NEA Delegates Heading for New Orleans

As the recently reauthorized ESEA law continues to fail in reaching its stated goal, the NEA rolls into its 2003 Annual Meeting, July 1-6, in New Orleans with a strongly-stated theme of its own: "The United States of Education-Great Public Schools for Every Child."

The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center will host the more than 9,000 elected delegates attending the NEA Representative Assembly, the world's largest democratic, deliberative body, which meets July 3-6. The delegates, representing and setting policy for the NEA's 2.7 million members, will focus on several key issues, including ESEA, the problems facing teachers in light of severe state funding cuts, and the strategies available to make public schools great for each and every American child.

Reg Weaver will set the tone for the event when he delivers his first keynote address as NEA president. Addressing the delegates to the opening session of the Representative Assembly on July 3, Weaver will tackle the problems arising from NCLB and rally those in attendance toward the common goal of bettering public education.

Delegates are also invited to a two-session symposium on July 2 that will address the ramifications of ESEA and help members deal with the consequences of the law. The morning session, "ESEA: Early Effects on Students, Members and Schools," will feature speakers Gary Orfield, founding co-director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University; and Jill Morningstar, co-director of Education and Youth Development at the Children's Defense Fund. NEA General Counsel Bob Chanin will highlight the afternoon session, "ESEA: Collective Bargaining and Local Policy Development," by addressing the role of the Association in implementing the legislation.

Other highlights of the Annual Meeting include:

• More than 2000 educators and invited guests will gather to honor an innovative group of community visionaries at NEA's 37th Annual Human and Civil Rights Award dinner on Wednesday, July 2. The dinner, which will be held at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel, will celebrate the work of dedicated educators, public servants, and activists who have sedulously fought to promote justice and dignity for all. Among this year's honorees are two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Hilda Solis and Rep. Bob Filner, both of California; Joseph Brouchac, the famous American Indian author; and Barbara Williams and her student cast and crew from the Newark (Calif.) High School production of The Laramie Project.
  
  
• The late Senator Paul Wellstone, who died tragically last fall in an airplane accident, will be honored with the 2003 Friend of Education Award. NEA's highest honor, the Friend of Education Award recognizes Wellstone's commitment to the improvement of education during his 12 years as U.S. Senator from Minnesota, including his 100% voting score on the NEA Legislative Report Card for the 107th Congress.
  
  
• In addition to setting the Association's policy for the coming year, the 2003 Representative Assembly will elect two new Executive Committee members July 5. Incumbent NEA Secretary-Treasurer Lily Eskelsen is unopposed for her position.
  
  
• Betsy Rogers, the 2003 National Teacher of the Year, will address the Assembly on July 5. Rogers, a third-generation teacher, has spent the last 22 years of her life educating children, most recently teaching first- and second-graders in the underprivileged rural town of Leeds, Alabama.
  
  
• The 2003 Education Support Professional of the Year, Martin Meyer, will speak to the delegates on July 6. Meyer, the head custodian at the 45,000-square-foot Skyway Elementary School in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, has been an NEA member since 1989.
  
  
• An original copy of the Declaration of Independence, printed on July 4, 1776, will be on display in Hall G of the convention center on July 1-2. The more than 225-year-old Dunlap broadsheet printing comes to the NEA meeting as part of Norman Lear's Declaration of Independence Road Trip.
  
  
• On June 27, NEA student, retired, education support professional and higher education members will spend the day at the St. John's Child Development Center in Garyville, La., repairing, painting, cleaning and doing landscaping work on the school grounds, as part of the 9th Annual Outreach to Teach Program.
  
  
• The Annual Meeting won't be all business. On July 3, NEA will host a Mardi Gras extravaganza at the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium as part of its annual Friendship Night. Delegates will have the chance to experience the finest New Orleans has to offer, with Cajun and Creole food, a full-scale parade, and three local bands performing Southern Louisiana's famous brand of Zydeco music. A portion of proceeds from the event will go to support the Ryan White Memorial HIV Education Fund and the Vivian Roy Bowser Cancer Education Fund.
  
  
• Exhibits featuring educational products and services from more than 200 organizations and vendors will be on display in Hall H of the convention center July 1-3, as part of NEA Expo 2003. Exhibits will include a "Hall of Health" sponsored by the NEA Health Information Network (HIN). The "Hall of Health" will contain interactive displays that provide resources on health issues, ranging from alcoholism and teen pregnancy prevention to gun safety and indoor air quality.

A number of pre-convention events will take place before the official start of the Annual Meeting. These include: the 19th Annual Joint Conference on Concerns of Minorities and Women, June 28-29 at the New Orleans Marriott; the 10th Annual Men's Issues Meeting, June 30 at the Marriott; the 19th Annual NEA Student Leadership Conference, June 26-29 at the Fairmont Hotel; and the NEA-Retired Annual Meeting, June 27-29 at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans.

Further information about the NEA's Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly can be found at http://www.nea.org/annualmeeting.

Posted June 4, 2003