Summer Academy 2005: 'Better Than I Could Have Hoped'

Terry Schwaller of Shiocton had some pretty high expectations for his first WEAC Summer Academy, and he wasn’t disappointed.

“It’s been better than I could have hoped,” said Schwaller, who begins his third year of teaching next month.

Terry Schwaller of Shiocton writes a post card to Governor Doyle.

Schwaller, who was elected to a position on the Bayland UniServ Board last May, enjoyed the Emerging Voices training where, he said, he “learned the ropes and got some experience.”

“It was great working with people, connecting and networking,” he said, “and finding out about the potential everyone has to get involved and make a difference.”

Schwaller was among more than 400 members who attended the Summer Academy July 31-August 3 at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton. The Academy featured sessions on a wide variety of topics, including leadership and organizing skills, the Wisconsin tax system, bargaining, contract enforcement, grievances and public relations. It also included training on online courses focusing on refining skills for paraeducators and classroom management for teachers. (See photo gallery for additional coverage.)

The Academy also featured a Thank the Governor Organizing Event at which participants wrote post cards thanking Governor Doyle for his action on the state budget. Thanks to the governor, the budget boosts school funding by $861 million, which is $404 million more than the Legislature provided for public education in its version of the budget bill.

Schwaller, for example, wrote: “Thank you for doing the right thing and standing up for schools, teachers and – most importantly – the children." The post cards were given to Doyle aide Rich Judge following Judge’s address to Summer Academy participants Tuesday afternoon.

Judge told participants that if it were not for their hard work and that of other WEAC members throughout the state, Doyle would not have been there to protect schools and restore millions of dollars in school funding to the budget passed by the Legislature.

“We can’t do it without you,” he said.

Judge, who is already working on managing Doyle’s re-election campaign in 2006, said WEAC members again will be the backbone of that effort by mobilizing support in every corner of the state. “You are the folks who are most connected with your communities, and you know what matters,” he said.

Judge said Doyle is “probably one of the greatest friends of public education this state has ever seen” and his re-election is crucial to preserving great schools in Wisconsin. But the 2006 elections are not just about the governor’s race, he said.

“You deserve to have a Legislature that understands the QEO must go – or maybe just the Legislature needs to go,” he said.

On Monday evening, participants were treated to a Hawaiian-themed picnic - complete with a tropical buffet and hula dancing - courtesy of WEA Trust. The event - at Jones Park across the street from the hotel - featured a wide variety of activities, including volleyball, badminton and mini golf. But the hula dancing was the hit of the day as dozens of participants swayed to popular Hawaiian tunes, including “Tiny Bubbles.”

WEAC President Stan Johnson and WEA Trust President Fred Evert welcomed the crowd and used the opportunity to talk about the special relationship between the Trust and WEAC members.

“While most insurance companies look at the conditions of human misery – sickness, accident, disability and death – and ask, ‘How can we profit?’, your Trust looks at those same conditions and asks, ‘How can we help?’ ” Evert said.

Johnson and Evert said the Trust is dedicated to maintaining and improving the economic well-being of members. They said the Trust was the first insurer to offer prescription drug coverage as a standard benefit under its health plan, the first in Wisconsin to cover transplants as a standard benefit, and a pioneer in scientifically researching and proving that individuals who have timely access to medical information can make informed, cost-effective health care decisions.

“The Trust is an excellent example of what can be accomplished when the focus is on you – our members – rather than on quarterly profits, payments to brokers, and more money to shareholders,” Evert said.

Background on the Summer Academy agenda

Posted August 5, 2005