NEA RA Delegates Unite for Great Schools

NEA President Reg Weaver delivers his keynote address to Representative Assembly delegates July 4. (Photo by Nick Crettier/NEA)

More than 9,000 NEA Representative Assembly delegates gathered in Washington, D.C., July 2-7 to develop the Association's priorities, honor colleagues and recommit themselves to ensuring that every child in the nation has an opportunity to attend a great school. The theme of the event was "TEAM NEA: Uniting the Nation for Great Public Schools."

With the November election just four months away, NEA President Reg Weaver urged members to get involved politically by speaking out about the needs of children in their schools and communities, and voting and volunteering to get pro-public education candidates elected at every level. "Team NEA, we are the foot soldiers for democracy's foundation — public education — and we are on the move!" he said. "Defend democracy, defend public education, and defend the opportunity for all children to have access to a quality public education."

Sen. Hillary Clinton speaks to NEA RA delegates about the importance of the November elections. (Photo by Nick Crettier/NEA)

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton made a surprise appearance, reminding delegates why the election is so critical. "Education remains a core issue," Clinton said. "This is the most important election in a lifetime. It will set the course of the nation." She urged NEA members to maximize their involvement in the election by registering new voters and getting involved in support of friends of education.

Delegates determined that one of the NEA's top priorities, fixing and fully funding the Elementary and Secondary Education Act — sometimes referred to as the No Child Left Behind law — required attention during the RA. Over the course of the six-day meeting, delegates sent more than 9,000 e-mails to Congress and state legislators urging support for revisions to ESEA and Social Security offset legislation.

Policy actions
Delegates adopted a report that calls for additional study of the achievement gap. The report by NEA's Professional Standards and Practices Committee reiterated that in order to close the achievement gap, educators and schools need more support for methods and practices that work to boost student achievement. These include smaller class sizes, teacher training, increased parental involvement, enhanced early childhood and after-school services, updated textbooks and materials, and adequate support for children and families.

The RA passed a number of New Business Items. Among them is a statement in opposition to federal funding for the American Board for Certification of Teaching Excellence, a competitor to the National Board for Professional Standards. Delegates also stated their opposition to tests that, by themselves, are barriers to grade promotion or high school graduation.

Delegates amended a policy statement on early childhood education to reinforce the organization's belief that pre-kindergarten teachers should be fully licensed and certified.

NEA honors
The 2004 Teacher of the Year, Kathleen Mellor, a middle-school teacher from Rhode Island, spoke to delegates about the rewards of teaching. "We know the tremendous impact of each day and each lesson," she said. "Knowing that I can make a difference in someone's life validates what I do every day."

Allyson "Sunny" Story, NEA's 2004 Education Support Professional of the Year, works with special needs students in Iowa. She told delegates how education employees in her area negotiated a new mentoring program to support members. "There are a great many who either do not understand or who want to destroy public education," Story said. "But a coalition of educators working together for the common good is more powerful than individual educators."

NEA's highest honor, the Friend of Education Award, went to Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF). Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation's strongest voice advocating for children and families. In her remarks, Edelman noted that though the Brown vs. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court decision ended legal segregation in public schools, "the great unfinished business of our nation is to open wide the doors of equal education and economic opportunity to every child in the United States."

Pre-RA activities
Prior to the start of the RA on July 4, members attended forums on topics like health care coverage and closing the achievement gap. NEA's two-day Joint Conference on the Concerns of Women and Minorities gave participants opportunities to learn more about how to address student needs and foster respect and safety in America's public schools.

More than 325 student, retired and active NEA members volunteered at Longfields Elementary School in Maryland during the 9th annual Outreach to Teach. Four months ago, Longfields lost three classrooms to a fire. The volunteers contributed to the school's recovery by cleaning, painting, decorating and landscaping.

The 2005 NEA Representative Assembly and Annual Meeting will be held July 1-6 in Los Angeles.

Posted July 9, 2004