That same day, she also found out that she was pregnant and due about the time she would be traveling to Orlando. So what did the mom-to-be do? Show up at Convo with her 8-day-old baby, of course!

If Stephanie and her chapter colleagues are any influence, Mia will be a KDP fan as well. She already owns an “I Love KDP” one-piece outfit made by Mary Beth Blain, who also sewed another outfit that says, “What would Dewey do”? Career-changer Stephanie is in for a busy semester. The mother of Mia and older brother Keith, 7, begins her student teaching in the spring and graduates in May.

Bear Lake Sound Find out the latest KDP benefits and more.

Connect with KDP people in your area: Join other members around the country forming Chalk Talk Cafés, local and informal KDP networking groups. Set up a Chalk Talk Café in your area to share classroom experiences, discuss books, exchange lesson plans, or simply talk with other professionals. These Cafés are for you! For more information, e-mail membership@kdp.org.

Keep updated on general KDP happenings that affect you.

NCLB Town Hall Meetings Continue
KDP will host a No Child Left Behind Town Hall Meeting in the spring at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. This meeting will be the 12th such forum offered by KDP and cosponsors, the National Academy of Education and the National Society for the Study of Education. These Forums discuss and inform parents, educators, and administrators about the No Child Left Behind Act and how its requirements translate to states, schools, and children.

In 2005, the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) in Washington, DC, recognized these public forums by naming KDP to its Associations Advance America Honor Roll, a national award competition.

Bring a Book
The Bring-a-Book campaign originated at the 2003 Convocation in St. Louis, Missouri, as a Society-wide service project. This biennium, efforts were directed to benefit Hurricane Katrina and Rita victims.

Southeast Chapter Resource Consultant Alison Billings and Marketing and Member Services Assistant Sharon Bergmann coordinated the book and school supply donations. Many attendees and staff members stopped by to help count and box the 20,000-plus books and school supplies that Kadelpians brought to Convo in Orlando, Florida. Yes, in three days, Kadelpians from across the nation donated more than 20,000 books.

A special thanks to the University of Central Florida’s Omicron Lambda Chapter for working with Shurgard® Self Storage to secure a donation of 250 packing boxes. The packers and stackers of the many books and cartons are very grateful!

Once boxed, the books were loaded onto a rental truck and driven to Lafayette, Louisiana, by Executive Director Michael Wolfe and Chapter Resource Specialist Lynne Haberstroh. President Jenny Couvillion and members of the Delta Iota Chapter at the University of Louisiana–Lafayette met and helped unload the book-laden truck.

Delta Iota Chapter members are distributing these books to schools affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In addition to this hurricane-relief service project, Kappa Delta Pi is providing an additional year of active membership to all members affected by the storms and unable to access member services by phone, computer, or on campus. KDP also is providing thirteen $500 scholarships to chapters to help support their members.

Counselor Academies
Chapter advisors, join other chapter advisors for a day of networking during one of KDP’s Counselor Academies. Learn more.

See what other members and chapters are doing. Send your activities!

KDP connects me to others in what often can be a “lonely” profession. Through KDP, I network with other professionals and with those who want to be teachers. Like so many things in life, as I tell my fellow members, you get out of your KDP experience what you put into it. It’s not just what KDP can do for you, but what you can do for KDP. I’m grateful to have a strong relationship with a Society that has the prestige and resources of Kappa Delta Pi. Denisha Jones, Counselor, Indiana University

Find links to educational and professional resources..

Research Summaries: http://ed-web3.educ.msu.edu
This site disseminates summarized reports of research conducted by faculty in the College of Education at Michigan State University. The reports provide references and Internet links to the unabridged research.

Teacher Resources are available to KDP members through this same-named page of KDP Online, www.kdp.org, Society publications, and e-mails such as Ideas to Go. The latter delivers tips on teaching right to your desktop. How’s that for service?

See what members are saying.

“Thank you so much for your support to our newly reinstalled chapter. Faye and Alison, I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate your driving over to conduct the ceremony. It was just so special. Everyone has commented on the success of the ceremony. We are all so excited about the chapter. It is quite the buzz at the college right now. The college has put up a news story on the event, and you can view it and a few of the photos at: www.uky.edu/Education/news/05/KappaDeltaPi.html.”

Dr. Lee Ann Jung, Chapter Counselor
Dr. Kelly Bradley, Associate Counselor

KDP asks the question—you get to answer!

Read about various types of KDP chapters

Fellow Kadelpians:
What a wonderful Convo! If you were with us in Orlando in early November, you know exactly what I mean. If not, just talk with a Kadelpian who was. In any event, you really must plan to attend the 2007 Kappa Delta Pi Convocation in Louisville, Kentucky. You can bet I’ll be there!

Several members representing the National State Teachers of the Year (NSTOY), an honorary chapter of KDP, came from across the country to take part in Convo. We participated in a panel discussion at a pre-Convo clinic, presented in six workshops and, at the closing banquet, honored Dr. Michael Wolfe with a Golden Apple and an Imagination Library from the Dolly Parton Foundation. He is an honorary member of NSTOY and a long-time supporter of our activities. We wish him and his wife, Polly, all the best as they pursue other endeavors.

I know I speak for all TOYs who attended Convo when I say what a pleasure it was to meet so many Kadelpians, especially preservice and new teachers. We thoroughly enjoyed talking with you. Thank you to those who stopped by the NSTOY booth to fill out forms regarding the Speakers Bureau or the “Apples from the Teachers” mentoring program.

If you don’t know about the Speakers Bureau, you should! NSTOY members welcome invitations to speak at Kappa Delta Pi meetings, workshops, and banquets at local, district, and state levels. To inquire about the availability of a Teacher of the Year speaker, please contact Dr. Peggy Allan at pegallan@hotmail.com or download the Speakers Bureau form.

Apples from the Teachers is designed to provide mentoring support to teachers as they meet challenges and opportunities within the classroom. If you wish to participate in this mentoring program, complete the form at the link provided, and mail it to Barbara Hester, 2015 Roberts Rd, Taylorsville, KY 40041. Teachers will be matched with a TOY for mentoring assistance via online or by phone.

Before I close, I’d like personally to pass on a mentoring tip based on my years as a teacher. Educators have a tendency to overcommit, overextend, and overlook their personal needs. Trying to meet all needs is not healthy. Take time to care for yourselves and one another. That’s the best way to effectively meet professional demands, especially the unique needs of students. Take time to enjoy the smiles on faces of students, friends, and, especially, loved ones. Tell them how much they mean to you. Let them show how much you mean to them.

Art Peekel, President
National State Teachers of the Year
322 W. Palatine Road
Palatine, IL 60067
E-mail: a_peekel@yahoo.com

Learn about giving and receiving the KDP Educational Foundation way.

This year has been the 25th anniversary of the Educational Foundation, and it’s been a memorable one! Thanks to generous donations from KDP members and their relatives, as well as staff members, the Educational Foundation has been able to strengthen its financial support of teachers and education students through scholarships, teacher grants, Reading Is Fun, and professional conferences. Additionally, for the first time at Convo, the Foundation offered ten $500 scholarships applicable to tuition and professional development. Congratulations to the winners!

If you didn’t purchase your KDP silicone bracelet at Convo, it isn’t too late! Purple and green Kappa Delta Pi embossed bracelets are available through the Foundation for only $3 each or two for $5. Proceeds benefit the Foundation. Order your bracelet through Cara at 1-800-284-3167, ext. 228.

Learn about Headquarters staff, members, and big names in education.

If your answer is C, an educator recognized for achievements, you get the gold star. Laureates are honored for their achievements, such as poet laureates, Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and, of course, KDP Laureates. Society Laureates have made distinguished and significant contributions to education before their nominations as candidates for the Laureate Chapter. The Laureate Chapter was chartered in 1924 with John E. Dewey as the first member.

The Laureate Chapter initiates members a bit differently than other KDP chapters; candidates are nominated each biennium, but only if there are less than 60 living persons in the chapter. Living Laureates include Jonathan Kozol, Nel Noddings, and William Ayers, among others. They join this honored status with now deceased Laureates, such as Albert Einstein, Margaret Mead, and George Washington Carver. Isn’t it great to belong to KDP and be a part of this legacy of groundbreaking educators?

Visit the Laureate Library!

Past Presidents Remembered
Two Past Presidents of Kappa Delta Pi passed away in recent months. Dr. Gerald H. Read, who served as Society President 1964–1966, had a long record of service to KDP. In 1986, he was named a member of the distinguished Laureate Chapter. In 1999, he was honorary chair of the Capital Campaign Committee. A doctoral scholarship in International and Comparative Education—the field to which he dedicated his career—has been awarded annually in his name since 1987.

Dr. Lorrene Love Ort was Society President 1970–1972 as well as a strong supporter of the Educational Foundation. Among her other KPD leadership roles, she served on the Constitution and Bylaws Committee and as a member of the Convocation Planning Committee. The former director of Bowling Green State University’s student-teacher program devoted her later years to building a library collection honoring teachers.

Academic Editor Remembered
Former Academic Editor to the KDP Record, Dr. Virginia Horns-Marsh, passed away on December 21, 2005. She is survived by her husband, Frank E. Marsh, Jr. They were a true KDP couple—they met through Kappa Delta Pi and continued to work together for the Society, including coediting the KDP Record and establishing a full Educational Foundation scholarship in writing and research. Dr. Horns-Marsh was Professor Emerita and director of the Children’s Creative Learning Center at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and a lifetime member of KDP, belonging to the Mu Mu Chapter since 1966.


Frank and Virginia Marsh

You ask; KDP answers.

Can KDP help me find a job? Though KDP doesn’t offer direct recruiting services, it does have an ongoing partnership with one through Teachers-Teachers.com. Visit its site to post your résumé online. KDP Online can help you develop your résumé and sharpen your interviewing skills. You’ll find tips and much more on the Career Assistance page under the Membership link.

What’s the Forum? Kappa Delta Pi’s scholarly and double-blind refereed journal is The Educational Forum. This flagship Society publication provides critical and research-based articles on current issues in the education field. This quarterly is available to members for $16 annually.