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Transforming the Utah Education Association

“The important thing is this: to be willing at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.”

–Charles DuBos

From time to time, it is necessary and healthy for an organization to examine its structure, policies, products and services. That’s what the Utah Education Association is attempting to do through its ongoing “Transformation” project.

In the spring of 2008, following the successful defeat of private school vouchers, the UEA Board of Directors assigned Mark Mickelsen, the Association’s new executive director, to begin collecting data from UEA stakeholders – members, leaders and staff – that could be used in the development of a plan for the future of the statewide organization.

From May through November 2008, UEA members, UniServ and UEA staff, local education association leaders, and the UEA Board of Directors were interviewed and/or completed written and online surveys in which they were asked to share their vision for the Association, identify UEA strengths and weaknesses, and weigh in on which products and services should be added, maintained or adjusted.

After examining the initial data, Mickelsen presented a vision for the organization – a vision involving five specific goals:

  1. An Association that embraces meaningful changes, programs, partnerships and activities that will make a significant difference in the lives of our members.
  2. An Association that embraces a culture of collaboration in which we honor service at all levels, remove internal barriers and always work together to plan and carry out our collective goals.
  3. An Association that supports capacity-building efforts for both staff and governance, with particular attention paid to recruiting and retaining new educators as Association leaders.
  4. An Association that advances the well-being of its members through strong, bargained agreements; powerful employee advocacy; and effective and well-planned organizing, image and political campaigns.
  5. An Association that promotes excellence in teaching and student achievement.

In the fall of 2008, the UEA Board appointed a “Transformation Team,” whose members represent all stakeholder groups within the UEA.

The team came together for the first time in November 2008 to begin examining, in specific detail, the data collected earlier from the UEA stakeholder groups. The specific task they were given focused on the development of a plan to help the Association reach its four Strategic Goals, which are:

  1. Advance the Well-Being of Members.
  2. Strengthen the Teaching Profession.
  3. Engage in Meaningful Partnerships that Promote Quality Public Schools.
  4. Build Organizational Capacity.
Through the data analysis phase of the Transformation, which took four months, the team identified 13 “theme” areas – priorities that emerged from the stakeholder data. These theme areas are:

In examining each of the 13 areas, team members were asked to define and clarify the themes. Five questions guided the sub-groups:

  1. What should we hold on to and value about public schools?
  2. What should we hold on to and value in our Association?
  3. What should the UEA look like to meet the needs of educator members and to help students in the 21st Century?
  4. How do we change our behavior, communications and systems to move our organization forward?
  5. What UEA services, products and image make the most sense this year? Next year?

The 13 theme areas have now been reduced to four “clusters,” including Advocacy, Communication, Leadership, and Member Engagement.

Transformation Team members have now been divided into two groups. One group is examining the policies and structure of the Association. The other is looking at UEA products and services.

As the Transformation process moves forward, prospectuses will be presented to UEA stakeholders for feedback, questions and input. This data (information) will drive additional adjustments and edits, and will guide the development of a proposed transformation plan for the Association reaching its strategic goals.

The goal is that a final set of recommendations can be presented to UEA members in the fall of 2009.