About

CTA Membership

CTA Membership demonstrates a commitment to work with colleagues to strengthen our profession to ensure the success of every student. Your involvement gives you access to benefits, valuable resources, professional development opportunities, and the power to make positive changes.

CTA Serves

CTA serves as an important community center and as the political voice of all Orange County Public School teachers and instructional personnel. We speak out with a strong, united voice to rise above the voices of those who profit from our professionals and work to silence the voices of the teachers. Your voice joins the voices of over 7,575 members of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, 145,000 members of the Florida Education Association, 1.7 million members in the American Federation of Teachers and 3 million members in the National Educators Association.

CTA Leadership

CTA leadership is committed to working respectfully with the school district, parents, nonprofits, businesses and other unions to build a movement for the public good by supporting and pushing key pro-public education issues that impact every community member and every one of our students. Members advocate for improved pay, learning and teaching conditions in Orange County Public. We know that teachers’ working conditions determine students’ learning conditions. And we believe public education is a foundation of our democracy and educators should be paid a professional wage that is commensurate with that enormous responsibility.

Below is the elected CTA Board of Directors. Please feel free to reach out to the person who represents you. We are here for our members and to ensure the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association remains an integral and successful advocate for you. All Board Members may be reached by emailing orangecta@gmail.com.

Orange County Classroom Teachers Association Board

Clinton McCracken

President

Clinton McCracken has taught with OCPS for 23 years and helped create the arts magnet program at Howard Middle School. He has served on the CTA Bargaining Team for 6 years as well as a CTA Board Member and Chair of several CTA committees. Clinton successfully proposed for the District to add “gender identity and expression” to the OCPS nondiscrimination policy in 2011 and later advocated for the District to designate October as LGBTQ+ History and Awareness Month. Clinton was named the National Magnet Teacher of the Year in 2022 and has submitted Congressional Testimony advocating for the Equality Act. He has been featured in regional, national, and international news outlets advocating for better teacher pay and working conditions, safe and supportive schools, and against attacks on public education. Clinton is a fierce advocate for teachers and students and is honored to be serving as the OCCTA President.

Maira Rivera

Vice President

Maira Rivera serves as the vice president of occta and is also currently a Dean at an Elementary School. Maira has been a member of CTA for 17 years. She has previously been a Kindergarten teacher, MTSS Coordinator, School Staffing Specialist, District Staffing Specialist, and ESE Program Specialist in OCPS. She has an additional 10 years of educational experience in NY where she began her career as a Paraprofessional and then became a teacher in a self-contained EBD classroom.

Ladara Royal

Secretary

Ladara Royal, a proven and zealous leader, experienced urban educator, facilitator, and clinician. In the past, Royal has served as a Secondary Social Studies teacher, Gifted Teacher, District Professional Development Facilitator for 6-12 Social Studies teachers, and now with OCPS, as a High School Dean and Graduation Coach. He has focused his passions on urban educational leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion in public schools, educator activism, and towards the achievement of minority, underrepresented/marginalized, LGBTQ+, and First-Gen students. Royal has served on the OCCTA bargaining team for years, and now serves as the Secretary, the Chairperson for the FCPE committee, and Co-Chair of the Minority Affairs Committee.

Ashley Modesto

Treasurer

Ashley Modesto has been teaching for 8 years. She joined the CTA her first year and has served on multiple committees in addition to being the lead AR at her worksite. She is a proud product of OCPS(Apopka ‘09). It is her belief that there is no better investment than education, and it begins with investing in the educators.

Gretchen Robinson

HS DIrector

Daphne Lewis

HS DIrector

Daphne Lewis has been a member of the bargaining team for 3 years. She is an active member of the union and is a positive voice who believes in advocacy for all teachers and students. Daphne is a former English teacher that has served in many roles during her 24 years with OCPS, and currently is a Dean at Apopka Middle School.

Shane Johnson

MS/K-8 Director

Sheryl Posey

Itinerant Director

Sheryl Posey has been a practicing School Psychologist for 21 years, and has been with OCPS for 6 years. She serves as Itinerant Director on the CTA board, is chair of the Government Relations Committee, has served as secretary for the OCFPE committee, and has served as both an AR and on the Membership Committee. She is a mom of three, two of whom have graduated from OCPS schools. Sheryl is a strong advocate for teachers and students, and believes that educators’ working conditions are the students learning conditions and must be treated as such. She is proud and humbled to be representing our amazing educators on the bargaining team.

Sarah Yelensky

MS/K-8 Director

Sarah Yelensky has been a proud OCCTA member since she began her career with OCPS in 2002. She has served in a variety of roles as an ESE teacher including as a self – contained EBD teacher, Co-teaching middle school ELA and Math classes, Support Facilitator, MTSS Coach, 504 Coordinator, and has additional experience with compliance and staffing. Sarah has supported teachers and students for the last 5 years as an Instructional Coach and is currently at Boone High School.

Erika Altensee

MS/K-8 Director

Bonnie Cox

ES Director

Amy Modesto

ESE Director

Ulysses Floyd

Non-voting Honorary Board Member

Debra Dykes Kornhaus

Non-voting CTA Retired Representative

Juan Santos

Tech Center Director

Juan Santos’s background is in electrical construction and education. Santos is a seasoned electrical instructor of both electrical construction and electrical maintenance with over 25 years of teaching experience. He is currently teaching for Orange County Public Schools and Department Head for the Mechatronics program where he trains his students to be competitive in a tough manufacturing market. He is a licensed electrician, has a Degree in Business, A+, NET+, certifications in computer science, is certified in MSSC CPT, OSHA certified Instructor, and is first aid CPR certified. He is an IBEW Local 606 and CTA Local 7448 member.

Donald Tillman

At Large Director

Hello, my name is Donald Tillman I became a member of CTA as soon as I became an employee of OCPS. I began my education career in 12122012. I have maintained membership since that date, and I have worked on recruitment, served as a site rep at three different schools, served on school improvement teams, and assisted in conflict resolution at various school sites.