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WEAC members work hard to make Wisconsin’s public schools great for the children who attend them and for the benefit of everyone who lives and works in our state. And WEAC leaders and staff work hard to support WEAC members.
Regardless of the preparation you received before coming to this job, I guarantee that teaching will surprise you. Nothing prepared me for the time a student in my third-hour English class inhaled a pen cap. The wheezing and whistling were good signs that air was moving, but it did provide more than a little distraction from the writing assignment I was trying to get the students to focus on. The support and the advice of my teaching colleagues was invaluable in meeting that and the many other challenges I faced in trying to be the best teacher I could be.
Wisconsin’s great schools are among the best because they have great teachers and staff practicing their professions in our state’s classrooms. The improvements for Wisconsin’s schools and education professions have happened because WEAC members made them happen. The strength of WEAC lies in the efforts of members working together to accomplish shared goals.
When union locals began organizing in schools throughout the state in the 1960s, Wisconsin’s schools had no set standards and many members earned so little they qualified for federal income assistance. “Pay equity” between male and female education employees did not exist as a term or a concept.
Since the organization of educator unions and the formation of WEAC, Wisconsin’s public schools have become some of the best in the world. Wisconsin’s high school seniors have scored first or second in the nation on the ACT college entrance exam for 17 years running, and our state has one of lowest high school dropout rates every year. WEAC has now grown to more than 98,000 members, and includes Wisconsin public school teachers and education support professionals, retirees, technical college employees, state employees and student teachers.
This book is made possible through the collective strength of WEAC members. I hope you will become active in our organization, at the state, UniServ and local level. Active members are the heart of our organization, our organization is the heart of our schools, and our schools are the heart of our communities.
Mary Bell
WEAC President
