Dear Fellow Educators,

We hope you are having a peaceful, joyous summer and getting recharged both physically and mentally. You are reading Educators' Quarterly in the first online-only Summer Express edition. This edition will give a brief preview of some topics we'll cover during the upcoming school year. A very large delegation from Perth Amboy attended AFT QuEST 2003 in early July; many EQ selections in 2003-4 will share the learning from a wide range of workshops, as we fanned out to explore interests and get support for our professional and activist duties.

In addition to offering a QuEST preview, a goal of this and every issue of EQ is to encourage the participation of all Federation members. We need stories about your professional growth experiences, both in and out of your buildings. Feel free to submit drafts-- we like to edit! Recent issues have included stories about participants' Federation-sponsored book-study group, two views of the mentor-protege experience, summaries of various staff-development programs, summaries of conference sessions, and more. EQ also suggests useful websites to support your work, and we ask you to share those which you are finding helpful. We aim to cover the interests and subject areas of as many readers as possible, and this publication will continue to improve only with your support. We believe you'll enjoy being published as much as we do!

Gwen Cerasoli, School 10

Jeffrey Hudanish, PAHS

QuEST 2003, Washington, DC, July 10-13

The conference was rich with activities to rejuvenate the activist and professional spirit in everyone who attended. Thirty-two Federation members and four guests from the Board of Education joined plenary sessions with thousands, scores of breakout sessions covering a great many topics, and informal discussions between sessions. We found the keynote speakers enlightening and entertaining, and I spoke with many attendees who are eager to turn-key their new knowledge back in Perth Amboy. Expect info from your colleagues (in person, in EQ, and in Federation Forum)on the following and more: No Child Left Behind and the reading/writing/testing connection, English language learners, dyslexia, teacher quality, paraprofessional training/responsibilities, professional development (especially ER&D and state-of-the-art online options), family involvement, labor-management partnership, early childhood education, subject areas and standards, discipline, inclusion, supporting novice teachers.

QuEST always provides a resource center with an AFT store, so expect colleagues to share some of the latest AFT pamphlets and the newest books on American education. By the way, although we spent most of our time working, there was downtime, too! Here the group relaxes after a long day of workshops.

G. Cerasoli