06.30.06

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Derran Eaddy
(202) 822-7823, deaddy@nea.org
June 30, 2006

NEA Student Program Offers Leadership Development
Future Teachers prepare for the classroom at 2006 Student Leadership Conference
held during the NEA Representative Assembly

ORLANDO, Fla.—Michael Weisbrod, a secondary education major at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), joined hundreds of students from across the country at the National Education Association Student Program Leadership Conference, June 25–28, 2006, in Orlando, Florida.

“The NEA Student Program Leadership Conference gives future teachers a great opportunity to prepare for a lifetime of teaching,” said Weisbrod, who is currently serving an appointed term on the NEASP Advisory Committee of Student Members. “I attended this year’s ‘Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow’ student conference so I will be better prepared to help my students reach their goals in the classroom and in their lives.”

Weisbrod is scheduled to graduate in May 2007, and he plans to teach high school mathematics in the Richmond, Virginia, area. He is committed to continuing his own education in the future by earning a master’s degree in mathematics and eventually pursuing a doctorate degree in education.

Weisbrod’s Student Program involvement includes holding offices such as state president of the Student Virginia Education Association (SVEA) in 2005–06, and vice president of the Student Education Association at VCU in 2004–05. Weisbrod also served as the Central Region representative on the SVEA Board of Directors in 2004–05.

During the “Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow” student conference, aspiring teachers attended workshops and learning sessions designed to help them become more effective leaders in their student associations, as well as to become exceptional teachers when they graduate.

Leading authorities in the field of education and teacher preparation served as conference presenters and conducted sessions such as “Speak So People Will Listen,” “Leadership Skills for Teachers,” “Grassroots Organizing” and “Life After Student Leadership.” Conference attendees also had the opportunity to learn about blogs and podcasting, as well as personal finance and deciphering the complicated mix of education and legal acronyms.

“This year’s ‘Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow’ conference offered students from across the country an excellent opportunity to develop the professional skills necessary to help deliver on the promise of great public schools for every child,” said Mandy Plucker, NEA

Student Program chair. “The students who attended the conference are among the best and brightest future teachers and are well on their way to becoming the next generation of leading educators who will take on the shared responsibility of helping all students prepare for successful and productive lives.”

At the conclusion of the student conference, NEA President Reg Weaver provided closing comments and visited with students to offer words of encouragement, congratulations and thanks for choosing teaching as their career.

Katrina Project: Hell and High Water
On June 25, NEA Executive Committee member Michael Marks served as the keynote speaker and offered insight into the production of “The Katrina Project: Hell and High Water,” which Marks cowrote for his Hattiesburg High School drama class. The theatre production is based on interviews conducted with survivors of Hurricane Katrina and is presented in a series of several vignettes that illustrate the tragic losses incurred during the storm, as well the resilient nature of those who survived. The play was presented on June 27 to the NEA Student and Retired Programs.

Outreach to Teach
Students attending the conference also participated in the 12th annual Outreach to Teach Project at Eccleston Elementary School in Orlando, Florida, where more than 300 volunteers helped to make school improvements including repair work, landscaping, painting, cleaning, organizing library books and decorating bulletin boards.

The rejuvenation project was organized in collaboration with NEA-Retired, NEA Education Support Professionals, NEA Higher Education, Orange County Public Schools, Orange County Teachers Association and the Florida Education Association. The Outreach to Teach program is sponsored each year in the host city or area where the NEA Representative Assembly is being held.

NEA Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly
Each year, the student conference is held in conjunction with the NEA Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly where more than 9,000 elected delegates convene to determine such matters as NEA’s strategic plan and budget, legislative program and resolutions. Delegates also vote, by secret ballot, on proposed amendments to the NEA constitution and bylaws and elect NEA’s officers, Executive Committee members, and at-large members of the NEA Board of Directors.

About the NEA Student Program
Approximately 60,000 students from 900 colleges and universities across the nation enjoy NEASP’s list of professional development resources, including participation in NEA’s 2.8 million member network of education professionals, access to scholarships that offset college tuition costs, grants to implement community outreach programs and insurance protection from work-related liabilities in schools. Members also benefit from NEA’s state and national lobbying initiatives, which support pro-public school legislation.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.8 million elementary and secondary teachers, college faculty, school administrators, education support professionals, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.

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