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STATS prove SPARKS work!

More than half the original nine SPARKS still teaching in Maryland have become active players in their schools and Local Association. It’s a telling statistic and one worthy of note for Locals hoping to build membership and participation among their newest colleagues.

Tabco members participate in a 1 1/2 day SPARKS course at MSTA.

When Cheryl Bost wanted to tap into the energy of new teachers just starting their careers in Baltimore County, she searched for a program that would capture the imagination and spirit of her newest members plus offer the support they so badly need.

She found just what she was looking for 3,000 miles away in Olympia, Washington. SPARKS, a dynamic, interactive program created by the Washington Education Association (WEA) especially to support and engage newer teachers—in the classroom and in their Association—was flourishing in its fifth year.

Bost, the youngest president in TABCO’s history, is also one of the youngest in the state.

After 17 years of teaching and almost as many as a TABCO activist, she is passionate about the well being of new hires and eager for them to be recognized and nurtured. “I know that if it weren’t for mentoring by my colleagues, I might not have survived the first few years of teaching myself,” Bost said. “This program doesn’t wait for new teachers to reach out to us—we reach out to them and stay connected.”

The success of TABCO’s 2005 SPARKS program fueled the interest of the Howard County Education Association and President Ann DeLacy, who sent two members to participate. “As a new president and former Future Educators of America sponsor, I feel SPARKS can be an invaluable tool in ‘sparking’ the interests and passion of members early in their careers,” said DeLacy. “This passion and early leadership involvement can transfer to an increase in retention and incubate new leaders who understand the relationship between enthusiasm and work ethic.”

Focused on retention

Baltimore County’s retention figures are not unusual. Bost reports that according to the county’s Board of Education, the system has had a turnover rate of about 54 percent over the past four years. Retaining a quality teaching force is a challenge echoed across the U.S. as 50 percent of new teachers cap their career at just five years or less.

“We try very hard to make sure we embrace our newer members and set them up for success instead of failure,” Bost said. “With SPARKS we’ve found a way to hook up with enthusiastic young people who really need and want the kind of full-service professional support the Association offers.” Allison Robinson’s whole family is back home in Chicago, and the comfort of family is appealing to her and her husband. But her recent involvement in TABCO, both as her school rep and SPARKS participant, gives her more reasons to stay.

“I feel I am more a part of the profession than when I was just teaching,” said Robinson, a fourth-year social studies teacher at Chesapeake HS. “I think it’s because I’m not important just in my building—I’m doing something good for the profession in general. I feel involved in the process.

“I also feel that I’m more educated about my profession. I know what’s going on behind the scenes. I think that gives me a lot more to think about and consider when I’m planning my future.” Her colleague, Ken Mueller, found SPARKS to be the antidote to the frustration many school employees feel. “Before SPARKS, I knew very little about what TABCO and MSTA could do for me. I was angry and felt there wasn’t much I could do. SPARKS introduced me to ways I could affect change.

“SPARKS is the most worthwhile thing I’ve done outside the classroom,” Mueller added. “It was professional development at its best. It wasn’t the usual tortuous, arduous professional development stuff —I was pleasantly surprised.”

Mueller wasn’t even a member of TABCO before Bost and Robinson recruited him for SPARKS. “Not only did I join TABCO just so I could attend SPARKS, but when I got back to school, I signed on to run, and was recently elected to the faculty.

“Colleagues know that since I’ve done SPARKS I’m more plugged into school. I know our union leaders. They can ask me questions and I can help them.”

SPARKS 101: Putting the gears in motion

SPARKS is a 1½-day course for members who have six or fewer years’ experience in public schools and little or no experience with their Local or MSTA.

The goal is to connect with newer, often young members in a way that is meaningful and relevant to them. In a group of their peers, new members are more relaxed and can ask the questions they want and need to ask. “Our SPARKS gain confidence just knowing there is a safe place where they can get practical information about how to do their job and to gain a better understanding of the Association and how it supports them,” said Bost.

“We believe that they will stay and flourish in their careers if they are recognized and engaged and networking with their peers. We bring them professional development but we bring them something else very important—camaraderie.”

Why SPARKS is hot

SPARKS participants get exactly what they ask for. Each participant takes a survey ahead of time and SPARKS organizers design the class around what they want to learn or gain. In a casual atmosphere with lots of question and answer time built in, each teacher learns about specific professional and Association issues as they relate to him or her individually.

At TABCO’s recent SPARKS program, held at MSTA headquarters in January, participants learned about their priority topics from guest experts in the field:

For important topics not short-listed in the survey, SPARKS fills in the blanks creatively with a built-in networking and learning opportunity. Paired up and using Association materials and a bit of online surfing, participants present their assigned topic to the group on issues ranging from parent conferences, to continuing education, to liability issues.

But the highest rated SPARKS presentation is the one describing the work the Association does to support public school employees, advance the profession and improve student achievement.

Peer support

MSTA Executive Director David Helfman talks with SPARKS participants.

It doesn’t take long for a new teacher to discover that performing solo in front of 20, 30, or 40 students all day every day is inherently isolating. SPARKS seems to relieve the isolation by nurturing collegiality, which adds to a positive school environment, which, in turn affects school connectedness for students, parents and teachers – one of the most important factors in school success.

“One of the very best things I gained from the experience is someone to actively help me recruit members and get people involved in Association activities from my building,” Robinson said. “And, although Ken [Mueller] and I have been in the same department for two years, we had rarely spent time together socially.

“I can honestly say that I have not only gained a friend from the experience but a colleague in the truest sense of the word. Having someone cheering me on and helping to get the word out has made my job as a school rep so much easier, and so much more rewarding.”

Anyone involved in their Local Association or MSTA knows that the gears are set in motion most effectively when collegiality, common purpose and activism combine for a strong voice at the local, state, and national levels. But it all starts with a strong foundation and a solid and growing membership. SPARKS is important and successful because it welcomes the future as participants to strengthen and confirm the Association’s long-term presence as advocates for public education, its students and employees.


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