The Work of Generations

Last month, we kicked off the strategic planning process to lay the foundation for what we hope to accomplish as an organization over the next several years. A team of members gathered at NSEA headquarters in Lincoln to begin critical conversations about our mission, vision and values.

The team reflects the diversity of our membership, with educators representing every level of education, from early childhood through higher education. It includes Aspiring Educators, active members and retirees, with voices from across the state, from the Panhandle to the banks of the Missouri River.

Building Our Future
To make sure we capture the wide variety of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives within our union, we are asking everyone involved in the process to have conversations with other members over the coming months. By the time the plan is completed and presented to Delegate Assembly, more than 500 members will have had an opportunity to help shape NSEA's goals for the years ahead.

This process is about more than deciding what our priorities should be. It is about making sure those priorities reflect the people who make this association what it is. Every member brings a different perspective shaped by their students, their colleagues and the communities they serve. When we make room for those experiences, we build a stronger organization and a clearer understanding of where we need to go together.

Whether we are developing our strategic plan, forming our legislative agenda or making other important organizational decisions, we must keep you, the member, at the center of that work. Many of the educators who volunteered for the strategic planning team had never been involved at the state level before. Their willingness to step forward is a reminder that you do not need years of experience in association leadership to make a difference. You simply need to be willing to get involved.

Shaping Our Future
We are also approaching two important anniversaries for our organization and profession. Next October, we will celebrate the 160th anniversary of NSEA's founding. And this coming summer, we will mark 60 years since Nebraska teachers secured the right to collectively bargain.

That progress did not happen by accident. It happened because generations of educators recognized the challenges facing their profession and organized to do something about them. The rights and opportunities we benefit from today are the result of their determination, their advocacy and their willingness to stand together.

We have a responsibility to build on what they accomplished. The decisions we make today will help determine what this association looks like for the educators who follow us. That is why this strategic planning process matters.

We have an opportunity to consider what we want public education, our profession and our union to look like for the next generation.

As we celebrate these milestones, I hope we take pride in how far we have come while recognizing that our work is far from finished. The educators who came before us helped shape the profession we know today. Now it is our turn to ask ourselves: What can we accomplish together that future generations of educators will look back on and celebrate?