MEA-MFT Endorsements for Fettig as NEA Director

• District 2: John Hughes
  
• District 8: President-elect Mike Kujawa
  
• District 11: Tammy Pilcher and Helena Education Association
  
• District 12: Mike Picking
• District 13: Michele Farmer
• District 18: Kate McAuliffe and Billings Education Association
  
• District 20: Eva Mastandrea
  
• District 25: Debbie Willis
• District 26: Shannon Bender
• Director -At-Large: Cecil Crawford
  

Professional Precidence & Collegial Comments

"Barb's commitment to education is probably more unique than any other trait she possesses. When she believes in something or someone, there are no excuses. She makes the commitment to participate, to create, to learn, to share, and to lead. I admire her devotion to the education process; not just for her students, but also for other educators and herself as life-long learners."

Desiree Caskey, BPS Technology Integration Specialist

The 2009 Billings Pacific Regional Leadership Conference Delegation

As previously noted, the 2002 Billings Teachers' Strike challenged and changed me. Since then, my quest for effective professional development has only intensified. I've had the good fortune of both delivering and participating in programs affording genuine professional growth. Instead of describing my involvement and efforts, I thought it might be more fun (and candid!) to let my colleagues do it for me.

ER&D Trainer, Reading Comprehension, Billings Education Association

• "Barb was my instructor in an ER&D course. She was always professional and organized. What I liked most about Barb is her willingness to listen and her openness to suggestions. I was also impressed with her knack in guiding group discussions. A successful leader is one who knows how to move forward toward their ultimate goal without being obvious. Barb has this quality. Her enthusiasm and dedication to our profession is inspiring." Patti Vierthaler, BEA member
  
  
• "Barb co-taught an ER&D reading class I took. The teachers represented both elementary and secondary. Barb and her partner did a good job of providing strategies that were both specific to our teaching levels as well as universal. Barb focused on high school content area reading and gave us great examples from what she does in her own classroom. She was prepared and enthused for each of our sessions. The class was enjoyable and relevant." Jan Eagler, High School Special Education Teacher, BEA member
  
  
  Critical Friends' Group Coach, Skyview High School
  
  
• "Barb's focus on professional development has been exactly that--focused professionalism on teachers learning how to be better teachers. My experience with "professional" development has been a traditional large group meeting with a talking head (expert) in front of the room. Joining a small group of educators, facilitated by Barb, was the best professional development experience I have had in 16 years of teaching. I found her abilities to direct learning among teachers outstanding. She continually, but gently, pressed us to learn our craft and to develop ourselves as experts--not relying on outside authorities to tell us what to do. Her interest in students and teachers goes far beyond what I expected and I am grateful for the experience of working with her." Kirk Woosley, BEA member
  
  
• "I have served with Barb Fettig on the BEA Board of Directors and in our school's Critical Friends' Group. During this time, I have observed her dedication to the profession and the union through her continued pursuit and delivery of professional development within our district." Rod Gottula, BEA member
  
  
• "I have witnessed Barb in the role of leader as well as learner and I am impressed with her professionalism, her enthusiasm, her passion, and her commitment. As a fellow CFG coach, I was able to witness Barb grow professionally as part of a tight-knit learning community. She was one of the few pioneers for school reform in our district who believed that professional development was effective only if teachers saw meaning and a direct correlation to their classroom environment. Barb enthusiastically embraced the model of Critical Friends' Group professional development and mentored many teachers by facilitating small learning communities within Skyview High School." Desiree Caskey, BPS Technology Integration Specialist
  
  
• "I have had the privilege of working with Barb in a Critical Friends Group for staff development. When someone in the group brought work to the table,Barb offered amazing insight and innovative ideas to help students become more successful. She was the most positive hard working member of the group and a natural leader that we all wanted to follow. Barb gives 100% in any task she takes on and her dedication to students, colleagues, and the teaching profession is evident in all areas of her life. I support Barb Fettig without hesitation and I want to encourage others to support this high caliber individual as well." Kari Field, BEA member
  
  
  TILT (Teachers Integrating and Learning Technology)
  
  
• "Barb's passion is evident in her learning and teaching. As a member of the professional learning community TILT, Barb has embraced new digital tools, as well as new teaching strategies and collaborative environments. I am amazed at the growth I have seen in her skills and comfort level when exploring a new technology or teaching activity. When Barb first started this program, she was a self-described techno-phobe. She now serves as a mentor to teachers who have just entered the program. Her approach is so non-threatening and her enthusiasm shines as she shows a fellow TILT teacher a new digital tool or walks them through a troubleshooting problem." Desiree Caskey, BPS Technology Integration Specialist
  

Changing Times & Other Lessons Learned From the 2008 Election

Win or lose, like it or not, the 2008 Presidential election changed not only the face of politics, but how the race is waged. According to Drew Weston from the Huffington Post, three important lessons can be extracted. These are listed below in CAPS. My thoughts on their pertinence to my candidacy and to the office of NEA Director follow.

1) HARNESSING PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY. As a 2009 delegate to the Pacific Regional Leadership Conference, I attended a stand-out sectional on identifying, recruiting, and retaining members for leadership positions. The presenter remarked that "the same people" always do the "heavy lifting." These familiar faces deserve no less than thanks and gratitude for their service. One danger, however, in not having fresh faces at the table comes when the torch is passed to the next generation. As a union, we need and value capable leaders. Institutional memory is no less important. As NEA Director, an important mission will be advocating for the recruitment, involvement, and training of new leader members. These fresh faces--young and veteran--are the future of our union.

Serving as NEA Director has less to do with where a candidate comes from, and more to do with their effectiveness and ability to serve Montana's MEA-MFT members. Technology is precisely the medium to serve such a large constituency! I'd like to be just "one click away" from hearing your diverse opinions, voices, and thoughts. And with that reasoning, comes the birth of this blog. Ideally, it serves as a two-way street--not only transmitting but also receiving information and questions from MEA-MFT members.

2) MOBILIZING EMOTION: THE MESSAGE AND MESSENGER. Let's start with the answer--and this is, quite simply, Montana. What has Montana got to do with it? Everything! Last year at the RA in DC, I attended and joined a new NEA group--the Merger caucus. As the name implies, the crowd consisted of folks from merged states and of those who wanted to know MORE about merger. As I listened and participated in the discussion, it struck me why discussing the BENEFITS of merger is easy and natural to do--it's all I have ever known, and I believe in it steadfastly.

This leads me back to Montana and MEA-MFT. Not only are we enjoying the best that NEA and AFT can provide, we are also a union of multiple crafts--state and local government employees, higher education employees, healthcare workers, Head Start staff, school support staff, and public school teachers. Certainly, there is strength in numbers; but more so in making common cause for all that matters--safeguarding the social compact and democratic process, advocating for social justice, preserving collective bargaining and the right to organize, etc. Samuel Gompers got it right when he remarked, “What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less revenge; in fact, more opportunities to cultivate our better natures. . .” And, so have we.

Expect that I will proudly carry both these messages--pro-merger and inclusiveness--forward and that I will use every possible opportunity to advance these causes. Ultimately, my dad got it right when he gave me my first bumper sticker (and permission to put it on my truck): "Live better, work union!" Really, it's that simple.

3) MOVING VOTERS, MOVING FORWARD. Serving as a delegate to NEA's Representative Assembly is something everyone should do--at least once! Participating in the "world's largest democratic, deliberative body" is both exhilarating and exhausting. The 4th of July session -- featuring speakers musing on our Founding Fathers' words, musicians and singers performing patriotic scores, and RA candidates wearing zany outfits, bedazzled from head to toe in red, white, and blue--is always moving.But, as the convention wears on, it becomes plain that our small Montana delegation (maybe 35 members) doesn't hold much punch compared to California's (maybe several hundred, thousands?). It is only an educated guess, but I'll bet serving on the NEA Board is much the same. Montana gets just one NEA Director, while California gets 17.

Trying to level this playing field means working smarter. At the 4 NEA RA's I've attended, my favorite event is always the TNT caucus. TNT stands for "The Northern Tier" and is a coalition of states--Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana--whose delegates and leadership unite to advance issues and candidates germane to our region. As Montana's NEA Director, I intend to forge solid relationships with TNT NEA Directors. Another key coalition group that I will make inroads with are the merged state Directors.



A special thank you to Sherri McMorris for her service as Montana's NEA Director!

Barb's Background

Although frequently teased about the 'Live Better, Work Union' sticker on my car, being a proud union member is something that has always come naturally to me. I did, after all, grow up in a union family, and heard that motto often. My dad was a 35-year member of IBEW Local 44, and my mom is a current member of the Montana Public Employees Association. The historian in me has always admired the fight and sacrifice that union families waged to secure the rights we now enjoy-like safer working conditions, higher wages, 40 hr. work-week, etc.

To be honest, even with my upbringing, nothing drove home the concepts of solidarity and a call for positive change as deeply as the Billings teachers' strike of 2002. Since that time, I have committed myself (and time) towards attaining those ends. Professional development--for myself and for others--has been especially important to me. My experience and service are listed below:

• 2nd VP Billings Education Association: 2007-present
• BEA Board of Directors: 2007-present
• MEA-MFT Board of Directors: 2008-present
• Greater Yellowstone Central Labor Council Delegate: 2008-present
  
• Co-Chair, MEA-MFT Educators’ Conference: 2003, 2006
• Montana Professional Teaching Foundation Board of Directors: 2003-present
• MEA-MFT Professional Development Committee Member: 2002-2005, 2008
• BEA Building Representative: 2001-present
• ER&D Trainer, AFT's Reading Comprehension: 2003-2008
• BEA PAC member: 2004-present
• NEA Representative Assembly Delegate: 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009
• Pacific Leadership Delegate: 2008
• AFT QUEST Convention Delegate: 2003
• TILT (Teachers Integrating and Learning Technology) member: 2005-present
• Critical Friends Coach: 2004-2008

As far as narrative goes, I graduated from UM (1996) in history-political science, and began my teaching career at St. Francis Middle School in 1997. At this private school, I taught 7th grade world history and 8th grade American history. Working with middle school students is the toughest job I've ever loved! Longing for a public school position, I secured one at Billings Skyview High School in 1999. Working side by side with the very teachers who inspired me to join their ranks has been a dream come true. A decade later, I still teach American history to juniors and love every minute of it. On a lighter note, any spare time is spent playing with my little dog, Chloe, and obsessively following the New York Yankees. (Side note: that disclosure probably made more enemies than friends!)

Photos from a Political Junkie

Being a delegate to NEA's RA during an election cycle is a dream come true for this history-political science major! At the Philadelphia RA, the major contenders addressed the general body and my comments are based on their performance there. All photos and comments were taken and made well before the November 2008 election--but, it's always interesting to look back--especially, before looking forward:-)

I posted this clip for two main reasons. First, serving as a MEA-MFT legislative contact, is important work that I relish...and it is fun! As NEA Director, I look forward to continuing this work at the state and national level. Also, I am becoming a tech junkie (and do I ever have lots to learn!), and like sharing ideas. Voicethread affords collaboration and communication on multimedia presentations. For instance, I could have recorded the descriptions instead of typing them in. Throughout the presentation, look for icons to the right of the presentation. These are typed or recorded commentary from folks who viewed by presentation. Please feel free to add your own comments:-)