Virginia Journal of Education: September 2019

VIRGINIA JOURNAL of

EDUCATI N The magazine of the Virginia Education Association October 2019

MAN ON A MISSION FOR

RODNEY ROBINSON,

BEING NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR MEANS FIGHTING FOR EQUITY FOR ‘HIS KIDS’

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COVER STORY

CONTENTS

Man on a Mission

UPFRONT 4-7 This month: Student bloopers, transcendent ESPs, and robots.

FEATURES 12 Who’s Different?

All students with disabilities need is a fair shake.

14 How to Fix Virginia’s Teacher Shortage VEA, 11 other organizations collaborate on solutions.

16 It Doesn’t Have to be That Way How a performance improvement plan is supposed to work.

18 Meet Me in Nonfiction Kids benefit from more exposure to quality nonfiction stories.

DEPARTMENTS 20 Membership Matters Summer school for Union leaders.

25 Insight on Instruction Listening skills are important for both teachers and students.

30 First Person When parent communication gets dicey.

Cover photo by Lisa Sale.

Editor Tom Allen VEA President Jim Livingston VEA Executive Director Dr. Brenda Pike Communications Director John O’Neil Graphic Designer Lisa Sale Editorial Assistant/Advertising Representative Yolanda Morris Contributors Cathy Smith Kathy Holter Donna L. Shrum Star Friend

Melinda B. Bright Kelly Hickok Courtney Cutright

Vol. 113, No.1

Copyright © 2019 by the Virginia Education Association The Virginia Journal of Education (ISSN 0270-837X) is published six times a year (October, November, December, February, April and June) by the Virginia Education Association, 116 South Third Street, Richmond, VA 23219.

Non-member annual subscription rate: $10 ($15 outside the U.S. and Canada). Rights to reproduce any article or portion thereof may be granted upon request to the editor. Periodicals postage paid in Richmond, VA. Postmaster: Send address changes to Virginia Journal of Education, 116 South Third Street, Richmond, VA 23219.

Article proposals, comments or questions may be sent to the editor at tallen@veanea.org or Tom Allen,116 South Third Street, Richmond, VA 23219, 800-552-9554.

Member: State Education Association Communicators VEA Vision: A great public school for every child in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

“It’s a note from my teacher— heavily redacted.”

VEA Mission: The mission of the Virginia Education Association is to unite our members and local communities across the Commonwealth in fulfilling the promise of a high quality public education that successfully prepares every single student to realize his or her full potential. We believe this can be accomplished by advocating for students, education professionals, and support professionals.

UP FRONT

‘What I Meant to Say Was…’ Some of the student quotes shared by retired teacher Tim Clancy in his book, Best in Class: “I would recommend this book because it teaches that prisons aren’t as fun as they look on TV.” “To his dismay, he gets killed.”

“When I try to carry it on my back, I fall over backwards.”

“Never judge someone until you live a day in the life of that person’s shoes.”

“If I didn’t have to read and write, I’d really enjoy English class.”l

Please Get My Name Right…

“To walk around in a space that is supposed to be designed for you to feel welcome and safe and to be who you are, and know that every day someone is mispronouncing your name, is emotionally exhausting.”

— Tiffany Young, equity and diversity director for a Nevada school system

Is There a Raise on the Menu?

To underscore our teachers’ economic plight, my wife and I were dining at a popular restaurant recently, and our waiter was especially sociable. We indicated that his service and our food were top notch, to which he replied this was not his “regular gig.”

When we asked about his primary source of employment, he stated he was a Virginia Beach middle school teacher. Need I say more?l From a May 9, 2019 letter to the editor in the (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot

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VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

“It sends a very important message—that your name and identity matter, and we want to get it right. It says, ‘We want to get to know you and we respect you.’”

— Yee Wan, director of multilingual learning services, Santa Clara (CA) County Office of Education, on getting students’ names right One website that can help educators with proper name pronunciation is mynamemyidentity.org.l

Which one of the following school security measures do you think is most effective in preventing school violence?

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS

60.87%

12.28%

METAL DETECTORS AND CAMPUS SURVEILLANCE

10.74%

SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING

6.90%

SAFETY AND EMERGENCY DRILLS AND TRAINING

5.37%

ANTI-BULLYING CAMPAIGNS

3.84%

Survey of ASCD smartbrief readers, June 27, 2019

TOUCHING BASE WITH… CATHY SMITH

WASHINGTON COUNTY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Middle school math teacher What’s something you like about your job?

There is something special about middle school students—we get to see them transform into mature people and develop skills in school that build the foundation of their future. Every day is an adventure.

I worked in industry years ago and love to share how math is used every day in our lives. Teaching mathematics is my passion.

I started it in middle school, then had a chance to teach several high school courses through the years, but transitioned back to middle school because I missed it.

How has being a Union member helped you?

The VEA has given me so many opportunities and such great training, not only to develop as a successful teacher but also as a leader in my local union. It’s helped me gain the courage to step outside my comfort zone and take on different roles.

As the incoming District A president, I look forward to being a voice for southwest Virginia in promoting our wonderful school systems as well as continuing to advocate for better teacher pay. We educate the leaders of tomorrow and should be paid as such. l

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

Illustrations by iStock

SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS

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UP FRONT

“Before you hand out grades, I just want to mention that I have a lot of followers on Twitter.”

SOURCE: ACLU

“Maybe it’s because I haven’t done my homework, but all those clouds look like Mrs. Killen staring at me.”

Charlottesville Education Association member Kevin Paquette hit the big time when he appeared on “Jeopardy!” in July. Despite an early lead, the math teacher at Walker Upper Elementary School (seen here with host Alex Trebek) was unable to knock off the defending champion, who won for the fourth straight day.l

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ON POINT ROBOTS NOT WELCOME HERE

LOOKING AFTER OUR KIDS

“IF THERE’S ONE JOB THAT

— Kathy Holter

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, IT’S TEACHING. SURE, YOU CAN MEMORIZE FROG PARTS ONLINE, BUT THAT WILL NEVER COMPARE TO DISSECTING ONE IN A LABORATORY WITH FELLOW STUDENTS AND A QUALITY TEACHER AT YOUR SHOULDER.” — Dr. Andre Perry, a David M. Rubenstein Fellow at The Brookings

Institution

THERE AREN’T ENOUGH WORDS… “THEY MAY CALL YOU ‘TEACHER’ BUT I CALL YOU ‘ARCHITECT’ AND ‘BUILDER’ AND ‘CHARACTER LIFTER.’ I CALL YOU ‘THE JUSTICE OF AMERICA.’” — Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas Congresswoman, at this summer’s NEA Conference on Racial and Social Justice

If a student doesn’t have transportation to attend a school function at night, guess what? We rally to find that child a ride to and from school. Many times we provide the transportation. We take students to McDonald’s and then to their first ever Christmas parade.

We’ve taken students trick-or-treating for the very first time. We want our students to feel like they are part of a larger community.

We’ve gone into homes to see if families know how to use washers and dryers. We have set up a hygiene closet filled with donations from businesses and teachers.

We put hand-me-down clothes in book bags for kids who need them. We also put food in them. Our school nurse and others coordinated efforts to supply two brothers with bunk beds. One kept the other awake at night, sleeping in the same bed. The older brother came to school after getting no sleep. The bunk beds were a great help to this family.

We treat our students with respect and love, from the moment they enter our building until they exit our doors. Many of our kids are burdened with poverty and are survivors of traumatic events. We, as educators, do everything we can to make our students feel safe, valued and loved. We are proud of what we do and who we are. l Robot by iStock

CAN’T BE TAKEN OVER BY

Holter is president of the Harrisonburg Education Association. This is taken from a piece she wrote in The Daily News-Record VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

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COVER STORY

MAN ON

A MISSION Rodney Robinson’s goal for his time as National Teacher of the Year? Nothing less than ‘saving lives.’

By Tom Allen

THE ROAD LEADS TO VIRGIE BINFORD Robinson got his first experience with Richmond’s young people at Lucille Brown Middle School, where he was hired fresh out of Virginia State University to teach social studies in 2000. “I was 21 years old and in charge of 140 seventh-graders,” he says with a laugh. “I didn’t even have charge of myself at 21.”

Still grinning, he adds, “If you’re first year isn’t rough, you aren’t doing it right.”

Following that first year, he moved to George Wythe High

School and spent two years there teaching and coaching football before going to John F. Kennedy High School, which merged with Armstrong the next year.

Armstrong draws its students from high-poverty neighborhoods and “has its reputation,” says Robinson, but he made it home for the next 12 years.

An opportunity at Binford came up in 2015, which coincided with a piece of unsettling news that came Virginia’s way.

“I was hesitant about moving to Binford, but then a report had just come out saying that Virginia led the nation in referring kids to the juvenile

justice system,” Robinson says. “I thought I could read books and learn about the school-to-prison pipeline, but what better way to understand than to go into a prison and teach?”

When he arrived at Binford, among the first students he encountered were three he’d failed the year before at Armstrong. “It made me think about what I’d done to cause them to end up here,” Robinson says, “and I began to understand that there’s a real connection with poverty. We’ve criminalized poverty in our country. It became a

Photo by Lisa Sale

In the Richmond classrooms where Rodney Robinson has spent his 19-year teaching career, some decisions made quickly and easily in other schools, like suspending a student, must be made very, very carefully. At Virgie Binford Education Center, housed in the city’s juvenile detention center and, before that, at Armstrong High School, some of those decisions can literally mean life or death.

“Suspending kids from school not only lessens the chance they’ll graduate because they’re missing school time,” says Robinson, America’s 2019 National Teacher of the Year, “but you’re also putting them in a horrible situation. You’re sending them back into the streets where they’ve learned bad behaviors, only to learn more bad behaviors.”

These young people often face very limited options and Robinson, a Richmond Education Association member, says it shouldn’t be that way.

“They’re kids,” he says. “A lot of times, people look at their records and the things they’ve done and try to view them as hardened criminals. But they’re really just kids, and their self-esteem is so low. Things have been stripped away from them for so many years they feel like they don’t have control over anything.”

Those kids are the reason Robinson sees his time as National Teacher of the Year as a year-long mission, not a victory lap. His objectives reach well beyond the classroom, too. “The real mission is saving lives,” he says.

moment of real reflection and led to a wholesale change in my approach to teaching, students, discipline, and grading. Really, it changed my whole attitude about education.”

LOOKING BEYOND PROBLEMS Binford has been the perfect place for Robinson to put that attitude into practice. “Here, we don’t see thugs or criminals—we see kids who, with proper motivation can turn their lives around,” he says.

“I tell my kids they’re here for a reason, that sometimes you have to sit down in order to plan out your future. When they’re in the streets, they’re in survival mode. So, when they come to us, we take a moment to say reset, regather yourself, and let’s focus on some things that are important in life. We’re going to be here to help you achieve whatever goal you want to achieve. Detention is only a temporary setback to get where you need to go.”

Teaching at Binford has also solidified his commitment to a wholehearted “kids-first” approach.

“I work to build relationships and get to know students,” he says.

“That’s more important than any lesson plan I’ll ever have.” That attitude extends beyond class time, as Robinson frequently spends time

with students in the residential area of the center known as the pods.

Juvenile detention is, though, an undeniably difficult and often frustrating work environment. The seemingly insurmountable challenges his students deal with every day, in school and out, weigh Robinson down at times.

“Secondary trauma is a lot,” Robinson told the audience at a recent speaking engagement. “When I hear about a violent crime involving people under 25, I often know the victim, the perpetrator, or both. Once, when my wife told me about an incident in which a young child was shot, my first thought was ‘Yeah, that happens.’

That’s not a normal response. I began looking into some therapy for myself.”

But, he says, his Binford experience has emboldened him: “It’s given me new insight for what our kids need and the more I learn, the more I can advocate for them.”

THE MISSION CONTINUES Advocacy is what the year ahead is all about for Robinson, and there will be several topics front and center as he steps out on his new national platform.

“I’m passionate about educa-

tional and cultural equity,” he says, defining educational equity as providing the necessary resources to all students and cultural equity as students seeing and being influenced by more educators who look like them and value their cultures.

“In our country, students of color make up 50 percent of all our students, but the teachers are still 80 percent white,” says Robinson, who grew up in the predominantly white school system of King William County. “I didn’t have many teachers or people who looked like me who told me I could be and do whatever.”

Today, he sees the impact of that kind of experience in his work at Binford. “A lot of times my students have had teachers who referred them there because of just simple cultural misunderstandings,” he says. “I just want to educate as

BREAKING NEWS You might expect Robinson to have been told he was the National Teacher of the Year in some kind of elaborate ceremony in his classroom or in Washington, D.C. You would be wrong.

“I was on my way to Whole Foods and got a call as I turned into the parking lot,” he says. “I thought I’d forgot to turn in something because we weren’t going to hear anything for two more weeks. But they told me and I went through the gamut of emotions—tears, celebration—I’m pretty sure the guy in the car next to me thought I was having a mental breakdown. It was a very emotional moment, and also very humbling because I was being given a big opportunity. Once I realized the seriousness of it, I had to think about how I could take advantage of it and how I could advocate for my kids and for teachers all over the United States. I think I came home with just grapes. I’d forgotten everything else that was on my mind.” l

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VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

many people as possible on how to value and love students of all ages, backgrounds, and races.”

Robinson intends to use his year to affect education policy, too: “I just want to get in the room.

That’s where the economic equity comes in, just speaking to school boards, city councils, state legislators, even federal legislators, talking about what kids need and making sure that funding in education is equitable.”

There are mountains to climb in our public schools. “The achievement gap didn’t just happen, it’s the result of a system,” Robinson says.

“It’s time to start pointing out some of the things in the system that lead to it and to the gap in graduation rates, the gap in students going to college. It’s time to start addressing those things and I want to speak about it. I feel my voice is needed.”

He’d also like to promote an often-overlooked potential alliance.

“One of the things I’ve learned in Virginia is that some of our urban and rural areas are facing the same issues—the same poor infrastructure and the same lack of resources for teachers and students,” he says.

“It’s about time we started partnering together to advocate for what our kids need, because they need the same things.”

ROLE MODEL EXTRAORDINAIRE Robinson relishes being the teacher role model he didn’t have enough of growing up and will push hard to encourage young men and women of color to enter the profession.

Actually, he could probably rest on his laurels already—some 20 of his former students are now teaching and others have pursued careers in social work.

Doron Battle, now a special

education teacher at Richmond’s George Mason Elementary School, had Robinson as an 11th-grader.

“He knew his stuff,” Battle says, “and he had a way of making history come to life. He was also super fair, and he looked and talked like us.

We gave him 100 percent. He was the perfect example for me when I was thinking about teaching.”

“I often tell young educators of color to get comfortable in uncomfortable spaces,” Robinson says. “Sometimes when you go to professional development or a workshop, you’ll be the only person of color in the room. Embrace that, be yourself, and speak up for what your kids need. If you do that, other people in the room will speak up for what your kids need, too.”

Robinson points to statistics that show reduced referrals to special education and absenteeism and increased parental involvement when students of color have more teachers of color.

He also sees another glaring obstacle for potential educators of color, especially men. “Black and Hispanic males are often the students who have the most negative experiences in school,” he says. “No one wants to go back to the site of their trauma. We need to help them have better school experiences.”

In the end, Robinson is optimistic about the future, and the source of his hope is, as one might expect, the kids. “My faith isn’t in our leaders and politicians,” he says. “It’s in my students. I encourage them to speak up. They have powerful things to say and we have to get out of their way and let them say it.l Allen is editor of the Virginia Journal of Education.

A UNION MAN Robinson has been a card-carrying Union man his entire career. “Being a member has been really helpful to me because it taught me how to advocate not just in the classroom but in political circles,” he says. “As you begin the journey of advocacy, you’ll find yourself in a lot of rooms with a lot of powerful people but thanks to the tips and training I’ve gotten from VEA, I feel very comfortable in those rooms telling the stories of my kids and what they need.

Plus, I’ve made lots of connections and heard lots of ideas.”

This summer, he addressed the 6,000+ delegates to the NEA convention in Houston. “I just talked about my kids, the things that were on my heart,” he says. “I didn’t know how well it was received until afterward when a lady came up to me and said she’d been coming to the convention for 40 years and no one had said the things on stage that I said. So that let me know I was on the right track.”

VEA President Jim Livingston has no doubt about the track Robinson is on. “I can think of no one better suited to represent our nation’s teachers,” he says. “The love he shows every day for his students is an inspiration not only to them, but to their families, his colleagues, and the entire community. I know he’s changed countless lives.”l

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FEATURE STORY

WHO’S

DIFFERENT?

All students with physical disabilities really need is a fair shake.

By Kelly Hickok

B

ecause I both work for a Richmond-based nonprofit that helps people with disabilities live more independent lives and I’m an individual with a physical disability, I’ve had a unique opportunity to observe education for young people with disabilities in Virginia. I’ve also experienced it firsthand, as I began maneuvering through our state’s public education system over 50 years ago and have seen how many things have changed—some for the good, some not so much.

My education, until fifth grade, was through a homebound teacher coming to me. Why? Well, that’s what happened with kids perceived

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to be “different” and having “special needs.” Turned out that the only “special need” I had was a way to physically get my wheelchair into the building! I never really (and still don’t) consider my needs to be “special” – just a little unique sometimes.

Because going to school for the first time in fifth grade was such a strange experience (after all, I had a teacher all to myself and now had to share her with 30 other kids), I repeated that grade and then went on to middle school. There, I had to change classes while using braces and crutches. Things got better after I started using my wheelchair to keep up. I was the only kid using

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

one, so I stood out in the crowd.

High school required some strong advocacy from my parents.

The school I was supposed to attend was a two-story building with no elevator, and it was suggested I be shipped across town to a campus-style school. I wanted to go to high school in my community and with my friends, so we reached a compromise: I would be carried, in my chair, up and down the steps every day. That wasn’t a bad deal for a young girl who had so many good-looking, strong classmates willing to tote me up the stairs for four years. I had a blast! I was involved in so many extracurricular activities. Socialization is critical for young people with disabilities.

As a society, we are hooked on labels. But when we allow labels to suggest limitations, we can easily lower our expectations of fellow human beings.

We’re all individuals who move at different paces, do things a little differently, and are still developing.

Here’s a simple but profoundly misunderstood concept for educators and for all of us: Individuals with disabilities are not broken. We don’t need to be “fixed.” We just need for you to see us and to make an effort to understand our needs.

My niece was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder as a toddler. While some may think this is extremely unfortunate, it was actually a wonderful thing to have a diagnosis so early. Although our family had been down the road of advocating for physical access to an education for me, we now had to learn a different type of advocacy in requesting what she would need to be successful in school. We also had to learn how to teach her in the

way that she could best learn “a little differently.” Today she is an incredibly successful wife, mother, and special education teacher. It didn’t magically unfold for her. It took a tremendous amount of hard work on everyone’s part through her years of schooling, all the way to her master’s degree.

I’ve used the term “different” several times. Although it might be necessary to recognize the “differences” associated with disabilities, here’s another important concept: it’s much more important to focus on the individual’s abilities. That’s where you find the strengths, the talents and the human spirit of each person regardless of perceived limitations. Who knew a child living with autism and blindness could one day become a most accomplished musician? Who knew that some of the most famous people we know are also individuals with disabilities? Walt Disney had dyslexia. Lucille Ball lived with severe arthritis. Our first

President, George Washington, had a learning disability. Did they face challenges and obstacles? Of course!

Did it stop them? Obviously not. Did they have people who believed in their abilities and helped them reach their full potential? Most likely!

The challenge and the charge are to look behind the scenes, notice and accommodate for differences, and then treat people equally, focusing on what you and they can do rather than what they can’t. Our job isn’t to decide what people are capable of, but to provide an environment where we can all learn what’s possible. We can’t fix the system for everyone today, but we can each take a step forward on the journey to a more inclusive tomorrow.

Another surprise for many is that we don’t view our wheelchairs or other mobility aids as “confining.”

Such assistance, in fact, is quite liberating because it gives us greater

independence and access.

Through legislation and hopefully our own desire as a society to provide an “equal education for all,” we realize our legal and moral obligation to accommodate all students in our public education system.

The way we make those accommodations varies greatly depending on individual needs. Some students need physical barriers removed; some need instructional barriers removed; but in addition, almost all of us, both educators and students, need barriers of attitude, intolerance, and assumptions removed.l

Hickok is the community services manager for Resources for Independent Living, a Richmond-based nonprofit (www.ril-va.org). You can reach her at hickokk@ril-va.org.

Disability Etiquette Tips for Educators

•

Don’t discourage children from asking questions about disabilities. Children have a natural curiosity that needs to be satisfied so they do not develop fearful or misleading attitudes. Most people are not offended by questions children ask them.

It is appropriate to offer your help if you think it is needed but don’t be surprised or offended if the student would rather do it himself. If you are uncertain how to assist, ask.

•

A student’s wheelchair is part of his or her body space and should be treated with respect. Don’t hang or lean on it unless you have permission.

•

If the conversation lasts more than a few minutes, sit down or kneel to get yourself on the same level as the student in the wheelchair.

•

Don’t worry about using expressions such as “running

along” or “walked away” when speaking to a student in a wheelchair. These expressions are used in everyday conversation and are not offensive.

•

Don’t assume that using a wheelchair is a tragedy. It is a means of freedom, which allows the student to move about independently.

•

When giving wheelchair users directions, be aware of barriers such as narrow doorways, stairs, curbs, etc.

•

When a student transfers out of the wheelchair to a chair, toilet, car, or other object, do not move the wheelchair out of reaching distance.

•

Relationships are important. Have eye and physical contact with chair users in the same respectful manner you would a student that isn’t in a wheelchair.l

Source: Resources for Independent Living (www.ril-va.org)

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

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Photo by iStock

•

STORY TheFEATURE Virginia Public Education CoalitionTheThe

How to Fix Virginia’s Teacher Shortage VEA, 11 other organizations collaborate on solutions.

For over a year, the VEA and member organizations of the Virginia Public Education Coalition (see box) have been working together on solutions to our state’s serious problems in teacher attraction, induction, and retention. Those discussions have led to recommendations in three key areas: Compensation; Preparation and Support; and Working Conditions. All 12 organizations are now calling upon the Governor, General Assembly, and Board of Education to develop plans to make these recommendations happen.

Here is a sampling of VPEC’s recommendations (for complete list, visit veanea.org/vpec):

COMPENSATION •

Establish compensation and benefits for teachers that attract beginners and encourage teachers to stay in the profession. Improve salary scales that discourage mid-career teachers from staying.

• Reverse recession-era budget language capping state funding for support staff and return to funding those positions to at least the rate of prevailing practice. This will offset local expenditures well above what’s required, freeing local dollars for salary improvements.

• Reverse the practice of using a linear weighted average when

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calculating prevailing practice for teacher salaries. This underestimates the actual costs.

• Initiate and implement student loan reform legislation in Virginia, including the Student Loan Bill of Rights and the Student Loan Ombudsman.

• Expand loan forgiveness and incentive programs for students who choose to teach.

• Expand the Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan program and initiate supports so that new teachers can fulfill the service requirements.

• Develop a system of state-funded supports for teacher candidates during their semester of student teaching. A teacher residency model of paid, full-time clinical place-

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

ments and housing allotments should be considered.

• Identify dedicated, sustainable funding for incentive programs in high-need subject areas and schools.

PREPARATION AND SUPPORT • Ensure that the competencies included in the Profile of a Virginia Education Leader and Profile of a Virginia Educator are reflected in Virginia’s educator preparation programs.

• Conduct a statewide audit of “grow-your-own,” career pathways, and other incentive programs and provide state funding to expand them.

• Initiate multiple options for

• Create evaluation models for teachers that emphasize growth and are competency-based.

• Incentivize school divisions to use quality professional development that is job-embedded and encourages peer-to-peer support.

• Increase the number and scope of evidence-based professional development opportunities for both teachers and school leaders.

• Establish avenues for new teachers to develop professional relationships outside their classroom and in the larger school community.

• Revise recertification requirements so that they are competency-based and emphasize evidence of growth.

• Implement more effective mentoring opportunities for new school administrators so that they are prepared to offer instructional support to their teachers.

• Establish a teacher and school administrator advisory board to work with the General Assembly, Secretary of Education, and Board of Education on legislative and policy issues.

IMPROVED WORKING CONDITIONS

• Update staffing standards in the Standards of Quality to reflect research-based practice rather than prevailing practice or currently funded levels.

Establish a state clearinghouse of teaching opportunities with a common application for all school divisions to use.

• Continue to reduce the emphasis on standardized testing. Recognize that deep and personalized learning requires that teachers have more autonomy in designing instructional practices.

• Establish opportunities for teachers to grow in their profession and experience leadership roles without having to move directly into school administration.

• Recognize that administrative time and focus for teacher observation and support should be weighted towards novice teachers.

• Provide an administrative framework for school leaders to support effective teaching and learning as opposed to monitoring compliance responsibilities.

• Provide training and professional development for school-based leaders so that they can develop the skills identified in the Profile of a Virginia Education Leader, including building a culture of shared responsibility and establishing school-based vision, values, and culture.l

•

• Connect experienced and effective teachers with new teachers as mentors during the

Virginia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Virginia Counselors Association Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals Virginia Education Association Virginia Association of School Superintendents Virginia Middle School Association Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals Virginia Congress of Parents and Teachers Virginia School Boards Association Virginia School Counselor Association Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Virginia Professors of Educational Leadership

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

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Illustration by iStock

• Update teacher preparation programs to reflect the Profile of a Virginia Graduate and the needs of modern learners.

new teacher’s probationary period. A reduced teaching load should be provided the new teacher and the mentor in order to provide time for observations, reflection, and guidance.

THE VIRGINIA PUBLIC EDUCATION COALITION

accreditation of Virginia’s teacher education programs, allowing for options that offer opportunities to diversify the teacher pipeline.

FEATURE STORY

It doesn’t have to be this way How to handle a performance improvement plan.

By Donna L. Shrum “I’m putting you on an improvement plan.” No teacher hears those words without also believing they mean, “I’m thinking of firing you,” and, “Your life is about to become even more difficult than it already is.”

A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) can feel like a devastating and demoralizing blow, especially since we’ve all heard the whispers that such plans have less to do with improvement than with creating a paper trail ending in job loss.

It doesn’t have to be this way— and it’s not supposed to be.

Part of the problem is that we teachers often don’t inform ourselves about our legal rights regarding employment status and evaluations until it becomes a necessity, usually because we’re already overwhelmed with other professional requirements. Not knowing this information can lead an administrator to write a PIP that doesn’t adhere to the required standards, with no one the wiser. This isn’t helpful to anyone.

This link (shorturl.at/jklqF) will

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take you to a Google Doc I created with the important sites regarding the law in Virginia for teacher employment status and evaluations, as well as a space to keep a professional journal. Make a copy for your private Google Drive, then locate and insert your local county’s handbook URL.

If you are given a PIP, take a deep breath, say as little as possible, take the time to read it privately, and then share it with your UniServ Director, who can help you interpret it. He or she will also help you start a file. It’s a good habit, even before any problems arise, to keep files documenting, especially any event or conversation you believe could crop up as a problem later.

Virginia’s “Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers” states that evaluators must “formulate a Performance Improvement Plan in conjunc-

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

tion with the teacher.” This means that the administrator can suggest activities for a struggling teacher, but also that the teacher may reasonably request an action from the administrator, such as a weekly meeting, the administrator can choose to reject the teacher’s request, but the teacher should then document that the request was made and rejected, with the reason for the rejection given. If the administrator insists on an action with which the teacher disagrees and it is included in the plan, the teacher should similarly document it. Those personal records should be shared with your VEA rep for your file.

PIPs most often are put in place after a midterm or summative evaluation, but they can also come after a classroom observation. Keep in mind that an observation is just that: a report of what occurred during the evaluator’s time in the classroom. Teachers placed on PIPs have shared that evaluators

discipline issues stated, “Evidence of improvement/completion: The classroom environment is conducive to learning. The instructor interacts with and questions all students.” There is no timeframe, no specific action plan, and no indicator for when the objective is successfully met. Under “Building/Department Support,” the administrator wrote, “Assistance will be provided upon request.” This violates the spirit and intention of a PIP, in which both parties are supposed to invest in meaningful improvement for the ultimate benefit of the teacher and his students. An administrator who identifies a weakness in a teacher has an obligation to invest time into helping that teacher improve.

As a teacher, you can and should document any disputes you have with observations and evaluations as rebuttals which your administrator must then attach to your observation, evaluation, and/or PIP in your personnel file. You should follow up later by visiting the human resources office to examine your file and making sure the rebuttal was indeed attached—no appointment is necessary to do so during office hours, and there is no need for conversation with HR about viewing the file. Your Uniserv rep will know what to do next if your rebuttal has not been included.

If an administrator is linking your student test scores to your performance as once required by Race to the Top, he’s on shaky ground. While Virginia has not officially embraced a teacher evaluation system that excludes test scores, other states have and Virginia’s is currently being revised.

A caveat must be added for probationary teacher on annual contracts, who are not afforded the same legal protections as teachers who have earned continuing contract

status. During a contract year, if a new teacher is terminated, he or she must be given notice, offered a hearing, and given some proven cause for dismissal, just as a continuing contract teacher would. However, the same right is not offered if contract renewal is denied for the following year. Virginia law only requires a local superintendent to give annual contract/probationary teachers the reasons “if any” for a recommendation not to renew teaching contract. But the law does not provide an annual contract teacher with a hearing to challenge those reasons. For those teachers, PIPs can be especially crushing because a reasonable expectation is that the principal who hired you and provided you a mentor would, as a matter of course, be working toward your improvement until you received a continuing contract. But, under current law, no “paper trail” of reasons is necessary not to renew an annual contract teacher.

Don’t allow a PIP to choke you.

Follow state and local guidelines, and commit yourself to improving the perceived shortcoming. If your administrator has created a PIP for you that evidences an equal commitment on his part to truly assist you in becoming a better educator, you’ll be able to recognize it and grow professionally. If not, then your local Uniserv representative will guide you through to the other side of the labyrinth.l *All PIP examples used in this article were provided anonymously by current teachers and were created between 2014 and 2018 in Virginia.

Shrum, a Shenandoah County Education Association member, is a history and geography teacher at Central High School.

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Photo Illustrations by iStock

told them they can include “anything they want” in an observation. For example, a teacher struggling with classroom behaviors had no observable student behavior issues while the evaluator was present, but the evaluator wrote that parents had called with concerns. Such information would not be out of place in an evaluation, but it has no place in an observation.

The Guidelines also suggest creating portfolios and other records of your classroom performance, even providing several surveys for students to share their perceptions, which the teacher can then use to make changes.

One teacher interviewee said while on a PIP, she began giving students such surveys only to have her principal order her to stop, saying she had not been given permission to do so. That response is counter to the “Guidelines” and should have been documented.

A PIP must have specific objectives for both the teacher and the administrator to complete, a timeframe, and a clear statement of how the teacher will know that the objectives are met.

Here’s an example of how this often isn’t the case: “Strategy for Improvement: Learning activities need to be closely aligned to meet the learning objective(s) for the day’s lesson. Activities should be used that introduce and reinforce the learning that is expected for the day.” This administrator had no specific strategy for either the teacher or for himself and no time frame in which to achieve it.

In another example from a different PIP, the evaluator wrote, “All lessons must meaningfully include the elements of an effective lesson.” Who will determine if it is “meaningful”?

What is the evidence the observed lesson wasn’t “meaningful”? Vague “admin-speak” doesn’t meet criteria for specificity.

A PIP* for a teacher struggling with

FEATURE STORY

MEET ME IN

Educators and parents are doing kids a favor by exposing them to more quality nonfiction stories from credible sources.

By Star Friend

O

ne of the more interesting challenges I dealt with during my first five years as a high school English teacher was working with students who struggled with reading and writing nonfiction. The problem for these students seemed to be both developmental and social.

Several were autistic and had narrow interests, a common autistic trait; others obsessed about obscure fantasy topics like a video game storyline or an internet fascination they’d discovered. They would gladly discuss those topics, but got frustrated when asked to discuss or write about current events or even personal experiences outside their niche interests.

There was a freshman boy who loved Pokemon and would gladly write fantasy fiction. His reading comprehension skills were strong, but he found it nearly impossible to discuss or write about his habits, relationships with family, or any other experiences unrelated to fantasy.

An 11-year-old girl I worked with in a writing workshop had a romantic obsession with a fictional serial killer and much of her writing reflected this; it struck me as unhealthy in many ways. She was resistant when I tried to change the subject, so not only were her fantasies age-inappropriate, but they further isolated her from peers, teachers, and anyone interested in

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broader, more conventional topics.

Over the years, I observed this pattern with several students who fixated on a fantasy idea or subculture—they struggled to relate to others, both in and out of school, because they spent so much time out of touch with reality.

I saw just the opposite in many of my highest-achieving students. They were the ones who had been exposed to a lot of nonfiction topics and current events, and they seemed to do well not only in English but other classes as well because they had knowledge in a variety of subjects. Many were from middle and upper-middle class families. Their parents read, traveled, and talked about politics and current events at home.

These kids were opinionated and some were arrogant, but they contributed to class discussions and were comfortable taking a position on an issue and defending it, a core requirement for high school English in Virginia.

As I began doing research for a master’s degree in literacy education, I asked myself what students in the latter category had that those in the former group didn’t, and the answer I came up with was that many of

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

the highest achieving students had extensive exposure to nonfiction media, stories, and current events. Clearly, their parents and home environments had a major impact, since 14-yearolds don’t buy their own newspaper subscriptions or fund their own field trips and vacations. Most of my students had grown up attending public schools and would have been exposed to such things by teachers, so the home environment must have been one of the factors tipping the scales for some kids.

The fact that having educated, financially stable parents gives kids an advantage in school is no new revelation. But when literacy skills are transitioning further every day from print to digital media, I was interested in how parents’ reading habits affected their children as they grew into teens and adults no longer read to by parents but certainly influenced by their beliefs and values.

Few of my peers and colleagues in their 30s and 40s subscribe to a daily newspaper of any kind,

NONFICTION

viewed as old-fashioned (even as new studies indicate reading comprehension is better with printed media than digital).

But even having parents who read a lot at home doesn’t guarantee children will do the same, especially as they become teens and begin using their phones and other devices for texting, gaming, and socializing.

I interviewed one student who consistently scored above 90 percent on his reading benchmarks when the class average was just below 75 percent. He attributed his high achievement to the fact that he was an avid reader until he got to seventh grade.

I asked what happened in seventh grade. “I got a phone,” he said.

Although he continued to achieve on tests, he was clearly distracted by his phone. I often found him playing video games on it in class when he was supposed to be working. He admitted to procrastinating on assignments because he wanted to play games instead.

In an attempt to help bridge the gap I’d seen between high-achieving students and others who struggled with the kinds of realistic stories they’d see on standardized tests as well as news topics people discuss , I emphasized nonfiction during the first part of that semester.

Students in my ninth-grade classes were required to read at least one nonfiction book and complete a research paper on a topic in current events after reading and summarizing stories from newspapers such as The

New York Times and The Washington Post. They also discussed the stories they read in groups, with each group reporting on what was the most interesting story someone had read that day. By the time they took their second reading benchmark, their average score on nonfiction texts was 71 percent, compared with 45.2 on the first test. It may not sound impressive, but considering that many were English language learners, I was happy with the progress.

English may be the only high school class where students are

exposed to fiction and poetry.

To exclude those categories of literature from any such class would be a disservice to students, but there’s ample research to recommend using more nonfiction in English classes. As teachers and as parents, we may not be able to control what fascinates our kids, but we do play an important role when it comes to exposing them to quality reading material and media from credible sources to prepare them for real life in the classroom and beyond.l

Friend, a member of the Winchester Education Association, teaches English and Creative Writing at John Handley High School.

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

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Photo and Illustrations by iStock

much less a print edition.

They tend to discuss major news stories they read online— the ones that are pretty much inescapable. Part of the research I did this spring toward my own degree involved surveying students on their reading habits and those of their parents.

Here’s part of what I learned in that survey: Out of 61 ninth-grade students whose initial benchmark reading comprehension test scores ranged from 9 to 92 percent, only three scored above 90 percent. Two of those three top-scoring students reported that their parents read a newspaper every day. The majority (64.7 percent) of the 70 students who took the survey said their parents discussed current events at home, but only 13 percent said their parents read a newspaper daily.

While fewer adults are getting their news from print media, it didn’t surprise me that parents who read a newspaper daily have children with high test scores. Parents who get a printed newspaper necessarily have a certain amount of stability with a permanent address, some disposable income, and may place value on the printed word, which is increasingly

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

Summer School for Union Leaders:

Together, We Can Do Great Things After sharing his experiences on the picket lines during a teacher strike in West Virginia in the 1990s, VEA President Jim Livingston looked out at the crowd at this year’s Reggie Smith Organizing School and solemnly told them what he’d learned.

“We are all we have,” he said. “We must stand in solidarity and do this work together.”

VEA members from across the commonwealth roared in response as they wrapped up three days of learning and preparing to do exactly that at the University of Richmond.

At RSOS and, for three days before that, at VEA’s revamped Leadership Academy, Union leaders immersed themselves in topics including digital mobilizing, communications, organizing around instructional issues, political action, helping immigrant students, and working with new eduUnion members spent several days in July immersed in leadership and organizing training in Richmond.

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cators--and came away with newfound friends, confidence, and action plans.

“The sessions really broke down how leadership should look in the Union,” said Darrell Turner, vice president of the Richmond Education Association. “As a new officer, those organizing principles were very important for me. Now I know how I should be recruiting new members, keeping them, and, most important, getting them involved.”

His sentiments were echoed by new Portsmouth Education Association President Gordon Jones. “I got a lot of the tools and information I’ll need to be a successful president,” he said. “They’ll help me motivate our members to do some great things.”

RSOS has been redesigned into a three-year course and 2019 marked the first graduating class, whose members were saluted with balloons and music during a rousing closing ceremony.

Other areas of focus for attendees at both three-day sessions were the Fund Our Future campaign, next year’s VEA Lobby Day plans, and understanding the state’s complicated school funding formula.l

Sixty part-time education support professionals in Manassas were in dire need of better health care coverage, so activists from the Manassas Education Association decided to do something about it.

And their courage paid off.

The issue began a long time ago. When Murina Dove got her first paycheck after going to work as a part-time school security officer for the Manassas City Schools in the 1990s, she was a bit taken aback.

“So much had been taken out for health insurance,” she says. “It was terrible—I was ready to just go back home.”

At the time, some part-time education support professionals in the city schools were paying more for health insurance than full-timers were. She took her concerns to her colleague, Leroy Williams, who in turn took them to administrators. The situation was rectified by making Dove full-time and therefore able to afford healthcare premiums.

Some 25 years later, Williams is president of the Manassas Education Association and Dove is vice president—and a similar situation arose. Again, part-time ESPs were shouldering unreasonable healthcare costs, making it all but impossible to continue in their jobs. And again, Williams and Dove took action, getting the support necessary to educate the city’s school board.

“Our members from the transportation department led the movement and went to the school board to tell their stories,” says Williams.

One member explained how her vision would be endangered if she couldn’t afford the eye care she needed. Others spoke about difficult decisions they had to make when they needed to take a child to a doctor but couldn’t afford the out-ofpocket expenses that went along with such office visits. Another woman talked about relying on the insurance her husband had through his job, but after his sudden death, her money was running out and she was unsure about her future.

“I was there to let school board members know I supported these folks,” Williams adds, “and I could just see the expressions on their faces changing as they heard the stories.”

The result? The budget committee met again and found a way to include funding for part-time support staff health care. It was a big win for MEA—and for 60 valuable school employees, all ESPs who now have affordable health care coverage.

“We were glad we could help,” Williams says, with a smile.l

CALENDAR conferences VEA Instructional Conference October 11-12, 2019 Richmond Marriott VEA Sparks February 28-March 1, 2020 The Crossings Resort Glen Allen

GOING NATIONAL

Some 140 Union members formed VEA’s delegation to the 2019 National Education Association Representative Assembly in Houston, TX, in July. There, they joined more than 6,000 of their colleagues to discuss public education issues ranging from the use of classroom technology to fighting the opioid crisis, hear from U.S. Presidential candidates, and prepare to carry on and build the momentum of America’s #Red4Ed movement.l

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Photos on page 20 by Lisa Sale

Manassas Members Win Affordable Health Care for All

2020 VEA LEGISLATIVE AGENDA VEA WILL INITIATE LEGISLATION TO:

VEA SUPPORTS LEGISLATION THAT:

•

• Provides resources to ensure that school employees earn a living wage and that teacher salaries are at or above the national average.

•

•

•

Restore the probationary period for teachers to three years.

Reduce the total number and type of required Standards of Learning assessments to the minimum federal requirements.

Eliminate the requirement that school principals report to law enforcement certain disciplinary incidents that may constitute a misdemeanor offense.

Open participation in Virginia’s current state employee health insurance program to all school employees.

We’ll Keep You Informed Keep up with all the latest legislative news affecting schools by reading VEA’s daily updates during the General Assembly session. You’ll find them at www.veadailyreports. com.

• Fully funds the revised Standards of Quality (SOQs), as adopted by the Virginia Board of Education.

• Attracts and retains high-quality teachers and school personnel and improves professional development opportunities for all school employees.

• Protects professional teaching licenses.

• Increases funds directed to programs serving Virginia’s most at-risk students.

• Supports the needs of and addresses the inequities in Virginia’s small and rural school divisions.

• Improves, implements, and funds programs, resources, and professional development for educators to support student behaviors that reduce the need for suspensions and expulsions.

•

Supports and protects the safety and mental health of our public school educators and students.

• Maintains designated school property as gun-free zones.

VEA OPPOSES LEGISLATION THAT: • Undermines the efforts of the Virginia Board of Education to meet its Constitutional authority to define the standards for a high-quality public education in our Commonwealth.

• Provides public dollars to non-public schools.

• Transfers the authority for granting charter schools away from the local school board.

• Undermines the health or retirement benefits of school personnel.

KUD

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

S

Lynchburg’s Derricott Named Global Learning Fellow by NEA

It’s my great honor to welcome you to the 2019-20 school year and to wish you and your students every success. Never for a moment doubt that you’re doing work that will matter for lifetimes.

I’m delighted to have you on board with the VEA, the most influential and committed organization working for public education in the Commonwealth. Our power is not only in our influence and commitment but also in our numbers. Our members have been out in force at new employee orientation events, talking with rookie educators and adding to our Union’s membership. Together, we are a growing an effective force to ensure a quality public education for our children, and securing the long overdue professional status of those who work in our schools. No organization can say that with the confidence that we can.

We saw that effectiveness in the 2019 General Assembly session. When it was over, our schools had significant budget boosts, salaries grew, teacher licenses got stronger protections, we added school counselors, schools got the freedom to open when they thought best, and important progress was made on school safety. All that happened because we lobbied, marched, rallied, and spoke out in board rooms, council chambers, in and

at the Capitol, and in our communities!

Spread the word: Talk with your colleagues, both new ones and those who’ve been around for a while, and let them know about the good things VEA is doing. Help them understand that, as members, they play an important role as we move ahead. Changing public education for the better is not a spectator sport: It’s time they join the movement!

Our Union’s biggest current initiative is Fund Our Future, a campaign that grew out of the #Red4Ed movement sweeping the country. Through Fund Our Future, we are working in a very focused way in the next two years to get the kind of school funding our students and educators deserve, increase pay significantly, and help elect legislators who are true friends of our public schools.

The more of us who play a part, the more momentum we’ll build. The more momentum we build, the more we’ll accomplish for kids, schools, and educators. Fund Our Future is not just a slogan, it’s a movement that will shape the face of public education for generations to come. Join the movement, and get others to join, too! It’s good for everyone.l

Rosa Derricott, a member of the Lynchburg Education Association and a behavior coach at Perrymont Elementary School, has been selected as one of the 2020 NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellows. Derricott and 43 of her colleagues across the country will spend a year as part of a peer learning network, building their knowledge of issues with global significance and learning to bring that perspective into their classrooms. NEA Foundation staff, partners, and program alumni will support the fellows in online coursework, webinars, and collegial study, including a two-day professional development workshop this fall and a nine-day international field study next summer in Peru.

VEA members around Virginia continue to be saluted for their outstanding work in the classroom. Here are several more who are their school division’s current Teacher of the Year: • Michelle Freed of the Staunton Education Association and Shelburne Middle School • Mary Jo Heckman of the Harrisonburg Education Association and Thomas Harrison Middle School • Latrice Johnson of the Dinwiddie Education Association and Dinwiddie High School • Lisa Lineberry of the Carroll Education Association and Gladville Elementary School.

Bristol Virginia Education Association member Keith Perrigan, who serves as superintendent of the city’s schools, has been named to the Board of Trustees of the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center.

Abigail French, a member of the Shenandoah County Education Association, was featured in a recent article in Education Week, a national publication, about using technology to increase student engage-

Photo by Lisa Sale

We’re Rolling Ahead—Come Join the Action!

ment.l

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

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Their Hats are in the Ring!

VEA members are stepping up boldly for public schools by becoming candidates for local and state offices this fall: •

Tom Coen of the Stafford Education Association, running for re-election to the Stafford County Board of Supervisors

•

Denise Corbo of the Loudoun Education Association, running for Loudoun County School Board

•

Sylvia Glass of the Loudoun Education Association, running for the Loudoun Board of County Supervisors

•

Maggie Hansford of the Prince William Education Association, running for the Prince William Board of County Supervisors

•

Tim Hickey of the Greene County Education Association, running for the Virginia House of Delegates in District 59

•

Robbie Jones of the Montgomery County Education Association, running for the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors

•

Dalila Johnson of the York Education Association, running for the York County Board of Supervisors

•

Brenda Lee of the King William Education Association, running for the King & Queen County School Board

•

Karen Mallard of the Chesapeake Education Association, running for the Virginia House of Delegates in District 84

•

Carol Medawar of SVEA-Aspiring Educators, running for the Stafford County School Board

•

Cheryl Turpin of the Virginia Beach Education Association, running for Virginia Senate in District 7

•

Schuyler VanValkenburg of the Henrico Education Association, running for re-election in Virginia House of Delegates District 72

•

Lisa Zargarpur of the Fairfax Education Association, running for Prince William School Boardl

Check Up on Your Retirement on VRS Website What kind of progress are you making with your retirement savings? To answer that question, visit your myVRS online account and check your latest annual Member Benefit Profile (MBP).

To access your 2019 MBP: At https://myvrs. varetire.org, go to the My History menu item and select Annual Statements.

Your MBP is based on information your employer reports to VRS as of June 30 each year and includes your projected VRS benefit amount, VRS member account balance, service history, prior service eligible for purchase, life insurance coverage (if eligible), and eligibility for other benefits, such as the health insurance credit.

How much money will you need in retirement? Most financial planning experts recommend at least 80 percent of your current earnings as a benchmark. Check your MBP to see how your estimated VRS retirement benefit helps toward this goal.l

Berntsen Joins VEA Staff Jeff Berntsen is the new UniServ Director in the VEA’s Elizabeth River office, responsible for the locals in Chesapeake and Norfolk .

He’s a 20-year veteran of union organizing, labor relations, member representation,

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and contract negotiations, most recently with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in Texas. Prior to that he spent 11 years with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) as a Senior Organizer for their southeast regionl

INSIGHT ON INSTRUCTION

Can You Hear Me Now?

at these behaviors of a poor listener and a good listener.

A poor listener: • Interrupts the speaker • Thinks only about what he or she is going to say next • Looks away from the person speaking • Pays attention to other things going on • Makes side comments to others A good listener: • Focuses on the person talking and allows him or her to finish talking • Looks at the other person - to indicate readiness to listen, and to observe the person’s body language to learn more about how the speaker is feeling • Gives nonverbal signals to show he or she is listening - a nod, smile, or frown, for example • Uses verbal signals to show interest in what the speaker is saying or to give feedback, with phrases such as: “Uh huh” or “I didn’t know that.” (showing encouragement) “I’m not sure what you mean.” (asking for clarification) “You said that…” or “If I understand you correctly…” (showing an understanding of what the speaker said •

Tries to use the same energy and emotional level as the speaker, to show an understanding of what the speaker is feeling.l

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

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Photo and illustrations by iStock

L

istening is an essential skill for both you and your students. If young people listen well, it helps them learn, develop friendships, and show good manners by being attentive and sharing. If you listen well, you’ll understand your students and their needs much better.

As you read the following ideas for building better listening skills, provided by NEA, think about how you teach good listening practices.

Listening boosts learning. Listening is like reading in that it offers an opportunity to learn something new and requires focusing on what’s being said. Unlike reading, though, when you’re listening, you have a chance to ask the speaker questions to help you understand or to get more information, whether that speaker is the teacher or a student. Asking questions is an important part of listening. It tells the speaker what you’ve learned and what else you’d like to know. And by answering your questions, the speaker can help you and others in the class learn more.

Listening helps build relationships. Listening is a good way to build a friendship. Good listeners know that others like to be heard, that they enjoy sharing stories about themselves, and they like the sense of connectedness that comes through sharing information, insights, and jokes with another person.

Listening attentively is a sign of kindness and respect. Listening to people when they’re speaking to you shows them that you respect them. So, how do you learn to become an attentive listener? It may help to look

INSIGHT ON INSTRUCTION

What’s a Computer For? SEPARATE BUT EQUAL IS STILL WITH US VIRGINIA’S SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IS NO LONGER SEGREGATED BY RACE BUT IT IS SEGREGATED BY GEOGRAPHY: WE HAVE A SYSTEM THAT IS SEPARATE AND VERY MUCH UNEQUAL, WITH MANY SCHOOLS IN RURAL AREAS AND CENTRAL CITIES FORCED TO DO WITHOUT THINGS THAT THEIR COUNTERPARTS IN MORE AFFLUENT PARTS OF THE STATE TAKE FOR GRANTED. — From an editorial in The Roanoke Times

The goal of instructional technology should not be to replace the teacher, but rather to free the teacher’s attention so that the teacher can spend more time focusing on individuals.

When chosen carefully, internet-based tasks can be individualized, engaging and automatically adaptive.

The hallmark of this type of teaching with technology is that, while some students are engaged in tasks that are truly worthwhile and independent, the teacher can provide differentiated instruction to all.l Marcy Zipke, associate professor of Elementary/Special Education at Providence College, where she teaches educational technology

Get ‘Schooled” by the Experts

Photo-illustrations by iStock

NEA’s “School Me” series has been designed and created specifically with new and early career educators in mind. We know those first few years can be extremely challenging, so we’re sitting down with accomplished educators to discuss their unique techniques and best practices, and to get their invaluable advice in the form of blogs, podcasts, and tip videos.

Start finding expert help today at https://neatoday.org/school-me/.l

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VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

INSIGHT ON INSTRUCTION

Hands Up! Many students believe that by asking a question they are admitting their own ignorance. Teachers must be intentional in communicating to students that their classrooms are places where questions are valued even more than answers. “Curiosity is celebrated here!”

Let your students know that by asking clarifying questions, they are not only improving their own understanding but helping other students in the class community. We communicate this message not only by what we say, but also by our non-verbals and our actions

Positive verbal feedback is an excellent way to bolster this message. Imagine the impact of a teacher statement such as, “I really appreciate the thoughtful question that Maria asked earlier. I wonder if others of you have wonderings of your own.” Consider how much more powerful this statement is when the teacher’s tone and tenor communicate appreciation and when she smiles and gestures toward Maria.

Student-generated questions put learners in the driver’s seat. They advance both learning and engagement.l Dr. Jackie A. Walsh, educator and co-author of Quality Questioning: Research-Based Practice to Engage Every Learner

State Teens Give High School a Thumbs-Up: VDOE Report Most Virginia high-schoolers are getting positive vibes at their schools, according to an annual report by the state’s Department of Education. A large majority (93 percent) of students say teachers and other adults at school want them to do well, care about all students (88 percent), and treat students with respect (80 percent).

there’s at least one teacher or other adult who really wants them to do well; 81 percent say there’s an adult at school they’d feel comfortable talking about a personal problem with.

Top photo by iStock

“I find that teachers’ impact on non-cognitive skills, like adaptability, motivation, and self-restraint, is 10 times more predictive of students’ longer-term success in high school than their impact on test scores…

Measuring teachers’ impact through their students’ test scores. captures only a fraction of their overall effect on student success.

“Teachers are more than educational-outcome machines—they are leaders who can guide students toward a purposeful adulthood.”l C. Kirabo Jackson, associate professor of human development and social policy, Northwestern University, talking about a study he conducted of ninth-graders

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VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

There’s a wider range of views on

other topics of school climate, with 61 percent saying their school’s rules are fair, the punishment for breaking those rules is the same for all students (61 percent), and that students get fair treatment regardless of race or ethnicity (78 percent).

You Can’t Put a Number on a Teacher

They say they’re also getting some

individual attention: A full 95 percent say

School spirit lives on, too: 78 percent

say they like their school, 77 percent say they’re proud to be students there, and 72 percent feel they belong there.

There’s room for improvement in the

way high-schoolers feel about the level of safety in school, however. While 74 percent report feeling safe in their school, 34 percent say bullying is a problem there and 5 percent say they’re bullied once or more per week. Only 28 percent of those who say they’re bullied report the incidents to adults at school.

More than 85,000 students and

16,000 staff members completed anonymous online surveys as part of VDOE’s “School Climate and Safety in Virginia High Schools” report.l

FIRST PERSON: NARRATIVES FROM THE CLASSROOM

When the Bridge You Build With Parents Gets Shaky

Photo by iStock

— Courtney Cutright

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As a classroom teacher, I think it’s just as important to build relationships with parents as it is my students. Unfortunately, the initial communication with parents is not always positive, and sometimes that can set the tone.

My first call home to Troy’s mom was regarding a minor discipline matter. In retrospect, I wish I’d made contact earlier to establish common ground.

As I frequently do with my seventh-grade students, I instructed Troy to dial the number and speak to his mom first. When I took over the conversation, I was surprised by her defensive tone. She disagreed with the consequence that Troy’s behavior earned him, though I followed the school’s discipline plan. After the call ended, I felt frustrated because she and I were not in harmony.

Troy and I continued to get along well and, as the year progressed, he began to share tidbits about his home life. He splits his time between both sets of grandparents’ houses because his divorced parents each live with their own parents. Troy came in unusually tired and grumpy one morning and shared that he’d been awakened early by an argument between his grandmother and uncle, who had been accused of “using the needle again.” I shared that with Troy’s guidance counselor, who followed up with him.

Several weeks passed before my next contact with Troy’s parents.

This time I was a little reluctant: His school-issued laptop had been missing for more than a week, but I still remembered the unease of our last discussion.

Troy and I called his mom about the laptop, this time on speakerphone in the presence of the grade-level principal. Not only were we facing a couple hundred dollars to replace the computer, Troy also was falling behind on his school work without it. Troy’s mom’s answers were

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2019

brusque, and then she asked to talk to Troy. I handed him the receiver and listened to his side of the conversation. After he hung up, he told me his mom suspected his drug-abusing uncle stole the computer to sell. (Fortunately, after a tense few days, the laptop surfaced in a PE classroom where Troy had left it.)

About that time, I noticed a shift in Troy’s attitude, effort, and overall performance. The zeros from missing assignments began to pile up and he was failing for the quarter. He seemed fine when I observed him before the first bell rang. He was social in the hallway with his friends and classmates, but he began putting his head down and complaining of stomachaches once class started. This was happening a couple times a week, in addition to being tardy or absent.

Privately, I asked Troy what was bothering him.

I told him he seemed fine before class, and asked if anyone in our class was giving him trouble or if he was having problems in other classes. All he would say is that he didn’t feel well and he wanted to stay home, but his parents wouldn’t let him.

The downward spiral continued. I doled out silent lunches as punishment for not participating or completing classwork. I made copies of missing work and loaded the papers into Troy’s three-ring binder. I called Troy’s dad to see if he could stay after school to make up work. I proposed summer school or possibly repeating the grade.

Troy ended the quarter with an F. This time, his mom reached out to me. In a lengthy voicemail, she pleaded that she would do anything to help motivate him and said she was grateful for my help. Troy’s parents were unsure how to motivate him, and his negligent behaviors were showing up in other classes as well.

“The thing that gets me about [Troy] is you know he can do it. He knows the work. He’s just being lazy,” his mom said in a voice message.

Now that Troy’s grades were affected by his behaviors, I suddenly gained mom’s support. The tables turned; now she needed my help. Troy barely scraped by in the end and was promoted to the next grade.

But I have to wonder, would he have fared better with a stronger relationship between his parents and educators? Going forward, I’m on the lookout for ways I can improve communication skills between parents and myself.l Cutright (courtcut@gmail.com), a member of the Roanoke County Education Association, teaches English at Northside Middle School.

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