National Education Association launches grassroots campaign to Caribbean and African communities
NEW YORK – Actor Idris Elba, Golden Krust Bakery Founder/CEO Lowell Hawthorne, New York Assemblyman Nick Perry,soca queen Alison Hinds, VP Records, Atlanta Falcons’ Ovie Mughelli, Joseph Addai of the Indianapolis Colts, Marlon Hill of the Jamaican Diaspora Southern U.S., Atlanta City Councilman C.T. Martin, Commissioner Dale V.C. Holness of Lauderhill, FL, and Senegalese rap group Gokh-Bi System have joined the National Education Association (NEA) in a groundbreaking URL campaign designed to strengthen relationships with the nation’s Caribbean and African communities.
This campaign is entitled http://WWW.ILOVEMYCARIBBEANCHILD.COM and http://WWW.ILOVEMYAFRICANCHILD.COM.
The NEA effort, entitled “I Love My Child,” is part of an overall grassroots outreach program targeting the nation’s ethnic minority groups, including Asian Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, Hispanic, and Caribbean and African communities.
“In our desire to achieve great public schools for every child, we must make building strong relationships and strategic partnerships with the ethnic minority community a top priority,” says NEA President Reg Weaver.
“We recognize the Caribbean and African communities as a significant voice in the national dialogue on education.”
As part of the outreach, the NEA has partnered with respected individuals from the Caribbean and African communities who will act as campaign “ambassadors.”
“I think it is very important for us as parents to understand the public school system and know the people that are responsible for teaching our children,” says Elba. “A better relationship with the administration will give the student a better future.”
“VP Records is truly proud to support the efforts of the NEA, and we are very excited to participate in the I Love My Child Campaign,” states Randy Chin, CEO of VP Records. “As a company with firm Jamaican roots, we recognize the importance of working with our community and its leaders, teachers and parents to ensure that all of our children receive the best education possible.”
The NEA will run a series of print, radio and television campaign spots as well as host several Town Hall Meetings in New York, Atlanta and Miami.
A website with the urls http://WWW.ILOVEMYJAMAICANCHILD.COM,
http://WWW.ILOVEMYHAITIANCHILD.COM, http://WWW.ILOVEMYTRINICHILD.COM, and http://WWW.ILOVEMYAFRICANCHILD.COM has been created to inform Caribbean and African parents about various public school issues, including English as a Second Language (ESL), parental involvement, and teacher quality.
“Public school education needs to be preserved because it still provides an essential foundation on which to build future leaders, provided that the resources are in place,” explains Hawthorne, a native of who started his Golden Krust empire in 1989. “All my children are the product of the public education system and they are well rounded individuals of whom I am very proud.”
The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee 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.
