Welcome to the LSSA Homepage

LSSA Leadership

President:      Pamela Elliott                        Email: pamela.elliott@lakotaonline.com
Vice President: Robin Powers                   Email: robin.powers@lakotaonline.com
Treasurer: Holly Vonderhaar                     Email: hollyvonderhaar@gmail.com
Secretary:  Kristine Wasnesky                   Email: kristine.wasnesky@lakotaonline.com
Membership Chair: Karen Gantzer         Email: Gantzmaz@gmail.com


 

We want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for your dedication and commitment to the Lakota Support Staff Association. Your continued support plays a vital role in our shared mission to serve Lakota's staff and students, and we truly appreciate all that you do.

As your leadership team, we are here to support you. If you have any contract-related concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Pamela. Robin Powers, your LSSA Vice President, we are always working to respond to members' questions and concerns within 24 hours.

For scholarship-related questions, Holly is your go-to resource. Karen is available to assist with any membership concerns, and Kristine, our secretary, helps ensure our communication and organization stay strong.

Looking ahead, our main focus this year will be on negotiations. We understand that negotiation years can be stressful, but please know that we are committed to advocating for your best interests every step of the way.

Your LSSA leadership team is here for you — united, focused, and ready to serve.

In Solidarity,
Your LSSA Leadership Team

 


 

 


 

 

 


 

Mark Your Calendar!!!

General Member Meetings (ALL MEMBERS WELCOME)

September 17, 2025 - LSSA All Member & Representative Meeting Lakota West High School Hub 5:00p-6:00p

November 12, 2025 - LSSA All Member & Representative Meeting Lakota West High School Hub 5:00-6:00p

January 21, 2026 - LSSA All Member & Representative Meeting Lakota West High School Hub 5:00p-6:00p

March 11,  2026 - LSSA All Member & Representative Meeting Lakota West High School Hub 5:00p-6:00p

May 13,  2026- LSSA Election 3:30p-5:00p -All Member & Representative Meeting Following Contract Vote  Lakota West High School Hub 5:00p-6:00p

 

 Member Scholarship Due Dates

Spring 2026 Semester Application Due - Monday, November 24, 2025

Summer 2026 Semester Application Due - Monday, March 2, 2026

Fall 2026 Semester Application Due - Monday, May 4, 2026

Email Holly.Vonderhaar@Lakotaonline.com

 

 

Senior Scholarship Due Dates

Senior Scholarship Application Due - Monday, March 2, 2026

The application can be found on the LSSA website. Submit to Holly.Vonderhaar@lakotaonline.com or pony to Heritage ECS Attn: Holly Vonderhaar

 

Your LSSA Leadership Team is working to improve how we communicate with you — especially during contract negotiations. To ensure that all members receive timely, accurate, and secure updates, we will be using Constant Contact as our exclusive platform for sending out all negotiation-related communications.

This means:

  • All negotiation updates will be sent only to personal email addresses via Constant Contact.

  • Lakota email (Lakota Forum) will not be used for these communications to protect the privacy and confidentiality of union matters.

  • If you’ve already provided a personal email address, it will soon be added to the Constant Contact system.

  • If you have not yet provided a personal email address, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible. Without it, you may not receive critical updates regarding contract negotiations and other union matters.

Please rest assured: Personal email addresses will be used exclusively for LSSA communications and will not be shared or distributed outside of the union.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we transition to this new and more secure way of keeping you informed. Our goal is to ensure that every member remains connected and engaged during this important time.

In solidarity,
Your LSSA Leadership Team

 

 


 

LSSA Members Meeting Need to Knows

We highly encourage all members and building representatives to join us for all LSSA meetings.  This is a great time to talk to your LSSA Leadership team about any concerns you may have.

All building representatives in attendance will receive a $25 gift card upon arrival. Please sign in with Holly upon arrival to meetings.

All members will be placed into a drawing to receive a $25 gift card at the end of the meeting, again please sign in upon arrival to be entered into drawing.

Meetings typically last an hour!

 


 

LSSA Negotiations Communications

Please use this link to provide the LSSA Exec Team with your personal email addresses.

The LSSA leadership team is working on a better way of communicating with members when it comes time for negotiations correspondences. We will be using a forum that will only send information to your personal email addresses. Emails that you have already provided us with will be entered into this forum soon. If we do not have a personal email address on file you may risk not receiving important contract/negotiation updates. We will NOT use Lakota Forum for all negotiations updates. We are only using emails provided for LSSA communications. Emails will not be distributed outside of LSSA use.

Thank you for your patience as we navigate through this new forum of negotiations communications!

 


 

LSSA Building Representative Opportunities

Are you interested in becoming an LSSA Leader at your building???

We have several buildings that currently do not have an LSSA Building Representative. Here is your opportunity to step up and help guide/inform your members. Buildings that are in need a Representative are at Endeavor,  VanGorden(temporary)  and Wyandot. If you are interested in becoming your building representative please feel free to reach out to Pamela at pamela.elliott@lakotaonline.com

We will walk you through the expectations of a building rep. We will be with you every step of the way.

Below is a brief description outlining the expectations of a building rep. Please do not hesitate to reach out for further assistance.

Building Rep Letter


 

Reasons to Join

Lakota School Support Association

Together as One WE are stronger

 

 

 

 

Information from the OEA President

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Do’s and Don’ts for Educators From The OEA Website

Whether you’re just considering becoming involved with social media or you’ve already established an identity on one or multiple sites, you need to use these channels wisely. OEA has developed the following guidelines on using social media to help protect yourself both personally and professionally.

  1. DO: Know the privacy settings of every channel you use and keep abreast of any changes to them (see Additional Resources). You have to decide for yourself what level of privacy is right for you, however OEA recommends sharing only with people you know personally. For instance, on Twitter we recommend blocking your tweets so only individuals you approve can see them. Taking just a few minutes to establish strict online settings will go a long way toward keeping what you post restricted. Additionally, try to be “anonymous” whenever possible. Don’t include information that could put your identity at risk.
  2. DO: Understand that there’s no such thing as a truly “private” post. Once you publish something through social media, you lose a degree of control over your message. Even if you set your privacy settings appropriately, to be shared only with people you know, your posts can still be captured via screenshot, printed, or copied and pasted into an email and shared beyond your intended audience.
  3. DO: Understand the limits of your First Amendment rights. Free speech rights are fairly limited for educators: their speech is protected only if they speak out as citizens on “matters of public concern” and their speech doesn’t disrupt the school. So matters of personal concern, e.g. social activities, partying, personal gripes, etc., are not protected. Tenured teachers have far greater job security than probationary teachers — they can’t be fired except for “just cause” — but it’s not the First Amendment that protects them.
  4. DO: Learn The Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators.
  5. DO: Find out if your school or district has an Acceptable Use Policy for the Internet and/or social media. Make sure everything you do online is in keeping with these and other pertinent policies, as well as state and federal laws and regulations. You will be held responsible for what you post both by your school and legal entities. If your school doesn’t have an official policy, take this opportunity to help develop one.
  6. DO: Keep work and play separate. Regardless of your school or district’s policy, never use school property for personal communications. Do not log onto your email on the school’s computer. Do not bring your laptop to school and access the school’s network. Never access your personal email or send texts on your mobile device using the school’s Wi-Fi. Also keep a clear distinction between your personal and professional identities online. Don’t friend students, parents, and people you only know professionally, or otherwise connect with them through your personal account. If you want to use social media professionally, create a separate account for this and maintain appropriate boundaries and language at all times. Alternatively, you could use a social network specifically designed for connecting professionally.
  7. DO: Monitor your own internet presence, so you’re aware of content posted by others about you or content posted by an imposter posing as you. Create a Google alert to notify you when anything about you has been posted. Monitor comments that are posted to your page and your friends’ photographs. Delete inappropriate language or content. If someone “tags” you in an inappropriate photograph, remove the tag and ask the friend to take the photo down.
  8. DO: Contact OEA if you have any questions. If you’re about to publish something that makes you even the slightest bit uncomfortable, feel free to discuss it with your Labor Relations Consultant.
  9. DON’T post profanity, obscenity or anything that depicts you in an unfavorable light, including, but certainly not limited to, any images with you drinking, using drugs, in questionable settings, with disreputable companions, in inappropriate attire, or engaging in illegal activities.
  10. DON’T vent online. Under no circumstances should you ever tell stories about work that include personally identifiable details, such as full names, job titles, addresses, phone numbers, pay, or other information protected by state and federal privacy laws. Even eliminating any specific information about your situation and/or presenting it as a hypothetical puts you at risk.
  11. DON’T post anything related to a student, no matter how harmless you think it is. Never counsel a student online.
  12. DON’T accept an online relationship with anyone who you do not know offline. This is true for everyone, not just educators. Don’t assume Facebook friends of your friends are safe.
  13. DON’T join groups that may be considered unprofessional or inappropriate, and leave any such group of which you are already a member.

Additional Resources

Facebook Privacy Settings and Tools: https://www.facebook.com/about/basics
Twitter Support: https://support.twitter.com
YouTube Help Center: https://support.google.com/youtube
Pinterest Help Center: https://help.pinterest.com
Help for Flickr: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/flickr
How to Create Social Media Guidelines for Your School: http://bit.ly/Lx3bJV
Online Database of Social Media Policies: http://bit.ly/KPYOJA
Download these guidelines.

Here is a link to this information on the OEA website.

OEA New Education Support Professional (ESP) Guide.

LSSA Calendar

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