The Boyertown Area Education Association (BAEA) is the teacher’s union, comprised of teachers representing all educators in the district. BAEA is a subgroup of the PSEA (Pennsylvania State Education Association), which itself is a subgroup of the National Education Association. 

“Each subgroup is a smaller cog in a machine which ensures that those who are educating our future are being treated justly,” BAEA President Mr. Roth said.

BAEA’s goal is to negotiate working conditions, salary benefits, and to take initiative for teachers. The organization takes part in community events such as the Halloween Parade and Chillin’ on Main Street. BAEA’s responsibility is to tie itself as a community pillar, as believed by the BAEA Leadership.

BAEA’s administration is known as Leadership, comprised of the President and Membership Coordinator. There are also several building representatives; Leadership, combined with the Building Representatives, make up the Representative Council. 

Every position is voted in yearly, and in the case for the Presidential vote, the second place candidate becomes President-Elect and receives the position of President the following year. Becoming a candidate is a matter of taking initiative and fulfilling a duty for the good of the association.

Mr. Roth, the current President for BAEA, is a technology and engineering teacher. He stepped into the position to essentially coordinate everyone within the association. 

“We [BAEA Representative Council] assist teachers with their professional needs,” Mr. Roth said. “Our people focus on internal connections: our teachers, and external connections: taxpayers and the greater community.”

Mr. Roth finds that his conflict as President is juggling his jobs as a teacher and a member of leadership. 

“It feels like two jobs at once,” he said.

Students are also affected by the BAEA. 

“We keep labor peace; teacher needs are met and thus student needs are met,” Mr. Roth said.

Students are the future of the community BAEA seeks to represent, Mr. Roth believes.

 However, the President of BAEA is not the only part of the machine that is BAEA.

Mrs. Dyer is the current Membership Coordinator, the second half of Leadership.

She is tasked with registering teachers into BAEA, PSEA, and NEA as well as tracking dues and what is owed by members to the organization. Her greatest difficulty is “keeping track of the 525 members of the organization,” which makes up over 90% of Boyertown’s district teachers and faculty.

“It feels like working two jobs,” said Mrs. Dyer, who has to focus on teaching world language during the school day, after which she has to focus on her BAEA duties, such as sending out emails and forms to members. 

Mrs. Dyer says the future seems positive for BAEA. 

“There has not been a point in 35 years where it feels like things will not get done,” she said, and there have been never teacher strikes in the district.

So what exactly is BAEA? BAEA is a joint effort to reach fairness and unity for Boyertown’s educators. 

“When confronted with a ‘Wait a minute, what’s this?’ issue, the administration takes action whenever they can,” says Building Representative Mr. Stump.

Their current objective is to reach a new contract with the school district. This contract represents the rights that all teachers receive, and determines their paychecks, their benefits, the future of their livelihood. 

The health and wealth of every teacher is determined by each contract, and further, by BAEA themselves. The educators, mentors, and friends to every student in this school are backed by their fellow educators, and it is through this consideration that BAEA exerts themselves as pillars for education.