Blog

As you begin to prepare your tax returns for 2017, don’t forget that almost all of your CEA/AEA/NEA dues are tax deductible! For full details, visit our tax information page.

Mark your calendars now … CEA (in conjunction with Valley Interfaith Project) is sponsoring a Superintendent of Public Instruction Candidate Forum on Tuesday, January 30 at 6:00 pm. The forum will feature eight candidates for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, including our current SPI, Diane Douglas. Candidates will answer questions regarding important educational issues facing our state … with our election coming up this fall, this is a great opportunity to find out where these candidates stand on issues that directly impact your students and your classroom.

The forum will take place in the Copper Room at the Chandler Public Library Downtown Branch … if you’re already attending our AR Meeting at 4:15, we hope you will stick around and walk over to the library for this important event! This event is open to the public, but seating will be limited … everyone planning to attend must RSVP. To reserve your spot and get more information, please visit our forum page. If you would like to help advertise this event, please consider downloading and distributing our flyer.

Our friends at Save Our Schools Arizona are sponsoring a March to Save Our Schools on Saturday, January 6. The march will be held at the Arizona State Capitol lawn, featuring guest speakers at 10:00 am with the march scheduled to begin at 10:30. For more details, visit their event page on Facebook.

California Casualty Insurance is now offering an Academic Award program to help teachers pay for school supplies, instructional materials, etc. CEA members, you could win up to $2,500 for your classroom!

California Casualty is also offering the Thomas R. Brown Athletic Grant for junior high and high school athletic programs. The deadline to apply for this grant is January 15, so be sure to apply soon.

These programs are only available to NEA members … another great benefit of membership! If you’d like to learn more about joining CEA, please visit our membership page.

AEA will be holding an Education Town Hall event featuring Democratic Primary candidates for the 2018 Arizona Governor’s race on Wednesday, November 29 at the Phoenix Coding Academy. The town hall will be held from 6:00-7:45 pm, with registration beginning at 5:00 pm and a members-only dessert reception to be held immediately afterward. To register or get more information, please visit arizonaea.org/govforum.

The results are in … and the CUSD override passed by a 64% to 36% margin. Thanks to all of our members and non-members alike who helped spread the word about the importance of this override, and to our CUSD community for their continued support!

Jean Wilhelm is a retired CUSD teacher, and was an active CEA member and board member. On Saturday, November 11, Jean and her wife, Kathy, will be walking in the Phoenix Walk to End Alzheimer’s. We encourage everyone in our CEA family to support their efforts by visiting their team page and considering making a donation. Thank you!

Ballots have been delivered for the CUSD override election … now it’s time to get out the vote! Please spread the word to family and friends about the importance of the override to our district. You may want to check out this override fact sheet for more information, or visit the Yes for Chandler Students Website. You can also follow Yes for Chandler Students on Facebook and Twitter pages for important updates … feel free to share or retweet their posts!

The City of Chandler will be holding their annual Day of Play on Saturday, October 21 from 8:00 am to noon at Tumbleweed Park. CEA will be there to help get the word about our override election! Please consider volunteering to be at our table and encourage Chandler residents to send in their override ballots! You can sign up to volunteer using this online form.

Save the date … our brothers and sisters at Kyrene Education Association and Phoenix Union Classroom Teachers Association are hosting a social event on Friday, October 20 at Macayo’s Mexican Table in Ahwatukee. The social will start at 4:00 pm, and is open to all AEA members. Please RSVP to Kinora Hernandez or April Coleman, and read the flyer for more information.