By Charlotte Young

As the 2012 presidential election season draws closer, teachers are stepping out of the classroom and stepping into political action.

On Monday the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teacher union, met in Chicago and voted yes on a proposal to endorse Barack Obama’s re-election. Though the endorsement passed, the Washington Post reports that many teachers are voting for Obama “with reluctance,” disillusioned by the lack of progress on the public education agenda.

Some teachers complained that they had hoped standardized testing, which seems to control public education, would be minimized in the Obama administration. Now they see cases where poor test scores are often used to fire teachers.

They are also wary of Obama’s support of public charter schools, traditional public schools’ rival, and the praise his school reform has won from some Republicans.

But they can’t condemn all of Obama’s public school efforts. Teachers do acknowledge the billions of dollars given to schools after the 2008 financial meltdown which was used to save so many teachers’ jobs.

Others are not opposed to supporting Obama, they simply want to be sure that their endorsement is not taken for granted.

To make their concerns heard, teachers and parents are planning a “Save Our Schools” rally outside the White House on July 30.

In the midst of the political debate on the endorsement, Dean Vogel, president of the California NEA affiliate, says that the disillusionment and frustration many teachers feel isn’t because of the president’s actions, but rather a reflection of anger felt against the Education Department.