EL PASO, Texas – A former educator who once led the Texas State Teachers Association has been elected to one of the top posts in the nation’s largest labor union.
Noel Candelaria, a former public school teacher from El Paso and former president of the Texas State Teachers Association, has been elected vice president of the National Education Association, which has nearly 3 million members.
Princess R. Moss, an elementary school music teacher from Virginia, was elected NEA’s new president, and Robert Varela Rodriguez, a special education teacher from California, was elected secretary-treasurer by nearly 6,000 delegates during NEA’s annual Representative Assembly. Delegates met in Denver over the holiday weekend and represented educators from every state and territory.
The three new officers will take office Sept. 1.
Candelaria has served as NEA secretary-treasurer for the past six years. He began his education career as a teacher aide and special education teacher in Ysleta ISD in El Paso, where he also served as president of the Ysleta Teachers Association, a TSTA local affiliate.
He was elected vice president of TSTA in 2011 and served two terms as president from 2014-20, when he was term limited.
During his time leading TSTA, Candelaria helped score victories that included a $6.5 billion increase in public education funding — including $2 billion for pay raises — during the 2019 legislative session. He also worked for extra benefits for retired educators.
As TSTA president during much of President Trump’s first term, he was involved in advocacy for immigrant children and their families, including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, or Dreamers.
Candelaria’s final term as TSTA president ended in July 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, he called on Gov. Greg Abbott to call off STAAR testing that spring and to close school buildings to help keep students, educators and communities safe.
“I am honored and humbled to serve as vice president of the National Education Association. Public education changed my life, and educators opened doors that transformed my future,” Candelaria said.
“Now it’s our turn to ensure every student—regardless of their ZIP code, race or background—has that same opportunity. Together, we will build the power to defend public education, advance racial and social justice and ensure every educator has the respect, resources and voice they deserve. Because when educators are empowered, students, families and communities thrive,” he added.
Current TSTA President Ovidia Molina, who was vice president before succeeding Candelaria, praised his work.
“Noel is an educator who was dedicated to the needs of his students when he was in the classroom. As TSTA president, he was dedicated to meeting the needs of every Texas public school student and their Texas educators, and now at the national level he continues that same hard work on a much broader scale,” Molina said.
“Noel is a great teacher and a great advocate for public schools,” she said.