From preventing school violence to building a better newsletter, leaders among School-Related Personnel are learning new strategies for serving their members.

Leaders took part in 19 workshops during New York State United Teachers annual statewide convention for SRP leaders.

Such sessions are needed because more than 60,000 of the union's 400,000 members work in a wide variety of clerical, custodial, transportation, nursing and classroom positions.

"Better training is often the answer to problems we all struggle with in our jobs every day," said Margaret MacCartney, a former teaching assistant in Nyack recently hired by the statewide union to coordinate SRP programs.

Coalitions

Before your union reaches out to the community, make sure it reaches out to the members, advised Kathy Lell, a labor relations specialist in the western New York region.

One way to get members involved is to get them together. Lell said a typical union calendar might include:

• September: a "welcome back" party for families;

• October: member benefits workshop with political action update and voter registration;

• November: food drive;

• December: holiday party;

• January: defensive driving class;

• February: snow festival;

• March and April: member benefits workshop on vacation packages and tax tips;

• May: scholarship drive and work to pass the local school budget;

• June: ceremony for retiring workers.

Research shows people remember 10 percent of what they hear, 60 percent of what they see and 90 percent of what they do. Keep that in mind when speaking to a group, suggested Patti Poulin and Karen Sullivan, from United Teachers north country regional offices. But don't let it dictate your speech.

"Use visuals only when they enhance the understanding of your presentation," Poulin said. "Otherwise they can distract," especially if they are of poor quality or have too many colors.