Back to school and college. a time for new beginnings and fresh starts for students and staff. I can’t think of a better time to introduce the “new” PSRP Reporter. We’re adding more of the types of stories you like to read, and starting with this issue, you’ll also get more issues each year: six instead of four. What you won’t get any longer is the other AFT publication you also may have received, American Teacher.

The AFT has undertaken a number of initiatives in the past few years to ensure that we communicate more effectively with our members in all constituencies. We have a new LeaderNet service that helps you get AFT information directly through your local union. The AFT Web site (www.aft.org) has a new look so that visitors—members and nonmembers alike—will immediately know what the AFT’s key concerns are, our positions on those topics and what we are doing to address them. We also have started a “branding” project (see sidebar at right) that has made a big difference in the way the national union is perceived by members. Take a look at the cover of this publication and you’ll see an AFT logo. This logo appears on all publications, along with the words “A Union of Professionals.”

That’s a strong statement about who we are and what we are about as workers and union members. I’ve always said that we are “professional” paraprofessionals and school-related personnel, and the best place for us is in a union of professionals. The Reporter will highlight your professionalism. This is a publication about the work that you do and what you care about as workers. And it’s also about sharing the best ideas and practices of your AFT brothers and sisters in other divisions—faculty and professionals in colleges, teachers in K-12, healthcare workers and public employees.

Over the next few issues, you’ll see some new features in the Reporter. We don’t want you to miss important news and columns that appear in American Teacher, so we’ll have regular news about education, periodic columns such as Where We Stand, classroom resources and more. We’ll also be introducing new columns, such as a spotlight on individual PSRP affiliates.

We have a lot to learn from each other, and this publication is our way to share those stories. Enjoy your first issue of the “new” Reporter. I look forward to your comments.

In unity,

Lorretta Johnson
Chair, AFT PSRP Program and Policy Council