With lots of enthusiasm and elbow grease, NEA members turn out in record numbers for Outreach to Teach.

"This is the first time I've heard about this school," McGee, an aspiring elementary school teacher, admits. "You want the kids to have a special environment. We're improving the school conditions and they will enjoy the school atmosphere a lot more because of it."

Fortunately, he wasn't alone. Last June, more than 325 NEA members spent a day cleaning and painting classrooms, decorating nearly 100 bulletin boards, and landscaping the school grounds. The volunteers couldn't have arrived at a better time. A recent fire had destroyed three classrooms.

"To have NEA embrace a school community in this way is nothing short of phenomenal," says school principal Yvonne Crawford. "The experience itself will help us a great deal, but the positive feedback we will get from this after you leave is going to be tremendous."
Outreach to Teach started in 1996, when a group of 35 Student Program leaders organized a school beautification project during the Student Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Since then, attendees of the annual Student and NEA-Retired conferences, along with other NEA members, have volunteered at a local school during the week preceding NEA's Representative Assembly. The collaborative effort gives Student members an opportunity to learn from more experienced educators.

"It's really cool when you get so many people together in one place dedicated to the same thing—public education," says A.J. Heroux, a senior at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater. "It's good especially for new Student members to get an idea of how vast the organization is. By bringing in the multigenerational aspects, they learn what the organization is all about and what education is all about. We can see where public education has been and think about where we want to take it."

The event also lets students network with fellow NEA members from other states, says Meeghan Dietrich, a senior at Nebraska Wesleyan University. "And it's fun," she adds.

All schools chosen for the Outreach project have tremendous needs, says Malcolm Staples, manager for the NEA Student Program. Longfields Elementary School serves 589 students, about half of whom participate in the federal free and reduced-price lunch program. In addition to a comprehensive curriculum, the school also has a gifted and talented magnet program and three self-contained special education classes that draw students from other parts of the school district.

By improving the school environment, beautifying the grounds, and enhancing the appearance of the facility, Outreach to Teach builds morale, which ultimately impacts
student achievement, Staples says. The Parent Teacher Student Association at Longfields and several local business and community partners already have agreed to sustain the improvements.

Outreach to Teach targeted the St. John Child Development Center in Garyville, Louisiana, during the 2003 RA. Since then, the school has become a community landmark, Staples says, and representatives from the state and local Associations, the Urban League, the NAACP, and the Chamber of Commerce have helped maintain the school improvements. This summer, volunteers will help a school in Los Angeles during the 2005 Student Leadership Conference.

Ready To Reach Out?

• Collect books and classroom supplies for a local school.
• Start an after-school tutoring program for students in your area.
• Collect clothing and nonperishable food for a neighborhood shelter.
• Volunteer at a center for at-risk or gifted children or with an adult learning program.
• Get involved with Special Olympics, March of Dimes, Big Brothers/Big Sisters or other community organizations.
• Start a recycling program.
• Offer skill-building seminars on topics such as child care or conflict resolution for local residents.
• Serve as tour guides and field-trip chaperones.
• Visit the children’s ward at the local hospital and read to patients.

—Kristen Loschert

Do you have CLASS?

Make an impact on your local community with a CLASS grant (Community Learning through America’s Schools).  CLASS outreach projects  address a specific community need and involve a local NEA Student Program chapter and a preK–12 teacher, education support professional, higher education, or retired affiliate. The NEA Student Program will provide up to $1,000 to chapters that help launch CLASS projects in their communities. Want more info? Contact the NEA Student Program at 202-822-7130.