Monthly Archives: April 2019

Recognition Long Overdue: Congress Approves National Award Program for ESPs

by John Rosales, NEAToday After the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Recognizing Achievement in Classified School Employees Act (H.R. 276) by a vote of 387-19 in February, the Senate quickly followed suit with its own unanimous approval in March. “This recognition is way overdue,” said Debby Chandler, president of the National Council for Education Support Professionals (NCESP), which works within the National Education Association (NEA) to represent the interests and issues of education support professionals (ESP). It has taken more than a decade of seemingly endless meetings between elected officials in Washington, political appointees from two different presidential […]

House Passes Common Sense School Safety Gun Bill

NEA-NH applauds today’s House vote to move HB564 to the Senate to help make NEW Hampshire schools safer places for our children. “Guns have no place in safe school zones. Period,” said Megan Tuttle, NEA-New Hampshire President. “Safe School Zones are not an option – they are the very least we can do to help assure our student’s safety.” “Our foremost priority as educators is to ensure the safety and well-being of our students. All of us share a responsibility to create and maintain safe schools and communities. House members took a stand today to help make sure every student […]

James Patterson Donates $1.25M to Classroom Libraries

NEW YORK (AP) — James Patterson’s latest gift for literacy is a $1.25 million pledge to classroom libraries. On Tuesday, the best-selling author announced the fifth installment for his Patterson Partnership, formed in coordination with Scholastic Book Club. Patterson is giving $250 each to 4,000 teachers around the country to help purchase books. He is also distributing $500 each to 500 teachers with three years or less experience. Scholastic will match Patterson with gifts of 250 and 500 bonus points for its book club. Teachers can apply for grants through www.scholastic.com/pattersonpartnership . The deadline is July 31. In recent years, […]