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The early endorsement of President Obama by the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers union, comes a full 16 months before the 2012 election and well before his opponent is even selected. The powerful union signaled their support of the president despite some strong differences between the Obama administration and rank and file teachers over major education reforms. A resounding 72% of the group’s delegates assembled at the Chicago convention gave the president the earliest endorsement in the organizations history.

(The president) has always talked about the importance of education from preschool to the graduate level, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said. So, I dont mind fighting on how to get to that shared vision. … I believe out of that discussion may come ideas that neither one of us thought about and may be better.

Vice President Joe Biden had fired up the delegates with a speech that drew a vivid contrast between the administrations education policies and several potential Republican candidates. The move by some Republican governors to aggressively curb collective bargaining rights has aroused the ire of union members throughout the country.

The Obama administration has lauded efforts that would tie a teachers evaluation to student learning. That position is supported by teachers but it is also a stance that makes it easier to dismiss ineffective teachers. In addition, the administration has also promoted charter schools that often compete with traditional public schools, two issues teachers organizations have vociferously opposed. However, the president and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Chicagos former schools chief, have also sought to forestall educator layoffs and classroom cuts by advocating for increased funding for public schools.

Vice President Biden pledged during his speech to the delegates to fight alongside of you.
Van Roekel said he expects a spirited presidential campaign. “I think its going to be a very energized electorate, he said.

The anti-union activities of several governors provoked the representative assembly to approve a $10 per-member fee increase for the next five years, specifically to confront state and local efforts to limit collective bargaining rights for many public workers as has happened in Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere.

The group also endorsed a policy calling for changes to how teachers are evaluated every year. It says reviews should be often, fair and conducted by trained evaluators who measure students academic performance as one of several factors.

Illinois law now requires that student academic progress be a significant factor in teacher and principal evaluations, a reform encouraged by the Obama administration. The change will unfold in coming years, with all schools affected by 2016. Last month, Gov. Pat Quinn signed another package of education reforms into law that will change how Illinois educators earn tenure and how districts remove ineffective teachers from the classroom, with seniority for the first time mattering less than performance.

Van Roekel lauded negotiations in the state that brought all the stakeholders to the negotiating table: teachers unions, school managers, lawmakers and reform groups in crafting the legislation.

Where they do it together, they have a chance of changing education, he said.

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