The National Education Association and the Including Samuel Project at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire hosted this national symposium at NEA. Over 230 policymakers and educators took part in an interactive symposium, Creating Great Public Schools for All Using UDL and Inclusive Practices, to learn more about inclusive education practices and Universal Design for Learning. Symposium participants heard from experts who presented information on best practices and highlighted the most recent developments in UDL theory and implementation.

On the eve of the opening of their Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly, hundreds of members of the National Education Association engaged Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a conversation about teacher quality. NEA invited the Secretary to bring his "listening" tour to its members so he could hear directly from educators about the experiences and the challenges they face.

This introduction provides an overview of the 5 Strategies of The Virtues Project which inspires INDIVIDUALS to live more authentic, meaningful lives, FAMILIES to raise children of compassion and integrity, EDUCATORS to create safe, caring and high performing learning communities & LEADERS to inspire excellence and ethics in the workplace. This award-winning project was honored by The United Nations as a model global program for all cultures and is being used to transform individuals, families, schools, businesses, organizations and communities in over 90 countries.

Nationally-recognized speakers at a November 24, 2008 symposium hosted by the NEA and the RTI Action Network discussed the importance of teacher preparation and professional development in preparing educators to effectively implement Response to Intervention (RTI). The symposium was co-sponsored by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, IDEA Partnership, International Reading Association, and National Association of Elementary School Principals.