Over 7,000 NEA members from around the country will soon be gathering in Orlando for the 2015 NEA RA.
Some of your Connecticut colleagues are headed to Orlando, Florida, this week to be part of the world’s largest democratic deliberative body: the NEA Representative Assembly (RA). From July 3-6, 132 CEA members will join the over 7,000 elected delegates who are representing three million NEA members at the Orlando Convention Center. Delegates will debate the vital issues that affect American public education and set NEA policy and activities for the year ahead.
Earlier this year, CEA members elected their peers to represent their concerns as delegates to the NEA RA. Delegates represent state and local affiliates, student members, retired members, and other segments of the NEA membership.
Every year new delegates mix with those who have attended the NEA RA in the past. Delegates regularly say the chance to meet and talk with new people, from Connecticut and around the nation, is one of their favorite parts of the RA.
The days at the RA are busy ones for CEA members, with meetings that last from 7:00 in the morning until 6:00 at night. State delegation meetings precede the NEA RA every morning.
Shanna Peeples, a high school English teacher from Amarillo, Texas, is the 2015 National Teacher of the Year.
Shanna Peeples, a high school English teacher from Amarillo, Texas, is the 2015 National Teacher of the Year.Delegates adopt the strategic plan and budget, resolutions, the legislative program, and other policies of the Association. By secret ballot, they vote on proposed amendments to NEA’s Constitution and Bylaws.
On Monday, July 6, the last day of the RA, Shanna Peeples, the 2015 National Teacher of the Year, and an English high school teacher in Amarillo, Texas, will address delegates. The 12-year classroom veteran and NEA member teaches students from diverse backgrounds in a city that is among several across the nation that helps refugees find new paths in life and gain access to critical resources.
Stay tuned for more NEA RA news here at BlogCEA, and by visiting http://ra.nea.org.
