Virginia Journal of Education: October 2020

VIRGINIA JOURNAL of

EDUCATI N The magazine of the Virginia Education Association October 2020

Justice For ALL VEA members lead the fight for racial and social justice.

Editor Tom Allen VEA President Dr. James J. Fedderman VEA Executive Director Dr. Brenda Pike Communications Director John O’Neil Graphic Designer Lisa Sale Editorial Assistant/Advertising Representative Yolanda Morris Contributors Monte F. Bourjaily, IV Kathy Davis Timothy Pressley Courtney Cutright

COVER STORY

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Vol. 114, No.1

CONTENTS

Educators fight for justice.

Copyright © 2020 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.

UPFRONT

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.

4-7 This month: Our stellar special educators, help with student debt, and more.

FEATURES

Postmaster: Send address changes to Virginia Journal of Education, 116 South Third Street, Richmond, VA 23219.

14 You Can Teach Online without Being Ruled by Technology Advice from a Fairfax teacher.

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.

16 Give ‘Em a Boost!

A little support can help a new teacher’s career get off the launching pad successfully.

Member: State Education Association Communicators

DEPARTMENTS 20 Membership Matters Summer conference rocks in virtual format; instruction conference on tap.

25 Insight on Instruction A new 3 R’s for the COVID era?

30 First Person 2020-21: Uncertainty and angst, but also great possibilities.

Cover illustration by iStock.

VEA Vision: A great public school for every child in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

“Guess what, Dad? The voice-activated ATM downtown thinks I sound just like you!”

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

UP FRONT

“You can’t even make faces at anybody these days.”

“How do I know you won’t sell my personal data?”

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VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2020

As an NEA member, you can now enroll in the premium version of the NEA Student Debt Navigator for a full year at no cost.

Offered in partnership with Savi, a social impact technology company, the Navigator was developed in response to an astounding $1.5 trillion in student debt hanging over 43 million Americans today. The average NEA member carries student loan debt of $25,000 to $30,000, with many topping $40,000! The Navigator can help you find your way through the confusing landscape of loan repayment and forgiveness options available through the federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs.

While you’ve had free access to the basic version of the online Student Debt Navigator—previously called the NEA Student Loan Forgiveness Navigator—for more than a year, the premium version cost $29.95 per year (discounted from the $99 annual cost to the general public).

Your major advantage in using the premium version is access to the technical support of Savi’s student loan experts. They’re available to answer questions and help you fill out and e-file student or public service loan forgiveness applications.

This will boost your chances of successfully completing the process and, hopefully, reducing or eliminating some of your debt.

Learn more at vea.link/SAVI.l

For the eighth year in a row, Virginia’s special educators have risen to the top, earning the U.S. Department of Education’s highest rating for improving outcomes for students with disabilities and for compliance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The 2020 rating is based on student outcomes and compliance data from the 2017-2018 school year, the most recent available in the federal reporting system.

The USDoE scores the states annually on students with disabilities’ scores on state and national reading and math tests, and on improving graduation rates for special education students. The report card also includes indicators related to discipline, the identification of minority students for special education services, the evaluation of students for services and the development of IEPs, and the resolution of disputes between parents and local school divisions.l

Hitting the Airwaves. VEA President James J. Fedderman and Matthew Fentress, president of the Montgomery County Education Association, were recent guests on “What it Takes,” with Rose Martin, a public affairs show on Blue Ridge PBS. They were asked to provide an educator’s perspective on school re-openings during the pandemic.

TOUCHING BASE WITH… STEVE WHITTEN

MECKLENBURG EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Middle school English teacher What’s something you like about your job?

My students, both present and past, are my passion. I just don’t teach them for one year. They’re mine for life—I now teach children and grandchildren of my former students. Even as a fourth-grader in Mrs. Willie Creedle’s classroom at Buckhorn Elementary, I wanted to be a teacher. It is the only profession I ever considered. As I begin my 40th year, I still have the desire to be in a classroom with my students.

They need us, not only as a teacher, but as a mentor, someone they can talk to and confide in.

How has being a Union member helped you?

I’ve been a VEA member since I was a student at Longwood University (then called Longwood College), and it’s given me the opportunity to grow as a person, professionally, and as a leader. This Union, and the people in it, are my heart and soul. I can’t even imagine being an educator and not being a member! Non-members are missing out on so much. l

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2020

Photo and illustration by iStock

NEA Navigator Can Help You with Student Debt

Virginia’s Special Educators Do It Again!

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UP FRONT

“I love my mom.

She’s not a good teacher.”

An Amherst County fourth-grader, speaking to the county’s school board in July and asking that school buildings be reopenedl

“In my worldview, literacy is freedom! If you can read in at least one language, you have the facility to educate yourself on any subject.”

— Actor, producer, and children’s literacy advocate LeVar Burton A sobering literacy statistic to spur educators on: Four of five U.S. adults (79 percent) have enough English literacy skills to complete tasks that require comparing and contrasting information, paraphrasing, or making low-level inferences. This means that one in five, some 43 million American adults, struggle to complete those kinds of tasks.l Source: National Center for Education Statistics.

SOURCE: ACLU

“You got me…The low salaries we pay teachers remains one of life’s great mysteries.”

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VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2020

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The percentage of K-12 students in Virginia who don’t have broadband access at home, according to a new analysis by the State Council on Higher Education for Virginia. That’s more than 200,000 young people. The report also found that 173,000 K-12 students in the state don’t have access to a laptop or desktop computer.l

Opening Doors for English Learners Here are six key questions for educators working with English learners, from the Virginia Department of Education: • How do I infuse trauma-sensitive practices into my virtual classroom?

• What is the best means of communicating with the family in a culturally and linguistically responsive way?

• Which of my students may need additional social-emotional support?

• How do I help my students to build a support network that honors their cultural and linguistic backgrounds?

• What are the particular challenges that my students and their families may be facing and how can I help?

• How do I build relationships with families, and who are potential partners in the community that can help?l

“As a nurse I can speak from experience about having that one person whose whole job is ensuring classrooms are following the guidelines set by the state, the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], and the school. Are they distancing, are they wearing a mask, are they doing temperature checks? Everything that needs to be done to make sure that students and staff are getting the proper care…School nurses would be involved in assessment of students, COVID prevention and infection control, contact tracing, and education about COVID. After the pandemic is over, nurses would be used as health educators and continue to treat students with acute health concerns.”l — State Senator Jen Kiggans of Virginia Beach, a licensed nurse practitioner, on bills submitted during the General Assembly’s special session in August that would require public schools to have a registered nurse on campus

“C’s are the new B’s, Dad.”

Spotted on Twitter “I wonder how many parents home schooling today still think teaching is an easy profession and teachers are overpaid? Keeping in mind teachers have 30 kids per class. Teachers may be getting some sweet notes or treats or maybe even some apologies in a few weeks.”

— @DrBradJohnson Johnson is the author eight books, including Putting Teachers First: How to Inspire, Motivate, and Connect with Your Staff “This pandemic has already revealed that schools are so much more than just schools; many people now realize how tough it is to be a teacher and that teachers are grossly underpaid; teachers are irreplaceable and essential to learning and education.”

— @NicholasFerroni Ferroni is an educator and speaker l VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2020

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Photo and illustrations by iStock

Out of the Mouths Literacy: Your Passport to the World of Babes…

COVER STORY In the quest for understanding and change in human and civil rights, education is a singularly powerful force. So, it’s only natural that educators would find themselves drawn to leadership roles in the fight for racial and social justice at this moment.

Around Virginia, VEA members are, indeed, leading change during this very critical time in our history. Here are just a few of their stories.

LIFELONG CONNECTIONS

Justice For ALL

VEA members lead the fight for racial and social justice.

By Tom Allen

When historians look back on the movement for racial and social justice, Monique Williams of Charlotte County wants it to be very clear that she and her fellow educators were on the right side.

“In our community we have significant levels of inequity and an imbalance of wealth and power,” says Williams, interim president of the Charlotte County Education Association and a high school special education teacher. “We have significant underrepresentation of leaders of color in many areas of decision-making, from our Board of Supervisors to our School Board, and even within our education workforce, which is the largest employer in our county.”

Eager to play a part in creating change, Williams joined with other educators and community activists in a movement that culminated in the Charlotte County Community Day of Action. It began for her when she saw two fellow educators, Emily Preuss-Anderson and Chelsea Nash, lead a peaceful protest for racial justice at the county’s courthouse. “I saw these two courageous women, who are not of color, standing firmly on beliefs and values that I hold dearly,” she says. “I immediately jumped in.”

That led to peaceful demonstrations and events with a coalition of Charlotte County community members, leaders, students, young adults, and educators, including The Fresh Boys Club, a

Monique Williams

Farmville mentoring program bringing together a diverse group of boys from Charlotte, Prince Edward, Buckingham, and Cumberland counties. Some members of our school board and board of supervisors have also attended each event, as well as Sheriff Royal Freeman (the first elected African American sheriff in our county) and Major J. R. Grissom, also of the sheriff’s office.

“In many ways, we are becoming new leaders for our community because we united and are actively expanding our work,” says Williams.

When it comes to the fight for justice, she suggests a change of mindset.

“I encourage each of us to reframe our thinking from ‘What can I do?’ to ‘What can I give?’” she says. “If we begin by giving a moment of our time to listen, to educate, to be kind, or to be brave in the face of hate, we can really bring about the change we need in our community and our country.”

t Chelsea Nash of the Charlotte County Education Association joins a peaceful demonstration at the county’s courthouse.

Good teachers never stop guiding their students. So it was no surprise that the day after a racial justice protest in Bristol, the organizers of the event contacted Brad Hutchinson and Noah Ashbrook, high school teachers and co-presidents of the Bristol Virginia Education Association. The protest had been put together by some of their former students, now 20-somethings living and working in the area.

“They wanted some guidance on how to navigate the school system,” Hutchinson says.

“They needed to know how they could speak with our superintendent and other school leaders.”

The former students, who’ve launched a group called the Future Black Leaders Coalition, want to work with educators to foster a more inclusive curriculum in Bristol’s schools. In response, Hutchinson, Ashbrook, and the BVEA have helped coordinate the students’ communications with school leaders. FBLC invited Bristol teachers to a meeting in a local park. Many teachers turned

Brad Hutchinson (left) and Noah Ashbrook

Photo page 8 by Crystal Image Photography

THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY IN CHARLOTTE COUNTY

COVER STORY

HISTORY: THE REAL STORY Albemarle Education Association member Zoe Padron, a talent development resource teacher at Western Albemarle High School, talks about how she and colleagues are developing a more accurate way to teach history.

If our teachers felt empowered to teach real history, if they knew more of the non-dominant narratives, I know we could equip our students to prevent, Zoe Padron or at least better process the events of the Unite the Right Rally that happened in our community three years ago.

We needed to give our teachers the kind of pedagogy that could help make that happen and, along with several colleagues in Albemarle, we began planning a new history teaching initiative. We called it “Reframing the Narrative” and it’s now in its third year at ACPS, in partnership with James Madison’s Montpelier,

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backed with a nearly $300,000 grant from the Charlottesville Albemarle Community Foundation. We’re writing anti-racist curriculum, providing professional development, and using culturally responsive teaching, all to make sure our students learn more than what they learned in the past.

By reframing that narrative, we quiet that dominant voice in our social studies classrooms. Suddenly there are new perspectives, new stories, and new truths (or, actually, very old ones). Telling the story of the period from 1865-1900 from the perspective of African Americans is one of incredible self-determination, resilience, resistance, and community.

Yes, we can teach Reconstruction by focusing on white supremacy and the amendments of that era and just cast African Americans as victims. Or we can talk about Black townships like Mound Bayou and thriving Black communities. We can talk about the rise of African American educational institutions, places in Virginia like Jackson Ward in Richmond, home of the Richmond Planet, a prominent African American newspaper. What are we teaching kids when we show them someone who literally went from being enslaved to becoming an abolitionist to leading a movement like Benjamin “Pap” Singleton did?

How do our students see themselves when they learn about the accomplishments, resilience, and achievements of their forefathers, rather than their chronic victimization?

Last summer, we partnered with Virginia Beach, Fairfax , and Charlottesville schools to write a series of Inquiry Design Modules. I served as an editor and worked on editing an inquiry about the Declaration of Independence. The voices of those who

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2020

had not traditionally been a part of the dominant narrative were used as sources: African Americans, Chicanos, LGBTQ+, women, immigrants, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans. It’s our plan for these to be published for others to use.

Our schools are full of students from everywhere and so are we. You can’t be nonracist. Nonracist is simply allowing racism to flourish on your watch. If we want to educate students today, we must choose to be anti-racist. We must choose all of our students.

FOR THE SAFETY AND PROTECTION OF ALL To Stafford Education Association members, advocating for a non-discrimination policy in county schools wasn’t something they thought was just a good idea—it was a matter of life and death. The 2018-19 school year was barely a month old and already three county students who identified as LGBTQ had harmed themselves. Such young people seriously consider suicide at a rate almost

Stafford’s Jenn Robin O’Brien

three times higher than heterosexual youth, according to The Trevor Project, a national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth.

And it wasn’t just students who were struggling: School employees who identified as LGBTQ were also feeling unwanted and unwelcome.

Confronted with that, SEA members knew they couldn’t remain silent.

Joining forces with fellow advocates from Equality Stafford, SEA set out to get a life-changing policy, for both students and staff, in place in county schools.

“We knew our membership had never been openly asked about this issue,” says SEA President Christian Peabody, “. If we were going to be successful, we’d need hard numbers on where county educators stood on non-discrimination policies.”

SEA’s survey quickly made it clear where they stood: an overwhelming 92 percent of employees supported such a policy, giving SEA and Equality Stafford a very strong foundation from which to advocate.

There was, however, significant opposition, both from some members of the county’s school board and from some in the public. To marshal support, says Peabody, the results of the survey were shared with the entire school division and the School Board, as well as made publicly available. “The comments ranged from fully supportive to extremely bigoted, sometimes hateful, and everything in between,” Peabody says, “but the entire community now knew that SCPS employees stood for non-discrimination.”

The school board scheduled a vote on the policies in July 2019, then delayed it for two months to seek

additional legal counsel. SEA spent those two months garnering more support and encouraging educators to speak out. At a school board meeting held during the delay, SEA member Allen Watkins asked the board to think about what they’d done during the delay to protect students and staff. He then used the rest of his three minutes of allotted time to stand silently, adding at the close, “Nothing. You’ve done nothing.”

The night of the final vote arrived, and the public comment period went on for hours, both for and against. Jim Livingston, then VEA’s president, and James Fedderman, then vice president, both spoke in support of the policy, along with local Delegate Joshua Cole and educators from other localities and states. “It was electrifying and galvanizing to see our educators and allies put it all on the line like never before,” says Peabody.

In the end, the board voted 4-3 in favor of a non-discrimination policy in Stafford County Public Schools, a moment Peabody calls “one of the proudest in our Association’s history.”

One board member, who voted in support of the new policy, noted, “If I’m ever asked if I protected students as a School Board member, I want to be able to say yes. And if this policy will protect a single student or employee, then my answer is yes, and will always be yes, yes, yes.”

A UNITED, PUBLIC STAND Shenandoah County Education Association members created a statement, which was presented at a school board meeting by SCEA

WANT TO ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE?

VEA is committed to fighting for equity for all students and educators, and our members know that disparities and injustice plague many of our communities. Through the Association’s Human and Civil Rights department, we’ve established a group that’s equally committed to taking action by calling out problems and working for solutions. The group is called Leaders for Equity and Justice (LEJ), and it’s open to any member who wants to be involved in this cause. To sign up, just visit www.veanea.org/take-action/ human-civil-rights.l

President Jeff Rudy, an English teacher at Strasburg High School. Here are excerpts:

The SCEA asks that Shenandoah County Public Schools provide diversity training for all teachers, staff, and student bodies; hire qualified minority candidates for employment; review the demographics of the school board office; develop a diverse K-12 curriculum aligned Jeff Rudy with VDoE standards; protect marginalized students from attacks in school and online; re-examine

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2020

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Illustration by iStock

out and, as a result of the discussions there, BVEA has partnered with FBLC to build a committee focused on revising local curriculum.

“These young activists are amazing,” says Hutchinson, noting that on its Facebook page, FBLC says the organization was formed to “support our community and to ensure equality and justice is received in our Black community—but most importantly, equality for all.”

FBLC and BVEA are hoping to see initial curriculum changes next semester, though that time frame may be pushed back because of COVID-related obstacles.

COVER STORY the student code of conduct; and provide a safe outlet for minority students to voice their opinions.

We call on SCPS to utilize community institutions and the SCEA to work, collaboratively and with intentionality, for the elimination of racism and bigotry in our schools and community. SCEA now has a Leader of Equity & Justice (LEJ) Chair trained to recognize disparities and injustice and to fight for equity for students and educators.

Furthermore, the SCEA calls on all people of moral character in our community to stand with our brothers and sisters of color in demanding an end to the hate and oppression created by racism.

THE HARD WORK OF FREEDOM (SCHOOL) Freedom School was created in 1960s Mississippi, where the education of Black children hadn’t been deemed a very high priority, and it was meant to fill educational gaps during summers and give children of color a new vision for their future. Today, Freedom School has been adapted by the Children’s Defense Fund and is offered, in various forms, around the country, including in Charlottesville last summer.

“I love everything it stands for,” says Charlottesville Education Association member Christen Edwards, who was a site coordinator in the program. “It gives kids a voice and instills in them a sense of social justice and that they can have an impact in their family, in their community, and in their country.”

Charlottesville and Albemarle County students of various races in grades 3- 5 spent five weeks focusing on literacy and oral history, reading books featuring characters of color and interviewing community members about the impact of COVID-19 or the Black Lives Matter movement on their lives. They also discussed the importance of voting with interns from the Youth Action Lab at UVA’s Curry

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Christen Edwards (left); Rosa Derricott (above)

School of Education.

“Freedom School provided an environment for children to learn about discrimination and hard history and to be able to discuss it and learn from it with one another,” says Edwards, who will teach fifth grade this year.

She hopes the program, funded

by UVA and the city school system, will continue. “Charlottesville needs something like this,” she says.

RELATIONSHIPS TRANSCEND COLOR, POVERTY Graduate school was eye-opening for Rosa Derricott. It was in a graduate course some 15 years ago that she heard, for the first time, the term “school-to-prison pipeline.” She also learned that a child’s life outcome can often be already determined by third grade, and that those outcomes for students of color were frequently not positive.

Years later, as a behavior coach, she was stunned to discover that the elementary school where she was interviewing used in-school suspension as a disciplinary measure.

Derricott, a Lynchburg Education Association member, was coming from a school with a student population she

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described as “relatively easy to work with.”

This situation was different. “I could have stayed, but it wasn’t where I was needed,” she says. “I knew I needed to be at this school and help these students, teachers, and families. My goal was simple: eliminate in-school suspensions.”

Her method was also simple: Build relationships.

Derricott pulled together some data and discovered that just five students were accounting for a full one-third of the school’s referrals, so she set out to cut their referrals in half.

“I hoped that by reducing their referrals, it would also impact the behavior of other students,” she says.

At the end of that school year, 4 of the 5 students had reduced their referrals by 80 percent and the other student had cut his by 90 percent.

And she was right about the effect such changes would have on the rest of the students: the school’s overall referral rate went down 50 percent.

Many wondered what her secret was. “The most significant thing I did was work with teachers and build relationships throughout the building,” Derricott says. “In a healthy, trusting relationship, people don’t disrespect people they like, they don’t shout at them, they don’t misbehave, and they use words to advocate for themselves.

Students are looking for equity and for a voice.”

Derricott is now an assistant principal and continues to stand up for students and for equity. “Racial and social justice issues are resolved when people are educated and have the tools to do something different,” she says. She has no plans to change her approach: She’s a NEA Foundation Global Fellow and is currently pursuing a doctorate, for which her dissertation focus will be global education and its impact on race and social justice.

COMPLACENCY MUST GO Declaring “It’s not enough for us to not be racist; we must be actively anti-rac-

ist,” the Fairfax Education Association organized an online “Educators for Black Lives Matter” Rally in June.

The event, which developed after a suggestion from FEA member Christine Connor, wasn’t officially tied to the Black Lives Matter organization; instead it was built around the idea that “Black students, educators, and parents matter.”

“In the middle of a global pandemic and a racial crisis in America, we needed to think creatively to provide a safe space for educators who were unable to be in the streets to show their solidarity in this social justice movement,” says Carla Okouchi, FEA’s vice president.

It was also a chance for FEA, as an education organization, to take a definitive and public stance for justice. “We wanted our members and everyone else to know that we’re absolutely doing this,” says FEA President Kimberly Adams. “We are committed to this work and want our members to be engaged in it.”

The rally featured a lineup of guest speakers, including Virginia’s Secretary of Education, Atif Qarni; last year’s National Teacher of the Year, Rodney Robinson; Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax; Janice Underwood, Virginia’s Chief Diversity Officer; NEA Vice President Princess Moss; VEA’s then-President Jim Livingston; VEA President-Elect James Fedderman; Okouchi; and students.

“We started a conversation,” Adams says, noting that Fairfax needs more educators that reflect the student population (some county schools have no teachers of color) and that FEA is pushing for a more racially and ethnically balanced curriculum.

As its pre-rally statement says, “FEA stands with our sisters and brothers all across the country who are taking on institutional racism…

Our children and our community are depending on us.”l Allen is editor of the Virginia Journal of Education.

VEA Human and Civil Rights: Here for Leadership and Support For the past 6 months, we’ve all been adjusting and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic as well as grappling with injustice and racism in our country. I spent many days contemplating how to support members who got in touch with questions like “What can I do?” or “What should I be doing?”

I’m so glad VEA created the Human and Civil Rights (HCR) department in 2017, because if we’ve ever needed to stand with our members on issues of racial injustice and inequity, it’s now. Through HCR, we’re committed to calling out equity and justice challenges where we see them and to fighting policies and practices that perpetuate injustice and marginalize under-represented communities (including educators or students of color, students with disabilities, rural students, LGBTQ students and staff, lowest-paid workers).

The year ahead is an important one for this work. HCR will continue to lead in ways that include hosting a webinar series focused on justice issues, providing Courageous

Conversations: A Virtual Experience, and adopting Black Lives Matters in Schools. We will also continue to develop intentional, lasting relationships with community and minority organizations and cultivate allies that support public education.

To do this, I offer a simple framework: Awareness, Advocacy, and Action! Awareness is gaining the knowledge, skills and ability to understand and articulate an issue.

Advocacy is formulating a message about an issue and building a team to spread that message. Action is executing a developed plan to address the issue, determine the resolution, and hold the appropriate person accountable to ensure it is implemented and carried forward.

Please consider becoming a Leader for Equity and Justice (see “Want to Advocate for Social Justice?” on page 11 .)l — Naila Holmes, Director, Human and Civil Rights, VEA

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STORY TheFEATURE Virginia Public Education CoalitionTheT

By Monte F. Bourjaily, IV

I

’ve been preparing to teach online this fall since schools closed in March. I thought I was simply being pragmatic about the pandemic; I realize now that I was also trying to deal with my sadness and anger both at losing my ability to interact in person with my students and at having to change how I teach.

The truth is, I worry about my ability to motivate my students in an online environment, feel insecure about teaching through technology, and fear losing sight of the teaching and the learning for which technology should simply be a tool, not the focus. This has led me to a lot of reflection about how to connect with my students online. My emerging “epiphany” is a recognition that good teaching remains student-focused, centered on what I want my students to learn and why, with technology in a supporting role.

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This creates two huge challenges.

First, as moving online creates great change and uncertainty, we must let go of the control we’ve come to expect.

Second, we must develop lesson plans and students must work on content while we both learn to use and control the technology central to our success.

I want to start with what a lot of people may think is the hardest part about teaching online: the technology. My advice? Keep it on a leash. This summer, I took a course that forced me to use unfamiliar technology and construct lessons for an online environment. There’s a lot of great technology and students know how to use some of it better than teachers do. Unless the course is on technology, however, it still has non-tech core content. The technology just helps us, replacing books and paper with programs, screens, pdfs, and new tools.

Begin with the content and skills we want students to learn. Next, select technology you think will help them do

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that. My best advice is start with what you know, and then learn a few new tools you think will help you build your instruction. Don’t get distracted by all the suggested technology, including free teasers for paid programs we can’t afford. The appeal of new tech to help our students learn is powerful. It may be better, however, to explore new ways to use existing applications. For example, I recently learned ways to design a Google Doc as a HyperDoc and make a Google Slide deck into a self-contained website. Also, don’t worry about the mistakes you will inevitably make.

Two very important words in the new vocabulary created by online teaching are synchronous and asynchronous. In the spring, many of us thought synchronous meant in class, while asynchronous meant homework. This was deeply flawed. In Fairfax, some of us had 45 minutes/week of synchronous time, much of which was consumed reconnecting with our students, rather

tional skills like work planning, creating checklists, and time management systems. We need to establish a welcoming communication system through which we reach out to students, but also invite them to ask questions and communicate needs. Think of your own struggles to manage time and stay focused working from home.

Now consider a student’s intensifying procrastination anxiety as she or he falls further behind.

In addition, students need explicit instruction in skills we use in our disciplines, like close reading, annotating, writing, brainstorming, conceiving effective questions, and organizing information to derive meaning. Students must value, hone, and become confident using them.

Incorporating technology can entice students to practice skills, offer choice that gives them control over their work, and introduce novelty to keep them engaged. Project-based learning in an online environment becomes a way to help students practice using skills and technology as if they are at play.

Or, more accurately, to see these tools as the means to “play” with content, to engage with it with increasing rigor and independence. The analogy to play and decision-making brings the experience closer to that of the basketball or soccer player practicing skills and playing in scrimmages or games, or the musician practicing to coax out precision, beauty and emotion for her future audience. As students’ confidence increases, their engagement and empowerment will, too. Ultimately, work with skills and content merge, like the transition in reading where decoding gives way at some point to fluency. Even at the highest levels of high school instruction, we assume students have skills they either don’t or haven’t mastered. If we want independent learners in an asynchronous

environment, we must teach the skills that will increase their confidence and in a way that will draw them into the work. If we want independent learners in an asynchronous environment, we must grow their confidence in a way that will draw them into the work.

Some of us resist teaching online because it feels foreign or even challenges our identity as teachers. While this reflects my own feeling, I see an opportunity to improve in the way I teach and the way my students learn.

I think of my courses as mountains I guide my students up as we climb together each year. I teach them how to climb, building their skills and confidence and, hopefully, having fun along the way. I can’t climb for them or simply tell them how to climb. They must do the work themselves. By teaching and encouraging students to make choices, we are affected by them. This may be terrifying, but, for a student, inviting choice honors their perspective and can win their participation.

In the online environment, cultivating students’ capacity to climb independently is even more critical, because teacher and student are not physically together for the observation, feedback, and reassurance typical of the classroom or the mountain trail.

I think we need to worry less about the technology and worry more about explicitly teaching the organizational and discipline-specific skills that will equip students to succeed. It requires that we figure out which technology we can use comfortably, or grow comfortable using, to create and maintain those connections that will help us do what we love most—teach.l Bourjaily, a Fairfax Education Association member, teaches social studies at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

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Illustration by iStock

You Can Teach Online without Being Ruled by Technology

than teaching content. A better understanding is that synchronous time is the time we spend working together and asynchronous time is when students work on their own schedule, alone and in small groups.

Referring to student-directed time as asynchronous recognizes the reality that real learning and progress in any effort require significant independent work. It designates synchronous time as the period to share and extend learning through real-time interaction.

Finally, it allows us to plan the work we want students to do and how we want them to practice and learn in a way that allows them to use asynchronous time to prepare for productive synchronous time. As school systems increase synchronous time for the fall, we’ll need to refine further what asynchronous work looks like in, and beyond, the defined synchronous periods so that students and teachers work productively and don’t burn out.

But how do we structure synchronous and asynchronous time to encourage and equip students to work independently? I believe it’s an opportunity to redefine teaching and learning in a way that increases student agency and engagement.

Students must know how to plan, organize their work and exercise self-discipline. We aspire to help our students be independent learners, but do we too often assume they already know how to manage their seven-course workload or will learn by doing? In face-to-face instruction, we can intervene when students don’t understand or have not organized their work or time effectively. The separation inherent in remote education demands that we explicitly cultivate our students’ independence.

They can’t depend on us to see that they are off task and redirect them or ask them how they’re doing. Instead, we must include in our instruction organiza-

FEATURE STORY

A little support can help a new teacher’s career get off the launching pad successfully.

By Timothy Pressley

F

irst-year teachers enter the classroom with a ton of anticipation, but also with plenty of challenges: they must learn content, develop an effective classroom management plan, and create engaging lesson plans, all in at least somewhat unfamiliar surroundings. They’re striving not just to survive, but also to launch the often up-and-down process of becoming highly effective professionals. It’s not an easy journey, and the turnover rate in the first years in the classroom is high.

For this article, the author interviewed 17 Virginia elementary educators: eight first-year teachers; five highly effective and established teachers; and four instructional coaches. Several new-teacher themes developed from those conversations: classroom management issues, mistakes young teachers make, and ways to support new teachers.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT ISSUES Because new teachers often struggle as they get comfortable with classroom management, they often end

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up stopping class more often to deal with behavior problems compared to their experienced peers. This takes up precious instructional time and is a distraction for other students.

Many rookie teachers use extrinsic motivators (i.e., tokens, points, stickers) to manage classroom behaviors. These approaches can also be encouraged by some technology-based programs that allow teachers to provide points through smart boards, phones, and tablets. While often effective for a short period, the excitement associated with the rewards often runs out eventually, leading to more behavior problems.

Teachers and coaches also shared that these systems can be difficult to keep up with during the day. One first-year teacher in fourth grade said, “I started off doing ClassDojo [behavior program] with points, but since it wasn’t on my board all the time, students weren’t excited about it.”

Because extrinsic motivation can be short-lived, some first-year teachers often end up changing their classroom management system every few weeks.

This lack of consistency makes it hard for students to get into a routine or to learn the consequences for good and bad behaviors. Said one first-year teacher, “My classroom management plan changed. I used to do a class economy, which did not work, so now I have

MISTAKES YOUNG TEACHERS MAKE As any teacher will tell you, teaching is a tough profession and often especially difficult in the first couple years. Young teachers will make mistakes but can use them for guidance and reflection. One of the main mistakes pointed out by experienced teachers was how first-year teachers develop relationships with students.

Rookie teachers, as they learn to interact with students, can often seem to be more of a friend than an authority figure.

“They want the kids to love them, and that’s good,” said one effective third grade teacher. “They should want them to love them, but figuring out the difference between being their friend and being their teacher is an important skill to develop.”

First-year teachers need to understand that relationship building takes time and goes beyond knowing a student’s name and few facts. It includes learning about students as people and about their home life, interests, and dreams.

“This needs to be a priority in the classroom,” noted one instructional coach.

Because there’s so much to accomplish in a school year, first-year teachers must also learn to be flexible. Some get focused more on their lesson plans and curriculum instead than on their students.

Flexibility may sometimes mean, for example, moving on with a lesson even if not all students got a solid grasp on the material.

“[New teachers] can forget that these kids are individuals and not everything is going to go according to plan,” said one experienced second grade teacher. There’s a difference between teaching kids and teaching a lesson.”

Rookie teachers should be encouraged to use data on student progress to make decisions on whether to move on or review, rather than feeling pressure to stay on a strict schedule.

Lastly, many first-year teachers are reluctant to ask for help. They

may have had successful experiences in their teacher-prep programs, but that doesn’t prepare them for everything they’ll encounter in their new job. When they face difficulty, they may feel embarrassed about it or any resulting decrease in teacher efficacy.

New teachers must understand that it is okay to ask for help or guidance, that it’s an important part of their development. “I don’t know if all districts automatically put ways to help in

“[New teachers] can forget that these kids are individuals and not everything is going to go according to plan,” place from the get-go for new teachers unless they’re not doing well,” said one experienced teacher, but such support is essential for first-year educators.

SUPPORTING YOUNG TEACHERS One way to ensure necessary support is by providing a mentor teacher or coach for instructional and emotional support in year one. “I provide both formal and informal feedback,” said one experienced teacher who has served as a mentor. “I model lessons for them, watch them complete those same lessons, and then offer my thoughts.”

Several first-year teachers shared that opportunities like that were critical to them, with one saying, “My coach was able to come into my

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llustrations by iStock

Give ‘Em a Boost!

a big point system where students compete against each other, but I might try something else soon.” It wasn’t uncommon in the interviews for first-year teachers to change their classroom management systems multiple times during the school year. Some of those changes, however, were positive as some learned to move away from extrinsic rewards and began feeling more confident in their relationships and classroom effectiveness.

In comparison, the highly effective teachers interviewed made intrinsic motivators and developing relationships the core of their classroom management. “I build contracts with my students, all of us creating the rules together, and we all sign the contract,” said one experienced second grade teacher. “It’s very intrinsically motivated with natural consequences for their actions and behaviors.” The highly effective teachers did make changes to classroom management, but to support the students in the classroom for the particular year. “I’ve found that every class is different, so you have to adjust each year, and meet the needs of those kids,” explained one highly effective fifth grade teacher.

FEATURE STORY

The National Education Association asked teachers around the country what they wish they’d known when they first set foot in their own classrooms. Here’s some of what they had to say: • “Keep students busy. Don’t give them too much down time. And you need to let them know who is the boss from the beginning—that’s hard when you’re 22. But if you start out as the buddy it won’t work.”

— A Montana high school teacher • “Consistency, consistency, consistency. Make yourself so consistent that your students can predict with 100 percent certainty how you will react to any situation.”

— A special education teacher in New York • “When you’re putting yourself out there and always want to do more, it’s good to remember that you only can do so much.”

— A kindergarten teacher in California • “Establish a friendship with at least one or two colleagues. That relationship will help you maintain your sanity.”

— A fourth grade teacher in Louisiana • “Think about what you post on Facebook or other social networks.

Pictures and negative comments about parents, kids, and administration could come back to haunt you.”

— A middle school teacher in Iowa • “Do something you are passionate about that is outside of work.

It’s therapeutic.”

— A substitute teacher in New York • “Make friends with your school’s secretary, the custodian, and the lunch ladies. These support staff are extremely important in how the school runs. They hold a deep reserve of information and are a great help, especially to new teachers.”

— A special education teacher in New Yorkl

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such support from other first-year teachers, which helped build a sense of community. “There are a couple other new teachers in the school I’m able to talk with about my classroom,” said one rookie teacher. “We share the challenges we all face.” A school or school division may be able to help structure these interactions through first-year teacher professional development sessions or allowing first-year teachers to get together in a less formal setting to share experiences.

While the first year in the teaching profession is challenging, the right support from other teachers, school administrators, mentors, and coaches can help rookies build their confidence and find success. Taking steps like providing highly effective mentors/coaches, offering first-year teachers the opportunity to watch highly effective models, using formative feedback to alter teaching practices, and making relevant professional development available will not only ease some of the challenges first-year teachers face, it will increase their likelihood of making teaching a lifelong career.

GOING VIRTUAL This year, many teachers will begin by teaching virtually, which brings new challenges for both new and experienced teachers. Even in a virtual environment, new teachers need to understand the challenges they may face with classroom management, relationship building, and instruction.

New and experienced teachers should look to incorporate student interest surveys to build relationships, build in time during video conferences to check in

with students, and provide specific feedback to students on the work they complete. As one coach shared, “Find ways to incorporate their interests by sharing about books that might interest them or calling students by name when providing feedback.” Providing interactions such as these may help build relationships with students while the class is virtual and provide extra resources for kids. Even in a virtual classroom, new teachers can provide a daily schedule for students and clearly communicate expectations with students. However, just like in face-to-face setting, rookie teachers need to understand they are the teacher and not friends with students.

All teachers will have an abundance of virtual platforms and resources to use. When choosing, firstyear teachers should consider how they’ll use each one. As one instructional coach shared, “There are many different platforms and programs available to teachers and just because it’s trendy doesn’t always mean it’s effective.” New teachers also need to remember to update resources shared

with families throughout the year to keep them relevant with instruction and provide additional material when available.

Lastly, as in face-to-face teaching, rookie teachers should not hesitate to ask for help from other teachers, instructional coaches, or the technology department. All teachers are going to struggle, and will need to share ideas. Rookie teachers can still watch mentors and coaches model teaching as well as get formative feedback on instruction in a virtual setting. They should also reach out to their grade-level teams to learn of effective instructional techniques and activities. As a coach shared, “virtual teaching is new for everyone and every teacher is going to overcome several issues. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness.”l Pressley, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology at Christopher Newport University, where he also teaches classes in the MAT program. His research focuses on effective teaching and teacher development.

We’re Here to Help From online communities and cyber-tips from experienced educators, to blogs, podcasts, and even retreats, your Union is here to help you get rolling as a brand new educator. For all these resources and more, visit www.veanea.org/tips-tools/ educator-resources/.l

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Illustrations by iStock

What I Wished I’d Learned in College

classroom and provide feedback on my classroom management. We picked out what would work best for certain students, what would work best with other students, and we created a system.” This kind of personalized input creates a safe space for new teachers to voice their concerns.

Along with providing feedback, instructional coaches and mentors help a young teacher implement the basics or set goals, especially in areas where they may be struggling. “The first thing I look for in a struggling teacher is student engagement,” said one experienced teacher. “Are students participating? We work to develop a fix for getting students engaged and then get to student achievement data.” Coaches can also help new teachers develop classroom goals, which can help them overcome small problems and see measurable success.

“I always pre-conference with a teacher to set goals, and then collect data on their goals through observations,” said one coach. “Moving forward, I can then either co-teach or model instruction and then follow up with another observation to provide feedback.

I feel this approach works best, as I can scaffold a struggling teacher through to meet a goal.”

Teaching is an emotional career and can be especially so when facing challenges for the first time. When a new teacher feels supported, he or she is more likely to see the year as successful. “My team and administration have been great with questions I’ve had, and I’ve been assigned a coach who has been helpful, too,” said one first year teacher. “I have been surrounded by support.”

Emotional support gives first-year teachers the opportunity to know they aren’t alone in what can be a lonely profession. Some of the first-year teachers we interviewed said they got

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

First VEA Cyber-Conference Rocks; New Statewide Leaders Installed

W

and conventions many times. “I ith a school year always learn something new from like no other my fellow VEA members,” she said. now underway, “This year, I especially liked the VEA members gathered Q&A breakout rooms, where we (virtually) in July to prepare could interact and ask questions to make the most of it. At to presenters and each other.” the first-ever Virtual Sum “I’m most looking forward to the mer Leadership Conference, new school hundreds of educators tuned year and buildin and collaborated on ing a stronger approaches to our histocommunity ry-making opportunity within my to bargain contracts next school as a year, this November’s building rep,” elections, and a host of said Kris Acker other topics. of the Loudoun

While the virtual Education format was not the way Association. the conference was Making it happen virtually. Then-president Jim Livingston and newly-elected president “I have some originally planned, memJames Fedderman gave a conference update; Falls Church member Amanda Ronco tuned in wearing great ideas bers adapted smoothly.

Association regalia; some of the topics covered. from this con“Sessions were very inference.” teractive,” said Richmond nity, advocacy, action plans for local

The event wrapped up with Education Association member Angela associations, digital organizing, local a very moving ceremony in which Dews. “Because they were at home, I communication tools, relationships former VEA President Princess Moss, felt many participants were more comwith administrators, and others. now the NEA vice president, officiated fortable sharing their ideas with others.

“These are all such important at the installation of Dr. James J. FedI really appreciated that.” topics for leaders in our Union,” said derman and Carol Bauer, VEA’s new

Dews looks for some carryover Katelyn Ritenour of the Chesapeake president and vice president. In a from the virtual format into this school Education Association.

“They’ll help us historic moment, Moss, one of only year, as Richmond students will spend continue to grow and build capacity.” three Black women ever elected to the first semester learning online. “I

A relatively new technological tool lead the VEA, gave the oath of office will be able to adapt materials and use for local associations is Action Network, to Fedderman, the first Black man methods I learned to make everyone an online way for members to share ever to hold the office of VEA more comfortable with the virtual and support Union messages and president. platform, which is our new normal.” advocate for VEA positions. “I’m excited

After saluting outgoing president

One thing unchanged from to use it,” said Cathy Smith of the WashJim Livingston, Fedderman told the previous summer leadership conferington County Education Association. cyber-audience, “I’m humbled and ences was the wide range and depth “It’s a great way to organize contacting honored to work with our memberof the training offered. In addition to members and possible members.” ship—we have the right people on collective bargaining and elections,

Jennifer Rokasky of the Prince the bus and I’m looking forward to members worked through sessions on William Education Association has picking up many more in the journey racial and social justice, reaching out been to VEA’s summer conferences ahead.”l to new educators, creating commu-

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Senator Warner Meets with VEA Members Mark Warner, Virginia’s senior U.S. Senator, held a webinar for VEA members late this summer, offering updates on the COVID-19 relief efforts being negotiated in Congress, discussing the need for much more broadband availability across Virginia, and suggesting that there be some relief from standardized testing in this time of largely virtual instruction. He also fielded questions submitted by members who had registered for the online meeting.l

VEA’s Moss Elected Vice President of NEA Former VEA President Princess Moss, a music teacher from Louisa County, is now the vice president of the 3 million-member National Education Association, the largest union in the U.S. Moss was elected to a three-year term this summer after having served two terms as NEA’s Secretary-Treasurer. (Photo taken during a Read Across America event in Richmond earlier this year.)l

VEA Instructional Conference to Focus on Resilience, Teaching during COVID Built around the 2020-appropriate theme of “Standing Strong: Building Resilience Together,” VEA’s popular Instruction and Professional Development Conference is set to once again bring members cutting-edge training this fall. As with the Summer Leadership Conference, where the format received high marks, IPD will be a virtual Zoom event, scheduled for Nov. 20-21.

As always, many of the presenters will be your colleagues around Virginia who will share their expertise in strategies and resources they’ve used in their own classrooms. Other experts will join them to offer insight into topics including: • Building resilience in students who’ve been through adverse childhood experiences • Building our own resilience in challenging times • Trauma-informed practices • Teaching remotely • Growth mindsets • Instructional strategies • Mindfulness • Teacher recruitment and retention

VEA-R Members: We Need Your Email Address!

• Education Support Professional issues • Diversity and equity

Paper delivery of the VEA-Retired newsletter, Connections, is being phased out. To ensure that you continue to receive it electronically, please make sure we have your current email address. Send them to vearetired@veanea.org.l

• Meeting the needs of diverse students

Registrants will receive links for Zoom connections to all sessions, which begin on Friday evening and last through Saturday. Stay tuned to the VEA website (veanea.org) for details and registration information.l

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MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

Three Join VEA Field Staff; Bright Promoted in HQ Dr. Toney L. McNair, Jr. is VEA’s new UniServ Director for Territory 23, working out of the Tidewater office in Portsmouth. A longtime Association leader, he’s served as president of District N and the Chesapeake Education Association, as well as on the VEA Board of Directors. In 2017, Toney was named Virginia’s Teacher of the Year.

Kevin Manor is the new UniServ Director in the Chesapeake Bay Education Association office in Virginia Beach. He began his career with AFSCME in Atlanta as an organizer, eventually becoming a lead organizer for AFSCME International. He comes to VEA from the St. Paul Federation of Teachers in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he’s been an organizer and business agent for the last two years.

Vickie Kitts has joined VEA as the new UniServ Director for Territory 1, working out of the Cumberland Mountain office in Lebanon. After a career in private industry, she went on to become an administrative assistant and teacher SOURCE: ACLU at Honaker High School in Russell County. She’s also is a past president of the Russell County Education Association.

VEA-Retired Spotlight Fairfax’s Larry Armentrout

By Kathy Davis VEA-Retired member Larry Armentrout is a testament that dedication to the Association can reap many rewards.

Prior to Virginia’s loss of public employee collective bargaining, Larry served on the Fairfax Education Association’s bargaining team and found himself at the local office almost nightly. One of the FEA team’s biggest wins, in addition to improving salaries and benefits, was the establishment of the Apple Federal Credit Union to help support education employees who needed reasonable loans and convenient banking. Larry visited schools throughout the county sharing credit information and today, Apple Federal has expanded throughout the county, serving not just FCPS employees. In turn, it has continued to support education through scholarships for local students and support for distance learning during the pandemic.

A Covington native, Larry retired from Poe Middle School in 1995 after 33 years of teaching social studies with an emphasis on government, anthropology, and future studies.

In addition to his time on the negotiating committee, Larry served on the FEA Board, its Government Relations Committee, and on both the FEA and VEA Retired Council. He also attended every VEA convention since 1961 and every NEA Convention since 1973 until he retired.l

Melinda Bright, who has been serving as VEA’s Teaching and Learning Specialist, has been named the new director of that office. She’s the former co-director of the Virginia Department of Education’s Training and Technical Assistance Center at James Madison University and has 19 years of teaching experience.l

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“I strive for realism.”

KUD

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

VEA Members Singled Out Around State for Teaching Honors

Let’s Get This Adventure Started!

I’m very excited to be taking office as your new VEA president, and I’m looking forward to moving our Union forward, building on the work I had the opportunity to support as vice president for the last four years.

It’s also a great honor to be the first African American male elected to this office and, as I serve, I shall strive to carry that historic banner proudly and well.

I’d like to lay out a few of the priorities I have in mind as I start my term. One is that I’m seeking a wider, more diverse range of our members to be involved in VEA leadership and in our decision-making. We have so many talented people from so many different backgrounds and in so many parts of our commonwealth. I’d love to see more of you playing larger roles in determining the future of our Union.

Collective bargaining will certainly be an enormous focus as we move ahead. The hard work and persistence of our members over the last several years resulted in the 2020 General Assembly voting to return educators’ rights to negotiate contracts with local school divisions, beginning next May. That was really an amazing accomplishment, and one of which VEA members are, rightly, very proud.

Returning to the table, which we’ve been unable to do since the 1970s, is a historic opportunity for us to change public education for the better. We’ve earned a chance to have much more influence, as professionals deserve to

S

These VEA members were recently named Teacher of the Year in their school divisions:

have, over the quality of the environment we’re expected to work in and into the instruction we will be expected to provide. It’s truly going to be an exciting time—and also one that’s going to require serious preparation and homework. Local associations need to begin gearing up for this process now. Consult with your local leaders and UniServ Director to learn how to get underway.

Racial and social justice is another area that is so incredibly important to me as your president. There’s never been a better time for our Union to assume a leadership role in addressing the injustice that affects our students, schools, communities, and educators every single day. Our cover story of this issue is just a snapshot of how many of our members are publicly engaging. I sincerely hope that many more of us will join them. We can—and will—make a difference.

Making a difference on a wide range of important issues is what our Union is all about. I very much look forward to working side-by-side with you in the months and years ahead to improve both our working and learning environments. We have phenomenal members, a phenomenal board, phenomenal staff, and a phenomenal opportunity to put our mission in action: Ensuring a great public school for every child in the Commonwealth. Let’s make history together!

Feel free to be in touch. You can reach me at JFedderman@veanea.org.l

•

Shannyn DeHaven, Frederick County, a math teacher at James Wood High School

•

Kim Dove, Rockingham County, a social studies teacher at Wilbur S. Pence Middle School

•

Rahmah Johnson, Richmond, a counselor at Thomas Jefferson High School

•

Mark Muldowney, Loudoun County, a fifth grade teacher at Round Hill Elementary School

•

Emma Neave, Suffolk, an English teacher at John F. Kennedy Middle School.

Patricia Hunt, a member of the Arlington Education Association and a 12th-grade government teacher at Wakefield High School, received the first-ever Educator of the Year Award from the News Literacy Project in recognition of her ability to help students spot fake news and be better news consumers.

Louisa County Education Association member Doug Straley, the county’s superintendent, was named as one of Virginia’s Regional Superintendents of the Year by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents.

Caroline County Education Association member Elizabeth Flaherty, a fourth grade teacher at Lewis and Clark Elementary School, won a Virginia-themed vacation from the Virginia Lottery and a $5,000 credit at the Supply Room for her school. Her name was selected in a drawing of teachers who got thank-you notes during the Lottery’s “Thank a Teacher” campaign.

VEA-Retired member John Osterhout, a former secretary and treasurer for VEA’s Sexual Minority Committee (now the LGBTQ Caucus), was named an OUTstanding Virginian by Equality Virginia.l

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INSIGHT ON INSTRUCTION

A New 3 R’s for the COVID-19 Era? Ready to take charge of your professional growth? Do it with VEA VirtualEd! It’s an amazing new benefit for our members, one that allows you to earn micro-credentials in subjects and skills of your choosing.

AND YOU CAN DO IT FOR FREE! Micro-credentials are a competency-based digital form of certification and they’re quickly creating a new wave in the PD world. The process is entirely self-driven, and is generally job-embedded, allowing you to incorporate your classroom activities. Virginia now accepts micro-credentials for re-licensure points.

You don’t want to miss out on VEA VirtualEd! Visit vea.link/virtualed to learn more.

FACTS

Your Union has launched VEA VirtualEd, a new and efficient way to manage your own professional development and sharpen your skills. VEA VirtualEd offers you the chance to choose and earn micro-credentials and is a collaborative project with the NEA. WHAT ARE MICRO-CREDENTIALS? Informally, micro-credentials are a new wave in professional development and a tool to sharpen your skills and build your professional practice. More formally, a micro-credential is a competency-based digital form of certification. To earn one is to demonstrate competency/mastery in a specific skill or set of skills.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS? Several things. One, you actually learn something that will help you—they’re not a “sit-and-get” form of PD. Two, they’re very flexible. You do the learning on your own schedule, either alone or with colleagues. And three, they’re all about you: you choose what you want to learn, the skills that will help you most.

HOW DO I EARN MICRO-CREDENTIALS? It’s a self-driven process. Begin by identifying an area in which you’d like to learn more and acquire new skills, then complete the micro-credential requirements. To see the lineup of nearly 200 subject areas currently available, visit the VEA micro-credential portal at vea.link/virtualed. Once you’ve selected a micro-credential you’d like to pursue, there are two steps: First, collect the evidence required to demonstrate your competence, using your daily work as the source (writing a lesson plan, submitting a video of your work, collecting data, e.g.).

Then, submit that evidence for review by uploading it to the VEA/NEA micro-credentials website. From your start date, you have six months to complete each micro-credential. When you do, you receive a digital badge that certifies the acquisition of your new skill.

HOW WILL EARNING MICRO-CREDENTIALS HELP ME? In addition to making you a better educator, micro-credentials will become a familiar method of professional advancement as they become more widespread. Of the many offerings now available through NEA, some have been created by both nonprofit and for-profit organizations and others have been designed by Association staff. The Commonwealth of Virginia will accept micro-credentials for re-licensure points; VEA is working to have both the state and local school divisions use micro-credentials in professional advancement and compensation, too.

WHAT’S IT GOING TO COST ME? Actually, they’re free—right now for all educators and forever for VEA members.

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A

RELATIONSHIPS • Connect with students individually and through advisories.

• 15-minute daily huddle for leaders and teachers.

• Consider a two-by-ten: Make a specific goal of talking one-on-one with a struggling student for two minutes for a 10-day stretch. These quick, focused interactions can build relationships and provide emotional boosts.

• Check in with families—ask about schoolwork, well-being, and how COVID is affecting them. A set of prepared questions can help offer insight into how students and families are coping with issues like homework, organization, and keeping up with the daily routine of online classes.

• Group activities —games, cooking, etc. One New York teacher organized “Tasty Tuesdays,” in which second-graders share breakfast via Zoom.

ROUTINES • Establish daily times for lessons, reading, storytelling, and homework; Our brains, writes Cantor, are “prediction machines that like order, and when our environments are orderly, the brain is calmer.”

• Encourage routines like healthy family meals, daily exercise, and mindfulness practices such as deep breathing and journaling.

• Learn a reflective, mindful practice, such as journaling, yourself.

• Hold class meetings.

• Set achievable goals for learning and wellness each day.

RESILIENCE • Resilience “begins with learning how to regulate emotions and behaviors from role models through a process called co-regulation,” Cantor says.

• Guiding young people as they develop the ability to recognize their emotions and strengthen their resilience during distance learning will help prepare them for the return to school buildings.

• Encourage students and families to limit media.

• Solve problems together with children and celebrate successes.

• Create things for students to look forward to.

Keeping these 3 R’s in mind, says Cantor, can help us “inoculate” ourselves and our students against the stress and uncertainty of the COVID-dominated world we’re living in.l

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Photo and illustrations by iStock

Now you can manage your own professional development!

s most of Virginia’s students and educators adjust to school in a new, virtual environment, stress levels for both groups are running high. You can play an important role in building your students’ ability to not only cope, but flourish in a changed world, says Pamela Cantor, MD, founder and senior science advisor at Turnaround for Children (turnaroundusa.org), which uses brain science and development research to help educators and caregivers.

Cantor calls the current situation for young people the “COVID-19 paradox,” noting that to stay safe, we must keep our distance from each other, which endangers the connections that ordinarily help us feel safe.

Educators can help their students, she says, by refocusing the 3 R’s into relationships, routines, and resilience. Here are some tips for doing that:

INSIGHT ON INSTRUCTION

Professional and Instructional COVID Help from NEA

THE ARTS ARE PART OF US “BEFORE A CHILD TALKS, THEY SING. BEFORE THEY WRITE, THEY DRAW. AS SOON AS THEY STAND, THEY DANCE. ART IS FUNDAMENTAL TO HUMAN EXPRESSION.” — Actress Phylicia Rashad

Staying Safe?

Here are some tips for keeping your students physically and emotionally safe as the new year starts in the time of COVID: • Establish a remote learning code of conduct. What are the expectations around chat box comments or taking screenshots of virtual meetings?

• Create clear and accessible pathways for students to contact school counselors and psychologists.

• Keep online communities password-protected.

Photo-illustrations by iStock

• Utilize virtual backgrounds for students who may be uncomfortable showing their home or current setting on screen.

• Start meetings or classes by checking in with students about how they’re feeling before moving into academic content.l Source: EdSurge

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We’re all going to need support and information as we tackle a school year unlike any we’ve seen before, and NEA is here to help. Through its “Educating Through Crisis” website, members can find help on topics including digital resources, your legal rights, health and safety, meeting student needs, and more.

Here’s the link: https://educatingthroughcrisis.org/.l

Are Your Students Ready to Launch?

As students look to future advances in space, the U.S. Department of Education has launched CTE Mission: CubeSat, a national challenge to inspire students to build technical skills for aerospace careers. High school students are invited to design and build CubeSat (cube satellite) prototypes, or satellites that aid in space research.

Investors predict that space will be the next trillion-dollar industry and career opportunities in the field will continue to expand.

This multi-phase challenge offers high school students the chance to build CubeSat prototypes while learning creative, collaborative, and technical skills.

Schools interested in entering should form a team and submit a mission proposal by Oct. 16, 2020.

The online submission form asks for school information, a team profile, a project proposal, and anticipated learning outcomes.

As many as five finalists will be selected to receive prizes and participate in Phase 2, which runs from January to May 2021. Finalists will have access to expert mentorship and additional virtual resources as they build CubeSat prototypes and plan flight events to launch their prototypes.

To learn more, visit vea.link/CubeSat.l

VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2020

INSIGHT ON INSTRUCTION

Take Your Foot off the Gas Three quick stress-management tips from NEA Member Benefits:

Equity: Points to Ponder

TOUCH YOUR HEART OR YOUR BELLY Touching your heart or belly shifts your attention away from your thoughts (which is where stress originates) and into your body (which is where you can tap into your intuition). Then breathe deep. “Breathing is the cheapest, greatest tool on the planet,” says Paula Dowd, a California-based clinician. Even one deep breath can start to change the way you feel.

Important questions teachers can ask

WRITE IT OUT When you need an emotional release, pull out a notebook. Writing out your worries can help you work through problems and see things in a new light. And you can do it almost anywhere.

served?

LET GO Picture yourself sitting on the beach watching the sun set on the water.

Soothing, isn’t it? While you may not be able to plunk yourself down on the sandy shores of the Riviera, you can observe a beautiful sunset in your mind. “Close your eyes and go to a place you love—a place that you find particularly peaceful,” says Dowd. Then relax and let go!l

themselves about equity and their students during COVID: Access Which of my students are experiencing the greatest barriers to learning (connectivity, inaccessible content, etc.)? What can I do to ensure that those students are equitably Capacity How have I developed and implemented a self-care plan to ensure healthy and sustainable balance during distance learning, including professional boundaries, to ensure that I am in an appropriate frame of mind to equitably serve my students?

Opportunity What actions can my team take to ensure that we have the necessary resources to serve the variety of learning needs in my classroom?

Outcomes Have opportunity gaps in my classroom narrowed, widened, or remained the same in light of COVID-19, and what does this call me as a teacher to do? l Source: National Center for Learning Disabilities

The More Things Change…

Photo illustration by iStock

“History teaches fundamental facts taught nowhere else. Here are the facts that I mean: The world has not always been this way and it will not stay the way it is now. … If history teaches us one lesson, it is that change is constant.”l — Historian and former University of Richmond president Ed Ayers

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VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2020

FIRST PERSON: NARRATIVES FROM THE CLASSROOM

2020-21: Uncertainty and Angst, but also Great Possibilities

Photo by iStock

— Courtney Cutright

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As the sultry days of summer waned, most teachers were at least somewhat refreshed from the break and looking forward to welcoming new students. However, the precarious nature of a global pandemic replaced my usual eagerness with angst.

The uncertainty of adapting to a new mode of instruction – coupled with local union efforts advocating for the safest return to school – took over my summer.

My first day back with students coincides with the deadline for this column, and I am full of emotions from a summer of meetings, email exchanges and technology training. The first teacher workday in August was somewhat somber. While I was elated to behold coworkers I had not seen in months, I was also grounded by the reality of the health and safety precautions the pandemic has made the “new normal.”

The start of the first workday felt awkward. Two assistant principals donning masks, face shields, and blue disposable gloves waited outside the school’s entrance to check staff members’ temperatures. (I wonder how the students will feel when greeted this way as buses unload on the first day of school.)

My school’s staff of about 75 “filled” the bleachers on one side of the high school gym for the opening faculty meeting. We sat spaced apart and wearing masks. I was excited to be reunited with my colleagues, but I felt simultaneously isolated in the space that previously showcased the 2019 state championship basketball team to its enthusiastic fans.

When the faculty meeting ended, a few teachers milled around while most headed to their classrooms. I stayed to catch up with a couple of English department friends. I’m a hugger, and I was gently reminded “no touching” by one when I reached to put my arm around the other. I took a step back, scolding myself for forgetting.

Next, a co-worker updated me on the rough summer he had experienced. He moved his mother into a nursing home in the midst of the VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF EDUCATION | OCTOBER 2020

pandemic and has only been able to see her a handful of times since March due to visitation restrictions.

He is learning new methods of virtual learning after decades of face-to-face instruction – while shouldering the challenges of making decisions for an aging parent.

I was happy to see my pal and testing coordinator, pregnant and glowing behind a mask. But my heart broke a little when she told me she cried that morning because she had to leave her toddler. I encountered other coworkers coming to school with heavy hearts. Like me, they were worried about their own health and safety, concerned about childcare, and pondering the impact returning to school may have on their families.

Over the summer, it was disheartening to hear teachers attacked on social media and accused of not wanting to return to work. Remember those fleeting weeks in spring when we were highly praised by parents of suddenly-shifted virtual learners?

The takeaway from my first days back were the pressing social emotional needs of my fellow teachers. I read this summer about the importance of gauging our students’ social emotional needs when they return for face-to-face instruction, but two weeks of teacher workdays showed me that many of my peers and I have struggled without the routines, normalcy, and regular interaction we had prior to last spring’s school closure. That gives me insight about what students may be facing.

My principal is promoting the phrase “Connections are greater than content,” meaning that it’s more important for teachers to build meaningful relationships with students than to push instructional content at the onset of this new school year. I am grateful to work in a division that understands and values the overall well-being of students.

With the cancellation of standardized testing last spring, and the subsequent hold on accreditation ratings, the reins are loosened, and we can aspire to do greater things. This school year may be the toughest we have ever faced, but it also has potential to be invigorating and revolutionary.

We have to stick together. My hope is that by the fall of 2021, some things have returned to normal. I would like my first day back to work to begin with the usual hot breakfast in the cafeteria or library, sitting elbow-to-elbow with my family of co-workers as we compare suntans and vacation stories.l Cutright (courtcut@gmail.com), a member of the Roanoke County Education Association, teaches English at Northside Middle School.

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