President's Corner April 2009

Dear NYSTEA Members,

It’s hard to believe that it is April. The spring season brings with it a renewal of life and a promise of good things to come. Very shortly many of us will be celebrating
Easter or Passover and I wish you all a happy holiday season.

The most important topic I have to talk about this month is our annual conference. In just a few short weeks we will be meeting in Lake George, NY. Our Conference starts on April 22nd with the 46th Representative Assembly at 6:00 PM. If the regional officers have not done so yet, please be sure to send your “delegate information” to Dave Banister     dbanister@rochester.rr.com  along with your conference registration as soon as possible. Remember, in order to be seated, delegates must be a member of NYSTEA. You can check with Dave via email to make sure you are current.  I have arranged with the hotel for reservations to be made by April 20th to get the group rate.

I know that these are difficult times financially for all of us. Yet I would be remiss if I did not encourage you to attend. There are several important topics at this year’s conference that all of us need to become familiar with. Understanding STEM education and Educating the Whole Child are just the beginning. I believe that it is professionally important that all Technology Education educators attend.

Pat Boire, our Conference Chairperson, is still taking proposals for those of you who want to give a presentation. If you wish to make a presentation, especially on STEM related topics go to the Conference page and down load the presenter form. You can email the form to Pat at tboire@hvwisp.net.  By attending these professional educational presentations, your District might give you an hour of professional development time per presentation. You will receive a label to be placed on the program from each presenter. You will need to make arrangements, with your District, to apply this time to your overall hours.  

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 Lake George later this month. Bring a friend.

Yours in Technology,

Jan Stark
President NYSTEA