On Dashes & Commas & Colons & Brackets

Do your students need to work on their punctuation? Former newspaperman Jeff Rubin thinks we ALL need to. In fact, Rubin founded National Punctuation Day in 2004 to draw attention to the importance of proper punctuation.

It’s a day for librarians, educators, and parents—people who are interested in teaching and promoting good writing skills to their students and their children. It's also a day to remind people everywhere that they are often judged by how they present themselves. "Successful people have good communication skills, and that includes knowing how to write properly," Rubin says. "Punctuation counts. A misplaced comma can alter the meaning of a message."

This year, National Punctuation Day is celebrated on September 24.

To find ideas for teaching punctuation to your elementary school students, check out Punctuation Playtime, which has resources for free and for purchase. And be sure to listen to the Punctuation Rap (both the rap and blues versions).

For definitions and ideas for older students, see the electronic grammar course on the HyperGrammar Web site from the University of Ottawa Writing Centre.

The NEA Health Information Network is Raising Awareness about the Prevention of Gynecological Cancer

In recognition of Gynecological Cancer Month, the NEA Health Information Network (NEA HIN) recommends that you take the following steps to protect your health and the health of those you care about:

• Get the Facts. NEA HIN and several partner organizations have produced free resources to help you make informed decisions about preventing, detecting, or treating gynecologic cancers:
  • Our new booklet, Talking About Cervical Cancer Prevention, is available for download at www.neahin.org, or send an e-mail to Jamie Ekatomatis to request copies.
  • Actress Fran Drescher, herself a uterine cancer survivor, has launched Cancer Schmancer at www.cancerschmancer.org. Her efforts aim to ensure that all women's cancers are diagnosed in stage one, when most curable.
  • Developed by the Gynecological Cancer Foundation for women and their families, the Women's Cancer Network helps you assess your risk, provides background information, and offers support to cancer survivors. Go to www.wcn.org.
  
  
• Make an Appointment. It is important for you to get regular gynecologic exams, which should include a pelvic exam, Pap test, breast exam, and, if you are over 30, an HPV (human papillomavirus) test. Annual mammograms are recommended for women starting at age 40. Also, talk to your doctor about the HPV vaccine, available for girls and young women ages 9–26.
  
  
• Spread the Word. NEA HIN has developed a series of new lesson plans on adolescent vaccination and sexual health for teachers of middle and high school classes in Health, Life Science, and History. HPV, the leading cause of cervical cancer, is highly preventable through vaccination before the onset of sexual activity. Find the Teen Sexual Health and Vaccine Education lesson plans online at www.neahin.org or send an e-mail to Jamie Ekatomatis

NEA Pension Trustee Workshop: Monday, November 10, 2008
NEA Pension Benefits Forum: November 11 and 12, 2008

Madison Hotel
1177 15th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20036

The Pension Benefits Forum is an ideal place for leaders, staff, and trustees to focus on the hot-button issues affecting members' retirement security. The Trustee Workshop is designed particularly for NEA members who are pension fund trustees, but all Forum participants are welcome to attend.

The Trustee Workshop will begin on Monday, November 10, with a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. The Forum will begin on Tuesday, November 11, with a continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m., and conclude in the late afternoon on Wednesday, November 12, in time for participants to fly out that day, if needed.

For more information, send an e-mail to NEA Collective Bargaining or call the Forum Information Line at (202) 822-7187.

NEA Booklet Encourages Americans to Vote

"Every American citizen over 18 years of age has a fundamental right to vote and to have that vote counted," says NEA president Reg Weaver.

To commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and to encourage its members, their families, and the public to vote, the National Education Association (NEA) produced a booklet ( 31pp, 524KB) on voting, Protecting Your Voting Rights, and a list of Web resources—Voting Rights Resources.

The right to vote remains one of the most fundamental elements of democracy and Americans have both the right and the responsibility to vote for the issues they hold dear.

For the NEA, the main issue is providing great public schools for every child.

To maintain quality public schools, voter participation is critically important. Great public schools depend on public support and informed lawmakers elected by voters at the national, state, and local levels.

Voters have the primary responsibility to elect officials who will represent them well and then hold those officials accountable to make and enforce sound policies. In local communities, voters have a great say in the funding and education policies for their schools.

Since the Voting Rights Act became law in 1965, voter participation has increased. Congress has amended and extended the Act several times since its original passage, most recently in 2006, when it extended the Act for 25 years, including all of its original provisions. Here are some questions to test your knowledge of those provisions:

1. May you receive bilingual voting assistance when you vote?
   
   
2. May you seek federal examiners if you suspect racial discrimination in local electioneering?
   
   
3. May you seek federal government preclearance before a proposed change in voting qualifications or procedures take effect where you live?

You will find the answers to these questions and more when you read the NEA's booklet Protecting Your Voting Rights. At the back of the publication, you will find online resources—with links to classroom materials for educators, voter registration tools for the public, and reports on voting rights and reform measures for policy makers. In a online companion piece to the booklet, you will find Voting Rights Resources with materials for educators: lesson plans, activities, current events, and quizzes and materials to promote voter registration and voting.

Today, more than ever, American citizens should be honored to have the right to vote. They should keep themselves informed to exercise that right. And they should diligently use it. Make your voice count. Register and vote.

Read Protecting Your Voting Rights ( 31 pp, 524KB).
See the Web resources Voting Rights Resources.

Get Healthy, Relieve Traffic Congestion, Have Fun!

Whether your concern is safer and improved streets, healthier habits, or cleaner air, Walk to School Day is aimed at encouraging a more walkable America.

In 1997, the Partnership for a Walkable America sponsored the first National Walk Our Children to School Day in Chicago—a day to bring community leaders and children together to create awareness of the need for walkable communities. By 2002, children, parents, teachers, and community leaders in all 50 states joined nearly 3 million walkers around the world to celebrate the second annual International Walk to School Day.

This year, Walk to School Day is Wednesday, October 8. Communities can choose to celebrate for a day, a week, once a week, or the entire month as part of International Walk to School Month.

Anyone who is interested in creating a more walkable and bikeable community can participate: teachers, children, parents, grandparents, care-givers, principals, PTA members, community members—anyone!

Register your event online: Registered users have access to a variety of downloadable materials, including templates for printing stickers, certificates, a frequent walker punch card and new puzzles. Registrants also receive a weekly e-newsletter for six weeks in September and October with tips and resources on holding a Walk to School event.

For more information and to register, visit www.walktoschool.org.

NPR Program Connects Middle School Kids with Cutting Edge Science

Every week during the school year, the Kids' Connection translates information from National Public Radio's Science Friday program into curriculum for middle school teachers.

This educational resource is based on National Public Radio’s award-winning radio program, Talk of the Nation: Science Friday, hosted each Friday afternoon by veteran science journalist and author, Ira Flatow.

Flatow talks about the latest research with scientists and policy makers, authors, and advocates during two hourlong segments, broadcast live from 2 to 4 p.m. EDT. Flatow covers topics ranging from global warming to genetically modified foods. The Science Friday Kids' Connection then takes that often complex material and translates it into easily digestible information available at www.sciencefriday.com

Each topic contains a full summary of the discussion, with references, suggested questions for students, activities, and related resources available on the Web. Educators can review the content in light of appropriate McRel standards, listed on each topic, derived from the Mid Continent Research for Education and Learning. The Kids' Connection is produced by KIDSNET, the nonprofit organization that helps children, families, and educators intelligently access educational opportunities available from the media.

Addressing Bias and Discrimination by Raising Awareness

NEA Human and Civil Rights' "Safe Zone" poster shows students that their schools are taking a stand against racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism, ageism, religious bias, and other forms of bias and discrimination.

In our classrooms, playgrounds, restrooms, offices, libraries, buses, and elsewhere, both students and school personnel can be proactive in raising awareness of those instances when differences are mocked, devalued, or simply silenced, and in challenging all forms of bullying and harassment. 

This requires courage and more "homework" to learn about bias and how to address it with students. Your state and local affiliate can provide resources and schedule diversity trainings.

We realize that some of these topics continue to generate discomfort, cautiousness, and disagreement, namely, homophobia concerning gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students. NEA and its affiliates provide trainings, resource handbooks, and other forms of support for creating safe environments for all students.

For more information, contact your state affiliate Human and Civil Rights coordinator or Robert Kim at 202-822-7439.

Promoting Thoughtful, Respectful Behavior

Every generation bemoans the rude behavior of young people. What's an educator to do? Check out NEA's Web area designed to promote throughtful, respectful behavior.

You'll find ideas that educators are using today--from teaching appropriate language to using positive humor to training kids how to solve problems on the playground. Educators who teach social skills make the learning environment more pleasant--and more productive-- for all.

Offer your ideas. Help shape the future content.

Go to nea.org/dotherightthing.

Insights into Poverty & A Campaign to Cut It in Half

Did you know

• One in eight Americans lives in poverty.
• 36.5 million Americans live below the poverty line.
• A family of four earning $18,810 a year is considered a family living in poverty.

To learn more about poverty in this country, visit the Poverty USA Web site from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. You'll find out the facts about poverty, learn about organizations working on the problem, and read stories of hope. And you'll find out how you can help.

Be sure to view their Tour Poverty USA, a dramatic accounting of how a family of four living in poverty spends their money.

Do you know about John Edwards' campaign to cut poverty in half in ten years? Find out more about Half in Ten.

Read a report from The Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty (2007):From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half.

In April Honor Librarians and Support Library Use

Educators and parents can celebrate libraries and library workers three ways in April:

All Month
Celebrate School Library Media Month throughout April. It was first celebrated in 1985, and now many school library media programs celebrate the month of April as School Library Media Month in conjunction with, and sharing the same theme as, National Library Week. 

One Week
Celebrate National Library Week . First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries – school, public, academic and special – participate.  

One Day
National Library Workers Day is celebrated on the Tuesday of National Library Week. National Library Workers Day recognizes all library workers, including librarians, support staff, and others who make library service possible every day.

For more information, visit the American Library Association's Web site.

No Name-Calling Week: January 26-30, 2009

Hundreds of schools across the country will participate in No Name-Calling Week 2007 by engaging in educational activities aimed at ending name-calling and verbal bullying of all kinds.

The project seeks to focus national attention on the problem of name-calling in schools, and to provide students and educators with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate name-calling in their communities.

To access information about how you can implement a variety of No Name-Calling Week events in your school or local community, including lesson plans, activity ideas, and a bibliography of resources, please visit the Resources section of the No Name-Calling Week Web site.

Educators should feel free to incorporate the No Name-Calling Week curriculum, principles, and resources at any time throughout the school year.

Related Link

Resources for Do the Right Thing - Information about events, grants, and resources that promote thoughtful, respectful behavior in young people.

Group Seeks Volunteers to Mentor At-Risk Adolescents

[Check back for information about January 2009.]

National Mentoring Month (NMM) is a nationwide initiative created by The Harvard Mentoring Project to recruit volunteer mentors for adolescents who are at risk of not achieving their full potential. 

Thank Your Mentor Day™ is your opportunity to join others in honoring an important mentor in your life. Millions of Americans are expected to reach out to thank or honor those individuals who encouraged and guided them, and who had a lasting impact on their lives.

See the Harvard Mentoring Project's Web site for video clips and written essays from individuals prominent in various fields sharing recollections about important mentors from their childhood and young adult years.

See the Web site of MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership for information on mentoring programs in communities across the country that currently need volunteers.

Report on Children & Families in America

The 2008 Kids Count Data Book is now available from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The goal of the book is to increase public awareness and understanding about the needs of children and families. It provides a state-by-state statistical report of the health, educational, social, and economic condition of American children.

Kids Count Data Book is an important resource for people working to improve the well-being of children in America. Business leaders, policymakers, children's advocates, educators, the media, and others value the Data Book as a reliable source of unbiased, statistical information about the condition of children and families in America.

The 2008 Kids Count Data Book provides an easy-to-use, powerful online database, the KIDS COUNT Data Center, which allows you to generate custom graphs, maps, ranked lists, and state-by-state profiles or download the entire data set as delimited text files. 

Explore the entire Annie E. Casey Foundation Web site at  www.kidscount.org .

Creating a More Inclusive Society

National Inclusive Schools Week will be celebrated December 1-5, 2008, in classrooms, schools, and communities across the nation. The Week highlights the progress our nation's schools have made in providing a supportive, quality education to all students, particularly those who have disabilities and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. It also provides an opportunity for educators, students, and families to discuss what else needs to be done.

The Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative and Education Development Center, Inc. organize the Week as a way of acknowledging the hard work of students, families, and educators in making their schools and communities more inclusive, and, thereby, contributing to the development of a more inclusive society.

Celebration Kit
An updated version of the popular Celebration Kit will provide educators, students, and families with everything they need to participate in the Week. Download the Celebration Kit, with its 68 pages of information and resources.

Order the other materials up until November 24 for delivery by December 1st. For more information, visit the Inclusive Schools Web site or call 877-332-2870 (TTY: 617-964-5448).

NEA is partnering with the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative and the Education Development Center in the celebration of National Inclusive Schools Week December 1-5, 2008. 

February 21–28, 2009

The Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow are in Our Schools Today

National Entrepreneurship Week celebrates the contributions of entrepreneurs in America and the value of educating students in 21st century skills.

All students need entrepreneurial skills to succeed in workplaces of the future, whether they become business owners or gain employment in emerging entrepreneurships throughout our economy. Educators can utilize National Entrepreneurship Week to inform parents, students, and policy leaders about opportunities to more effectively engage and prepare students for successful futures.

For more information about this event, ideas and resources, and suggestions for classroom activities, visit www.nationaleweek.com.

Highlighting the Best in Public Schools

Public School Insights, a Web site sponsored by The Learning First Alliance, focuses on the effectiveness of public schools. It features educators, parents, and policymakers from coast to coast sharing their insights about what's already working.

Take a look at the Web site to see what educators and communities are doing right now to prepare students for success in a 21st-century democracy and global society.

You’ll find stories by state, by school and district characteristics (elementary, urban, and so on), by hot topics (such as assessment, flexible schedules, healthy kids), or by your search topic. You'll also find a toolkit of reports, powerpoints, and publications, action plans, and tips. And opportunities to share what's working in your school.

Here are some examples of stories you'll find on the site:

• Standards, Not Standardization: An Interview with National Teacher of the Year Michael Geisen
  
  
• Community Helps Struggling School Reopen to Success
  
  
• Turning Boys into Readers: An Interview with Children's Literature Laureate Jon Scieszka

Read more at the  Public School Insights Web site.

The Learning First Alliance is a permanent partnership of 18 leading education associations with more than 10 million members dedicated to improving student learning in America's public schools. We share examples of success, encourage collaboration at every level, and work toward the continual and long-term improvement of public education based on solid research.

Using Free K-12 Civic Education Resources

The Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI), at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, offers free K-12 civic education resources designed to encourage student interest and participation in the American political process.

Through the YLI Web site, students may participate in mock elections, a mock congress, and campaign simulations. And teachers may download civics and government lesson plans.

Sign up now for access to these programs:

• An Internet Mock Election 
• A CD-ROM -- "A More Perfect Union"
• An Online Legislative Simulation -- "E-Congress"
• Lesson Plans

All are available to educators who register (at no cost) at the Youth Leadership Initiative Web site. 

Free Resources

Students are bombarded by thousands of images and messages every day. Find out how you can help them learn to "read and write" this new media and prepare for the global media culture of the 21st century.

Media literacy embraces the entire process of accessing, analyzing, evaluating, and creating media.   -The Center for Media Literacy

Visit the Center for Media Literacy Web site to find background information and teaching materials on media literacy, including the following resources:

• Project SMARTArt -- A case study and a "how-to" program for teaching media literacy skills to K-5 students, with replicable structure, tools, and lesson plans.
  
  
• Five Key Questions That Can Change the World: Deconstruction  -- A downloadable classroom activity guide that provides 25 lesson plans for K-12 media literacy.
  
  
• Media&Values magazine -- Over 350 articles online.
  
  
• Center for Media Literacy's MediaLitKit™ -- Materials for free and for sale, in English and in Spanish.
  

The Center for Media Literacy is a nonprofit educational organization that provides leadership, public education, professional development, and educational resources nationally.

Take Part in the Celebration on September 17th

On September 17, 1787, the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention held their final meeting. Only one item of business occupied the agenda that day, to sign the Constitution of the United States of America.

Thus, September 17 has come to be known as Constitution Day. To commemorate Constitution Day, the Annenberg Foundation offers materials for teachers to use in the classroom.

The materials are free and include videos on DVD of a discussion with Supreme Court justices and high school students and talking radio programs reviewing highlights of the Supreme Court this term.

Find out more on the Constitution Day Web site.

Constitution Day is a project of the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.

April 30 Is Children's Day

Libraries across the country host celebrations with family programs on April 30, Children's Day/Book Day (El día de los niños/El día de los libros).

Also known as Día, this national celebration brings together children, books, languages, and cultures. It is an annual celebration of the joys and wonders of childhood and the importance of literacy in the lives of families.

Día links children from all languages and cultures with books and promotes library collections and programs that reflect the country's changing populations.

Call your local library and visit the American Library Association's Web site for a brochure.

See also the following resources: 

• Kids! @ your library® Tool Kit Calendar of Promotional Opportunities
  
  
• Kids! @ your library® Tool Kit
  
  
• Celebremos: El día de los niños/El día de los libros 30 de abril
  

Día is sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association. ALSC is the world's largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of service to children in all types of libraries.

Get Free Materials & Build Community

If you're an educator, parent, or youth leader, mark your calendar for Character Counts Week (CC! Week)—October 19-25, 2008. Participating in CC! Week is a powerful way to build community around enduring common values—and connect to communities nationwide doing the same thing.

With registration, you can access free resources, such as lesson plans that reinforce the Six Pillars of Character of the CC! program, critical thinking writing prompts, ideas for parents collaborating with educators, handouts that combine language arts, critical thinking, and art, and mini-posters featuring inspiring quotations.

For more information, visit the Character Counts Web site.

Related NEA Link

Do the Right Thing -- NEA's Web area for educators promoting thoughtful, respectful behavior.

CDC Wants to Help Caregivers Act Early

Although autism can be diagnosed in children as young as 18 months old, many children are not diagnosed until they are 4, 5, or 6 years old. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wants to change that.

The CDC wants to help parents and other caregivers learn to identify the signs of autism and take action early. The organization is reaching out to communities, filling doctors' offices around the country with checklists and posters.

A large section of the CDC Web site is devoted to autism and other developmental problems. It includes an inventory of the developmental milestones for children in the first five years (as well as signs of developmental delays), resources, and fact sheets that can be duplicated. All information is also available in Spanish. 

To learn more about autism, see National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities on the CDC Web site.

Related Links

»  Autism Speaks -- News, events, and advocacy for autism research.

» Autism Spectrum Disorders  -- Online booklet from the National Institute of Mental Health.

» Going Mainstream: Early Intervention and Inclusion Open Doors for Children with Autism . From NEA Today (February 2008).

» Therapies and Interventions for Children with Autism - Some popular educational therapies used by parents and educators of children with autism. From NEA Today (February 2008).

» Resources for Teachers About Autism - General information, methods, articles, and materials. From NEA Today (February 2008).

Focus on Safety for Children

Now that kids are back in school, it's time to remind children about being safe when they walk. On Wednesday, October 8, U.S. schools will observe International Walk to School Day 2008. On that day over 250 schools nationwide will participate in the Safe Kids Walk This Way program.

Find out more about keeping children safe when they walk and participating in International Walk to School Day at the Safe Kids Worldwide Web site.

Related Resources

» School Safety Resources -- A list of annotated links featuring the best school safety resources on the Internet.

» School Safety -- General information, research, and resources from NEA Issues in Education.

Information on the Issues

The information below will help you understand, defend, and strengthen the quality and level of retirement benefits for yourself and other public education employees. It has facts about pensions, retiree health care, Social Security, Medicare, and suggests actions you can take to protect your retirement security. See NEA Retirement Security Resources for a list of related publications and Web sites.

Pensions

NEA members count on a pension when they retire from service, and the pension is generally in the form of a defined benefit (DB) plan. Such a plan provides a lifetime retirement income based on a formula, generally years of service multiplied by the final average compensation multiplied by a percentage.

Like salary and health benefits, a pension is an earned benefit that encourages people to enter and remain in education over the long term, providing stability and experience.

Unfortunately, DB plans are under attack. During the past decade, various groups with financial or political interests have worked to eliminate the DB plans public employees have earned and replace them with defined contribution (DC) plans, which are not guaranteed. These groups include, among others, financial institutions that stand to gain by charging higher fees to individual investors than they can to pension plans, political ideologues who recognize and fear DB plans as the cornerstone of a strong and organized public sector workforce, and  groups who erroneously think DB plans are too costly.

Background
State and local public retirement systems are designed and funded to provide benefits so that retirees will have an assured income for life. Unlike a DC plan, which does not guarantee an income for life, defined benefits are paid monthly throughout retirement and often have cost of living adjustments and benefits for survivors. Defined benefit plans are funded through investment returns, employer and employee contributions, and state and/or local government funding. These sources must generate sufficient funding to pay benefits not only to current retirees, but also to future retirees.

The funding of retirement systems can be subject to political pressure. For example, in times of fiscal stress, some legislatures have made decisions that undermine the stability of the retirement system.

What Is NEA Doing?
NEA is at the forefront of protecting retirement security through its own research, advocacy and member education, as well as participation in coalitions such as the National Public Pension Coalition (NPPC) and organizations such as the National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR) and the Council of Institutional Investors (CII).

The National Education Association believes that the retirement security of all preK-12 members can be assured only by participation in a state or local retirement system with a guaranteed and adequate defined benefit retirement plan. Such plans must be funded in a manner that assures the long-term stability of the plan. For preK-12 members of retirement systems, defined contribution provisions are appropriate only where they supplement adequate defined benefit provisions. The retirement security of all higher education members is every bit as important, and some higher education faculty members have traditionally had successful, alternative retirement security provisions that meet their needs.

We in NEA believe that:

• Retirement security is an issue that affects all members
• Retirement benefits must be protected and, when possible, enhanced
• Retirement plans should provide inflation-protected benefits for life through cost of living adjustments
• Retirement plans should include provisions for health care benefits of members and covered dependents
• Retirement funds must be managed for the sole benefit of members and beneficiaries
• Boards should govern retirement systems
• The composition of retirement boards should include a majority of plan participants with representation of both active and retired members
• Retirement systems should educate and counsel members to help ensure that they can make informed decisions about their retirement
• Retirement boards should be fully empowered and independent.

What Can You Do To Help?

• Understand the importance of having a guaranteed, lifelong, steady stream of income during retirement, and educate yourself about the issues, including the difference between DB and DC plans
• Organize among and with current and former pension trustees whose specialized knowledge and skills are invaluable in recognizing and dealing with threats to pension plans across the nation
• Support placement of Association-endorsed trustees on pension boards.

Retiree Health Care

After working hard for decades, education employees can expect to live many more years into their retirement. They can also expect to have increasing health care needs as they age. Unfortunately, health care costs are so high that if retirees had to cover the costs for health insurance out of their pockets, they could easily end up spending their retirement years living below the poverty line-even if they get a decent pension. Health care costs are rising year after year.

Some retirees participate in their former employers' plans. Others are in a health care plan through their retirement system. Still others must try to get insurance on their own. For those in their employer's plan, 2007 premium costs averaged $4,500 for single coverage and $12,000 for family coverage, and projected increases are two to three times the rate of inflation. Additional costs may include items such as deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments.

Even though retirement may be years or decades away for an active employee, changes are taking place now that could threaten future retiree health benefits.

Background
The National Education Association believes that retirees should enjoy comprehensive, fully funded health insurance benefits, including but not limited to medical, prescription drugs, dental, and vision coverage. NEA believes retirees' spouses, domestic partners, and/or dependents should also be covered.

For retirees who are not eligible for Medicare, the cost of these benefits should not be borne by the retirees or their spouses, domestic partners, and/or dependents. For those who are covered by Medicare, a supplemental plan at no cost to the retiree (or others covered under the retiree's policy) should be provided so that Medicare and supplemental benefits together provide comprehensive coverage. 

In addition, the Association believes that universal, affordable, comprehensive, and quality health care, including prescription drug coverage, is the right of residents. NEA supports reform measures that achieve that goal while assuring quality, emphasizing preventive health care measures, and being financed by means that assure greater equity in the funding of that health care.

What Is NEA Doing?
NEA knows that retired members' situations vary from state to state. Some retired members receive comprehensive benefits before and after Medicare eligibility, while others are left to fend for themselves once they leave the active-employee ranks. The out-of-pocket costs they face also vary from state to state and, in some cases, from school district to school district within a state.

The Association also realizes that new developments -- Medicare Part B means testing and new accounting standards issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), for example -- increasingly place our members' retiree health care benefits at risk.

Given this complicated reality, NEA analyzes and reports on new retiree health benefit trends, develops education materials, and trains state and local staff and leaders to be better prepared to defend and enhance retired members' health care benefits. The Association continues to work with state affiliates and, through them, local Associations to identify and address immediate threats to health benefits. At the same time, the NEA lobbies Congress to identify and support legislation that advances our goals, and works tirelessly to defeat legislation that would harm our retired members.

State and local affiliates are working hard to defend members' retiree health care benefits. While some states have suffered cutbacks, others have made important gains, including locking in statewide legislative or constitutional protection for retiree health benefits and establishing health care trust funds tailored to their needs to help pay for future benefits.

What Can You Do To Help?

• Know if you have a retiree health plan and, if you do, understand its features. Does it cover just you, or spouses, domestic partners, and/or dependents as well? How long do you have to work to have access to the plan? Will you have to pay to participate and, if so, how much? Is there any financial support to supplement or match your participation? Does the plan end at Medicare eligibility, or does it continue throughout your retirement? 
• Talk to your colleagues about the importance of securing retiree health care benefits.

Social Security

Social Security has served as a vital trust between the U.S. government and its citizens. It has provided economic stability, which should not be breached.

Social Security may provide the financial support for members and their families that can mean the difference between economic security and poverty. Americans earn benefits through jobs covered by Social Security. Enacted in 1935, Social Security provides vital financial support from the U.S. government for families faced with a change in economic circumstances due to:

• Retirement: Social Security is the major source of income for nine out of 10 individuals age 65 and older.
• Disability: Social Security provides monthly benefits to individuals who become permanently disabled at any age. Almost three in 10 of today's 20-year-olds will become disabled before reaching age 67.
• Death of a family wage earner: Some NEA members report that after the death or disability of a parent, their college education would not have been possible without Social Security benefits. 

Background
Unlike employees in the U.S. private sector, state and local government employees (including K-12 teachers, higher education faculty, and education support professionals) are not universally covered by Social Security.

• In 35 states, all or nearly all public school employees have Social Security coverage through their school employment. In these situations, Social Security provides benefits in addition to those from the state retirement system.
• In 15 states, some or most public school employees do not have Social Security coverage through their school employment. In those states, the benefits of public retirement systems have been designed with an eye toward providing comparable benefits.

What Is NEA Doing?
The National Education Association advocates for retirement security for all members. NEA seeks to retain, maintain, and improve the nation's successful Social Security system. NEA strongly opposes any attempts to privatize Social Security with risky, costly individual accounts that rob members of hard-earned benefits, including disability and survivor coverage. NEA also strongly opposes efforts to reduce current Social Security benefit formulas for future recipients.

For those members in the 15 states where some or most public school employees do not have Social Security coverage, NEA also works to repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision, which reduces Social Security spousal or survivor benefits by two-thirds of the individual's public pension. Thus, members who receive a public pension for a job not covered by Social Security will lose much or all of any spousal survivor benefits they would expect to collect based on their spouse's private sector earnings. NEA also works to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual who also receives a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. The WEP can result in a shocking loss of earned benefits. For example, this affects those who move into public education from the private sector or move between covered and non-covered state or local jobs.

NEA works to ensure that public employees who are enrolled in and have paid into other retirement security plans are not mandated to participate in Social Security.

We believe all members -- regardless of state of residence -- should support each other when working on federal legislative proposals that affect some or many members with differing needs related to Social Security.

What Can You Do To Help?

• Learn about the retirement and disability benefits available through your pension plan and the Social Security Administration
• Help ensure that Social Security will be there for you by knowing the facts and opposing those who seek to destroy this program
• Find out if you will lose money due to GPO/WEP and if so, consult a financial adviser to make necessary financial arrangements
• Advocate strongly to maintain the security and stability of the Social Security system by opposing high-risk private accounts.

Medicare

Several hundred thousand NEA members currently receive Medicare benefits and eventually most members will need and use Medicare. Medicare has proven that good government can create a successful health plan for older and disabled Americans.

The Medicare program has become a target for ideologues who ignore its successes and instead want to destroy the traditional Medicare program and replace it with one run by the private health insurance industry.

Background
Traditional Medicare is a highly successful and efficient federal health insurance program that covers part of hospital and medical costs for America's elderly and disabled. It is financed through federal payroll taxes and general revenues, as well as premiums paid by beneficiaries. 

People on traditional Medicare receive hospital benefits (Part A) and may sign up for medical coverage (Part B). Prescription drug coverage (Part D) is available through private health insurance companies. Since all costs are not covered by Medicare, beneficiaries may purchase supplemental health insurance policies, commonly called Medigap policies, from private health insurance companies. These Medigap policies cover many medical copayment costs. Some retirees do not need Medigap policies because they are covered under a health plan that supplements Medicare.

Nontraditional Medicare plans, sponsored by private health insurance companies, threaten the long-term viability of the entire Medicare program. These are called Medicare Advantage plans (Part C), and if Medicare participants enroll, they are automatically switched out of Part A and Part B. Medicare Advantage plans provide a high profit to private insurance companies and drain financial resources from traditional Medicare.

What Is NEA Doing? 
NEA's federal legislative priorities include: 

• Requiring the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices for the Part D benefit
• Moving the Part D prescription drug program out of the private health insurance sector and into traditional Medicare
• Reducing and eventually eliminating the excessive subsidy payments being made to Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans
• Opposing any means testing (increasing premiums based on income levels) to Medicare benefits.

What Can You Do To Help?

• Help ensure that Medicare will be there for you by knowing the facts and opposing those who seek to destroy traditional Medicare
• Urge members who have post-retirement health benefits through a pension plan, employer plan, or other means to contact Medicare for guidance on enrollment and benefits to best meet their individual needs. 

Actions You Can Take To Protect Your Retirement Security

• In coordination with your state and local Associations, let local, state, and federal elected officials know that you're watching the decisions they make affecting your retirement security, and that you vote
• Become active in local and state benefits committees and be a resource and advocate for your colleagues, friends, and neighbors
• Understand that your financial future is at stake
• Coordinate with your state and local Associations to be kept up-to-date on important developments related to retirement benefits, and learn how you can advocate for these crucial benefits
• Join the NEA legislative action center
• Respond to calls to action from NEA and your state affiliate
• Get politically active
• Donate to and raise money for the NEA Fund for Children and Public Education.
  

See NEA Retirement Security Resources for a list of publications and Web sites with additional information.

June 9–15, 2008

In 1959, on the 20th Anniversary of the founding of Little League Baseball, President Dwight D. Eisenhower designated the week beginning the second Monday of June as National Little League Baseball Week, honoring Little League's encouragement of young people "to develop a feeling of fair play, community spirit and respect for the discipline of rules and decisions."

Kids and baseball are a natural! Use our links and resources to keep them engaged in summer learning by exploring America's favorite pastime.

Questions with Interesting Answers

Q.   When did Little League begin?
A.   In 1939, with just three teams. Visit Little League online for more information about youth baseball, including where to find a team near you.

Q.   When did girls start playing in Little League?
A.   In 1974, when the New Jersey Superior Court ruled in favor of Maria Pepe, a girl from Hoboken, who took Little League to court for forcing her to resign from her team. Today, nearly 360,000 girls play in Little League Softball for Girls. Read the full story at Mom's Team: Youth Sports Parenting Information for Sports Moms.

Q.   What must weigh no more than 5-1/4 ounces, but not less than 5 ounces?
A.   A baseball! Find out what baseballs are made of, and explore the forces of gravity and bounce with easy experiments at San Francisco's Exploratorium.

More Resources

• The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has online biographies of baseball greats, including Hank Aaron, Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, and others, plus links to additional information.
• Read a brief overview of the history of baseball at the Library of Congress, then complete a short review.
• Play Math Baseball—pick a challenge level (easy to 'Super Brain') and hit one out of the park!

Three Good Books

• Louis Sockalexis: Native American Baseball Pioneer, by Bill Wise.
  In 1897, nearly 50 years before Jackie Robinson broker the "color line" in professional baseball, a young man of the Penobscot tribe signed with the Cleveland Spiders. Faced with hostility, he won over players and crowds alike with his speed, throwing arm, and hitting. Focusing on a match with the New York Giants, this gorgeously illustrated book brings alive the excitement of the game. Ages 9–12. 32pp. $16.95 from Lee & Low Books. Visit www.leeandlow.com.

• A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie 'Peanut' Johnson, by Michelle Y. Green.
  From the time she insists on trying out for the all-male, all-white Police Athletic League team until she becomes one of only three women to play in the Negro Leagues, Mamie Johnson’s life shows that courage—and a fierce curveball—can make a childhood dream come true. Ages 9-12. Visit Amazon.com for more information.

• Willie Wins, by Almira Astudillo Gilles.
  In this heart-warming story, a Filipino-American boy moves beyond peer pressure and comes to appreciate the depth of his father’s love. Ages 4-8. Visit Lee and Low Books for more information. You can also read an interview with the author.

A Milestone in Human Rights for African-Americans

On June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emmancipation Proclammation, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston Island, Texas, scene of the last major vestige of slavery in North America.

Reading from General Order #3, Granger proclaimed U.S. sovereignty over the state and ordered the roughly 250,000 slaves there freed:

"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor... "

African-Americans celebrated the momentous announcement, and did so on that date for many years thereafter. Juneteenth has waned and waxed in popularity, but in 1979 the day was made a Texas state holiday via House Bill 1016, and is now increasingly celebrated in other parts of the United States, most often with with parades, picnics, inspirational speakers, dramatic readings, pageants, barbecues, and ball games.

Additional resources:

• Wikipedia
• Handbook of Texas
• Juneteenth.com
• Classroom Activity from Read*Write*Think (Sponsored by Internation Reading Association and National Council of Teachers of English)
• County of Los Angeles Public Library (includes recommended titles for adults and children)
• NEA's African-American Booklist
• Free Juneteenth Electronic Greeting Cards

Help Request that a Military Guard be Posted

As we celebrate Memorial Day in May, we honor the men and women who have died while in military service to our country. The earliest are Revolutionary War soldiers, remembered at a memorial in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier stands in Washington Square as part of a memorial that also honors George Washington.

For most of the 1700s, the square was used as a cemetery, first as a potter's field and then as the site of mass graves for thousands of soldiers killed during the Revolutionary War. Some died of war wounds, others from disease and starvation, including many held in the nearby Walnut Street jail in squalid, inhumane conditions during the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777.

After the war, the square was used again as a mass grave, for victims of a Yellow Fever epidemic. Eventually, the city began a project to beautify the square, but it wasn't until the mid-1950s that the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier was erected. Inside the tomb, one 20-year-old male soldier, located in 1956 by archaeologists, has been interred. An eternal flame burns nearby to honor all of the fallen.

The tomb lacks the same kind of honor guard that patrols the better-known one in Arlington National Cemetery. Educators and students who want to participate in a campaign, requesting that a military guard be posted at the tomb, may write to Dr. Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense, 1000 Defense Pentagon, Washington, D.C., 20301-1000.

Confused About Overlapping Protections? We Can Help Sort It Out

Puzzled about the overlapping protections for disabled students provided by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disablities Education Act (IDEA)?

NEA special education expert Patti Ralabate has developed a fact sheet that can help. In a nutshell, she says, ADA applies to all ages, including postsecondary students, and guarantees students with disabilities access to the same education as non-disabled students, along with "reasonable" accommodations to make sure they can take advantage of that education. But IDEA does more for the students it covers. It requires schools to give them an appropriate education designed specifically for them.

A 2007 report from the National Council on Disabilities concluded that "the education gap between people with disabilities and people without disabilities is shrinking" and added, "though variable in quantity and quality, educational supports and services for students with disabilites are now available at most of the nation's 3,000 post-secondary institutions."

The report said "the most significant improvements [because of ADA] appear to have occurred in telecommunications, transportation, and access to public accommodations."

Read Ralabate's fact sheet, the National Council report, and more on the history and impact of ADA.

It's a Universal Issue

Meanwhile, disabled individuals, including students, are winning international recognition of their equal rights as the new United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities moves closer to ratification. The Convention does not create any new rights, but it does specifically prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities in all sectors of life.

The Convention affirms:

• equality of rights for people with disabilities
• the principle of non-discrimination and equal recognition in law
• the right to liberty and security
• the right to personal mobility and an independent life
• the rights to health, work, education, and participation in political and cultural life.

More than 120 countries have signed the treaty and, as of press time, 18 had ratified it, making it binding law in their territories. The treaty will take effect when 20 countries have ratified it. The United States has not signed. NEA has urged the President to sign and the Senate to ratify the treaty.

For more information, visit www.un.org/disabilities.

Quality Education to End Exclusion

The 2008 awards cycle is now closed to submissions. Please check back in January 2009 to learn more about Global Action Week 2009.

Did you know that worldwide:

• 80 million children are still out of school
• 770 million people cannot read and write
• 18 million teachers must be recruited between now and 2015 to match the rising demand for education?

This is why teachers and teacher unions have started working together with other like-minded organizations to put pressure on decisionmakers to get these children into school—but the challenges are not restricted to access.

In many countries where school fees have been dropped and education declared free, quality is still a big issue; it is often found that governments do not sufficiently prepare for a free school system. The recruitment of teachers is a pipe dream, teacher training rarely gets off the ground, and new classrooms remain in blueprint form. These factors have major repercussions for the quality of education.

In April 2000 at the World Education Forum, 185 governments committed to provide Education for All by the year 2015. Global Action Week is one of several events organized by the Global Campaign for Education to hold governments accountable for these commitments. During this week, millions of people around the world organize activities in their own countries to remind their governments to fulfill the promises made in 2000.

The theme of Global Action Week 2008 is Quality Education to End Exclusion. To find out how you can participate and access free downloadable resources, go to www.ei-ie.org/globalactionweek.

Do Your Students Have Ideas That Will Save the Earth?

This semester, Youth Venture, Dr. Seuss, and NEA are partnering to bring the Lorax Challenge to 500 schools across the country. Taking its name from the Dr. Seuss children's book, The Lorax, which chronicles the plight of the environment, the Lorax Challenge offers young people the chance to turn their dreams of saving the planet into reality.

To participate, students will be asked to become Venturers, young people who take action to make a difference in their communities. Students will form teams, identify environmental problems they want to address, and design their own organizations or ventures to solve them. Whether it's by converting a school bus into a bio-diesel-powered classroom or by developing a line of handmade reusable grocery bags, Venturers are asked to pursue their individual passions in innovative ways.

Teams will receive up to $1,000 to start their ventures, a host of tools and resources from Youth Venture, and the support of a global community of likeminded young changemakers. Students will also get the chance to compete to be one of five winning teams that will be sent to a prestigious university this summer for a workshop to experience college life and be celebrated as true changemakers.

The competition deadline is May 31.

Learn more at www.loraxchallenge.org

Police Collect New and Gently Used Books for Neighborhood Kids

In 1997, Racine, Wisconsin, police officer Julia Burney (now Burney-Witherspoon) responded to a burglar alarm. It was a false alarm, but she found a warehouse stuffed with 10,000 children's books that were headed for the shredder because of small printing or binding imperfections.

"I thought the heavens had opened up for me," she recalls.

Her work had taken her into many Racine homes, and she had been struck by the lack of children's books. Soon, she and her fellow officers were carrying books in the trunks of their squad cars and giving them away to children. The original 10,000-volume stockpile went fast, and children clamored for more, so the police started collecting books.

That was the birth of Cops 'n' Kids, a program now in about 70 cities and towns across the country. The program was adopted by the service organization Quota International, whose local chapters are busy planting new Cops 'n' Kids programs in their communities.

In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, NEA-Retired member Beverly Bradley heads up an effort that has so far distributed more than 160,000 new and gently used volumes. Her group is based in the former Bethlehem Steel headquarters.

"It's a chameleon kind of program," says Bradley. "It can be adapted to fit any community concerned with children and literacy."

Her program maintains well-stocked bookshelves in police stations where children can come in and choose a book for themselves and meet the police at the same time. The program also distributes books in many other locations and at special events.

"When I started, I thought it would be one day a week—my Thursday project," says Bradley. "Now, when we go to a Cops 'n' Kids event on a Sunday, my husband likes to say, 'Is today Thursday again?'"

To get involved with Cops 'n' Kids for your area, contact Julia Burney-Witherspoon at (262) 632-1606 or send her an e-mail. You can reach Beverly Bradley by e-mail as well.

Read more at the Cops 'n' Kids Web site .

Turn Out the Lights and Switch on Support

Join NEA and the World Wildlife Fund and make a statement by being a part of Earth Hour on March 28, 2009. From 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time, individuals, schools, governments, and whole cities around the world will show their collective concern about climate change by turning out the lights for one hour and switching on support for solutions. NEA Headquarters will be "turning out for Earth Hour"—other than essential lighting for safety, all lights at our HQ will be out to show our support for this global effort.

You, your friends, colleagues, family, and the students you work with are all invited to join in. Consider these ideas for participating in Earth Hour:

• It's easy and free to be part of Earth Hour. Sign up by visiting www.earthhour.org and commit to turning off your lights on March 28 from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
  
  
• Make a list of all the ways you are going to reduce your energy consumption: unplug unused appliances; change to compact fluorescent bulbs; properly inflate tires; adjust your thermostat. Talk with your family, friends, and co-workers about your plans.
  
  
• This global event is the perfect opportunity to stimulate discussion on this important issue. Classroom materials are available at www.earthhourus.org/eh_lesson_plans.php (elementary) and http://worldwildlife.org/climate/seclimatewitness/curriculum.cfm (high school).
  
  
• Plan a get-dark party for Earth Hour. The younger crowd can host a slumber party complete with scary stories. Parties for teens and grown ups might be include an acoustical jam session or some dancing in the dark. Or plan a fun, food-filled event featuring dark chocolate or other dark food favorites.

Earth Hour 2008 was the biggest voluntary power down in history. It inspired many people and businesses to change their energy habits and has influenced government policy in some countries.

Join the effort: Earth Hour 2009 – Saturday 28 March 2009 8:30-9:30 p.m.

April 12-18, 2009

National Environmental Education Week seeks to enhance the educational impact of Earth Day (April 22) and provide recognition to American educators who are committed to implementing environmental education in their classrooms.

This year, National Environmental Education Week (EE Week) focuses on a special Carbon Footprints theme.

As the nation's largest environmental education event, National EE Week, made possible by Canon, promotes understanding and protection of the natural world by actively engaging K-12th grade students and educators of all subjects in an inspired week of environmental learning and service before Earth Day. As partners in EE Week, educators have access to:

• Standards-based environmental education lessons and activities
  
  
• Monthly electronic newsletters that highlight the latest EE curricula, professional development, and funding opportunities
  
  
• Opportunities for online communication and knowledge-sharing with educators from across the country

If you work with students in a school, nature center, zoo, museum, aquarium, or other educational setting, you can join EE Week's efforts and gain national recognition for your work.

  Register now to participate in National Environmental Education Week!

Since April 22, 1970, Earth Day has been an annual event for people around the world to celebrate the earth and renew our commitment to building a safer, healthier, and cleaner world for all of us.

Related Link

Earth Day Celebration - Programs and events for April 22, 2008.

Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (also called Irlen Syndrome) is a term used to describe a visual perceptive disorder that some researchers say may be related to dyslexia and autism. The Irlen Institute Web site cites research saying nearly half of people diagnosed with a range of learning problems suffer from Irlen Syndrome and can be helped by color filters, worn as glasses or contact lenses, developed by Dr. Helen Irlen.

However, neither the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) nor the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) recognize this condition. These organizations say there is no known visual cause for learning disabilities and no visual therapies that have proven to be effective.

Related Links

• Visit the Irlen Institute to learn more about the diagnosis.
• Go to the American Academy of Ophthalmology for a more skeptical perspective.

Does Your School Have a Student Threat Assessment System?

When faced with a student who may be prone to violence, how do administrators know when to worry, when not to worry, and how to intervene? Educators across three counties in Oregon faced this situation, and in searching for answers, developed Student Threat Assessment (STAT)—a regional system that draws resources from schools, mental health agencies, law enforcement bureaus, and other youth-serving organizations.

STAT is designed to address two common types of violence:

• targeted violence that's planned and aimed at specific individuals
• reactive violence that's an immediate, emotional response to provocation or a perceived threat.

Learn about this pioneering effort, plus 10 steps to implementing a threat assessment system, at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Web site: http://nwrel.org/nwedu/13-01/coord. You can also find more strategies and resources on how to make your classroom safer at www.nea.org/ref?threat.

Sensory Integration Dysfunction

Pat is a fourth-grader who seems to be in constant motion. He pokes and bumps into other students and gets into confrontations that seem irrational and unnecessary. What's his problem?

His doctor says it's "sensory integration dysfunction," an inability to "modulate, discriminate, coordinate, or organize sensation adaptively." There are ways to help him—ways to avoid setting him off and also ways to help him learn to change how he responds to stimulation. NEA's Web site has more information on this problem, and links to other sites that can help if Pat, or someone like him is one of your students.

Find them at www.nea.org/specialed/resources-specialed.html, along with a wealth of other materials and links for educators of children with disabilities.

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic

Need recorded versions of the books you assign so a blind or slow-reading student can keep up with lesson content? You may be able to get them from Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFBD), a 60-year-old organization that supplies books on tape for those who have difficulty reading.

RFBD reports that currently 70 percent of the 185,000 clients they serve—ranging from kindergartners to working professionals—need help because of learning disabilities rather than blindness. The group circulates 500,000 books, and added 6,000 last year alone with the help of 7,000 volunteers using 29 recording studios around the country.

There's more on their Web site at www.rfbd.org. You'll find information on membership fees for individuals and institutions and an online catalog so you can find out whether the books you need are available.

Recycled Cell Phones Can Help Keep Kids Safe Online

By recycling your cell phone you can assist educators with teaching students about the smart use of the Internet, cell phones, and other forms of telecommunication. The proceeds from recycling cell phones provide the NEA Health Information Network with support to develop resources and tools that educators can use for this project.

There are three free and easy ways to recycle your cell phones, PDAs, and chargers:

• Print a free postage-paid label and mail. Go to www.sprint.com/projectconnect and click on "Free mailing label" in the "Related Links" box at the top-right corner of the screen to get a postage-paid mailing label online.
• Go to your local participating Sprint store to pick up a free postage-paid envelope.
• Call NEA HIN at (202) 822-7570 to have free postage-paid envelopes sent to you.

Download Talking About Cervical Cancer Prevention

In partnership with the American Social Health Association (www.ashastd.org), the NEA Health Information Network (NEA-HIN) has produced a free resource to help NEA members and the families and students they serve make informed decisions about cervical cancer prevention.

The booklet, Talking About Cervical Cancer Prevention, is a short, engaging resource that provides information about cervical cancer and the virus that causes it: human papillomavirus (HPV). Since the first vaccine was released, many questions have surfaced. This booklet answers many of those questions, such as:

Who should get vaccinated?
When should I get tested?
I have HPV—what now?

Talking About Cervical Cancer Prevention is available for download at www.neahin.org, or to request copies, contact Sara Jacobson at sjacobson@nea.org or Jamie Ekatomatis at jekatomatis@nea.org.

A Report Finds that Girls Drop Out of High School at Almost the Same Rate as Boys

A recent report from the National Women's Law Center (NWLC), When Girls Don't Graduate, We All Fail: A Call to Improve High School Graduation Rates for Girls, finds that girls drop out of high school at almost the same rate as boys. One in four girls won't graduate with a regular diploma within four years. Plus, the economic costs of dropping out are particularly damaging for girls. Female dropouts earn significantly lower wages than male dropouts, are at greater risk of unemployment, and are more likely to rely on public support programs.

The Center emphasizes that interventions to address the crisis must be tailored to the different needs of boys and girls of all races and ethnicities, based on their distinct experiences and the enhanced research and data collection recommended by the report.

Policymakers, educators, students, and parents all have a role to play in providing the support students need to stay in school. A comprehensive prevention strategy also requires:

• Combating sexual harassment in schools; both boys and girls report that they drop out in part because they do not feel safe at school.
• Providing better support for pregnant and parenting students—pregnancy and parenting responsibilities play a significant role in many girls' decisions to drop out of school.
• Ensuring equal access for girls to career and technical education classes. These classes provide training for high-skill, high-wage jobs; offering career education programs that emphsize the link between academic work, college success, and careers has been proven to reduce dropout rates.
• Ensuring equal access for girls to after-school programs, including athletics. Studies show that participation improves graduation rates and academic achievement.

NWLC has created primers on sexual harassment, pregnant and parenting students, career and technical education, and Title IX athletics requirements. To download, visit www.nwlc.org/dropout.

Photograph: Marinka van Holten

'Pennies for Peace' Makes it Easy for All Children to Give

A service-learning program of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), "Pennies for Peace" educates American children about the world beyond their experience and shows them that they can have a positive impact on a global scale, one penny at a time.

A penny in the United States is virtually worthless, but in Pakistan and Afghanistan a penny buys a pencil and opens the door to literacy.

Originally begun by Greg Mortenson, a mountain climber who saw firsthand the need for literacy—especially among girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan—the program supports CAI's mission to provide community-based education, especially for girls. A fifth-grade education for a girl improves not only the basic indices of health for her and her family, but she will also spread the value of education within her community. Literacy, for both boys and girls, provides better economic opportunities in the future and helps neutralize the power of extremist leaders.

This program is especially attractive because only pennies—no nickels, dimes, quarters, or dollars—are collected, making it possible for all children, including those of very limited means, to participate actively.

Classrooms interested in participating should visit www.penniesforpeace.org and register.

Keeping Up With the 2008 Election

ServiceVote, a program of Youth Service America, is an interactive Web site created to serve as a hub for young people to engage in every aspect of the 2008 election. The ServiceVote Web site provides young people with up-to-date news and information on the various races, the presidential candidates, and the defining issues; opportunities for peer interaction and dialogue through a discussion forum where youth can post videos, images, and audio files; and resources to take action through service, in the election, and in the policy process.

Learn more about the ServiceVote Web site.

Youth Perform Community Service

In April 2009, young people around the world will perform community service projects for the Global Youth Service Day, the largest service event in the world.

Spanning three days - April 24, 25 and 26, 2009 - millions of young people across the world, with the help of mentors, parents, teachers, and volunteers, will organize community service projects to address local needs. Projects will include climate change, education, child obesity, and urban decay.

Learn more about Global Youth Service Day  at the Youth Service America Web site.

Youth Service America is an international non-governmental organization that partners with thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries and is committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people ages 5-25, to serve locally, nationally, and globally. Founded in 1986, Youth Service America ’s mission is to expand the impact of the youth service movement with communities, schools, corporations, and governments.

E-Newsletter Offers Technology Tips for Parents, Guardians, and Teachers

NEA Health Information Network

By the middle school years, many students are online or using wireless phones — and adults are wondering how to make sure those technologies help, rather than hinder, kids' safety and learning. Now there is a new electronic newsletter to provide tools and tips for adults to help kids connect safely.

The bimonthly e-newsletter — called bNetS@vvy: Tools for Adults to Help Kids Connect Safely — is distributed by the National Education Association Health Information Network (HIN) in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Sprint.

Each issue features personal stories, strategies, and tools to help teachers, parents, and guardians engage with youth to keep them safer. One of the pull-down menus of the electronic newsletter is a listing of Internet sites that provide information on student health, technical resources, and youth safety.

Beginning with Issue Four, which focused on the cyberbullying, HIN has provided a version of the e-newsletter in Spanish as well. (Chasque  aquí para ver la edicion numero Cuatro de bNetS@vvy en Español.)

For more information and to subscribe, visit the bNetsavvy Web site.

Adults concerned about online safety for children ages 9-14 are invited to share stories and ideas by contacting Caitlin Johnson, editor-in-chief, at internetsafety@nea.org.

Submit Your Best Safety Lesson Plan Now

Thousands of children are reported missing or are sexually exploited every day. To help teachers and parents educate children about ways to avoid dangerous situations that could lead to abuse or abduction, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Honeywell partnered to develop Got 2B Safe!

As part of the initiative, awards are given that recognize the best classroom lesson plans created by teachers using four basic rules of safety:

• Check first.
• Go with a friend.
• It's my body.
• Tell a trusted adult.

Five grand prize winners will receive a classroom makeover worth $10,000, and 100 first prize winners will receive gift certificates for $500 in school supplies.

The deadline to apply is January 15, 2009. 

For more information, go to www.got2bsafe.com/.

Nominate a Champion for the 2008 Awards

Each year NEA recognizes individuals who are champions of human and civil rights. Take a look at three winners of the 2007 HCR awards. We hope they will inspire you to nominate someone whose work and life promote human and civil rights. 

César Chávez Acción y Compromiso Human and Civil Rights Award

This award is given to a person whose work dignifies workers and their jobs and gives them hope for a better life and uses grassroots organizing to achieve improvements in working conditions.

Barbara Kerr, past president of California Teachers Association (CTA) and a member from Riverside, California, won this award for her work and leadership in improving the status of labor and the lives of workers. She helped forged close ties between CTA and other unions in California and together they have won many battles. 56K | Broadband Time: 3:36 min

H. Councill Trenholm Memorial Award (Non-Black)

This award is given to a person whose work goes beyond the call of duty to free the education profession from inequities based on race or ethnicity.

Braulio Alonso, the first Hispanic president of NEA (1967-1968), and a retired member of the Tampa, Florida, organization, won this award for his leadership in a time of crisis, work with integration, and help in completing the merger between NEA and the American Teachers Association, the Black teachers association. 56K | Broadband Time: 3:09 min

SuAnne Big Crow Memorial Award

This award is given to one or more K-12 students under the age of 20, whose achievements in school have helped enhance students' sense of worth and dignity.

Drama students at Hattiesburg High School  received this award for creating a drama that captured the gut-wrenching trauma that Hurricane Katrina victims felt and the nation witnessed. Led by theatre arts and debate teacher and long-time NEA member from Mississippi, Michael Marks, these students produced "Katrina Project: Hell and High Water." 56K | Broadband  Time: 3:06 min

You, Too, Can Contribute to This Annual Tradition

We invite you to nominate an exemplary individual or individuals, organization, or affiliate to recognize through the 2008 NEA Human and Civil Rights Awards. Winners will be honored at a gala dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Washington Convention Center, in Washington D.C., on July 2, 2008.

Each year, nominations must be postmarked by December 1.

For more information, see the guidelines for the 15 HCR award categories. If you have further questions, please contact Sabrina Williams at (202) 822-7709.

New Education Program Unites Young People from Across the Globe

O Ambassadors™ is a new joint project of Oprah's Angel Network and Free The Children that inspires young people to become active, compassionate, and knowledgeable global citizens.

The school-based program connects young people in North America with people around the world to create lasting change by working toward the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Participants address problems such as hunger, poverty, and limited access to education.

Educators are invited to apply to form an O Ambassadors Club at their school, either as part of classroom instruction or as a school-based extracurricular opportunity for students.

Educators who are selected will lead their student clubs in activities that support development initiatives in one of five featured world regions (West Africa, East Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Latin America) by raising funds for development projects and increasing awareness of global issues at their school. Clubs will:

• Run for the duration of the 2007/2008 school year
• explore four Millennium Development Goal themes:
  • poverty
  • education
  • health
  • sustainable development

Specific fundraising and awareness activities will be assigned to clubs to adapt for their school audience. Clubs will receive instructional resources and programming support for each of these activities.

 As a committed educator, you are the key to making this program a life-changing experience for your students. To learn more and apply to form a club at your school, visit O Ambassadors online.

For more than a decade, educators have celebrated National Multicultural Diversity Day (NMDD) on the third Monday in October. Created by Cleorah Scruggs, a fourth-grade teacher in Flint, Michigan, the day was adopted as a national event by the 1993 Representative Assembly to "increase awareness of the tremendous need to celebrate our diversity collectively."

You can get involved just by being creative. Start by sharing cultural information with your class about yourself, then introduce students to multicultural issues by inviting a local expert to talk about diversity. You can also sing songs that celebrate diversity and ask students to bring in items or food representative of their ethnic heritage to share with classmates.

To help educators share ways to celebrate diversity year round, NEA sponsors an electronic discussion board at www.nea.org/cs/forum.jspa?forumID=55.

Unless someone close to you has been diagnosed with Niemann-Pick Disease (NPD), you probably haven't heard of this rare set of genetic pediatric disorders that typically affect children of elementary school age.

NPD is characterized by an enzymatic deficiency that affects metabolism and leads to malfunction of major organ systems and deterioration of the nervous system. NPD is progressive, degenerative—and until a cure is found—always fatal. Symptoms usually appear in children between the ages of 4–10, although they can appear later in life.

The National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation supports and promotes research to find treatments and a cure, and provides support services for children and families.

Go to http://nnpdf.org for more information.

September Is the Time to Learn About Prevention

Did you know that four out of every five women in the United States become infected with Human Papillomavirus (HPV)—the virus that causes cervical cancer—at some point in their lives? In recognition of Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month (September), HIN is revving up its commitment to raise awareness about the prevention of cervical cancer, which disproportionately affects women of color and low-income women.

At NEA's 2007 Representative Assembly, a New Business Item was passed that will broaden HIN's efforts to educate NEA members and the community at large about prevention, screening, and treatment options, including the new HPV vaccine. HIN staff will also assist states that are implementing programs on HPV awareness and cervical cancer prevention through state legislation.

For more information visit www.neahin.org or send an e-mail.

With support from Dollar General and in collaboration with the American Library Association, American Association of School Librarians, and the NEA Foundation, NEA has produced a library disaster toolkit designed to jump-start schools and librarians to plan for the unthinkable—disaster relief following catastrophic weather or other destructive events.

The toolkit includes a sampling of disaster planning resources organized around five readiness steps:

• Assess preparedness
• Identify district resources
• Make a plan
• Create emergency procedures
• Prepare an emergency kit

Part of the Beyond Words initiative, which includes grants to replace books, media, and library equipment for public school libraries that have incurred substantial damage or hardship from natural disasters or acts of terrorism, the toolkit can be downloaded at the NEA Foundation Web site.

Go to www.neafoundation.org for more information.

Human rights group Children As They Are and parent organization Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GenderPAC) are striving to make gender discrimination and stereotyping in schools a thing of the past. The group—which is conducting a grassroots campaign to include gender discrimination in schools' zero tolerance polices—reported last year that more than 40 school districts encompassing more than 2.5 million students have adopted policies ensuring a safer learning environment for all students, regardless of their gender expression.

When asked why the organization works so hard to reduce gender discrimination in the school system, parenting director Taneika Taylor replied, "At some point in all of our lives, kids face pressures to conform to gender expectations. Too often they find themselves curtailing interests to avoid being ostracized or teased for not being the 'right' kind of girl or boy. We’re trying to make it OK for everyone to express themselves authentically."

GenderPAC provides resources for educators, parents, and students. For more information, go to www.childrenastheyare.org.

Helping Students Prepare for Adult Life

The National Alliance on Secondary Education and Transition (NASET) Web site provides materials to help teachers identify what youth need to succeed in postsecondary education and adult life. The site has information on schooling, career preparatory experiences, youth development and leadership, and connecting activities.

The Transition Toolkit, including the Self-Assessment Tool and Priority-setting Tool, focuses on transition issues and can be helpful for schools and districts that are looking into high school reform or improving post-secondary outcomes for all students, including students with disabilities.

For more information, see the NASET Web site.

The National Alliance for Secondary Education and Transition (NASET) is a national voluntary coalition of more than 40 organizations and advocacy groups representing special education, general education, career and technical education, youth development, multicultural perspectives, and parents.

Plus an Easy, Practical Way to Offset Impact

Looking for a way to help students understand "carbon footprints" and how to reduce environmental impact? Two Web sites that have partnered with NBC Universal's new movie, Evan Almighty, can help.

The Rabbits Have It

The Eco-Bunnies explain it all for you at www.eco-bunnies.com/. Presented by Travelocity, the site uses amusing animations to explain, in simple language, the concept of carbon footprints and how to make decisions about energy consumption that reduce carbon emissions—the number one cause of global warming.

Teachers will find downloadable lesson plans for grades K–8 that include fact sheets (as well as "fiction busters"), home energy surveys, achievement certificates, and more. Readers are also encouraged to participte in The Conservation Fund's "Go Zero" program (see below.)

For more information, visit www.eco-bunnies.com/.

Be a Hero, Go Zero!

At The Conservation Fund's "virtual forest," individuals can make small contributions that "zero out" their carbon dioxide emissions by sponsoring the planting of trees—at only $5 per tree—that absorb and reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere. It's easy to participate. For every tree that you plant in the virtual "Almighty Forest," a real tree is planted by The Conservation Fund in protected areas across the nation.

Trees are vital to our environment. In fact, planting just 15 trees offsets the average American's annual carbon dioxide emissions! And that's not all. Trees help fight climate change, restore wildlife habitat, improve air and water quality, and expand recreational opportunities.

Visit www.getonboardnow.org/ for more information.

Evan Almighty

Evan Almighty is the first big movie comedy to zero out its impact on the environment:

• The film's production was carbon-offset through a donation to The Conservation Fund.
• All the landscaping, lumber, windows, and other reusable materials were donated to Habitat for Humanity.
• Crew members were given bicycles by director Tom Shadyac to reduce car usage.
• Recycled paper, plastic, aluminum, and glass were used on set.
• Trees were planted in Crozet, VA—a filming site—as a thank-you to the community.
• HtoO water was used—a company that donates 100% of after-tax profits to charity.

TeachersCount Promotes the Teaching Profession

TeachersCount.org  provides a variety of services and resources aimed at current teachers, future teachers, and teacher "boosters." Here are just a few projects TeachersCount is currently promoting:

Fabulous Teacher Posters
TeachersCount will be providing free posters from the Behind Every Famous Person Is a Fabulous Teacher campaign to schools across the country. Check the Web site for more details throughout the summer.

Be Counted Poll
Every six weeks, the TeachersCount "Be Counted" poll asks a new question about an important issue in education. In the current poll, teachers are asked to weigh in with their opinions about why so many teachers feel like scapegoats for all education problems. Poll results and comments are used in press releases to the national news media.

Teacher Fashion Show
Be a model teacher— literally! TeachersCount, as a part of Jones New York In The Classroom, is in search of female teachers to model for a series of teacher fashion runway shows to be held in October. Teachers chosen to participate will walk away with free clothes from Jones New York and get to enjoy a little (well-deserved) limelight.

The shows will take place in Northern California (Bay area and San Jose); Chicago, Illinois; the New York metro area; and Miami, Florida, on October 13th and in St. Louis, Missouri; Houston, Texas; and Portland, Oregon, on October 20th. If you are interested in being considered for participation, please send your name, address, phone number, school, and e-mail address to marcella.medina@ogilvypr.com with the subject line, "Teacher Fashion" and the city you live in or near (e.g., "Teacher Fashion—Chicago"). Your name and contact information will not be used by Jones New York In The Classroom for any other purpose.

And a Movie
TeachersCount is working in partnership with Chalk,