Story from the Forney Messenger

AUSTIN—The combined efforts of a group of educators with the Forney school district earned them top honors Friday in Austin at a special leadership conference hosted by state’s largest educators’ group.

The 112,000-member Association of Texas Professional Educators named its Forney ISD local unit as the recipient of the 2009 Local Unit of the Year Award, 500-1000 member category, during a special ceremony at the association’s annual “Leader U” leadership workshop.

“Our local unit has grown tremendously in the past five years, going from 331 members in 2007 to 518 members in 2008,” said Stephanie Rabon, Forney ATPE president. “That is a 56 percent growth and is a result of active recruiting and enthusiastic educators in leadership positions”

More than 800 teachers, para-educators and administrators from across the state joined Rabon for the association’s awards ceremony.

The three-day event also gave attendees the opportunity to attend special workshops, learn more about ATPE’s legislative and governance program, and receive continuing education credit.

“Our members in Forney truly deserve this award for the many hours of hard work they put in on behalf of their students, co-workers and educators across the state,” said Sam Spurlock, ATPE state president.

The 112,000-member Association of Texas Professional Educators is the largest educators’ group in Texas and the largest nonunion educators’ group nationwide. Its membership consists of classroom teachers, para-educators, administrators, college students and retired educators. ATPE is committed to advocating for better benefits for all educators, promoting a collaborative work environment and the right of educators to choose the association they feel represents their interests, and providing the best education possible for all Texas school children.

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This story and any accompanying photo(s) were originally published in the Forney Messenger and are Copyright © 2009, Forney Messenger, Inc. and have been used by permission. The Forney Messenger is the publisher of Kaufman County’s oldest newspaper and may be found online at www.ForneyMessengerInc.com

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