Made possible by the NEA Public Schools Grant.
Working Conditions Listening Tour
An educator’s working conditions are a student’s learning environment. With this guiding premise, we have embarked on creating a comprehensive tool to analyze a district’s working conditions. Local associations partner with their district to collect quantitative and qualitative data from an external evaluator, who then generates a report with recommendations for improvement.
The second report of the new WCLT Program has been released. This program is made possible by the NEA Great Public Schools (GPS) Grant.
- Pattonville Working Conditions Report (Fall 2024)
- Columbia Public Schools Working Conditions Report (Spring 2025)
In addition to the reports that your district receives from external evaluators, your local also gets a personalized, curated Action Report that fits explicitly to your district’s results. This Action Report includes contract language examples; MNEA and NEA resources, toolkits, and opportunities; and references to endorsed organizations.
We are looking for four schools to partner with for the 2025-2026 school year. Please contact Samantha Hayes, your UniServ Director, or any MNEA Leadership if your local is interested in participating in the next round of pilot schools!
Testimonial
Noelle Gilzow, Columbia MNEA President, sat down with MNEA Director of Professional Policy & Practice Samantha Hayes to describe her experience in partnering with district administration to perform a Working Condition Listening Tour in Columbia Public Schools. Listen to her perspective and experience with implementing WCLT.
National Board Assistance
Missouri NEA provides comprehensive, year-round National Board support for educators who are seeking certification. All 2026 NBC Assistance opportunities from MNEA are listed here, and you can find registration links for all opportunities at mnea.org/nbc.
NBC CANDIDATE BOOST DAYS
Dates (Virtual)
Sat., Feb. 21, 2026
Sat., April 11, 2026
These workdays are for all National Board Certification first-time candidates, advanced candidates, and renewal candidates submitting one or more components during the 2025-2026 school year. The MNEA NBCT Network provides this free opportunity for candidates. Current NBCTs are invited to register to mentor candidates and assist with logistics.
Bring your component work and questions for this workday. Please bring your standards, portfolio instructions, and laptop computer with you. If you are working on Component 3, you can bring the video you are considering for submission. We will also discuss preparing for Component 1.
Get your questions answered and reserve most of the day for personal component work and feedback on one component. As you register, ask questions you want to be addressed during the session.
EXPLORING NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION
Dates (Virtual)
Mon., Jan. 26, 2026
Mon., April 27, 2026
Cost: Free to both MNEA members and non-members.
This 1.5-hour virtual session is free and meant for educators who want more information about the National Board Certification process. You will hear about what it takes to achieve this gold standard of teaching certification, what benefits you may be entitled to as an NBCT; and the support MNEA will provide to help you with the process. Attend this session to experience thinking like a candidate and evaluate if the timing is right for you to begin the process in 2026-2027.
NATIONAL BOARD JUMP START
MNEA National Board Jump Start is a comprehensive seminar designed to provide National Board candidates important information about the certification process, time to examine component and Assessment Center requirements, the opportunity to plan how to meet requirements, and time to collaborate, gather resources and information needed to pursue certification — all in a supportive, constructive, and collegial environment.
This workshop is for first-time, returning, and advanced candidates who plan to submit any components of National Board Certification in the 2026-2027 school year. Find out more about National Board Certification at www.nbpts.org.
Dates: July 13-15, 2026
Location:
Missouri NEA Headquarters
1810 E Elm Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101