Contact: Celeste Fernandez, NEA Public Relations (202) 822-7823

July 4, 2007

Nancy Pelosi Receives NEA Education Award

Speaker of the House of Representatives
Supports and Defends Public Education

PHILADELPHIA -- Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, was recognized as the NEA 2007 Friend of Education on Thursday at NEA's Representative Assembly.

"For her unparalleled history of courageous advocacy for public education, students and school employees," said Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association, "it is an honor and a privilege to award Nancy Pelosi with the 2007 NEA Friend of Education Award."

For 35 years, NEA has bestowed this prestigious award on an individual or organization whose leadership, acts, and support have significantly benefited education, education employees, or students on a national scale. Since its inception in 1972, the Friend of Education Award has attained the status of NEA's highest tribute.

Pelosi is the first woman in American history to lead a major party in the U.S. Congress. She has led the U.S. House in advancing an agenda that is pro-public education, pro-child and pro-working families. Under her leadership, the House has passed bills that increase education funding, address school bus safety and increase the minimum wage for the first time in a decade.

"I am honored to accept the NEA Friend of Education Award," said Pelosi in a letter to President Weaver. "In accepting this award, I stand with the teachers who work past the last bell of the day to further inspire students to want to learn and soar to greater heights."

Pelosi has also worked to block tuition tax credits and vouchers, reform the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, increase funding for student scholarships, and end the unfair penalties against public employees who have earned Social Security benefits.

Previous recipients of the award include U.S. Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and William Jefferson Clinton; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; and U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. The award has also been presented to U.S. senators and representatives, governors, educators, civil rights activists, authors, and an athlete.

NEA members are in Philadelphia as part of the NEA Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly. The Representative Assembly, one of the largest democratic decision-making bodies in the world, runs through Thursday, July 5. More than 9,000 educators from around the country will discuss, debate and vote on critical issues facing public education. 

Along with setting NEA's agenda for the coming year, delegates will hear eight presidential candidates -- seven Democrats and one Republican -- lay out their visions for the future of America's public schools.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty,
educational support professionals, school administrators, retired educators
and students preparing to become teachers.