Friend,
Teachers across the state have been contacting legislators, sharing their stories of classroom conditions, low salaries, and other challenges. I wanted to share one of the emails I received.
“I want to let you know that I am a teacher assistant in Currituck County. I am very proud of the job I do each and every day. I am the 'teacher' in our schools computer lab. Every week I teach over 600 students grades K thru 5. I am responsible for every lesson I teach. Nobody makes my lesson plans for me. I have no planning period because I am a teacher assistant. I go straight from teaching a class into the cafeteria to do lunch duty so certified staff can have duty free lunch every day. I am also the school technology person and spend any free time I happen to have running around fixing things that are broken or working on chromebooks at my desk.
I spend money out of my own pocket to get things for my classroom, including teaching materials. I spend time on the weekends and evenings working on lessons, or reading over assignments my students have done. I don't get reimbursed for money spent or for my time outside of school. I do it because I love my job, the students and what I do.
Saying all that brings me to this... why do you think our job is any less important than that of a grounds keeper or painter? We make less money than they do. Our position requires we have a college degree yet we are paid less than a laborer. It would be really nice to make at least $15 an hour like other state employees, yet state government seems to think we aren't deserving of a living wage. Do you even know what it's like to go to the grocery store and have to plan your meals around what you can afford and not what you may enjoy? I think not.
Government needs to get off their high horses and realize that there are people in this state that doing a bang up job every day educating our children and it's only right we are paid accordingly.
Thank you,
--
Felicia Williams
Computer Lab Facilitator
Moyock Elementary School”
I couldn’t agree more with Ms. Williams. I am so thankful that she allowed me to share her story with you all. Every day that we go without adequate salaries for non-certified school personnel is another day of food insecurity for the professionals who sacrifice so much to teach our children. I promise to keep working to get the salary that Ms. Williams and so many others like her deserve.
Although the General Assembly will not reconvene until January 14th, our office will still be open. Please contact my office via phone or email if we can be of assistance to you. Please note the office will be closed through December 3rd, but we will still be checking our e-mail in case of emergency.
I hope that you all had safe travels during last week's holiday, and know that I am grateful to serve District 36 and my constituents.
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Sincerely,
Representative Julie von Haefen
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This month, I want to highlight the work of a community member who lives in House District 36, Sarah Stoeckel!
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Sarah Stoeckel is a board member for the NC Diaper Bank. The NC Diaper Bank is a non-profit that was founded in 2013 to ensure that families with babies and children living with poverty have an adequate supply of diapers. Since its founding, the NC Diaper Bank has established warehouses across the state of North Carolina with branches in Durham, Cape Fear, and the Triad. It has grown mostly due to the recent hurricanes and their community networks which make the NC Diaper Bank one of the best resources for distributing diapers and sanitary products during natural disasters. They distributed 5 million diapers during the aftermath of hurricane Florence and have distributed over 11 million diapers since 2013.
When offered the opportunity to get involved with the NC Diaper Bank, Sarah just couldn't say no. As a mom, she knew how expensive it can be to buy diapers for her children, and she wanted to be part of a solution for moms who can't afford what they need for their families. When I spoke with Sarah about her work with the Diaper Bank she reminded me that
one in four families in America does not have enough diapers to meet their families' needs
and that public assistance programs still do not help families pay for diapers. Lack of access to diapers has health impacts on mothers and babies. Children can't be dropped off at most childcare facilities without diapers, so parents have to take off work if they can't afford diapers for their children.
Sarah sees access to diapers as an issue of economic inequity, and I am proud that she is doing this work out of District 36. If you'd like to learn more about the NC Diaper Bank, please follow the link below.
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Visiting Kansas Lawmakers
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So great to meet Kansas State Senator Dinah Sykes & former Kansas Representative Melissa Rooker during their visit to NC with The Hunt Institute!
We discovered we all started our journey to elected office as PTA leaders and, of course, we are all passionate education advocates! Thank you to the Hunt Institute for inviting me to speak to a group of policy makers and coalition partners visiting from Kansas who were in town to learn about North Carolina’s efforts and challenges in early childhood education.
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Hunt Institute Conference
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Thank you so much to The Hunt Institute for hosting a group of legislators, coalition partners and policy makers from NC and other states at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Smyrna, TN to see how private and public partnerships work to increase post-secondary attainment.
This technical college is a partnership with the huge Nissan plant across the street which produces over 600,000 vehicles per year. The state of Tennessee now provides free community college and they have worked with businesses to determine workforce needs. This beautiful facility is definitely a model we can apply in North Carolina. Thank you to TCAT and The Hunt Institute for the hospitality!
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First Responders' Breakfast
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Thanks to the Cary Chamber of Commerce for a wonderful First Responders' Breakfast! It was an honor to say “thank you” to men and women from the Cary Police Department, Cary Fire Department, Cary EMS, Wake County Sheriffs Department and Cary American Legion- Post 67. We are grateful for your service!
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Take Our Elected Officials To School Day at Fuller GT Magnet Elementary School
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Having the opportunity to attend events like this is my favorite part about being an elected official! Speaking with 3rd and 4th grade students at Fuller GT Magnet Elementary School in Raleigh was so much fun.
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They asked great questions like, "Who was your role model growing up?” “What’s the hardest part about your job?” and “What advice would you give yourself when you were a kid?” We ate school lunch and got to meet the Fuller Ambassadors who told us all about their school. Thank you to the fantastic Fuller PTA and Advocacy Chair Suzanne Miller for a great day!
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Public School Forum of NC
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I had a great morning on November 25 with The Public School Forum of NC and our Rural Education Study Group at beautiful Edgecombe Community College in Tarboro. We heard from a panel of local education leaders about the challenges and opportunities for students in eastern NC.
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District Events
Click the links for more details about each event!
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December
- Thursday, December 5th: Tree Lighting & Festival of Lights, Fuquay Varina
- 203 S. Main St
- 6PM-8PM
- Saturday, December 7th: Apex Christmas Parade & Pictures with Santa, Apex
- Salem St
- 2PM-9PM, Parade starts at 5PM
- I'll be riding in this parade!
- Saturday, December 7th: Grinch Candy Cane Hunt, Cary
- 801 High House Rd, Cary
- 11AM-12PM
- Saturday, December 7th: Christmas Tree Lighting, Cary
- Town Hall Campus, 121 Wilkinson Ave, Cary
- 6PM-8PM
- Sunday, December 8th: Fuquay Varina Christmas Parade, Fuquay Varina
- 203 S. Main st
- 3PM-4:30PM
- I'll be riding in this parade!
- Friday, December 13th: Main Street Christmas, Holly Springs
- Downtown Holly Springs
- 6PM-8PM
- Saturday, December 14th: Happy Holly Days Christmas Parade, Holly Springs
- Downtown Holly Springs
- 11AM
- I'll be riding in this parade!
- Monday, December 23rd: Menorah Lighting, Cary
- Cary Arts Center, 1010 Dry Avenue, Cary
- 5:30PM-6:30PM
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North and South Carolina are named after
England's King Charles I. "Carolina" is taken from "Carolus," the Latin word for Charles.
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