January/February Presidents Corner

Dear NYSTEA Members,

Hope all of you had a great New Years and came back to school well rested. Over the break I wrote to Commissioner Steiner and introduced him to NYSTEA. I shared with him what our discipline does and the positive impact we have on students. I also supplied him a copy of our NYSTEA Position Paper, This We Believe Statement and a copy of the NYS STEM Overarching Goals. On behalf of the association I also wrote a letter to the Commissioner and Chancellor Tisch in support of their effort with their application for Race To The Top funds from the federal government. I am posting both letters as PDF files with this message so you have an opportunity to be aware of what is going on. If you wish to learn more about Race To The Top please go to http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/   

Congratulations to Albany Public School’s Melissa Hurt (a member of the NYSTEA Executive Board) for her successful completion of the National Board Certified Teachers program. Congratulations as well to Canton Central’s Carol Wright, Glens Falls’ Robert Amberger, Roosevelt’s Vivian Isom, Schenectady’s Diane Allegro, Thomas Patterson, Spencerport’s Stacey Shortino, and Watkins Glen’s Kathleen Estelow all of whom received NBCT in CTE.

On February 5-6, 2010 the NYSTEA Executive Board will be holding its meeting in Poughkeepsie, NY at the site of this year’s Annual Conference. This meeting will help us to finish up preparation for the spring conference. For all NYSTEA Conference attendees, this experience will be well worth your time and effort. If you plan on attending I would make sure that you apply with you District now. A pre-conference program will posted shortly. You will be eligible to receive professional development time for attending the conference. Please check with your Superintendent so that your district will accept this time towards your 175 hours. A certificate will be issued to you at the conference. Additionally, Representative Assembly material will also be posted on our web-site. 

We have a great NYSTEA Conference planned for April 14-16, 2010. The location will be the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel in Poughkeepsie, NY. Information is now on the NYSTEA web site including how to make hotel reservations. The cost for the conference is slightly less than last year. The cost of the room is per night not per person. Tom Chapin, a well known singer/performer, will be our keynote for Thursday night’s dinner.
http://www.music-tree.com/chapin.html. If you have not already done so, you should start making your arrangements to attend now to avoid any mid-year cuts.
 
Finally, NYSTEA is only as strong as its membership. Please remember that NYSTEA
is the only group that advocates directly for your program and for you as a Technology Education teacher. If you have not been a member for awhile or have yet to renew your membership I urge you to do it today. There are a number of important issues facing our discipline and we need to have a strong voice to be heard. With your membership and your participation we will have that voice.

I look forward to meeting you in Poughkeepsie in 2010. Bring a friend.

 Yours in Technology,

Jan Stark
President NYSTEA