Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teacher's Strike
Session Abstract or Summary
This panel presentation will feature readings and discussion from the book 55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike. This session will use the power of stories to walk participants through the events leading up to the West Virginia teachers’ strike of 2018 and provide first-hand accounts and experiences from teachers and allies who realized that only through the power of the collective voice and collective action would public employees’ concerns over healthcare and diminished wages be heard by legislators. Participants in this session will hear what moved teachers to leave their classrooms, how they organized, and what they expect moving forward. Panelists will include West Virginia folklorist, author, and co-editor of 55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike, Emily Hilliard, and book contributors and teacher leaders who participated in the 2018 West Virginia public employee work stoppage: Jay O’Neal, Emily Comer, Jacob Staggars, Erin Marks, Mark Salfia, and Karla Hilliard. The book and panel will be introduced by co-editor of the book, West Virginia teacher and writer, Jessica Salfia. Teacher panelists will introduce their selections, read, and discuss their experiences before, during, and after the West Virginia public employee work stoppage. Emily Hilliard will discuss her work during the work stoppage documenting the stories and interviews from rallies and picket lines. This session will conclude with an opportunity for the audience to ask questions and discuss with these educators the events of movement that inspired the nation and the world.
Presentation #1 Title
55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers' Strike
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This panel presentation will feature readings and discussion from the book 55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike. This session will use the power of stories to walk participants through the events leading up to the West Virginia teachers’ strike of 2018 and provide first-hand accounts and experiences from teachers and allies who realized that only through the power of the collective voice and collective action would public employees’ concerns over healthcare and diminished wages be heard by legislators. Participants in this session will hear what moved teachers to leave their classrooms, how they organized, and what they expect moving forward. Panelists will include West Virginia folklorist, author, and co-editor of 55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike, Emily Hilliard, and book contributors and teacher leaders who participated in the 2018 West Virginia public employee work stoppage: Jay O’Neal, Emily Comer, Jacob Staggars, Erin Marks, Mark Salfia, and Karla Hilliard. The book and panel will be introduced by co-editor of the book, West Virginia teacher and writer, Jessica Salfia. Teacher panelists will introduce their selections, read, and discuss their experiences before, during, and after the West Virginia public employee work stoppage. Emily Hilliard will discuss her work during the work stoppage documenting the stories and interviews from rallies and picket lines. This session will conclude with an opportunity for the audience to ask questions and discuss with these educators the events of movement that inspired the nation and the world.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Jessica Salfia is a teacher, writer, and activist from West Virginia. She is the co-editor of 55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers' Strike. Her writing has appeared in multiple volumes of the Anthology of Appalachian Writers, the Charleston-Gazette Mail, Belt Magazine, and the West Virginia Council of Teachers of English Best Practices Blog. She currently is a teacher at Spring Mills High School.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Emily Hilliard is a West Virginia-based folklorist and writer. She holds and M.A. in folklore from the University of North Carolina and is a 2018 recipient of the Parsons Fund Award from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Her work has been published by The Bitter Southerner, Ecotone, NPR, Southern Cultures, and West Virginia University Press, among others.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Karla Hilliard is a teacher and writer. She is the Executive Vice President of the West Virginia Council of Teachers of English and an English teacher at Spring Mills High School.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Mark Salfia is an assistant principal at Spring Mills Middle School in Berkeley County, WV.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #5
Jacob Staggars is a teacher at South Morgantown Middle School in Monongalia County, WV.
Erin Marks is an English teacher at Tucker County High School in Tucker County, WV.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #6
Emily Comer is a teacher at South Charleston High School in Kanawha County, WV.
Jay O'Neal is a teacher at Stonewall Jackson Middle School in Kanawha County, WV.
55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers' Strike
This panel presentation will feature readings and discussion from the book 55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike. This session will use the power of stories to walk participants through the events leading up to the West Virginia teachers’ strike of 2018 and provide first-hand accounts and experiences from teachers and allies who realized that only through the power of the collective voice and collective action would public employees’ concerns over healthcare and diminished wages be heard by legislators. Participants in this session will hear what moved teachers to leave their classrooms, how they organized, and what they expect moving forward. Panelists will include West Virginia folklorist, author, and co-editor of 55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike, Emily Hilliard, and book contributors and teacher leaders who participated in the 2018 West Virginia public employee work stoppage: Jay O’Neal, Emily Comer, Jacob Staggars, Erin Marks, Mark Salfia, and Karla Hilliard. The book and panel will be introduced by co-editor of the book, West Virginia teacher and writer, Jessica Salfia. Teacher panelists will introduce their selections, read, and discuss their experiences before, during, and after the West Virginia public employee work stoppage. Emily Hilliard will discuss her work during the work stoppage documenting the stories and interviews from rallies and picket lines. This session will conclude with an opportunity for the audience to ask questions and discuss with these educators the events of movement that inspired the nation and the world.
