NEA Launches New Initiative to Engage Ethnic and Minority Communities

Six-city grassroots and media campaign seeks to strengthen public education

PHILADELPHIA -- On the heels of its 150th anniversary, the National Education Association July 3 unveiled a six-state grassroots and media outreach initiative. The announcement took place during the Association’s Minority Community Outreach forum. The initiative’s aim is to fortify relationships with the Asian Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, Hispanic, and Caribbean and African communities to make them strong advocates of public education.

“This is a timely and relevant initiative,” said NEA President Reg Weaver. “Today, 40 percent of the nation’s public school students are racial or ethnic minorities. That number is expected to reach 50 percent in the next 20 years. The support of these communities is fundamental to the future of public education. We must work together to ensure great public schools are a basic right for every child.”

The NEA forum included a diverse list of distinguished speakers and presenters, including Antonio Villaraigosa, mayor of Los Angeles; Hiep Chu, president, National Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese Americans; Susan Castillo, Oregon superintendent of public instruction; Senator Carol Juneau of Montana; Gregory W. Porter, Indiana state representative; and Wellington E. Webb, former mayor of Denver and the panel’s moderator.

Villaraigosa joined Weaver at the forum, saying public education is “the fundamental civil rights issue of our time.” Recalling his advocacy work for the United Teachers of Los Angeles walking the picket lines with teachers in that city in 1989, he noted “18 years later the things we fought for sadly remain as relevant today as they were back then. We have to challenge ourselves and challenge each other as we address this issue of public education.”

The six cities that will host pilot programs are: Atlanta, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Phoenix, and Seattle. NEA will employ surveys, focus groups, and other research methods to develop resources and materials that resonate and connect with the targeted communities. The initiative will feature outreach efforts that include extensive use of multi-language radio, print and TV ads, as well as new media and social networking activities.

“The campaign is comprehensive and inclusive in scope,” said Cynthia Swann, director of the NEA Office of Governance and Policy’s Minority Community Outreach. “We will utilize a number of creative elements such as regional summits, community ambassadors, and culturally and linguistically diverse products that speak to the pilot-city communities.” 

For parents and families in the six pilot cities, NEA will advertise in the upcoming year throughout the community with information that speaks to their unique, diverse experience. Most notably, parents will see personalized Web sites such as ilovemyafricanchild.com and ilovemyjamaicanchild.com. Parents will have access to online content and pro-public education materials that will enable advocacy for great public schools in their respective communities.