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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2002

News Release

National Conference Spotlights Schools of Greatest Need

More Than 350 Education Experts to Focus on Turning Around Low-Performing Schools

Washington, D.C. - Eighty-five percent of the most affluent and well-educated parents in America send their children to public schools. But poor parents in Los Angeles and other urban cities lack the same choice - neighborhood public schools with modern facilities, world-class technology, and outstanding teachers, many with advanced degrees.

Identifying ways to close this disparity will be the focus of a three-day conference sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA) on Friday, Oct. 18 - Sunday, Oct. 20 at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in Los Angeles.

"Priority Schools, Priority Students: Making Public Schools Great for Every Child" will bring together hundreds of teachers, education policymakers, and staff from low-performing schools to learn strategies for reforming struggling schools. A major theme throughout the conference will be exploring how the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) - the groundbreaking federal education law passed earlier this year - will impact low-performing schools through new testing and teacher quality provisions.

"Most Americans have written off these children and these schools," says NEA President Reg Weaver, who will deliver the keynote address on Friday morning (Oct. 18, 8:30 a.m.) "But every day, teachers and support staff go into these schools and do one heck of a job. We call these schools priority schools because there is no higher priority than lifting up these schools. We want every public school to be as good as our best public schools."

A variety of plenary sessions will address the challenges facing teachers and other school employees in low-performing schools. Participants will hear from noted speakers including Kati Haycock, director of The Education Trust, a Washington-based advocacy group for poor and minority children; Thomas Todd, a prominent legal advisor and speaker on education and civil rights; and Darline Robles, superintendent of the Salt Lake City School District and an expert on bilingual/bicultural student populations.

Throughout the three-day conference, participants will discuss topics in more depth at workshops centered on keynote themes. Sessions will tackle issues such as closing the achievement gap for poor and minority students, navigating high-stakes testing, boosting parent participation in diverse schools, and building community and business partnerships within public schools.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you would like to arrange an on-site interview with NEA President Reg Weaver or other conference speakers, please contact Melinda Anderson via cell phone at (703) 927-8044.

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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.