Teaching Hilltoppers

October 2010 President: Ashlee Clark

Volume 1, Issue 1 Vice-President Sarah Jessie

W ELCOME BACK !

Hello WKU members of the Kentucky Education Association Student

Program! Your campus president, vice president and advisors would like to
let you know how thrilled we are to have you as a part of such an
exceptional organization and hope that you are just as excited to be a
part of it.
Contents We are aware of the inactivity that has been present in the WKU’s KEASP
chapter in recent years and are ensuring you now that we have big plans
Welcome Back! 1 for this year, and for the years ahead. With your help and the wonderful
A Note From Your support we have from the state level of our program, we are sure to have
President 2 a successful year.
Kelly Autism Program 2 So, you know that we have enthusiasm and are excited, but I’m sure most
of you aren’t aware of what it is that we are doing and why. What is KEA?
NEA-SP New Orleans 3
It seems that throughout all the excitement of getting another fabulous
Upcoming Events 4 resume builder, most members aren’t aware of all the great things that
KEA has to offer. For example, did you know that KEA offers all members
liability insurance for when they’re in the classroom? Perhaps you weren’t
aware that KEA is a part of the National Education Association, which
lobbies on behalf of educators across the nation. Not to mention,
scholarship opportunities, certified professional developments and
U PCOMING networking throughout the state. Plus, with your membership you find
discounts and deals offered only to NEA members. Seems like a little more
E VENTS than just a resume builder now, doesn’t it?
The student program alone has 2,500 members across the state. After you
♦ Members
Meeting- TBA graduate, you can join the KEA active program (and get discounts on your
membership fee’s!) The active members of KEA reach numbers of over
♦ Kelly Autism
Fall Festival – 30,000 members and still growing strong. Retired members of KEA are also
10/28 still very present in the KEA program. With so many members, it’s obvious
you, as student members are on the right track to a successful career with
the right connection. The Kentucky Education Association exists to
support you, as an educator.
To learn more about all of the great things KEA has to offer, visit
KEA’s website, www.kea.org as well as NEA’s website, www.nea.org.
Also, look for more information in
newsletters and meetings to come!
 Page 2 of 4 Teaching Hilltoppers

A N OTE F ROM Y OUR P RESIDENT

I would like to welcome all of you to KEA-SP. This is the best

experience that you could venture into. First off I would like to tell you
a little about myself. I have been the president of KEA on WKU’s
campus for around 7 months. I will be graduating December 2011 and I
was lucky to experience two trips with KEA-SP.
I just want you all to know that I am here for anything that you might
need assistance with. It can be questions about KEA-SP, life questions,
the education process, or anything else that you can think of. I am a
very out-going person that loves to talk so anytime you need something
just let me know. Not only am I an education major, but I enjoy doing
many things like scrapbooking, sports, going to the lake, reading, and
much more. This organization is not only a professional, but a network
Caption describing
for us as future teachers. We will need support and in this organization
picture or graphic.
we gain that support. Please let me know if I can assist in any way. I am
looking forward to meeting and working with all of you. Thanks for being
KEA-SP WKU Chapter’s a part of KEA-SP.
President, Ashlee Clark

K ELLY A UTISM F ALL F ESTIVAL

Each year our KEA-SP chapter is invited by the Kelly Autism Program to assist in the
Kelly Autism Fall Festival and KEA loves to accept that invitation! If you’re looking
for a rewarding experience and a community outreach opportunity or even just
looking for your first KEA event to get involved in, this is a great place to start!

The Kelly Autism Program’s mission is, as stated from their website, “To provide an educational, social
and supportive environment so that adolescents and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder can
achieve their potential as independent, productive and active community citizens.”

This year, the festival will be held on Thursday, October 28th from 5-7:30PM at the St. James Methodist
Church here in Bowling Green. Our contact person for this event is Ellen Fryman, who teaches the
Education University Experience course. She has asked for help with the food and monitoring from our
KEA group that evening.

If you’re interested in helping for any amount of time, please email me at sarah.jessie654@wku.edu with
KEA Kelly Autism Program in the subject line, so I can make sure to get your information to Ms. Fryman as
soon as possible. In the email please include your name and hours you are interested in helping.

Remember, volunteer hours and community service are not only great ways to help out others but it’s
helping you grow as an educator by taking part in new and exciting experiences. As Dr. Jukes said, “It is
so much fun and you will actually get so much from being involved.”

I hope to hear from you soon and to see you each other there on the 28th!
 Teaching Hilltoppers Page 3 of 4

NEASP - SLC N EW O RLEANS !

On June 26th WKU’s local President and Vice President of
KEASP set out on a four-day trip to New Orleans, Louisiana
where they would join 37 other states around the nation in
learning about importance of their profession, their
membership to KEA and NEA and how to improve in each
of these areas. Each year the National Education
Association hosts a student leadership conference and
Kentucky has always been an active participant. This year,
Kentucky was the largest represented state at the
conference! Sarah and Ashlee were joined by other
Kentucky representatives such as the KEASP executive
boards and representatives from Midway College, Ashlee
 Clark
 and
 Sarah
 Jessie
 at
 dinner
 in
 New
 
University of Kentucky, Union College, Murray State Orleans
 at
 the
 NEA-­‐SP
 SLC
 this
 past
 summer.
 
University, Northern Kentucky University and Kentucky’s newest chapter, Eastern Kentucky University Corbin
campus.
Other than sessions that provided ideas and encouragement for making our KEASP chapter successful, the
conference was honored to have Manuel Scott, a member of the original “Freedom Writers” class as a guest
speaker. His words were encouraging and meaningful. He spoke on how much of an impact a teacher can have on
a student and how important it is to try to relate to your students. From experience, Manuel knows that just
trying to relate and make your lessons work for your students and not the other way around, you can have such a
serious impact on your students. Manuel said, “Find a way to be a student of your kids, wherever you are.”
Check out the movie Freedom Writers and Manuel’s book, Take Matters Into Your Own Hands.
Another key moment of the conference was the
annual Outreach to Teach project at Belle
Chasse High School. Outreach to Teach is a
project that focuses on helping a needy school
by working together to beautify the campus. At
Belle Chasse High School over 400 student and
retired NEA members painted walls and murals,
landscaped, made bulletin boards and
renovated the teacher lounge and library.
Kentucky members were sure to make our state
proud by working out in the hot Louisiana heat
and humidity and making sure to take a stand
and volunteer whenever a hand was needed.
Belle Chasse High School staff and students
were thankful and overwhelmed by the work
done by our NEA members. Want to learn more
about what we did? Check out
http://www.nea.org/grants/40018.htm to see

  pictures and interviews about this years
Ashlee
 Clark
 and
 Sarah
 Jessie
 with
 fellow
 KEASP
 members
 at
 Belle
  Outreach to Teach!
Chasse
 High
 School
 for
 the
 NEASP-­‐SLC’s
 Outreach
 to
 Teach
 project!
 
Overall, the entire conference provided insight and encouragement for all student-
program members. Both of us that attended representing Western Kentucky
University came back to Kentucky with so many ideas and excitement to bring our
chapter some new life. Our fellow chapters have high expectations for us as well,
Kevin Fox, our KEA-Student Program President said, “We’re expecting wonders from
your chapter and we can’t wait to see what all is to come from Western Kentucky
University!”

4
Contact Information
Ashlee.Clark817@wku.edu
Sarah.Jessie654@wku.edu
Advisors:
Pamela Jukes- Room 313
Jeanine Huss- Room 311
Robert Otto- Room 307
KEA Website:
http://www.kea.org
A DD US ON F ACEBOOK !
Search; KEA-Student
Program WKU
MONTHLY
TEACHING QUOTE
“The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains. The
superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.”
- William Arthur Ward
Upcoming Events
As it’s been mentioned before, the KEA-Student Program on WKU’s
campus has a lot of ideas for this year. Here’s the rundown on some
things you should keep an eye out for;
♦ Professional Developments- We’d like to host at least two
professional developments. One of these would be in the fall and
the other in the spring. These are likely to be on Saturdays and
will be open state wide to KEA Student Programs throughout
Kentucky (and will be free of charge to you!)
♦ Outreach To Teach- We are trying to decide on an Outreach to
Teach Project for this year. An idea we’re considering at the
moment is fundraising to put together backpacks and supplies for
refugee students coming in to Warren County and Bowling Green
Independent schools.
♦ Fundraising- Expect some fundraising! This year we did not apply
for the grants for our Outreach to Teach Project so we’d like to
raise some money by events on campus. One of these could
possibly be a “Pie Your Professor” fundraiser by Tate Page!
♦ Read Across America- We intend to adopt a school in Warren
County and celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday with them!
Expect information coming soon about meetings dealing with each
of these topics, if you have input or are interested in helping with
these events, we welcome your ideas and help!