NEA Convention Report

Six delegates from Springfield attended the week-long annual NEA convention in Orlando, Florida. (left to right) Melissa Albright (Wilson Creek), Ray Smith, Denise Slagle (Fremont), Phil Grafft, Brent Fullington (Cherokee) and Patti Pogue (Study) were among the 9,000 teachers and support professionals staying in seventeen hotels surrounding the huge Orange County Convention Center complex. Our local and state organizations were well represented, participating in innumerable floor votes, discussions, caucuses and other public meetings.

Melissa Albright was elected vice-president of the Cancer Survivor Caucus and also was voted onto the MNEA 2007 convention committee. She will be helping to organize the Missouri delegation for next year's convention in Philadelphia.

"Great Public Schools Are a Basic Right for Every Child" was presented as the single external message for NEA members to focus on for the upcoming year. The keynote address by NEA president Reg Weaver was one of the highlights for delegates. Weaver's address centered on the message above but also addressed accountability issues:

“NEA members have a responsibility to educate the community about education,” Weaver said. “We have a responsibility to inform them of the role of school boards, state legislators, mayors, the U.S. Congress and why it is important that they make it their personal responsibility to hold each of these individuals as accountable as they do us.”

This was the largest delegation that Springfield has sent to an NEA convention, and we're hoping SNEA will again be well represented at the Philadelphia conference in 2007. The national NEA conference is a unique experience in the democratic process and provides an invaluable opportunity to meet teachers and support staff from all over the country and gain a larger perspective on public education's role in our society.