The National Education Association
Mission & Purpose
History
Partnerships / AFT
Leaders
Policy
"Our mission is to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world."
NEA:
National Education Association
The largest teachers union in the nation.
National Student Program: NEA Aspiring Educators
FEA:
Florida Education Association.
Florida branch of the NEA.
State Student Program: Student FEA
SNEA:
Student National Education Association at the University of Central Florida.
UCF chapter of NEA.
Joining SNEA means you are a member of ALL the organizations above and a recipient of all local, state, and national benefits and resources –– and it only costs $31!
Is SNEA at UCF just a volunteer organization or part of something bigger?
We, the members of the National Education Association of the United States, are the voice of education professionals. Our work is fundamental to the nation, and we accept the profound trust placed in us.
Our Vision
Our vision is a great public school for every student.
Our Mission
Our mission is to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.
Our Core Values
These principles guide our work and define our mission:
Equal Opportunity. We believe public education is the gateway to opportunity. All students have the human and civil right to a quality public education that develops their potential, independence, and character.
A Just Society. We believe public education is vital to building respect for the worth, dignity, and equality of every individual in our diverse society.
Democracy. We believe public education is the cornerstone of our republic. Public education provides individuals with the skills to be involved, informed, and engaged in our representative democracy.
Professionalism. We believe that the expertise and judgment of education professionals are critical to student success. We maintain the highest professional standards, and we expect the status, compensation, and respect due all professionals.
Partnership. We believe partnerships with parents, families, communities, and other stakeholders are essential to quality public education and student success.
Collective Action. We believe individuals are strengthened when they work together for the common good. As education professionals, we improve both our professional status and the quality of public education when we unite and advocate collectively.
Every student 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)
Timeline with pictures HERE
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 has 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.
Since its beginning, the National Education Association has been ahead of its time, crusading for the rights of all educators and children. Learn more about NEA's rich history, from welcoming Black members four years before the Civil War and electing a woman as president a full decade before Congress granted women the right to vote, to the 1966 merger with the American Teachers Association during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
Our four-part NEA Today series, Answering the Call: A History of the National Education Association, honors the legacy and impact of public education and educators in America.
NEA Task Force on Accountability
To “develop plans for a full system of public school accountability and support.”
What does success for every student look like?
How are educators prepared and supported for success?
What strategies are required to address the needs of historically underserved populations?
What do we do if a school is not successful?
How will everybody know when students, schools, and educators are successful?
Through this process of exploration, questioning, and research, the Task Force developed a new paradigm that demonstrates how we move from the current system to one that embraces inspiration, innovation, responsibility, commitment, investment, assessment, and continuous improvement.
Criteria of a Great Public School
Quality programs and services that meet the full range of all children’s needs so that they come to school every day ready and able to learn.
High expectations and standards with a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum for all students. Quality conditions for teaching and lifelong learning
Quality conditions for teaching and lifelong learning.
A qualified, caring, diverse, and stable workforce.
Shared responsibility for appropriate school accountability by stakeholders at all levels.
Parental, family, and community involvement and engagement.
Sufficient, equitable, and sustainable funding.
NEA believes these criteria will:
Prepare all students for the future with 21st century skills
Create enthusiasm for learning and engage all students in the classroom
Close achievement gaps and raise achievement for all students
Ensure that all educators have the resources and tools they need to get the job done.
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As a new member of SNEA, it's important to know you're part of something life changing.
Each branch of the NEA has leaders and committees dedicated to promoting education improvement at the university, state, and national levels.
For our more leader-inclined members, as a student you can apply to lead at the university, state, and even national level! The NEA has a student-led Aspiring Educator Committee and Board Members that represent all aspiring educator members across the nation and speak on issues they face in classrooms. SNEA Officers at UCF not only hold state positions but the Vice President is on the national board as well.
NATIONAL
STATE
UNIVERSITY
STUDENT
National Education Association
President Lily Eskelsen Garcia
Vice President Becky Pringle
Secretary–Treasurer Princess Moss
Aspiring Educators (NEA-AE)
Rachel Immerman
NEA AE Chairperson
The NEA Aspiring Educators Program is the leading voice for the next generation of educators. Over 50,000 members in 1,100 campus chapters across the nation belong to the program, which began as the Student National Education Association in 1937 and eventually became part of the National Education Association as the NEA Student Program. The new name reflects the passion, commitment, and vision of members who believe in public education and its potential to uplift individuals, families, and communities.
NEA Aspiring Educators advocate on behalf of their students by:
improving the quality of educator preparation programs,
seeking affordable college options,
recruiting and supporting diverse educators, and
enhancing safe and supportive learning environments for all students.
For general inquires, email: AspiringEd@nea.org
Alexandria Toay
Board of Directors
Cameo Kendrick
Board of Directors
Amber Ingram
Board of Directors
Tevin Middleton
Advisory Committee (GA)
Arianna Nelson
Advisory Committee (SD)
Dylan Toth
Advisory Committee (IL)
Heydi Quintanilla
Advisory Committee (DE)
Kaitlyn Montcrieff
Advisory Committee (FL)
Jessica Bailey
Advisory Committee (VA)
Roman Trejo
Advisory Committee (IL)
Amy Lo
Advisory Committee (CA)
Brittany Perreault
Advisory Committee (MI)
Aspiring Educator Representatives Serving on NEA Committees
These leaders help express the voices, concerns, and interests of Aspiring Educators to other NEA members and leaders.
Resolutions Committee
Washington | Brandy Alley
Connecticut | Katie Grant
Michigan | Spencer Tenney
Ethnic-Minority Affairs Committee
California | Ryan Choi
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification Committee
Texas | Paula Randolph
Women’s Issues Committee
Oklahoma | Nancy Melendez
Aspiring Educator Caucus
Lead Director | Tori Mitchell
Zone 1 Director | Morgan Brown
Zone 2 Director | Monica Smith
Zone 3 Director | Emily Bailey
Zone 4 Director | Caitlin Foley
Administrative Director | Tommy Krause
Florida Education Association (FEA) 2018–current
President Fedrick Ingram
Vice President Andrew Spar
Secretary-Treasurer Carole Gauronskas
Student Florida Education Association (SFEA)
Jairus (Jay) Williams (FAMU)
President SFEA
Kyleigh Jackson (UCF)
Vice President SFEA
Kaitlyn Montcrieff (UCF)
Historian SFEA
Bianca Dorval (FAMU)
SFEA Board
Nina Janowicz
SFEA Board
Patrick Crandall
SFEA Board
Student National Education Association (SNEA @ UCF)
NEA CODE OF ETHICS
NEA - AFT Partnership
The nation's two leading education organizations, NEA and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), formed the NEA-AFT Partnership out of a commitment by both organizations to work together on behalf of our members and on behalf of all those whom our members serve.
As separate organizations and through the Partnership, the NEA and AFT are committed to nurturing and improving public education above all. We are determined to fight for family needs, which must be met in order to make our public schools the equalizer they have been and should be for society. This encompasses quality of life issues, such as health care for all Americans, safe neighborhoods and a caring government.
The Partnership leaves each organization free to differ and to conduct each organization's work separately and independently, but enables the two groups to work together in a new relationship focused at every level of our organizations on common interests we share about critical educational issues and issues of vital significance to children.
Introduction
Because our members are on the front lines of the future of America, and because our work and our values are rooted in the well-being of the children of this nation and their families:
The AFT and NEA are committed to work together on behalf of our members and on behalf of all those whom our members serve.
We are committed to nurturing and improving public education above all. We are determined to fight for family needs, which must be met in order to make our public schools the equalizer they have been and should be for society. This encompasses quality of life issues, such as health care for all Americans, safe neighborhoods and a caring government.
NEA-AFT Partnership
The NEA-AFT Partnership shall leave us free to differ and to conduct each organization's work separately and independently, but it shall bring us together in a new relationship focused at every level of our organizations on common interests we share about critical educational issues and issues of vital significance to children.
The NEA-AFT Partnership is the recommendation of the NEA and AFT Unity Discussion Teams and Advisory Committees, which met between September and December 2000.
The NEA-AFT Partnership shall have the authority to make decisions and to advance common goals, but it shall be required to operate in conformity with policies and directives of the governance bodies of NEA and the AFT. The NEA-AFT Partnership shall provide the two organizations with a common front in dealing with critical educational and social issues. It shall also advocate, support and coordinate mutually agreed upon national, state, regional and local activities.
The NEA-AFT Partnership shall be directed by a joint council, which shall be composed of 15 representatives from each organization, including the executive committees of each organization. The activities of the NEA-AFT Partnership shall be jointly funded and staffed by the AFT and NEA, and the council shall meet at least three times per year. The AFT and NEA shall be responsible for their own expenses and staff assignments. The NEA-AFT Partnership shall establish clear measures of accountability and explicit checkpoints at which the organizations shall assess progress of joint activities and change direction as needed.
NEA-AFT Partnership Goals and Projects
Common goals and projects of the Partnership could include:
1. Advocating for interaction and collaboration throughout the organizations—at local, state, regional and national levels by:
Developing models for and facilitating interactions at all levels to increase joint action on issues of common concern
Using the expertise of leaders, staff and consultants to facilitate work on joint projects at all levels
Facilitating opportunities for members of NEA and the AFT to learn about their counterparts in the other organization and its affiliations—at local, state, regional and national levels. These interactions shall be designed to build relationships between the organizations at all levels.
2. Engaging in joint projects on issues of mutual interest by:
Holding jointly planned and executed conferences on substantive topics of common interest; following up with joint activities at all levels
Creating opportunities to learn and work together on issues of mutual concern, such as teacher quality, professional development, technology and school safety
Creating opportunities for joint staff collaboration and training
Coordinating legal actions
Coordinating legislative actions
Creating joint national publications and/or including sections within existing national publications to present issues of common concern and to report on joint activities
Achieving collective bargaining rights in non-bargaining states
Fostering conversation and joint activity among corresponding constituency groups in each organization
Coordinating joint political education and information
Working to achieve appropriate funding for public education.
3. Increasing cooperation by:
Assisting states and locals in joint organizing ventures
Developing joint strategies to counteract anti-union competing organizations and initiatives
Creating forums and opportunities for learning about the experiences of merged states and locals.
Coordinating, with the appropriate AFT and NEA departments, the ongoing delivery of services to AFT-NEA merged states and locals.