Arizona Education Association

Fall 2016

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30 ADVOCATE | FALL 2016 National Perspective As the top decision-making body for the 3 million-member NEA, the RA responded by approving a New Business Item (NBI), calling on the Association to join a national effort to prevent acts of violence targeted at LGBTQ individuals and to protect their civil rights. The NBI calls on a multi-pronged approach in the courts and legislatures. The delegates also took action on the school-to-prison pipeline, approving a new policy statement. The statement is framed as a call to action to help create awareness of the issue by educating educators and the public about the striking racial disparities among the students most affected by it. "We are making a long-term investment. An investment that will command persistence and struggle and commitment and a whole lot of work from every single one of us," said NEA Vice President Becky Pringle. Fear and divisiveness has always been used as a cudgel by politicians, but the ascent of Donald Trump – and his toxic brand of racial demagoguery – has magnifi ed the stakes of the upcoming election. On July 5, delegates were visited by the presumptive 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, whose vision for the nation, said Eskelsen García, believes that a nation is stronger when standing together, not divided. In her address to the RA, Clinton also spotlighted her priorities for public education, vowing to elevate the teaching profession, de-emphasize standardized testing, and harness community resources to help create great public schools for every student regardless of Zip code. And it's time to stop the war on teachers, Clinton told the delegates. "I'm with you. If I'm fortunate enough to be elected president, educators will have a partner in the White House – and you'll always have a seat at the table," she announced to resounding cheers from the delegates, who following the speech voted to overwhelmingly recommend Clinton for the general election. NEA members were instrumental in the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act that ended the era of No Child Left Behind. For shepherding through a better law and for listening to the voices of educators, NEA presented its 2016 Friend of Education Award to Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who both accepted the honor in person. The RA also spotlighted the 2016 NEA Social Justice Activist of the Year, the California-based Union City Educators, who have brought Filipino heritage into the schools through ethnic studies curriculum, student and community engagement, and activism.

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