Published: May 06, 2008 11:39 am         

Today is the day for us to thank a teacher

Today is National Teacher Day. Thank a teacher for making public schools great! Teachers in Allegany County Public Schools will be in the spotlight today, as students, parents, school administrators and the Allegany County Teachers Association celebrate the teachers who dedicate their lives in the teaching profession.

Few professionals touch as many people as teachers do. National Teacher Day is an excellent time to showcase the contributions educators make to our community. Teachers are role models for 9,500 students who attend Allegany County Public Schools. Just as teachers have a responsibility to teach, students have a responsibility to learn and the community has a responsibility to provide all available resources to achieve both goals of teaching and learning.

The Allegany County Teachers Association firmly believes that we all have to work together to make our schools even better. Public schools are at the heart of any community. When there are problems, we address them. When there are kudos, we share them. We continually advocate for high standards for students, fair and meaningful evaluations of their work, and resources that go directly to the classroom.

For students to be successful, children must believe they can achieve success.

We encourage an active partnership among parents, students, educators, and the community. Parents need to be involved in their children's education. Parents need to meet other school personnel such as cafeteria staff, custodians, secretaries, bus drivers, para-professionals, and nurses. It is important to build relationships with school employees.

Allegany County ranks 23 out of 24 jurisdictions in the state in wealth. Yet, when it comes to highly-qualified teachers, Allegany County leads the state year after year. In 2007, 97.5 percent of classes in Allegany County were taught by highly-qualified teachers. Allegany County was first in the state in 2006 and 2005 with 97.2 and 93.6 percent, respectively.

Seventy-seven percent of our teachers have Master's degrees, which is the highest in the state.

Our support personnel also leads the state with 100 percent highly qualified. Furthermore, Allegany County leads the state in teachers who are Nationally Board Certified. The ACTA has played a significant role in establishing mentoring programs for candidates through grants received from the National Education Association. Graduation rates in Allegany County are higher than the state average.

The Allegany County Teachers Association is all about being strong advocates for students, employees, and public education. John Riley, past president, began public advocacy when leading the way for the Governor's Challenge Grant. We continued advocating by giving members a voice at the bargaining table with the passage of the

Collective Bargaining Legislation of 2002. We partnered with the Allegany County Educational Services Council and the Association of Public School Administrators and Supervisors of Allegany County to lobby for Thornton funding from which we received $34 million. The benefits of Thornton provided expansion of early childhood and pre-K programs, resources in special educations, highly-qualified and up-to-date textbooks, reduction of class size and instructional specialists. The benefits of investing are obvious. Our schools are making progress on many fronts.

As a teachers' union, we continue to move forward the agenda of improving employees' pensions. Once again, we partnered with other associations to fight for improvement in pension enhancements and we achieved that goal. Employees who dedicated their lives to educating students certainly deserved it.

During the 2009 General Assembly, we will fight once again to push the Public Employee Relation Board through committee and on to the floor for a successful conclusion.

We scrutinize prodigious bills, work diligently to defeat those harmful to public education and fight incessantly to pass legislation pertaining to student achievement, employee benefits, and quality education. We pledge to continue our mission to promote quality public education and advance our profession and advocate for employees.

Where there are children, the ACTA is involved. The ACTA began Read Across America in 1998 and has continued to partner with Dr. William Bingman and Dr. Barbara Ornstein of the Frostburg State University Education Professions Department and John Taube, director, and Connie Wilson of the Allegany County Library System.

Many thanks to the numerous community partners who have for the last 10 years provided more than 7,000 children a book as a prized possession. Our goal is to make every child a lifelong reader.

Last Friday at the FSU Children's Literature Conference, Dr. William Bingman of the Children's Literature Centre, presented us with a "Recognition of Service Award for Celebrating A Decade of Service and Commitment to Reading through the Annual Read Across America Celebration. I share this award with the community sponsors.

In a profession where one third of the teachers leave within the first three years and 50 percent leave within five years, Allegany County is far superior to other places in retaining teachers. The ACTA has provided professional development through Building Education Success Together (BEST), MSTA/NEA Trainings, Pension and Legal Workshops, "I Can Do It" mentoring for new teachers, Leadership and Organizational Institutes, KEYS projects, SPARKS for new teachers, and "Celebrate Women, Celebrate You" events.

To continue the success, we must be competitive with other counties and states in terms of salary, benefits, and climate. We encourage young people to enter the teaching profession and to stay in the profession.

Teaching is the greatest profession and we will need over 21,000 teachers in the state over the next five years.

The stakes are high: Inspiring a diverse student body to achieve, encouraging parental involvement and retaining highly-qualified teachers and support personnel. Our challenges are there everyday; and to our 800 teachers and support personnel, we salute you.

We are proud of the dedication of our teachers and their personal accomplishments and rewards, as well as the achievements of the students they teach. Teachers are caring individuals who do their very best to make it possible for all students to be successful; thereby, becoming productive citizens.

This National Teacher Day is my final tribute to the teachers of the Allegany County Teachers Association who continually give and give. When I stepped up to be president, even with mixed emotions leaving the classroom, it was the right decision as well as a major challenge. I had dreams for our association; and working together, we have fulfilled those dreams and turned into a legacy of achievements.

Our current leadership leaves you with a proud history, strong fiscal foundation, a strongly committed membership with high professional standards and capable leadership to continue the mission.

The Allegany County Teachers Association is held in high regard across the state for their participation and performance.

To the community, thank you for your support during my tenure as president of the finest group of teachers in the country. I have met you and worked with you in numerous capacities all in the name of education.

As I return to teaching in September 2008, a new set of challenges face me. I am a teacher. As your president, I have been proud to stand with you, beside you, and for you, and serve as your representative and advocate.

"There's no word in the language I revere more than 'teacher'. My heart sings when a kid refers to me as his teacher, and it always has. I've honored myself and the entire family of man by becoming a teacher." Pat Conroy, Prince of Tides

Valeria Arch, president
Allegany County Teachers Association