Public Education Matters

Various student voices 0:08
Public education matters. Public education matters. Public education matters.

Jeff Wensing 0:14
This is Public Education Matters brought to you by the Ohio Education Association.

Katie Olmsted 0:26
Welcome back to Public Education Matters. I'm your host, Katie Olmsted, and I'm part of the communications team for the Ohio Education Association and the nearly 120,000 public school educators. OEA represents in hundreds of local associations across the state, each of those locals has the opportunity to amplify the impact of their dues dollars thanks to OEA grant funding, especially this year, with changes to the OEA grants and the new local capacity grants that are available back in December, we sat down with OEA secretary treasurer, Rob McFee to get the details on these grant opportunities, and I definitely encourage you to go back and listen to that episode if you haven't. Earlier this spring, we also sat down with 14 members of the Twinsburg Education Association who wanted to share their ideas for how to put that grant funding to work. In this episode, we are shining the spotlight on even more grant fueled projects that you can bring to your own local this time, we're looking at what the Tallmadge Teachers Association has been able to do both with their OEA wellness grants and with the local capacity grant funding and even the application process you'll remember from our conversation with Rob in Episode 16 of this season, any local can get $2,500 in local capacity grant funding just for completing the local capacity toolkit. That's a local assessment tool looking at how your local is doing and where there's room for growth in these eight different areas, advocacy, contract negotiations, organizing and strategic planning, community partnerships, communication, political action and lobbying, leadership development and governance structure and finances well, the Tallmadge Teachers Association really took the results of their self assessment to heart. Not only did they identify a need for their local to start a political action committee, but they also used the needs they identified in their assessment to drive the creation of action plans in a few other areas, and that unlocked more local capacity grant funding to support those new projects. We had the chance to sit down with several Talmadge ta members a few weeks ago to learn more about all of them take a listen to our conversation.

Becky Miller 2:50
Well, hello and Katie, thank you and OEA for asking Tallmadge Teachers Association to participate in today's podcast. I'm Becky Miller, and I teach second grade in Tallmadge. I'm also the president of Tallmadge Teachers Association, and we have a group of leaders here that are going to share the different roles that they have within our association and the things that they've been doing in their leadership roles to enlarge our capacity of our members and involvement.

Katie Olmsted 3:17
I can't wait to hear about all of those projects, but before we get into the different projects, Becky, can you just remind us what kinds of grants Tallmadge TA has gotten from OEA?

Becky Miller 3:28
Yes, these grants that we were going to focus on today were the local capacity grants, and then we're going to share within a six month period last May to elections in November, we created, very quickly, a political action committee and a school board screening committee, and they did a lot of work within six months. And so we wanted to talk about their work that they did in a very short amount of time.

Katie Olmsted 3:54
And that's where Audrey comes in. Audrey, what can you tell me?

Audrey Cunert 3:58
So, hey, I'm Audrey Cunert. I'm an eighth grade teacher at Tallmadge Middle School. I'm about to finish my 23rd year here at Tallmadge. I bleed gold and blue. There was a group of people that we that volunteered to be a part of the political action committee. So it was our first meeting in the summer that we held when we decided that there was, it was It started off. It was just like a political committee. But we didn't really know exactly what we were going to do. We decided very quickly we wanted to create a political action committee or a pack. And we had instant volunteers. We got a treasurer, we got a school board, screening committee chair. I volunteered as the chair of that of the political action committee, and then we had a lot of other volunteers that were willing to be involved. We set up training with Dominic Mendiola for the pack and the school board screening. And because it was summer, we tried to, you know, do as much as we could in each meeting. Um, so we got our training, created a constitution and bylaws for the pack, and we're trying to figure out how we can raise some money. So what we ended up doing for our pack to have, you know, to for endorsements and things. So what we did is we held a we had members donate items. We created some gift baskets. We had a fiesta night basket. We had game night basket. We have one of our members makes beautiful jewelry. So we had, you know, some handmade, actually, a couple of our members make some beautiful jewelry. So we had some donations of those kinds of things. And then when our teachers came in on the first day of, like, our first day of teacher meetings, they could buy raffle tickets for $1 a piece, and buying those raffle tickets created their opportunity to be a come a part of the political action committee. So we did that. We raised over $600 close to $650 with that initial fundraiser that we could use for school board screenings, endorsements and upcoming elections. As I mentioned, we had a school board screening committee with Dana harrow as our chair. We previewed some questions that other districts has had used, and we mailed those out to the candidates. Then once we got the screening questions back, we use those to create some follow up questions. We invited four to five candidates back from the questionnaires, and we invited them to come and speak to us at a, you know, at a follow up meeting, created questions that we wanted some clarity on, and worked to determine the candidates that we decided that we wanted to support and endorse. We did. We held a Zoom meeting after we had done our screenings, we had worked, you know, sat and talked with the candidates, gone over all of the screening questions, and we had a TTA Zoom meeting, so all members were invited to come and ask questions, clarifying questions, and we had a discussion, and we determined that we were going to endorse three of the candidates, two of which were elected to the school board. So after the election, we did meet at a local coffee shop, had coffee with the candidates, and kind of talked to them about how our goals as a union, and how their goals on the board aligned with each other, and how we could kind of support each other, which was great to have some dialogue. And from there, we've just kind of moved forward. We're really excited about that relationship that we've built with with those candidates, and we're excited to see what we can do in the future.

Katie Olmsted 7:42
And because you had just started the school board screening committee and the pack, what was it like before that? Did you have that same meaningful voice in those conversations with the people who are making decisions in the district?

Audrey Cunert 7:55
No, I don't. I mean, we have, we've always had a good relationship with our board, but in some personal, you know, people have relationships with them as people and community members of Tallmadge, but this really gave us like a unified voice that I feel like we could, you know, move forward with and kind of being all on the same page, and realizing that we have similar goals and similar interests, and being able to support each other, I think, made a big difference.

Becky Miller 8:23
Can I add to that?

Katie Olmsted 8:25
Oh yeah, please.

Becky Miller 8:26
This is Becky Miller, and I just wanted to add in the past, we had had a committee that did screenings, but we did not have a political action committee, and we never endorsed candidates, and so that was really new. And the committee, the political action committee, actually had members on it that you don't normally see on TTA committees. And quickly got Audrey and Dana to take chair positions. We got a treasurer, and Dominic from OEA came in and helped train the committee on the constitution and bylaws, the rules about the PAC money and so OEA had a big role in that too. As far as relationships, I feel like school board screenings in the past, board members, ones that were already elected and coming for an interview and trying to get reelected, they had expressed how they liked getting to know what our concerns were or what our interests were through the questionnaire. I think that this time, it was just so different, like Audrey said, as far as the relationship building, I just feel like it was way more impactful. We met for coffee after they got elected. The committee met with them in a coffee shop to have conversations, and I just think that as a committee, we feel like their open door policy and their support is going to continue past the election.

Katie Olmsted 9:51
And relationships are a big part of what all of this grant money is able to help foster relationships with the community too. Ashley, what can you tell me about the cultural events?

Ashley Graham 10:05
Sure. So my name is Ashley Graham. I am a school psychologist in the district, and then I also serve as I help coordinate our program for English learners in the district. This is my first year being a building rep as part of the union. So I'm a building rep for the middle school because that's primary that's primarily where my school site case load is. So the district as a whole, in the last five years, I was able to pull up some information, and our EL population has doubled from 2020, to 2025, and I think too looking at those numbers, those are really only based on students who are currently tested for a wellpa. So beyond that, we have many other students who have already been proficient on that assessment. So we do have a pretty diverse district as a whole. So I applied for a local capacity grant with the action plan focused on cultural diversity and then community engagement. So we really wanted to provide students with leadership development opportunities and integrate kind of multicultural awareness into the school day. So we were awarded $2,800 for the grant, and we use this money for representational decor, like we had big flags for every country that was represented, which we had a total of 26 countries that we had different stations set up for. So we and then we also use the money for like snacks and drinks. And we had henna stations set up some food source from local multicultural restaurants. And then we use the money for like cups and plates, table, you know, everything for the event. And then also we got gift cards for families who brought food in as well. So we did hold two different events. We had one at the high school, and then a week later, we did one at our middle school. They both had the general same idea, where it was mostly student led between both of them. So at the high school, it was primarily led by students in our world culture club, and then some EL students that we have along with the EL teacher. And then at the middle school, it was me as one of the adults, along with our EL teacher. And then I had one student in particular who really was very excited about doing this kind of event the district has done, like international nights in the past that have been bigger community events, like after the school day, where families participated. And so she really wanted to kind of do something like that. So we brought this up to the principal of doing it, like within the school day. So the other like, staff involvement that we had, we had, like, a lot of our exploratory teachers help. And again, those are teachers that maybe we don't always see in, like leadership positions with TTA. So it was really great to see them kind of participating as well. So at the high school, we had 30 different students who participated. So they brought food, they had, you know, different instruments from their culture. They performed dances. And then we had the henna stands, which was always, was always a big hit, along with the food. And I did do surveys with students and staff afterwards to get some feedback. And all the feedback that we got was, was really great, both from students and staff members. One teacher saying, you know, that was like the biggest student led event that they've seen at the high school, even, and you know, so many people were really enthusiastic about it. And then the event at the middle school, we actually had 80 students participate, and this is just participating. There were many more students who came to the event. We had a good mix of the student body, which was partially boosted because the eighth grade, they have a Spanish and a French class that they get high school credit for. So the students in those classes participated and did some things for their specific language that they have. And so again, yeah, 80 students who wanted to participate and in some way, like show off their culture or something. So we had, you know, students dressed in their traditional attire from Nepali is a big group that we have. So they were dressed in their traditional attire. And for the middle school event too, the staff feedback was that there was so much enthusiasm and pride that they saw from the students. And they were students that aren't always, like, front and center for stuff, like, sometimes they'll shy away, or they don't necessarily talk about their culture so much. So it was fun to see them kind of lighting up and be so being so excited about it. And it was also a really like a rare opportunity for like interactions across grade levels in a non academic way as well. So yeah, we had a lot of really great feedback from both students and staff about the event.

Katie Olmsted 14:43
And do you think that that enthusiasm and that pride that the students were feeling, do you think that translates to enthusiasm and pride for your local association, for the members who were part of this because of the local association making this possible?

Ashley Graham 14:59
Yeah. I absolutely think that that it does tie a big role. I actually, after the event. So we had it during our lunch periods, or like, lunch blocks that we had, which are three different ones. So each grade came in during the middle school. And so afterwards, I went back to my office, and, you know, I was, like, working on some stuff, and I had some teachers, really, hey, we have some feedback about, you know, the event, and I was like, Oh man, what's this going to be and but they were like, we loved it. It was so great seeing, you know, everyone was so excited and involved. And I think too, we got a lot of at the middle school event. We had some of the teachers from the elementary come over. We had some high school students come over to to help with the middle school event, as well as some high school teachers who came over. So I think it was a really good event that kind of just brought everybody together and helped us realize, like, you know, we have students from all kinds of different cultures that, you know, we need to make sure that we're recognizing as well. And so I do think that it helps boost our members confidence in the district and you know, TTA and what we want to do and what we want to put on for everybody.

Katie Olmsted 16:08
Speaking of putting on t-shirts, putting on t-shirts with our youngest learners, another grant funded project. What can you tell me about that?

Lianna Dauberman 16:19
Yeah, so this is Lianna Dauberman, I am one of the building reps for the elementary school. I'm a school counselor at the elementary school for K to five. And so Brooke Nagy, who's one of our kindergarten teachers, also another TES building rep, along with Erica Vlacovsky, who's not in here right now, but she is another elementary building rep, so the three of us work together to write this grant. So essentially it was another local capacity grant, and it was for t-shirts for kindergarten graduation, for both staff that are involved and for kindergarten students. And the goal of this the t-shirts, the reason we did it is to spread awareness and visibility of TTA. So the fronts of the kids, well, the fronts of the staff shirts say, growing the future, TES Growing the Future. And then the kids ones say, TES Growing My Future. And then on the back it says, like, class of 2038, and then sponsored by Tallmadge Teachers Association. And so, yeah, like we said, you know, the whole goal was to increase that visibility and get our name out there. And so we're going to have all the kids are going to get their shirts the morning of kindergarten graduation so they can all wear it, and then all the staff members involved, principals, counselors, title intervention specialists, anybody that works with kindergarten is going to have a shirt so everybody at the graduation will be wearing the same thing, and everybody will be able to see that. And then we talked about some possible which we don't have all the details yet, but possible ways to continue that engagement for the future. For example, like if a kiddo wears that shirt to, you know, maybe a athletic event like they can, you know, either earn, like, a coupon for the concession stand or, you know, we talked about how TTA currently has some, like, light up items and stuff that we could give out for that. So just ways to continue to like, spread that, that visibility.

Katie Olmsted 18:44
Brooke, what is it like for you as a TTA member and leader to see that visibility spreading through the community in ways like this?

Brooke Nagy 18:54
I think that's the most exciting thing. I have been a teacher here for about 25 years. I've taught kindergarten for about the last 18 I've been a building rep, I think, for probably 17 years now. And over my time as a building rep, we've done so many things and through different grants to build our visibility, but it's always been building our visibility with for us as members. The difference with this grant that we've written is that we're involving those stakeholders. So we're involving parents and families and our youngest students. And it's exciting to see us getting our name out that way too.

Katie Olmsted 19:30
And really a continuing return on that focus, right?

Brooke Nagy 19:35
Right, right.

Katie Olmsted 19:36
Focusing also on wellness. Jon, there are some wellness grants, doing some really cool things for TTA members.

Jon Bryan 19:46
This is Jon Bryan. I am a fifth grade teacher. I am currently the Tallmadge Teachers Associations vice president. This is year 32 and I am heading toward retirement. So happy dance right here. But you know one thing, one big piece of advice I can give my fellow brothers and sisters of OEA, is to write these grants. No one is taking care of our staff members except for us. It really saddens me that over the years, you know, like administrators, and, you know, no one's standing up for us, so we got to do it. And one great way of doing that is using the grants. And we've always applied for the wellness grant that is an amazing and it's so easy to write. So I highly recommend you do this. Last year we were able to, you're able to get $5 per member to spend. So last year, we ended up creating survival bags for our TTA members, and in that we had aspirin, tums, little samples of deodorant, band aids, sewing kits, anything just to help make their life a little bit easier. And it was well received at one of our professional development days this year was really fun. We ended up coming with the theme bagels and bracelets. Again, at a professional development day, there was no breakfast, you know, from admin and you know times are lean, so we wrote the rant this year to get Panera bagels and coffee and drinks for our staff at the at the beginning. And then we also ended up buying bracelets. You know, everything was round and circular, the theme and our message was Union Strong, Bagel Fed and Bracelet Bound. And, you know, it was just, we need these little surprise and delights for our staff members. And today we got great news that we also received a capacity grant for promoting, I know, right, promoting our youngest teachers and to promote them to become leaders. So it was three, three tiered there, actually, the first one is, you know, we want to purchase them, like, nice cardigans or something that, you know, I was thinking of Saturday Night, Night Live, when they get the five time host jackets.

Katie Olmsted 22:15
Yeah.

Jon Bryan 22:16
But I'm thinking, you know what, I'm a TTA member. On the back put something like, I have a voice, you know, to encourage those young teachers to stay, especially in times as as hard they are to keep the young profession. So that's one. The second one is take them on a shopping spree to have lunch. You know, we never get to do that. So we're going to take them to make sure, give them $100 gift card to buy whatever they want from the teacher store. Have lunch, and we're going to get either, like, a party limo or, you know, one of those, you know, busses to take them up, probably up to Cleveland, because Tallmadge is very close to Akron. So you know, just again, that you are special. We are here for you, and you know that that's really important, and the final part of this capacity grant is kind of a surprise and delight. All right, you're a new teacher. You got your masters. All right, guess what? We're going to surprise you with the little $30 gift, or, you know, just these random acts to help support our fellow union members, because we don't get that, you know, and we need to take care of our own. That's the big message, especially with these these younger teachers. So we like free money because there's no budget. And you know, God bless OEA for, you know, being able to fund all these things.

Katie Olmsted 23:40
Well, it's your dues dollars at work, and as you mentioned, just write the grants, because you can do so much and make such an impact with them. Becky, what has the impact of all of this been on the members and on the community and on your students and on everybody?

Becky Miller 23:58
We set our action plan goals based on the capacity grant, filling it out together and talking about our goals. So the grant events emphasis has been on member engagement, identifying interests of members and finding leaders. And all of these activities and programs that we have showcased here today have resulted in increased capacity of TTA. Additionally, it's increased our visibility and strengthened partnerships and relationships with other stakeholders. And we really appreciate Alison Hoffa and Dominic for all of their help with the activities that we've been doing and with the grant writing. And you know, Alison has encouraged us to participate and educated us about the resources, and it's just been a really good year. A shout out to Jon, because he has really written millions of dollars of grants for Tallmadge City Schools also.

Jon Bryan 24:56
Let me add one more thing to Becky. This is Jon Bryan, again, you can tell by the loud voice that I'm Italian. But the other thing Alison, she was absolutely amazing. Reach out to your resources. I would highly recommend. But the other big thing we noticed is that, you know, in years past, when we had a general meeting, we would have two or three people show up now we're getting, oh my gosh, 40, 50, and more attending, and we have 10 minute meetings with our our members, and everyone is like showing up now that's a huge success this year.

Katie Olmsted 25:35
Having that relationship with the local association, that ongoing relationship, that's huge. Well, thank you all so much for sharing how you've helped leverage this grant money to build those relationships. I cannot wait to see what you do with it all in the future.

Becky Miller 25:51
Right, thank you.

Jon Bryan 25:52
Absolutely. Come on people write grants for your members. They'll love it.

Katie Olmsted 26:00
If you want to see photos from the different projects and events we discussed here, please head to the show notes for this episode. And while you're there, make sure you subscribe to public education matters, wherever you get your podcasts, so you don't miss an episode in the future. We have one more episode this season before we take a little break for the summer, and then we'll be right back here with new episodes at the start of the new school year in the fall, because in Ohio, public education matters.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai