Amber Chandler poses with others at the 2023 AFT TEACH Conference.
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April 30, 2025
Discover why AFT TEACH is Amber Chandler’s favorite conference—offering unbeatable professional development, meaningful in-person connections, and sessions that empower educators, all in a vibrant, union-strong atmosphere. Don’t miss out on early bird savings and the chance to recharge with fellow educators from across the country!
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My favorite conference is coming up, and I want to share with you some reasons why you might want to attend. TEACH 2025 is going to be amazing—like all the TEACH conferences I have attended. It’s a complicated time to be an educator, paraprofessional, or school staff member, and the AFT has our back. I couldn’t narrow it down to just one reason to attend, so here are my top five (as well as a shameless plug to sign up for my session):
This can’t be emphasized enough: TEACH is the best bang for your buck. The access you have to high-quality professional development in a collegial atmosphere is impressive. However, the “early bird rates” (through May 28) are unbelievable. Register here ASAP!
I’m working on a new book about post-pandemic education, and in the first chapter, I set the scene, describing March 2020. It gave me anxiety just to write about the things we endured during the pandemic. Although we found ways to educate our students, professional development was hard to come by. Luckily, the AFT has great virtual conferences (check out Share My Lesson 2025 here; watch my session here for tips and tricks to be efficient). The convenience of “PD in your PJs” is great, of course, but truth be told, nothing really beats face-to-face meetings. We missed each other so much! There’s something magical about being present together with thousands of people who are in the same storm as you are. From the official moments, like the sessions, to those serendipitous conversations in the hallways and at lunch, there really is something special about this experience.
From “Active Allyship for LGBTQIA+ Educators and Students” to “Reclaiming Assessment Practices” to “Thinking Mathematics: Engaging Math Strategies and Games for the K-5 Classroom” to “Engaging with Paper: Making Mini-Escape Rooms as an Assessment Tool” to “Harnessing AI for Equity in Public Education,” there are timely topics for everyone. There’s plenty of time to fit in a variety of workshops on the topics educators and paraprofessionals need right now.
Shameless plug time. I’d love to meet you in person (yeah!) for my session on content creation and digital portfolios. This workshop helps you harness your students’ beliefs that they are one step away from being an influencer! You don’t need high-tech skills or any specific platform—just a desire to tap into your students’ interests and talents. Read about “Content Creation in the Classroom: Digital Portfolios” here, and sign up when you register.
The first time I went to TEACH, I was marginally “union-y.” I was in our union, but I was by no means a leader. I remember going to some sessions that were focused on union topics, and I was intrigued that there were so many ways to be an active union member. I’ve now been president of my union for eight years, and I encourage you to sign up for some “union-y” workshops—either to get your feet wet or to help you keep treading water during the turmoil in education. There aren’t more critical topics right now than those that help us prepare for our union roles. For example, “Defending Immigrant Students Against Deportation” and “From Engagement to Action: Building Union Capacity with Professional Learning” are just two of the sessions that will help you step into your “union-y” side.
If you’re not yet a member, consider joining:
Join your local union, or become an AFT associate member for as low as $70 a year and access member-only benefits. For $132 a year, and AFT associate membership gives you member-only benefits plus $1 million in occupation liability insurance and up to $10,000 in legal defense protection. Become a member here.
If you are a student teacher or are enrolled in a teacher-training program of any sort and would like to join the AFT, please complete this form, and our staff will be in touch with you shortly.
Ever met someone in real life who you follow on X or Instagram? Do you have a friend who you met on an elevator heading to your next session? Have you found whole new avenues of professional development by learning from workshop presenters? All of these are things that have happened to me as a result of attending TEACH. The most important reason to attend TEACH is the people, of course. We all know that education can be a siloed and lonely profession; we need to fill our cups with these important interactions so that we can return to our classrooms next fall energized and informed.
I love to meet new people, and it is very gratifying to make new connections that keep me inspired. I love sharing my ideas about education, but it is crucial that I have these amazing experiences and learn from all kinds of practitioners, which is exactly why you’ll see me at TEACH 2025. I hope to see you there. Don’t be shy—say hello!
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