CONTACT: Will Potter   (202) 822-7823

June 22, 2006

More than 9,000 Educators Will Gather for NEA’s Annual Meeting

Delegates will tackle top issues facing public education 

WASHINGTON -- More than 9,000 delegates representing teachers, education support professionals, higher education faculty and other education employees will meet in Orlando, Fla., beginning next week to share experiences and shape the National Education Association’s policies. NEA’s Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly runs Friday, June 30 through Wednesday, July 5.
 
“For our delegates, the Annual Meeting is part celebration and part strategy session,” said Reg Weaver, NEA president. “We’ll celebrate the gains that have been made in protecting the basic right of every child to attend quality public schools. But we will also map out our collective vision for positive changes that benefit all students.” 
 
As part of the Annual Meeting, delegates will take part in NEA’s Representative Assembly, the largest democratic decision-making body in the world.  They will discuss and vote on critical issues facing public education, such as No Child Left Behind, teacher recruitment and education funding.
 
The Representative Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the 2.8 million-member Association. In balloting conducted by NEA affiliates across the country, NEA members elect their peers to represent their concerns. The elected delegates determine NEA's strategic plan and budget, legislative program, and other policies on vital issues that affect public education.
 
Highlights of the 2006 NEA Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly:

June 25 – 28
Aspiring teachers will gather for the NEA Student Leadership Conference, “Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow.” The conference will help them become more effective leaders in their student associations as well as exceptional teachers when they graduate. 
 
June 26
More than 300 volunteers will help paint, landscape and clean Eccleston Elementary School as part of Outreach to Teach. Welcoming remarks begin at 7:45 a.m. Eccleston is a Title I school located in the southwest section of Orlando. The NEA Student Program started Outreach to Teach in 1996 to give back to a local school in the city hosting the Annual Meeting.
 
June 27 – 28
More than 1,000 NEA members will attend the Joint Conference on Concerns of Minorities and Women to address issues of race and gender in schools and create academic success for students of all cultures.

June 29
Delegates will take time out to read to local children as part of NEA’s Read Across America, a year-round program to promote adults and children reading together on a regular basis. Students from local public schools and Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs will be NEA’s special guests for this event. 
 
July 1
Each year NEA honors educators, public servants and activists who fight tirelessly to promote social justice and dignity for all citizens. This year, 14 individuals from across the country will be honored at the 40 th Annual Human and Civil Rights Awards Dinner. The event begins at 6:30 p.m.
 
July 2
Reg Weaver, NEA president, will address more than 9,000 delegates, and outline tactics to help teachers and educators provide great public schools for every child, regardless of race or background. Weaver’s keynote address will begin at approximately 1:00 p.m. on the convention floor.
 
July 3
Members will celebrate the 40 th anniversary of the merger between NEA and the predominantly Black American Teachers Association. The celebration will honor the trailblazers who shaped the face of public education, especially education for Black students throughout the South and Southeast.
 
Also on Monday, Nancy Toombs, custodian supervisor at South Heights Elementary School in Henderson, Ky., will address the delegates as NEA’s 2006 Education Support Professional of the Year. The award is NEA’s highest honor for professionals in the field of education support.
 
July 4
NEA member Kimberly Oliver, a kindergarten teacher at Broad Acres Elementary School in Silver Spring, Md., will address the delegates as the 2006 National Teacher of the Year. During her six years in the classroom, Oliver has played a pivotal role in developing and executing several programs designed to improve student achievement. 
 
July 5
NEA presents 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. The award recognizes individuals whose leadership, acts and support have raised the level of excellence in American public education. 

To request media credentials, please call (202) 822-7823.

For more information and a full listing of scheduled events:
www.nea.org/annualmeeting

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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.