7.4. A PROFESSIONAL TEACHER ORGANIZATIONS IN USA:
1.National Education Association (NEA)The Nation's Largest Professional Employee Organization:
The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's larges professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3.2 million members in 2008 work at every level of education from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States in 2008.
NEA is a volunteer-based organization supported by a network of staff at the local, state, and national levels.At the local level, more than 14,000 NEA local affiliate organizations are active in a variety of activities as determined by the local members. These may range from raising funds for scholarship programs to conducting professional workshops on issues that affect faculty and school support staff to bargaining contracts for school district employee.
At the state level, NEA affiliate activities are equally wide-ranging. NEA state affiliates, for instance, regularly lobby legislators for the resources schools need, campaign for higher professional standards for the teaching profession, and file legal actions to protect academic freedom and the rights of school employees.
At the national level, from its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NEA lobbies Congress and federal agencies on behalf of its members and public schools, supports and coordinates innovative projects, works with other education organizations and friends of public education, provides training and assistance to its affiliates, and generally conducts activities consistent with the policies set by its elected governing bodies.
At the international level, NEA is linking educators around the world in an ongoing dialogue dedicated to making schools as effective as they can be.
Vision, Mission and Values
NEA has remained constant in its commitment to its original mission, as evidenced by our current organizational purpose which includes our Vision, Mission and Values.
NEA also believes every child in America, regardless of family income or place of residence, deserves a quality education. In pursuing its mission, NEA has determined that we will focus the energy and resources of our 3.2 million members on improving the quality of teaching, increasing student achievement and making schools safer, better places to learn.
History of the National Education Association (NEA)
In 1857, one hundred educators answered a national call to unite as one voice in the cause of public education. At the time, learning to read and write was a luxury for most children---and a crime for many Black children. One hundred and fifty years later, public education and the profession of teaching are transformed. In 1966 we joined forces with the American Teachers Association. Since then, our voice had swelled to 3.2 million members, and what was once a privilege for a fortunate few is now an essential right for every American child, regardless of family income or place of residence.