Friends, Colleagues and Fellow NUEA Members,

It has been a frightening last 24 hours here in District 203. As you are no doubt aware, a tornado tore through a large portion of the district last night, from about Maplebrook Elementary to Meadow Glens and Ranch View. This event has affected many of our members, our neighbors and our students. It has also affected our neighboring communities of Woodridge and Darien. Thankfully, there has been no loss of life reported as of yet, but the property damage is clearly considerable and lives were altered last night. It is for this reason that we write this short note today.

One of our greatest strengths is our unity. We are an organization whose main purpose is to look out for the welfare of our members and, in so doing, to look out for the welfare of those we teach and for our greater community. Now is a good time to use our primary strength. We have spoken today with a number of our members who were directly affected by last night’s events. And still more of us are aware of colleagues, friends, neighbors and students who may be in need of assistance at this time. Additionally, still more of us are in positions where we can lend a helping hand to those in need.

As a result, we have created THIS DOCUMENT that everyone can edit. If you have a personal need or know someone who does, please list it here with any appropriate contact information.

And if you are able to help, please indicate so and reach out accordingly. It also has options for making general donations of time and material. In this way, we can use our greatest strength to be a source of aid and comfort for our colleagues, our friends and our community.

Thank you all in advance for letting us know of the needs that exist, and for what any of us can do to meet them. In this last year, we have continually proven we can function well in crisis, and that continues into the summer. Thank you for what you have done, what you are doing and what you will continue to do to make our community better. Especially in times of crisis, we are better because of you. Have a wonderful evening, and be well.

-President Dan Iverson