We are excited that you are interested in the Hamilton County Education Association (HCEA). Association membership brings worthwhile support and myriad benefits for members. Here’s how!
You are a Professional, and should belong to your Professional Association
Doctors belong to the American Medical Association. Lawyers? They are represented by the American Bar Association. As professional teachers, our association operates at three different levels: HCEA (local), Tennessee Education Association (TEA; state), and the National Education Association (NEA; national).
Support at ALL Levels
Membership in HCEA also includes membership in TEA and NEA.
- Local Officers & Association Representatives (ARs) – These people are in our community, working in schools to support all HCEA members
- UniServ Contact representing TEA and working on behalf of HCEA: Rhonda Jett – If you need help in your building today, she will step up!!
- State-Level Professional Advocacy – TEA maintains a dedicated help hotline, government relations specialists, and instructional advocacy support
- National-Level Advocacy – Liability insurance, lobbyists in Washington, DC promoting and defending education and social justice
In Tennessee, we negotiate through PECCA to create the Memorandum of Understanding
The MOU is the document that details out educator responsibilities. It is incredibly important to have a voice at the table when it comes to negotiating our rights and responsibilities. Here in Hamilton County, the PECCA team is comprised of 7 members from the Hamilton County Department of Education system, 6 HCEA members, and 1 non-HCEA education professional.
Member Benefits
- High-Quality Professional Development through TEA (most recently the Fall Teaching & Learning Symposium, offered virtually November 6-7, 2020) and via NEA Micro-Credentials
- Legal Representation through TEA – When a TEA attorney is assigned, association members incur no out-of-pocket costs for up to $1,000,000 of liability coverage in the case of lawsuit due to professional or association duty
- Student Loan Debt Assistance
- Two FREE legal consultations with a TEA Referral Attorney twice a year
- FREE life insurance policy, as well as special rates on insurance and loans through NEA
- FREE access to a local retirement specialist, Cliff Gould with NEA Security Benefits
- MyDeals app access, which gives discounts on anything from food to tire rotations with local (and national) businesses
- TEA ACCESS Member Benefits, which as of this post has discounts for Sonic, Pizza Hut, and Jiffy Lube (among many others)
- NEA Member Benefits access, which has discounts for major purchases (electronics, appliances) as well as travel discounts for members
- In addition to all of that, new members get a $50 rebate courtesy of TEA
Join Today!
You can join online, via the TEA/NEA portal. This method allows you to enter all information electronically and be signed up immediately.
You can also join by completing our local application. It is available as a PDF (below). You can complete it on your computer and email it to Cindy Atterton, our Office Manager. Or, you can print it, fill it out, and pony it to the HCEA Office.
If you need assistance with joining, feel free to reach out via this form! A member organizer will be in contact to help you in any way that we can.
