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| President Floyd discusses the importance of partnerships, featuring St. Mary's, Allegany, Garrett and Cecil counties. |
President Clara
Floyd's Speech
Convention 2009
October 17, 2009
Good morning delegates and MSEA family. What an important time this is to be part of an association with a long and glorious history, and a brand-new name—the Maryland State Education Association. We changed our name to be inclusive of our entire membership and to be representative of the united team that is MSEA.
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| President Floyd discusses the importance of partnerships, part II, featuring Prince George's, Montgomery, Anne Arundel, and Allegany counties |
We are a team of Maryland public school educators working together toward our goal of great public schools for every child in the state. We are a team on which every member plays a critical role in achieving that dream.
We have much to celebrate this year. Public schools in Maryland were ranked number 1 by Education Week, Newsweek and the College Board. And I don’t need to
tell you that this didn’t happen by accident!
These successes were the result of the collective efforts of everyone in MSEA, of our leaders in government and the Maryland State Department of Education, and with the support of our parents, our students, and communities all across the state. Our challenge is to continue the momentum because there is more to be accomplished.
Simply put, we cannot rest—we must not rest—until all students are achieving, all students are finishing high school, and all students are prepared to enter the world of work or higher education upon graduation from high school.
As we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, we are challenged to make the paradigm shift necessary to move our students forward in the global economy. The students in our elementary and middle schools today have been immersed in the 21st century media culture virtually all of their lives, and we need to keep pace with them.
Our high school students are preparing to enter a world where companies can be based anywhere on the globe with internet access. As the technological revolution brings new advances on an almost daily basis, we must embrace the opportunities technology provides and prepare our students to be successful in a world that is literally at their fingertips. And, while Maryland continues to make progress in closing the student achievement gaps, we are challenged because much work remains to be done. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said, “Quality education is the civil rights issue of our generation. It is the only path out of poverty and the only road to a more equal, just, and fair society….the fight for quality education…is a fight for social justice.”
Please reflect with me for a moment on this statement. The fight for quality education is a fight for social justice. Yes, it is a fight we cannot afford to lose, we must continue to advocate for and insist upon quality education for all students. MSEA is committed to closing the achievement gaps wherever they exist because our students cannot wait.
In order to continue our momentum, we must have adequate resources in our public schools—a significant challenge in the current economy. President Obama has dedicated billions of dollars to public education through federal stimulus money because he believes that education is “both a moral obligation and an economic imperative.”
Governor O’Malley has made public school funding his top priority—a decision that has required difficult choices and tough decisions at all levels of state government during difficult economic times. Together, we have been able to maintain state funding for K-12 education and protect educator pensions. But the economic challenges are not over, and we will need to keep working together to determine our funding priorities and advocate for the needs of students and educators.
Most importantly, we know that we cannot move student achievement forward alone. So now I want to focus on how essential it is for us to develop partnerships—strong, long-lasting, effective partnerships—for teaching students 21st century skills and providing them with 21st century public schools.
MSEA’s GAPS Summit, held on September 2, was an unprecedented initiative and an excellent first step to building plans county-by-county and school-by-school to tackle this huge challenge. To that end, we engaged a broad-based group of education stakeholders from around the state to further the progress toward closing student achievement gaps.
Frankly, we must recognize that to continue making progress in our schools, it is not enough to be good teachers, good school employees and active members of a unified association. We must actively form partnerships at all levels with those who share our commitment to children.
We’re seeing real movement in this direction at the federal level, where NEA is a key player in a number of partnerships in support of public education. NEA worked closely with the President Obama, Secretary Duncan, and our allies in Congress to secure the stimulus dollars that have protected educator jobs across the country and provided a major infusion of funding to programs benefitting children in poverty and children with disabilities.
Additionally, NEA has joined forces with a variety of national organizations representing diverse communities to pursue shared aims such as reducing dropout rates and closing achievement gaps. And NEA has led a coalition of hundreds of education, civil rights, children’s, disability, labor, religious, and citizens’ groups committed to making real improvements to NCLB, including a stronger focus on rewarding progress and holding states and localities accountable for making systemic changes that improve student achievement.
At the state level, MSEA has spent the last several years building strong relationships with policymakers and coalition partners. As mentioned earlier, our close working partnerships with the governor and General Assembly have allowed us to protect state investments in school funding and pensions even as the economy has crumbled.
And there are plenty of other recent successful examples: The governor’s P20 Council brings together education stakeholders from throughout the state to explore important issues in public education, such as the role of the principal, the future of career technology and STEM education, to name a few.
As president, I am privileged to be a member of this panel. The TELL Maryland Survey brought together the governor’s office, MSEA, MSDE, the Maryland Association of Boards of Education and other organizations committed to public education to collect data about the teaching and learning environment, school-by-school, and statewide. Data that will help us address areas that frontline educators see as needing the most improvement.
Let me reflect further on partnerships. I know that many of you have also built outside partnerships at the county, school and community level in support of public education. I think it would be valuable for all of us to hear from some of you today about what is going on in your part of the state.
So I’m going to step down from the stage and give several of you a chance to provide us with some examples of effective partnerships in your schools and communities. Some of these may be initiatives in collaboration with local businesses or parent, community or religious groups to support public schools. Others could include developing a closer working relationship with your local superintendent or school board members to address shared concerns. And still others could be joint lobbying or political campaigns around protecting education funding or getting pro-public education candidates elected.
Let me start with a few local presidents who I know are eager to talk about local partnerships that are making a difference to the success of students, educators and schools in their counties.
[See video above as President Floyd interviews Local presidents and Delegates about partnerships in their counties.]
These are all great examples of effective partnerships for public education. I’m sure there are plenty more out there. Is there anyone else who would like to briefly share with us about a partnership in your county or between your school and community that is making a difference?
I am reminded of the words of President John F. Kennedy, “A child mis-educated is a child lost.” We are well into the 21st century, and the time is now to prepare our students with the 21st century skills they need to succeed.
President Obama has challenged this country to lead the world in student achievement, and Governor O’Malley has issued the same challenge to us. Yes, we are number one in the country, and we did that with determination, high expectations, and adequate resources—but our work is not finished until all our students are achieving. MSEA will continue to do whatever we must do at the state level, but we need your help at the county, community and school level to find and work with partners who share our vision of great public schools for every child. As president, I want each of you to know your enthusiastic support of MSEA’s efforts is much appreciated. I thank all of you very much!
