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2023 Course Descriptions

Monday - Wednesday Trainings

Quick Start Training: New Presidents

Monday, June 12th 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Tuesday. June 13th 9:00am - 5:00pm
Wednesday. June 14th 9:00am - noon

Instructors: ???????

 New Presidents – Leading in a Changing World 

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

Monday, June 12 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Tuesday, June 13th 9:00am - 5:0pm
Wednesday, June 14th 9:00am - Noon

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

(Monday, June 12th 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Tuesday, June 13th 9:00am - 5:00pm
Wednesday, June 14th 9:00am - Noon

Instructors: ????????

 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

Monday, June 12th 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Tuesday, June 13th 9:00am - 5:00pm
Wednesday, June 14th 9:00am - Noon

Instructors:  ?????????

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

Retirees - Let's Reflect, Recharge, and Renew

(Mon. 1pm - 5pm/ Tues. 9am - 5pm/ Wed. 9am - 12pm)

Instructors:  ???????

Retired Educators: Take Your Leadership Skills to the Next Level 

This course will create an opportunity for retired educators to reflect, recharge and renew their leadership skills as they prepare for what lies ahead in public education. Participants will explore leadership tools and skills to help them gain motivation, confidence and awareness of strengths and needs. 

Treasurer’s Training

(Mon. 1pm - 5pm/ Tues. 9am - 5pm/ Wed. 9am - 12pm)

Instructors:  ??????????

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)

Instructors: ??????????????

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)

Instructors: ??????????????

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)

Instructors: ??????????????

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)

Instructors: ??????????????

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. 

All Week Trainings

AFT Managing Behavior in School Communities

(Mon. 1pm - 5pm/ Tues. Wed. Thurs. 9am - 5pm/ Fri. 9am - 12pm)

Instructors: ????????

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)

Instructors: ????????

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)

Instructors: ????????

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:

  1. Computer with internet access, MS word, and MS excel
  2. Your contract saved to your computer
  3. Any proposals, surveys
  4. communications, or plans you already have in place
  5. A willingness to use bargaining to not only improve your contract but to build your union!

Students Win as Voters Show Support for Neighborhood Public Schools; Push Back on DeSantis Agenda 

Voters throughout Florida showed their support for students and educators in public schools during Tuesday's primary, with school board candidates endorsed by the Florida Education Association and its local unions…

Read more about Students Win as Voters Show Support for Neighborhood Public Schools; Push Back on DeSantis Agenda 

Florida Students Start School Year Facing Nearly 10,000 Teacher and Education Staff Professional Vacancies

Today, the Florida Education Association (FEA) has released the latest data on teacher vacancies in the state of Florida. At the start of a new school year, nearly every district…

Read more about Florida Students Start School Year Facing Nearly 10,000 Teacher and Education Staff Professional Vacancies

$200 Million in Florida’s Budget For Salaries Doesn’t Go Far Enough for Educators

Tallahassee, Fla. (June 12, 2024) – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis has signed Florida’s budget, which still doesn’t go far enough to support parents, teachers and education staff professionals in the state.“Florida is…

Read more about $200 Million in Florida’s Budget For Salaries Doesn’t Go Far Enough for Educators

Member Spotlight: Carla Cundiff, Indian River County Education Association

In serving on IRCEA’s executive board, Cundiff carries on a family legacy. Her mother was a founding member of IRCEA in the 1970s. Cundiff maintains a large, diverse classroom library.…

Read more about Member Spotlight: Carla Cundiff, Indian River County Education Association

Cover Story: Local Profiles — A Growing Union Family

Florida has the fourth largest economy in the United States. In fact, if Florida were a country, it would rank in the top 15 countries in the world for total…

Read more about Cover Story: Local Profiles — A Growing Union Family

High school science teacher receives FEA teaching award

Dr. Claudia Singkornrat, a science teacher at Pompano Beach High School and member of the Broward Teachers Union (BTU), was awarded the 2025 FEA Award for Teacher Excellence at the…

Read more about High school science teacher receives FEA teaching award