AR Handbook – 49
NJEA’s Minority Leadership and
Recruitment (MLR) Committee promotes
programs with the purpose
of bringing minorities together with
other interested members to learn
more about NJEA, and to encourage
involvement in all levels of the association.
They also provide information
and skill development to enable
members to participate in leadership
and policy formulation roles within
the Association.
The ultimate aim of these programs
is to produce the kind of experiences
that provide knowledge and the development
of the skills necessary for
movement into positions of leadership
within the NJEA structure.
Reaching the public
NJEA understands that public support
is necessary so that school employees
and public schools have the
resources they need to remain the
best in the nation. NJEA continually
reminds public officials and voters
about both the accomplishments
and the needs of New Jersey’s public
schools. Among NJEA’s programs in
this area are:
Classroom Close-up, NJ
Fourteen-time Emmy® winning
show Classroom Close-up, NJ is the
only television program in the country
to focus on the great things happening
in the public schools. Airing
on NJTV every Sunday at 7:30
a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m, the
NJEA show can also be downloaded
and shared from the website www.
classroomcloseup.org. Members can
advocate for their schools and their
professions by using the five-minute
videos as promotional tools. A new
feature is the ability to upload and
download lesson plans that go along
with the featured videos. The videos
can be shown in professional development
workshops, public meetings,
shared on association websites and
used as inspirational tools during
association meetings.
Community Organizing
This program is designed to facilitate
a planning process for local
associations working to expand
their relationships within their local
communities. The program is also
designed to involve more association
members in the organizing process.
As well as training local association
members on community organizing
skills, the program is designed
to create a concrete community
organizing plan with a timeline of
activities and events.
Family Involvement
FAST (Families And Schools Together)
The goal of this program is to
develop local coalitions of education
advocates, community groups,
and schools working together to
promote family involvement and
support for public education. FAST
hosts an annual statewide NJEA
Family Involvement Conference and
sponsors the ”Hero in My Family”
Essay Contest. FAST also is lobbying
the State Legislature for a parental
involvement bill to allow parents
release time to attend meetings at
their child’s school.
FIT (Family Involvement
Training)
NJEA’s comprehensive materials
can be used by local associations to
increase family involvement. The
materials are intended to assist locals
in planning, organizing and implementing
programs, activities and
workshops. FIT kits contain all the
materials needed to present training
to members and families, including
presenters’ scripts, transparency
masters, and handouts.
MegaSkills
Through this program, members
are trained to conduct family involvement
sessions to help parents
work with their children to develop
confidence, motivation, effort, responsibility,
initiative, perseverance,
caring, common sense, focus, teamwork,
and problem-solving skills.
Legislative Contacts
NJEA’s lobbyists, officers, and other
leaders are in daily contact with state
legislators, their staffs, and the Governor’s
office. These contacts can, at
times, involve conflicting issues or
points of disagreement. NJEA works
to maintain with these policymakers
a reputation of vigorous and responsible
advocacy for members and the
institutions where they work.
Media Relations
NJEA is in constant touch with local,
state, and national media outlets.
NJEA’s media and public relations
specialists work with press, radio,
and television to keep them informed
about NJEA’s positions on
major issues.
Advertising
As part of the PRIDE in Public Education
Campaign, NJEA sponsors
paid advertising on radio, TV, and
online. The ads showcase our members’
excellence and the success of
our public school. They are carefully
crafted to build public support for
public schools.
Public relations materials
for members
NJEA offers a large selection of free
public relations materials members
can hand out at back-to-school
night, community and school events,
including parent tips brochures,
teacher communications notes, certificates,
posters, and static decals.
To see the selection and order materials,
go to http://www.njea.org/
njea-media/pdf/PublicationsOrder-
Form.pdf?1456850518106