Instead of bringing the community into the classroom, the Riverside City Teachers Association is taking the classroom to the community.
For the past two years, members of the RCTA have been doling out advice to parents, donating books to children, and even doing some old-fashioned electioneering from their regular booth at the city's downtown Riverside Wednesday Night. The weekly civic event that runs from April through October features community booths, activities, a Farmers Market, entertainment and shopping.
The association put up a booth two years ago when its executive board members proposed doing community outreach during a bargaining crisis.
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Project co-chair Lisa Straitt staffs the Riverside City Teachers Association's booth at a weekly civic event, Riverside Wednesday Night. A student plays the lollipop game and wins a free book while her mother (left) seeks some free advice. |
"It's funny because we settled the contract before we even started the booth, but we've been doing the booth ever since," says RCTA President Dennis Hodges.
The booth, which is staffed by chapter members from the various school sites, has given the teachers great exposure in the community. It's also earned RCTA a CTA Communications Award.
"We've provided school information to parents, reading lists for students, brochures from CTA's Family Involvement Campaign and, recently, election material for Propositions 47 and 49. It's really been a good project for us," says Hodges.
"It's been a phenomenal experience," says Lisa Straitt, a CTA building representative who co-chairs the organizational support team for the association. "Parents see us as an advocate for the children, not just as someone who comes to them in a time of need. I'd say the parents really feel they have a connection to us."
The book giveaway program, which features a lollipop game, has been especially successful, with the association giving away about 300 books a month. "At first teachers donated books from their own collections. Now we keep our eyes out for good bargains," says Straitt. CTA staff consultant Karen Bost has written a grant that has provided books for the program as well.
Teachers use the booth to provide information on the chapter's scholarship program, in which it awards more than $6,000 to college-bound students.
They also use it to recruit readers from the community to participate in the CTA/NEA Read Across America program.
"It's been helpful for the community to see us as more than a union. It's been a positive thing in the community," says Hodges.
RCTA hasn't had a chance to test just how well this community good will translate into support at the bargaining table. It hasn't faced a bargaining crisis since the project was started three years ago, but Hodges maintains the program can't help but have a positive effect.
The success of the booth has given birth to another idea. The chapter has decided to start a community newsletter that will provide residents with even more information about their schools. It hopes to publish two to three issues a year.
In addition, the chapter is making its presence felt in local service organizations. A Kiwanis Club member, Hodges has enlisted CTA President Wayne Johnson to speak before the Riverside meeting. Hodges himself was a guest speaker at the Rotary Club where he talked about CTA's advocacy work in the state Legislature as well as the importance of supporting Propositions 47 and 49.
A side benefit of the booth project is that it is giving more teachers a way to get active in the chapter.
"We've been able to tap into people who weren't involved in other ways," Hodges says. "It's a real service to the community."'
Dale Martin
