Keeping Kids and Colleagues Safe
On Oahu, Hawaii, hundreds of NEA members took to the streets to advocate for consistent safety protocols and to ensure school officials enforce safe practices to keep students, school staff, and the community safer during the pandemic.
Demanding Higher Wages
Grown people need grown-people pay,” says Tavares Ward, head custodian at Charles A. Brown Elementary School in Birmingham, Ala. Custodians, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers in his district got a 12 percent pay raise in Octo - ber, thanks to fierce pressure by the Alabama Education Association. “If it were not for them, we wouldn’t have got what we got,” Ward says. “It was a slugfest! It’s not like (school officials) wanted to give it to us.”
Reducing High Stakes Testing
For years, NEA members have called for less mandatory testing and more time for teaching and learning—including testifying before Congress and engaging in letter-writing campaigns. In Florida, our hard work finally paid off. In September, school officials announced the end of standardized tests. The state's educators will now use progress monitoring, which measures students' performance throughout the year.
Winning Big for the LGBTQ+ Community The Loudoun County School Board, in Virginia, voted in favor of a transgender rights policy allowing students to access school facilities and groups, such as sports teams, that match their gender identities. This win for students was the direct result of NEA and the Virginia Education Association helping to elect pro-public education and school board candidates in the state. To read about more wins go to nea.org/win .
SUPPORTING VACCINATIONS “Vaccination requirements in schools are nothing new. They work, and they’re overwhelmingly supported by educators and their unions and all school officials trying to do the right thing by our children. I’ll always be on your side." — PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
"Everyone needs to follow the science, and evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines, combined with masking and other mitigation strategies, are the most powerful weapon we have against the pandemic."
—BECKY PRINGLE ON THE VIRGINA NEWS SITE THE PATCH, IN SEPTEMBER
Launching a Nationwide Campaign to Help Schools Build Back Better NEA and 3 million members like you worked hard to pass the American Rescue Plan (ARP)—a historic investment of $170 billion in public education. And that's just the start! NEA is working to pass even more of President Biden's Build Back Better initiative. Plus, we are mounting a campaign to hold elected officials accountable and remind them who they represent. Our campaign includes:
1. Investing more than $10 million in state and local affiliates to build a network of grassroots advocates who will ensure ARP dollars reach the students who need them most.
2. Kicking off a series of town halls to raise awareness about the ARP and what it takes to ensure public schools get the resources due to them.
3. Elevating NEA members to be the leading voice in education by creating partnerships with likeminded organizations. NEA has already identified educators for participation in partner events around the country.
4. Launching an extensive digital ad campaign thanking members of Congress who voted for the ARP, while holding opponents of the measure accountable. NEA is working every day for great public schools for all students and edu
