CONTACT: Will Potter   (202) 822-7823

July 5, 2006

Educators Leave Representative Assembly Fired Up for Major No Child Left Behind Reauthorization Campaign

ORLANDO—The 9,000 delegates leaving the National Education Association's Representative Assembly today will head back to school with new skills, contacts and education policies for protecting the basic right of every child to a quality public education.
 
"Seeing 9,000 educators fired up and fed up with excuses, that's quite a sight," said Reg Weaver, NEA president. "They're tired of excuses for lawmakers not backing up the so-called No Child Left Behind Act with adequate resources to get the job done.  And they know that children and students are the ones hurting from those excuses. Now they'll head home and help turn their first-hand expertise with these problems into sound education policy." 
 
The Representative Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the 2.8 million member Association. NEA members elected their peers to represent the best interests of children and students, and shape NEA’s policies, in Orlando, Fla., this week.
 
Among the many actions taken at the Representative Assembly, delegates overwhelmingly approved a nationwide grassroots campaign to fundamentally reform the so-called No Child Left Behind Act. The law created a fierce backlash from educators who say its one-size-fits-all standards, obsessive focus on testing and punitive policies hurt students and schools. What's worse, the law is underfunded by about $40 billion, with additional cuts pending before Congress.

The law is up for reauthorization by Congress in 2007, and NEA has built a coalition of 86 organizations to push for reform. The coalition calls for a sound accountability system that relies on multiple measures of success, and rewards improvement rather than punishes already struggling schools.

Weaver set the tone for the Representative Assembly and for the year ahead by demanding that there would be no more excuses from lawmakers, community leaders, parents or educators. He called on delegates to build community support for NEA efforts to improve student performance.
 
Weaver said that in addition to small class sizes and parental involvement, fully funded pre-Kindergarten programs would be a major step in the right direction toward closing gaps in student achievement. He said those programs are a major opportunity to level the academic learning field, and to help students realize the joy of learning at an early age.
 
Delegates tackled tough issues facing public education, but also celebrated the achievements of quality public schools.  NEA honored the national teacher of the year, education support professional of the year, and 14 individuals from across the country who have fought tirelessly to promote social justice and dignity for all citizens. NEA presented its Friend of Education Award to the Tom Joyner Foundation, which has raised more than $30 million for students at historically Black colleges and universities across the nation.
 
Members celebrated the 40th anniversary of the merger between NEA and the predominantly Black American Teachers Association, honoring trailblazers who shaped the face of public education—especially education for Black students throughout the South and Southeast.
 
And more than 300 NEA volunteers helped paint, landscape and clean up a local elementary school, along with taking time out to read to local children as part of NEA’s Read Across America. 
 
"We all have a responsibility to create quality public schools, and lawmakers are no exception," Weaver said. "Educators are heading back home now, and they'll be reminding them of that responsibility. Great public schools depend on educators, parents, community leaders and members of Congress, and none of us should be making any excuses for not living up to that task."
 
For more information and a full listing of scheduled events visit the NEA Annual Meeting Web site .

# # #

The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 2.8 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.