Classroom Tip Teaching about the elections Legal Q&A How are student complaints handled? The ATPE Foundation The ATPE Foundation Technology Grant Your ATPE Benefits • The ATPE Online Mall • Savings on gourmet gifts • Supplemental insurance Member Updates • Get involved! • The Grant for Teaching Excellence • Follow ATPE on Twitter and Facebook Calendar ATPE election resources Make the informed vote The ATPE Political Action Committee New ways to donate to support public education The Study on the Distribution of Teacher Quality in Texas Schools How teacher quality affects student achievement ATPE collaborates with TCEA New professional development opportunity for ATPE members	ATPE election resources Make the informed vote Election Day is just around the corner—Tuesday, Nov. 2. It’s been said many times before, but it bears repeating: Just about every aspect of your profession is controlled by the people you elect to represent you at the Capitol. It is important that educators turn out and vote for candidates who support public education and ATPE’s legislative priorities. More The ATPE Political Action Committee New ways to donate to support public education The Texas Attorney General (AG) recently released an opinion stating that school districts do not have the authority to use school district resources to process payroll deductions for political contributions. This opinion has caused a few issues with contributions to the ATPE Political Action Committee (ATPE-PAC), the fund that makes donations on a nonpartisan basis to candidates and officeholders who have demonstrated support for public education and ATPE’s philosophy. More The Study on the Distribution of Teacher Quality in Texas Schools How teacher quality affects student achievement Earlier this year, ATPE commissioned a study on teacher quality, which takes a comprehensive look at the degree to which teacher quality is disproportionately distributed across the state and within school districts and the effect this inequality has on student learning and standardized test performance. More ATPE collaborates with TCEA New professional development opportunity for ATPE members ATPE has collaborated with the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) to provide our members with new and exciting professional development opportunities. This partnership will give members the opportunity to participate in eight free webinars over the course of eight months and attend the ATPE Academy, a professional development opportunity during TCEA’s annual convention. More ATPE members: Subscribe to Essentials Tell ATPE what you think of Essentials Join ATPE  |  October 2010  |  © 2010 ATPE Essentials contains legislative advertising contracted for by Doug Rogers, Executive Director, Association of Texas Professional Educators, 305 E. Huntland Dr., Suite 300, Austin, TX 78752-3792, representing ATPE.