This year, I’m excited to step into a new role as president of ATPE. Every new generation begins the same way—new ideas, new opportunities, and new challenges. I hope to offer a new generation of ideas, but I’m also grateful for the guidance of those who have come before me.

Today, we have more generations working and learning on our campuses than ever before, with the most diverse population of educators that has existed throughout the history of our state and nation. With this diversity characterizing our classrooms, ATPE must be able to reach all of our members and potential members in ways that are meaningful, engaging, and useful.

After speaking with members at summit about the year ahead, I developed four ambitious goals for this year:

• Membership: Reach out to new members—those who are new to the profession or just new to ATPE. We need to increase our numbers to guarantee that the high-quality programs and services that you care about most will continue. 

• Engagement: Identify and involve members through collaborative leadership programs, ATPE Connect events, and training. 

• Leadership: Create real and meaningful tools that support our volunteer leaders, and ensure that our leadership roles fit the current needs of our leaders and the association. 

• Communication: Meet members where they live by communicating digitally, succinctly, clearly, and directly. You are the key, and you will be the focus of our publications and our social media stories.

Membership, engagement, leadership, and communication are the lifeblood of our success, and I believe that focusing on these goals will carry us into the next 35 years.

Watch Cory Colby’s video message on ATPE’s YouTube channel.

Cory Colby is the 2015-16 president of ATPE. Colby is an AP and dual credit government and US history teacher at Willis ISD who has been an educator and an ATPE member for eight years.