Educational Outreach: Be a Teacher-Leader

  • Educational Outreach is about representing fellow teachers. That includes in negotiations with school administration and districts.

    As a teacher representative it is the job of an educational outreach associate to recruit and retain members and bargain on their behalf. Therefore, it is critical that anyone in this role be a skilled negotiator as well as a leader.

    For a teacher associate/union representatives it is necessary to build an educational outreach program that is effective in their schools and communities. It is about building bridges and being a voice for advocacy.

    • Be Informed!

      Sign up for updates on courses, giveaways, news impacting education and workshops.

    Teachers unions have been around since 1857. As recent protests have pointed out, they are as crucial for teachers today as they were in the past.

    The role of an education outreach professional

    The role of the teacher representative is to effectively work with teachers and administrators. It also means building goodwill in the community.

    Whether one is an experienced representative or new to an educational outreach position it is important to keep up on the latest trends and laws and ensure your negotiating skills are honed and your reputation is solid.

    Education Outreach focuses chiefly on enhancing and improving education in schools, homes and communities. Educational outreach jobs require the skills necessary to create activities that support formal or classroom-based education, as well as informal education that occurs outside the classroom. That includes internal and external public relations.

    Primary to the role is supporting teachers in their building. But it requires figuring out creative ways to work in partnership with the school, the district and beyond, including corporate and non-profit partnerships and volunteering.

    Educational outreach – the negotiator

    Teacher association/union representatives are required to attend meetings, collaborate on projects and discuss relevant topics as part of their role as a negotiator.

    That means understanding collective bargaining agreements and negotiating contracts. It is therefore necessary to foster communication and study not only how improve in these areas. That can be accomplished by reflecting on past success and missed opportunities. This can come from reading articles, evaluating contracts and recording meetings.

    Community outreach

    Community outreach makes up a big part of the role and involves getting the public to understand the importance of properly paying educators. It is a vital skill to have in America today.

    As an educational outreach representative, it is incredibly important to learn how to better build relationships with district personnel and the community at large. A sympathetic audience and political allies are extremely important to your cause of fighting for teacher pay and benefits.

    Educational Outreach Associates creating a project that would build support for teachers. The goal being to impress upon administrators and the district the good work that teachers and teacher associations do.

    It is your job to protect the rights and the jobs of teachers. Unionization allows educators to voice their opinions and champion causes without fear of retaliation. This is why community outreach is so important.

    Working effectively with teachers and school administrators

    While community outreach and understanding the role of the teacher association/union representative are critically important, knowing how to work effectively with teachers and school administrators is key. Studies suggest that schools with unionized teachers often lead to higher achieving students. And unionized teachers benefit from better salaries. One must be an effective leader.

    Most effective teacher reps accomplish this by creating a year-long plan of meetings with the teaching staff regarding information and issues related to the teaching contract. They set dates, times and topics for meetings with school administrator to discuss information and issues related to the teaching contract. They create PowerPoints, emails and handouts for meetings with teachers and administrators.

    Take educational outreach to the next level by signing up for a professional development course.