Contact: Christiana Campos   (202) 822-7823

November 13, 2007 

Nation's Public Schools Celebrate 'American Education Week'

NEA Emphasizes 'Great Public Schools' Criteria and Identifies Key Trends

WASHINGTON —The face of public education in America is changing at a dramatic pace. Students are more diverse than ever, technology is increasingly becoming vital in every classroom, and educators are tasked with the challenges of teaching in a vastly different environment. As part of the National Education Association's 86th annual American Education Week, taking place November 11-17, the 3.2 million-member Association is emphasizing its criteria for what makes a "Great Public School" and identifying key trends in education. The weeklong national celebration will paint a vivid portrait of the state of public education today and identify what needs to be done to ensure great public schools for every child in the future.

"Having access to a quality public education is a basic right—regardless of a child's race, family income or place of residence," said NEA President Reg Weaver. "But in order to make that a reality for every child in America, we  need to continue making progress in a number of areas. Because of our diverse student population, we must recruit and retain a more diversified teacher workforce. We also need to strive for smaller class sizes, up-to-date textbooks and modern technology in every school to help students succeed in the 21st century."

According to recent data compiled by NEA and other sources, an estimated $489.4 billion will be spent on nearly 50 million students attending 97,000 U.S. public elementary and secondary schools this year. In addition, while the number of K-12 public school teachers has remained relatively stable (3.18 million), there are one million more children attending K-12 public schools this year, a two-year increase from 2005-06 to 2007-08. In an effort to communicate the current state of public education in America, NEA  is releasing the following top five indicators that play a key role in ensuring all children will have access to a quality public education:

#1   Quality programs and services are required to meet the full range of all children's needs so that they come to school every day ready and able to learn. Research shows that in today's environment there is a growing need for a full range of public education services—including public preK, full-day kindergarten and afterschool programs—to meet students' diverse needs. 

One in five four-year-olds (20%) attends a public preschool. ―National Institute for Early Education Research

One in seven children (14%) receives special education at some point during the school day. ―National  Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

Nearly one in eight children (12%) is either enrolled in or has the opportunity to be enrolled in a public afterschool program. One in four children (25%) has expressed an interest in participating in an afterschool program. ―Afterschool Alliance

In 2006, three in five children (60%) participated in the National School Lunch Program, a program offering free or reduced-price meals for eligible students. ―United States Department of Agriculture

#2   High expectations and standards with a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum are required for all students. Research on student outcomes continually points to the fact that curricula must be aligned with standards and assessments, and should include more than what can be measured by filling in the right bubble on a test. 

Eight in 10 Americans (82%) say the best way to measure school performance is by the improvement made by students (instead of by the percentage who pass a test). ―PDK/Gallup Poll

Nearly three in four school districts (74%) reported in 2007 that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) teacher quality requirements have had minimal or no impact on the effectiveness of the teacher workforce. ―Center on Education Policy (CEP)

Chances are one out of four (25%) that high school standards are currently aligned with postsecondary expectations. ―Achieve, Inc.

Chances are two out of three (66%) that states are in the process of aligning or planning to align high school standards. ―Education Commission of the States

Close to half of school districts nationwide (44%) have cut time out of science, social studies, art and music, physical education, lunch or recess since the current version of NCLB was enacted. ―CEP

#3   Twenty-first century students and educators need 21st century schools.  In order to succeed, students need up-to-date textbooks, safe and orderly schools and modern technology.

More than two in five public school children (44%) will attend a "green" school within the next few years. ―Council of Educational Facility Planners International

Nearly one in three children (32%) will attend a public school that was constructed or significantly modernized within the last five years (NCES).   On average, U.S. schools are 42 years old. ―Green Building Council

Almost four in five students (77%) have at least one computer with an Internet connection in their public school classroom. ―NCES

One in five U.S.  public schools (20%) has at least one police officer stationed there full-time. ―NCES

#4   The changing face of American students indicates students are more diverse than ever.  Educators need the necessary tools, resources and skills to be fully prepared to handle distinct needs and issues.

Seven in 10 minority students (70%) attend a school where they are actually the majority. ―NCES

More than four in 10 students (43%) are minorities; nearly one in six teachers (15.6%) is a member of a minority group. ―NCES 

Four in 10 public schools (40%) have no minority teachers on staff. ―NCES

One in five students (20%) speaks a language other than English at home. ―Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics

#5   Teachers are more educated and experienced than ever, yet too many continue to flee the profession. 

Nearly half of all public school teachers (49%) have more than 15 years of classroom experience. ―NEA Research

Up to 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within the first five years of teaching. ―NCES/NEA Research/Linda Darling-Hammond

Nearly six in 10 public school teachers (57%) hold at least a master's degree. ―NEA Research

One in 50 teachers (2%) is National Board Certified. ―National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

One out of five teachers (20%) cites unsatisfactory working conditions as keeping them from wanting to stay in the profession. ―NEA Research

Nearly four out of 10 teachers (37%) who do not plan to teach until retirement blame low pay for their decision to quit. ―NEA Research

"The world is changing and we're changing too," said President Weaver. "Ensuring students' success means engaging everyone—elected officials, parents and the community—to ensure great public schools for every child. Elected officials have a responsibility to make sure that public schools have adequate funding so that none of our students are shortchanged. Parents need to ensure that students come to school ready to learn. And the entire community has to join forces to make sure that highly trained professionals are recruited and retained in public school classrooms." 

About American Education Week

Celebrated the first full week before Thanksgiving, American Education Week began in 1921 as a way to generate public awareness and support for education at a time when illiteracy was still a major problem in the United States.  NEA's 86th annual American Education Week is taking place November 11-17: 

• Sunday, November 11: Student Leaders Day
• Monday, November 12: National Kickoff Celebration
• Tuesday, November 13: Invite Parents to School Day
• Wednesday, November 14: Education Support Professionals Day
• Thursday, November 15: Educator for a Day
• Friday, November 16: Substitute Educators Day

These activities will be part of a nationwide effort to draw attention to American Education Week's tagline, "Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility." It represents NEA's vision of making public schools great for every child and the shared responsibility of all Americans to provide students with quality public schools. For more information about American Education Week, visit www.nea.org/aew  or contact your local public school.

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