National Education Association Joins the Challenge!

The National Education Association encourages 3.2 million teachers to accept the National Learn & Serve Challenge

This week, the National Education Association (NEA) encouraged its members to engage students in service-learning activities to support classroom instruction. The NEA is the nation's largest professional organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers. You can learn more about the NEA here.

An article in support of the National Learn & Serve Challenge appears on the front page of NEA Today, the online version of NEA's flagship publication. You can view the article here.

In addition to the article and a statement sent to its 3.2 million members, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel appears in a video message, titled "Applying Knowledge through Service." You can view the video on NEA's website.

You can also view President Van Roekel's message on the front page of the Learn & Serve Challenge website.

"We are thrilled and honored that the NEA has joined this growing national effort to increase service-learning in our nation's schools," said National Service-Learning Partnership Executive Director Nelda Brown. "We share NEA's belief that every young person in America deserves a quality education. We look forward to bringing the service-learning message to even more teachers and more classrooms through this exciting collaboration to support the Learn & Serve Challenge."

Here are a few easy ways you can use this message to spread the word about service-learning in your school or local community:

1. Share the link to the NEA Today article with colleagues.
2. Show NEA's video message "Applying Knowledge through Service" at your next faculty meeting.
3. Visit NEA Today on Facebook to thank them for the cover story and to urge them to write more stories about the power and potential of service-learning in future issues.
4. Accept the Challenge. Let us know you're committed to engaging youth and college students in service-learning activities this school year.

The Learn & Serve Challenge is a signature event of the National Service-Learning Partnership in collaboration with the Corporation for National and Community Service. It is made possible with support from State Farm© Companies Foundation.

The Challenge is supported by nearly 100 local, state, and national organizations committed to engaging in service-learning in our nation's schools, college campuses, and communities.

Lead Organizing Partners include:

American Association of Community Colleges
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
America's Promise Alliance
Campus Compact
DECA
Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse
National Alliance for Faith and Justice
National Community Education Association
National Education Association
National Youth Leadership Council
National Parent Teacher Association
SEANet - the State Education Agency K-12 Service-Learning Network
Usher's New Look Foundation
Youth Service America

For more information, visit the Challenge website or call (202) 884-8982.