ATPE names 2020 campus rep of the year

The Association of Texas Professional Educators awards the Doug Rogers Campus Representative of the Year award on an annual basis. 

This year, they have finally announced the winners of this contest. Ths award is designed to recognize volunteers for the organization that go the extra mile to help the organization and students. This years winners were announced during the annual summit that the organization holds. 

One of those recipients, Karen Glenn, was able to provide some of her thoughts on the challenges that the coronavirus pandemic has posed for the organization and how they have impacted recruitment and membership. As an educator for more than 20 years, her insight has come to prove incredibly valuable. 

In a biography paragraph that she wrote for the ATPE website, she said, "The coronavirus pandemic has not changed my role as an ATPE representative significantly. The only thing that I have changed is the manner in which I encourage others to join and make them aware of the importance and benefits of belonging to ATPE. I spoke from a distance at our district’s new-teacher breakfast, at a distance from the gym floor during a staff meeting prior to the start of school, and by utilizing email and videos produced by the state organization. It is easy to recruit members when I share my personal experience with the legal team* at ATPE and all of the other benefits I use regularly. I also inform potential members and returning members of new benefits, such as the new credit card capability to spread out dues payments over 12 months."

It's clear to Glenn that she feels a strong responsibility towards her students, and that includes both during when the pandemic is ongoing as well as before the outbreak. She said, "As a teacher, I feel a strong desire to prepare students for the real world, since I worked there for so many years. I feel like sometimes we do not hold students accountable for things such as deadlines and other personal responsibilities as much as we should as educators. Our job is not only to teach content, but also to help prepare our students for life, which isn’t centered around their schedule, their needs, or their desires."

Glenn and other recipients are sharing their stories here.