The Alabama Education Association: A History of Advocacy and Excellence
The Alabama Education Association (AEA) stands as the largest education association in Alabama, a powerful voice representing public school employees across the state. Based in Montgomery, the state capital, the AEA has a rich history intertwined with the evolution of education in Alabama. Its mission is to champion education excellence, serving as an advocate for its members and leading the charge for equitable, quality public education for Alabama's diverse student population.
Origins in a Divided System
The AEA's story begins in the aftermath of the Civil War, during the Reconstruction era. As a condition for re-entry into the Union, Alabama was required to draft a new constitution. The 1868 constitution included a provision mandating separate schools for white and colored children, effectively establishing a "separate but equal" system. This segregation led to the formation of two distinct professional organizations: the Alabama Education Association, representing teachers in white schools, and the Alabama State Teachers Association (ASTA), representing teachers in non-white schools. In the early years, AEA consisted of only white education employees (20,000) and the Alabama State Teachers Association (ASTA) consisted of black education employees (10,000).
The 1969 Merger: A Turning Point
A pivotal moment in the AEA's history arrived in 1969 when the Alabama Education Association and the Alabama State Teachers Association merged. This unification created a stronger, more politically engaged association of approximately 30,000 members. Paul R. Hubbert, formerly superintendent of the city schools in Troy, Pike County, was hired only months before the merger, and Joe Reed, who had served two years as ASTA executive director, were instrumental in leading the newly merged organization. Together, they forged a partnership that continued until their mutual retirement in 2011. In the new organization, Reed became AEA's associate executive secretary.
Hubbert and Reed: A Legacy of Leadership
Hubbert, who led the organization from 1969 until 2011, was often characterized as the "real governor" of Alabama for his ability to deliver pay raises, health-care benefits, and a generous pension program for Alabama's public education system personnel. Hubbert and Reed earned the confidence of AEA members early on when they resisted powerful governor George Wallace in his attempt to divert funds from the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) of Alabama and the Education Trust Fund (ETF) in 1971 to pay for improvements in the state's substandard mental health system. Despite Wallace's seeming near total control of the decision-making process in the body, he was defeated in his efforts to divert these funds by a massive grassroots effort orchestrated by AEA. The Education Trust Fund has grown at a much higher rate than the General Fund, which funds most of the rest of the state government. Yet, for many years, no serious effort has been made to divert monies from traditional sources of education funding for other purposes because AEA defeated Wallace's efforts at a time when he was at the peak of his political influence.
AEA's Mission and Services
AEA's mission is to promote education excellence. To achieve this, the AEA provides a range of services and benefits to its members, including:
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- Legal Assistance: AEA's Legal Department and its statewide system of network attorneys stand as the hallmark of protection for members of AEA.
- Professional Development: AEA offers professional learning opportunities to help educators enhance their skills and knowledge.
- Member Benefits: AEA members have access to various benefits, including discounts at over 300,000 locations through the ACCESS logo program.
- Advocacy: The AEA serves as a strong voice for education in the Alabama Legislature, advocating for policies that support educators and students. UniServ Directors provide on-site professional services and support to AEA members and local associations.
AEA's Role in Alabama Politics
Since the 1970s, AEA has been one of the most formidable interest groups in Alabama state politics. Another key factor of AEA's development into an influential organization is that it has done an outstanding job of expanding its membership. Whereas 30,000 was an impressive membership total in 1969, AEA continued to grow its membership such that it exceeded 100,000 members by around 2010. Toward the end of that decade, AEA stopped revealing its total membership, which suggests a decline from its peak of a decade ago. But even with reduced membership, it is still one of Alabama's largest membership associations and commits a large portion of its human and financial resources to influencing Alabama's public policy process. The size of AEA indicates the confidence that teachers and other school personnel have in the organization to represent their interests. The overall membership numbers are impressive as AEA members cannot be members of AEA alone, but also must join the National Education Association (NEA) to be a member in good standing with AEA.
As with most interest groups with an active public policy agenda, AEA has an affiliated political action committee, A-Vote, that enables AEA to be one of the largest electoral campaign contributors in Alabama. Traditionally, AEA provided a far larger portion of A-Vote funds to Democratic Party candidates for legislative office than for Republican legislative candidates. Since a disastrous 2014 election cycle in which AEA contributed approximately $12 million and only seven candidates it supported were able to win or keep a legislative seat, AEA has accepted that Republicans are in full control of the Alabama Legislature and has shifted more and more of its A-Vote funds to Republican candidates. With most legislative seats firmly in control of the Republican Party, AEA has strategically funneled contributions into Republican primary contests to attempt to influence the election of legislators who are more likely to be disposed to supporting its public policy agenda. For the 2018 election cycle, approximately 60 percent of AEA campaign contributions went to Republicans, many of whom will assume key positions of leadership beginning in 2019 for the legislative quadrennium. Having financially assisted a large number of Republican office holders in the 2018 elections, AEA has likely ensured access to the legislative process at a level that it has not experienced for eight years, since the Republican Party gained supermajority status in both legislative chambers.
Challenges and Future Directions
Until the 2011 session, AEA was able to win most of its legislative battles. Since that time, AEA has been on the defensive and has suffered defeats that were unthinkable a few short years ago, when legislators loyal to the organization were easily able to defend its turf. Among the "new order" policies and programs that AEA has had to accept are authorization for the establishment of charter schools, new rules that make for less generous retirement benefits for teachers and support personnel, the end of the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP), and the enactment of the Alabama Accountability Act.
Finally, AEA's largest challenge has been its inability to transition to long-term, effective leadership since the retirements of Paul Hubbert and Joe Reed. Since 2011, the organization has had three short-term leaders, with its most recent executive secretary having resigned in October 2018 to take a comparable position in Virginia.
Despite these challenges, the AEA remains a vital force in Alabama education. As the voice of Alabama's education employees, the AEA continues to advocate for the needs of its members and the students they serve. The AEA Insider, a digital newsletter, keeps members informed on advocacy efforts, upcoming events, professional learning, member benefits, and so much more! The AEA's strength depends on the collaborative efforts of members and staff.
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Current Initiatives and Focus
The AEA is actively involved in addressing current issues facing Alabama's education system. Some of the key areas of focus include:
- Addressing the Educator Shortage: The AEA recognizes the growing educator shortage and is working to find solutions to attract and retain qualified teachers and support staff. Mathis acknowledged that education is no longer the field where college students are encouraged to seek careers. âEducation has become a harder field, not just in the mindset of the pay, but what all they have to deal with,â Mathis said. âPrior to the Covid-19 pandemic, many teachers were not prepared for the technology realm, let alone prepared to incorporate it into classrooms. Now we are two years in and we are now experiencing âteacher burn-out,â Mathis stated. âWe have to continue to build educators up to retain them so our children will get the best education.â
- Advocating for Fair Compensation and Benefits: The AEA continues to fight for competitive salaries and benefits for educators, recognizing the importance of attracting and retaining talented professionals. AEA is responsible for the recent salary increase Alabama educators will receive October 1. Mathis expressed, âWe have been in constant communication with legislators regarding this issue over the years and although itâs still not where we want it to be, it is a great help for educators in Huntsville City and throughout Alabama.
- Promoting Professional Growth: The AEA offers a variety of professional learning opportunities to help educators enhance their skills and knowledge. Take advantage of your AEA membership by investing in your professional growth! With AEA, you have exclusive access to professional learning opportunities at little to no cost. AEA members are dedicating their weekend in Opelika to engaging professional growth at the ACT Professional Learning Conference!Educators are learning essential strategies such as mental health, navigating the path to National Board Certification, and tackling student learning head-on.
- Supporting Student Success: The AEA is committed to ensuring that all students have access to a high-quality education.
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