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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2001

News Release

Education Secretary Paige to Keynote NEA Conference

NEA members discuss change and challenges

U.S. Education Secretary Roderick Paige will be the special keynote speaker at the opening session of the National Education Association's (NEA) Bargaining and Instructional Issues conference in Los Angeles on June 30. Secretary Paige will address teachers and other education employees from across America in town for the two-day meeting to learn how to more effectively use the negotiation process to improve teaching and learning. Advocating for Professional Issues: New Needs, New Challenges is the theme of this new conference, held immediately preceding the 2001 Representative Assembly of the National Education Association.

NEA President Bob Chase, who has used his tenure at the helm of the 2.6 million-member teachers' organization to push what he calls "new unionism," will remark on the changes taking place at bargaining tables from coast to coast. "Education employees are using contract discussions to win mentoring programs, smaller class sizes, and support for improved professional development," said Chase. "New ways of negotiating are helping NEA members play an important new role in making every public school great."

On Saturday, NEA President Chase will present the 2001 NEA-UAW Saturn Awards -- a program recognizing local education associations and school districts whose pursuit of excellence in public education mirrors the success achieved by labor and management in the automotive industry. This year's winners, all of whom have developed successful mentoring programs for teachers, hail from Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Washington and Wisconsin.

NEA members will also hear from Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Federation of Teachers (an AFT affiliate) and co-director of the Teacher Union Reform Network, and former NEA president Mary Hatwood Futrell, dean of The George Washington University School of Education, on the topic of connecting advocacy and professional issues.

Conference workshops will address the issues of low-performing schools, National Board Certification, professional development for education support personnel, safe schools, teacher recruitment, peer assistance and review, and compensation.

The conference will take place at The Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, June 30-July 1. For additional information on the NEA's annual Representative Assembly, visit the NEA web site at www.nea.org/ra/ra01/rainfo01.

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