Before my incredible 25 years at Springbrook High School, I began teaching in Baltimore County, where I taught Middle School English for 7 years and High School English for 2. I have been a middle school team leader, and department chair; in high school, I was a resource teacher. I was a class advisor and SGA advisor to some incredible students. I have taught 7-12th grades, GT, IB, and AP as well as my favorite — on-level classes.
For the last 25 years, I’ve had the shortest commute — about 6 minutes, which only added to my joy. This was a huge improvement over commuting to Baltimore County every day.
I became involved in the union by first seeing inequities in Baltimore County. I saw what the union could do, and I made many lifelong friends there.
Then I came to Montgomery County and saw the only union activity in my school was stuffing mailboxes. This was not going to work for me. I became the building rep, then when I began to get more people involved, the head rep. I began going to rep assemblies. I loved the open debate and eventually became a member of the MCEA Board of Directors. I later also became a member of the MSEA Board of Directors and saw issues from a statewide perspective.
I just retired last year, and I realized that retirees can be very helpful and keep our union strong in difficult times. When you examine what other states are doing, for and with retirees, one can see an asset that needs to be utilized.
Whether you are active or retired, I would love to hear from you about any concerns or solutions.