Home | Resources | ATPE News | Spring 2010 | Your Association News
Your Association News
ATPE honored for its commitment to employee volunteerism in public schools
ATPE was among 11 Texas employers honored at the November State Board of Education (SBOE) meeting for promoting employee volunteerism in neighborhood public schools.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) bestowed an Employers for Education Excellence (EEE) Award upon ATPE for the association’s partnership with Austin ISD’s Harris Elementary School. As Harris Elementary’s Partner in Education, ATPE allows association staff members to act as mentors and tutors to the school’s students as well as offer financial support for various student activities.
“One of ATPE’s founding ideas is that public education must be focused on the students, and having our staff working with schools in our area truly reinforces our commitment to this precept,” ATPE
Executive Director Doug Rogers says. “ATPE is a leading group in the public education community, so it’s important for our staff members to strive not only to improve the field of public education but also to serve the students themselves.”
ATPE’s five-year partnership with Harris Elementary allowed the association to qualify for the highest EEE category, the Gold Award, which is given to employers that implement policies encouraging employees to participate in school programs and attend parent-teacher conferences. ATPE employees have eight paid hours annually for such activities.
“We’re proud to have a dedicated team, and we want our staff members to have every resource available to help Texas students achieve their very best,” Rogers says.
Joining ATPE as recipients are the following Texas businesses and organizations: Administaff of Kingwood; the City of Fort Worth; Flint Hills Resources, Corpus Christi; Huckabee & Associates Inc., Fort Worth; Johnston Legal Group, Fort Worth; Red River Credit Union, Texarkana; Texans Credit Union, Richardson; Texas Association of School Business Officials, Austin; Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth; and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fort Worth. All were honored with the Gold Award.
This is the second year TEA has presented the EEE Awards, which were created by the Legislature in 2007.
See you at the ATPE Summit
When ATPE members said that traveling to Austin two times each year for state-level association events was both time-consuming and costly, the ATPE Board of Directors (BOD) listened. Beginning in July 2011, the annual House of Delegates (HOD) meeting and leadership training will take place during one event: the ATPE Summit.
Throughout ATPE’s history, the HOD has met during a state convention in the spring, and since the 1990s volunteers have gathered during the summer for leadership training. Beginning next year, each summit will take place during the summer so that most attendees can avoid the obstacle of requesting and receiving time off from school; also, a summertime event will serve as a bridge between membership years. ATPE’s state officers, BOD and staff are engaged in the process of developing an agenda for the first ATPE Summit, which will take place in July 2011. (Watch ATPE publications for the announcement of the exact dates.)
The name “summit” was chosen because of its prestigious connotations. The members serving in the ATPE House of Delegates are conducting the business of the association’s supreme governing body, so the name is appropriate.
A grand way to improve campuses
Congratulations to the winners of ATPE’s second Campus Curbside
Appeal Contest, held in conjunction with the fourth-annual Supporting Your Freedom to TeachSM Week in August 2009.
The contest was open to members who attended Leader U 2009. Contest participants asked their campus colleagues to vote for a way to spend $1,000 in funding for school improvement projects. The idea that garnered the most votes on each campus was sent to the state office and placed in a random drawing for the $1,000 prizes.
Judith Buchanan
Ennis ATPE, Region 10
Buchanan’s prize will fund member Robin Corbett’s idea: the purchase of Digi-Cams for Ennis ISD’s
Austin Elementary School. Pictured: Principal Jan White, Corbett, Buchanan and Ennis ATPE President Nanette Moyers.
Merry Creager
Ennis ATPE, Region 10
Creager’s prize will go toward new landscaping at her school, Miller Intermediate.
Melissa Duffey
Plano ATPE, Region 10
Duffey’s school will use her winnings to purchase walkie-talkies for educator use at recess, a poster maker, and raincoats and umbrellas for the safety patrol and educators on carpool duty. Pictured: ATPE Field Rep Doug Eckart, Duffey and other Andrews Elementary educators.
Attend Leader U July 15–17 to participate in the 2010 Supporting Your Freedom to TeachSM Week activities.
Connect with colleagues in the ATPE Idea Exchange
In January, ATPE relaunched its online forum, the ATPE Idea Exchange, as a community in which all Texas educators may discuss classroom resources, successes and challenges.
The forum was initially created during summer 2008 and aimed at beginning educators. The decision to change the forum’s focus was made after ATPE entered into a partnership with the Texas A&M University System to offer ATPE members in their first through third years of teaching access to online mentoring through the Performance-based Academic Coaching Team (PACT) System. (Learn more about the PACT System at www.atpe.org/Resources/PACT.)
ATPE members are encouraged to visit the forum to discuss topics such as ATPE programs, ATPE publications and education issues. Access the ATPE Idea Exchange.
New! Earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit by participating in the ATPE Idea Exchange Book Circle along with ATPE State President Sam Spurlock. See the ATPE Idea Exchange for details.
Update: ATPE member discounts on auto insurance
As of Oct. 15, 2009, ATPE has discontinued its discount auto insurance program with Travelers Insurance. If you currently have a discounted auto policy with Travelers, there will be no change or disruption to your policy.
ATPE will continue to offer members a discount auto insurance program with Nationwide®, a company that has helped many of its customers save up to $500* a year on their auto policies. For more information, please log in to the Services and Discounts page.
You can spring for a break with ATPE discounts
Before you hit the road for spring break fun, check out the great travel discounts available to ATPE members. For more information on these and the other services and discounts that ATPE is proud to offer members, please log in to the Services and Discounts page.
- Auto rental: Members receive discounts on rental cars through Avis®, Alamo® and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
- Hotels: Members room for less at Comfort Inn®, Comfort Suites®, Quality®, Sleep Inn®, Clarion®, MainStay Suites®, Econo Lodge®, Rodeway Inn®,
Suburban Extended Stay®, La Quinta Inns and Suites, AmeriHost Inn®, Baymont Inns, Hawthorne Suites®, Days Inn®, Howard Johnson®, Knights Inn®, Microtel Inns and Suites®, Ramada®, Super 8 Motel®, Travelodge®, Wingate by Wyndham and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.
- Theme parks: Members can purchase discount tickets to Sea World Orlando, Sea World San Antonio, Sea World San Diego, Busch Gardens Africa, Busch Gardens Europe, Adventure Island, Aquatica, Water Country USA and Sesame Place through the Worlds of Discovery Parks online ticket order program. Also, beginning in March, members will be able to purchase discount tickets to Schlitterbahn Waterparks through Schlitterbahn’s online ticket program.
Meet ATPE’s Extreme Classroom Makeover winners
For the past four years, ATPE has given beginning educators a helping hand through its Extreme Classroom Makeover promotion. Two 2008-09 teacher-trainee members renewing as first-time professional members in 2009-10 received $750 for classroom supplies.
KAYSEE FINCH, Hereford ISD
Alma mater: West Texas A&M University
What she teaches: Seventh- and eighth-grade keyboarding and career connections at Hereford Junior High
What she bought: Document camera
Fun fact: Finch was inspired to enter the profession by her mom and sister, who both teach.
KATE WORTHINGTON, Gatesville ISD
Alma mater: Tarleton State University
What she teaches: Kindergarten at Gatesville Primary School
What she bought: Reading manipulatives plus books, books and more books
Fun fact: Worthington went to first-grade in the same classroom in which she now teaches.
©2010 Jupiterimages Corporation
More ATPE News
Transforming Texas' political landscape
The thank-you files
Go Texan
Capitol Comment
Legal Opinions
Educators' Exchange
In the Classroom
Para-educators' Place
News Briefs
Snip-its
Tech Support
Web Bytes
Foundation News
Your Association News