National Education Association Records-Divisions

The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest professional organization and largest labor union in the United States, representing public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become teachers. In 2010, the NEA had 3.2 million members and is located in Washington, D.C. The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code granted in 1906.

The NEA describes itself as a professional employee organization. The mission of the National Education Association is "to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world."

The NEA is a volunteer-based organization that relies upon its members to perform much of the Association's work. The members are supported by staff at the local, state, and national levels with the stated goal of "building great public schools for every student.”

In 1857, Thomas W. Valentine, president of the New York State Teachers Association, issued a nation-wide invitation to teachers to unite in Philadelphia behind a common voice for America's growing public school system. After the meeting, the National Teachers Association (NTA) was formed with a membership of about 100. Minority educators were allowed to join at the start, but women were not allowed to join until 1866.

In 1870, the NTA merged with the American Normal School Association, the National Association of School Superintendents, and the Central College Association renaming itself the National Education Association. For the first 100 years of its existence, the NEA was controlled by administrators, and worked to further the interests of the "education profession" as a whole.

In the 1960’s, after the first passage of a collective bargaining law for public employees, the NEA adopted union activities in addition to its operations as a professional association.

The NEA merged with the American Teachers Association (ATA), formerly the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools (NATCS) in 1966.

In 1998, a proposed merger with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) failed when it was rejected by NEA's Representative Assembly. Several NEA state affiliates have merged with their AFT counterparts, effectively forming a single association.

Over the years, the NEA has been a leader in national education reform and improvement movements. It has worked to improve the education provided to American school children through lobbying and campaigning on the local and national level as well as by promoting strong teacher education programs and continuous professional assessment and development.