IOWA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
For Release: April 7, 2008
Contact: Lana Oppenheim Schlapkohl, 515-471-8026

Knoxville math teacher to be next ISEA president

Chris Bern will assume new post in June

Chris Bern, a veteran Knoxville High School math teacher, has been elected president of the nearly 33,000-member Iowa State Education Association (ISEA). He was elected last Friday, April 4, by nearly 400 delegates attending the ISEA annual meeting in Ames.

Bern, who has served as ISEA vice president for the past two years, defeated Jean Seeland, an elementary teacher from Waterloo; and Bruce Jensen, a retired elementary teacher from Moulton-Udell. He will replace current ISEA President Linda Nelson who will return to teach at Carter Lake Elementary School in Council Bluffs next fall after serving two, two-year terms.

Bern began his career teaching junior high math in Woodbine. He moved to Knoxville in 1988 where he has taught at the high school, alternative high school, and middle school levels over the years. Bern has also been an Association activist throughout his career -- first as president and chief negotiator in Woodbine and now in Knoxville where he has held virtually every leadership position including two, two-year terms as president.

A member of the ISEA Executive Board since 2002, Bern spent 11 years on the ISEA Resolutions and New Business Committee and served as its chairperson. In addition, he has been a member of the ISEA-PAC Central Committee since 1994 and has been involved in several political campaigns. On the national level, Bern has been a member of the National Education Association (NEA) Resolutions Committee for the past six years and he is a certified trainer for the NEA's program on school safety and anti-harassment issues.

Bern graduated in 1977 from Buena Vista College in Storm Lake with a degree in mathematics. He will take a leave of absence from his teaching duties to serve a two-year term which begins in June.

In other action, the delegates elected Cedar Rapids teacher Tammy Wawro as vice president. She will also begin serving her two-year term in June.

Note to reporters: Photo available by contacting LOppenheim@isea.org

# # #

The ISEA is a professional association made up of nearly 33,000 educators who are dedicated to promoting and preserving quality public education for all students. Great Education -- It's an Iowa basic!