“This has given me a purpose and a mode of moving forward and a plan on how to make the most out of our negotiations year, how to make the most out of the legislative session coming up, and also just things that I want to tweak and change to be able to make my presidency and then beyond in my local be just more efficient,” said Monica Klein, kindergarten teacher at Lakewood Elementary in Mandan.
Beyond participating in sessions on union leadership, conversations on politics, and navigating legislative advocacy, attendees interacted with colleagues from across the state.
“There are so many different ways that you can be active in your local in your district, in your legislative community, all those different types of things. It’s about property taxes, about other issues like child care, vouchers, all those kinds of things to have on our radar,” said Brenda Seehafer, Title I reading and math elementary teacher at Mt. Pleasant School in Rolla.
Still others took the opportunity to inform their leadership roles.
“Now that I’m serving on my executive board, I just want to make sure I have all the tools and all the knowledge and all the facts that I can have, and knowing that I was provided a whole lot more than I was expecting during this whole conference is probably one of the best feelings,” said Jessica Van Winkle, a special educator at Horizon Middle School in Bismarck and vice president of Bismarck Education Association.
And others say they were reminded you don’t always need rhetorical flair to be a successful leader.
“There are other ways to contribute to being a member and being in a leadership position other than being in the spotlight. And I think this is a really good way for people to see what the other roles are,” said Amanda Darveaux, a special educator in Fargo and West Fargo.
A successful couple of days in Bismarck, for both NDU staff and the members in attendance.
