DEAR NEA MEMBERS,
I am honored to serve as your president. United, we will reclaim public education as a common good and transform it into a racially and socially just system that actually prepares every student - not one, not some, but every single student - to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world. Onward!
FACE TO FACE WITH NEA MEMBERS
“You either win or learn.” That’s something my favorite NFL quarterback says—and I love that attitude. (Fly, Eagles, fly!) As educators we know it’s important to learn from both our losses and our wins. No question, our losses present major challenges ahead to promote, protect, and strengthen public education, but in November, NEA members also won key races and important ballot measures that will raise education funding and scale back high-stakes testing. Learn more here.
What I've Been Reading
In 2023, South Carolina teacher Mary Wood asked her AP English students to read one of my favorite books, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, a memoir of his experience of what it’s like to be Black in America. Within days, she was reprimanded and told to stop. In 2024, Wood assigned the book again—and this time her students dove in, learning from Coates how to formulate arguments for their own persuasive essays. In his new book, The Message, Coates reflects on the experience of attending a school board meeting in support of Wood and on the conversations he had with her. He focuses on the power of stories, and I encourage you to do the same. Your own story—as an educator, a union member, maybe as a parent, too—has power. Use it.
3 Things To Do For Yourself and Your Union
Keep it up!
Read a book by an African American author.
