National Education Association commemorates Education Week

The National Education Association was one of the creators and original sponsors of American Education Week.

Distressed that 25 percent of the country’s World War I draftees were illiterate and 9 percent were physically unfit, representatives of the NEA and the American Legion met in 1919 to seek ways to generate public support for education.

The conventions of both organizations subsequently adopted resolutions of support for a national effort to raise public awareness of the importance of education. In 1921, the NEA Representative Assembly in Des Moines, Iowa, called for designation of one week each year to spotlight education. In its resolution, the NEA called for: “An educational week ... observed in all communities annually for the purpose of informing the public of the accomplishments and needs of the public schools and to secure the cooperation and support of the public in meeting those needs.”

The first observance of American Education Week occurred December 4-10, 1921, with the NEA and American Legion as the cosponsors. A year later, the then U.S. Office of Education joined the effort as a cosponsor, and the PTA followed in 1938.

Other co-sponsors are the U.S. Department of Education and national organizations including the National PTA, the American Legion, the American Legion Auxiliary, the American Association of School Administrators, the National School Boards Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the American School Counselor Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National School Public Relations Association, the National Association of State Boards of Education, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

American Education Week is always celebrated the week prior to the week of Thanksgiving.

November 13-17 is American Education Week, and it’s time to show our public-school pride to the world.

Lily Eskelsen García, an elementary teacher from Utah, is President of the National Education Association. Here is a message from Lily during American Education Week:

“Across our nation, public schools are where children from all backgrounds and circumstances come together to learn and be inspired by professionals who believe in and are devoted to students. Nine out of 10 students in the United States attend public schools. We are making a difference in their lives each day.  You can find great artwork in honor of American Education Week here.

“On the Wednesday of every American Education Week, we celebrate National Education Support Professionals Day; this year, it’s on November 15. NEA created National ESP day 30 years ago to recognize the contributions to a positive, supportive learning environment made by school bus drivers, instructional assistants, paraeducators, office workers, health and student services employees, food service workers, custodians, maintenance workers, security guards, technology specialists, and skilled trades workers.

“We work together as a team to ensure that schools are open and welcoming to all, a point worth emphasizing at a time of divisiveness in our nation. This openness is significant considering our Education Secretary’s embrace, in her own words, of schools that state: ‘We’re not for everybody and we don’t expect everybody to want to come here.’

“Well, I’m proud to say that we believe public schools are the cornerstone of communities, where we provide students with the support and tools they need and deserve, and bring people from all walks of life together.”