Our DKG International Constitution gives us some guidelines about membership:
1. Membership in The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International shall be by invitation. A member inducted into the Society becomes a member of the international Society in addition to a state organization and/or a chapter.
2. An individual becomes a member of the Society when she pays her dues.
1. An active member shall be a woman who is or has been employed as a professional educator at the time of her election. An active member shall participate in the activities of the Society.
So, what does that mean? A member should be a woman who is a professional who is or has been an educator at the time of her election. Educators can be found in traditional as well as in non-traditional places. You might ask yourself, “is this person’s primary focus on being an educator”? For example, a firefighter’s primary focus would be putting out fires and saving lives. However, there may be a woman who is a firefighter, and her job is to do fire safety programs for children. She could be a prospective DKG member. Another example is a doctor. If she is teaching students, then she could be a prospective DKG member. If the doctor is seeing patients only, then diagnosing and making them well is her focus. School administrators and counselors can easily be overlooked for membership as they might not be teaching now. Check to see if they were an educator at some point as many begin in the classroom. Remember that being a member of DKG is an honor for a woman who is or has been employed as a professional educator at the time of her election.
Perhaps the chapter membership committee might like to present a program on possible places to look for members and if they qualify. Brainstorm and create a list of possible educators. Then ask, do these ladies qualify for membership? What do you think? What would your chapter think? Is their primary focus on being an educator?
2. Reserve membership shall be granted only to a member who is unable to participate fully in the activities of the chapter because of physical disability and/or geographic location.
a. Reserve status shall be granted by a majority vote of the chapter.
b. A reserve member, so requesting, shall be restored to active membership.
3. An honorary member shall be a woman not eligible for active membership who has rendered notable service to education or to women and is elected to honorary membership in recognition of such service.
4. Collegiate members shall be undergraduate or graduate students who meet the following criteria:
a. Undergraduate student collegiate members shall
(1) be enrolled in an institution offering an education degree and have the intent to continue academically and professionally in the field of education; and
(2) be enrolled within the last two years of their undergraduate education degree.
b. Graduate student collegiate members shall have graduate standing in an institution offering an education degree and have the intent to continue academically and professionally in the field of education. When a collegiate member starts her career as a paid educator, she will pay active member dues and become an active member. If a collegiate member does not pursue a career as an educator, her membership will expire upon graduation or withdrawal from the education degree program.
One of the main considerations is for your chapter to be open to different possibilities of educators. This is a chapter decision. Each chapter has the right to their own viewpoint of who they invite to membership based on our governing documents. When your chapter begins venturing out of your comfort zone, it is important that all members welcome the new member and embrace her as an educator. If you are in a very traditional chapter begin with the discussion of what areas of education your members might be willing to invite for membership. Remember we are not limited by our Constitution but by our members.
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