School and Community Winter 2024

What has been a recent win for you? Creating a new format for our CTA monthly meeting minutes has increased engagement recently. What is one of your goals for 2024? A goal I have for myself is to better manage my time between all of my responsibilities.

staff members with opportunities to make connections with others in MSTA and the CTA. We have been doing this by trying to organize more events and communicating better between our district members.

Julie Sieber School district: Wright City R-2 Grade level/subject: High school ELA Years teaching: 7 Roles in MSTA: Building representative Why did you get involved with MSTA? In elementary school, I remember one of

Lawanna Salmon School district: Lakeland R-3 Grade level/subject: Bookkeeper Years in education: 25

Roles in MSTA: My job is to take care of our faculty and staff while working to keep everything running smoothly. I make sure all

my teachers having this apple thing that said MSTA on it and I asked her what it was. She told me it was a club for teachers who supported each other. That sounded like something I would join if I became a teacher. When I started college, joining SMSTA was mandatory if we were going into a school. I went to Convention with them and that was all it took. What has been a recent win for you? I was asked to return to my previous school district to receive an award of “Most Influential Teacher” from one of the top ten graduates. I love that I can build relationships with students that are not affected by time and distance. What is one of your goals for 2024? My goal is to bring back a CTA to Wright City so that we can have local representation and a way to acknowledge our peers throughout the district.

my colleagues are members, so they can get the benefits of MSTA. Why did you get involved with MSTA? I got involved in MSTA because of the benefits offered to members. Now, as our society is changing, I continue to be involved to ensure that our faculty and staff get the resources and benefits they deserve. What has been a recent win for you? A recent win is that I think I have our entire faculty and staff signed up as MSTA members. What is one of your goals for 2024? Continue to be involved in MSTA and make sure everyone is taken care of and knows the importance of their membership.

Chris Reinagel School district: Kirkwood R-7 Grade level/subject: Sixth grade science Years teaching: 28 Roles in MSTA: Building leader for several years, district leadership team 2019-present Why did you get involved with MSTA? I

April Maldonado School district: Kirkwood School District Grade level/subject: K-5 art Years teaching: 26 Roles in MSTA: Leadership team (one of three for the district) Why did you get involved with MSTA? I first

believe in the importance of teachers having a voice and support. I thought helping to lead MSTA in Kirkwood would be a way to work towards reaching that goal. What has been a recent win for you? My win came through the support that we received from our colleagues throughout the past year as we worked toward creating a way for all teachers to be involved in the collective bargaining process in Kirkwood. We did not achieve that goal, but we are proud of the integrity and collaboration shown throughout the process of trying to give a voice to our MSTA members and all teachers in Kirkwood. What is one of your goals for 2024? Retirement! But before then, my goal is to still support members as they navigate what the new collective bargaining process means for Kirkwood.

became involved when a veteran teacher in my building asked me to be a building representative. Helping others and working for local goals has always been at my core. What has been a recent win for you? A teacher was fully covered and had ample legal representation when under investigation... I was so glad she really listened when we told her (in reference to being a MSTA member), “It’s like car insurance, you may never need it, but you’ll be happy you have it should a situation arise.” What is one of your goals for 2024? To keep the calm within our membership and carry on. We were recently “asked to step aside” as another group was voted in for collective bargaining. While this is extremely disappointing, there is still work to do and teachers to support. My goal is to continue to work for the greater good and lead with integrity, inclusivity and collaboration.

Brooke Gantt School district: Nixa Public Schools Grade level/subject: Elementary Curriculum Specialist Years teaching: 22 Roles in MSTA: CTA president, membership chair, treasurer

Gina Babcock School district: Saint Joseph Grade level/subject: Reading intervention Years teaching: 19 Roles in MSTA: Secretary for the region and our CTA Why did you get involved with MSTA? I

Why did you get involved with MSTA? From the beginning, I knew MSTA made a difference for students, teachers and public education. I wanted to be a part of something larger to share the amazing things happening in public education. I enjoy being a voice for Missouri teachers and students - MSTA has provided that platform while aligning with my own personal and professional values.

became involved with MSTA because I wanted to be a part of the positive change this organization makes for our profession locally

S&C WINTER 2024 | 21