Summer Academy 2024
June 9-12, 2024
Hilton Orlando Buena Vista – Disney Springs Area
1751 Hotel Plaza Blvd.,
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Summer Academy Info
The FEA Summer Academy is a multi-day conference geared toward emerging, new and seasoned leaders of the Florida Education Association — from locals of all sizes.
This year’s Summer Academy runs from Sunday, June 9 – Wednesday, June 12 2024 and will be held at the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista – Disney Springs Area (1751 Hotel Plaza Blvd., Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830).
Conference activities are planned to meet the needs of all levels of experience.
This week-long event will feature hands-on activities to hone the skills needed to meet the challenges of locals of all sizes. Participants register for the trainings of their choice. If you are interested in attending Summer Academy please contact your Local Union President.
Summer Academy Costs
- Registration: $100
-
Nightly Hotel: $235.13
(includes taxes and resort fees)
Hotel Registration Deadline: May 19 -
Parking: $21.61
(per night for hotel guests) -
Parking: $25
(per day for drive in attendees)
Please note: Registration is handled by your local. Members interested in attending the FEA Summer Academy should contact their local union.
Questions and Answers about Summer Academy
This year’s Summer Academy will be held June 9-12, 2024.
This year’s Summer Academy will be held at the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista – Disney Springs Area (1751 Hotel Plaza Blvd., Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830).
Attendees will have the opportunity to learn new skills, enhance skills and become more familiar with their union’s programs. Members will gain a better under-standing of the entire union movement and how they can be part of advocating and organizing for our public schools.
Everyone can benefit, but space is limited. Those who attend would most benefit if they are emerging, new and seasoned leaders.
The conference is specifically designed so you can choose the area of education that best suits the needs of your local. Sessions range from one to four days.
Registration includes breakfast, lunch and training materials (as applicable).
Please note: Registration does not include hotel reservations.
Top 10 Reasons to Attend the FEA Summer Academy
10. Learn the nuts and bolts of bargaining. Introduction to bargaining for the novice. We all had to start somewhere – so why not learn from the best in the field!
9. Enhance your leadership skills. Gain the knowledge essential to building stronger locals, better serving your members and developing stronger professional relationships.
8. Networking, networking, networking. FEA Summer Academy is a great opportunity to meet your peers and learn from each other, as well as find a mentor or two.
7. Share and learn organizing techniques that work. Come participate in group discussions on how to make your local thrive in today’s changing world.
6. Build strong union advocacy. Have a voice in issues affecting your profession.
5. Connect. Connect with national faculty, state staff and attendees, and with your peers all year round – attend and make those connections and be only an email, text or phone call away.
4. Tips, ideas and more! The conference provides a great way to collect new ideas and strategies for your many initiatives.
3. Politics begin at home. The 2020 election cycle will be here before you know it. This election cycle can change the face of Florida and the United States. Don’t sit on the sidelines and miss a great opportunity to elect pro-public education candidates.
2. Communicate like a pro. Develop a truly engaging and responsive communication style, leading to positive results for you and your local.
1. Yes, your local can run like a well-oiled machine! Build a stronger local, better serve your members and become a strong public education advocate in your community.
Summer Academy Course Descriptions
40-Hour Reading/ESE Train the Trainer
Trainers: Kat Nickell, Polk Education Association; Louisa Bell, Lake County Education Associaiton; Robyn Silva, Polk Education Association; Brandie Gogel, Polk Education Association
This train the trainer class will be geared towards preparing local PD trainers to facilitate the 40-hour Reading/ESE course. The 40-hour Reading/ESE course was created to fulfill the Florida statute requirement for renewal or reinstatement of a professional certificate under rule 6A-4.0051. (7)(b) states, “an educator may use earned credit for both the purposes of paragraphs (6)(a) and (7)(a) of this rule. Rule 6A-4.0051 Renewal and Reinstatement of a Professional Certificate is included below.
This course prepares educators to offer evidence-based instruction and interventions specifically designed for students with characteristics of dyslexia, including the use of explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to reading instruction that develops phonological and phonemic awareness, decoding, and implementing multisensory intervention strategies. This course focuses on instruction in reading including oral language, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. In addition, participants also learn about The Science of Reading as well as interventions required for students with reading challenges including ELLs, students with characteristics of dyslexia, ADHD, SLD, and additional special needs.
Bargaining for Power
Trainer: Jessica Smith, American Federation Teachers
This training will be focused on how a local builds and uses power to have successful negotiations at the bargaining table. We will discuss the basics of building a team and developing your overall strategy, as well as trying in bargaining to help organize your membership.
Locals will learn to use this most powerful opportunity to engage and activate members for the one thing members care about most. What to do with members once they are engaged, and how to use the leverage they create. We will focus on what are the union’s rights during negotiations and how to ensure that we do not give up these rights during negotiations. Participants will build their capacity to analyze the employer’s budget to ensure that we maximize our salary and benefits demands. We will also focus on how a local can ensure that benefits negotiations are fair to employees and that plan design is used effectively to control costs.
CPR, AED and Adult First Aid Instructor Development Course
Trainers: Marcelino Rivera, Florida Education Association and Keith Wrightson, America Federation Teachers
The Instructor Development Course (IDC) was created to train individuals as authorized instructors in the American Safety & Health Institute (ASHI) CPR, AED and Adult First Aid certification programs.
- Successful completion of the IDC will authorize an instructor to conduct ASHI training courses and issue Adult, Child & Pediatric CPR/AED and Adult First Aid certification cards for a period of 1-year.
- Instructors must maintain their authorized status by teaching or co-teaching one CPR, AED and Adult First Aid class during the one-year authorization period.
- Participants must have full mobility and be able to bend, lift, and kneel on the floor to become an authorized instructor.
- Please plan to dress comfortably to practice hands-on skills.
Prerequisite:
- Participants must complete the online portion of the class before June 10, 2024.
- The online portion of the class takes about 3 hours to complete, it is self-paced and can be completed over several days.
- Participants will be notified via email on or around June 1 with their login credentials for the online portion of this class.
- Participants must bring proof of completion of the prerequisite with them to the IDC, a picture on your phone or printed confirmation will satisfy this requirement.
Required Materials:
- Participants must bring a laptop computer, tablet or device to this course. Headphones or earbuds are also required.
- All classroom materials will be shared electronically, and the final skills test will be conducted online.
Educational Staff Professional LEAP to Leadership
Trainer: Sabrina Gates, Center for Technology and Education
ESP Leadership is about lifting others and creating opportunities. Join this multi-day session to develop mindsets and skills needed to be a Fantastic Facilitator, gain insights to establishing and leading an ESP Professional Learning Community, and explore how NEA Micro-Credentials are designed to grow you as a professional. This is your opportunity to grow yourself as a leader in our union community.
Facilitating Equity-based Professional Learning (FEPL)
Trainers: – Darrien Mack, Association of Bay County Educators (ABCE); Allison Thomas, Education Association of St. Lucie; Dr. Ian Henry, Palm Beach Classroom Teachers Association
AFT’s Facilitating Equity-based Professional Learning (FEPL) is structured to facilitate the knowledge and skills of anyone who would like to support adult learners, increase member engagement in their local union and build collaborative structures to support professional learning. Participants will learn:
- Their role as a learner, implementer, presenter, trainer, facilitator, and leader
- What an effective facilitator should know and be able to do
- Tools to support a successful local professional development program
- Equity-based strategies for working with the adult learners; and
- Building local capacity to deliver research‐based practices in their professional development sessions
Ignite the FYRE
Trainer: Mary Proud, FEA
The goal of the Emerging Leader is to enhance one’s personal and professional skills to actively engage others in our worksites and local organization who are passionate about preserving public education and creating a more vibrant union. Who is an Emerging Leader? Anyone who is personally interested or preparing to be the next generation of leaders in their local and wants to optimize their talents and effectively execute the goals and strategies of their union by enabling themselves and others to achieve purpose in the face of uncertainty in this complex and ever-changing political environment.
Introduction to Coaching
Trainer: Rowena Shurn, National Education Association
This course is for educators interested in using research-based best practices to support fellow educators through coaching and team building. Participants will develop their leadership skills and provide guidance to their colleagues for dynamic and transformative relationships. They will examine the characteristics of adult learners and different coaching models. Participants will analyze and implement data-based coaching conversations, effective listening skills, and strategies to effectively establish trust.
Introduction to English Language Learners (ELL 101)
Trainers: Betsy Sotomayer, Volusia United Educators; Christina Fresneda, Palm Beach Classroom Teachers Association
This train-the-trainer course is designed to provide pre-K-12 mainstream educators with the preliminary information and tools they need to begin meeting the needs of ELLs in their classrooms. Participants will learn about policy and advocacy, second language acquisition research-based strategies, connecting culture and student achievement, planning for student success, increasing family engagement, and much more from veteran ESL expert practitioners.
Local Presidents: Building Power for a Better Life
Trainers: FEA Staff
This session will focus on ways to power build within our locals. We will discuss strong governance structures, how to identify authentic worksite leaders, member agency, building power through collective bargaining, and connecting member’s personal economic and professional struggles to elections. This will be a shared knowledge session, so come prepared to share, learn and expand our collective power.
Organizing: Empowering Worksite Leaders, Building Power at the Worksite
Trainers: FEA Staff
The Organizing for Power training will be focused on helping worksite leaders develop their skills to enhance the power of their local. Attendees will learn what needs to be done to build the power needed to improve the lives of our members starting at the worksite.
We will focus on what leaders can do to help build power toward creating leverage for successful negotiations and moving our members’ agenda. We will learn about engaging with the community – through being involved with stakeholders at all levels starting with building relationships with parent groups.
The FEA communications team will provide training on how a leader can effectively communicate at the worksite to drive engagement and build activism. The FEA Public Policy and Advocacy team will tie this work together and help worksite leaders build a plan to have an impact on the upcoming election cycle both with school boards and the changes we need in the Florida Legislature.
Passion, Practice, Persistence: Creating Equity in the Workplace through Courageous Conversations
Trainers: Dr. Primrose Cameron, FEA; Dr. Sarah Fulk, FEA; Dr. Chuck Wilson, American Federation of Teachers;
This session will explore ways to have effective conversations about race and racial equity in our schools and worksites. Participants will consider questions such as Who am I as an equity leader? What is the impact of race on my life and how does it show up in my work? It will challenge you not only to think critically about the effects of race on student achievement, but also on how it directly impacts students, our colleagues, and even ourselves. You will have opportunities to have meaningful, open dialogues about academic opportunity gaps in our schools and will consider how unconscious bias influences our relationships and actions.
Monday - Wednesday trainings
Quick Start Training: New Presidents
(Mon. 1pm – 5pm/ Tues. 9am – 5pm/ Wed. 9am – 12pm)
Attend this half-week training to build our FEA Leader Cadre of 2023! We will discuss the challenges of leading during crisis, engaging our membership, effective campaigns, communication skills, and ways to increase your level of influence with members, district, and community. We will also review governing documents, internal elections processes, the Central Membership System, and best practices for leading successful local unions in this new world.
Bring your governing documents, membership rosters, committee & rep structures and be prepared for camaraderie and learning.
eDues – Member Organizing – Data
(Mon. 1pm – 5pm/ Tues. 9am – 5pm/ Wed. 9am – 12pm)
This session will take a deep dive into our new reality. We will look at where we are now, and where we need to be to empower our movement. What are the new realities under the law, and what are the next steps for each local? We will start by discussing how to close out the Summer strong with an organizing campaign to convert members to eDues. Participants will then plan and prepare for the final push for membership and eDues conversion at the opening of schools. Finally, we will talk about the new reality we face with keeping up with members and potential member data needed to keep our locals strong. Participants will leave the Summer Academy with actionable plans for their locals to thrive in our new environment.
Empowering Education Staff Professionals
(Mon. 1pm – 5pm/ Tues. 9am – 5pm/ Wed. 9am – 12pm)
Looking for ways to feel empowered in your position and enhance your leadership skills? Well, look no further. Our time together will focus on enhancing your leadership skills, creating professional goals for the workplace, and empowering Education Staff Professionals. All Education Staff Professional Members are welcome!
Introduction to Mentoring
(Mon. 1pm – 5pm/ Tues. 9am – 5pm/ Wed. 9am – 12pm)
Participants explore strategies to refine their communication skills, facilitate team building and to apply strategies to uncover and further develop their leadership skills and provide guidance to their colleagues for dynamic and transformative relationships.
Objectives:
- Explore Adult Learning Theory
- Explore Mentoring/Coaching Models, roles and language
- Explore the Mentoring/Coaching Cycle
- Identify strategies for establishing Trust
- Engage in Active Listening
- Identify effective communication processes
- Explore Judgements vs. Data
- Identify Learning Style Preferences
Treasurer’s Training
(Mon. 1pm – 5pm/ Tues. 9am – 5pm/ Wed. 9am – 12pm)
Treasurer’s training will include updated audit information based on new legislative requirements, best practices, and fiduciary responsibilities for treasurers.
Wednesday - Friday trainings
What Every President Needs to Know – All President’s Training
(Wed. 1pm – 5pm/ Thurs. 9am – 5pm/ Fri. 9am – 12pm)
Local presidents-only training. With the passage of SB 256, we will see massive changes in how we operate our local unions. The focus of this training will be to help us be better equipped to handle the new rules by strengthening your leadership in the daily operations of your local which includes financial responsibilities, member support, member organizing and recruitment, bargaining, elections, legislative, messaging, modifying governing documents, creating an effective communication plan for members (district and the public) understanding legal documents and so much more.
Political Organizing: All Politics is Local
(Wed. 1pm – 5pm/ Thurs. 9am – 5pm/ Fri. 9am – 12pm)
The political battleground in Florida is now locally focused. As we saw in the last election, school board races and ballot referendum for much needed local school funding have become the latest attacks on education, placing our schools, our students, and the educational staff who work there in jeopardy. In this session you will learn to build and implement a campaign plan for the school board and referendum from start to finish, so that you will have a winning outcome for 2024 and beyond. Participants will be tasked with building the framework for a local campaign and to be a part of the team who will implement the plan from now until the August and November 2024 primary and general elections.
Race, Equity, Social Justice. It All Matters!
(Wed. 1pm – 5pm/ Thurs. 9am – 5pm/ Fri. 9am – 12pm)
This course will explore ways to have effective conversations about race and racial equity in our schools and worksites. It will challenge you not only to think critically about the effects of race on student achievement, but also on how it directly impacts students, our colleagues, and even ourselves. You will have opportunities to have meaningful, open dialogues about academic achievement gaps in our schools and how unconscious bias influences our relationships and actions. This course takes a deep dive into the Six Conditions of Courageous Conversations as a strategy for achieving equity in education.
Objectives:
- Engage in conversations about race and racial equity.
- Examine the attributes of anti-racism.
- Explore unconscious bias and microaggressions.
- Utilize strategies to initiate Courageous Conversations.
eDues + Member Organizing + Data
(Wed. 1pm – 5pm/ Thurs. 9am – 5pm/ Fri. 9am – 12pm)
This session will take a deep dive into our new reality. We will look at where we are now, and where we need to be to empower our movement. What are the new realities under the law, and what are the next steps for each local? We will start by discussing how to close out the Summer strong with an organizing campaign to convert members to eDues. Participants will then plan and prepare for the final push for membership and eDues conversion at the opening of schools. Finally, we will talk about the new reality we face with keeping up with members and potential member data needed to keep our locals strong. Participants will leave the Summer Academy with actionable plans for their locals to thrive in our new environment.
Monday - Friday trainings
AFT Managing Behavior in School Communities
(Mon. 1pm – 5pm / Tues. + Wed. + Thurs. 9am – 5pm / Fri. 9am – 12pm)
Managing Behavior in School Communities is an AFT Professional Learning Program course that presents the most recent and seminal research on challenging student behavior. MBSC provides educators, and other school personnel, with effective strategies for managing unwanted behavior across a variety of learning environments. MBSC will provide teachers and support staff with the information, tools and skills they may need to prevent or eliminate challenging or antisocial behaviors and/or to manage much of this behavior when it occurs.
Intended audience: Early childhood educators, K-12 teachers, paraprofessionals, support staff, after-school staff
Course Objectives:
- Establish shared understanding of how to define, record and collect data on negative student behavior.
- Utilize research to establish the importance of social skills training and positive reinforcement asprevention and intervention tools.
- Facilitate understanding the role of bias, discipline disparities and race-neutral policies and their impact on diverse school communities.
- Examine the use of positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) and de-escalation tofoster healthy school climates.
Ignite the FYRE – Emerging Leaders Academy
(Mon. 1pm – 5pm / Tues. + Wed. + Thurs. 9am – 5pm / Fri. 9am – 12pm)
The goal of the Emerging Leader is to enhance one’s personal and professional skills to actively engage others in our worksites and local organization who are passionate about preserving public education and creating a more vibrant union. Who is an Emerging Leader? Anyone who is personally interested or preparing to be the next generation of leaders in their local and wants to optimize their talents and effectively execute the goals and strategies of their union by enabling themselves and others to achieve purpose in the face of uncertainty in this complex and ever-changing political environment.
Planning for Victory: Developing a Bargaining Campaign using Process AND Pressure in the New Environment
(Mon. 1pm – 5pm / Tues. + Wed. + Thurs. 9am – 5pm / Fri. 9am – 12pm)
Send your core team to explore the bargaining laws under which we operate and how to develop your team into a lean, mean, negotiating machine! In each day of our weeklong session, we will dive deeper into bargaining tools, processes, and strategies to maximize your settlements at the table. Using negotiations to create visibility through organizing and outreach will be provided so you can have your bargaining unit members and reNEWed team members ready to hit the ground running! Your team will walk away with a blueprint of your next bargain, potential proposals, and all the data tools you can use to succeed.
Items to bring:
- Computer with internet access, MS word, and MS excel
- Your contract saved to your computer
- Any proposals, surveys
- communications, or plans you already have in place
- A willingness to use bargaining to not only improve your contract but to build your union!
