June 13 - Lindsborg

Location: Smoky Valley High School, 1 Viking Drive, Lindsborg, KS
Directions:
From 81 Highway, go to Lincoln Street - this is about the middle of the Highway 81 business district, there is a Kaps Convenience Store on the corner. Go west on Lincoln until you can go no farther. Go north about 2-3 blocks. You will see the high school
From K-4, As you approach Lindsborg, take Coranado Avenue north. Drive 10 blocks. This will take you directly to the high school.

June 19 - Topeka

Location: KNEA Headquarters, 715 SW 10th Avenue, Topeka, KS

July 19 - Emporia

Location: Flinthills Technical College, 3301 W 18th, Emporia, KS
Directions:
From turnpike, exit at Emporia (Highway 50). Go toward Emporia. At the first light turn left (north) onto Graphic Arts Road. Go to 18th Street. The college is at the corner of 18th and Graphic Arts Road.

From April 14 to May 30 , KNEA is offering Early Enrollment  to any non-member who wants to join.   This program allows non-members to join NOW but pay no dues until their first payroll deduction in the fall. 

Early Enrollment helps local organizations focus on enrolling those employees new to the district and helps out our Membership Processing because we can enter new members during the summer when it is not so busy.

As a KNEA member, this is YOUR chance to win a great prize.   One KNEA member will be selected to win a beautiful Bose Radio – retail price in excess of $399. Just sign up a new member and send in the form to KNEA. Be sure to put your name on the form or include a note clearly indicating you were the person to enroll this new member. 

The Bose Radio will be awarded by June 10 .  

You can join KNEA now and pay no dues until the fall.  Through Early Enrollment, you agree to start payroll deduction in the fall but start specific KNEA benefits now.

What benefits will I receive?
Early Enrollees receive $1,000,000 of liability protection and the other insurance benefits of the Educator Employment Liability Insurance.  This includes $300,000 worth of defense, settlements, or judgments and other supplemental payments of suits concerning Civil Rights and a payment of up to $500 for damage to your personal property when caused by an assault upon you in the course of your employment. (Vehicles excluded)  For more information on the liability policy, please contact Claudette Johns at claudette.johns@knea.org.

Any other benefits?
Yes.  You will also receive a KNEA Membership Access card by June 15.  And if you are looking for discounted car or homeowners insurance, you are eligible to participate in those NEA Member Benefits programs.

How do I join?
Contact your local building representative or contact KNEA by calling 1-800-432-3573 or 1-785-232-8271.  A membership form will be sent to you.

Why should I join now?
Teachers who will be teaching summer school or taking school-sponsored trips with students will want the additional liability coverage.  You may be going on vacation and have heard about the great nation-wide discounts through the KNEA Membership Access program.  Your card can be used across the country or across town.        

Are there other reasons?
You will want to join because you believe in KNEA’s mission:  “to empower its members to promote quality public schools, strengthen the profession of teaching, and improve the well-being of members.”  

Personalized help is just a phone call or a computer click away!

The UniServ program provides services to KNEA members and local associations.

The term "UniServ" refers to unified service, integrating the local, state and national programs in the delivery of services and benefits to members.

NEA developed the program in 1970, and the nation's first pilot UniServ district was located in Kansas. Since then the field-based program has expanded to include 17 districts located in 10 offices across the state .

Members and local associations have access to well-trained UniServ staff who provide training, assistance, and information covering each program area of KNEA - negotiations, political action, communications, instructional advocacy, member rights and membership development.

• Submit Work to NEA Higher Ed Journal
• Inside Kansas Higher Education newsletter

KNEA Higher Education Task Force

Continuing your good work

Your work in higher education is important. Our interests are the same for higher education and K-12 education - quality education, professional salaries and benefits and adequate funding. Kindergarten through college graduation - education and public school funding should be seamless. That's why we work together on funding, health care and other professional issues.

The Higher Education Task Force advises KNEA on programs, lobbying and other higher education issues. KNEA provides a network so you can stay in touch with the latest happenings affecting higher education. The Task Force meets twice a year to listen to members' concerns and discuss current issues. Each KNEA higher education affiliate has the opportunity to select a representative to attend those meetings to represent them.  Inside Kansas Higher Education, a newsletter specifically for higher education faculty, is available online. In addition, KNEA monitors and updates you on the activities and actions of the Kansas Board of Regents and the Kansas Legislature.

KNEA is your advocate for better working conditions, academic freedom and intellectual property rights throughout your campus. KNEA UniServ Directors provide your local leaders and bargaining teams with training and are an invaluable resource. You have a staff liaison to work with higher education locals on a statewide basis.

Through the NEA, your local has access to the Higher Education Research Center. The Center provides a wealth of information that helps your faculty advocate for you, including:

• Higher Education Contract Analysis System (HECAS)
• College and University Data Analysis System (CUDAS)
• Salary Reports
• Budget Analysis
• Web resources and outstanding, useful publications include the following.
  Advocate, published six times a year.
  Thought & Action, published twice a year.
  Almanac of Higher Education, published annually.
  KNEA Issues, published monthly.

There are also great resources for higher education faculty on the NEA Higher Education web site

This form is for members use only and should be used to request an update to current membership information. Please complete the following steps.

• Why Join KNEA?
• NEA/KNEA Member Benefits provides a wide range of programs  

Member Benefits

Member Benefits Responds to Members' Needs

NEA/KNEA Member Benefits provides a wide range of programs that help improve the overall quality of life for members and their families. From affordable insurance and secure investments, to advance technology and convenient, accessible credit, NEA/KNEA Member Benefits programs can help members get significantly more out of life and their hard-earned dollars.

Benefits include:

• Life Insurance Programs
• Health and Disability Insurance Programs
• Casualty Insurance
• Savings and Investment Programs
• Credit Programs
• Special Discount Programs
• Loan Programs
• Member Education Guides
• NEA/KNEA Attorney Referral Program

These programs provide members and their families with an exceptional combination of quality, value and service. Members can be assured that each program has been exclusively developed for the needs of NEA and KNEA members and is not available to the general public.

For more information, e-mail KNEA Membership Services or call the KNEA Headquarters, 785/232-8271. Members are encouraged to contact the NEA Member Benefits Service Center at 800/637-4636 or go directly to their Web site for up-to-date information on all the programs.

KNEA has researched various member benefits programs and endorsed the following:

California Casualty/A+ Home and Auto Insurance

Security Benefit Group

Books available at discount

Instructional books and videos are available through the NEA Professional Library. Chosen by teachers for teachers, these selections speak directly to the challenges you and your colleagues face daily. Prices are discounted for association members. Your association representative in your school will have a catalogue.

Or, KNEA members can access by:
Calling toll free: 1-800-229-4200
Faxing: 301-206-9789
Web Site: www.nea.org/books
Many of the newest books are available to read, free, on the web.

Other Links

NEA Member Benefit Information

NEA National Web site

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• The NEA/KNEA Attorney Referral Program

Legal Services

Three full-time in-house attorneys who are experts in school law and employment-related issues work to protect KNEA members' rights.

They, along with the 17 UniServ directors in 10 offices across the state, protect members' rights in cases ranging from threatened job actions to interpreting local contracts. Association members also are entitled to a $1 million liability insurance policy to protect them against job-related legal action.

• Why Join KNEA?
• NEA/KNEA Member Benefits provides a wide range of programs
• Join the Student Program
• Join the Retired Program
• KNEA Offers Early Enrollment
• KNEA Members Can Win Bose Radio

Join KNEA

• Member Benefits
• Member Comments
• The Office Nearest You

Working for teachers and students

Joining KNEA is good for you personally and professionally ... and it's good for kids.

As your professional organization, we are like a family, a union of professionals who agree that kids and education are important -- and that the people who are working in schools are important, too. 

As skilled and caring professionals, we help you build relationships with colleagues across the state and nation. We are 25,000 members strong in Kansas  and 2.7 million members strong across the country. There is a KNEA member in virtually every school building across Kansas, ready and willing to help you and your students succeed.

We are the favorite teachers from your school days. We are your friends, your colleagues and your mentors. We are united in our belief in, and support for, public schools and the teaching profession. We know that it is part of our professional responsibility to unite together for the good of our students and for our profession.

We are a volunteer organization supported by our members' dues, grants from the National Education Association and the good work of our members. Regardless of job classification, we are all teachers.

Everything we do centers around KNEA's priorities of promoting quality public schools, strengthening the teaching profession and improving the well being of members.

"Everything" we do includes:

• maximizing learning opportunities for you and your students,
• working to enhance your career,
• lobbying the Legislature, and
• protecting your right to practice in your chosen profession.

Your membership is part of the equation that makes Kansas public schools so successful. Your KNEA membership makes a difference for students in your classroom and for your colleagues across the state.

Join Today!

Contact your local KNEA representative or contact your regional office.

Member Benefits

A variety of programs are available to help you further your career, to improve your teaching and to save you money. It makes good sense to belong to KNEA!

When you join the Association, take advantage of the many benefits available.

• News, practical information and teaching tips you can't get anywhere else. These are available through a variety of publications, kits, training, the KNEA and NEA Web sites and other online resources.
• A professional network of colleagues from across the state and the nation with whom you can share your concerns and explore solutions.
• A clearinghouse for the best professional development opportunities, the latest research on proven school improvement activities and special discounts on a variety of books and teaching materials to help you be your best. Check out the Resource Library for safe school resources and the Instructional Advocacy Catalog.
• KNEA ensures teacher input to the policy makers who determine the rules and regulations that affect your career and how you do your job.
• Liability insurance protection plus access to specially trained staff and KNEA attorneys if you should ever find yourself faced with job-related legal trouble. An exclusive benefit, the NEA/KNEA Attorney Referral Program provides two free 30-minute consultations on any legal personal subjects plus a 30% in discounted legal fees from approved attorneys.
• Professional staff located across the state who are available for assistance with teaching and learning, student achievement and legal and salary issues. They are a phone call or a computer click away.
• A voice in the Kansas Legislature where we lobby for lower class size, increased school funding, teacher mentoring programs, professional salaries and retirement benefits for educators.
• Research, support and training to negotiate professional salaries, benefits such as health insurance, working conditions and salaries.
• Personal financial advice and information you can trust plus real discounts and good deals. "Good deals" include a low-interest signature loan to tide you over until you receive your first paycheck or to take a college class; home finance programs to buy a house or refinance a mortgage; insurance protection for your family; and guidance in building your retirement nest egg.
• Belonging to KNEA is an asset. Community support, recognition and respect for the important work KNEA does through the Read Across America literacy campaign, various community and parental involvement contacts, and educator recognition programs are activities with which you partner.

Member Comments

"I appreciate the leadership opportunities… to be educated on school issues and have opportunities to lobby for better schools and working conditions."
Anna Moon Bradley, Marais des Cygnes Valley TA

"KNEA provides me the security of knowing someone is watching my back if I need support."
Britton Harey, NEA Shawnee Mission

"I appreciate the training opportunities, the encouraging and supportive staff statewide and the wonderful, informative Web site…!"
Michelle Griffin, Leavenworth NEA

"KNEA is making sure that teachers have input into what happens at their school and in their classrooms, especially in school improvement areas. In my rule book, being a member of the KNEA is a requirement to truly being a high caliber educator and coach."
Walter Givens Jr., United Teachers of Wichita

"My KNEA members gives me a voice. I have the opportunity to help change and improve public education."
Emily Pezzola, NEA Salina

A local option program, Education Support Professionals (ESP) include school secretaries, paraprofessionals, custodial staff, food service staff and bus drivers.

ESP have numerous resources available from KNEA and from the National Education Association. In fact, NEA is waging the Living Wage Campaign for Education Support Professionals. The goal is to enable an  ESP to survive on one full-time job, without support from relatives or government agencies, and have time left over for a real personal and family life. A living wage is sufficient to pay for the basic needs in a given community — including food, housing, transportation, health care, child care, clothing, taxes, personal necessities, and even some modest savings.

Check out these Living Wage Resources:

• Five Ways to Research a Living Wage
• Living Wage Calculators
• Living Wage Discussion Board
• Myths and Facts

A Part of the KNEA Team

Through KNEA, Educational Support Professionals get the respect they deserve.

What happens to your salaries and benefits when you're off work because of snow days? This impacted many ESP and KNEA worked to solve that dilemma. Need to know more about "highly qualified" requirements for paraprofessionals? KNEA is the key. How about the new licensing requirements for bus drivers? Just ask KNEA.

Get your concerns voiced in the state Legislature. Gain bargaining rights. Gain professional development and leadership training. Get news through KNEA publications and Web sites.

ESP members take care of our children every day and make sure they have the tools they need to succeed in our schools and classrooms. KNEA takes care of ESP members - ensuring that they have the tools they need so they can succeed. too.

Local association bargaining teams have made significant strides toward making teachers' salaries competitive and in improving working conditions for educators.

Armed with the latest facts and figures from KNEA Research and with the training and support they get from the KNEA headquarters and UniServ field staff, Association members are able to clearly define the procedures and policies that govern job transfers, leaves, schedules, supplemental pay, and staff reduction. And when disputes arise over how contracts are interpreted, members use their negotiated grievance procedure to resolve their problems - again with the full assistance and support provided by KNEA staffers.

The professional interests of KNEA members are addressed through the Instructional Advocacy division.

KNEA monitors the Department of Education and other agencies that establish rules and regulations to ensure that the highest professional standards are maintained. KNEA works closely with state Standards Board, the KNEA Practices Commission, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

KNEA sponsors workshops for teachers and Professional Development Councils (PDC) on current issues and other subjects to help teachers sharpen their teaching skills. Topics range from how to maintain classroom discipline and increase parental involvement to the latest developments in special education and the popular "Bullyproofing" classrooms.

Extensive school resources are available for members to check out, including items originally published by or commissioned by NEA. For details, see the Educator's Resource Library or the Professional and Staff Development Catalog.

Local associations and groups of members with specific educational questions also have access to the latest in educational information and research at no charge through the ERIC database.

It's a fact of life that every decision that affects education is a political decision. That's why the KNEA has developed a comprehensive program to help make public school issues an important part of the campaigns of candidates at all levels.

Through our political action arm, K-PAC, association members interview candidates about their views on school-related issues, issue recommendations on which candidates are most supportive of public education, and work to help get pro-education candidates elected. Once the elections are over, however, the KNEA goes to work as one of the most influential lobbying groups at the state Capitol.

KNEA knows how important it is to bring the message of public schools teachers before the community, businesses, and political leaders.

We regularly launch public relations campaigns and form coalitions with other education and community organizations. Other program offerings include member training on media and community relations, print services, an e-mail network to share breaking education news and the production of award-winning publications such as the KNEA Issues.

• Why Join KNEA?
• NEA/KNEA Member Benefits provides a wide range of programs  

Benefits of Membership

Why Join KNEA?

Joining KNEA is good for you personally and professionally... and it's good for kids. You receive member benefits and networking opportunities. You build relationships with colleagues across the state and nation. You have a proven, credible resource in helping your students succeed.

Regardless of how long you plan to stay in the profession, KNEA is your professional organization because it is comprised of professionals like you. We're the one to go to for ideas and answers. We are like a family, a union of professionals who agree that kids and education are important - and the people who are working in schools are important, too.

- Who are KNEA members?
- What do we do?
- Where we're going...

Who are KNEA members?

We are diverse. We are teachers, educators and pre-professionals. We are 4th grade teachers, science middle school teachers, high school English teachers and coaches. We are special education teachers, college professors and students just taking their first foundations class. We are administrators, support professionals and those who continue to serve the teaching profession through their retired membership.

• More simply put, we are your favorite teacher when you were in school.
• We are your friends, your colleagues and your mentors.
  
• We are united in our belief and support for public schools and the teaching profession. We know that it is part of our professional responsibility to unite together for the good of our students and for our profession.
• We are a volunteer organization supported by our members' dues, grants from the National Education Association and the good work of our members.
  
• We are 26,000 members strong in Kansas and 2.7 million members strong across the country. Regardless of the job classification, we are all teachers.

What do we do?

Our members set policy, establish our budget and develop legislative priorities. While most of our members work each day in the classroom, others volunteer to keep an eye on the big picture of education - lobbying, negotiating, and protecting contractual and constitutional rights.

KNEA members hire professional staff located across the state who are available to consult on teaching and learning, student achievement, and legal and salary issues. We support new and continuing professionals by helping to create or improve established mentoring programs.

KNEA provides a clearinghouse for the best professional development opportunities, the latest research on proven school improvement activities and special discounts on a variety of books and teaching materials to help you be your best.

We offer training through the "I Can Do It" training series on classroom management that can be translated into IDP (Individualized Development Program) points that you can use for renewing your licensure. Specialized bargaining training has recently been approved for college credit.

KNEA, in conjunction with the Southeast Kansas Education Center in Greenbush, offers training for Professional Development Council (PDC) members on quality professional development and implementing the new state PDC regulations.

There is a KNEA member in virtually every school building across Kansas. These members are ready and willing to assist you in becoming a successful teacher. We promote quality public schooling through programs such as Read Across America and American Education Week. We work proactively with the Kansas Learning First Alliance, Kansas Business-Education Coalition, school boards and administrators to promote public schools.

We provide liability insurance protection plus access to specially trained staff and KNEA attorneys should you ever find yourself with job-related legal trouble. We also provide an attorney-referral program for non-job related issues.

Every person has unique financial needs. Through NEA/KNEA Member Benefits, special services and group discounts help you make the most of your money through discounted car and homeowner's insurance, low-interest signature loans, financial planning advice and guidance in building your retirement nest egg. Whether this is your first job or a mid-life career change, KNEA has special programs that can meet your financial needs.

Where we're going...

We have three priorities. Every program, every decision is based on how to meet the goals within these strategic priorities.

Quality Public Schools (Quality Schools)
We are committed to ensuring every Kansas public school student is learning and achieving. How? We provide a wealth of information that helps teachers narrow the achievement gap. This clearinghouse plus various safe school resources can be found on this Web site.

Strengthening the Teaching Profession (Quality Teaching)
We are committed to providing a highly skilled, competent, qualified and diverse teaching force. How? We established standards for programs for mentoring and for programs that help new teachers adjust to their school and classroom. We also make sure professional development is ongoing and relevant to what teachers do on the job every day.

Improving the Well Being of Members (For Members)
We are committed to attracting the best-qualified teachers to the profession. How? We know that in order to attract quality teachers, school districts must pay professional salaries. Schools must continue to reward teachers throughout their careers. While teachers care for their students and other members of the school family, providing for their own family is equally important. KNEA members are determined to advocate for higher salaries for all education professionals.