In the aftermath of World War I, and with one-room schools still in existence, two organizations made an unlikely pairing to promote public support for education.

Alarmed that 25 percent of the country’s WWI draftees were illiterate, the NEA and the American Legion passed resolutions at their respective conventions in 1919 advocating for a national effort to raise public awareness about the importance of education.

Two years later, the NEA Representative Assembly, meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, called for a week each year to put education in the spotlight. During the week of Dec. 4-10, 1921, American Education Week was born.

PSEA again joins NEA in observing this year’s American Education Week: Nov. 18-22.

“American Education Week has a rich history, as does public education in Pennsylvania and the United States,’’ said PSEA President Rich Askey. “It is a week to recognize the many educators – from teachers to health care providers to support professionals – who make our schools function day in and day out.’’

In just the past year alone, Voice has featured stories about an elementary gifted teacher selected for a research expedition to Antarctica; an English as a Second Language teacher who was airlifted out of Vietnam as a 5-year-old and uses her life’s story to help immigrant children today; an education support professional who runs an annual community book fair; a school nurse who represented PSEA at a major global conference in Thailand; and a social studies teacher who is keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive for current and future generations.

“American Education Week puts the spotlight on the great people, including parents, who are a part of our rich public education system in this country,’’ Askey said. “We should take time to celebrate the incredible work educators do every day.’’

global conference in Thailand; and a social studies teacher who is keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive for current and future generations.

“American Education Week puts the spotlight on the great people, including parents, who are a part of our rich public education system in this country,’’ Askey said. “We should take time to celebrate the incredible work educators do every day.’’