The Central OEA-Retired Committee is presenting a Pre-retirement workshop via Zoom on Saturday, March 15, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Any member may sign up and join Zoom, but the information presented will be especially relevant for our members who are within 3-5 years of retirement.
The presentation has two related parts. Ms. Tamla Cole, a Staff member at the State Teachers Retirement System, will present all the particular steps one must take to complete the retirement process, including the advisable timeline one should follow.
Mr. Guy Kendall-Fries will present the many benefits available to retired members through the NEA Member Benefits Program. In fact, many of our active members already avail themselves of these benefits of their united OEA-NEA membership; Guy will review the processes and advantages of continuing with this program.
To register:
1. Log in to your Central account (or create an account if you don't have one)
2. Scroll down to "OEA Pre-Retired Workshop" and click "Going"
3. Wait a short moment for it to register. That's it.
A Zoom link will be emailed to all registered members a few days before the workshop.
Grab your passport, bring a colleague and come along with us on a journey to gain knowledge and understanding of gender identity, mental health needs and culture comfort food.
February 15, 9 am. - 12:30 p.m.
1st Stop (Session One) - The Gender Unicorn
Let’s explore and review the components of gender, including gender identity, gender expression, and sex assigned at birth, along with sexuality and the LGBTQIA+ acronym. Learn how to use personal gender pronouns correctly (and why that matters!) and what words to avoid.
2nd Stop (Session Two)
Cultivating Affirmation and Belonging for LGBTQ+ Youth We will examine statistic related to discrimination within schools and risks that LGBTQ+ youth face on a day-to-day basis, then discuss ways that we can improve school climate through various strategies from simple word choice to school/district/ organizational policy change.
3rd Stop (Session Three) - Culinary Alley
Here we will experience the cuisine of another culture either from another state, city or continent. There will also be a recipe to share.
To register:
1. Log in to your Central account (or create an account if you don't have one)
2. Scroll down to the "Diversity Conference" event and click "Going"
3. Wait a short moment for it to register. That's it.
Education is currently going through a challenging time. More and more people are leaving the profession, while less and less meaningful support tends to find its way into the schools. As educators and support professionals, I know that inconsistencies and misunderstandings have been a long road.
That is why Central's Membership Development Committee is excited to present this year's Power Up Conference and try to allow all educators and support professionals to get a more robust understanding of the issues facing us all in our district and give us the tools to navigate these challenges as we shape the rest of our school year and beyond.
Positive Behavioral and Intervention Supports (PBIS)—This session will discuss how PBIS is more than points and parties, how it plays a part in special education, how it works with MTSS, and how it impacts all people who work in the school system. Led by OEA's Education Policy and Practice Consultant Daria DeNoia, these sessions will focus on how effective implementation of PBIS can positively change a school's culture while also showing how districts are doing it wrong.
Student Discipline: Looking at the benefits of school resource officers and how they should be utilized in a school district, as well as the legal implications of student discipline, assault leave, and emergency removal, these sessions will give a better understanding of how to collaborate with your School Resource Officer (SRO) as well as your rights as a school employee when it comes to student discipline. These sessions will be led by the Director of Safety and Security for Westerville City Schools, Steve McElroy, and Labor Relation Consultant Diana Watson-Urban.
Additional Sessions will include the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES) and the changes that the state has implemented, an Education Support Professional (ESP) Roundtable to discuss the current issues facing our support professionals (including new dues structures and election processes), and implications and state mandates surrounding the Science of Reading. Sessions will be led by OEA's Education Policy and Practice Consultant Ellen Adornetto and local ESP leadership.
Please save the date for this in-demand conference. It will be held at the Gahanna-Lincoln Clark Hall on Saturday, March 22, 2025. Registration starts at 8:00 a.m., and the conference concludes at 2:00 p.m. Attending this conference will earn you CEUs. Feel free to encourage a colleague or a new member to join you for this opportunity.
Additionally, we will host a social function after the conference at the Rusty Bucket near the school. We look forward to seeing you in March.
To register:
1. Log in to your Central account (or create an account if you don't have one)
2. Scroll down to the "2025 Power Up! Conference" event and click "Going"
3. Wait a short moment for it to register. That's it.
Central OEA/NEA offers professional development and CEUs for all our conferences, which can be used toward license renewal. As with all of Central’s conferences, registration is free to all Central OEA/NEA members. Registration for this, and all our other conferences and workshops is now open.
Central Vice President
(Unexpired term ending August 31, 2026)
Area 1 Representative
(Three-year term ending August 31st, 2028)
Area 2 Representative
(Three-year term ending August 31st, 2028)
Area 3 Representative
(Three-year term ending August 31st, 2028)
Area 5 Representative #4
(Three-year term ending August 31st, 2028)
Higher Ed Representative
(Three-year term ending August 31st, 2028)
OEA Board of Directors 3
(Three-year term ending July 14th, 2028)
OEA Board of Directors 5
(Unexpired term ending July 14, 2027)
OEA Board of Directors 6
(Three-year term ending July 14th, 2028)
OEA Board of Directors 7
(Unexpired term ending July 14, 2026)
For OEA Board of Directors positions, candidates must submit this form to William Baird no later than February 9th, 2025.
For Central positions, candidates must submit this form to Central no later than February 24th, 2025.
Join Central OEA/NEA for this year’s Wellness Wednesdays!
February 12 - Chocolate Paint N Sip
- Grab your brushes for a guided Paint N Sip and enjoy some chocolate with us!
April 2 - Restorative Yoga - It is time for a Spring renewal! Join us for some yoga and mediation to refresh our minds and bodies!
They all take place at the Central office from 5:30 pm until 7:00 pm
To register:
1. Log in to your Central account (or create an account if you don't have one)
2. Scroll down to the Wellness Wednesday you wish to attend and click "Going"
3. Wait a short moment for it to register. That's it.
The Central Local Retreat will be held from June 9 until June 10. The retreat will return to Deer Creek.
As well as plenty of time for your team to work on your 2024-25 Local Association needs, we will also have sessions based on your needs.
* Some examples from past retreats:
* Bargaining Q & A with OEA Organizing
* C&B work session/sample language
* ESP specific ideas
* Election Committee prep
* Membership (Back to school, new employee orientation, engagement ideas, building capacity- building the bench)
* Communications or Social (Updating webpages, social media guidelines)
We will provide lunch and dinner plus networking on the 9th and breakfast and lunch on the 10th.
This retreat is for teams only. Team members must register on our website by May 8th. Central will reimburse for hotel rooms on a shared occupancy basis. Instructions for booking your hotel room will be provided upon registration.
Visit www.centraloeanea.org/retreat to register
We have set the times and dates for the Central Treasurers' Workshops for 2025. You may choose to attend either or both.
Attending a Treasurer’s Workshop is a requirement to qualify for the OEA fiscal fitness award. We also recommend that Newer Local Presidents and Local Membership Chairs attend the New Treasurers' Workshop.
The Central Treasurers workshop(s) will be VIRTUAL via Zoom
6/5/24 - New Treasurers' Workshop 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Our traditional annual offering of training for Local Treasurers with limited experience
6/5/24 - Experienced Treasurers' Workshop - 10:45 a.m. - Noon
Our traditional annual offering of training for Local Treasurers with experience
To register:
Login to your Central account (or create one if you don't have one)
Scroll down to the training session you wish to attend and click “going"
Wait a moment for your selection to register. That's it.
We’ll send Zoom information a few days prior to the training.
Central is offering Association Leaders and Building/Faculty Reps in-person training on June 5th at the Central office (2760 Airport Dr. Suite 120B. Columbus OH 43219).
Association Rep Training
June 5, 2025. 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
This training will cover the role of being a rep, communicating with members and administration, and representing members in difficult meetings. Local officers welcome to attend.
President's Training/Local Leader Think Tank
June 5, 2025. 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
This training for local officers will include the nuts and bolts of the OEA President's manual including election procedures, Constitution & Bylaws compliance, the OEA Local Development Tool, the grant application process, engaging your members, and more. It will also allow time for networking and sharing of best practices among locals.
Open to new and experienced presidents and other officers with the hope that we will learn from each other. Attending this training is one of the qualifying events for Central's Local Participation Award Program.
To register for either/both of these sessions simply:
• Login to your Central account (or create one if you don't have one)
• Scroll down to the session you wish to attend and click "going."
• Wait a moment for your selection to register. That's it.
We will have food and beverages available at these training sessions
