Summer Leadership covers BFCL building blocks
Save the dates now—July 31-Aug. 2
MEA’s 2007 Summer Leadership
Conference—July 31-Aug. 2 at
Saginaw Valley State University—will
offer 70 sessions designed to help leaders
Build Full Capacity Locals.
This year’s conference, “Stepping Up
Your Leadership Competence,” provides
training covering key building blocks
needed for locals to achieve full capacity:
• Advocacy (bargaining, contract maintenance and member defense).
• Governance.
• Communications.
• Strong leadership teams.
• Financial and membership systems.
• Long-range planning.
• New member/emerging leader induction.
• Political action/PAC.
MEA launched the BFCL initiative in 2005 to strengthen locals and increase member involvement. Skill development sessions offered at the Summer Leadership Conference will help locals and leaders build full capacity and reach their full potential.
Several trainings are noteworthy among scores of sessions presented this year:
• “Building a Full Capacity Coordinating Council,” designed for coordinating council chairs and other council officers, local presidents and MABO presidents. The training will last for the entire day on Aug. 1, and participants need to register for the entire series, 314-614.
This session will explain the staff hiring process, evaluation procedure, operations of field offices, responsibilities of coordinating council chairs, role of local leaders in the council, local vs. state option councils, NEA and MEA Uniserv guidelines and the MEA service delivery structure.
• “NEA CARES: An Introduction” presents an alternative approach to closing achievement gaps using the researchbased themes of culture, abilities, resilience and effort. Participants must register for the entire series, 111-211.
• “Cracking the New Member Code” will help local leaders communicate with and engage new members, and encourage their long-term involvement. For a list of all training sessions, go to www.mea.org/conferences.