Full speed ahead!

NEA Today, Sep 1998 by Chase, Bob

After the unity vote, charting the course for a new NEA of deeds, not words.

Democracy is alive and feisty within the National Education Association. For first-hand testimony, ask any of the nearly 10,000 delegates to the 1998 Representative Assembly, held this past July in New Orleans.

Front-page headlines told the big news from this year's RA: "Teachers Reject Merger of Unions" (The New York Times, July 6).

But beyond the headlines is an equally important story: Our NEA family passionately debated a momentous issue. We did so in a way that was always substantive and civil. And in the end, while delegates voted down the "Principles of Unity," they dramatically reaffirmed the unity and strength of our NEA family.

Of course, the delegates also kept alive the dream of bringing together America's public school employees in a single organization.

"The Representative Assembly affirms its historic commitment to the concept of unity with the American Federation of Teachers," said New Business Item 1, which delegates passed July 6.

In the same breath, delegates made it clear that any new. united organization must preserve NEA's robust brand of member democracy.

I share these goals. But let me be very clear: Our ongoing pursuit of unification with AFT must not in any way distract us from the urgent work of creating a new NEA.

By all means, we will continue to fight for decent pay and working conditions and to defend the rights of our members. But our New Unionism means doing more.

We must address the full range of our members' professional needs and aspirations, from professional development to mentoring to peer assistance, and much more. And, wherever possible, we must work cooperatively with management to boost school quality and student achievement.

Our challenge is to put the "move" in the movement to revitalize public education. Bear in mind that NEA is not a tea-and-crumpets society. We are a union and an advocacy organization. We are about making a real, tangible, practical difference.

In the months ahead, I will be pushing the Association to embrace major, nationwide initiatives designed to advance NEA's quality agenda in big ways. Among the proposals on the table are the following:

Creating a "new deal" for firstyear teachers, including high-quality mentoring, intensive professional development (as much as 20 percent of a new teacher's schedule) tailored specifically to the needs of new teachers, and an end to the practice of assigning first-year teachers to the worst classes in the worst schools.

Helping 100,000 NEA members achieve National Board certification. Others have proclaimed this lofty goal, but only NEA has the resources and heft to make it happen. We can provide technical support to candidates at every step of the certification process, while lobbying states to provide financial incentives to teachers who achieve certification. Florida already offers a salary premium of up to 20 percent.

Championing universal literacy by the end of third grade. Building on Read Across America, NEA can spearhead a nationwide campaign to guarantee that every child is able to read by the end of third grade.

This campaign would focus on topquality professional development for early reading teachers, reduced class sizes in first and second grade, and an end to the social promotion of elementary pupils who can't read.

Rescuing low-performing schools. NEA can become a leader in helping to turn around failing schools. This would include early intervention by NEA technical assistance teams, plus-in extreme cases-cooperation in efforts to "reconstitute" failed schools.

These are just four proposals-I encourage you to send me a letter or E-mail with your own ideas.

But time is short. We must choose a cluster of priority initiatives-and we must act soon. NEA must lead in setting a national agenda-that's what New Unionism is all about. We must follow the many pioneering affiliates that are creating a new NEA of deeds, not words.

William Butler Yeats said that "teaching is not filling up a pail, it is lighting a fire." Likewise, our great Association must go beyond the important work of traditional unions. We must also light fires.

The good news is that the match is already struck. It is time, now, to add the kindling.

Comments? You can E-mail me directly at BobChase@nea.org.