(Shreveport – November 19, 2017) State Senator Dan “Blade” Morrish and Representative Sam L. Jenkins were named the Louisiana Federation of Teachers’ Senator and Representative of the Year today at the LFT’s 53rd annual convention in Shreveport. The lawmakers were honored for their commitment to public education and the teachers and school employees who dedicate their careers to the children of our state.
(Shreveport – November 18, 2017) Jefferson Parish paraprofessional Laura Harper and Caddo Parish teacher Mike Myers today received Pioneer Awards from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers. The award is presented annually to individuals who, over the years, made major contributions to the growth and influence of the LFT.
State Representative Patricia Haynes Smith has been named the Louisiana Federation of Teachers’ Friend of Education for 2017. The Friend of Education Award is the highest honor that the Louisiana Federation of Teachers bestows on non-members of the union. It is presented to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to public education.
John Hunter Berry, an eighth grade student at Caddo Middle Magnet School in Shreveport, is the designer of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers’ 2017 holiday greeting card. John’s teacher is Erin Sitten.
Delegates to the 53rd annual Louisiana Federation of Teachers convention cheered news of the union’s biggest growth spurt, honored legislators and union leaders for their dedication to public education, were buoyed by keynote addresses from nationally recognized speakers, and were inspired by a best-selling author whose work with disadvantaged children became a popular motion picture.
The Nov. 7 election results were a clear and overwhelming rebuke of the fearmongering and race-baiting that embodies Trumpism, AFT President Randi Weingarten says.
A survey of nearly 5,000 educators released Oct. 30 by the AFT and the Badass Teachers Association shows that nearly two-thirds of educators usually feel stressed out, twice the level felt by workers in the general population. Most surveyed feel demoralized and disrespected by state and federal officials, especially Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Three in four public school parents say the public schools their children attend provide them with an excellent or good education, and 79 percent of parents are satisfied with their children's public schools when it comes to helping their children achieve their full potential, according to a nationwide poll of parents released by the AFT.
Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico, the union representing more than 40,000 Puerto Rican educators; AMPR-Local Sindical; and the AFT signed a historic affiliation agreement that will strengthen their joint fight against austerity and privatization and for public education and economic opportunity for the people of Puerto Rico.
Educators, families and communities are in a David versus Goliath battle against powerful interests seeking to destroy public education and rip opportunity from children and families, AFT President Randi Weingarten proclaimed to more than 1,400 educators during her keynote address at the union's TEACH (Together Educating America's Children) conference.