CONTACT: Celeste Fernandez   (202) 822-7823

June 26, 2006

Hundreds of NEA Volunteers Revitalize Orlando Elementary School in Annual 'Outreach to Teach'

ORLANDO—More than 300 teachers, retired educators, higher education faculty, education support professionals and students preparing to become teachers will pick up shovels and dig in to give a needy, local school a much-needed facelift on Monday, June 26.

NEA's Outreach to Teach will descend on Eccleston Elementary School in Orlando, Fla., where NEA members will grab a hammer, shovel, brush or mop to repair, landscape, paint, clean and decorate the school.  Sponsored by the NEA Student Program, the award-winning Outreach to Teach is celebrating its 11th year of community service. Each year, a high-needs public school located in the host city of the NEA Annual Meeting is selected to receive a free makeover—thanks to hundreds of NEA volunteers.

"Ensuring every child’s basic right to a great public school starts with providing children with an environment that is safe, healthy and conducive to learning," NEA President Reg Weaver said. "We are here today because students and school employees deserve to learn and work in clean and cheerful surroundings. Together, we must invest in our students and our public schools to give every child the opportunity to succeed in school and in life."

Eccleston, a Title I school, first opened its doors in 1953 for the purpose of caring for the physically and mentally handicapped Black children in Orange County.  Today, more than 550 students in kindergarten through fifth grade attend the award winning school. 

"We are absolutely thrilled that NEA has selected our school for this year's Outreach to Teach event," said Eccleston Principal Ruth Haniff.  "I know these efforts will bring smiles of joy to the faces of our staff and students, and the revitalized school will encourage them to keep soaring."

Outreach to Teach began in 1996 as a beautification project to give back to schools.  Past sites have included New Orleans, Atlanta, Chicago, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Dallas, Compton and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Since its inception, participation has increased by more than 1,000 percent.

"Outreach to Teach is an extremely rewarding experience," said Mandy Plucker, NEA Student Program chair. "We work hard, but at the end of the day, you know that it was worth it—because every child has a right to attend a public school that is clean, safe, inviting and up-to-date."

Generous donations were given by Volkswagen of America, NEA Member Benefits and the Universal Orlando Foundation, which included thousands of dollars in financial and in-kind contributions to the school through Outreach to Teach.

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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.