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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2001

News Release

NEA Honors Georgia Lawyer

A 74-year old trial lawyer who galvanized local schools and businesses to redesign their approach to Spanish-speaking students will be honored by the National Education Association (NEA) on July 3 at the Association's annual Human and Civil Rights banquet at the Los Angeles Westin Bonaventure Hotel.

NEA President Bob Chase will present Erin Mitchell of Dalton, Georgia with the George I. S?nchez Memorial Award before an expected audience of two thousand educators.

The award is named for George I. S?nchez, "the father of the movement for quality education for Mexican Americans," who devoted 50 years of his life to the education of Mexican, Navajo, and African-American children.

Mitchell carries on S?nchez's devotion to the education of minority children. Between 1989 and 1998, the Hispanic student population in Dalton's public schools jumped from less than 4 percent to 44 percent. And few people in Dalton were prepared. Students new to America and unable to speak English confronted frustrated teachers who were unfamiliar with their new student's background and unable to speak Spanish.

Mitchell launched a crusade to help educate the influx of Spanish-speaking children in Dalton, and helped give their Anglo teachers a greater appreciation of the language and culture of their Hispanic students.

Despite the demands of his job as a trial lawyer, Mitchell found time to meet with the Georgia Board of Education and local educators to devise a solution to the problem. Together they decided that Dalton's school system needed to recruit Hispanic instructors who were familiar with the culture and language of the immigrant students.

Assisted by Shaw Industries, the largest employer of Hispanics in Dalton, Mitchell forged a relationship with the Universidad de Monterrey in Mexico. Together they created the "Georgia Project," which consists of four components: 1) placing bilingual instructors from Monterrey in Dalton's schools; 2) providing an intensive month-long summer institute for Dalton teachers hosted by the Universidad; 3) developing bilingual curricula; and, 4) creating an organization to promote leadership and parental involvement among Dalton's Hispanic community.

The program is proving to be a huge success and serves as a model for other districts in the country.

When asked why he is concerned about the education of Spanish-speaking children, Mitchell replies quickly and quietly: "We're doing what we should to make sure all our children - Dalton's future doctors and bankers - are educated."

Presented for more than 30 years, the NEA Human and Civil Rights Awards recognize educators and others from a variety of backgrounds who have fought effectively for human and civil rights advances. NEA's Annual Meeting, which draws more than 9,000 delegates, will be held July 2-7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

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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.