The NEA Foundation

As May ends, so does another remarkable school year for educators across the country.

The challenges were real. So was the dedication. And so was the impact.

The NEA Foundation is inspired every day by the educators who keep showing up for students, for their communities, and for the future of public education.

Thank you. We will carry your commitment forward.

neafoundation.org

The most powerful insights about public education come from those who live it every day.

Through Ideas & Voices, The NEA Foundation elevates the perspectives of educators, researchers, and advocates who are shaping what learning looks like across the country. These are the stories and ideas that drive systemic change.

Read the latest: neafoundation.org/ideas-voices/

The end of a school year carries something no other season quite does.

It is the weight of growth, the quiet pride of progress made, and the bittersweet knowing that students who walked in one way will walk out another. For educators, it is also the moment to take stock of what this year taught them, too.

To every educator closing out another school year: the work you do matters more than the calendar can contain.

Memorial Day is a time to honor those who have served and sacrificed for this country.

It is also a moment to reflect on the shared institutions that bind us together as a country. Public schools are among the most enduring of those institutions — the places where the next generation learns what it means to be part of something larger than themselves.

Today, The NEA Foundation honors the memory of those who gave their lives in service to this country, and the educators who teach the values of citizenship, community, and commitment every day.

As the school year wraps up, we are carrying one truth forward: public education is a public good worth protecting.

Thank you to every educator who has shown up this year—through challenges, celebrations, and the quiet moments in between. The commitment to students is what makes excellence possible, and it is what inspires the Foundation's work year-round.

neafoundation.org

Today is World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

In public schools, cultural diversity is not an abstract ideal—it is the daily reality of the classroom. Every school community is stronger for the languages, traditions, and lived experiences its students and educators bring to it.

Educators transform cultural diversity into a shared strength. Thank you for the daily work of building classrooms where every student belongs.

Congratulations to Dr. Clinton Smith, the 2026 NEA Higher Educator of the Year!
The NEA Foundation is proud to fund the $10,000 cash award accompanying this honor, which recognizes educators who go above and beyond for students and communities. Dr. Smith — a champion for inclusive education and students with disabilities — is exactly who this recognition was made for.

A reminder of what great teaching looks like every day.

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
— Benjamin Franklin

This is the work. Not just delivering content but creating experiences that stay with students long after they leave the classroom.

To every educator showing up, engaging students, and shaping futures, thank you. Your impact reaches further than you will ever see.

It is graduation season.

Somewhere this month, a student is walking across a stage because an educator believed in them before they believed in themselves. A counselor who made time. A coach who noticed. A teacher who stayed late. A nurse, a paraprofessional, a bus driver, a librarian, a custodian—every adult in the building who made school feel like a place worth showing up to.

Every diploma is a team accomplishment. Thank you to the educators who helped students to earn them.

Today, all of the NEA Foundation’s Community Schools Initiative sites are sharing highlights with each other of their work during the 2025-26 school year! The team from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, got creative with their presentation, pictured here.