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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 31, 2002

News Release

Classroom Issues Take Center Stage at NEA Annual Meeting in Dallas

Teacher Quality, Testing and Online Learning Top Delegates' Agenda

Washington, D.C. - Translating the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) into reality at the school level will top the agenda at the 140th Annual Meeting and related conferences of the National Education Association (NEA), set for June 27 through July 5 in Dallas, Texas.

How will states ensure that all teachers are "highly qualified" by the 2005 school year? And how will new federal testing and accountability systems be implemented? NEA delegates will explore these questions and concerns, as well as consider a recent report from the NEA Task Force on Distance Learning. The focus of the discussion will be on balancing NEA's long-standing commitment to high-quality education services with the changing world of education technology and online courses.

For the final time, NEA President Bob Chase will call to order the Representative Assembly (RA) on Tuesday, July 2. Chase has served as NEA president for six years and will complete his term in August. An election for NEA's three officers and two Executive Committee positions will be held at this year's meeting.

The RA is the world's largest democratic deliberative body and is the elected policy-making group for the 2.7 million-member Association. Floor debate and votes by the delegates will determine NEA's Strategic Plan and Budget and set the Association's overall policy for the coming year.

More than 9,000 NEA delegates elected by their state and local colleagues will gather in Dallas, representing teachers, college faculty, student members, retired members, education support professionals, and other Association members.

Highlights of the 2002 NEA Annual Meeting and Pre-Convention Activities:

June 26

"Outreach To Teach" Project. More than 200 NEA members will descend on an elementary school in the heart of Dallas to paint, repair, landscape, and revitalize the facility. They will also donate new materials and equipment, and make other improvements. The event represents NEA's ongoing commitment to boosting student achievement in urban communities, and is sponsored each year in the city hosting the RA. Location: N.W. Harlee Elementary School, 1216 E. 8th Street, Dallas, 8 a.m.

June 27-28

The Joint Conference on the Concerns of Minorities and Women will offer NEA members a variety of plenary sessions and workshops on the latest trends in education policy and classroom instruction. Opening the conference will be Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, founder of the University of Maryland's Meyerhoff scholarship program, which has successfully steered African American students into graduate and professional schools. Participants will also learn more on issues such as closing the achievement gap for poor and minority students, making schools safer, and building community support for schools.
Location: Adam's Mark Hotel, 400 North Olive Street, Dallas.

June 28-29

The Conference on Bargaining and Instructional Issues this year will focus entirely on ESEA - all the sessions will provide information and strategies to help NEA members prepare for the new federal education law's implementation. On June 28, the opening session features a panel discussion on various aspects of ESEA including teacher quality, student testing and accountability - the panel will be moderated by former NEA president Mary Hatwood Futrell, dean of The George Washington University Graduate School of Education. NEA President Bob Chase will also present the 2002 NEA-Saturn/UAW Partnership Awards, which recognize local education associations and school districts for developing successful mentoring programs for teachers. On Saturday, Barnett Berry, executive director of the Southeast Center for Teacher Quality, will address the participants - and a series of workshops on bargaining for quality will be offered. Location: Adam's Mark Hotel, 400 North Olive Street, Dallas.

June 30

Run for NEA Fund for Children & Public Education. Thousands of NEA members will "mosey on down" to a Dallas park to jog/walk and raise funds in support of pro-public education political candidates.
Location: Fair Park, Dallas, 7 a.m.

July 1

• The NEA News Room opens in the Dallas Convention Center, Ballroom C-2. A filing center for credentialed news media will include telephones, fax machines, modems, and a television monitor from which the media can view the action on the floor of the Representative Assembly. Seating will also be provided near the stage for media who want to cover the Assembly "up close and personal."

• NEA's Read Across America "Read-In." NEA members will host more than 100 students from Peace Elementary School in Dallas for a "Reading Roundup." The children will enjoy entertainment, face-painting, and will get a chance to hunker down and share a good book.
  Location: Dallas Convention Center, Hall D, 8:30 a.m.- 3 p.m.
• NEA hosts its 36th Annual Human and Civil Rights Awards Dinner. Eleven visionaries will be honored for their compassion and commitment to human rights. Included among this celebrated group are U.S. Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, a recognized leader in the Civil Rights Movement; Dr. James Cameron, founder of the Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee; and David Protess, Professor of Journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, who used his investigative skills to help overturn the convictions of seven innocent men, three of whom had been on death row.
  Location: Adam's Mark Hotel, 400 North Olive Street, Dallas.

The NEA Representative Assembly will take place July 2-5. All of the following events will be held at the Dallas Convention Center.

July 2

• Representative Assembly opens, 11 a.m., Hall B

• President Chase will deliver his final keynote address during the morning session.
• National PTA President Shirley Igo will bring greetings from the nation's largest volunteer child advocacy organization.
• A September 11 recognition will salute the skill and grace of teachers and education employees all across America who shepherded their students through that traumatic day and the months that followed.

July 3

• NEA delegates will go to the polls to elect new officers - the offices of NEA president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer will be decided. Election results will be announced during the morning business meeting.
• President Chase will celebrate his literary debut at an RA book signing for "The New Public School Parent," a primer to help parents navigate the public school system on behalf of their children.
  Location: NEA Professional Library Booth, Hall C

July 4

• The Independence Day celebration will feature Sandra McBrayer, executive director of The Children's Initiative in San Diego. McBrayer, the 1994 National Teacher of the Year, now runs an organization dedicated to strengthening children and families.
• Chauncey Veatch, 2002 National Teacher of the Year, will address the delegates. Veatch, a retired Army colonel, is a social studies teacher at Coachella Valley High School in Thermal, California.
• U.S. Senator James Jeffords of Vermont will receive NEA's highest honor - the 2002 Friend of Education Award - for making public education funding, especially funding for special education, a top priority in the Senate.

July 5

For more information on this year's Annual Meeting and details about the Representative Assembly 2002, visit the NEA website at www.nea.org/ra/ra02/rainfo02/

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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 professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.