The thousands of ATPE volunteers across Texas are the backbone of this association. Their hard work and dedication allow ATPE to serve the state’s largest community of educators. In this ongoing ATPE News series, we spotlight volunteers who set a great example of service for their fellow educators. NEXT UP: Michelle Jeffrey, a testing facilitator in Katy ISD and a finalist for ATPE’s 2022-23 Campus Rep of the Year Award in the category for local units with 1,001-plus members.

Advice for Getting Involved

Jeffrey is in her 23rd year in education and has been a member of ATPE for nearly all of that time. This is her fourth year as an ATPE campus representative, a volunteer role she took on after the campus representative who recruited her switched campuses.

“The campus representative who was here is actually a friend, and she asked me,” Jeffrey recalls. “She convinced me to do it. I love talking to people, so it was a natural fit. Plus, I had already been a new teacher mentor. I worked with the new teachers to give them advice during their first year. Being an ATPE campus rep is very similar. I get to meet new people and help them.”

Jeffrey has advice for those who want to volunteer but haven’t been personally recruited the way she was.

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” Jeffrey suggests. “Start with your local campus representative and ask questions. Then get to know the people on your campus. After that, it’s as simple as getting that information out there. As people come to you, just give them more information. Give them everything you can possibly think of.”

A Personal Touch to Recruiting

When Jeffrey is recruiting, she aims to employ a personalized approach. Her process begins with introducing herself to the new educators each year.

“I like to host a new-teacher orientation at the beginning of each year where I welcome all the new teachers,” she explains.

“I go by their rooms, and I talk to them one-on-one and let them know who I am, what I do on the campus, and that I am their ATPE rep. I answer any questions they have and share recruiting materials.”

This allows Jeffrey to have conversations with each colleague, which allows her to get to know them on a personal level and craft a specific pitch tailed to them.

“I can talk to someone and say ATPE can help you in this specific way. Oh, you have little children? Guess what? ATPE has deals on hotels and vacations and other ways to save money. I want them to understand that it doesn’t just help them, but also it can be good for their family.”

Maintaining Visibility

Aside from personal interactions, Jeffrey believes it is important to maintain a visible ATPE presence on her campus.

“I have a permanent display down in our teachers’ lounge that has all the materials that they need,” she says. “It has my name attached to it with my room number so they can find me if they have questions. I’ll put little goodies out to entice them to come by the display and look to see what’s new. They’ll see the pencils sitting out, and they’ll come over and read what I have put out. Then they will come by my room to ask me about ATPE.

“Then I make sure that they know about all the districtwide get-togethers that we have. I want to see them get out there to meet other people. Often, they don’t realize the number of teachers who are also ATPE members.”

Interested in becoming an ATPE volunteer? Reach out to ATPE’s Volunteer Program Coordinator at volunteer@atpe.org.