Please, please Jessica Alba: be our substitute teacher?

NEWS RELEASE

NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

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Jessica Alba's new role - teaching?

Actress is top pick in NEA's Substitute Educator Day poll

WASHINGTON - A National Education Association (NEA) online poll reveals that actress Jessica Alba is the celebrity most respondents would like to see substitute teach for a day.

The star of Into the Blue and Fantastic Four was the top pick with 46 percent of the vote.

The runners-up include Oprah Winfrey (24 percent) followed by Angelina Jolie (14 percent), Will Smith (12 percent) and Andre Agassi (4 percent).

NEA received more than 5,000 responses to the poll, which was conducted in advance of Substitute Educators Day on Friday, November 17.

"Although substitute educators play a key role in the classroom, they are often taken for granted," said Reg Weaver, NEA president.

"Our celebrity Substitute Educators Day poll is an excellent way for us to spotlight the collective contributions of substitutes to schools nationwide," Weaver said.

"Just as actress Jessica Alba toiled long and hard before achieving stardom, substitute educators work tirelessly - and often in relative anonymity - to provide every child with a quality public education," he said.

Public schools currently face a severe substitute educator shortage.

In a survey completed by Utah State University, 96 percent of the nation's school districts said they had trouble finding substitutes.

So, is there a solution to the shortage?

Doug Provencio, who leads NEA's Substitute Teachers Caucus, recommends that districts increase the pay for substitute teachers; offer incentives to substitutes who work a certain number of days in any given year; and provide substitutes with some training - for example, a course in classroom management - to ensure their success in the classroom.

"Substitute educators are vital to our schools," said Weaver.

"It is critically important - now more than ever - that we attract more qualified substitute educators by increasing their salaries, offering alluring benefits, and providing additional professional development opportunities," Weaver said.

Created in 2003, Substitute Educators Day is observed on the Friday of American Education Week.

It is designed to raise awareness about substitute educators and their need for greater respect and improved wages, benefits and training.

This year's American Education Week's 2006 theme, "Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility," represents NEA's vision of calling upon all Americans to do their part in making public schools great for every child so that they can grow and achieve in the 21st century.

For more information on Substitute Educators Day and American Education Week, please visit NEA's website NEA.org.

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.

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