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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 29, 2000

News Release

Statement from National Education Association (NEA) President Bob Chase on Rod Paige's nomination as U.S. Secretary of Education:

President-elect George W. Bush's naming of Rod Paige as his Secretary of Education signals an important commitment to public schools and recognizes the exceptional challenges that face urban schools.

Like many of our members who work in urban classrooms every day, Rod Paige has seen firsthand the challenges they face. His sincere and productive work on behalf of urban schools and children will be enormously valuable in his role as U.S. Secretary of Education.

In accepting President-elect Bush's offer of the position, Paige stressed the importance of a public education system that serves all children - a belief and practice shared by NEA and its 2.5 million educators. We believe that this is a moral imperative that cannot be compromised. We look forward to working with the new President and Education Secretary to ensure that public schools serve all children. Such a school system provides children with smaller class sizes, quality teachers, safe and modern schools, preschool and early learning opportunities, and extra help for students who need it.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support personnel, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.