The National Education Association’s highest honor — the NEA Friend of Education — was awarded Sunday to Patricia de Stacy Harrison, president and chief executive officer of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), and Paula A. Kerger, president and chief executive officer of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The award is presented annually to recognize a person or organization whose leadership, acts or support have significantly contributed to the improvement of American public education.
CPB and PBS were selected as critical resources in public education through programming, which has long provided teaching and learning materials to educators and content to put students on a path to become successful life-long learners.
One such resource Kerger highlighted during her remarks is PBS LearningMedia, which provides educators with digital content, strategies, learning tools and professional development resources needed to fully utilize digital learning in the classroom.
The service includes classroom-ready, curriculum-based digital resources including videos and interactives, audio, documents and in-depth lesson plans, drawing from critically acclaimed PBS programs such as NOVA, FRONTLINE, and American Experience; and PBS KIDS programs like SID the Science Kid.
“Education is at the heart of our mission at PBS,” said Kerger. “We realize that because we are accessible in every home across the country, we have a tremendous responsibility to use our airwaves to prepare children for success in school and in life.”