Join CEA Today
You belong in CEA!
CEA is the union for educators in Connecticut. By standing strong together, our members impact meaningful change for students and the teaching profession.
CEA members create meaningful change for educators, students, and communities.
CEA ensures the voices of educators are actually heard. Together we have successfully fought back against legislation that would hurt Connecticut’s public schools and have helped pass important legislation guaranteeing half-hour uninterrupted lunch for educators, increasing the starting age for students entering kindergarten, bringing play back into the early grades, improving teachers’ working conditions, and so much more. We can have an even stronger voice when you join us today.
CEA pushes for strong protections and sound education policy so that we can concentrate our attention where it matters most: on our students and their future.”
Marquis Johnson, Glastonbury teacher
Together, We Make a Difference
Becoming a member of the Connecticut Education Association connects you with educators from across the state, supporting each other and advocating for the teaching profession. Our union advocates for the funding and resources that you, your schools, and your students deserve.
Work & Wins
- Putting duty-free lunch back on the menu: We secured passage of a guaranteed 30-minute duty-free lunch break for educators. The year after it was passed, we fought back attempts to take this guarantee away.
- Setting students up to succeed: We advocated for a new law establishing a kindergarten start age of five years by September 1, ensuring children are developmentally ready for the academic and social emotional requirements of an elementary school classroom.
- Bringing joy and fun back to teaching and learning: We fought for mandatory play-based learning in preK and kindergarten, which is essential to children’s healthy cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development.
- Goodbye to teacher evaluation ratings that focus on compliance and don’t help educators grow and learn: We eliminated mandatory performance ratings in teacher evaluations and created new guidelines that focus on growth and allow teachers a voice in their evaluation and professional development.
- Keeping classrooms healthy and safe: We secured essential funding to improve HVAC systems, classroom safety protocols, and indoor air quality standards to ensure schools are healthy places to learn and teach.
- Return to good faith reporting: CEA fought to reform mandated reporter laws, reinstating commonsense good faith reporting and putting an end to forced overreporting that overwhelmed the child protective services system and damaged school-family relationships.
- Stopping voucher schemes in their tracks: We successfully fought back against anti-public education and anti-union forces and their voucher tax schemes that would have sent public funds to private schools.
- Find out more about our victories and what we’re fighting for in our legislative agenda.
Benefits
- Being part of the collective voice advocating for increased pay and benefits and better working conditions.
- Protecting and enhancing educator rights and offering guidance, advice, and legal representation on workplace matters.
- Providing members with a wealth of high-quality training designed to improve teaching practices and enhance student learning.
- Support and resources to guide you through the teacher evaluation and certification process.
- Networking opportunities that offer support, experience, and resources to help you in your classroom and career.
- Joining forces to move the issues that matter most to you and that affect your students’ lives.
- Providing all eligible association members with professional liability insurance.
- Improving your buying power and saving money with CEA and NEA’s Member Benefits programs.
“Because of our union, I don’t have to worry about paying for medical emergencies. We have strong contracts that provide us with good healthcare and benefits.”
Beth Foulds, Falls Village teacher
WE STAND TOGETHER
Now is the time to stand together and be heard anywhere decisions about education are made. Now is the time to join our union. There is a place for you here with the state’s largest association of public school teachers. We all have a part to play in the movement.
We empower teachers so that they can excel at educating students. CEA champions competitive salaries and benefits, well-resourced classrooms, and safe, healthy schools to attract and retain the best teachers. We support our members with expert representation.
As Connecticut’s strongest union of certified educators, CEA makes the biggest difference in the lives of our teachers, the success of our students, and the quality of our public education.
Who Can Join CEA?
Any person who holds a certificate or Durational Shortage Area Permit issued by the State Department of Education and is employed in a position within the teachers’ union or a combined teachers’ administrators’ unit is eligible to join CEA as an active member with full privileges of membership.
“Because of our union, our pension has grown stronger since I first began teaching nearly two decades ago. Thanks to CEA, I know my pension will be there when I need it.”
Blaise Messinger, Cromwell teacher
Membership Types
CEA members are as diverse as the students we represent but united in our purpose: championing justice and excellence in public education. CEA members can belong to the movement in every phase of their career!
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Aspiring Educators
CEA’s Aspiring Educators Program is for college students pursuing careers as educators.
Active Education Professionals
Active education professionals include educators, school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other certified educators in our K-12 public schools.
Retired Professionals
Public school educators who have retired can continue their advocacy and association benefits as members of CEA-Retired and NEA-Retired.
Together we’re stronger. Together we’re heard.
You belong in the movement. Join today to be part of a group of educators advocating for the pay and working conditions we all deserve.
Stay Informed.
We’ll come to you.
We’re here to help you succeed in your career, advocate for public school students, and stay up-to-date on the latest education news. Sign up to receive important news and updates.