Memories of an Original UniServ Director

About the Book

As a UniServ Director for thirty-five years, and one of the original recruits in the program, Kevin Sloan experienced a variety of events that comprised the frustration and elation that went with the development of educator independence in a world fraught with deception and political interference. His account of those experiences and the individuals, with whom he dealt, portrays adventures that rival fiction, but they, according to his subjective memory, are factual. The individuals were real and they were an integral part of the struggle, both in the eastern and the western part of Kentucky, in addition to the eastern part of North Carolina. Sloan dealt with a variety of cultural traditions, which included racism and narrow-mindedness with the focal point being power over others. The pawns in this power struggle were teachers, bus drivers, cooks, secretarial personnel, and janitors, who, without their efforts, the education of children could not take place. The UniServ program throughout the nation and especially in the regions where Kevin Sloan was active, flourished because the “forgotten people in education” had to have an advocate, not politically tied to the school system, but who couldn’t be intimidated by the power brokers who regularly used their political leverage to achieve what they wanted, often at the expense of the children who were supposed to be the focal point of the schools. The struggle had its humorous events, because, without them the frustration would have overcome those who were in the fight. The book portrays the humor and the tragedy, exacerbated by the players on the stage, and, in an almost Shakespearian manner, describes the sacrifices made by those who, for one reason or another, didn’t survive. The old guard Superintendents and those subservient to them, fought to preserve the way they had survived in a mire of corruption and manipulation. The new wave of their successors began to focus on the important aspects of the schools and the emphasis was on the proper preparation of their students to cope with their futures. Kevin Sloan went through the evolution of important events as they occurred, along with the changing technology that created a new paradigm for the UniServ program. At the root of all of this change was the need for advocacy, which pervaded the entire thirty-five years that he spent in Kentucky and North Carolina. Come and join Kevin Sloan in his triumphs and tragedies, the mistakes and the conquests, which made the events described here worth the effort for him. Out of this reading experience, a new understanding of the educational struggles that ensued during the seventies, eighties, nineties, and even into the twenty-first century, will enlighten those who want a better future for their children.

About the Author

Kevin Sloan was born in Bristol, Virginia and spent most of his young life in Ashland, Kentucky. He graduated from Boyd County High School in 1961, the University of Kentucky in 1965 with a Bachelor’s Degree, and Morehead State University in 1968, with a Master’s Degree. He taught in the Boyd County school system for five years. He was hired as a UniServ Director by the Kentucky Education Association and began his UniServ career on September 15, 1970. He was located in eastern Kentucky for sixteen years and in western Kentucky for thirteen years. When he retired from K.E.A. on September 30, 1999, he accepted employment as a UniServ Director by the North Carolina Association of Educators and began on October 15, 1999. He stayed in N.C.A.E.’s employment until he retired on October 1, 2005. Over his thirty-five year career, he defended and advanced the cause of educators. He currently divides his time between his homes in North Carolina and Kentucky, living with his wife, Connie, and son, Michael and writes both fiction and non-fiction books. He has two daughters, Heather and Tiffany, who currently reside in Kentucky. In addition to his children, he has two grandchildren, Eli and Ethan.