Wisconsin Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel

Greetings from the President

Welcome to the Wisconsin Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (WAEOPP), an association of dedicated Wisconsin professionals working everyday to expand the educational opportunities of those most in need here in Wisconsin, from elementary school to graduate students. The Association provides professionals opportunities to interact with colleagues from around the state and region as well as the resources with which to run more effectively our educational and social growth programming. In addition, WAEOPP works with the Midwest Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (MAEOPP), our regional association of ten mid-western states, and the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), the national advocacy group that works on our behalf in Washington D.C. to advance the interests of the populations we serve.

With the academic year and 2013 well underway, I am honored to share WAEOPP updates and to extend an invitation to the many professional growth and advocacy activities planned for the upcoming months.

A New Web Portal

WAEOPP has a new look with its updated web portal. Thank you, Ms. Rose Rude, for your hard work improving our web presence. Visitors to the website will find quick and easy access to program and policy information, links to professional development opportunities, and profiles of activities and people from around the state, among many other resources. Contact Rose with suggestions, program highlights, and/or information for the WAEOPP by e-mailing rose.rude@uwrf.edu

Making our Voices Heard: Policy Seminar and Advocacy

As many of you know, Wisconsin lost almost half of its Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math Science programs in last year’s grant competition, a hit that meant the dissolution of academic and social programming that nurtured hundreds of Wisconsin students and initiated the exodus from TRIO of many skilled and passionate professionals. I think of the loss daily.

I thank Reilly O’Halloran and the many others who served on last year’s WAEOPP Board and committees for their tireless advocacy on behalf of Wisconsin’s programs. They marshaled resources to staunch as best they could the loss. Thank you. The Board and I look to the support of all of WAEOPP as the association rebuilds and redoubles its efforts to fight for our students and the funding for the programs that serve them.

Delivering our message of equal and effective educational opportunities for all to those in Congress is an essential component of our service to our students and their families. This year’s Policy Seminar in Washington D.C., an event marked by professional training in advocacy and visits to our respective representatives on the Hill, is being held Sunday – Tuesday, March 10-12, at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Hotel, with the National College Opportunity Summit held prior to Policy on Saturday, March 9, and Sunday, March 10. In addition to advocacy, Policy Seminar provides opportunities to work with professionals from around our great state and the country. I encourage you to consider becoming a proactive advocate for our concerns this March. For more information, please visit COE’s website and follow the Policy Seminar and Leadership Summit links under the Events tab.

The Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), our 24/7 advocate in Washington D.C., has helped to ensure that our Representatives in Congress support TRIO initiatives and practices. Wisconsin is honored to be the state that nurtured COE. COE has buoyed us and assisted us in redressing cuts to programs and moving forward. With the sequestration and debt ceiling discussions apace in D.C., our students need COE’s voice and energy.

Please show your financial support of COE’s mission by making a Fair Share “10 for 10” donation. You can do so through COE’s Give tab and follow the Fair Share links or download and complete the “10 for 10” form. Collectively, Wisconsin can show its strong support of the professional organization that has done much to keep TRIO alive. The Council needs our personal support. Please donate today.

Tri-State Professional Conference

This year’s Annual WAEOPP Professional Development Conference is a Tri-State affair. . . . Please arrange to join your fellow professionals from Minnesota and Iowa in Des Moines, IA, April 10-12, at the Des Moines Marriot Downtown. The professional development and networking opportunities abound at a tri-state meeting. I look forward to seeing you in Iowa.  Click here for more information.

NewsBLAST

MAEOPP, as you may know, publishes a quarterly newsletter, MAEOPP NewsBLAST, detailing the activities of our students and staff. The newsletter thrives on the contributions of MAEOPP members sharing in words and pictures their activities, their students’ stories, their outreach and advocacy. Special thanks to Gina Sevick at UW-River Falls, Angie Hugdahl and Marcie Francis of UW-Superior, and Jane Eddy of Viterbo University for sharing their stories of Wisconsin students in the Winter edition. I encourage you to take a moment to capture in words and pictures the very great things happening here in Wisconsin and to share them with our MAEOPP family. For more information and to submit your stories and profiles, please contact Dr. Karen Johnson at kjohnson@winona.edu.

Welcome, Senator Baldwin

Wisconsin welcomed a new Senator, the Honorable Tammy Baldwin, to Congress. I took the opportunity on behalf of WAEOPP to welcome Senator Baldwin, to communicate to her the value of TRIO programs to Wisconsinites, and to encourage her to be a champion to all those students and families served by TRIO and similar programs.  Click here for WAEOPP's letter to Senator Baldwin.

I trust we are all looking forward to working with Senator Baldwin and helping her discover the opportunities we bring to students and families here in Wisconsin. Please be sure to make your voice heard in the upcoming months especially as Congress debates the future of programs that help those most in need. Senator Baldwin can be contacted through her office at http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/index.cfm and Senator Johnson at http://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/public/, and our many Representatives in the House can be contacted via their respective websites. Please, let your voice carry to D.C. to let Congress know the value of the work we do everyday and the tangible and economic difference it makes.

An Arnold Mitchem Celebration

Dr. Arnold Mitchem, the president of the Council for Opportunity in Education, is celebrating this year his difference-making career as he looks forward to continuing his service to our students’ and our professional needs in his retirement. Dr. Mitchem, a professor of history, started his TRIO journey here in Wisconsin at the founding of programming at Marquette University that addressed the needs of a low-income, first-generation, largely minority population in need of access to college.

Gwen Moore, a current Representative in the House and strong TRIO champion, was among that early class of underrepresented young men and women to graduate from Marquette. From COE’s genesis to today, we see here in Wisconsin and around the country a true wealth of opportunity. We should be rightly proud of our state’s role in fostering the abundance and quality of programming nationwide. Dr. Mitchem will be attending our Tri-State Conference in April, so please join us to thank him personally.

Best Practices

WAEOPP and the other state associations are called to share our best practices via MAEOPP’s Best Education Practices Center. The Center collects and disseminates the best educational practices and activities occurring in our 10-state region. It would be wonderful to have Wisconsin’s best practices voice loud and proud and solidly represented. WAEOPP, please take a moment to review the Center’s website where you will find an overview of the mission, information on submitting best practices, access to webinars, and opportunities to blog with fellow professionals.  The Best Practices Center is a solid resource we should support and utilize. Please share your educational and operational gems.

Know any Emerging Leaders?

WAEOPP is seeking applicants to be part of MAEOPP’s Emerging Leaders Institute (ELI), a year-long introduction to the fabric and purpose of MAEOPP coupled with excellent leadership training workshops and experiences. More than the excellent professional development training, the immersion in MAEOPP’s history and mission, and the learning in how effectively to lead and serve the state and regional association, the ELI experience forged professional and personal connections to this day that make a positive difference in my professional growth.

If you are interested in getting involved, in making a difference, in meeting new professionals from around the region, I encourage you to apply.  Please email me (t.ullrich@marquette.edu) with questions or to advance an application. MAEOPP benefits from the voice and contributions of many. Please consider adding your voice and talents through the ELI experience.

WAEOPP is the Passion and Talent of Its Members

If you are interested in contributing your passions and talents to the work of WAEOPP via committee support or a leadership position, please drop me an email at t.ullrich@marquette.edu. If not currently a WAEOPP member, we would love for you to join us. Click here for membership form.

Thank you, WAEOPP members and the statewide professionals who share our vision for educational equality and opportunity, for the excellent work you do on behalf of students and your professional peers. Wisconsin truly makes a positive difference each and every day. I am so very proud to be a member of WAEOPP, to live and work in Wisconsin, to have the opportunity to interact with professionals from around the region, to serve on this year’s board. I trust we can amplify the advocacy message this year, we can raise Wisconsin’s profile through our support of Fair Share and participation in Policy Seminar and local advocacy opportunities, and we can use our association ably to provide a resource of effective professional development opportunities and academic and social growth best practices.

Here’s to a wonderful year.

Sincerely,

T Ullrich

WEAOPP President, 2012-13

T thanks Reilly for his service to WAEOPP.

   WAEOPP Blog

Contact us Today!

 Please, browse our site and engage with our programs.

The members of the Wisconsin Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel are committed to creating bright futures for our participants through promising practices, dedication, and pride in the work we do.

Please visit the WAEOPP Programs page for information on how to contact an individual program or our Contact US page to get in touch with the WAEOPP Board.

Petri Announces May Town Meeting Schedule

Please attend if you live or work in Congressman Petri's district and speak up for TRiO!
 

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Representative Tom Petri (R-WI) announced the schedule of his upcoming town meetings that will take place throughout the 6th Congressional District in the last week of May. Petri encourages all who are interested to come and share their views in a group setting.
“Town meetings are a fundamental part of our democracy,” said Petri, “because it allows me the opportunity to directly communicate with the constituents I represent in Washington.
“I invite everyone to attend one of the sessions so they can share their opinions, ask questions, or engage in a group discussion with other 6th District residents.”

Here is the town meeting schedule for May:

Tuesday, May 28

10:30 -11:30 a.m. LODI
Lodi Public Library, 130 Lodi Street
Program Room

2:00 - 3:00 p.m. WESTFIELD
Municipal Building, 129 East Third Street
Room A

4:00 - 5:00 p.m. RURAL WAUTOMA
Dakota Town Hall, N1470 State Road 22

Wednesday, May 29

10:00 - 11:00 a.m. BEAVER DAM
City Hall, 205 South Lincoln Avenue
City Council Chambers

2:00 - 3:00 p.m. PARDEEVILLE
Village Hall, 114 Lake Street

4:30 - 5:30 p.m. RIPON
Ripon Public Library, 120 Jefferson Street
Silver Creek Room

Thursday, May 30

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. NEENAH
City Hall, 211 Walnut Street
City Council Chambers

3:00 - 4:00 p.m. BERLIN
City Hall, 108 North Capron Street
City Council Chambers

Friday, May 31

9:30 - 10:30 a.m. BELGIUM
Village Hall, 195 Commerce Street

2:00 - 3:00 p.m. TWO RIVERS
City Hall, 1717 East Park Street
City Council Chambers

Saturday, June 1

10:00 - 11:00 a.m. SHEBOYGAN
Mead Public Library
710 North 8th Street
Rocca Meeting Room

1:00 - 2:00 p.m. MEQUON
Public Safety Building
11300 North Buntrock Avenue
Police Training Room