NEP History

NEP was created in 1997 when representatives of Stetson University, the National Education Association (NEA), and Performance Learning Systems (PLS) first met in Washington, D.C. With three years of funding from the Ford Foundation, and additional funding from from the Walt Disney Corporation, the National Educator Program was born. Its goal was to provide world-class staff development to classroom teachers, school administrators and district-level administration on best practices for classroom instruction and successful school change. NEP was based in Florida from 1997-2007 and served as a division of Stetson University and later, Performance Learning Systems.

On May 1, 2008 NEP incorporated as a Colorado-based educational organization. Now, NEP has offices in Denver and Orlando, volunteer desks overseas, and continues to focus on best practices and helping educators increase their students' successes.

NEP has conducted more than 16 international conferences on career academies and women in STEM. We also facilitated six cohorts of training for school leaders via the International Leadership Fellows Institute.

NEP increased our presence in the field of gender equity in STEM by supporting Sko Labs and the production of The Professor Sko Science Show.

Far Left: Dr. Robert Werner, NEP Executive Director 1997-2000
Near Left: Dr. Mark A. Thompson, NEP Executive Director 2000-present

NEP Iconography

NEP COLORS
NEP's colors are dark green and gold. Stetson University in Florida chose green as its school color to "represent the dark green, glossy leaves of Florida orange trees." To show connection to Stetson University where NEP was housed, NEP adopted the dark green color.

NEP selected a second color to distinguish it from Stetson. Gold was added denoting the standard of quality and value NEP upholds.

THE LIGHTHOUSE
The lighthouse is a common motif in NEP logos, literature and discussion. It relates to a keynote address first given by NEP Executive Director Dr. Mark A. Thompson in 1998. It represents a reminder to all educators to stay true to their love of education and to their original mission: Making a difference in the lives of young people.

NEP SEAL
The NEP seal was adopted by the NEP Alliance in 2012. It is a dark green circle representative of equality and the endless cycle of improvement and innovation. The lighthouse icon and NEP Vanguard logo are included, as is the year "1997" in roman numerals.