National Education Association

Carol F. Karpinski

The nation's largest professional employee organization, the National Education Association (NEA) represents 2.7 million teachers, administrators, support personnel, student teachers, and retired educators in elementary, secondary, and higher education. The National Teachers Association was the starting point for the NEA. Forty-three educators, representing 12 state associations and the District of Columbia, met on August 26, 1857, in Philadelphia at the suggestion of Daniel B. Hagar of the Massachusetts Teachers Association to form a National Brotherhood of Teachers. Among the charter members was Robert Campbell, an African American from Jamaica. The original call aimed at the improvement of schools; advancement of teachers professionally, socially, and pedagogically; and the promotion of public interest in education. The American Normal School Association and the National Association of School Superintendents joined their ranks in 1870. The history of the organization falls into several periods. During the Convention Period (1857 to 1892), the NEA had neither ...

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