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When organizers of this year's School-Related Personnel conference decided the theme would be "SRPs: Together for Children," they did not know what solace it would bring.

But in the wake of Sept. 11, the message of unity took on deeper meaning.

Susan Goeckel of the Williamsville Association of Education-Related Personnel, who wore a red-white-and-blue heart on her shirt, said her faith in public schools was reaffirmed as she listened to New York State United Teachers President Tom Hobart talk about the School For The Deaf in New York City, where Goeckel's daughter is a teacher.

Evelyn Berg, who represents secretaries in the United Federation of Teachers, found that hugs from colleagues across the state brought respite from the stress she and many members are working under now in New York City.

For the 314 conference participants, linking arms and singing "God Bless America" and "Solidarity Forever" brought sadness and celebration. Maria Portalatin, who represents paraprofessionals in the UFT, was one of many who cried while singing.

"I felt the warmth and support of everyone while we sang and throughout the conference," Portalatin said. One of about 25 people at the front of the room, she looked out over the huge audience "and I felt safe, and a feeling of caring from everyone. And it was just too much because what we've all been through has just been devastating."

'We need one another'

Thirty-one days after the terrorist attacks against America, solidarity was on full display at the 23rd annual NYSUT conference for SRP leaders: solidarity with the children and public they serve, the statewide union to which they belong and the country they love.

At the kickoff of the conference in Buffalo, Mary Jo Roberge, who chairs NYSUT's SRP Advisory Committee, said: "No matter what job title we have, we need one another for strength and support. The acts of terrorism have only strengthened that in all of us."

In a show of resolve, SRP leaders at the conference dug deep in support of the NYSUT 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund, contributing more than $700, and the statewide union added $500. In what has become a conference tradition, participants also donated 325 books for children, which went this year to the Lockport schools, and toiletries to Haven House, a western New York center for battered women and children. (Go to www.nysut.org for more on these efforts.)

In 18 workshops, SRP leaders learned strategies on managing student behavior and improving workplace safety. They learned ways to identify and report child abuse, and ways to improve communication.

NYSUT's Legislation Department gave participants the chance to e-mail legislators about the state budget and other issues.

NYSUT's SRP Employee of the Year, Frontier Central's bus driver Janet Gutekunst was honored, along with outstanding SRP campaigns in support of VOTE-COPE, NYSUT's voluntary political action fund. (See photos on page 2.)

Over the three-day conference, participants attended large group meetings to get the latest information on union courses and offerings and to share concerns.

During his keynote address, NYSUT President Tom Hobart told the group that while he'd seen evidence of great suffering during an early October tour of the World Trade Center site, he also saw evidence of the great heroism the whole nation has witnessed.

Hobart paid tribute to the heroes in the union ranks, those members who died during the attacks and rescue attempts. He specifically praised teachers, paras and secretaries who helped safely evacuate all children from nine schools closest to the disaster.

'Our role is clear'

Hobart also paid homage to those who show fortitude in ongoing cleanup efforts. "We're reminded of how people may not be as aware of the need for a union during good times, but during difficult times they are. We come together, because all of us are stronger than one of us," Hobart said.

The challenges ahead are enormous, he said, but "our role is clear as it's been throughout our history. We're committed to improving the quality of education and health care for the people of New York. That is needed more than ever."

The union will also continue to advocate for increased aid to public education.

"In these difficult times, kids in our schools need more support than ever," Hobart said. Although the budgetary impact of the attacks is phenomenal, it would be shortsighted to respond by increasing class sizes or cutting programs that would help kids meet the higher standards, he said.

Roberge, a teaching assistant and member of the North Syracuse Education Association, later sought out members from New York City and environs to thank them for coming.

"With everything people are going through, I know they had a hard decision to make to travel across the state," she said. "I was so touched by all the people who said they really needed to come.

"It broke my heart to listen to some of their stories, to hear what it's like to go to 10 or 11 funerals, to think about what it does to a school when many of the children have lost their parents.

"Normally this conference is designed to help us get the training we need," Roberge added. "While we still got that, this conference gave us what we really needed: each other."

- Betsy Sandberg

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