Like the names of most Akron teachers, these names are familiar to thousands of Akron Public School graduates whose lives they have touched but, in the case of these teachers, their influence reached far beyond their classrooms.

These were the teachers who formed the Akron Education Association, set its goals, and guided its early years.

A generation ahead of their time, these Akron teachers were among the first to demand that women be paid the same as men. In 1947 teacher salaries were determined individually. As a result, most women teachers earned less than the men. A single salary schedule was one of the first goals accomplished by the Association.

AEA leaders also prodded the district into improving its economic well-being. When the Association was formed, Akron lagged behind other Ohio cities in support for its schools. AEA's early leaders lobbied hard for a school levy that would move Akron off the bottom of the list of tax support among Ohio's large city school districts.

The result was a decade of construction. Temporary wooden barracks that had served as classrooms around the city were destroyed. New schools were built, additions were constructed, and facilities were renovated. Through the AEA, teachers continued to challenge the schools and the community to provide conditions where every child could have a fair chance to succeed. But the association was as much of a booster as a critic, and the opinions of the leadership were regularly sought by members of the school board and administration.

Soon after the Association marked its first decade, the newspaper reported that Akron School Superintendent Martin Essex "believes a strong teachers' association, such as the AEA, is good for education and the best instrument in protecting a teacher's interests." Akron teachers agreed. A 1962 news story reported that 98 percent of Akron teachers belonged to the Association.

The leaders who followed continued the policies of challenge and progress. The AEA leads the fight for paid hospitalization for teachers. When it was ruled that public employers could not legally pay for benefits for dependents of public employees, the AEA won a precedent-setting lawsuit that made dependent benefits possible for thousands of Ohio public employees.

The 1970's also marked a major change for the Association itself. After two earlier attempts had failed, members voted to drop out of the Ohio and National Education Associations and become an independent organization. Today Akron is the only urban school union in the nation to have independent status.

To assist with issues common to other urban school districts and teachers in Ohio, the Association belongs to the Alliance of City Teachers. The Alliance consists of representatives from each of the eight large city school unions.

Activities of the Association today continue to be devoted to the original goals set by the charter members: improved teaching conditions, betterment of student welfare, higher teacher standards, and wages that attract and retain quality teachers.

                                                                     --by Neil Quirk