VEA-VTA: Celebrating 50 Years in Unity by veanea

EDUCATION V I R G I N I A

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FEBRUARY 2017

How Virginiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s once-segregated teaching profession became one.

Association Members Help Shape State Policy

Why We Need Pre-K

The magazine of the Virginia Education Association

GRINS

EDUCATION V I R G I N I A

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TOM ALLEN EDITOR

VEA President

JIM LIVINGSTON

VEA Executive Director

PHILIP R. FORGIT

Communications Director Graphic Designer Editorial Assistant/ Advertising Representative

“A girl kissed me today, Mom. Tell it to me straight—am I gonna die?”

JOHN O’NEIL LISA SALE YOLANDA MORRIS

CONTRIBUTORS

WILLIAM H. JOHNSON, JR. DALE F. HARTER REBECCA JASMAN R. EDWARD FIFER

COURTNEY CUTRIGHT KELLY PIOUS VALORA WASHINGTON

Copyright © 2017 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. “I miss the good old-fashioned spelling competitions.”

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.

VEA Mission:

“No, third grade is not a good time to take a gap year.”

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.

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VOL. 110, No. 4; FEBRUARY 2017

COVER STORY

Celebrating 50 Years of Unity A new, unified Association arose during the turbulent 1960s.

FEATURES

They’ve Got Our Backs Association members are serving on several statewide policymaking committees.

Universal Pre-K: What We Know, What We Need Quality early childhood education is essential.

DEPARTMENTS

On Point Censorship threatens freedom.

Speaking of Education Martin Luther King, Jr., Leo Tolstoy and more.

Ten Minutes With… Madison County’s Rebecca Jasman.

Membership Matters VEA conference prepares members for ESSA challenges.

Your Classroom Farm to classroom?

First Person Opening our hearts.

Cover: Photos of the Virginia Teachers Association courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives, Johnston Memorial Library, Virginia State University, which houses the VTA materials.

On Point

Censorship Is a Threat to Our Basic Freedoms — Dale F. Harter In 2017, we have access to more information than at any time in history. With the click of a mouse, the tap of a finger, or the turn of a page, we check the news and weather, research a medical issue, find the best sushi, communicate with friends, voice opinions, post selfies, or lose ourselves in the pages of a trusty book. The possibilities seem endless. Yet our freedoms of information, expression and speech have never been more in danger. We cannot voice our opinions without being shouted down. Our public and private discourse is mean-spirited. We’re told we cannot trust what we read on the Internet. The thoughts and words of our country’s greatest thinkers seem to be questioned, denounced and often banned. I’ve been a journalist, historian, reference librarian, and archivist. If you’d told me 20 years ago that I’d find myself working daily with pre-teens and teenagers as a school media specialist (aka school librarian), and loving it, I’d have said you were out of your mind. I now know it is the highest calling of my life. Inspiring students to read, to read for pleasure, and to become information literate are the greatest responsibilities I’ve ever known. Unfortunately, my ability and that of my fellow librarians and teachers in Virginia to fulfill those responsibilities is being threatened. Last spring, the General Assembly attempted to pass legislation banning materials contain-

ing “sexually explicit content” in all public schools after a Fairfax parent objected to scenes in Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prizewinning novel, Beloved. In December, a parent’s objection to racial slurs in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and To Kill A Mockingbird prompted the temporary removal of these American literature classics from the curriculum in Accomack County. This doesn’t surprise librarians because we’ve seen these titles on banned book lists during the American Library Association’s Banned Book Week, which annually celebrates our right to read while highlighting the most challenged and banned books of the year. Although attempts to restrict the right to read are often initiated by well-meaning citizens, usually parents, they’re still threats to our basic freedoms of speech and expression. They also hinder efforts to teach children and to expose them to great thoughts and writing. If we allow a book to be banned or restricted because it contains words that one person or a group of people considers offensive, I believe we’re on a slippery slope. Should we ban “Romeo and Juliet” because it contains violence and sex? A South Carolina parent tried in 2013. In 1999, an elementary school in Texas banned James and the Giant Peach because it contains the word “ass.” I don’t condone teaching profanity, but does one word really negate all of the positive lessons in Roald Dahl’s classic work of children’s literature? Speaking of “ass,” I raised a few eyebrows at a previous school in 2014 by inviting Meg Medina to speak about her book, Yaqui Delgado Wants To Kick Your Ass. Medina broke the ice by asking students and teachers to yell “ASS” before she talked about her book’s focus on bullying. Things didn’t work out as well this year during an assembly at Northumberland High School when author Steve Watkins asked if he could read a section from his book, Great Falls, that contained

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profanity, and I told him yes. When some in the audience objected to the words, uttered by a soldier suffering from PTSD, my principal asked Watkins to edit his reading and soon after asked him to leave school grounds. Ironically, both of these incidents did more to promote reading at my schools than I ever could have done myself. As I reflect on this, I realize there were steps I could have taken to avoid controversy while still promoting reading and freedom of expression. I should have deferred the author’s request to my principal rather than making the decision myself. I could have informed the assembly there would be profanity and offered the opportunity to leave the auditorium. Although I don’t completely agree with my principal’s actions that day, I know he supports me and my work every day. He supports my right to have Watkins’ book in the library, not to mention To Kill A Mockingbird, Beloved and other classics frequently challenged, restricted, or banned. He also supports my right to speak out in a forum such as this. Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, one of most frequently banned books in the U.S., once wrote, “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” Today, books are just one of many communication methods we use to teach our students and enrich our culture. As educators, we need to not only defend the right to read, but to promote freedom of expression in general. When confronted by well-meaning parents, legislators, and citizens who seek to limit those freedoms, we can respectfully address their concerns and viewpoints while still standing up for public education. We’ll also be educating new generations who will value the importance of those basic rights upon which our nation was.n Harter is a member of the Northumberland County Education Association.

Speaking of Education

“Children learn conflict management skills, develop imagination and creativity, self-regulation of time and interest, and independence. Research has shown that children who are given time to play in an unstructured manner, read or otherwise determine how they spend their time are much less likely to say, ‘I’m bored’ when they have free time. They know how to entertain themselves rather than needing an adult to structure their time for them.” — Shannon N. Davis, associate professor of sociology, George Mason University

“It makes no sense to suspend kids for not coming to school.” — Jo Ann Burkholder, director, Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Student Services

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“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself.” — Leo Tolstoy “If [children] start off at a disadvantage in kindergarten or in first grade, that disadvantage is likely to cumulate over time. If we could reverse that trend with a better pre-K education, that could really pay off for us.” — University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan

“Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.” — Maria Montessori “I don’t think our schools’ goal is to outscore other countries on standardized tests. And I don’t think students who emerge from schools should be measured by their capacity to be technicians for big companies. I’d like my students to achieve measurable basic skills and to be happy to learn, to know how to participate in our democracy, to create from their thoughts and with their hands what is uniquely theirs to create—and to believe that they are innately worthy members of our society.” — Jeffrey Benson, author, Hanging In: Strategies for Teaching the Students Who Challenge Us Most

“Segregation shaped me; education liberated me.” — Maya Angelou

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FEBRUARY 2017

Ten Minutes With. . .

Madison County’s Rebecca Jasman a hard time remembering what they like to read and what their interests are.

Local Assn.: Madison County Education Association Years Worked in Education: 19 What’s your typical school day like? It starts with an hour drive while I listen to a young adult novel to keep up with my reading. I’m always reading things that my students recommend, latest award winners, and new arrivals. When I get to school, I turn on and log into all the library computers and send a reminder email to the teachers that have library that day to send down library books. On Mondays and Thursdays, I have morning drop-off and bus duty; on the other days, I have students who come and check out books. After announcements, I start to check in and shelve books. I help out with reading groups from 10-11 each morning, so some of the time in the morning is spent preparing for those. The rest of the time is spent planning library lessons, preparing for school-wide reading incentives, collaborating on

and co-teaching lessons, and planning monthly Family Library Nights. After reading groups, I have lunch, handle emails, prepare materials for teachers, finish prep on my lessons, and finish shelving books. Library classes start at 12:05 and run for the rest of the day. What do you like about your job? The two things I love most are getting to spend my day talking about and recommending books to students and the flexibility to help teachers and co-teach lessons with them. With students, not only do I recommend books, but they tell me about books they’re reading and suggest books to me. What is hard about your job? It’s hard to help students find the right book for them. I work with 406 students, and they are such a diverse group. I have

How has being an Association member been helpful to you? The best part has been the friendships that have grown out of the many things I’ve done with the Association, especially my experiences of being a VEA trainer. Through the training cadres, I’ve learned how to develop and deliver trainings that are engaging for adults. VEA offers such meaningful professional development. I feel fortunate to be a part of the training cadres—they’ve become a second family for me. Being a VEA member has been such an important part of my life.n

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FEBRUARY 2017

Photo by Lisa Sale

FAST FACTS Position: Library Media Specialist

What are some of the most fun and unusual things that have happened on the job? The "1 School, 1 Book" initiative this year has been a great experience. The whole school, adults and children, read the same book; this fall it was Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, by Chris Grabenstein. We kicked it off by having a riddle a day for a week, and we watched a book trailer to introduce the book to the students. Everyone got a copy of the book at the end of the week, and the students were so excited they couldn’t wait to start reading it. The afternoon I gave the books out, the assistant principal told me, with tears in her eyes, just how wonderful it was to see all the students, especially the reluctant readers, immersed in the book. That evening was our Family Library Night, and we gathered outside on the softball field to read under the stars. Through a partnership with the high school, our students got pen pals and the gym teachers rode horses to “Pony Express” letters back to us. The students had so much fun seeing the horses ride up to the bus loop and deliver the letters.

Celebrating 50 Years

Black and white educators come together in a single integrated Association. By William H. Johnson, Jr.

Mary Hatwood Futrell was the first black educator elected president of the merged VEA, nine years after the merger.

or 50 years, educators braved chilly November weather to attend the Richmond conventions of their professional associations, events that had become a Virginia tradition. The state’s schools shut down for a day each year so teachers and administrators could participate. Since the early 1900s, though, there had been two annual conventions: one for black teachers and one for white. The stage was set in 1966 for that to change. Richmond businesses looked forward to conventions every fall; that year, they placed carts throughout downtown providing apples for the educators, and the major department stores held special sales. In 1966, 10,000 to 12,000 educators were coming. About a fifth of them, though, would arrive early to participate in a vote on a proposal that was more than a decade in the making: At long last, they were going to decide if white and black educators could overcome tradition and unify in a single integrated association. The result of this historic vote, however, was not a surety. By that time, both the Virginia Education Association (VEA) and the Virginia Teachers Association (VTA) had earned impressive records representing their members and advocating for public education. Only three years earlier, VEA celebrated its 100th anniversary; VTA was well into its eighth decade. The VEA, created during the Civil War, historically was composed of white educators but recently had begun accepting black members. VTA was established in 1887 by teachers attending a summer Peabody Institute, the first one for black teachers conducted by Virginia’s own black educators. Although virtually all of its members were black, the VTA had never restricted membership based upon race.

COVER STORY

Two organizations fighting for progress VEA members helped forge Virginia’s first public schools, beginning in 1870, played a major role in the professional development of teachers through summer institutes, and lobbied for the creation of Normal Schools to educate future teachers. Among early VEA victories was certification for superintendents and teachers. VEA also promoted grade schools, high schools, school libraries, school health standards, industrial training, and other curriculum advances. As it gained members and developed a system of local associations, VEA worked to improve salaries, create and fund pensions, and improve working conditions. VTA helped prepare a teaching force for the schools for black children. Many of its leaders taught at Normal Schools and colleges educating current and future teachers, and its members joined other groups in the early 20th century in a struggle against racism to improve poorly funded schools. VTA also campaigned to encourage black teachers to assert their right to vote. As teacher membership grew, VTA focused on fair treatment and payment of teachers. With the support of the NAACP in the 1930s, the association helped win U.S. Supreme Court rulings requiring schools to pay black teachers salaries equal to those of white teachers, and then took the fight to local school divisions to enforce those rulings. A status quo-shattering event to education in Virginia came in 1951, when students at the Moton School in Prince Edward County staged a walkout to protest poor facilities for black students. The Moton group focused on the “separate but equal” doctrine, and their efforts grew into a legal challenge of that doctrine, merging with other cases and coming before the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case, the Court rocked the nation, ruling that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” In the aftermath of Brown, Virginia officials fought integration using a strategy dubbed “massive resistance.” In the most extreme reaction, Prince Edward County supervisors closed all county schools in 1959 and kept them closed for five years, costing many students an irreplaceable loss of education. Most of the county’s white teachers were employed by a private academy; all the black teachers had to find work elsewhere. VTA, joined by the National Education Association, worked to find schools outside the county for displaced students and jobs for teachers. Many black teachers elsewhere in the state also were losing their jobs as their schools were closed and their students moved into newly-integrated schools. NEA and VTA challenged the layoffs in court and worked to find jobs for displaced educators. Massive resistance significantly drew out the integration process. As the associations prepared to vote on merger in 1966,

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Top: Virginia Teachers Association leaders Shelby Guss (left) and Fitz Turner, who both later joined the staff of the merged VEA. Below: The Virginia Education Bulletin, official publication of the VTA.

| however, several schools in the state had integrated student bodies and faculty. Racism, though, persisted widely. In early November, the Ku Klux Klan held several rallies in Virginia, pledging to make the state “a showcase” of the United Klans of America. The nation also was torn by raging inflation and the escalating war in Vietnam, and horrified by the assassinations of President Kennedy and civil rights leader Medgar Evers. This was the tumultuous backdrop as delegates arrived in Richmond for the 1966 conventions. One hotel refused to admit black members of the integrated delegation of the Fairfax Education Association when they tried to check in, causing the entire delegation to find other accommodations. “A lot of us were rooming with a Negro colleague,” says Martha Wood, then a Fairfax delegate and later president of VEARetired. “We didn’t see that as an unusual thing. We’d had the experience of integration and found that it didn’t make a whole lot of difference, that these folks became our friends and we became their friends through thick and thin. The fact that we took a stand without hesitation, I think, says a lot for how we accepted this whole business, and that massive resistance was basically dead to us.” The sometimes bumpy road to merger Merger was not a new proposition. The initial suggestion came from VTA in 1954, shortly after the Brown decision, when President J. B. Woodson wrote to the VEA Board of Directors proposing an integrated organization of teachers. VEA, though, was not yet ready to take such a bold step. Its Board directed that President Joseph Van Pelt respond to Mr. Woodson that “the interests of the membership of this organization can be served best through the Virginia Education Association continuing to operate on both local and state levels in its customary and traditional manner.” Delegates at the VEA’s 1954 convention endorsed the response, which became the official position on merger for the following decade. Although the same convention rejected a

COVER STORY STORY COVER

proposed amendment to specify that membership was available only to white educators, the language of the response was interpreted to be exclusive until action was taken in 1964 to allow black educators to join VEA. During the 1950s and ‘60s, tensions ran high surrounding school integration and the proposed association merger. One VEA governance unit wrote the Board of Directors in June 1955, “We are determined to keep the Virginia Education Association as a private, segregated organization for whites for the indefinite future….” That feeling, though, was certainly not pervasive among VEA members and, as school integration advanced, several VEA local associations began actively recruiting black members. The Arlington Education Association led the way, admitting black members in 1961. As a result, it was disaffiliated by the state association. The next year, the VEA constitution was amended to allow local associations to admit black members. The Fairfax Education Association was next to integrate, and soon was followed by other mostly northern Virginia associations. In 1964, the VEA Delegate Assembly voted to allow all members of local associations, regardless of race, to join the state association. By 1966, all but 15 of the 122 local associations had removed racial restrictions and more than one-half of them had formally merged the VEA and VTA local associations. Following the July 1966 merger of the National Education Association and the traditionally black American Teachers Association, the VEA Board of Directors acquiesced to pressure from the national affiliate, meeting during the summer with VTA representatives to reach an agreement that could be voted on at both conventions that November. With VEA locals recruiting black members, VTA membership declined, causing a $9,000 deficit in its 1965-66 operating budget. VTA leaders were eager to achieve their decade-long goal of merger but also to ensure that former VTA members would have an active role in governing and setting policies for a unified association, and also that VTA staff members would be offered employment.

www.veanea.org | FEBRUARY 2017 1111 www.veanea.org | JUNE 2015

COVER STORY

By the end of August, a 10-point agreement was reached, The long-awaited merger of the teaching profession in Virginia guaranteeing representation of former VTA members on the would take effect on Jan. 1, 1967. merged Board of Directors and Executive Committee for two After years of controversy, the process had mostly gone years. VTA would elect five individuals to serve on the Board, quite smoothly. “It wasn’t as if we had this fight,” says Charles one of whom also would serve on the Executive Committee. Corprew, a VTA delegate from Norfolk who went on to be the Other committees would have black representatives in proportion first minority president of that city’s association. “We really could to association membership at the time of merger, estimated to be 7,500 VTA and 35,000 VEA. VEA negotiators would only agree to limited employment of VTA staff, offering to hire most of the VTA’s clerical workers and employ “a Negro… at the policy execution level.” Even though VTA Executive Secretary Rupert Picott disclaimed a desire to work for the merged organization, VTA negotiators felt an obligation to provide employment for him. VEA insisted that the professional hiring would be decided by VEA Executive Secretary Robert Williams and the merged Executive Committee. It was this issue—the future employment of Dr. Picott—that nearly foiled the proposed merger. Although a few VEA local associations directed their delegates to vote No, the proposal, surprisingly, was approved with relative ease. One motion to delay the vote and amend the agreeTop, from left: VTA Executive Secretary Rupert Picott, Cheri James and Princess Moss. James and Moss ment was defeated. An overwhelming 85 were the second and third elected black presidents, respectively, of the merged VEA. percent of the VEA delegates—including several newly enrolled black teachers—endorsed the agreement have merged before because we were not having any problems with virtually no debate. with the other association.” While the VEA vote was expected to be the biggest challenge, unexpected opposition arose within the VTA delegation. At A new organization arises a meeting of black principals on November 2, the day of the VEA Fifty years later, the third black president of the now-merged vote and the day before the VTA would consider the agreement, VEA, Princess Moss, observed, “The merger took great courage former VTA President Alfred Talbot announced that there would for both groups to come out of their comfort zones, to say this is be an attempt to amend the agreement to require a VEA staff pothe right thing to do for public education and for students we’re sition for Dr. Picott. Any amendment would have to be approved serving. It wasn’t about individuals. It wasn’t about the separate by both bodies, thus sending the change back to the VEA convenorganizations. It was about creating a better path forward for the tion for consideration. students and educators who were to come.” On the day of the VTA vote, however, Dr. Picott resolved The new VEA maintained its commitment to ensure the issue, announcing that he had accepted a job with the National involvement by former VTA members and the minority members Education Association, to begin after the merger. On a standing who followed them. In January 1967, five former VTA members vote, the VTA delegates then approved the agreement 217 to 7. were seated on the VEA Board of Directors. Although the merger

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| agreement ensured the representation only for two years, that period was extended for two additional years. In 1974, the VEA constitution was amended to guarantee minority representation on governance bodies at least equal to the minority proportion of Association membership. Shortly after the merger, VEA hired Fitz Turner, the final VTA president, for the “policy execution level” position, naming him Director of Special Services, supporting local and district associations. His long tenure on the Association staff today is memorialized by the activities of the VEA Fitz Turner Commission for Human and Civil Rights. Shelby Guss, who had served as VTA president from 1964-1966, came on board in 1970 as a field director and associate director of instructional services. At the same time, former VTA staff member Dorothy Lee was hired as a staff assistant in the research division. In 1976, VEA members elected Mary Hatwood (later Futrell), one of the first black teachers to join the Alexandria Education Association in the early 1960s, as its first black president. She served two terms as VEA president, then was elected NEA Secretary-Treasurer, and later served two terms as NEA President. In 1996, Richmond teacher Cheri James was elected VEA president, becoming the second black educator to achieve the position. Today, James serves as a VEA-NEA UniServ Director in Richmond. Princess Moss, a Louisa County teacher, was elected as the Association’s third black president in 2004. She, too, has been elected to a national position, currently serving as the NEA Secretary-Treasurer. As teachers sought and gained greater control of Association governance in the years following the merger, VEA’s agenda became more aggressive in seeking professional negotiations, political action and lobbying governing bodies. The organization that evolved following unification became a dynamic force in the state, promoting funding and improvement of schools as well as the rights, benefits and salaries of school employees. “I think the merger was one of the best things that has happened to the VEA,” says David Johnson, who became executive secretary a few years after the merger. “It had to happen. It should have happened long before. It made us a stronger organization.”n Johnson, now retired, served as VEA’s Director of Communications from 2005-2010. Before joining VEA, he had similar roles with the Pennsylvania State Education Association and the West Virginia Education Association.

COVER STORY

State approves historical marker for VTA The Virginia Department of Historic Resources has approved a highway marker, at VEA’s request and funding, honoring the founding of the Virginia Teachers Association. Plans call for the marker to be dedicated in Lynchburg on August 13, the 130th anniversary of the VTA’s founding.

Photos of the Virginia Teachers Association courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives, Johnston Memorial Library, Virginia State University, which houses the VTA materials.

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FEATURE

They’ve Got Our Backs Association members are standing up for schools, helping shape state policies. By Tom Allen

hen you’re good at something, it’s only natural to want to share your hard-won expertise with others who may benefit from it. That outlook is an essential part of being a classroom teacher, and most get to share their skills with groups of students every day. Not nearly as many teachers get regular opportunities to make their knowledge and experience felt on a larger scale. Some, however, are getting that chance. A handful of educators from around Virginia have stepped beyond their school buildings and are having farreaching impacts as members of a variety of statewide advisory committees formed by the Virginia Department of Education and Governor Terry McAuliffe. One such educator is Selena Dickey of the Fauquier Education Association, who has just begun serving on ABTEL (the Advisory Board for Teacher Education and Licensure). “This is definitely a new side of education for me, and it’s been important in expanding my role as an educator,” she says. ABTEL’s role is to offer

“I’m a great proponent of career and techincal education opportunities, but find that traditional regulations hinder developing a varied local CTE program, especially in small school divisions like Mathews County.” — Nancy Welch, Mathews

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advice and recommendations about licensing and regulating teachers in areas including qualifications; tests; revocation, suspension, reinstatement and renewals of licensure; standards for preparation programs; and

“I advocate for reducing the number of standardized tests to the minimum required by federal law.” — Karen Cross, Bristol other related matters. “When I considered my own education and licensure process, I realized I went a very traditional route. I took the classes I was supposed to take during my undergraduate years, showed up for the PRAXIS, and then got a nice, shiny license in the mail. I took for granted that it was an easy process,” Dickey says, “and it’s not—at least it’s not for everyone. I’m pleased to be playing even a small role in helping current and future teachers. I’ve been teaching for a while, but this is the first time I’ve been involved in the decision-making end of it.” Some statewide committee members have very specific goals. “I hope to represent rural school divisions and their gifted populations at the state level,” says Melissa Powers of the Brunswick Education Association, who’s in her third year on the Virginia Advisory Committee for the Education of the

| Gifted. “It’s important for me to serve my students and represent their interests at a higher level.” Karen Cross of the Bristol Virginia Education Association is on the Standards of Learning Innovation Committee, a group created by Gov. McAuliffe in 2014, and she is shooting for clear progress in the state’s approach to testing. “I advocate for reducing the number of standardized tests to the minimum required by federal law,” says Cross, “and I encourage our accountability system to move in the direction of student growth and performance-based assessments, possibly using a portfolio-type system. The current system does little to help teachers improve student learning, and no college, business or branch of the military uses SOL scores for admissions or hiring.” Another ABTEL appointee, Nancy Welch, a member of the Mathews County Education Association and the county’s superintendent, believes every committee member brings a unique perspective. “I’m a great proponent of career and technical education opportunities,” she says, “but find the traditional licensing regulations hinder developing a varied local CTE program, especially in small school divisions like Mathews County.” Educators on statewide committees say they easily gain at least as much from their service as they give, too. “I’ve been able to meet some amazing people and learn great things that will help me in the future,” says Alison MacArthur, a

“ It’s been amazing to work with so many parents and to better understand issues they face with special education, and I’ve also been able to have input about state regulations in important areas like restraint and seclusion.” — Alison MacArthur, Loudoun Loudoun Education Association member who’s served for five years on the State Special Education Advisory Committee (SSEAC). She’s also part of the committee’s Aspiring Special Education Leadership Academy, with an eye on building her leadership skills for an eventual administrative position. “It’s very important to be there as we discuss special

FEATURE

education programs and changes,” MacArthur says of her SSEAC work. “It’s been amazing to work with so many parents and to better understand issues they face with special education, and I’ve also been able to have input about new state regulations in important areas like restraint and seclusion.” Dickey is gaining

“ I pay attention to detail and am not afraid to speak up, which is important in dealing with teacher education and licensure.” — Jennifer Andrews, Henrico valuable insights as a committee rookie, too. “I’ve learned so much about the Every Student Succeeds Act, for example,” she says. “That information alone is so valuable, and it was something I was able to take back to my colleagues.” To a person, VEA members on statewide committees say that one of the most compelling reasons for doing the work they’re doing is the chance to give front-line educators a say in policymaking, an arena often dominated by people not working in classrooms, and some who may never have done so. “The SOL Innovation Committee is a diverse group,” says Bristol’s Cross. “There are superintendents, a pediatrician, a social worker, a Chamber of Commerce employee, school board members, a parent, college professors, several Delegates and Senators, and more. But only a few of us are actually current classroom teachers. I feel a strong responsibility.” So does Jennifer Andrews of the Henrico Education Association. “I hope to represent the voice of teachers on ABTEL,” she says. “I pay attention to detail and am not afraid to speak up, which is important in dealing with teacher education and licensure.” Because what happens in meeting rooms in Richmond affects classrooms across the state, “teachers and other stakeholders should have a voice in decisions made by the State Board of Education and legislature,” says Lesleye Williams of the Prince William Education Association,

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FEATURE

who offers that voice as an ABTEL member, a group on which VEA President Jim Livingston also serves. Having teachers from a variety of classroom settings represented is essential, too, says Tracey Mercier of the Bristol Virginia Education Association, also an ABTEL member. “Teaching in a high-poverty school affords me experience that many don’t have,” she says. “When discussing policy, it’s easy for some to presume that students are having their needs met on a daily basis. The reality is, though, that many are not. As we look at issues in challenging schools, it’s vital to the success of whatever we do to have someone on the committee who works in one.” Charletta Williams of the Education Association of Norfolk sums up her ABTEL role this way: “As a fourth grade teacher, my first priority is to listen to the needs of my fellow educators and to have open conversations. Through the work of this committee, I hope I can help make a difference for educators throughout the state.” VEA members serving on statewide education policy committees also see doing such work as a natural extension of their Association affiliation. “Being a VEA member is crucial to my success on ABTEL,” says Henrico’s Andrews. “I feel I’m a better prepared teacher because of my membership and know more about

current issues and

legislation, like ESSA, than educators who are not members of VEA.” MacArthur, of Loudoun, points to the communication advantages she’s able to use as part of the Associa-

“VEA keeps me on the forefront of public education issues, and that empowers me to competently advocate for my colleagues and for students.” — Tracey Mercier, Bristol

tion. “I’m able to reach out to members across the state and learn about their special education issues and concerns,” she says. “I can then share those concerns in SSEAC’s constituency report.” Information is power, says Bristol’s Mercier, and the Association provides both: “VEA keeps me on the forefront of public education issues, and that empowers me to competently advocate for my colleagues and for students.” “VEA has been a support system for me and for many other educators throughout our careers,” says Welch, of Mathews County, an ABTEL member. “At its core, VEA is about commitment to the betterment of public education. Obviously, this includes teacher education and licensure and, as we create opportunities in those areas, we’re essentially creating opportunities for our children. We do what we do for children—it really is that simple.” For many educators on statewide committees, such service has provided a welcome avenue for deeper involvement in the profession they chose. “This is my 26th year of teaching,” says Bristol’s Cross. “I’ve dedicated “As a fourth grade teacher, my first priority my life to public education, because I believe is to listen to the needs of my fellow educapublic education is how our democracy tors and to have open conversations. Through survives and thrives. Teaching is my passion; the work of this committee, I hope I can help it’s who I am. I’ll always advocate and fight for make a difference for educators throughout Virginia’s children and educators.”n

the state.” — Charletta Williams, Norfolk

16 VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION

Allen is the editor of the Virginia Journal of Education.

FEATURE

Universal Pre-K: What We Know, What We Need

29 percent of the nation’s four-year-olds and about 5 percent of three-year-olds are currently enrolled in state-funded pre-K. In Virginia, the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI), established in 1995, is serving about 18,250 children who would otherwise lack access to pre-K. However, while VPI enrollment is steadily increasing, it still only reaches 18 percent of the state’s four-year-olds. That percentage may increase in 2017, according to NIEER, as new eligibility requirements go into effect, including eligibility for all families at 200 percent or below the poverty line. The National Association for the Education of Young

s the value of early childhood education becomes more evident and more widely accepted, a growing number of states and cities in the United States have invested in public pre-kindergarten. Today, 42 states and the District of Columbia are serving about 1.4 million children, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). That is a promising development, but let’s also consider a sobering reality: Even at the present rate of progress, NIEER says it will take “decades to serve just 50 percent of four-year-olds in state-funded pre-K programs.” Unfortunately, nationwide access to free pre-K remains only a dream for too many families: Only

www.veanea.org |

FEBRUARY 2017

Photo by iStock

By Valora Washington

FEATURE

Children (NAEYC) defines pre-K as “a distinct group of programs designed specifically to make sure that preschoolers are ready for kindergarten and will be succeeding in school by third grade,” and specifies three key characteristics: (1) high program standards, (2) serve four-year-olds, and sometimes also three-year-olds, and (3) focus on school readiness. As encouraging as it is to see more children attending pre-K and more teachers preparing to lead pre-K, there are still some key questions about the quality standards of pre-K settings. Meaningful universal pre-K presumes that there should also be universal minimum standards for learning. NIEER measures the nation’s pre-K programs against the following ten minimum standards, emphasizing that these are not measures of excellence but rather minimal competencies: 1. Comprehensive early learning standards at the state or jurisdictional level 2. A bachelor’s degree for lead pre-K teachers 3. Specialized early childhood training for lead pre-K teachers 4. A Child Development Associate (CDA®) credential, administered by the Council for Professional Recognition, for assistant pre-K teachers 5. Participation by teachers in a substantial number of hours of professional development 6. Maximum class size of 20 or fewer 7. Staff-to-child ratio of 1:10 or less 8. Children receive screening, referral and support services for vision, hearing, dental, health and other support areas 9. Children are provided meals and/or snacks 10. Systems hold individual classrooms accountable and monitor to ensure quality standards are being met In 2015, NIEER found only seven states in full compliance with these 10 standards; with teacher qualifications often among the greatest areas of vulnerability. Although programs are hiring teachers with specialized training, only about 60 percent require lead teachers to have a bachelor’s degree, and only about 37 percent require assistant teachers to hold a CDA credential, although that percentage has risen significantly from 24 percent in 2002.

18 VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION

Keeping in mind that we view these standards as preliminary benchmarks, I suggest that the most promising figure here is the very high degree of specialized training required for pre-K teachers. Because early childhood education includes the period from birth to third grade, it would be very tempting to transfer a promising second-grade teacher to a pre-K setting. But the requirements of that setting are different than those of a successful second-grade classroom. The pre-K setting calls for age-appropriate emphasis on a safe and healthy learning environment; on the full physical, cognitive, and social well-being of the child; and on learning opportunities uniquely suited for very young learners. Professional preparation to work with young children requires specialized competencies, knowledge and skill. As a timetested expression of these competencies, the CDA uses national, federal and state-based early childhood experts and its own expertise to regularly update its training materials and credentialing requirements. As a result, national organizations such as NIEER and NAEYC promote the CDA as the “best first step” for those working with our very youngest students. Among the CDA competencies that teachers use to create a successful learning environment for three- or four-year-olds, a very strong knowledge of child development is also a must. Some of what teachers should know about preschoolers includes the children’s: • Physical capacity and motor skills, including the ability to spot and address developmental delays; • Communications skills and capacity to learn about safety and incorporate safety skills into their activities; • Pre-literacy and pre-numeracy skills, which teachers can address and advance (again including the ability to spot and address developmental delays); and, • Social and empathic skills, which are such a focal point for learning and development at these ages. This knowledge can also assist a teacher with daily practical knowledge, such as ordering and arranging supplies, preparing the pre-K setting with different learning areas and social spaces, and planning indoor and outdoor learning among other factors. It also helps to know how these skills and developmental milestones overlap and reinforce one another to aid in a child’s current and future success in school. For example, a focus on children’s emergent literacy supports and is also supported by their development in a pre-K setting.

| Particularly for dual language learners, the acts of speaking and listening in conversation can simultaneously sharpen their ear for vowel and consonant sounds, aid in grammar and syntax proficiency, and teach thoughtful listening and exchange. Make-believe and unstructured play also offer chances to apply conversation skills to the problems and rewards of social life, offering students the opportunity to “use their words” to share, take turns and even to experience and resolve conflicts. These activities help children lengthen their attention spans; learn how their words can persuade, inform or resolve conflict; and connect language with the self-regulation and coping skills needed for getting along in the world. Hands-on play is another vital element in emergent literacy and numeracy development during this development stage. Far from “just playing” all day, students in successful pre-K programs are actually learning by doing all day. From gardening to blocks to coloring to painting, many eye-to-hand types of play build valuable pathways to the pattern recognition, inquiry skills, and composition abilities children will need for language arts, math, advanced arts and science. The pre-K classroom should be organized, inviting, and rich in reading and numeracy cues without being overly controlling. NAEYC’s guidelines for pre-K literacy encourage “rich teacher talk” that models listening and offers students new words and understandings through conversation, and integrated, content-focused activities that enable children to practice their oral, critical thinking and emergent writing abilities. In addition, we at the Council for Professional Recognition also emphasize that the classroom environment itself is an instructor through CDA candidate preparation. For example, simply by labeling objects in the room with words and shapes, a teacher can prepare their children to “learn on the go.” Let’s say all the chairs are labeled “chair” and a different color shape for each table. As chairs are used all day long, they change position. At the end of the day, the teacher can ask students to “put all the blue circle chairs at the blue circle table” and “the red triangle chairs at the red triangle table.” Students who know their shapes but not all colors can help, while those who

[

FEATURE

know color but not shapes can help. The teachers get help with clean-up for the next day. Win-win! The New York Example New York City’s brand-new Pre-K for All initiative offers insight into the big lift needed to offer free, universal all-day pre-kindergarten. Before the program, 58,000 children attended pre-kindergarten in the city, about 20,000 of them in full-day programs. Within two years, the program has achieved high enrollment across every community, with the highest participation among low-income families. Getting it off the ground came with a range of challenges. New York City had to address professional requirements in hiring and assessing lead teachers, assistant teachers and paraprofessionals; clarify standards for on-site support for leaders and teachers; plan resources; and coordinate guidance from 100 instructional coordinators and 125 social workers. The program also called for significant investments in new spaces, programming and oversight across more than a dozen city agencies. In the first year of expansion, New York City opened new sites, recruited and developed new teachers, conducted rigorous multi-agency quality and safety inspections, and reached out extensively to families to encourage enrollment. These early wins demonstrate that, in New York, pre-K is gaining traction and improving each year.

Far from “just playing” all day, students in successful pre-K programs are actually doing all day.

]

What We Know We Need It may seem obvious, but all the expenditures, equipment and theories in the world can only be helpful to preschoolers in the hands of qualified teachers. As someone who has advocated for the needs of young children under age five for all of my career, I’m encouraged by the progress being made so far.n

Washington, PhD, is CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition, which oversees the Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential program, author of Essentials for Working with Young Children, and co-author of The New Early Childhood Professional: A Step-by-Step Guide to Overcoming Goliath. www.veanea.org |

FEBRUARY 2017

ESSA Throws Down Gauntlet to Educators; Members Respond at Instructional Conference

It Really Matters!

he meeting rooms at the Richmond hotel were buzzing. In one, a group of VEA members was discussing the much-toohigh percentage of Virginia’s children without access to quality preschool; next door, a member/presenter was demonstrating how to use a cell phone to scan student responses; two doors down, a conversation about responding to the ever-increasing diversity of the student population was in full swing; and other rooms were alive with exchanges about using music to teach and remember concepts, boosting leadership skills, and figuring out ways to manage frightening amounts of student debt. It was just one block of time at VEA’s annual Instruction and Professional Development Conference, which brought together about 300 state educators interested in staying current, honing their skills, and interacting with colleagues. The event, called “Every Educator Succeeds,” was designed around the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaces No Child Left Behind. “ESSA is an opportunity,” says James Puckett of the Russell County Education Association. “Now is a time we, as educators, can really make a difference in the future of public education. We need to step up.” Puckett is a member of the Association’s statewide ESSA Implementation Team, formed to help locals across the state create their own teams to ensure educator input as the new law takes shape. VEA has also created a digital toolkit to help members; it can be accessed here: http://ow.ly/rsck306nFNE. Earl Wiman, a member of NEA’s Executive Committee, kicked off the conference with a rousing keynote speech, laying out the ESSA mission as ensuring that the law is implemented to promote equity, empower educators, and address the improper use of high-stakes testing. “There is nothing more powerful than the voice of an educator,” Wiman says. “We know the names of the children in the school. We need to offer specific, positive feedback about what’s working in the classroom and where we need to go.” Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor, Ralph Northram, also spoke to conference attendees, thanking them for the work they do every day and telling them, “I’m standing here talking to you because of my education.” For video highlights of the Instructional Conference, visit www.vimeo.com/VEA/IPD2016.n

20 VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION

CONFERENCE HAPPENINGS. Jennifer Fulton of Fairfax (top) gets into the spirit of a breakout session; Virginia Teacher of the Year Dr. Toney McNair, Jr., speaks (middle); and a group of educators readies for a general session.

| VEA Protects You in Appeal to State Supreme Court

A MESSAGE FROM THE VEA PRESIDENT

The Future is Up to Us!

ducators know that standardized test scores are not an accurate picture of teacher effectiveness—there are far too many factors in student achievement for a test score to be used that way. Without understanding the context of a teacher’s classroom, it’s inevitable that some fine teachers are going to be labeled as ineffective. VEA’s Division of Legal Services knows this, too, and that’s why our attorneys have appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia on your behalf after a Loudoun citizen successfully sued to have teacher names and license numbers publicly linked with "student growth percentiles." We’ve argued that teachers have the right to participate, represented by VEA, in court hearings on whether to make the data public. Prompt action by VEA stopped publication of teacher names linked to student scores just days before it was to happen. Now the state’s Supreme Court is considering whether the Association should have been allowed to represent teachers to consider legal protections against release of records. Because of the work of Association staff, VDOE, which has filed its own appeal, cites the confidentiality of teacher performance indicators, as well as concern for student confidentiality, as reasons for denying requests for teacher names with student data. Our members believe teachers, local school boards, and the system of public education will be irreparably harmed by publicly disclosing test scores with individual teacher names. The private interests of individual parents trying to “shop” for the “best teacher” or placement in the “best class” threaten teachers and an effective system of public education for all schoolchildren. At press time, no decision on VEA’s appeal has been rendered.n

It’s an interesting phenomenon, one that repeats itself election cycle after election cycle, but it’s one that’s potentially harmful to public education: In years of U.S. Presidential elections, about twice as many Virginians vote as in years when there are only statewide elections. But the truth is that statewide officeholders have a much more direct impact on the day-to-day life of our public schools than do federal ones. I point this out as we begin a very important political year here in the Commonwealth. We’ve got a session of the General Assembly underway and we’ll be electing a new governor this fall. It’s the governor and state legislature that make key decisions on education items such as funding for resources and salaries. They also decide whether we’ll begin voucher programs or expand charter schools. Never has it been more important for our members Jim Livingston to be engaged in the political process and in helping elect friends of public education to office! Take the issue of salaries. In my travels in just the few months I’ve been your president, I’ve met a teacher who had to sign custody of a child over to an ex-spouse because she couldn’t afford health insurance for the child. I’ve also met a full-time school bus driver whose entire paycheck goes to health insurance premiums. How can anyone justify paying educators so little? Seriously, how can they? VEA has made increasing teacher salaries at least to the national average (we’re over $7,000 behind) a hallmark of our legislative program this year— and that kind of progress has to happen at the state level. So do decisions about funding for at-risk children, reforming the SOL testing program, and increasing fairness in school employee dismissal cases, to name just a few examples. That’s why we need legislators and a governor we know have not only our backs, but those of our students and families, too. And the only way we’ll get those kind of people in office is with all of us working to make it happen. We must, together, meet the challenge of this election. We must look beyond party affiliation for real support. When it comes to public education and elections, we must be issue-driven and party-blind. The stakes are too high, for both our students and ourselves, to do anything else. So, I urge you in the strongest way I can—get involved! Find out who’s hoping to represent you in the General Assembly and how they feel about public education. Look deeper than the platitudes all candidates use about how important and wonderful our schools are, and find out what they actually plan to do. Your local Association plays a part in the VEA’s Fund for Children and Public Education, our Association’s political arm. Get in touch with your colleagues who are already involved and make your voices heard! Visit the legislative section of VEA’s website, www.veanea.org, to learn even more. Our students and schools, and your colleagues, have never needed you more.n

www.veanea.org |

FEBRUARY 2017

Carrying Your Association Commitment into Retirement — By Eddie Fifer

f you’re wondering about continuing as a VEA member after you retire, I suggest thinking about why you joined in the first place. Many of the reasons for joining VEA-Retired are the same ones. As an Association member, you’ve enjoyed a wide range of benefits from the NEA and VEA Member Benefits programs; you’ve been as active as you wanted to be at the local, state, and national levels; and you’ve had the professional pride of being part of the organization protecting and promoting public education and educators. No organization does what NEA does across the country, and no other organization does what VEA does in Virginia. As a VEA-Retired member, you can remain part of this incredible organization. Member benefits continue with VEA-Retired membership, along with additional benefits specifically for older members. If

22 VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION

you decide to be a substitute teacher, coach or volunteer in the schools, you’re covered by your Association liability insurance. You can remain active by running for VEA-R offices or to be a VEA or NEA convention delegate, by lobbying legislators, and by attending VEA-Retired events. The best way to start is to join a local VEA-Retired chapter. If there isn’t one near you, there is grant money and assistance available to help you start one. Local chapters have their own projects and assist VEA locals with theirs. Most VEA-Retired members signed up before they retired and paid for a lifetime membership at current prices, avoiding increases later. You can do the same and, if necessary, VEA has payment plans to help with the one-time cost. Then, upon retirement, you’ll be a NEA/VEA-Retired Lifetime member. I do hope you’ll continue your Association membership and become a VEA-Retired member. Once a professional always a professional.n

Fifer is president of VEA-Retired.

| Delegates to Elect New NEA Board Members VEA will be holding an election at this year’s Delegate Assembly for an open position on the NEA Board of Directors. Three candidates have filed petitions for the three-year term, beginning Sept. 1: Precious Crabtree of Fairfax, Charlotte Hayer of Richmond, and Carla Okouchi of Fairfax. In addition, Carol Medawar of Fauquier County is the only candidate to file a petition for the unexpired term of another NEA Board spot, and so will assume that position in April. Here are the campaign statements from the candidates for the open position, in alphabetical order. Precious Crabtree, Fairfax Though I’ve lived and taught in Fairfax since 2000, I grew up in poverty in WV and began my teaching career there in 1996. I understand the power of public schools to lift our children up, because I was one of them. Those experiences ignited a lifelong passion in me to help elevate our profession. Serving as your NEA Director will allow me to work at the national level on issues we care so deeply about, including engaging and supporting those new to our profession, creating fair and constructive evaluation systems, and empowering educators to improve our school districts from within. I’m honored to have received recognition for my work inside and outside the classroom, including the 2014 VEA Award for Teaching Excellence and as a finalist for the 2016 FCPS Outstanding Teacher award. However, I believe what most sets me apart is my long-held conviction that empowering people at all levels of our education system is the best way to bring about positive change. That’s why I’m running for NEA Director, and I’m asking for your vote so that together we can help educators—and ultimately students—overcome challenges and become the leaders our country needs them to be.

Charlotte Hayer, Richmond I am a business and information technology teacher for Richmond Public Schools currently serving as local president of the Richmond Education Association. I’m actively involved in my local, state, and national association. I’ve served in local leadership roles, on the VEA Board of Directors, as Chair of the Fitz Turner Commission, and member of the VEA Women’s Leadership Training Cadre, to name a few. I have also served six years on the NEA Resolutions Committee and as a trainer for NEA GLBTQ Training. I am an advocate. I believe that it is important for us to advocate for our profession, the educational professionals, and the children we serve. We are the educational professionals—bus drivers/monitors, custodians, food service workers, instructional assistants, office associates, media specialists, security staff, counselors, and teachers—who strive each day to uplift, enlighten, and educate. My campaign is based on some simple yet powerful concepts: l

Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect;

l We can work TOGETHER to grow the education profession;

l People are the most important part of the association; and, l We know what is best for education.

I am asking you to join me in moving our association advocacy forward.

Carla Okouchi, Fairfax County Aloha! Kon’nichiwa. Hello. “In order to lead, you have to serve” are words I live by each day. As a military daughter growing up in Hawaii, Alaska, Maryland, Alabama and Virginia, my encounters with institutional racism as an ethnic minority helped shape the advocate I am today. Our greatest gift is LOVE… LEAD, ORGANIZE, VOICE, EMPOWER. Together we will mentor the next generation of leaders. Across the Commonwealth we will continue to organize broad coalitions empowering voices of diverse perspectives to advocate for public education. Families across this nation deserve access to high-quality childcare, PreK-12 public schools, and higher education without going into debt. Education professionals are the foundation to every career path and through ESSA, we will lead conversations around class size, funding, student achievement, and social justice issues. I am committed to listening, focusing on policies that strengthen public education, and actively speaking out on behalf of all students, education professionals, and the NEA. VEA’s strength lies in diversity and we must reflect that in our leadership. It would be an honor to serve as your NEA Director. I ask for your vote—together—we will shift the paradigm of education!n

www.veanea.org |

FEBRUARY 2017

Your Classroom

Farm to Table? How About Farm to Classroom? — By Kelly Pious

id you know that chocolate milk comes from brown cows? Well, it often does if you ask a class of kindergartners how it’s produced. Helping connect children to agriculture—and educating them on how milk and other foods make it their tables—is why Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) exists. With only 2 percent of the U.S. population currently involved in growing food, it’s important for young people to cultivate an understanding and appreciation of where their foods and fibers come from. AITC resources aim to improve student achievement by using agricultural-based content to teach science, social studies, language arts and nutrition concepts, all while boosting agricultural literacy, awareness and knowledge among pre-K through 12th-grade students and teachers. Part of a national coalition of programs, AITC in Virginia annually reaches nearly 250,000 children and 2,500 educators through grants, volunteers, professional development trainings for teachers, and student outreach programs in urban areas, as well as a variety of web-based resources. On AITC’s website, AgInTheClass.org, educators can find Virginia Standards of Learning-aligned resources, including lesson plans, curriculum units, activity pages and a searchable lesson database. Additionally, What’s Growing On in Virginia?, a biennial newsletter, is distributed in print and online. Each issue highlights topics such as seasons on the farm, biofuels and school gardens, and also serves as a source of information for teachers new to AITC. Teacher trainings are offered through university teacher preparation programs, a regional summer series, and at schools and state and national education conferences. Each school year

24 VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION

AITC highlights a new curriculum; for 2016-2017, it’s “Sprouting Success.” In addition to professional development, AITC supports educators with classroom grants and a Teacher of the Year Award. Grants fund experiential learning projects, and the Teacher of the Year Award recognizes an educator who integrates the importance of understanding the sources of food and fiber into his or her daily curriculum. AITC also supports volunteers who connect with children in their communities. Each March, community volunteers read AITC’s Book of the Year to classrooms of children as part of Agriculture Literacy Week. This project continues to expand and draw volunteers from FFA, 4-H, Southern States Cooperatives, Farm Credit, Virginia Farm Bureau, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and other state agencies. Volunteers are also active at events such as the State Fair of Virginia, regional fairs and festivals, and other programs inside and outside of school settings. For more information, visit AgInTheClass.org, or like “Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom” on Facebook. AITC staff can be available throughout the state and, because AITC is a nonprofit supported by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, there’s no charge to schools or children for programs.n

Pious is the executive director of Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom.

Points Well Taken A little encouragement goes a long way. Stanford University professor Geoffrey Cohen did some research on the role of classroom feedback, and found that just a short, encouraging note on a highly markedup essay could change the way students received a teacher’s critique of their work. Something as simple as writing, “I’m giving you these comments because I have high standards and I know you can reach them” significantly boosted students’ willingness to rewrite the paper. “The simple act of answering, ‘Do you believe in me?’ can do wonders for a kid who believes he might not have a place in the class,” Cohen said. Speaking and writing truth. Veteran English teacher Jeremy Knoll writes in Teaching Tolerance: Not enough students from inner-city schools are given internships at prestigious law firms and investment banks. Not enough students driving BMWs to school are aware that some kids attend elementary schools with crumbling ceiling tiles. Regardless of whether we, as educators, can succeed at making the huge systemic changes necessary to level these inequities, we can do a lot with just the written and spoken word. English classes have the ability to transcend boundaries dictated by curricula. The human factor must not be overlooked. “As technology starts to dominate our culture and our schools – including our teaching strategies – we forget the overall importance of humanities in our society and classrooms. Just because our students are fantastic at using Google, Twitter and iPads does not mean they are able to interact with each other face-to-face or use their heads and their hands to create and build,” says author Jack Berckemeyer.n

Your Classroom

KUDOS KOLUMN

Albemarle Member Earns National Social Studies Award Albemarle Education Association member Chris Bunin, who teaches Advanced Placement human geography, world history and geospatial technologies at Albemarle High School, has been named Outstanding Secondary Social Studies Teacher of the Year for 2016 by the National Council for the Social Studies.

Bunin, who also teaches at Piedmont Vir-

ginia Community College, received $2,500 and a plaque at NCSS’s 2016 national conference.

Stefani Lailari of the Education As-

sociation of Alexandria and James K. Polk Elementary School, has been named Virginia School Nurse of the Year. She’s been a nurse for 30 years and a school nurse for 10.

Shenandoah County School Board

Chairwoman Karen Whetzel, a VEA-Retired member, has been awarded the Virginia School Boards Association’s Regional School Board Member of the Year for her leadership and active involvement in promoting student achievement.

John Taylor Chapman, a member of the

Fairfax Education Association who also serves as a councilman in the city of Alexandria, has been appointed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe to the state’s Advisory Board on Service and Volunteerism

Josh Ajima, a Loudoun Education As-

sociation member and a technology resource teacher at Dominion High School and the Academy of Science, is one of only 20 educators nationwide to be chosen as a 2016-2017 Stanford FabLearn Fellow. He attended the FabLearn Conference at Stanford University, a gathering education, the maker culture, hands-on learning and instructional tools.

Chesapeake Education Association mem-

ber Kim Hammers, an Advanced Placement government and politics teacher Grassfield High School, has been named the Virginia VFW High School Teacher of the Year.n

www.veanea.org |

FEBRUARY 2017

Photo Illusration by iStock

of educators to discuss digital fabrication in

Your Classroom

Teachers Still Reaching Deep Into Their Own Wallets

o the surprise of no one who’s been around a public school, the professionals who work in them continue to reach heavily into their own funds to provide items for their students and classrooms. According to a new national survey of 4,700 public school teachers and principals done by Scholastic and YouGov, teachers kicked in $530 of their own cash last school year. In schools with high poverty rates, that figure rose to about $630; in low-poverty schools, it fell to about $495. Over half of teachers responding say they buy books with

Sleepy Students Don’t Learn Well

he American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has created a toolkit to help teach teens about the importance of healthy sleep. The toolkit is for use by high school teachers, nurses, counselors and coaches, and it’s designed to educate and encourage teens to get consistent, sufficient sleep. AASM recommends teens between 13 and 18 years of age regularly sleep eight to 10 hours a night, but the Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than two-thirds of American high school students lack sleep on school nights. The toolkit includes lesson plans, student forms, a skit and a poster. It’s all free and can be found at www.sleepeducation.org/healthysleep/sleep-recharges-youteen-sleep-duration/school.n

26 VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION

their own money, but in high-poverty schools, they report buying food for students and classroom cleaning supplies. Educators also identified their top five funding priorities in the survey, called “Teacher and Principal School Report: Equity in Education.” Tying for first, at 55 percent, were reducing the student-to-teacher ratio and buying high-quality instructional materials and textbooks; next were improving salaries and getting better technology and digital resources, both at 47 percent; and fifth was expanding academic and social-emotional intervention programs, at 46 percent.n

NJEA-Founded Group Offers Graduate Courses

irginia teachers now have the opportunity to sharpen their STEM teaching skills and receive graduate credits with new online courses available through The New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), a nonprofit founded by the New Jersey Education Association and run by teachers. CTL has become a leading U.S. provider of free, editable course materials for K-12 math and science instruction and now, a partnership with Colorado State University-Global Campus is expanding CTL’s offerings to teachers around the country. All courses can be pursued on your own schedule, provide graduate credit and are applicable to a Master’s Degree at CSU–Global. To learn more, visit https://njctl.org/teacher-education/onlinecourses/.n

Your Classroom

Smoothing the Path from Juvenile Justice to School

he statistics are grim: Each day, over 50,000 people under 21 are in U.S. juvenile justice facilities. Once released, over 25 percent of them will drop out of school within six months. Almost half of those released are back in confinement within three years. The key to overcoming those statistics and helping students with experience in the justice system get pointed back in the right direction is a solid transition experience as they return to school, according to the U.S. Department of Education (USDoE). To help with those transitions, USDoE has created a guide called “You Got This: Educational Pathways for Youth Transitioning from Juvenile Justice Facilities.” It has features such as a re-enrollment checklist, a daily planner, a student bill of rights, and a list of helpful community resources and organizations. There are also other USDoE resources available, including a Transition Toolkit. To check them out, visit http://ow.ly/lw4S3078b4x.n

A Helpful Reminder for Student-Athletes

Reflections on Reflection

eflecting on your classroom practice makes you a better professional. Some ways to make the most of your reflections::

ou don’t want to dash the athletic dreams of some of your students, but here are some numbers from the NCAA and NPR for them to consider:

• Observe colleagues to see what does and doesn’t work.

The percentage of American college students on some form of athletic scholarship.

The percentage of American college students on some form of academic scholarship.

• Invite colleagues to observe you and offer feedback.

• Journal for yourself, or blog for yourself and others.

• Analyze your students’ test data to identify areas of strength and weakness. • Form or participate in a professional learning community

• Record yourself—it can be as easy as using a cell phone in your pocket.n

2017 VEA Delegate Assembly n

March 30 - April 1

Photos by iStock

Roanoke

For more information: www.veanea.org.

www.veanea.org |

FEBRUARY 2017 2016

1. Download this free app at either the App Store or Google Play. 2. Log in using these codes: 100891- Your VEA member I.D.* 3. For help call (877) 489-4703 * Located on your VEA membership card or on the back cover of this journal. Look at mailing label, number starts with 000 and is just above your name.

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First Person: Narratives from the Classroom

To Teach Well, We Must Open Our Hearts — By Courtney Cutright I came back to school from winter break to learn that the mother of my seventhgrade student, Danny, had died on New Year’s Day. She died following a year-long bout with cancer. She was the same age as me. Shocked, saddened and broken-hearted for Danny, I also felt like, in a way, I had failed him. You see, I had spent some 80 school days getting to know this young man, but I was unaware that his mom was battling cancer. I didn’t recognize the baggage Danny was lugging around every day in addition to a backpack crammed full of books, binders and a laptop. Why had I not known that this boy’s mother was dying? How did I miss that this 12-year-old child was dealing with such turmoil? The ending of a life was a not so gentle reminder of the burdens kids carry to school every day. Terminal illnesses, deaths, drug abuse, poverty, abuse, neglect, homelessness, hunger — the list seems never-ending. Yet because we cannot see it, we sometimes forget it’s there. I was fortunate to attend a December conference at which Stephanie Doyle, a Roanoke City teacher and a former Virginia Teacher of the Year, was the keynote speaker. While Doyle teaches in the school district next door to me, I had not yet had the opportunity to meet her. The talk she gave that day made me feel like we were soul sisters sharing the same educational philosophy. Doyle is a proponent of building relationships. Don’t get me wrong, she recognizes the importance of content

knowledge, instructional strategies and classroom management. But relationships trump all. “When you open the heart, you open the mind,” she said. That pearl of wisdom must be a Stephanie Doyle original, because a Google search turned up a similar quote from her in 2009 newspaper article. At the conference I attended, she shared inspiring stories about students who left lasting impressions on her and vice versa. But to me, the most valuable part of her talk was the advice she gave about sharing parts of ourselves and our lives with our students. Just like we must be constantly cognizant of the problems and issues the students bear, the students need to know we do not make a home in our classroom or sleep under our desks. To build relationships, teachers must also open part of ourselves, Doyle said. Whether it’s posting photos of pets or family members, sharing personal experiences such as vacations, or connecting with students in the community and outside the classroom — we must let students get to know us if we want them to reciprocate. Doyle routinely eats lunch in the cafeteria with her students. That alone makes her a Teacher of the Year in my book. Some days, no, most days, I desperately need that 25 minutes around other adults to maintain my sanity. But Doyle sees it as a chance to get to know the students outside the classroom. She attends sporting and extracurricular events. She even knows whose parents frequent the local bingo hall, and she has held some impromptu parent-teacher conferences there. She is enmeshed in the community.

30 VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION

In my short teaching career, I have come to learn that middle school kids are a special breed. They need a little extra love; they need to know that we care. These pre-teens and young teenagers are trying to navigate a confusing world while their bodies are changing and hormones are raging. To top that off, they’re also trying to fit in with peers and get an education. Our students need to see us as adults, not as their friends, Doyle said. But being an authority figure doesn’t mean we cannot build strong, lasting relationships. I attended the visitation service for Danny’s mom. I worked late that day instead of leaving school and driving back and forth across town to the funeral home. By 5 p.m., I was tired and honestly, I would rather have been home already. I did not know of any other teachers planning to stop by, but it was important for me to go show support for Danny. I waited in line to introduce myself to his father and to give my condolences. I hugged Danny and delivered a card. Instead of flowers, several of his teachers contributed to buy a couple of restaurant gift cards for Danny and his dad, now a family of two. I do not know if my visit will have any impact on my relationship with Danny. If he did not know already, my hope is that he will return to school knowing he is supported by educators who care about him and want to help him succeed. And, hopefully, I have done my part by opening my heart.n Cutright (courtcut@gmail.com), a member of the Roanoke County Education Association, teaches English at Northside Middle School.

A publication of the Virginia Education Association, 116 South Third Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219

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VEA-VTA: Celebrating 50 Years in Unity

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VEA-VTA: 50 Years of Progress in Unity