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Member: State Education Association Communicators
VEA Vision:
A great public school for every child in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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.
“The 5 is silent.”
Do Actual Students Attend These Schools?
From a survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, for which data was collected in May 2024:
9% 7% of public schools reported that bullying “never” happens at their school.
of public schools reported that cyberbullying “never” happens at their school.l
“Just the announcements. No podcasting.”
Caring for the Vulnerable
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”l
— Franklin D. Roosevelt
Driving in the Right Direction
In the last three years, the percentage of unfilled school bus driver positions in the state has gone down by five percent, a development welcomed by school transportation officials.
Figures from the Virginia Department of Education show that the state had an unfilled position rate of 15.4 percent of fulland part-time drivers in the 2021-22 school year, which fell to 10.2 percent in 2023-24. While that trend is certainly helpful, there remained more than 1,300 driver vacancies in the Commonwealth at the end of last school year.l
TOUCHING BASE WITH…
CORY FOSTER
PITTSYLVANIA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION High school science teacher
What do you like about your job? I enjoy watching students learn about the natural world around them. The excitement they get from doing experiments and labs gives me hope for our future and for theirs. I also enjoy some of the thought-provoking conversations we have about how to make changes in the future.
How has being in the Union helped you?
Being a member of my local association and the statewide VEA has allowed me to feel a sense of community. I enjoy being able to exchange ideas with members around Virginia and to be involved in activities that help shape education. Working with educators in all capacities and knowing there is support and community is one of the biggest values I place on being a member. l
Some Thoughts on Hands-On Learning…
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
— Mark Twain
Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.l
—
E.M. Forster
One Dedicated Educator=Changed Life
When Juleus Ghunta, a children’s author and poet, began sixth grade in rural Jamacia, he could only spell his name and was unable to make out words or read with understanding. “I struggled in school with a deep sense of loss and shame and humiliation,” he says.
Standing Up for Her Colleagues
5% 2
Growth in black-white school segregation between 1991 and 2019, according to research by sociologists Sean Reardon at Stanford University and Ann Owens at the University of Southern California.l
When Ghunta was about 12, though, his life was forever changed by a young teacher-in-training who launched a special reading program for struggling students. Ghunta was the first student to sign up. Today, he is unable to recall the teacher’s name, but remembers this: “She was patient. She was creative. She did not ask anything of me, except that I work hard and believe in myself. She had left me with the gift of literacy, and with a deeper appreciation of my personhood, and value as a human being.”
In 2010, Ghunta visited his old school in an unsuccessful attempt to find her. He hasn’t given up, though. “I would love for her to see the significant impact that she has made on my life, and the ways in which I have carried this memory of her — the hope, the light, with me — and how it continues to be a source of joy.”l
Source: Mindshift/KQED.org
A Quick Way to Gauge Your Stress
According to the American Institute of Stress (AIS), 83 percent of American workers say they experience work-related stress every day; 76 percent say stress at work affects their personal relationships.
Want to do a quick check on your level of stress and maybe get some ideas for lowering it? Try taking The Workplace Stress Scale, also from AIS, which will help you calculate a stress score and tell you where you are on the stress scale, then offer a few simple tips for handling your days a bit more smoothly.
You can access the Stress Scale at www.stress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/The-Workplace-Stress-Scale-2024.pdf and learn much more about stress management at the AIS website, stress.org l
“I want people to understand that we are skilled professionals dedicated to our craft. I hear from other paras that they are in crisis and leaving the profession in record numbers. We are making changes every day, we are demanding what we need for our students, for public education, for education support professionals, and teachers. Paras are asking for training to keep themselves and their students physically and mentally safe. They need help negotiating for fair pay and professional respect.”l
— Jen Bramson, NEA’s ESP of the Year, a preschool paraprofessional in Park City, Utah
Speaking Out for a Place at the Table
As an equal partner in the contract writing process, [educators] could make winning changes in their working conditions in the contract, they could make winning changes in their working conditions that benefits both them and the students they serve… And especially now, who needs more of a voice in determining where school resources are spent than those who are on the front lines? Educators, who work tirelessly to teach our children— whether it be safely driving them to school, preparing them breakfast or delivering curricula—deserve just compensation for their essential contributions to serving young people in our communities. These selfless and patient workers deserve to experience dignity and agency in their professions.
We can’t claim that we put students first if we can’t recognize that the educators who teach and care for them are at least entitled to a seat at the table. No matter the economy or political climate, educators empowered by collective bargaining will be zealots for learning, fanatics for achievement and champions for growth because they see the daily challenges children face and nevertheless pursue student success rigorously.l
— From a joint letter published in the Virginia Gazette and signed by the Williamsburg-James City Education Association, The Village Initiative, and the Rev. Reginald Davis of First Baptist Church of Williamsburg.
Research points to positive outcomes, such as lower absenteeism and higher graduation rates, when students feel a connection to their school. According to Attendance Works, a nonprofit dedicated to cutting chronic absenteeism, here are four things that help a student feel like he or she is really a part of their school:
• They know there is an adult at school who knows and cares about them.
• They have a supportive peer group.
• They engage at least some of the time in activities they find meaningful and that help others.
• They feel seen and welcome in school.l
“Naming me Solomon didn’t help.”
“Who would have thought that Principal Henderson would follow our tweets?”
FORGING AHEAD
Under Virginia’s new collective bargaining law (passed in 2020, implemented in 2021), public school employees can negotiate contracts with school divisions for the first time in nearly a half-century. The law is not even close to perfect and VEA members are working to improve it, but in the meantime, educators around the state have taken their new rights and run with them. They’re organizing, collecting signatures, holding representation elections and, in some places, have already gone to the table and improved conditions for both students and educators through bargained contracts.
AEA rebuilt, overhauling policies and bringing in new leadership, the county’s school board passed a collective bargaining resolution, officially kicking off the contract negotiations process.
AEA members responded quickly and efficiently to their unique challenges. Under the leadership of new president June Prakash and in the space of seven months, members organized and collected enough signatures from county educators to trigger a vote to represent them in bargaining.
Staib guided both teams through an extensive process of gathering member feedback, researching other contracts, and reviewing current Arlington Public Schools policies.
“The first few meetings became research that went onto the walls of the conference room of AEA,” says Navas. “Sticky notes were all over the wall, with topics of possible CBA articles. We questioned everything. Do we want this? Do we need that? What aren’t we seeing? What do teachers and support staff want and need?”
Read on to find out what your colleagues in Arlington and Richmond have accomplished. They’re just two examples, with more to come in future issues. Also, see “Big Steps Forward” on page 13 for more highlights of statewide progress.
A CONTRACT RISES FROM THE ASHES IN ARLINGTON Arlington Education Association members had seen better days: An embezzlement scandal and the accompanying media attention had seriously damaged the union’s reputation, both with members and in the public eye. The timing could hardly have been worse. As
AEA would be negotiating for two brand-new bargaining units, one for licensed personnel and one for support staff members.
Prakash had to assemble bargaining teams for each unit and, after careful consideration, chose a support staff team of Danielle Jones, AEA’s vice president, who is an instructional assistant and speech and debate coach; Ivis Castillo, an experienced school bus driver; and Cesar Celis, a registrar. Chosen for the team representing licensed staff was 22-year veteran teacher Rosa Navas; high school special ed teacher Lisa Fowler; Brennan Divett, a middle school history and social studies teacher; and Basma Joseph, an elementary school exemplary project teacher.
“I felt that the system made it very difficult for educators to be effective,” says Navas. “The erosion of respect for educators and the salary freezes experienced over the years in the district had left us disenchanted and disheartened. It was time to get in some good trouble.”
Time was short. A new school year was about to start and bargaining proposals were due in just over a month. UniServ Director Lisa
“I remember walking into the office one morning after the teams met,” says Prakash. “I saw paper all over the walls of our conference room, filled with sticky notes color-coded by bargaining topics. I remember smiling and thinking to myself that I had chosen the right people for the task.”
The two bargaining teams met frequently during September, and AEA secured organizational leave for the committee members for day-long marathons of writing and revising proposals. Meetings were sometimes together, sometimes parallel, and the teams worked in lockstep on every contract article that applied to both. This unified approach and supporting what each unit wanted separately, whether it was 45-minute consecutive planning time for teachers or having APS pay for uniforms for support staff, helped make this effort valid to all APS educators.
As the first meeting with APS drew near, VEA Statewide Organizing Specialist Amanda Kail taught us negotiation skills, such as the importance of note-taking during sessions, calling a break or a caucus and, most importantly, some tips
VIRGINIA
Collective bargaining success stories are happening around Virginia.
on reading the room.
Another significant strategy that the licensed staff team developed was helping overworked special education teachers. Right from the start, it was clear that there was a huge need to create something very specific for them. “Our task was huge for all educators, but we had to alleviate the burden on special education teachers in Arlington,” says Fowler. “We proposed four days of release time to give SPED teachers much-needed time to work on all the paperwork that consumes their day. In addition to the release time, we proposed to no longer be reassigned to other duties when we should be providing services to our students in the classroom, to have coverage during IEP meetings and finally, receive clerical support
presents a budget, Josh spends the following weekend devouring the 400+ pages to analyze trends and pinpoint deficiencies. Clearly, if anyone could find more money in the budget it was Josh, so he was the obvious choice to take the lead in presenting to the arbiter. He was joined by Jones and, together with VEA staff attorney Moriah Allen, they prepared AEA’s proposal, setting the stage for a showdown at an impasse hearing.
“This was a ‘trust but verify’ situation,” says Staib. “We knew the APS Budget was tight, but we also believed there was more money that could be allocated for salaries.” AEA was right: In the end, the arbiter was persuaded that APS could afford a little more and recommended 1.25 percent, which was accepted by the school board.
cation. Fortunately, APS moved quickly and educators left for the summer knowing they’d be protected by collective bargaining agreements in the new school year.
As of this writing, AEA’s CBAs are the most extensive in Virginia: the Licensed contract has 49 articles, and the Support contract has 50. Some highlights:
• A 1.25 percent salary increase, plus guaranteed step increases every year.
• Educators can take leave in one-hour increments.
• Four days a year of release time for Special Education teachers to use to work on SPED paperwork.
• Four days of bereavement leave (including pregnancy loss).
the following AEA members contributed to this article: Ivis Castillo,
RICHMOND EA TO SCHOOL
On the support side, the team agreed to do everything possible to restore dignity and respect in ESP jobs, and work for a bona fide living wage. “So many of us cannot afford our rent and health care,” says Jones. “Often, we’re forced to choose between groceries and paying for utilities.”
Negotiations ran through the school year and, unfortunately, two things quickly became very clear: first, the 1 percent salary increase proposed by APS would not meet the needs of educators of the district; and second, if negotiations continued at the pace they were going, there would be no agreement ready for ratification before educators went home for summer break. In light of
this, AEA proposed increasing the meeting lengths and also requested an impasse hearing over salaries. Impasse means that both parties are unable to make further progress toward an agreement. So, AEA and APS would go before a neutral arbiter and present their “best and final” proposal. APS had to prove it didn’t have any more money in their budget than the 1 percent it had offered, and AEA had to prove that the school system could afford more. Whatever the arbiter decided would be non-binding for APS (meaning they didn’t have to agree to it).
Both teams hammered out tentative agreements, which were sent to AEA members for ratififor special education meetings and records.”
Enter Josh Folb, AEA’s compensation chair, a math teacher and, for many years, AEA’s expert on the APS school budget. Every year, when the superintendent
After the impasse, we thought significant progress was being made and ratification loomed. However, trouble developed for the Licensed Unit as negotiations wound down. “We thought all our efforts were going to fall apart,” says Navas. “Without going into much detail, we were at a point where tempers flared, and people actually walked out. It was horrifying to think that nine months of negotiations were about to go out the window, but APS and AEA ultimately understood the assignment. The next day we were able to look at each other, take a breath, and work things out. At the end of that day, we were emotionally spent, but we knew that we had gotten to the finish line with most of what we wanted for our educators.”
• AEA representation on the committees that make decisions about benefits changes.
“My favorite pastime at my new school is finding SPED teachers and asking them if they know about the release time they’re now entitled to,” says Navas. “The surprised faces, and the instant recognition that SPED teachers had their back at the negotiating table—that makes it all worthwhile.”
“We are all so much better off now that our rights as employees are there in writing and cannot be changed without our agreement,” says Castillo. “This is huge, especially for transportation because we are often left behind when other employees are lifted up. can’t wait to see how things change and improve under the contract!”
DIVISION: DO THE RIGHT THING
By Melody Nikol Winters, REA Board Member, MEd, CI, CT, NIC, Nationally Certified ASL Interpreter
For more than 20 years, ASL Interpreters in Richmond’s public schools got what other educators who drive instruction had always earned: continuing contracts, placement on the teacher pay scale, and the same benefits as our teacher colleagues. In fact, as an ASL Interpreter, I served on the bargaining team for the Richmond Education Association’s Licensed Personnel unit, which encompassed employees on a teacher pay scale. After the contract was signed and ratified, I naturally expected it to be honored for ASL Interpreters. To my surprise, it was not.
The six ASL Interpreters were told by Human Resources that we’d been issued the “wrong” contracts for over two decades. HR revoked our continuing contracts illegally without the due process they
“When we embarked on this journey,” says Prakash, “we knew it would not be easy. We faced resistance, skepticism, and numerous challenges. Yet, we remained steadfast, driven by the belief that every worker deserves a voice, a seat at the table, and the power to shape their working conditions. Our strength has always been in our unity, our collective resolve to fight for what is right.”
César Celis, Brennan Divett, Josh Folb, Lisa Fowler, Danielle Jones, Basma Joseph, and June Prakash, along with UniServ Director Lisa Staib
Some of the Arlington members who made the newly-bargained contract happen: (front row, l-r): Belinda Folb, Basma Joseph; (second row): UniServ Director Lisa Staib, Dani Jones, Lisa Fowler; (back row): Brennan Divett, Josh Folb, June Prakash, Rosa Navas
guaranteed. In addition, we would be stripped of our tenure, the Master’s lane, and would be moved into the Central Office bargaining unit. Instead of a contract, we were given a “Notice of Appointment” and would become at-will employees; we could be fired for any reason given 10 business days notice.
With help from VEA’s Department of Legal Services, we filed a grievance. We felt we had won when the Richmond Public Schools’ representative concluded that our continuing contracts should not have been taken without some kind of process, and advised that we negotiate back at the table, since we had been sent to bargain with a new unit. We accepted this decision as an avenue to demand our contracts be restored, but when we went to the next bargaining session, the lead negotiator for RPS announced she would discuss proposals for everyone in the unit except the ASL Interpreters. Finding ourselves at another dead end, we decided our best
move was to take our case directly to the school board. We managed to get the ear of a trusted school board member who said she would try to present our case. To say the stress was horrible is an understatement. By the time we got to the final stages, it seemed our best chance was to get enough votes to reinstate our continuing contracts for only one year, meaning the board would have to review it again the next year.
This felt daunting and overwhelming, as I had already cancelled two summer trips in order to mount a force and be ready for fall and the board. It would be a barrage of negative emotions if it had to be done all over again for the next school year.
At the board meeting where our continuing contracts were to be discussed, a long line of people waited to speak behind our REA Vice President, including a past and present Deaf student, a past and present Hard of Hearing student, a LIEP teacher, a Kindergarten teacher who has taught D/HH kids for years, parents of current students, and the four of the ASL Interpreters who were union members. I went first
and explained why I was again there to speak: RPS needed to give back our continuing contracts, and this time, I was not alone.
After public comments, most people went home and I sat alone, except for one other REA board member, waiting for nearly three hours to hear the board speak on what they had heard us say. Would they give us the contract back for a year? Would the known team of union-busting lawyers working for RPS squash us as in other cases? Did anyone even care about our tiny group of six dedicated employees who served a small, low-incidence population in a large district? How would I face work the next day if we lost? I sat wringing my hands.
Then, it happened. The superintendent put up his hands and said if the board wanted to go against legal advice and restore our contracts, well, they were the board and they could do it. Our board member quickly made a motion that our contracts be restored—not only for this year, but annually. Before the motion unan-
imously passed, each of the nine school board members spoke their yes. And they weren’t done: they wanted to hire a special education attorney, a collective bargaining attorney, and a worker rights attorney to protect others in the future. hope this happens, and that our win will help others.
In that moment, I felt like I got my life back. The six of us got our career back, certainly, and at least some dignity. I could freely speak up for Deaf and Hard of Hearing kids’ rights again without wondering if I’d be canned after 23 years of service. I could breathe. Our jobs and retirement benefits were off the chopping block.
The next morning, our contracts were ready to be signed, raise included, the Master’s stipend and tenure back in place—as if it never left. It was so easy for RPS to just take it, and then, just put it back. It occurred to me that the division had teams of people working to find ways to take what was rightfully ours, and we, after working our 40-plus hours with the kids, returned home exhausted to respond to whatever they had concocted up all day to try to illegally take what we had worked for and been promised. It’s about tenacity. It’s about not taking no as an answer. It’s about trying, and trying, and trying again. It’s about not being quiet even when no one wants to hear it anymore. It’s about having the mindset of an educator, and a belief in beating the odds. It’s about asking others you cared for to now care for you. It’s about an ethical drive to do what is right. It’s about banning together to form a collective voice. It’s about establishing a union.l
BIG
Steps Forward
Some of what VEA members have gotten done at the table around the state:
RICHMOND
• Pay raises ranging from 5 to 38 percent and an annual step increase.
• Readjustments to the salary schedule to fairly compensate workers for their experience.
• 3 days of paid personal leave per year and access to healthcare benefits (for school nutrition service workers).
• Limits on meetings and protections for planning time.
• Stipends for taking on leadership roles.
FALLS CHURCH
• A step increase and a Cost of Living Adjustment.
• 1 percent match for the supplemental retirement plan.
• Union leave for worksite representatives to assist their colleagues.
• Grievance procedures that include a mutually chosen neutral third party.
• Additional pay for transportation workers who do extra work.
• Added fairness and equity for assigning field trip work to transportation workers.
ARLINGTON
• Increased flexibility in leave.
• Staff must be informed of student referral outcomes.
• Representation on the Health Insurance Selection Advisory Committee.
• Verbal communications with employees regarding corrective actions for performance improvement must be made and kept in confidence.
• Guaranteed annual step increase.
• Four days of bereavement leave.
PRINCE WILLIAM
• Supplemental stipends for workers who take on leadership roles.
• Protections for union leave.
• A fair grievance process.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
• Limits on meetings and protections for planning time.
• Flexible work locations for school psychologists.
• Limits on special education caseloads.
• More control over professional development, professional goals, and lesson plans.
• 30 minute duty-free lunch.l
Speakers line up at a Richmond City School Board meeting to support contract adjustments for the city’s American Sign Language Interpreters.
Cooking Up Success
A Portsmouth teacher shares her recipe for co-teaching in elementary school.
By Lenette Hillian
Many educators, when they hear “co-teaching,” have perceptions of what that is and how it looks in a general education classroom. Here’s how the Council for Exceptional Children defines it: “...a collaborative approach to instruction in which two teachers, typically a general education and a special education teacher, work together to plan and then implement instruction for a class that includes students with disabilities.” Making that definition a reality requires a reciprocal partnership between special education
and general education teachers, and I know from personal experience that such a relationship can be a symbiotic one.
For more than a decade, I was an elementary special education teacher in self-contained and general education classrooms. For seven of those years, I was paired with several general education teachers and served students with disabilities in more than one grade level in Portsmouth Public Schools. My co-teachers sometimes included at least two teachers on one grade level, and sometimes we worked together for more than one school year; others were for only one year. Every year in Portsmouth, Ms. Quoteshia Hargett and I co-taught and, as a result of building rapport, complementing each other’s strengths, and appreciating each other’s input, we created an effective recipe for co-teaching.
Recipe for Co-Teaching
From the very first day we worked together, Ms. Hargett told me, “This classroom is not just my classroom but yours also, and all the students are ours.” That was our team motto for seven years. We were together in the education of every child in our classroom: The only prerequisite was for students to have a need. For us, our students included those with and without disabilities.
Many of you may be wondering how we made that approach work and learned to work collaboratively and cooperatively. As in many things, we set our goals at the beginning and then determined the steps necessary to accomplish them. The process requires a “recipe” with “ingredients” that when mixed create a cooperative and collaborative learning environment for students.
Our recipe for co-teaching was comprised of the following ingredients (not listed in terms of which is most or least important):
• Respect for each other as teachers and individuals;
• Providing accommodations/ modifications and Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals for each student with a disability in our class to Ms. Hargett;
• Open communication—listening and hearing each other’s point of view;
• Co-planning cross-curricular lessons based on formative and summative data;
• Using “out of the box” activities for all students to practice the skills we taught them;
• Developing and executing an action plan to close gaps and address misconceptions; and
• Encouraging laughter to help lighten the mood in the classroom.
Co-Teaching Models
Both Ms. Hargett and I instructed our students using at least two of the six generally accepted co-teaching models, which are, as spelled out here by veteran teacher and school administrator Dr. Sean Cassel:
• One Teaching, One Observing: One teacher is directly instructing students and the other teacher observes students;
• One Teaching, One Assisting: One teacher directly instructs students and the other teacher assists students;
• Parallel Teaching: Each of the two teachers has a group of students and teaches the same information at the same time;
• Station Teaching: Each teacher instructs a specific skill to different groups as they rotate between teachers;
• Alternate Teaching: One teacher instructs most of the children while the other teacher instructs a small group based on need; and
• Team Teaching: both teachers directly instruct students at the same time
Our students got what they needed and more from each of us daily. In order to better meet student learning needs, we facilitated small groups, not necessarily made up of the same children every day or in every content area. Every student in our classroom completed a formative assessment. We provided every accommodation or modification required in each IEP. A student’s score on formative assessments determined where they started in the small group instruction rotations, which was made up of four separate groups: two facilitated by Ms. Hargett and I, an independent work group and, at times, a peer-facilitated group where a student who has mastered the taught skill coached his or her classmates. The peer coach was provided with parameters for assisting their classmates to ensure they did not simply tell them the answer.
The One Teaching, One Observing and the One Teaching, One Assisting models were rarely used in our classroom. When they were, they were used with at least one other model. The models we executed most often were Parallel Teaching, Station Teaching, and
The author (left) with co-teaching partner Quoteshia Hargett.
Team Teaching. Parallel Teaching and Station Teaching were what we used for our small groups, choosing which one we’d use based on formative assessment data on skills taught during team teaching.
Co-Teaching Benefits
Using different co-teaching models was a benefit to both our students and us. Ms. Hargett and I had the same expectations for all of our students, which we describe as attempt to complete the task or assignment first, do your best, ask for assistance instead of giving up after you have attempted a task or assignment, and exemplify the scholar that you are in your actions and words. If students did not understand how content was presented during whole group instruction (Team Teaching Model), it was addressed by Ms. Hargett or me in a small group. Students’ formative assessment scores informed us which skills they mastered and which ones needed additional instruction. As a result of our fidelity to those expectations, many of our students with disabilities transitioned out of special education and others showed continuous improvement or growth in their IEP goals. Furthermore, using the Parallel Teaching and Station Teaching Models, many of our third-grade students, both with and without disabilities, passed at least one of their state assessments, such as reading or math.
It wasn’t just our students that benefited from co-teaching, either—Ms. Hargett and I did, too. She taught third grade before she and I became co-teachers, and her familiarity with third-grade standards was an asset. She assisted me with unpacking the standards so
we could develop lessons tailored to our students. In our classroom, our small groups included students with and without disabilities. Both our students with and without disabilities could benefit from specially designed instruction (SDI), so I shared SDI methods with Ms. Hargett. According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), specially designed instruction is “adapting as appropriate the needs of an eligible child under this part, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction to address the unique needs of the child that result from the child’s disability and to ensure access of the child to the general curriculum.” As a result, Ms. Hargett integrated SDI methods such as explicit instruction during her small group instruction. It was evident that SDI methods were utilized in our classroom when on one occasion district leadership visited our classroom and could not distinguish students with disabilities from those without disabilities, which had always been one of our goals.
Co-Teaching and Technology Resource Teacher Role
This school year is my fourth as a technology resource teacher (TRT) and, in my current position, I continue to use co-teaching models to meet my overarching goal of supporting faculty, staff, and administration in my building. I utilize best practices when doing so: Before co-teaching students, a partnership is established with the classroom teacher. We co-plan standards-aligned lessons integrated with instructional technology (e.g., district applications) and computer science skills. Also, we identify the
instructional needs of students (e.g., accommodations) and the co-teaching model(s) we will use to deliver instruction.
When co-teaching with colleagues, the Parallel Teaching, Station Teaching, and Team Teaching models are the ones we most often use. However, another model, Alternative Teaching, may be used when some students demonstrate that they need instruction in a small group during a lesson on a particular skill. Using this model, my colleague or I continue teaching the remaining students while students who need a small group receive instruction on the same skill from the lesson but based on their area of need, such as how to divide two digits by one digit numbers step-by-step to solve a practical problem.
Establishing Co-teaching Partnerships
All my special education teaching experiences have been at the elementary school level. For special education teachers at the secondary level, co-teaching may be a different experience due to the variety of courses students with disabilities are taking and their IEP goals. Whether it is your first co-teaching experience, or you’ve had previous co-teaching experiences, the foundation of co-teaching partnerships will always be respect for each other. That said, the other ingredients in your co-teaching recipe may be different than ours. Be patient, though, because building rapport takes time!l
Lenette Hillian, a member of the Portsmouth Education Association, teaches at Brighton Elementary School. She also serves as president of the Virginia Council for Learning Disabilities.
What Moves the Needle
Educators list the satisfying parts of their jobs.
Earlier this year, the National Education Association asked educators a simple question on its Facebook page: What part of your job do you find most satisfying? Responses came in from around the nation, and we thought we’d share a sampling of them. Enjoy!
• The relationships I have with students who are labeled “difficult.”
• As a teacher at a career and technical high school, I love helping students get their first exposure to working in the field I teach. I am always incredibly proud when a student gets a great job right out of high school.
• Allowing students to openly and honestly express themselves. Student voices are so key but often not amplified. They deserve to be heard and I’m often told they like being around me because I listen.
• Being part of the story of this place.
• “The children are now working as if I did not exist.”—Maria Montessori. That moment.
• I’m a general music teacher. The most satisfying sound is when I hear a student say, “I got it!” when
• When they realize they can read!!
• Those moments in class, no matter how chaotic things can seem and no matter how “naughty” they can be, when I stop and listen and realize through all the chaos…they’re learning, they’re building relationships, and they’re putting their trust in me to keep them safe and help them grow. And they know it. And they know I know it.
• Today a student called me after school to tell me the dentist pulled his tooth and the tooth fairy was coming. His mom said I was the first person he wanted to tell. That makes me smile.
• I love being their safe space.
learning something new on an instrument. Or when they sing in two parts for the first time and look around at each other wideeyed about what they just heard. Literal music to my ears.
• They think they can’t do things and when they do, the joy on their face is contagious.
• I love teaching my SPED students math that many believe they aren’t capable of understanding.
• Hanging with the kids and having meaningful and/or humorous conversations. Also knowing they learned something meaningful to them. Knowing was able to help them.
• Making a lasting difference in the life of a child and their family.
• Being a translator. It’s nice to meet new people.
• The relationships I build with them that last. I’ll never tire of getting graduation announcements, wedding invites, baby shower invites, etc.
• When I see a former student who is a productive member of society, I know I had a part in that.
• As a school counselor, the best part of my job was when I have been working with a child whose self-esteem is very low, and I help them find a reason to see their own value.
• When I use a QR code over the Kahoot QR code to Rick Roll my kids. Their reactions are totally wonderful. Getting teens to smile and laugh and learn is the best.
• When I stop doing it for them and they do it for themselves or even better, they do it to help a peer.
• When the weird teenage things turn into humans with hopes, dreams, and plans.
• Students’ eyes when they get excited.
• Students who just want to talk to me about anything and everything. It means I’ve gained their trust!
• Hugs from kids who graduated and come back to say thanks.
• Seeing a child take a skill they struggled to learn and teach it to another child.
• Knowing that your impact goes far beyond their school years.l
On Tour
Two Montgomery County music teachers take their professional development on the road.
By Annie Chilcote
When we told people we were heading to Croatia this summer, people were consistently dumbfounded when we explained that, no, we weren’t headed to Dubrovnik or Split, the popular Instagrammable cities along the coast. We wouldn’t get to the sea at all, actually. We were headed to the countryside, about 45 minutes outside of the capital of Zagreb, to take a course for music teachers.
Yes, we were doing professional development on our summer vacation.
We, Annie and Glen, are both elementary music educators with our roots planted in Orff Schulwerk (an approach to teaching and learning music). We realize it’s not unique to be married to another educator, but we find it special that we literally do the exact same thing. We have been together since our freshman year in college, so our training is also identical. When it comes to our students, however, Glen teaches a large international population in Blacksburg, about 2 miles from Virginia Tech’s campus. Annie’s population in rural Montgomery County is very different. We decided a few years ago to branch out of the United States and find some truly international professional development to better serve our music students.
Professional development for music teachers is often self-directed, and many school divisions do not consistently provide PD oppor-
tunities for their music teachers (but bravo if yours does!). Music educators often have to go out of their way to find things that they can a) afford, b) get conference leave to attend, c) get proper credit for recertification, and d) directly use to benefit their classroom and students.
We were lucky to stumble upon the International Music Village, which checked all those boxes for us. IMV has been hosted by JaSeSoi, the Finnish Orff Schulwerk Association, since 2000; it is a “pedagogical intensive training course for professionals using music in their work.” We have now attended four times, and each
experience has been enriching in a different way. It’s not just music teachers who attend this course; we have met preschool teachers, reading specialists, classroom aides, Fulbright recipients, church musicians, therapists, performers, etc. This mix of professionals highlights how important music should be in all facets of education, not just in the music room.
Fast forward to this summer. In a small village of Vinkovec, Croatia (population in the 60s), professionals from 15 countries gathered at an educational compound, created by a labor of love of a professor of music therapy and her husband, where groups can come live and work together for a short time while immersed in nature and in their work together—in this case, music. Our teachers this year were from Turkey and Croatia, with shorter sessions taught by Catalonian, Finnish, and Australian participants.
At meals and break times, we had many meaningful conversations with fellow educators. We share the same problems and the same joys, no matter our geographic location or the language we speak. Many of our struggles— respect for our content area, the harmful effects of social media, administrators who lack knowledge in music pedagogy, low or non-existent funding, the overwhelming push to standardize education with a focus not on students but on data, and even low teacher pay!— are universal. It didn’t matter if you taught in Australia or Iran, Latvia or the USA—the struggles are very real and cross-cultural.
The good news is that through these dialogues, we were able to see how other teachers take on
these challenges with creativity, innovation, and grace. One key takeaway was learning that educators who experienced the most success in building successful music programs did so not alone, but within their communities. Teachers capitalized on the musical cultures that already existed, ranging from popular music to more traditional styles, and created real-life and meaningful musical experiences for their students and schools.
It was no surprise that educators who came from countries with a strong history of labor unions had the most success. Take Finland for example: Teachers who work there reported better working conditions, more satisfaction with their jobs, and a culture that supports education. The relationship between unions and schools there is seen as a partnership where everyone is focused on creating environments that focus on improving working and learning conditions.
Traveling abroad to better ourselves not only personally but
professionally has been priceless; we highly recommend taking the plunge (or in this case, the flight). PD during the summer is a joy when you can experience new foods, drinks, and the small idiosyncrasies of daily life in another culture. But for us, the biggest takeaway is the relationships we have made along the way. Knowing educators from all over the world who deeply care about their students and profession and forming those long-lasting relationships brings energy back to our classrooms. Our network of music teachers around the globe who we can look to for ideas or camaraderie is a gift that is more valuable than any souvenir.l
Annie and Glen Chilcote are members of the Montgomery County Education Association (Glen is a former president and current collective bargaining chair). Annie teaches music at Auburn Elementary in Riner; Glen at Kipps Elementary in Blacksburg.
The Chilcotes in Croatia.
‘Talks the Talk, Walks the Walk’
A longtime colleague of new VEA President Carol Bauer welcomes her to office.
By Samuel (Sam) L. Eure, Jr.
For most people, “the sky’s the limit” is just a casual expression, a way to offer encouragement. Not so for VEA’s new president, Carol Bauer, an articulate, effective advocate for public school students and educators who also happens to be a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy who has pilot training.
“The core values of the Air Force
are Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do,” says Bauer, “and I can’t think of a better approach to the VEA presidency. My pledge to our members and to our students is that everything I do in this office will be done honestly, done for others, and done well.”
True leaders are forged by their experiences and, for years, Carol has
demonstrated her inclusive leadership style and consensus-building abilities at just about every level of our union. She wants and seeks the knowledge and perspective of others, and has stopped me many times to make sure she understood an audience she’d be in front of or the participants in meetings and other gatherings. It is not about the simple sharing of information. It is about
the gaining of understanding and its translation into action.
With all that, the most important things you need to know about Carol are her humility and selfless nature. There is no ‘I’ in Carol’s behavior or actions. She is modest in talking about herself. I am not. Long before she stepped into leadership roles, she was a mentor, a trainer, and a leader. As a mentor, she sees leadership potential and nourishes it. I should know, she mentored me. I followed her as the York Education Association President twice with a gap of 10 years in between. I eventually even followed her as a member of the VEA Board of Directors. She assists leaders at the local, state, and national level. There are few, if any, local presidents who have not referred to her experience.
She has served in almost every level of leadership in the VEA. She was president of the York Education Association, a member of the Colonial UniServ Council for over 20 years, elected to both the VEA and NEA Boards of Directors, chaired the National Read Across America Committee, taught in VEA and NEA’s Jumpstart programs, traveled to China as a NEA Foundation Fellow, served on the VEA and NEA Resolutions Committees, was twice elected VEA Vice President, and was a two-time delegate to the Education International World Congress.
And she still found time to be on two statewide education task forces, appointed to those positions by two different Virginia governors.
Even as she kept all those plates spinning, Carol continued to excel in the classroom, as well.
A fourth grade teacher at Grafton Bethel Elementary in York County, she’s always been a standard-setter, the teacher parents want for their children. Because of her commitment to Read Across America, she consistently had a State Superintendent visit her class to read, and is also well-known for her Lego Team. In her striving for excellence, she also became one of the first National Board Certified Teachers in York County. She went on to receive VEA’s Award
for Teaching Excellence in 2016 and earned national recognition the following year as one of five national finalists for the Horace Mann National Excellence in Teaching Award.
There are times in life when all your preparations merge at just the right moment. That time is now for Carol. My Colonial UniServ colleagues and I have been privileged to be front-row witnesses to her efforts for more than 20 years, and we’re now proud to share her with the state.
She can be trusted; she epitomizes integrity. She values all our members and fights for equity for all. You’ll never have to question
whose interests Carol is working for. She stands in solidarity with our education coalition partners and understands the need to build community. She’s taught me that the VEA is a family, that we take care of each other. If a local needs her assistance, she’ll be there.
Carol not only talks the talk, but she also walks it as well. l
Sam Eure, a member of VEA-Retired, chair of Colonial UniServ, and a substitute teacher in Newport News, taught high school social studies in Hampton and York County for 25 years and also served on the VEA Board of Directors, as well as many other VEA committees.
The author with new VEA President Bauer.
NEA Guide Helps You Deal with School Crises
As many of us know all too well, a school crisis can come quickly and without warning and can leave behind mental and physical health struggles, a damaged learning environment, and a sense of insecurity among the school’s students and staff.
Crises come in all sizes, too, from an incident of severe violence or a natural disaster that affects the entire school community to more individualized traumas, such as a car accident or tragedy in a family.
Your national union has a resource that walks school staff through the aftermath of a crisis, as well as offers advice about what to do before and during such an event. In NEA’s School Crisis Guide, you’ll find sections on crisis prevention, planning, response, and recovery.
You can download the 92-page guide for free at www.nea.org/ resource-library/neas-school-crisisguide.l
Bargaining Update
Albemarle Education Association Overwhelming Choice to Bargain for County Educators
• The Albemarle Education Association won an overwhelming victory in an election for the county’s school staff to choose a bargaining representative. AEA got 98.5 percent of the representation vote among the county’s licensed employees and 95 percent among support professionals.
• Members of the Loudoun Education Association successfully lobbied their school board to pass a collective bargaining resolution, defeating several amendments designed to weaken LEA’s ability to bargain. LEA has now filed for a representation election.
• Richmond Education Association’s Office Associates ratified their contract while the REA Central Office Support Staff are currently winding their way through resolving an impasse with RPS.
• The next rounds of bargaining for Montgomery County Education Association members are in the works, beginning with school site administrators and then education support professionals through resolving an impasse with RPS.l
Mark Your Calendar Now!
VEA’s annual Summit on Educators of Color is in the works! Every year, we gather to address the problem that our teaching force does not accurately represent the diversity of our students and to tackle issues faced by teachers and support professionals of color. We also look to empower and support new educators of color, promote best practices, and provide resources for those dedicated to advancing racial and social justice. The 2025 event is set for February 21-22 in Richmond. Lots more information to come, but in the meantime, save those dates!l
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Members are Finalists for Presidential Awards
Public Schools
Need You at the Ballot Box!
We chose education careers for lots of reasons—we like working with young people, we want to have an impact on the future, and we want to help provide equal opportunities for all. Those reasons, and others, are why public education is the bedrock of our communities and our nation, and why our public schools must be protected.
In today’s political environment, I can’t urge you strongly enough to make sure your voice is heard at the ballot box this November. The people we elect will make decisions that include how free we are to teach, the quality of the resources we’ll work with, how you’ll be compensated for your work, if we can bargain our own contracts, and even the books our students will be able to read.
We must vote for candidates who understand the role of public education and support it in ways that go beyond only the lip service that many in office offer us. Our organization is a powerful one, with members in every locality in the state. VEA members are respected voices in their communities. Let’s use those voices to support and defend our schools, those who learn in them, and those who work in them.
And let’s do our homework so we
can elect the right people in races all the way from the White House to your local school board.
Another vitally important reason to vote, for me, is women’s rights. Our profession remains female by a large majority and so political decisions made about women’s pay and workplace equity, domestic violence protections, reproductive freedom, and other issues reverberate through our schools nationwide even more so than they do in many workplaces.
To make sure that you have all the information you’ll need when you head to the polls, check out the Virginia Voter Guide, a VEA-created resource that provides all you’ll need to know about voting in our state. It’s at www.thevirginiavoterguide.com and you’ll also be able to create a personalized ballot, based on your location, and find out who’s running for office and which candidates are recommended by the VEA Fund for Children and Public Education.
With all my heart, I encourage you to vote, and to do so for candidates who will have our back as we move our public schools ahead.l
Two VEA members are finalists for the 2024 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, regarded as the nation’s top honor for K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers. They are Elizabeth Lynch a member of the Martinsville Education Association and a math teacher at Patrick Henry Elementary School, and Dr. Laurie Sullivan an Arlington Education Association member and a Project Discovery Science/STEM teacher at K. W. Barrett Elementary School. The Presidential Award recognizes educators with both deep content knowledge of their subjects and exemplary teaching skills. It alternates between K-6 and 7-12 teachers, and winners will be announced by the White House. National awardees each receive $10,000 from the National Science Foundation, a presidential certificate, and the opportunity to participate in a series of recognition and professional development activities in the nation’s capital.
Kimberly Hundley, a Carroll Education Association member who teaches fourth and fifth grade reading and social studies at Gladesboro Elementary School, has been named the County’s Teacher of the Year.
Two VEA members have been chosen by Virginia Humanities for its K-12 Educator Fellowship, which supports distinguished teachers around the state. Spencer Billett of the Henrico Education Association and Alynn Parham of the Williamsburg-James City County Education Association will be among a cohort that will work together over the next nine months to create learning experiences to be shared around the state. They’ll also receive a $4,000 stipend and classroom supplies.l
— Carol Bauer
8 Critical Thinking Skills Your Students Should Know
Critical thinking can be defined as the ongoing application of unbiased analysis in pursuit of objective truth, an important ability that’s an ongoing process emphasizing the fluid and continued interpretation of information rather than the formation of static beliefs and opinions. Here, from teachthought.com, are eight critical thinking skills vital and useful for students, educators, and everyone else:
ANALYZE: Break a whole into parts to examine.
Example: A teacher asks students to break down a story into its basic components: characters, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. This helps students understand how each part contributes to the overall narrative.
EVALUATE: Assess the value or quality.
Example: A teacher prompts students to evaluate the effectiveness of two persuasive essays. Students assess which essay presents stronger arguments and why, considering factors like evidence, tone, and logic.
INTERPRET: Explain the meaning or significance.
Example: After reading a poem, the teacher asks students to interpret the symbolism of a recurring image, such as a river, discussing what it might represent in the poem’s context.
SYNTHESIZE: Combine to form a coherent whole.
Example: A teacher asks students to write an essay combining information from multiple sources about the causes of the American Revolution, encouraging them to create a cohesive argument that integrates diverse perspectives.
INFER: Draw conclusions based on evidence.
Example: A teacher presents students with a scenario in a science experiment and asks them to infer what might happen if one variable is changed, based on the data they’ve already gathered.
QUESTION: Formal or informal inquiries to understand.
Example: During a history lesson, the teacher encourages students to ask questions about the motivations of historical figures, prompting deeper understanding and critical discussions about historical events.
REFLECT: Recall and interpret experiences or ideas.
Example: After completing a group project, a teacher asks students to reflect on what worked well and what could have been improved, helping them gain insights into their collaborative process and learning experience.
JUDGE: Form an opinion or conclusion.
Example: A teacher presents students with a scenario where two solutions are proposed to solve a community issue, such as building a new park or a community center. The teacher asks students to use their judgment to determine which solution would best meet the community’s needs, considering cost, accessibility, and potential benefits.l
Keep it Real!
Be the teacher you are. This seems like a simple statement, but I have always found it profound. Be your best self inside your classroom. What excites you that you can use in the classroom to accelerate learning? Use your personality strengths in your teaching. Do you love acting? Then use it in your teaching. Are you a great artist but feel insecure teaching math? Draw out some math problems! Do you love playing the piano? Why don’t you play to the students as they are working? Your strengths are one of the biggest assets to your classroom. I love being silly and playful in life, but for many years I tried to run a very serious classroom because I was afraid of doing anything different as a new teacher. Once I brought my silly side to the learning, my students’ test scores jumped, the students were happier, and was a happier teacher. We know there are still serious times in the classroom, but we also know when we can laugh together. Weave your personality into the lesson. If you are a golf-loving science teacher, why not bring in your nine iron on the day you teach force? If you do this, you are much more likely to be a better and “real”—as the students like to say—teacher.l
Involved Fathers Part of a Successful School Start
— Serena Pariser, in her book, Real Talk About Classroom Management: 57 Best Practices That Work and Show You Believe in Your Students, Second Edition
Another reason kids need their dads: According to research from the United Kingdom’s University of Leeds, fathers who regularly drew, played and read with their three-year-olds helped their children do better in school by age five. An involved dad had a positive effect on their child’s academic achievement regardless of the gender, ethnicity, and family income, too. The impact of involved mothers and fathers seemed different, too, even with the same activities, with data pointing to a larger effect on the child’s emotional and social behaviors than academic achievement from time with moms. The study’s report recommends that fathers spend as much time as they can in interactive activities with their young children, adding that even 10 minutes a day can have education benefits.l
“We’re going with a bouncy castle, since a new gym wasn’t in the budget.”
GEEO Offers Discounted Travel Experiences for Educators
Global Exploration for Educators Organization (GEEO) is a nonprofit organization seeking to give educators travel experiences leading to a broader global perspective to share with their students. The group’s programs range from 5 to 25 days long and are designed and discounted to be interesting and affordable for educators. Trip, registration, and cost information is now available for GEEO’s summer 2025 programs, which offer options to the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
To learn more and to see the full list of GEEO programs with links to each trip’s webpage, visit geeo.org.l
Give ‘Em Some Leeway
When students have some say over their reading material in school, such as the chance to pick favorite books to read, they can gain more than just reading skills, says Heather Schwartz, practice specialist for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. Giving them such autonomy shows students, especially middle- and high-schoolers, that their choices are valued and that their life experiences are important, which can lead to significant social-emotional benefits. Giving students reading choices can also build their interest in reading as an activity outside of school assignments and help them discover subjects and genres that they like.l
Source: K-12 Dive
People Talking Sense
“No student should live in fear of attending school, nor should any student be the target of racially motivated hatred. We call on school districts, state leaders, and policymakers to prioritize expanding both mental health services and DEI initiatives in schools. These efforts are not mutually exclusive but critical to building inclusive and supportive environments where all students feel safe and valued.”
— Rev. Cozy Bailey, president, NAACP Virginia State Conference, on violence in schools
Roles
“First and foremost, we have to pay our teachers more. I don’t know a single teacher who doesn’t have a side gig. You shouldn’t have to have a side gig to make a living as an educator. The second thing we need to do is focus on teacher working conditions. We’ve got to make sure we’re protecting teachers’ time to look at their students’ data, make adjustments, and create plans for each individual student. Finally, we have to build a teacher pipeline. Sixty percent of teachers end up teaching within 20 miles of where they went to high school, so if you’re a district leader and you’re not recruiting in your home community, you’re never going to eliminate the shortage.”
— Dr. James Lane, Virginia’s former State Superintendent of Public Instruction, now CEO of PDK International, on teacher recruitment and retention.l
Especially for people my age and older, the term for my profession used to be “guidance counselor.”
We prefer to be called school counselors now, because previously a “counselor” would be considered somebody who supported you in finalizing your credits, who you might’ve only seen in high school, and maybe helped you decide on which direction you were going to go after high school.
Now, many school counselors do tier one counseling, which is working with all students; tier two counseling, which might look like small group support; and then we might do tier three, which is individual counseling for short periods of time. I don’t recall that ever being the case when I was a kid. I think I saw my guidance counselor once or twice, maybe, my senior year. Now we’re in elementary schools, we’re in middle schools, we’re in high schools. It’s just a more well-rounded job.l
— Leighanne Mainguy, an elementary school counselor
Source: EdSurge
Remembrance of Students Past and (Sometimes) Their Offspring
Having spent my entire education career and life in Botetourt, Craig, and Roanoke counties, I’ve lived near many of my students and taught numerous children of former students, which has led to many interesting interactions over the years. For example, one boy, actually not a boy – he’s in his 60s now – who taught in 1975 and 1976, contacted me and asked if he could hunt on my Craig County land. said yes, if he would send me an email stating when he would be there, that he wouldn’t bring anyone else, and that he would promise to obey all game laws. After our conversation, I recalled that as a youngster he never–literally–turned in homework…and realized that he was not likely to complete the email assignment either. He did not.
Ironically, at Lord Botetourt High School, I’m now a teaching colleague with a former student’s son, and we’ve become friends outside of school. Once, during our conversations, told him that his dad was the only student I’ve ever taught who gave me the middle finger salute. His response: “That sounds like my Dad. He hasn’t changed.”
I t’s also fascinating to encounter students decades later in an entirely different setting. For instance, while going trout fishing with a guide and his wife, the latter told me that I had
taught her in sophomore English in the late 1990s. Like many VEA members, I’ve taught thousands of students over the years, and sometimes (maybe the word often would better apply), don’t remember them.
So, wanting to remember the lady, asked her to recount who her friends were, where she sat (for some bizarre reason that helps me recall names and events), and what were some of her favorite lessons were. When she gave me that information, I truly did remember her, and the two of us experienced a delightful discussion about those days and what her fellow classmates are now doing.
Sometimes, the positive traits of one generation are passed down to the next. For example, taught Yearbook at LB for nearly 20 years, and one young lady was one of the best writers, editors, and persons that I have ever had the pleasure to have in my classroom. Recently, I experienced the joy of having that editor’s daughter in both my English 10 A.S. class and twice in Creative Writing. The girl excels in all things writing, as did her mom. She even looks a great deal like her mother, and, predictably, several times addressed her by her mom’s name… which caused both of us to laugh every time.
Sometimes the experiences with the parents and children I’ve taught show how the traits of one generation are manifested in the next. Members of one extended family, for instance, have been local farmers and land managers for generations in Botetourt County. At one time or another, it seems have taught most of the uncles, aunts, dads, and moms from the older generation and all the various children, nephews, and nieces of the current one. They’re all good folk, as the rural saying goes, and I’ve always enjoyed hearing about their farm life and living off the land, as a rural landowner myself.
Definitely one of the most interesting experiences involved a former LB high school student who attended the school about 20 years ago. His mom was a guidance counselor at our school, and she sometimes told me back then that she was afraid he was too immature to succeed at anything. On several occasions, told her that the high school years don’t necessarily define us as people and, though didn’t teach her son, he seemed like a capable person who would do well once he matured.
A dozen or so years after the boy graduated from high school, he became an assistant principal at LB and, even more ironically, my supervising administrator. The two of us discussed several times the fact that it was good that he had never been a student in my classroom and that now, instead of me grading his English papers and quizzes, he’d be evaluating my teaching abilities…the ultimate irony for a student/ teacher relationship.l
Bruce Ingram (bruceingramoutdoors@gmail.com), a member of the Botetourt Education Association and a veteran educator, teaches English and Creative Writing at Lord Botetourt High School. He’s also the author of more than 2,700 magazine/web articles and 11 books.
