News & Current Information – Schaumburg Education Association

SEA and SEEO’s Response to Anti-Union Attacks

The main source of SEA and SEEO’s strength is our people power. SEA and SEEO have maintained nearly 100% membership that has allowed us to bargain numerous items that support our roles in the classroom as well as strengthen the education of our students. The district recognizes SEA and SEEO as the voice of our educators and advocate for our students. Our very own IEA President, Kathi Griffin, highlighted just a few of SEA’s successes from collaboration and bargaining with the district when she spoke to our new teachers during Induction Week. These are just a few of the reasons we are sticking with our union:

Our people power is threatening to groups that want to privatize public education. They have begun to contact our members in an effort to weaken the power we use to advocate for our students and Public Education. If you have received one of these postcards or packets and want to know more of the facts and about these organizations, please visit IEA’s Proud Member Website.

Contact your local president for more information and to learn ways to strengthen our union.

Lori Mobley, SEA President

Kathy Jesuit, SEEO President

SEA’s Board of Education Statement – 6/11/2020

Lori Mobley, SEA President, speaking on behalf of my SEA Executive Board, and SEEO President Kathy Jesuit. Maybe some of you saw the statement that was released last week by the SEA. SEEO President Kathy Jesuit sent a similar message to her members. I would like to highlight some parts of these letters:

We echoed and affirmed the words of NEA Today: “Black lives matter, black youth matter, black culture matters.”
As educators, it is imperative we prepare ourselves for the conversations we will have with our students, knowing they are the future of our society and this is their present reality. We need to use teachable moments to constructively and productively address race.
As IEA members, we are fortunate to be a part of an organization that works towards racial and social justice everyday. IEA is challenging us to look inside and be introspective.

This year SEA worked with Region 35 and SEEO to form a Cultural Competency Committee – we were in the early stages of this committee when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Members of the committee are currently engaged in reading the book “Race Talk” (by Derald Wing Sue) in order to educate ourselves and to engage in talks around race and cultural competency in our own lives. We see the urgency to have these discussions with our members, as they will be called to have age-appropriate anti-racist conversations with their students due to recent events. We know that students look to their teachers and other educators as counselors, as caring adults, as someone who listens when bringing forth difficult topics.

The Schaumburg Education Association, as well as the Schaumburg Educational Employees Organization, are committing to the following:

Use our privilege to amplify the voices of our educators and students of color.
Act on NEA’s call to examine how white supremacy culture impacts our biases, our practices, and the policies in our own schools and communities.
Recognize and call out the subtle effects of racial bias in everyday interactions and environments.
Expand the discussions and training on cultural competency in our local unions.
Provide our members the resources and discourse necessary to have age-appropriate anti-racist conversations with our students.
Continue discussions with other stakeholders in the District 54 Promise to center this work on our mission to educate the whole child.

Thank you to Superintendent DuRoss for the letter that was sent out to our District 54 staff this week with the work he is committing to in regards to social and racial justice. I appreciated him reaching out to SEEO President Kathy Jesuit and me to have more conversations around these topics. We want to work together with you, the Board of Education and the District 54 Cabinet, as a District 54 community as we move forward with our SEA and SEEO Commitments as well. Join us as we become comfortable with being uncomfortable in order to be the change our students and educators need. We ask you to prioritize the work that needs to be done to develop anti-racist educators amongst our staff. It is necessary to involve not just SEA and SEEO leadership, but also District 54’s Educators of Color in any and all future steps. I know there are educators across the district ready to engage in this work.

The SEA and SEEO will keep you updated on the work we are doing to help lead this necessary change and we hope you will join us in conversations. Thank you for allowing me the time to share this evening.

SEA’s Commitments

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

As members of the SEA, we echo and affirm the words of NEA Today.

“Black lives matter.

Black youth matter.

Black culture matters.

To our black students, colleagues, parents and families: You matter. Your trauma matters. Your anger matters. Your voice matters. Your protest matters. Your dreams matter.

We mourn with you. We stand by you. We organize with you to dismantle all acts of discrimination and racism in all places and in all forms.”

As educators, it is imperative we prepare ourselves for the conversations we will have with our students, knowing they are the future of our society and this is their present reality. We need to use teachable moments to constructively and productively address race.

As IEA members, we are fortunate to be a part of an organization that works towards racial and social justice everyday. IEA is challenging us to look inside and be introspective. Each and every one of us needs to do our own internal work as individuals so we can dismantle the systems of oppression that we unknowingly replicate every day. How can we make change in our own community and in the schools we serve? What conversations can we start that will lead to reform, that will bring social justice? We must be proactive rather than reactive. We all need to be courageous and move beyond our comfort zones to speak out against these injustices as we come together to do this work. Beyond responding to acts of injustice, we must ask ourselves “What can I do to make sure that this doesn’t happen again? What practices, policies, and actions can we as educators enact to safeguard against future harm to our students and communities?” The time to act is now.

SEA is taking the summer to continue to move beyond our comfort zones and be the change our students and educators need.
As the Schaumburg Education Association, we commit to:

Use our privilege to amplify the voices of our educators and students of color.
Act on NEA’s call to examine how white supremacy culture impacts our biases, our practices, and the policies in our own schools and communities.
Recognize and call out the subtle effects of racial bias in everyday interactions and environments.
Expand the discussions and training on cultural competency in our local union.
Provide our members the resources and discourse necessary to have age-appropriate anti-racist conversations with our students.
Continue discussions with other stakeholders in the District 54 Promise to center this work on our mission to educate the whole child.

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
– Maya Angelou

Lori Mobley
Schaumburg Education Association President
lorimobleysea@gmail.com
Cell: (847) 344-5249
Office @IKE: (847) 357-5450
http://www.sea54.org

SEA and SEEO’s Response to Anti-Union Attacks

Contact your local president for more information and to learn ways to strengthen our union.

Lori Mobley, SEA President

Kathy Jesuit, SEEO President

Anderson’s Announcements

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Happy Thursday – I hope all is going well. Enjoy

If you are having an issue at your building, difficult conversations may have to be had. We need to all try to work these out with together first because we work with each other every day. If you have an incident or an uncomfortable mishap; please follow the procedure below:

Talk to the person involved and try to work out your differences,
Talk to your building rep and see if they can help (if necessary your building rep will contact me) If the issue is with your rep, contact me,
Talk to the principal and see if they can help – if you want your rep with, please ask them to help you – if they cannot, contact me and I can come in and help.

After speaking with Pete Hannigan in HR, he will ask the principal to resume filling out the CPDU forms for every building meeting including full days and half days – if you never received one for last Wednesday or the first 2 days in August, you should very soon. Questions? Contact me.
Ever wondered what the deduction “THIS” is on your paycheck? I did, so I called payroll and they told me that it is a state required health insurance tied to TRS and stands for “Teacher Health Insurance Security.” We pay 1.07% and the district pays .80%. Check out the TRS website for more info. http://trs.illinois.gov/
Our approved 403b provider can provide you with information on a 403b and a new debt forgiveness program for some staff – see your building rep for info. They have the contact info for the company and the individual who can help you.
Are you planning a special event in your classroom or doing a great new lesson? Think about inviting your SEA president to come over and watch you and your students in action. I would LOVE to see what you are doing, working on, accomplished, etc. Let me know where and when to be there and I will do everything I can to make it. I have meetings scheduled after school most days but some of my time during the day is open to come and see you and your students!!
As always, check out our webpage, www.sea54.org to see updates on what’s happening in and around our school district.

Thanks – enjoy the day and look forward to a beautiful weekend!!

Chery

PS – Did you know that in Athens, Georgia, it is still illegal to read a book to your friends after 2:45 am? Who knew?