Over 400 teachers attended CEA’s 162nd Representative Assembly this weekend in Cromwell. The Representative Assembly is CEA’s highest policymaking body and is attended by elected teacher delegates from CEA’s local affiliates.
At this year’s Representative Assembly, delegates elected leaders to the positions of treasurer, secretary, and ethnic minority directors at-large.
Jeff Leake Re-Elected Treasurer
Jeff Leake, a Cheshire middle school teacher, has been re-elected to a second three-year term as treasurer. He received 239 votes and Pomperaug teacher Maureen Honan received 200.
Leake, who begins his second term as treasurer August 1, will continue to chair the CEA Finance Committee and work with this committee of CEA members to formulate and monitor the Association’s annual budget. Prior to being elected to his first term as treasurer in 2007, Leake represented New Haven County teachers as a member of the CEA Board of Directors.
A Cheshire teacher for more than 30 years, Leake currently is a technology specialist for the Cheshire Public Schools. He is a member of the Education Association of Cheshire (EAC), and has served in numerous EAC leadership positions over the years, including vice president and president.
In addition to his work on the CEA Finance Committee, Leake also serves on the board of the Connecticut Education Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization formed by CEA to operate several charitable funds. One of the funds aids needy children, another assists teachers who face special financial hardships, and two others provide scholarships to future teachers.
In his district, Leake has served on two technology committees, a strategic goals committee, and math and science curriculum revision committees. He has a special interest in promoting high quality professional development for all teachers.
He resides in Cheshire.
Cheryl Prevost Re-Elected Secretary
Cheryl Prevost, a middle school teacher in East Hartford, was re-elected to a three-year term as secretary. She received 222 votes and Patricia Jordan, a Waterford math teacher, received 215.
As CEA secretary, Prevost oversees the preparation and maintenance of all CEA governing records, policies, meeting minutes, and other pertinent documents.
An education technology teacher at the East Hartford Middle School, Prevost has served as CEA secretary for the past four years. She begins her new term August 1.
Prevost is a member of the East Hartford Education Association (EHEA), and during the past 21 years she served East Hartford teachers in a variety of EHEA leadership roles, including president.
Prevost was appointed CEA secretary in 2006 to fill a vacancy. She was elected to her first three-year term in 2007. Prior to serving as secretary, she represented Hartford County teachers on the CEA Board of Directors for eight years.
In addition to her duties as CEA secretary, Prevost chairs the Connecticut Advisory Council for Teacher Professional Standards, and represents CEA on the Connecticut Commission for Education Technologies. She also serves on the board of directors of the Connecticut Educators Computer Association (CECA) and has been a mentor and cooperating teacher in her district.
Prevost has chaired accreditation committees of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) at her school as well as serving on several NEASC visiting committees throughout New England. NEASC is the regional accrediting association that establishes standards for all levels of education, from pre-k to doctorial.
Prevost resides in Glastonbury.
Edgar Roca, Brenda Key, Linda Lew-Roca Will Fill Minority Director At-Large Positions
Elections also occurred at the CEA Representative Assembly to fill two Ethnic Minority Directors At-Large seats on the CEA Board of Directors for three-year terms. No election was required for the third position for an interim one-year term since it was uncontested.
Edgar Roca, a high school Spanish teacher at Valley Regional High School in Regional School District #4, and Brenda Key, an elementary teacher at Duffy School in West Hartford, received the two highest votes in a three-way race for the two three-year positions. Roca received 362 votes and Key received 232 votes.
Faith Sweeney, an elementary teacher at the Hamilton Avenue School in Greenwich, was also a candidate for one of the three-year positions. She received 224 votes.
Linda Lew-Roca, a teacher at the West Side Middle School in Groton, was uncontested for election to the interim position. She was declared elected by acclamation on Friday evening.
Lew-Roca was appointed by the CEA Board of Directors in January to fill a vacancy as one of the board’s Ethnic Minority Directors At-Large until an election could be held at the CEA RA to fill the remaining year of the three-year term.
The CEA Constitution requires that members of ethnic minorities comprise at least 10 percent of the directors who serve on the CEA Board of Directors. When the percentage falls below 10 percent, additional directors must be elected at the CEA RA to ensure appropriate ethnic minority representation on the CEA Board.
