. As you know, many of our members of the House of Representatives are opposed to the idea of adding more people to the state payroll, regardless of whether or not the position is merited. As a result, very few new positions are approved each biennium, and agencies are often forced to do more with less. This has led to an increase in the number of long-term, fulltime, temporary employees. These employees do not receive the same health insurance, vacation, sick leave or retirement benefits that regular state employees get. To be clear, they receive no paid time off and no retirement benefits.” According to Sinner, the Legislature’s reluctance to increase the number of positions in state government has caused state agencies to address needs by hiring more temporary workers, which do not require legislative approval. “There is no limit on how long an individual can remain a ‘temp,’” Sinner said. “During the last legislative session, we identified 47 individuals who had been with the state in a temporary position for more than two years. The bill I sponsored would have, simply, recognized that their work was not temporary in nature and would have resulted in their being offered a full-time position with the state.” SB 2290 failed in the Senate by a vote of 16-29. Opponents of the bill cited the high costs associated up-front with paying benefits to 47 workers. However, Sinner said the bill was intended to save the state money in the long run. “If you accept the fact that state employees provide a necessary service for the people of North Dakota – and often at a discount from what their colleagues doing similar work in the private sector are paid – then the turnover encouraged by not paying benefits to these working people is indeed very expensive for the state’s taxpayers,” Sinner said. “I’ve seen studies that suggest turnover costs for replacing a professional position can be as high as 50 percent of one year’s salary, and that’s assuming you’re able to replace an employee with someone as qualified and talented as the person who left.” For Barbie-Bluemle, staying in a full-time temporary position for eight years did eventually pay off. “I wanted to get into an archeological technician position, which is what I’m at now.” She was hired as an FTE with DOT, starting on Sept. 1, 2015. Her position was created when the administrative assistant for her division retired. “And so my management put together a plan to merge what I had been doing with being an admin assistant,” Barbie-Bluemle said. “They figured in about 20 percent admin assistant duties, and then the rest cultural resources. And a lot of the other sections have taken on some of their own administrative duties.” She credits her administrators and co-workers at DOT for helping her to get into a permanent position with the state. “This one was really unique, I think, in merging two different worlds,” she said. “Everyone at DOT has been incredibly supportive of me, and I’ve had good mentors there guiding me. I’m very happy with how things have turned out.” For Tisi, the end of the road came for him seven years into his job, while he waited for a raise. “About two years prior to my leaving, they

gave the regular employees, the full-time employees, raises,” Tisi said. “I’m not sure exactly what their raises were, not that it’s any of my business. But when they gave me my raise two years later, they gave me a 16-cent raise. And I just thought that was kind of ridiculous. They either don’t like what I’m doing for them, they don’t like me or I don’t know what. I just thought it wasn’t right.” The day he received a 16-cent-per-hour raise, he said he felt unappreciated and decided that he needed to leave. “I wrote a resignation letter,” Tisi said. “I wrote, ‘I, Leonard Tisi, resign my position at DOT, multimedia department, effective immediately…’ and I got my badge and my keys, put all of that together, and I put the letter in an envelope… but in the envelope, besides for the letter, I put 16 cents in there. It was just my way of saying, ‘Really?’” He said he feels grateful for his time with the state, but that he was in a position that he could leave the job. “I didn’t need any of the benefits,” Tisi said, “Because I was retired, I was able to do that. Now you have temps there who are not able to do that. They have to stay there and take that raise, whether they like it or not, because they don’t have any other source of income.”

Temporary Employees by % ofinTime Tisi said he agrees with the approach that NDU and Sinner took SB 2290. “Eight years is too The following table shows the number Temporary who were employed the let entire year 2013. long for a temp,” he said. “If ofyou can’t hireemployees a person after two years, you for either himcalendar or her go The Percent of Full-Time thecan’t proportion hours worked based on 2,080 a year. and just say, ‘Hey,is we do it,’ofbut don’t fill that position withworking anotherhours temp.inDo without.” 73% of the Temps worked less than ½ time, 86% less than ¾ time. In general, most of the Temps are either seasonal (such as construction, field research, & visitor services) or on-callby working hours/days to ensure workplace Temporary Employees Stateoccasional Agencies coverage (institutions). Percent of Full-Time < 25%

Agency

OMB

50-75%

75-90%

>90%

Total

10100

Governor's Office

10800

Secretary of State

11000

Office of Mgmt & Budget

11200

Information Technology Dept

11700

State Auditor

12500

Attorney General

12700

State Tax Commissioner

18800

Legal Counsel for Indigents

19000

State Retir & Invest Office

19200

Public Employees Retire System

20100 22600

Public Instruction Dept of Trust Lands

25000

State Library

25200 25300

School for the Deaf Vision Services

25 19

1 2

26 21

30100

Dept of Health

30500

Tobacco Prev/Control Comm

31300

Veterans Home

32100

Veterans Affairs Dept

32500

Dept of Human Services

36000

Protection & Advocacy

38000

Job Service ND

40100

Insurance Dept

40500

Industrial Comm

40800

Public Service Comm

41200

Aeronautics Comm

41300

Securities Comm

48500

Workforce Safety & Ins

50400

ND Highway Patrol

53000

Dept of Corrections & Rehab

54000

Adj Gen/National Guard

115

60100

Commerce Dept

60200

Agriculture Dept

61600

Seed Dept

62400

Beef Commission

66500

State Fair Assoc

67000

Racing Comm

70100

Historical Society

72000

Game & Fish Dept

75000

Parks & Recreation

77000

Water Commission

80100

Dept of Transportation

796

Grand Count

25-50%

2 3 1

11 2

6 0 0

2 7

2 12

3 3

28 5

121

0 1 0 21

1 0 7

25 4 79 0

9 1

412

166

105

52%

21%

13%

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H:\My Documents\XLDAT 15\NDS_TEMP_EMPLOYMENT_Cal 2013.xlsx

LET’S STAY IN TOUCH NDU-Retired members should be proactive, part of the conversation By the time you receive this magazine, the Instructional Conference will be over. Each year, NDU provides professional development opportunities at our Instructional Conference for educators in K-12 and higher education, as well as higher education students, and ESP members. This year’s conference was held at two locations, Mandan and West Fargo. The retired sessions were held in Mandan. By Nancy Peterson ND United Retired President

“

All members of our union want to feel included and have their needs addressed. I saw this first-hand when I attended the NEA-Retired Conference in Orlando in June and again at the NEA Representative Assembly, also in Orlando in July.”

I always looked forward to this conference as it allowed me to network with members across the state, to see trends in education, and to find out new methods of providing instruction. Hopefully you attended sessions, learned a lot, and are now implementing this new information into your worksite. At the retired sessions, the information that was shared will help the NDU-R Board make decisions on our future activities. The North Dakota United-Retired Board has worked to contact members we have lost touch with over the years. But we need your help. Can you let us know of members who are not receiving our award-winning magazine, United Voices? The NDU staff work extremely hard to produce this magazine and bring to the forefront information that is important to all members. Please contact Patty Barrette at patty.barrette@ndunited.org or 701-223-0450 with this member information. The key to any successful organization is its membership, and I encourage you to join the NDU-Retired even if retirement is a long ways off in the future. Like that TV commercial that has a woman reporting to her boss that she is giving her 15-year notice tells us: Time creeps up on you. Please be like her and be proactive and take part in the conversation on issues affecting you now and in the future. This is what NDU is all about, and we work hard to meet the needs of our members. Have a great winter, and I look forward to continuing this conversation.

YES, SIGN ME UP NOW IN NDU/NEA/AFT-RETIRED Complete and mail with your check today to NDU-Retired, 301 N 4th St, Bismarck, ND 58501-4020 Name: _______________________________________Social Security Number: __________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________________________ City: _________________________________________ State: ______________ Zip: ______________ Phone: ______________________________E-mail:_________________________________________ Local Association: __________________________Signature: _______________________Date: ______ _______ I wish to join as Annual Retired and pay $52 per year. Mail this form and your check to NDU, 301 N 4th Street, Bismarck, ND 58501-4020. (NDU membership year is from Sept. 1 to August 31.) _______ I wish to pay a one-time payment of $412 for Lifetime Retired. Expected Date of Retirement ___________ (month/year) _______ I wish to pay one payment of $52 and have 9 (nine) electronic transfers of $40 from my bank account for Lifetime Retired. ndunited.org

B LI C E D U C

AT I

N O

T A

E BLIC S

North Dakota United 301 N 4th St Bismarck, ND 58501-4020

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