Kitty Boitnott on Public Education

A Wonderful Conference for Which I am Deeply Thankful

2011-11-25T09:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. It was a day to spend with family and friends which I, thankfully, got to do. Beyond getting together with family for great food and fellowship, however, Thanksgiving is also a day intended to help people slow down just a bit and consider for at least part of the day all the various blessings they have for which to be deeply grateful.

This week, I have been basking in the glow and have been feeling deeply grateful for the wonderful Instructional Conference that the Virginia Education Association hosted last weekend (see my last posting for details). That event may well have been the pinnacle of my VEA Presidency, for I truly cannot imagine an event that will represent more fully what I hoped to accomplish when I ran for the office of President of the VEA in 2007-08.

One of my few campaign promises, you see, was to bring back a full time Instruction and Professional Development Department and its accompanying conference. We had eliminated the conference years ago, and at the time that I ran for office, the individual who headed up the IPD Department was only a half-time director.

Now, while we still only have a part-time director of the Office of Teaching and Learning, there is a staff of other individuals who are full time who have taken up the various responsibilities of a division focused on teacher licensure, education policy, and leadership training. And last weekend, we launched what I hope will become the annual Instruction and Professional Development Conference that so many of our members have missed since it was eliminated from our annual calendar.

This particular event was special for me even beyond the fact that we were reinstating the conference, however. We premiered a film that I believe will have deep impact on our membership in a way that may not even be seen yet. The story of the Mitchell 20 (http://www.mitchell20.com) is a powerful one, and the individual at the center of the story, Daniela Robles, was on our panel Friday night. In addition to Daniela, though, we also had on the powerhouse panel of education experts the following individuals: Dr. Mary Futrell, a founding member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and former President of the NEA, the VEA, and Education International; Dennis Van Roekel, President of the NEA; Governor Bob Wise, Chair of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and President of the Alliance for Excellence in Education; and Nancy Flanagan, a former Teacher of the Year from Michigan, and current blogger and education consultant.

As far as I was concerned, it was a star-studded event and I couldn't have been more pleased with the caliber of the panel or their thoughtful remarks and discussion after the viewing of the film.

Saturday also went well, and I have heard nothing but positive feedback from those in attendance. Everyone wants the conference to be even bigger and better next year with more offerings.

So, this week, while I am grateful for my family and friends and for all of the support I have as I wind down my term as President of the VEA (I am term limited and will therefore leave in July 2012) I am very grateful for all of the contributions that were made toward making this conference happen. They know who they are and I have thanked each and every one of them personally and publicly. It was truly a team effort, and I am very grateful for their individual and collective contributions to what was, for me, a stellar event and one that I will long remember as a highlight of my term as President of the VEA.

Until next time.

Kitty

Upcoming Instructional Conference

2011-11-10T05:12:00.000-08:00

It has been too long since I posted anything, I know. I have been busy with traveling, meetings, and the elections. I don't want to talk about the elections, though. Time will tell how everything will shake out and we will do what we can to preserve and protect public education in the coming months should it become a target...let's hope it doesn't.

No, what I want to write about today is my excitement over the upcoming VEA Instructional and Professional Development (IPD) Conference which is being held next weekend, November 18-19, 2011.

Why am I so excited? Because this event represents a long held goal of mine that was part of the reason I ran for president of the VEA four years ago. I, for one, and I don't believe I was alone, missed having an annual instructional conference to attend which was sponsored by the VEA. I view the VEA, after all, as my professional organization...in the same way that the Bar is the professional organization for attorneys and the American Medical Association is for physicians...for me, the VEA is the organization I turn to for advice and information on best practices, professionalism, and professional development.

So, next weekend, with the launch of the VEA IPD Conference in Richmond, I will see the culmination of a long held goal come to fruition...and it's about time since this is my last year in office. I was beginning to feel that I was running out of time.

The focus of the conference is also a subject near and dear to my heart. While it isn't the ONLY thing that we will be focusing on over the course of the Saturday of concurrent sessions that are being offered, Friday night's opening session is ALL about national board certification...something that I feel very strongly about and to which I am passionately committed.

So, on Friday night, we will be one of the first state affiliates in the country to offer a premiere viewing of the documentary, the Mitchell 20. (You may see the trailer for the film at http://www.mitchell20.com.)

The film is about 20 teachers at Mitchell Elementary School in Arizona who joined together to undertake either the national board "Take One" process or the full blown program. The documentary follows the Mitchell teachers during their own individual and collective professional journeys, and it highlights the importance of undertaking meaningful professional development experiences.

Immediately following the film, a power house panel of educational leaders and experts will discuss their reactions to it and they will also take some questions from the audience of over 170 individuals who will be in attendance. The panelists include NEA President, Dennis Van Roekel, Governor Bob Wise, President of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Dr. Mary Futrell, Past President of the VEA and the NEA and a founding member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Nancy Flanagan, a former Michigan Teacher of the Year and blogger and member of the Teacher Leader Network, and Daniela Robles, the teacher from Mitchell Elementary School who sparked the action of her colleagues after having gone through the national board process herself.

This event is a major one for the VEA, and I hope that it will spark a debate among educational practitioners in Virginia regarding the nature of professionalism in the teaching profession. I believe that the National Board process is one way of raising the teaching profession to its appropriate level of respect. For too long, now, we as educators have deferred to non-educational leaders--politicians, well meaning philanthropists (and perhaps some not so well meaning ones as well) and others as they took the lead in the public debate about what it takes to make a great school and what a great teacher looks like. We have gone way off track by accepting the premise that tying a teacher's performance to the arbitrary test scores of their students is a way to determine expertise or professional practice. We as educators must start once and for all to stand up and make our voices heard...and I believe that promoting the national board process is one way to do that.

As a result, I am very excited about our upcoming event, and I hope that if you are reading this, you will take the few minutes that it will take to look at the trailer for the Mitchell 20 and then learn more about the national board process as a possibility for your own professional development if you are currently a teacher. I wouldn't trade my experience for anything...and as a matter of fact, I am preparing to renew my national board certificate this year. It is a designation that means more to me that either of my master's degrees or my Ph.D., frankly. I tell people that if I had to give back all but one of my professionally earned credentials, the one I would keep would be my national board status. It's that important to me.

If you don't don't much about the national board process and would like to learn more, go to http://www.nbpts.org. You can learn what certificates are available, and you can explore the various possibilities that exist for how to pursue this most important program.

Until next time.

Kitty

The Merit Pay Debate

2011-10-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, at the invitation of the Richmond Teachers for Social Justice, I participated in a panel discussion of merit pay. It is a hot topic everywhere right now, and there are, certainly, two distinct camps...those for it and those vehemently against it. I fall into the latter group because I believe that while educational reform is needed in a fundamental way, I don't believe that merit pay schemes are the way to accomplish what we need to accomplish. Below, I am posting the remarks I made in my four-minute opening. I tried to put a human face to the issue by telling the true story of a student I had many years ago who would have suffered had he been subjected to today's testing crazy world.

The push for merit pay and pay-for-performance plans for teachers in recent years has been extraordinary in light of the fact that there is no proof that they work or that they have any merit of their own.

Most of you have already heard about the fundamental flaws in the merit pay debate, so let me use my time this morning to put a human face to it by sharing a true story of a little boy that I taught many years ago. This story demonstrates, I believe, all that is wrong with the merit pay debate.

My student’s name was Matthew. It was 1977. Matthew was in my class of heterogeneously assigned 6^th grade students for two weeks before it was decided that all of the 6^th graders needed to be re-grouped homogeneously based on “ability.” While Matthew had been in my class, he had demonstrated himself to be a highly motivated student. He did his homework, kept up with all of his assignments, he participated in class, and he had a solid “B+” average based on quiz scores, weekly spelling tests, and at least one major test that I had already given the class.

When it came time to re-group, I decided to keep Matthew in my class of mid- to upper- level students because he was demonstrating his ability to keep up with the work and he was clearly one of the most motivated students I had. No one was working harder or had a better attitude about his school work than he.

Imagine my surprise and dismay, then, when I started reviewing my students’ standardized test scores from the year before. Matthew had scored in the lower 20 percentile, and that seems to be about where he had always tested over the course of his school career. By rights, there should be no way he was working at the level that he was working, much less making the kinds of grades he was making. I was amazed and somewhat flummoxed. What should I do about it? Should I re-assign him to a lower group?

I decided to keep him and see how he did. A couple months later, on a snowy Parent-Teacher conference day, I met with Matthew’s mom. I shared with her what a great attitude he had. He was maintaining his solid “B+” and he was a model student. I also shared with her that I had had some concerns about him because of his low standardized test scores, but we agreed that he was perhaps one of those kids who just don’t test well.

She shared with me that during the first few weeks of school, Matthew had told her that he was “finally in the class where he belonged.” You see, in elementary school, Matthew had been assigned to classes based on his test results…but in his heart of hearts, he knew his own potential, and he knew he didn’t belong there. He saw that he had a chance to prove himself in my class, and prove himself he did.

What would have happened to Matthew in this modern day of testing craziness? I would not have been allowed the professional judgment to keep him, for one thing. His test scores would have taken care of that. He would have forever been relegated to slower classes where he did not believe he belonged.

Do we really want to communicate to our children that the only important aspect of them that we care about is the test score that they achieve on one day out of an entire year of 180? And I have to wonder…would I have wanted to keep Matthew and give him a chance to prove himself if I had thought that his performance on a standardized test was going to affect my pay for the next year? Would moving him out to protect myself and my own best interests have served him? We all know the answer to that question.

The problem with the whole merit pay proposal is that it just doesn’t work in spite of its enthusiastic fans asserting otherwise. And to top it all off, it is insulting to the millions of hard working, dedicated teachers in our classrooms to imply that they are holding back their “BEST” work because they need to be paid in bonuses instead of being paid professional salaries.

I am not arguing that we don’t need to do everything we can to promote having a great teacher in every classroom. Indeed, I believe to my very core that we owe it to every child regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or economic background to provide the highest quality education we can. It is our moral duty. It is the civil right of every child. If we want to compete globally, of course, we need to provide the best possible education for our young people. But there is absolutely no credence to the argument that merit pay or pay-for-performance plans will get us there. There are other ways to do it, but they are complex and complicated and messy, and they can’t be reduced to a ridiculous mathematical algorithm. Until we get real about what it IS going to take, this debate will simply rage on, and nothing will change... and kids like Matthew, caught in the middle while we adults wage philosophical warfare, will suffer for it.

Commemorating 9/11

2011-09-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

Today is a special day in our nation's collective consciousness. For those who were living on September 11, 2001, the world changed forever on and after that date. We no longer felt safe as a nation or as a people. People we did not know set out to deliberately kill people they did not know but hated for some reason. As of September 11, 2001, the United States and its citizens would never be the same. Our sense of safety was forever destroyed.

There have been commemorations and ceremonies that have been held all over the nation this weekend to remember those lost in the devastation of 9-11. The ceremony that I attended was a panel discussion which was held at Washington Lee High School in Arlington, VA. On the panel were Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education and Laura Fornash, recently appointed Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Joining them on the panel were educators from Arlington Public Schools who were asked to reflect upon what they were doing and thinking on 9/11/01. Some of the panelists were individuals who are teachers now but were students in Arlington at the time of the event.

Moderating the panel was Superintendent of Arlington Public Schools, Dr. Pat Murphy. The focus of the panel discussion was to talk about what thoughts the panelists had had during the day on 9/11/01 and how it had impacted them. The common theme that came out of the discussion was that for those individuals who had children of their own, their first thoughts went to concern about their own children's safety. But they all quickly shifted to being concerned with the more immediate matter of taking care of the children in their care in their classes. To the person, there was pride in the professional manner that they and their colleagues had behaved and how they had acted collectively to maintain a sense of calm in the midst of chaos and to make sure that their students felt comforted at a time of terror. Many of their students were concerned about their own parents who worked in the Pentagon which had been the target of one of the attacks just a few miles from their respective schools.

Ten years later, upon reflection on the events of that day, there was concern about the loss of innocence of the generation who is growing up in the post 9/11 world. But there was also pride in their collective belief that they have demonstrated a commitment to being ready just in case there is ever another similar event. Everyone prays that we never have to deal with another 9/11 event...but we must be prepared just in case.

So, today was about remembering and offering comfort to those who were directly impacted by 9/11. I offer my deepest respects and regard for all of the First Responders and condolences and sympathy for the families who lost a loved one during that terrible day. I fervently pray that we never have to deal with a similar event ever in our future...but I also want to convey from my heart of hearts that it is important that we remember and honor those who were lost and for those who have lost loved ones.

Until next time.

Kitty

East Coast Earthquake, Hurricane Irene, and School Openings

2011-08-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

This past week has been one for the record books in Virginia. Last Tuesday afternoon while I was having a quiet conversation with my assistant, the VEA Headquarters in downtown Richmond began to shake, rattle, and, yes, even roll a little. For a moment, I wondered what kind of furniture they were moving in the office on the floor above me. It was just a coincidence that furniture was being moved, but I couldn't imagine what in the world could be making that much racket. When the sensation of rattling outside the building started, I briefly thought a really big truck was rumbling by, but then that no longer made sense...it sounded more like a train racing by the window, and then it hit me...earthquake!

For those first few seconds, we were at a loss as to what to do. Earthquakes don't happen in central Virginia...at least not earthquakes of any magnitude. I recalled a very slight tremor which I experienced back in 2003, but this was a whole different experience. This felt serious...and of course, it was.

We evacuated the building and stood outside taking comfort in the fact that everyone was okay, the building seemed to be in tact, and the shaking had finally come to a stop. Within minutes of returning to the building, we learned through the Internet and through phone calls that there had been a 5.9 earthquake that had struck at the epicenter in Mineral, Virginia, a little town about 50 miles away. Schools and homes in that little town were damaged. Children and teachers have been displaced. Some of the schools may not be able to re-open because the structural damage is too great. The lives of the entire community have been seriously disrupted.

The next couple of days, aftershocks occurred with just enough frequency to keep people on edge, and almost as soon as the aftershocks settled down, all eyes turned toward Hurricane Irene...a deadly storm which seemed to be heading straight for the North Carolina and Virginia coastline. Ironically, those of us who were here in 2003 remember when Hurricane Isabelle hit during the first weekend of September. Isabelle knocked out trees and power lines and people were inconvenienced for days. Hurricane Irene has had a similar impact. Even as I write this post, many of my neighbors and friends are still without power themselves. I have been one of the lucky ones who lost power briefly on Saturday but had it through most of the storm and continue to say little prayers of thanks every time I turn on a switch and something comes on.

Schools have been closed for the teacher work week so far this week, the week for many when they would be setting up their classrooms and attending faculty meetings and getting their class rosters and preparing for opening next Tuesday. I just got the call from my school division that buildings will remain closed tomorrow because of widespread power outages that continue.

I share all of this because it has occurred to me to wonder how all of these events are impacting our students, and what must we as adults do to make sure that our own nerves and feelings of concern don't get translated to them any more than necessary. Children are extremely intuitive and they pick up on subtle cues. You might tell them that everything is okay, but if you don't really believe it, they are going to know it.

In order for children to learn, however, they need to feel safe, and it is our primary job to create a sense of safety and security so that they can relax enough to want to learn something new. A worried child who is distracted by fears that he or she may or may not be able to articulate is not going to be receptive to learning a new concept or memorize a new fact or create a new work of art.

That brings the effort we as educators make to create a nurturing learning environment to a whole new level, it seems to me. I would offer that we each do whatever we need to do in order to take care of our own needs for a feeling of safety and security so that we can be genuine in communicating those feelings of safety and security to our students.

If earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes don't teach us anything else, it reminds us that we are not in control the way we would like to think we are. But that doesn't mean that we should succumb to despair or depression. It is a fact that we are NOT in control the way we would like to think we are. Nothing more and nothing less than that, and the sooner we accept that simple fact, the better off we all are. In the meantime, however, we need to support one another, and most of all, we need to remember that our children look to us to set the tone and create the learning environment that they need in order to grow and achieve.

Please take care of yourselves so you can take care of the children who are in our care.

Until next time.

Kitty

Back to School Time

2011-08-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

I was allowed to speak at the Grayson County Convocation last Friday. They are already getting ready to go back to school as are many of our colleagues out in the far southwestern portion of our Commonwealth.

I delivered the following speech, and it has received so many positive comments and thank you's that I decided perhaps it would make for a good post today. So here goes:

Good Morning:

It is an honor and a privilege for me to be with you this morning.

It is hard for me to believe that you are already getting ready to start school. Time seems to be moving faster and faster, and it is hard to keep track of where it has gone.

For me, back to school time is such an exciting time. We are unusual, I believe, in that as a group we get the chance to start fresh—from scratch, so to speak—every single year. There is no other job that I know of where you get to put a punctuation mark on one year, take a breath and a break, and then start “fresh” like we do. Just think of it. We get a “do over” every year! We get to start with a totally fresh slate. And that goes for our students as well.

You are about to embark on a new year that is going to be unlike any other year you’ve ever had. And for the first day, at least, we all—teachers, administrators, and students alike—have hope that it is going to be our best year ever. We may be disabused of that notion by the end of the first day, but we all start out, don’t we, with extremely high hopes?

I have always loved the first day of school. It didn’t matter if it was the first day as a student or as a teacher. Everyone is so excited. Parents are taking pictures at the bus stop, kids are bouncing off the bus at school fresh faced and ready for a new year. The class rosters are neatly posted on the doors and everyone feels a sense of anticipation. The excitement and energy on campus is palpable. Every new year brings with it a sense of promise and hope and a whole host of possibilities.

And that brings me to something that I would like to share with you. It is a sad story, but it is an important one, so I hope you will bear with me.

I learned this week of the tragic and untimely death of one of our VEA members. Her name was Dawn Reddick and she was only 29 years old. She had been teaching in Charlottesville, VA since 2007, and she taught 3rd grade at Clark Elementary School.

Last Friday night (July 29, 2011), Dawn and three others were shot in a random drive-by shooting in Newark, New Jersey. Dawn died the next morning from her wounds. It has been reported that Dawn attempted to shield a 7 year-old-child who was standing nearby when she was shot. There are no suspects and there is apparently no motive. Dawn was certainly not the target. She was an innocent bystander killed by a senseless act of random violence. An act that is all too common in our country these days and one that has become so commonplace that we rarely take note of it anymore…unless it involves one of our own.

With your permission, I would like to take just a moment of silence to think about Dawn and her family, her students, and her school colleagues in Charlottesville. PAUSE

Thank you.

The reason I wanted to tell you about Dawn is that she was by all accounts, an exemplary teacher. Parents of the students she had this past year reported that their kids had decided that this was the best year they had ever had and they couldn’t imagine ever having a better one…and they were only in third grade!

What a testament to Dawn and the impact she had on her students. What a loss to them and to the teaching profession and the countless students she might have taught in the future. So young and struck down so senselessly.

I wanted to share that with you because I want you to imagine for a moment what kind of year you would need to create for your students this year in order for them to say that it was the BEST YEAR THEY HAD EVER HAD and they couldn’t imagine it GETTING ANY BETTER THAN THAT? What sort of atmosphere would you need to create? What sort of climate and culture and personal relationships would you need to build and foster? What ingredients would you need to bring to the year in order for YOUR students to declare at the end of the year that they couldn’t imagine a better year?

Don’t you want your students to feel that way about you and about the year they are about to have? I know I would. What a legacy for such a young teacher to have created. I am sorry that I won’t ever have a chance to meet Dawn Reddick, but I hope to carry her story around with me. She embodied the best of what we all have to give…and we need to honor her memory by trying to make this our best year ever regardless of what we are teaching or who our students are.

And because we at the VEA want this to be your best year ever, I want to offer the resources and support that the VEA and the GCEA have to offer to provide the kind of help hat you need in order to be successful.

You know, sometimes teaching can be a lonely enterprise. We tend to feel pretty isolated a lot of the time, and recently, we have felt like we are in heated battle, haven’t we? You can’t turn on a TV without hearing some reference some way some how to how public education in this country has gone to the dogs and teachers are responsible. Moreover, we are blamed for being greedy because we have high salaries and rich benefits and a pension that is the envy of everyone. What a load of….bunk!!!

I am sorry, but is there any person in this room who feels that you are being grossly overpaid? That your benefits are totally out of line with the job you perform everyday? That you are going to be so rich off of your Virginia Retirement System that you can retire to an island in the Caribbean and never worry about money again? Well, that’s the picture that is being painted of you, and it is high time that you help start to set the record straight.

Most Virginia educators have not had a raise for 3 to 4 years. Most of us have had to pay MORE for benefits because what our school divisions offer doesn’t cover the full costs. And your VRS benefit? If you go out with full service after a 30 + year career, you will receive about half of your annual salary based on your highest salary average for the last 36 months. I doubt that any of you are going to be taking that and retiring without a care.

What you can do, however, is retire with the knowledge that because you took reduced salaries over the years and because you gave your professional life to public education, your retirement benefit won’t expire before you do. The difference between what we currently have and what the Governor and some pretty powerful legislators in Richmond want to do is that we are currently covered for life. If they have their way, we will be switching from a defined benefit plan—one which offers a lifetime benefit—to a defined contribution plan where you will be expected to put in more of your own money and then when the money runs out…well, good luck to you.

You know, people often say to me that they aren’t members of the VEA because of different and assorted reasons. They don’t understand the benefits of membership. They don’t think they will ever need the liability insurance and there are certainly cheaper ways to get that, and we know that. We also get beaten up a lot because of our political activity. I even once said—before I knew any better—that I didn’t think teachers should be “political.” I thought we should be above the “dirtiness of politics.” And, I know that some of our competitor organizations like to say that they offer the same benefits as VEA without the political component. That’s not necessarily true, by the way, but they like to say it.

The only trouble is that everything you do in your classroom from day one is tied to some sort of political decision. Do you think SOL’s weren’t or aren’t driven by politics? Think again. Textbook and technology adoption? The length of your school day, what is allowed to be taught and who is allowed to teach it? All driven by political considerations. Licensure and evaluation policies? Political. Salaries and benefits? Your pension???? Definitely political and becoming more and more so by the minute.

So, tell me, why WOULDN’T we want to be involved in politics if it drives what we do professionally every single day in every way?

Don’t you want to have some semblance of control over you professional destiny? Then get involved in the GCEA. Learn what is going on. Learn how you can help.

You know, I also often hear the question, “What’s the VEA doing about…” and you can fill in the blank. Salaries, benefits, pensions, testing, accountability, and the list goes on. I always want to say, well, tell me, what are YOU doing because we are all in this together. I take my marching orders from my members when we have our annual meeting every April. Our Delegate Assembly sets VEA policy not me as the president. I simply act on and am the spokesperson for those policy decisions that have been deliberated upon and voted on in those meetings.

So, if you want to have in impact on your profession…if you want to make a difference…it is time for you to get involved! Join the GCEA if you haven’t already. Learn what we are doing to promote our profession, and to advocate for students. Because that is what we do. I get up every morning and ask myself, what am I going to do today to promote the education profession, preserve public education, and advocate for the students of the Commonwealth of Virginia. That is what I am committed to. What are you committed to? I hope that it is to making this the best year you and your students ever had…and to standing strong for your profession for indeed, if you don’t, no one else will.

The VEA is committed to protecting and preserving the VRS benefit that you currently have, but we in Richmond cannot do that alone, and that is not the only battle that looms before us this year. The forces against us have grown more powerful and more vocal. They are convincing the public that the VRS is a burden and it is one they no longer want to be responsible for. The VEA Legislative Committee voted last month to protect and preserve our retirement system even though by all accounts, we are going to be the last hold out. We are about to engage in an ugly battle and it will become uglier because our opponents can smell blood. They are aware of what has happened in Wisconsin and Maryland. They are feeling bolstered by the successes of their colleagues around the country.

Other items on the Governor’s legislative agenda for this year includes discontinuing continuing contracts, pushing through a Florida model voucher and tax credit plan, continue to promote charter schools, push for the 65% plan which is a VERY bad idea…but that isn’t stopping him or his friends in the House of Delegates.

This is a time when we need every teacher and support professional in Virginia to join with the VEA in our battle to protect what is rightfully ours. When legislators—when your Governor—tells you that we are not putting in any money into our retirement system which is what makes it so burdensome, you need to set the record straight. Those of us who were around in the early 1980’s made a deal with their localities and with the state…we won’t take a 5% raise and we will let you put that 5% into our pension funds. Does that sound like it was a freebie to you? Now, all these years later, they want to renege on that agreement and we at the VEA are saying, no. Not just no, but heck no! A deal is a deal. To me, it is more than just a deal…it is a covenant, and it is one that I am committed to protecting and preserving to the best of my ability…but I definitely need your help.

So, let me close by saying, if you are already a member of your local association, thank you. If you aren’t, you are going to need to make a decision…do you turn your back on the one organization that if fighting every day on your behalf, or do you join with us and join the fight? We need you…every single one of you, so please, join with us. You need us as much as we need you, and we have a long battle ahead where every person’s voice counts.

Thank you.

Busy, Busier, Busiest

2011-07-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

For anyone who might ever wonder about my schedule in the summer time, let me just say, it is busy. I feel like I have been on the go pretty much non-stop since my last post in mid-June. Even as I write this message on my new iPad, I am sitting in the Boston airport (Logan) waiting to go home from a five day conference for state leaders from around the country. We started off Friday afternoon with a General Session that included NEA President, Dennis Van Roekel, Vice President, Lily Eskelson, and Secretary-Treasurer, Becky Pringle. The topic of that session was "what keeps you going in these challenging times?" And make no mistake, these are challenging times!

All of the officers offered personal stories and anecdotes about what they do to keep themselves energized and motivated even in these tough times, but the thing that resonated with me perhaps the most was Dennis' reminder that it is important to remember who you are at the end of the day and not to confuse yourself about who YOU are as opposed to the office you hold and the position you currently have. That struck me as an important distinction and one that I have tried to practice in the course of my term because at some point, I will no longer have this job or hold the title and I will need to be in touch with who I am as a person as opposed to being the temporary holder of a title.

The rest of the training from Saturday through this morning had to do with building skills that will help to determine how to address upcoming challenges and how to frame a message that will capture the attention and imaginations of our members and the public at large. It was excellent training, but I admit, I am tired and ready to go home.

I haven't really rested up yet from the 10 days in Chicago for the NEA Convention. That was also a busy time, and we accomplished a lot of good work.

Tomorrow I turn my attention to our Legislative Committee meeting, and next week, we re-launch the Reggie Smith Training Academy under its new name: The Reggie Smith Organizing School. Over 200 VEA leaders will be convening at the University of Richmond for 2 1/2 days of training, camaraderie and fun. I am particularly excited about this event because it represents a campaign promise when I ran for president four years ago. It is exciting and gratifying to me that we are getting that training off the ground again at last.

I will also be going to my first NBPTS conference next week for just a couple days, and I am very excited about that.

And then, believe it or not I will be returning to DC for a NEA meeting and then traveling to Grayson County where they will be getting to go back to school already. Summer? What summer?

So, that is a quick summary of what has been going on and what is coming up. I hope anyone reading this is having a great summer yourself and that you are healthy, happy, and well.

Until next time.

Kitty

Graduations and Retirements

2011-06-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

Graduations are occurring even as I write this particular message. Generally, high school graduations and college/university graduations are the ones to come to mind first when one thinks of "graduation," but these days, there are graduations from kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school as well.

Graduations are all about transitions. One moves from one point in time and one phase in life to another, and the graduation ceremony--regardless of the level whether it be from kindergarten or a doctoral program--marks the moving from one phase into another. It is an exciting time for both the graduate and his/her family.

This is also the time of year, however, when another type of "graduation" is taking place within the ranks of my VEA colleagues, and that is retirement. In the same way that a graduation marks a transition, so does a retirement from one career into another or from full time work to full time leisure.

As president of the VEA, I often get invited to speak at retirement functions whether they be receptions or banquets, and it is one of my favorite things to do. I get to congratulate my association colleagues on a job well done. Whether they have spent just a few years teaching or working as a support professional in the public schools--or whether they have spent their entire adult lives dedicated to the profession--as they retire, they also transition from one way of life into another.

This message is intended specifically for them--the retirees who are celebrating the end of their school careers and are moving on into the next phase of their lives. Many of them are young enough that by the end of their lives, they may well have been retired from teaching longer than they ever taught.

So, if you are retiring this year, I hope for you that as you enter this new phase of your life--as you transition from the world of school into another new experience--that you do so with joy and anticipation. You have served your students and your colleagues with honor, dedication, and good humor (or you wouldn't have lasted long enough to actually retire) and now it is time to rest. Good luck to each of you. And please, don't be a stranger. Stay active in the VEA through the VEA-Retired group which is an active, vibrant and supportive element of our organization. We need you.

Until later.

Kitty

Town Hall Meeting in Arlington, VA

2011-05-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

One of the more official or ceremonial duties that I have been performing since becoming President of the VEA is service on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Committee and the Special Subcommittee on the 50th Anniversary of Public School Closings in Virginia.

The Subcommittee has been conducting Town Hall meetings in the various locations where schools were closed as the result of Virginia's Massive Resistance efforts during the late 1950's and early 1960's as school boards and communities around Virginia refused to desegregate their schools in spite of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954.

Most Virginians are aware, I believe, of the fact that Prince Edward County Schools closed their doors rather than to integrate, and their schools remained closed for five years. Not as well known is the fact that schools were also closed in Warrenton, Norfolk, Charlottesville, and Arlington, VA.

To draw attention to the past and to attempt to avoid such folly in the future, the Subcommittee on the 50th Anniversary of Public School Closings in Virginia has been conducting Town Hall Meetings in the locations where schools were closed. Those who were impacted--teachers, students, administrators and members of the community--have been invited to each event in order to share their personal story of how the closing and ultimate re-opening of the schools impacted them personally and professionally.

Commission members include Chair, the Honorable Senator Henry L. Marsh, III who has been the driving force behind the important work of the Commission. Other members include folks from community groups, professional organizations like the VEA, and individuals who have a vested interest in making sure that the history of the Civil Rights Movement is not forgotten.

Yesterday's Town Hall Meeting was held at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, VA. About 75 people turned out for the afternoon event from 2:00-4:00. Invited speakers included a former guidance counselor, former students, a former principal, a former assistant superintendent, a former chairman of the NAACP, and the current pastor of the Mt. Olive Baptist Church.

Special guest speakers included Mrs. Gloria Thompson and Mr. Michael Jones, two of the four Arlington students who first integrated the Arlington Public Schools on February 2, 1959 when they started at Stratford Junior High School with the assistance of heavy guards and state police who were on the school premises to keep the four African American students safe and to ensure that the transition toward integration would be peaceful.

Some may wonder why these Town Hall Meetings have been scheduled and why they are necessary, but as an attendee at two of these events--the one in Charlottesville and now the one in Arlington--I can attest to the value of having people tell their personal stories.

There is great power--and I believe a great necessity--in reminding us that we must be vigilant not to get too complacent about where we are in terms of the history of the Civil Rights Movement. We must remain cognizant of our history so that we never repeat it.

Indeed, I was struck by the irony this morning of the news from a nearby high school where a racially charged incident took place just yesterday. Students of color are still finding themselves harassed because of the color of their skin, and we must do whatever we can to communicate to the larger community that this is simply unacceptable. We may have come a long way since 1954...but we still have much to do and a long way to go.

The next--and last--Town Hall Meeting will be held in Prince Edward County in October.

(The photo at the top of the page is of a band ensemble of Kenmore Middle School students who played a few pieces for those of us who attended the luncheon before the Town Hall Meeting began.)

New York Times Article on Teacher Pay is Right On!

2011-05-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Two of my colleagues sent me a link to an article this morning that I thought was too good to keep to myself. In fact, I have forwarded it to all VEA Board members, local presidents, UniServ and Headquarters staff members, and I just now shared it on my Facebook page. Since I hadn't updated my blog for a while (sorry to those who do actually read it), it made sense to share it here as well. It is an article that came out yesterday in the New York Times.

I am embarrassed that it has taken me so long to write this post. I got busy with preparations for the Convention which was held in Roanoke April 7-9, and then I took some much needed time off. I enjoyed a spring break for the first time since taking office, and while I didn't actually get to take the whole week, it was nice to take a couple of days off. I didn't go anywhere...just enjoyed time at home with my two dachshunds, and I got some things done around the house that I had been putting off for lack of time and opportunity.

The Convention is now "old news" but it went well. This week coming up is the May Super Week in Washington, DC and it promises to be a very busy one. I always chuckle at the name, "Super Week" because it seems that the goal is to cram as many meetings into four days as possible--and they do a very good job of it, indeed.

We are experiencing something of a lull here at the office these few weeks between spring break, Easter, and the end-of-year activities that always accompany the closing of schools for the summer. I am already receiving invitations to retirement dinners and receptions.

Coming up soon is our annual President's Training for local presidents. This year our training is being held in the beautiful setting on Smith Mountain Lake at Mariner's Landing in Bedford County. I look forward to a productive weekend with our local presidents--new and returning--while we network with one another and gather new and tried and true tools on how to build a stronger organization.

We are also gearing up for our annual NEA RA which is going to be held in Chicago this year. and on the heels of our return from Chicago, we will be celebrating the reconstitution of the Reggie Smith Academy under its new name: Reggie Smith Organizing School or RSOS. The dates for RSOS are July 26-28 and it will be held at the University of Richmond in Richmond, VA. We haven't conducted a leadership academy for several years now, and I am excited about getting this training back on our calendar.

That pretty much brings me up to date on what is going on at the moment. Don't forget to read the article above. It will be well worth your time.

Until next time.

Kitty

Another Busy Week Flies By

2011-03-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

Wow! This has been one of those weeks that, as I look back over the events that have taken place in the last few days, feels more like a month has passed than just a week.

I started out on Monday morning attending the President's education policy speech which was delivered at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, VA. (The photo to the left was taken at that event.)

In addition to myself, the following individuals attended the event at Kenmore: VEA Vice President, Meg Gruber; Fairfax Education Association President, Michael Hairston; Arlington Education Association President, Wanda Perkins; Education Association of Alexandria, President, Gina Miller; Prince William Education Association President, Bonnie Klakowicz; Loudoun Education Association President, Sandy Sullivan; Beblon Parks, Director of the Office of Field Services, Staff Development, and Minority Engagement; and UniServ Directors Lisa Staib and Kelly Paine of NOVA UniServ (District 7).

The policy speech was centered around the President's recognition that we need to fix No Child Left Behind which is now being referred to as re-authorization of ESEA. He indicated that there were a number of provisions in NCLB that needed to be addressed and corrected including some of the more punitive measures that have made that legislation so onerous. He also referred to the fact that without correction, most of the schools in the country are going to be labeled as failing, a ridiculous outcome about which we as teachers have been complaining from the beginning. What the President did not expand upon were the specifics of his thoughts or ideas as to how the reauthorized ESEA will look. The most specific thing he mentioned was his desire to having something to sign before school starts in August 2011. Given that it is already mid-March, I am not sure how realistic that goal is, but I certainly join him in his sentiment that we need to fix the problems with NCLB, and the sooner the better.

On Tuesday, I flew into New York City in order to attend the first International Summit on the Teaching Profession. I was invited by the NEA along with a number of other state presidents and members of the NEA Board of Directors to attend this event as an observer. Sixteen countries attended this event including the United States. The team members from the U.S. included Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, NEA President, Dennis Van Roekel, AFT President, Randi Weingarten, and the Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), Gene Wilhoit. An overview of the meeting can be found here.

It soon became clear that those countries that are most successful in getting their students to achieve academically are systematically promoting the teaching profession as one that they truly value. Their collective respect for teachers and the work they do came though everything that was said throughout the conference. Leader after leader pointed out the damage being done by the public discourse that is occurring in the U.S. right with regard to teachers and teacher quality. I sure hope that those who are in the position to change the public discourse got that message. I know that it came out and clear for me.

After the International Summit concluded, I stayed over as a participant in the Celebration of Teaching and Learning which is an annual professional development conference sponsored in part by WNET, the public broadcasting station for New York. NEA is also a sponsor of this event, and this is the third conference I have had the privilege of attending. Plenary speakers included news anchors, Reheema Ellis, Cynthia McFadden, and Brian Williams. Dr. Mehmet Oz offered a fascinating presentation on the importance of health and health education. Newark Mayor, Cory Booker was also part of the program, and he offered some thoughtful and insightful commentary on the education reform movement in this country.

This is a great conference for teachers, and many from New York and New Jersey attend annually for professional development opportunities. This year, the conference was attended by individuals from all 50 states and 16 countries, so it had a more international flair than usual, but that was because the participants in the International Summit on the Teacher Profession were all invited to stay over for the Celebration of Teaching and Learning event.

Today, as I write this post, I am sitting in the Richmond Airport getting ready to take off for the next trip which will take up most of this coming week. I didn't even get to go home. I got off the plane from NYC and checked in to head for Chicago.

Busy days, busy weeks, and busy months continue to fly by. Events across the nation continue to create concern but I am especially mindful today of the American troops who are engaged in the combat over Libya and the ongoing crisis that continues in Japan.

We live in difficult times. It reminds me that we need each other more than ever which is why the VEA is so important to our members. Thank you for all you do in your everyday endeavors.

Until next time.

Working Class Join Forces

2011-02-27T14:32:00.000-08:00

Wisconsin has become ground zero for the war that is being waged by Conservatives on the teachers who belong to the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) and other union workers.

Yesterday, the VEA was invited to participate in the solidarity rally that was pulled together by leaders of MoveOn.Org in Richmond. I was one of the speakers invited to bring some brief remarks to the crowd of about 300 people who turned out on a Saturday afternoon to show their support of the union workers--and the middle class--in Wisconsin.

Below, please find my remarks:

I am Kitty Boitnott, president of the Virginia Education Association, and I stand with my colleagues in Wisconsin.

Many of you may not know that, by virtue of a 1977 Virginia Supreme Court decision, Commonwealth v. Arlington County Board, and the prohibition, Section 40.1-57.2 in the Code of Virginia, Virginia’s teachers and support personnel are prohibited from the right to collective bargaining.

I stand with my colleagues in Wisconsin, because I know this prohibition has been bad for the children and school employees of Virginia.

Ladies and gentlemen, the working conditions of teachers are the learning conditions of children.

Because we have no collective bargaining, Virginia, the 7^th wealthiest state in the nation ranks 38^th in state funding per pupil.

Because we have no collective bargaining, Virginia, the 7^th wealthiest state in the nation pays its teachers a salary $5351 below the national average.

Because we have no collective bargaining, Virginia’s teachers pay up to $13,809 out of pocket for family health insurance.

Because we have no collective bargaining, we cannot protect our children from large class sizes and inadequate learning materials.

The lack of collective bargaining weakens my association, making us less effective in our advocacy for children and public education.

Sometimes, I am proud to champion the Virginia way. In regard to collective bargaining, it is clear that Wisconsin should not go the Virginia way.

Workers in Wisconsin and, yes, workers in Virginia deserve the dignity and respect they gain when they sit across the table from management to discuss wages, benefits and working conditions.

I stand with the teachers of Wisconsin, and I stand against the billionaires driving Scott Walker and his buddies who are trying to destroy America’s middle class, America’s public servants, and America’s public schools.

2011 General Assembly Update

2011-02-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I last posted anything. Indeed, the times between postings seem to grow longer and longer. I think it is the result of my busy travel schedule and my not being sure these days exactly what I should report.

As tomorrow is Crossover Day at the General Assembly, however, it seems appropriate to touch on some of what is happening in that august body during this 2011 session. For more detailed information, however, you should check out Rob Jones' daily blog at http://www.veadailyreports.com. Rob keeps a daily update on that site, and it is the place to go to find out what has happened each day along the way.

For those who are not familiar with the term "Crossover Day" with regard to the operation of the General Assembly, it means that we are half way through this session, and all of the bills that have survived the subcommittee, committee, and House or Senate votes in their respective houses now go to the "other house" to be dealt with. The bills that have made it through the entire process in the House will go to the Senate and vice versa.

By the end of the session, those bills that have made it through each respective House successfully and are ultimately signed by the Governor go into law.

I have to say that what I have been struck by so far in this session is the fact that the House of Delegates, in particular, have been working hard to bring about new legislation that impact K-12 education, but they have been equally determined not to attach any money to any of the bills that they have proposed or passed. As a result, someone told me the other day that there are 15 unfunded mandates that have been passed though the House so far. Should they all survive the Senate, they will create any number of hardships on local school divisions as they scramble to implement them without any resources for doing so.

One perfect example is a well-intentioned but deeply flawed bill that would mandate that every school division offer an average 150 minutes of physical education every week. The intent is laudable. No one argues the logic that our kids need to be more active and more physically fit. Childhood obesity is a huge health concern and everyone shares that concern from First Lady Michelle Obama to this writer. But this writer is also familiar with the intricacies of the school day and the problems that such a law will create for superintendents and principals if it is signed into law which it seems bound to do so far.

First, because it requires "physical education" and not just "recess" there is an implied need, at least, that more physical education teachers may need to be hired--but there is no money for that. There is also the concern about the impact on the school day and the negative--and presumably unintended--consequence that it may hurt art and music programs since the school day will not be lengthened...there is certainly no money for that!

Small school divisions are already struggling trying to make ends meet. This well intended but flawed legislation just makes it that much harder.

And this is just one of a dozen or more examples of well-intentioned legislation that may become the law of the land but will not be funded in any way. Personally, I think there should be a moratorium on laws impacting K-12 education until funding is fully restored...but that's just me.

This session has been fraught with concerns about legislation that has been proposed and is being passed, with the Governor's initiatives as he continues to push for charter schools, virtual schools, lab schools, and pay-for-performance plans that have no grounding in research. If I sound discouraged, I guess I am. (Maybe that is why I haven't posted much since the session began.)

The good news is that our Government Relations staff and Lobby Cadre are working tirelessly as always on behalf of our members, and while we are not always happy with what is going on, at least we KNOW what is going on, and we are the ONLY group advocating on behalf of the public school employees and students who work in and attemd our public schools every single day.

So, if you are a member of the VEA, thank you and rest assured that you are being well represented.

If you are a yet-to-be member of the VEA, please join with us. We need every public school employee to join with us in the fight for public education. We are, in fact, in a fight for the very survival of public education in Virginia and in this country, and we cannot afford to lose.

Until next time,

Kitty

3% Now Initiative is Kicked Off

2010-12-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

(This article may also be found on the VEA website at http://www.veanea.org.)

VEA Will Fight for 3-Percent Pay Increase

Flanked by presidents of six local Associations and VEA Vice-President Meg Gruber, VEA President Dr. Kitty Boitnott Wednesday told reporters that VEA will seek a 3-percent salary increase for public school employees in the upcoming session of the General Assembly.

"It is time for the Commonwealth of Virginia to step up and provide state funds for a modest salary increase for Virginia's hardworking school employees," Boitnott told reporters at a press conference in Richmond.

VEA is calling on the General Assembly to budget the state's share of a salary increase for every public school employee covered under the Standards of Quality (SOQ). That includes teachers and other education professionals as well as hourly workers.

Take a Look! Make sure to check out VEA's video and photo coverage of the news conference.

During the news conference, Boitnott pointed out that many school employees are working their third consecutive year without a pay increase, and some, due to furloughs or increases in health insurance premiums, are earning less.

"As I travel the state, I meet educators every day who share their stories of hardships," she said. "They are doing exactly what the Governor and the Secretary of Education asked them to do last year at the end of the General Assembly session. They are doing more with less. But they are fast reaching the point of diminishing returns."

In response to a reporter's question, Boitnott said low pay and a lack of respect are making teaching a less attractive profession. That's especially alarming given that the Virginia Retirement System reported that the number of school employees opting to retire this year went up 43 percent. "Teaching is becoming less and less attractive as a career," she said. "We need to address that and address it fast." A 3-percent pay increase is a necessary step, but more steps will be required to move Virginia teachers toward the national average in pay, she said. Virginia teachers now lag the national average in teacher pay by $5,351.

The next session of the General Assembly kicks off January 12, 2011. To see VEA's complete Legislative Agenda, click here. And if you have not already done so, be sure to send your message to your state representatives supporting our 3-percent pay initiative. Click here to get started. It only takes a few minutes, and your support is critical!

Read Boitnott's full statement here.

Photo: Dr. Kitty Boitnott is joined by Vice President Meg Gruber and local Association presidents at Dec. 8 news briefing. From left: Dominic Melito (Virginia Beach), Wanda Perkins (Arlington), Angela Dews (Richmond), Boitnott, Gruber, Michael Hairston (Fairfax), Bonnie Klakowicz (Prince William), and Frank Cardella (Chesterfield).

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is just two days away, and I felt the need to post and wish everyone who happens to read this a happy, safe, and heartwarming Thanksgiving Day and weekend. I will be traveling to visit with family and friends on Turkey Day, but I will have a chance to rest up and rejuvenate a bit over the weekend before heading off to Washington, DC for a meeting and then getting ready for the December NEA Super Week.

November has been another busy month--but they are all busy with a rhythm that varies depending on the time of year. The month of November is the month during which state leaders gather for a national meeting of the National Council of State Education Affiliates (NCSEA). This year's NCSEA fall leadership conference was held in Miami Beach, and from Virginia, I was joined by Vice President, Meg Gruber, NEA Senior Director, Lee Dorman, and Executive Director, Philip Forgit.

The focus of this year's conference was what to expect in light of the November 2 elections and the political landscape that is likely to emerge as a result of those elections.

This is also the month that the Board of Directors meets for their second annual meeting of the year, and we gathered this past weekend at the Wyndham Virginia Center Crossings. We dealt with a number of important issues, not the least of which was the upcoming budget and our current fiscal condition. We had a great discussion and made some important recommendations that will be taken under review for discussion at our next meeting in January.

As November winds down and December starts, we enter the holiday season and lots of us will be taking time to reflect on the current year which will be passing away and starting another new year.

There is no doubt that our members are feeling less than cheerful about a variety of things that are taking place in the public arena. This fall's release of the so-called documentary, "Waiting for Superman" added to by Oprah's somewhat thoughtless embrace of the anti-teacher rhetoric made this fall a tough time for dedicated teachers who feel that no one is mindful of the sacrifices that they are making.

Our teachers and support personnel are feeling the crunch of less pay and more work. They are, in fact, doing just what the Governor and the Secretary of Education asked them to do last year...doing more with less. As I travel the state and talk to our members and leaders, I am mindful, however, of the toll that this mammoth effort is taking on them.

For the next few days and weeks, I hope that you will be able to find comfort and solace in knowing that you ARE appreciated for your sacrifices, and it is during this time that we need one another more than ever. If the general public doesn't support us, at least we can support each other...and that is what our organization is all about any way, isn't it? We have joined with one another because we believe in public education, and we wish to offer support to one another in a way that we cannot experience when we are not part of a collective whole.

As I sign off, please know that as your president, I am grateful for every single member--and I feel proud and privileged to serve you in this capacity during this difficult period in history.

As you celebrate Thursday's day of gratitude, please remember, "Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart." ~Seneca

Until next time.

Kitty

P. S.

The photograph above is of a new sign that was just installed in front of the VEA Headquarters at 116 South 3rd Street this week. It is BEAUTIFUL!

The Month of October Has Come and Gone

2010-11-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

I last posted almost a month ago. I have been on the road almost nonstop ever since then...or at least it feels that way.

Since last writing, I have attended a joint meeting of state presidents and state executive directors, attended several pre-legislative dinners including Abingdon and Roanoke, attended our annual VEA All Committee Day, and attended the annual Fall VEMA Conference in Hampton.

The photo is from one of the several committees that met in Richmond on October 23 for our annual All Committee Day event. Several standing committees (Special Education, Public Relations, Women's and Minority Concerns), the Ad Hoc Committee on a Bristol Convention, and the PR & R Commission all met to discuss the various issues and concerns pertaining to their areas of interest. We came together for a luncheon where we talked about the upcoming election (don't forget to vote tomorrow), our VEA Fund for Children and Public Education fundraising goal, and we watched a PowerPoint presentation that Doris Boitnott, Membership Organizing Specialist, had put together regarding the successes of our organization over the years. The PowerPoint served as a powerful reminder of the hard times our organization has faced in the past. It is also a powerful reminder that we can be successful in the future...but we must not lose faith or hope.

This next month promises to be a busy one as well. Our VEA Board of Directors will be meeting mid-November, and we will be undertaking a number of important issues. We will also be entertaining some special guests including our new 2011 Teacher of the Year, LaTonya Waller. LaTonya is a science teacher in Richmond City and she is a proud VEA member. We will also be entertaining Secretary of Education Gerard Robinson who will be attending his first VEA function since he took his position almost a year ago.

I hope not to be so long in posting again, but that is about all I have for tonight. On this eve of the 2010 mid-term election, I just want to remind you again of the importance of voting tomorrow. It is our civic duty to participate in this and in every election.

Until next time.

Kitty

One Nation Rally

2010-10-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, October 2, 2010, all of the NEA Board of Directors, state affiliate presidents, state and national officers, staff and others supporting the National Education Association, joined their progressive colleagues, neighbors, and friends in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC for the purpose of supporting the "One Nation" Rally that was held from 12:00-4:00 on the nation's Mall.

It was quite the event. A sea of colors worn by the various unions and other supporting groups could be seen all around. MSNBC talk show host and radio personality, Ed Shultz, hosted part of the program. Others joining in the list of speakers included leaders of the various unions, organizers, representatives from the NAACP, and community activists.

As I have been reading about the event on the Internet this morning, I have been struck by the back and forth debate about which rally was bigger--Glenn Beck's or the one held yesterday. I say, WHO CARES? The only turn out that is really going to count this fall is the turn out at the nation's polls on November 2, 2010, when people turn out to vote. If Progressive community members stay home, it will result in a giant step backward for our country. I hope and pray that people who have been lethargic and less than enthused about the 2010 Congressional election will get up and take themselves to vote when the vote really counts. We need to maintain a majority in the House of Representatives and we need to maintain our slim hold in the Senate. A step in the other direction will just result in more gridlock, and I think it safe to say, we've already got plenty of that.

I urge my fellow VEA members and the readers of this blog to get out and vote for Virginia's NEA Fund for Children and Public Education recommended candidates. In Virginia, those individuals include Gerry Connelly from Northern Virginia, Glenn Nye from Tidewater, Rick Boucher from far Southwest, and Tom Perriello from Congressional District 5 an area that includes all or part of Greene, Campbell, Bedford, Albermarle, Nelson, Fluvanna, Buckingham, Cumberland, Appomattox, Prince Edward, Charlotte, Lunenburg, Franklin, Henry, Pittsylvania, Halifax, Mecklenberg, and Brunswick Counties, making it Virginia's largest district and is actually larger than New Jersey. It includes the independent cities of Bedford, Charlottesville, Danville, and Martinsville.

All of these candidates have been friends of the VEA's over the course of the past two years--and Rick Boucher has been a friend and supporter for three decades! We owe it to these individuals to support their efforts to continue their good work on our behalf. Please plan to get out and vote on November 2. Our kids' futures depend upon it.

Until next time.

Kitty

A Tribute to Barbara Johns

2010-09-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

On Friday, September 17, 2010, individuals gathered in House Room 3 of the State Capitol to pay homage to Barbara Rose Johns (1935-1991) because she had been courageous enough to stand up for what she believed in when she was only 16 years old. When people think of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, they often think of it starting with the Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. Indeed, Rosa Parks is often credited with having started that important historical movement, but Barbara Johns had organized a strike at her school, the Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, VA protesting the unfair and unequal conditions that she and her fellow classmates were subjected to because of the color of their skin. That event took place on April 23, 1951, four years before Rose Parks stood up for her rights on the bus in Montgomery.

At the event at the State Capitol on Friday, Governor Bob McDonnell unveiled the portrait that you see above of Barbara when she was a teenager. It is a beautiful portrait and a fitting tribute to Barbara's youthful courage and determination. The portrait will be hung in the Moton Museum in Farmville.

Few people know that Barbara and her fellow classmates organized the strike in protest to their deplorable learning conditions. Following the strike, the help of the NAACP was solicited, and a few years later, the court case that had upheld segregation in Prince Edward County was included with four other cases that became part of Brown v. Board of Education.

Barbara Johns' contribution to the Civil Rights movement is often overlooked because she was so young when she first stood up in an effort to make a difference.

The VEA has been a proud supporter of the Moton Museum for several years now, and in April of this year, I was pleased to offer a preview at our VEA Convention of the film that will be shown at the Moton Museum as part of their regular programming. That film depicts how Barbara and some fellow classmates tricked their principal into leaving the building, forged a memo to teachers announcing an assembly in the auditorium and once the students were assembled, asked the teachers to leave so that their jobs would not be in jeopardy. The film depicts Barbara bravely standing up to the adults in the room who tried to squelch her speech, and she prevailed upon her fellow classmates to walk out of the school in protest to the shabby learning conditions in which they found themselves.

I am proud of the VEA's role in supporting the Moton Museum and its efforts to shine a bright light on how one person CAN make a difference. I was very happy to be included in the ceremony that unveiled the beautiful portrait of Barbara Johns and invite readers to learn more about her courage and determination. Her life is proof that each of us has the ability to make a difference if we just believe that we can and we muster the courage to do it.

Until next time.

Kitty

From Shenandoah County to Alexandria City to Radford for my First SHAM Meeting

2010-09-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

Board Members of the SCEA

Once again, time has gotten away from me, and it's hard to believe that it has been so long since I last offered a posting. August and the first two weeks of September have been busy for the VEA and for me.

I went to Shenandoah County on the 27th of August and was privileged to be allowed to speak to the Shenandoah County teachers and support personnel at their annual Convocation.

This particular Convocation was a special event that included the presentation of high school diplomas to veterans who served our military in some capacity or another during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. Over 60 men and women received diplomas either for themselves or for loved ones who have deceased. It was a moving ceremony, and I was glad that I was able to attend and be a part of it.

I also had the privilege of taking the SCEA Board out to dinner on the evening before the Convocation, and we had a great time. I was struck by the enthusiasm and energy of these wonderful young women. They were excited about getting back into the swing of things. I heard not one complaint about a lack of money or resources. They were all about getting ready to make this the best year ever for their students. I wished I could bottle their enthusiasm up and take it along with me. I was also struck by how much they enjoyed each other's company, and it was clear to me that they like each other and enjoy working with each other. I hope they do well with their membership drive. They have the ingredients needed to make for a successful year in that regard.

Since last posting, I was also privileged to to be allowed to speak to the Alexandria City Public Schools employees at their Convocation. This Convocation was also special on two counts that had nothing to do with my being there to speak. First, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was the keynote speaker, and he offered thoughts on what we need to do to meet the needs of today's students. I listened carefully, and all I can wish is that his rhetoric matched what is coming out of the Department of Education where he works. He said all the right things, and he certainly sounded sincere. Perhaps by the time we actually undertake a serious revision of ESEA, his philosophy will have trickled down into the various departments in the DOE. Keep your fingers crossed.

In addition to having the Secretary of Education in attendance, this particular Convocation was a special occasion for ACPS because Mr. Ferdinand T. Day was also honored in a special presentation of the American flag that was flown at the Capitol on the day that President Barack Obama was sworn in as the first African American President of the United States. Mr. Day was an early civil rights leader and the first African-American school board chairman in Virginia. Mr. Day is 88 years old, but he stood tall and was visibly touched by the special presentation of the flag.

Those two events were special and I was only present because of the privilege that I experience as President of the VEA. It is always an honor to represent our members, but I admit, some days are more memorable than others because of my ability to participate in these kinds of events.

On Friday, September 10, I traveled with Philip Forgit, the new VEA Executive Director to Radford for our first meeting with Staff Hired Around the Mountain--or more affectionately, SHAM. SHAM is made up of UniServ Directors who serve the Southwest Region and include Ernie Roberts from Cumberland Mountain, Helen Marlowe from Southwest Virginia UniServ, Marshall Leitch from New River, Pat Wood from VEA UniServ 4, Ron Emery from VEA UniServ 5, Karen Olivares from Valley UniServ, Chris Daniel from Edu-Serv, and Jay Deck from Skyline. Also in attendance was Doris Boitnott who is currently serving as one of the two temporary Membership Organizing Specialists and Beblon Parks who is the Southwest Regional Manager for UniServ Directors.

This was my first meeting with SHAM members, and the cause of the occasion was to introduce Philip Forgit to the staff members from the Southwest Region. The fact is that Philip had already met with and has even dined with several of the members of SHAM during his first week on the job back in August, but we have committed to getting around to all of the regional staff meetings during these first few months that he is on the job so that he can meet all of the staff, learn what is going on in the various regions, and help to get a better sense of the diversity of the state in which we work.

In the coming week, I will be attending a rally in Loudoun where the LEA leaders will be kicking off the first of several "work to the rule" weeks, and I will be attending a couple of political events, capped off on Friday by attending a special unveiling of a portrait of Barbara Rose Johns, one of the teen activists who took a stand as part of the Civil Rights movement at the old Moton School in Prince Edward County. The Moton School is being converted into the Robert Russa Moton Museum. The museum serves as a center for the study of civil rights in education. The VEA is a supporter of the Robert Russa Moton Museum and its efforts, and I will be proud to be in attendance at this important ceremony. Governor Bob McDonnell will be unveiling the portrait in a special, by-invitation-only ceremony at the State Capitol.

Coming up at the end of this month, we will be convening our first of the 2010-11 VEA Board of Directors meeting with a special retreat/training that is going to be held in Williamsburg. Stay tuned. We will be undertaking a lot of important business at that meeting, and when we have completed the business, I will be reporting on actions that we took.

Until next time.

Kitty

2010-08-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

This is the first opportunity I have had to post anything on my blog since starting my third year in office and the first year of my second--and final-- term as VEA President. All of that started on August 2 which also coincidentally was the date that our new Executive Director, Philip Forgit, joined the VEA.

Philip and I started out his first day on the job and the beginning of my new term in the VEA Headquarters in Richmond where I introduced Philip to those staff members who work in our headquarters--at least to the ones who weren't on vacation or on their summer schedule. We offered a coffee break for everyone mid-morning in our large conference room, and then later in the day, I took all of the VEA Management team and Philip out to lunch for an informal gathering.

On Tuesday morning, August 3, Philip and I both headed to Roanoke in order to drop in for a while on the VEA Districts 4 & 5 Association Activist training. We were able to sit in on part of the training and share lunch with the leaders and reps from Roanoke, Roanoke County, Franklin County, Botetourt County, Alleghany County, and Covington, just to name a few. Philip got to meet UniServ Directors, Pat Wood and Ron Emery, and he got a chance to chat with some of our district leaders, our NEA Director, Sarah Patton, and some of the newer reps who have just signed up to serve in that capacity for the first time along with some of the more veteran reps who have been dedicated to the association for years.

I always feel like it is a homecoming when I am in Roanoke since I lived and worked there for 25 years. Some of the reps who were in the training were former colleagues of mine from Roanoke County and many of them were district and UniServ Council leaders when I was a local leader so many years ago. It was great getting to spend some time with them.

After lunch, Philip and I took off together for Carroll County. It was great getting some time to spend just the two of us getting to know each other better and to talk about the many facets of the VEA and our hopes and dreams for the future of our organization. We have much in common with regard to our ambitions for our organization, and I am extremely impressed with Philip's vision and his ability to articulate that vision in a way that people, I believe, will readily adopt as they listen to his plans for our collective future organizationally.

On Wednesday morning, August 4, Philip and I joined the new Carroll County Education Association President, Keith Hommema, at the Floyd County High School for their convocation. We got to meet the division superintendent and some of our long time members there, and we got to spend some quality time with UniServ Director, Marshall Leitch. Marshall represents District 3 and the New River UniServ Unit. After the convocation and a brief reception for employees, Philip and Marshall and I went to lunch where we had a long and productive conversation about the VEA.

From Floyd County, Philip and I then traveled to Norton, VA where we convened with Doris Boitnott, one of our two new Membership Organizing Specialists, and Ernie Roberts, the UniServ Director for District 1 and the Cumberland UniServ Unit. Doris had been in the Cumberland area since the first of the week participating in the Association Activist training that was offered to the leaders in District 1. By all accounts, it was a great training and the folks out that way feel energized and ready to go to work on building back the membership ranks that have slipped in some areas for various reasons. Philip had a chance to talk at length with Doris and Ernie over dinner on the 4th, and the first thing the next morning, we headed off to Pound, VA where the Wise County Public Schools convocation was being held.

For the second year in a row, I was allowed to speak to the audience which was a huge honor and privilege. I mostly talked about the excitement and anticipation that goes into planning for a brand new year and particularly about the excitement inherent in that first day back when everyone gets to start with a fresh slate--students, parents, and educators alike. I also got a chance to remind the folks that while they are busy doing their best to provide the best education they can for the students they teach, the VEA is working constantly on their behalf monitoring the activities of the Virginia General Assembly, the Board of Education, and other groups that impact the policies and political decisions that drive what we do every day. I also reminded them that this year, in particular, we are going to need to be on guard about protecting even more fiercely than before, our Virginia Retirement System. It is simply a fact that public pension programs are under attack and are being subjected to new scrutiny by legislators and politicians who are looking to balance the budget on the backs of public employees. We must band together as never before to prevent that from happening in Virginia.

After helping out with the new member recruitment effort in Wise County, Philip and I headed on back to Roanoke where he picked up his car and headed back to Richmond. Since I needed to be back in Scott County first thing Monday morning, I stayed in Roanoke and worked remotely, answering phone messages, returning emails, etc., and catching up on work that had piled up during the week that I was out of the office.

Before getting to Roanoke, however, Philip and I took a detour for lunch in Abingdon, and we caught up with Helen Marlowe, UniServ Director for District 2 and Southwest Virginia UniServ. Doris Boitnott, who was also headed back toward Roanoke stopped with us, and we had lunch and great conversation before heading back to Roanoke.

On Sunday afternoon, I headed back toward Southwest Virginia for Abingdon, VA where I met up with Helen Marlowe again. We were joined by Doris Boitnott and her new partner in Membership Organizing, Robin Gardner, and Ernie Roberts joined us again.

The five of us had a productive meeting over dinner to talk about the activities of the upcoming week. The first item on my agenda was to attend a professional development meeting in Scott County for an opportunity to meet folks and hand out some membership materials.

Following that activity on Monday morning, I headed back to Abingdon where I attended the Washington County Education Association rep meeting and got to hear first hand some of the local issues and concerns that are already on the front burner.

The next morning, after catching up again on emails and phone messages, I left Abingdon and drove to Floyd, VA. The photo at the beginning of the posting is of the sun rising over the mountains as I came out of the Blue Ridge Restaurant on Wednesday morning. I stayed at Hotel Floyd the night before, and I got up early and walked over to the restaurant so I could get a good breakfast before starting my day at the Floyd County High School for their back to school convocation. Seeing the sun rise like that over the mountains with the road sign for Route 221 in the forefront just struck me as a particularly beautiful scene, so I grabbed my phone to take a photograph so that I could share.

I then traveled the five minutes from the hotel to the Floyd County High School for their employee meeting. There I got to spend time with FCEA President, Diana Sutphin, and some of her board members. I also got to see Marshall Leitch again which is always a treat, and the surprise of the morning was when Dr. Bill Bosher walked into the cafeteria. Dr. Bosher and I have known each other since my ABTEL days in the early and mid-1990's, and later our paths crossed several times while I worked on my Ph.D. at VCU where he is on the faculty. He was also one of the co-chairs of Governor McDonnell's Education Transition team, so I know and appreciate Dr. Bosher's influence over educational policy in Virginia quite well. He is a delightful individual and a great speaker, and he talked to the group assembled that morning about the importance of making children feel good about school. If they don't feel safe and they don't feel like someone at school cares about them, they become disenchanted and disengaged and we simply cannot afford to let that happen. Every child deserves a quality education with a highly qualified teacher and every child deserves to have adequate resources allocated so that the education he/she receives is going to prepare him/her for the uncertain futures that face them. On those points, Dr. Bosher and I are in total agreement. He presented a delightfully funny but also profound message to the audience that morning, and I think everyone--including myself--appreciated his remarks.

After the Floyd County event ended, I headed back to Richmond where I spent busy and active days in the office on Thursday and Friday.

And that brings me to today.

I have a stack of things piled on my desk at the office that I am thinking I will go tend to today even though it is Sunday. Tomorrow I will need to away from the office most of the day attending a meeting that is being convened by the Board of Education and the Center for Innovative Technology. The topic of discussion will be Virginia's re-evaluation of the models used for evaluating teachers and administrators. We will no doubt be looking at a variety of pay for performance models including merit pay plans based on student test scores. It is unavoidable that that will be brought up. But I am confident that the VEA will be well represented at the table since I have asked the following individuals to serve on the work group: Michael Hairston, President of the Fairfax Education Association; Bonnie Klakowicz, President of the Prince William Education Association; Frank Cardella, President of the Chesterfield Education Association; and Dominic Melito, President of the Virginia Beach Association. In addition to my attending the initial meeting myself tomorrow, we will also have Betty Lambdin, Director of the Office of Teaching and Learning joining the group, and Sherri Arnold, an English teacher from Maggie Walker Governor's School will also be serving on the work group. She is, happily, also a member of the VEA, a former President from the Henrico Education Association, and a current leader in the Richmond Education Association. I believe it is safe to say that the VEA will be well represented as this important dialogue begins.

For the rest of August, I have many things on my calendar related to membership recruitment, new teacher orientations, and meetings with leaders in northern Virginia as well as Tidewater. If the first two weeks of August have been busy, I anticipate that the rest of the month will be just as busy.

I have shared all of this information with you this morning in hopes to getting across the message that we are working very hard on your behalf to make for a stronger VEA and a more powerful organization for our members. I recommend to you the interview that Philip Forgit, the new VEA Executive Director conducted last week so you can get a sense of his views on our need to develop a stronger organizing culture at the VEA. That interview can be found on our VEA website at http://www.veanea.org.

I think I have just about exhausted all of the "news" that I have to share about our August so far, so, until next time.

Kitty

A New Term, A New Executive Director and a New Beginning for the VEA

2010-08-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

It 's hard to believe that it has been over a month since I last wrote on this blog, but then, July was a busy, busy month.

VEA delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly in New Orleans began the month of July in the Big Easy. I personally traveled down only a couple of days after my last posting.

The RA was a rousing success, and we all came home on or around the 7th of July, but within just a few days, I was off again for Minneapolis for a meeting of state officers who belong to a subsidiary NEA organization known as NCSEA.

I left that conference early in order to get back to Richmond for the Legislative Committee meeting which we held with our newly elected and appointed committee members on July 19.

The next few days took me to Washington, DC where I participated in a G27 meeting that included NEA officers, executive directors and others who are trying to conceptualize what the future of the NEA in our ever changing world might be as we adapt to the ever changing political and policy climate in our country.

And then, finally and at last, I took a few days of much needed--and I would like to think well deserved--vacation. I traveled to beautiful Laguna Beach, California for just a few days of R&R which did the trick. I am back and rested and rejuvenated and ready to tackle my second term and my third year in office as the president of the VEA.

This is a particularly exciting time for me and for the VEA because tomorrow morning, we will be welcoming on board our new VEA Executive Director, Philip Forgit.

Philip was hired just a month ago when the VEA Board of Directors voted to accept the recommendation of the Search Committee that screened and interviewed a number of highly qualified candidates but selected Philip for the job.

Philip has a number of unique qualities and experiences that make him the right man for the job as Executive Director for the VEA at this time in our history. I won't go into his resume here, but there is an introduction to him with information about his background that is available on our website at http://www.veanea.org.

I am very excited about the new possibilities that lie ahead of the VEA in spite of the many challenges that are also before us. The economy continues to be problematic, and the impact of that on our members and our membership are not to be ignored. But in response to our concerns about our members and their well being as well as our commitment to our organization, we have deployed two expert membership organizing specialists--Doris Boitnott and Robin Gardner--whose sole job will be to help locals get organized so that when new crises and challenges hit, we are ready to meet them head on with a well organized response.

The past two years have certainly offered challenges to me as the VEA president, both personal and professional. Some of those challenges I anticipated. Many of them, I admit, I did not. Some of them, I also sadly admit, I haven't met as well as I would like.

Having said that, however, this is a time of renewal, rebirth, and rejuvenation for the VEA. I firmly believe that and I am committed to doing whatever it takes to take the VEA into a future that restores hope and pride in our profession by our members and shores up the chinks in the walls that have been created in our school systems as they have struggled to meet their many fiscal and financial challenges.

As I begin my new--and final--term in office, I remind myself of my personal and professional mission. While I am in this position, it is my job to promote the education profession, fight to preserve public education for the future of a democratic nation of well informed citizens, and to advocate for the children that we teach--every single day. I have been striving to meet that mission for the past two years and I plan to continue it through the next two.

Until next time.

Kitty

Membership Organizing and Preparing for New Orleans

2010-06-25T18:26:00.001-07:00

The past few weeks have been a blur of activity with travel to the Tidewater region twice in two days for retirement festivities and trips on two different occasions in a week to Piedmont UniServ to meet with leaders as we discussed membership organizing plans for back to school activities in August and September. The photo to the left is of a group of leaders from Martinsville and Henry County who met to discuss their respective and collective membership organizing plans. A week later, I met with leaders from Danville and Pittsylvania County in a morning meeting at George Washington High School in Danville and then traveled to South Boston where I met with leaders from Halifax County.

When not on the road traveling, I have been in meetings in Richmond meeting with a variety of folks on a variety of issues. Just today, I spent a little time with the trainers who will be taking the new Association Activist training on the road next month. We are planning a lot of good work in the area of building membership around important issues that we hope will spark interest and engage our members in locals all across the state. We need to make an intentional effort in a concerted manner to get out the good word about the good work that we are doing for our members.

This weekend, I will be packing and preparing for the 2010 annual Representative Assembly that is scheduled to be held in New Orleans.

I admit, the prospect of the heat and humidity dampens to a certain extent my enthusiasm for New Orleans in July. I have been to the Big Easy at other times of the year that are far more pleasant weather wise. But in spite of the heat, I am sure we will have a fabulous convention. There is much to be dealt with as far as important association business, and of course, it is always great to see friends from around the country that we don't see any other time of year except for the RA.

Because I will be away for the convention and then have the state meetings of the Compensation Conference and PALS Conference in Charlottesville and then NCSEA in Minneapolis, it will be a few weeks before I get a chance to post another entry on this blog. After I return from Minneapolis I will be preparing for a well deserved vacation!

So, until next time, happy travels and enjoy your summer in spite of this oppressive heat wave. It is, at least, the season of vacation and fun!

Kitty

A Season of Endings and Beginnings

2010-06-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

It is June, and this is the month for high school graduations and commencements; the beginning of individual retirements punctuating the end of long careers; and the closing of the academic year for most of the school divisions in Virginia and around the country.

In short, it is a time for endings and a time for beginnings. The young people who are graduating this month will be moving on to new and, hopefully, exciting chapters in their young lives, embarking on new experiences in the world of college or university or work as the case may be.

Their teachers, who have decided that they are ready to move on by retiring after long years of service are also beginning new life adventures. Many of them are still young enough that they have whole new careers just waiting for them to pursue. Some of them will be following their hearts and pursuing their non-teaching passions for the very first time.

I have traveled the state in the last few weeks since my May 24 posting, speaking to VEA members who are retiring and moving into the next phase of their lives. I have shared some thoughts with them regarding how they might want to approach this new phase.

Research shows that those individuals who really thrive in their retirement years are the ones who have a "plan." They know what they plan to do, and it isn't just sitting around the house and watching TV all day--as much fun as that might be for the first few days.

Those who really thrive have something to do that they enjoy, and more importantly than having something to keep them occupied, they stay connected with their community. As human beings, we need to have a sense of contributing to the well being of our communities. It's in our DNA. If we become too isolated from one another, there is a tendency to become withdrawn and even depressed. It isn't unheard of for people who are transitioning from one phase of their lives to another to suffer a mild depression anyway. It can be exasperated if they don't have something to which to look forward and something which will keep them engaged and involved.

This is also a period of transition from a school year that is closing down and the break before the starting of a new year. I have long observed that ours is the only profession where we get a chance to start over fresh every year. As we close down school for the summer, we get to put a punctuation period on it. Whether it was a good year filled with happy memories or a bad year to which we say good riddance, we can put it behind us as we move forward into the possibility of a better year next year.

This year has been a particularly painful and difficult one for many of our members. Lay offs, RIF's, reductions in pay, salary freezes, increases in health care, and more demands for accountability with fewer and fewer resources provided are just at the beginning of the list of troubles we face. Our legislators have asked us yet again to do "more with less." We are approaching the point, I fear, where we will not be able to do more because we have so much less to do it with that the job is going to be a totally impossible one.

For me, the hope is that during this transition period between now and September, we can position ourselves to build our membership numbers so that we can build our collective voice and prepare together for the challenges that lie ahead of us. The economy is recovering too slowly to have a great effect next year, so many of the problems that we faced this year will continue. We must prepare ourselves by being stronger than ever.

Like those who are graduating or retiring and transitioning into a new phase, the VEA is likewise in a transition period. We are preparing to hire a new Executive Director. A decision is to be made and announced soon. This decision will help to lay the groundwork for a new phase in the life of our organization. We are on the brink of being able to either pull ourselves together in a significant way and grow and build our strength or we will suffer a loss of power because we have suffered so many setbacks we have collectively lost hope.

I vote for pulling ourselves together. I wrote in my last posting about the excitement I felt when I spent time with our new local presidents at Wintergreen. This week I spent a day with local leaders in the Piedmont region, and we made some exciting new plans for organizing and preparing for a major membership drive in both Martinsville and Henry County. Our leaders are ready to step up, and I am ready to support them in any way I can. The picture below was taken at the planning meeting that took place at the Spencer Penn Community Center on Thursday, June 10.

As I bring this posting to a close, I wish to send out congratulations to all of my readers who may be in transition, whatever that transition may be. I hope that you will tackle the new projects you undertake with enthusiasm and energy and that you meet each and every new circumstance with only the greatest of success.

Happy end of the school year--or end of your school career--as the case may be. I wish you all health and prosperity no matter what paths you may choose to pursue.

Until later,

Kitty

Local Presidents Training at Wintergreen

2010-05-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, about 75 local leaders--some presidents both new and returning--along with a few vice presidents, treasurers and other leaders-in-training convened together for a weekend of learning, training, and networking. It was a huge success from all appearances and by all accounts.

We divided folks up into groups based on the sizes of their locals, and then we put teams of facilitators to work providing them with the tools and resources that they will need as they undertake the work of building and/or rebuilding the infrastructure of their various local associations. Some locals are in need of more work than others, but it is safe to say that all of our locals need a shot in the arm with regard to their membership drives and their push for members to become more actively involved and engaged in their local association business.

Being president of a local, regardless of its size and status, is an important job, and I was struck by the commitment of the people who were at Wintergreen for the training. Some of them have been president for a while, but they came for the training anyway, hoping to learn something new or to glean some new words of wisdom to help them with their important jobs.

Some of the participants were brand new presidents and had no real inkling as to what they had signed up for. In spite of getting scared, though, I think that by Sunday, they were raring to go, feeling that they had been given the information and tools that they needed in order to get started first thing Monday morning.

I was a local president myself twice during the course of my teaching career as a library media specialist. It was those two experiences, both individual and collective, that prepared me for the job of being state president. What I do now is not a lot different from what I did as a local president except on a much larger scale and on a much bigger stage.

It is ironic that I resisted the idea of being president of my local for years. And the idea of being state president would have been the farthest thing from my mind. I was raised to have such a deep and abiding respect for authority that I still remember sitting in awe of the local presidents and other leaders who had the nerve to speak up to and sometimes disagree with the superintendent or to speak in front of the school board or board of supervisors. I had been teaching for 15 years before I reluctantly agreed to be the president-elect of my local, and then it was only because I had this deep sense of responsibility--it wasn't because I lusted for the spotlight in any way.

Ten years later, I ran for president again, and that time I was much more comfortable with the role. I had long gotten over my hesitation to speak up (and back to) figures of authority--especially if I thought they were wrong on an issue.

The main bit of advice that I offered the new presidents--and the advice that I hope they will take if they don't remember anything else from the training this weekend--is not to try to do the whole job of president by themselves. They will need help--and lots of it--if they hope to succeed. That is one of the things that we must remember as leaders in this great organization. No one person can accomplish anything alone. Indeed, the whole point of leadership is to engage others in the work that needs to be done and share the responsibility. Having a fully engaged group of leaders is the whole point of our organizational success.

Having said that, every group needs a leader. Someone who can point out what needs to be done. Someone who can help to plan and provide strategies and someone who will follow up and make sure that the plan gets worked in order to yield successful outcomes.

I am glad I got to participate in the training this weekend. I got to see some old friends and make several new ones. I believe that the VEA is going to have a very good year in 2010/11 in spite of the various challenges that confront us. I just feel it.

Until next time.

Kitty

Reflections on the Two Years Since My Election as VEA President

2010-05-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

The month of May seems to hold a lot of significant dates for me. Every college graduation--and I have been through a number of them--has occurred in the month of May. Also, in May of 2007, I moved into the beautiful town house that I now call home and started in earnest planning for the next goal that I had set for myself by that time. (I had decided some months earlier that I was going to run for President of the Virginia Education Association.)

Two years ago, around the middle of May (it might have been May 15th now that I think about it) I learned that I had won the election for President of the Virginia Education Association. Little did I know what I had really gotten myself into, but I have not regretted for one minute the decision that I made to step up and into that role. I believed then and I still believe--and certainly hope with all my heart--that I have something to offer while I am in this job.

I am writing a reflection at this point because having been elected two years ago, I am mid-way through the time that I will have to contribute to the well-being of the VEA. These last two years have certainly flown--and I suspect that the next two will fly by equally as fast. By this time in 2012, I will be preparing to hand the job to the next President of the VEA, and my time will be done.

So, I am taking this morning to consider what the past two years have presented to me individually and the VEA as a collective whole.

When I ran for the office, I used a slogan that included "Choice, Change, and Challenge." My use of the word "choice" reflected the fact that I was offering members a choice as to who their next president would be for the first time in 16 years. "Change" was part of the slogan because clearly, if I were chosen by the membership to be their president, I would represent something of a change from the current direction that the VEA had been going. And "challenge" was appropriate because I correctly saw even then the number of challenges facing our organization and our profession.

Little did I know, however, the scope, range, and depth of the challenges that would ultimately present themselves.

The challenges have at times seemed overwhelming. The economic challenges alone have been mind boggling, and without a doubt, our VEA members are bearing the brunt of this economic mess because they were already suffering from depressed salaries and abominable working conditions before the the fall of 2008.

Indeed, I have been offering commentary for a long time now about the situation facing professional educators, and unfortunately, that situation just gets worse month by month, year by year.

The situation seems pretty dire, I admit, and I am concerned about the immediate and long range impact on our students as we anticipate larger class sizes in the next two years--and perhaps beyond--and reduced resources at the very time when greater accountability in the classroom is the hue and cry of our political leaders and media pundits.

I keep reminding myself, however, that it is not just a truism that where there are challenges, there are also opportunities. I must remind myself of that when I get discouraged, and I must continue to urge my members and colleagues of that as well.

The good news is that my colleagues are some of the most resilient and determined people I know. If they weren't, they would have left the profession years ago. Indeed, many of their colleagues have. There are literally thousands of folks out there who by their own admission "tried teaching and couldn't cut it." Thousands more wanted to teach--and still do--but couldn't afford to raise their families on a teacher's salary and had to go into the private sector in order to make the kind of living their educational background warranted. And still thousands more are want-to-be teachers but see the lack of respect that teachers get and turn away from the prospect. After all, who wants to spend their career constantly feeling disrespected?

The folks who have stayed and are still staying are the resilient ones. They are the ones who know in their hearts the difference they are making in the lives of their students everyday and they have chosen to disregard and tune out a lot of the outside noise that would otherwise discourage them away.

Oh, not to say that my colleagues aren't discouraged, because they are and they have a right to be. But they haven't let that overshadow the commitment that they have made to their students, and they persevere in the face of the challenges that present themselves everyday in their classrooms, their schools, and their communities.

I am proud of that spirit of tenacity and perseverance. It is my intention to continue to be tenacious and persevering in my daily job on their behalf.

So, I have my work cut out for me for next two years, don't I?

Until next time.

Kitty

The 2010 VEA Convention Adjourns for Another Year

2010-04-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

The Virginia Education Association met for its 125th annual state convention this weekend in Virginia Beach. Over 800 teachers and support professionals convened for the purpose of tending to association business such as passing the 2010-11 budget, adopting new, revised Resolutions, and dealing with 28 new business items.

I am posting my President's Report here since several individuals asked me for a copy of my speech.

It was a great convention, and I am grateful to the more than 800 delegates and all of the staff who contributed toward making it a successful one.

Here is my 2010 President's Report:

Without a doubt, this has been one of the most challenging years in our nation’s—and our state’s—history. It has also been one of the most difficult years in VEA history. While our challenges are certainly numerous, we are also being confronted with opportunities that, depending upon how we use them, will define who we are as a people, as a nation, and as an organization. If we are to take advantage of the opportunities at hand, however...if we are to grow and benefit from them...we must face some undeniable and unassailable facts.

One unassailable fact is that we went into the 2009-2010 General Assembly session in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930’s. We also went into the session with significantly fewer friends in the House of Delegates than we had last year because of the backlash against what has been going on in Washington and the “throw the bums” out attitude that drove some of our good friends out of office and some not so friendly folks into office. Our members need to know that the budget debacle that started out as nothing short of a train wreck in December is only slightly less bad than it might have been because of the bi-partisan support we still have in the state Senate. The House version of the budget was far, far more draconian in its approach to K-12 funding, so when we complain about how bad things are, we need to keep things in perspective and remember that it might have been much, much worse.

In years past, following a General Assembly session, we have been able to look back and point to at least one proud accomplishment. Last year, for example, we took pride in the fact that we had accomplished the task of guaranteeing that our elementary colleagues would be provided with a scheduled planning time during their workday. That was a goal we had worked on for 36 long years! In addition to that victory, we also got a guarantee that school support professionals would have a consistent grievance procedure in school divisions across the state; and we were also proud of our role in maintaining the financial incentive that the state offers our national board certified teachers.

This year, our “wins” are better measured by what we prevented from happening. You will remember that in December, Governor Kaine proposed a budget that would have reduced school funding by $800 million. As it turned out, that was the “good news,” and what turned out to be the high water mark in the sad story of our state budget.

Governor Kaine also proposed wiping out an additional $2 billion of reduced revenue through an income tax increase.

Within minutes of Governor Kaine’s announcement regarding his budget proposal, the House Republicans announced the proposal “dead on arrival,” and within a few short days, the House of Delegates voted 97-0 to defeat the proposal to raise revenues per Governor Kaine’s budget, deciding instead to take a “cuts only” approach to the budget shortfall before them.

By the time the House of Delegates approved its version of the budget, the cuts for public schools were up from Governor Kaine’s proposed $800 million to almost $1.5 billion.

In the end, we--the VEA and our allies--were able impact the final budget, and it is “less bad” than it would have been otherwise. There may be small comfort in making something “less bad,” but the fact of the matter is that as bad as this budget is, it is, in fact, “less bad” than it would have been had it not been for the VEA and our friends in the Senate. Don’t let the House of Delegates spin it any other way--and you know that they have been trying to put their own spin on it ever since they passed the budget. Many of you have received letters from your Delegates suggesting that the VEA had our numbers wrong, and Republican delegates in particular have attempted to defend their indefensible actions regarding the damage they would have done to K-12 education had they gotten away with their original intentions.

Because of the advocacy of the VEA on a day-to-day basis and because of the diligent work and attention to detail of our Government Relations staff, the final budget that was adopted was less damaging than it would have otherwise been, but let’s not delude ourselves. The budget is bad for K-12 education. It is bad for teachers and education support professionals. It is bad for Virginia with regard to the standards that we had previously set for ourselves, and ultimately, it is bad for our students. Our billboard campaign declaring that children have been robbed was not hyperbole. It is an undeniable and unassailable fact that our students will suffer from the cutbacks and shortcuts that their schools are going to have to accommodate because legislators chose to balance the budget on their backs rather than address the long term fiscal stability and future well being of our commonwealth.

So, our primary accomplishment this year was that we averted total disaster, and instead, witnessed a lesser catastrophe in the making with the adoption of a “less bad” budget than we might have had.

What else did we prevent from happening this year? Well, for one thing, had we not been diligent and helped make the changes in the budget that were ultimately made, our secondary teachers would have lost their much needed and well deserved daily planning time. How many of you are in middle and high schools? How many of you were aware that you were--temporarily at least--in danger of losing your planning periods next year?

Now, there’s a message you need to take back home and tell your colleagues. When you have your planning time next year, each and every secondary teacher—whether they are members of the VEA or not—should say, “Thank you, VEA”.

And last, but certainly, not least, the VEA was instrumental in saving the Virginia Retirement System for our current employees. We saw proposals that would have drastically changed the rules for everyone, but we pushed back. As a result, our current employees are somewhat protected--at least for now--and we have maintained the long fought for and hard won defined benefit pension plan that is one of the few remaining financial incentives for our education professionals to stay in the profession.

One of the most surprising aspects of the session was the positive working relationship we developed with Governor McDonnell and his staff. When the session ended, we went to him and asked that he change the language in the budget that would have allowed your localities to reduce your take-home pay by up to 5% by requiring that you pay the employee contribution to VRS. We told him the history – we told him that you received this 5% in lieu of a salary increase years ago. We pointed out the unequal treatment this provision afforded local government employees in comparison with state employees.

He listened, and he acted by amending the budget language so that no current VRS member will have to make the employee contribution. We thank Governor McDonnell and we thank the General Assembly for responding to his leadership on this issue. Although I am most thankful for this action, I fear this year’s assault on the VRS was just the General Assembly’s first all-out assault on what will likely be a long siege on our pension plan. Rest assured that we will continue to face attempts to cut our retirement program because the state has not funded it appropriately. The fact of the matter is that this year’s budget is funded in part by the reduction of scheduled payments to our retirement system. Those measures ultimately weaken the system for the future.

In addition to getting salaries back on track and re-creating the jobs that are being lost, restoring the financial integrity of our retirement system must be one of our top priorities as we come out of this recession and the economy strengthens. If a strong VEA isn’t in place insisting that funding be restored, who will? I will tell you. NO ONE. We are IT.

You need to tell your non-member colleagues that. You need to tell VPE and AFT colleagues that, because it is the truth. It is another undeniable and unassailable fact.

Now, while I have been outlining the various challenges that are before us, I don’t want you to think that we don’t know how to face down tough times or that we aren’t up to tackling overwhelming challenges, because nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, our entire organizational history has been built on our ability to face down seemingly insurmountable challenges.

In 1912, for example, the NEA, our national affiliate endorsed Women’s Suffrage. Now, that may sound like a no-brainer to those sitting in this convention hall, but you need to recall that women did not gain the right to vote in THIS COUNTRY until 1920, and then only after years of contentious political debate.

In 1919, the NEA members in New Jersey led the way to the nation's first state pension, so that by 1945, every state had a pension plan in effect.

In 1945, the NEA lobbied for the G.I. Bill of Rights to help returning soldiers continue their education.

In 1958, the NEA helped gain passage of the National Defense Education Act.

In 1964, the NEA lobbied to pass the Civil Rights Act.

In 1974, the NEA backed a case heard before the U.S. Supreme Court that proposed to make unlawful the firing of pregnant teachers or forced maternity leave.

In 1984, the NEA fought for and won passage of a federal retirement equity law that provides the means to end sex discrimination against women in retirement funds.

Today, we take these things for granted, but every one of us needs to remember that we have had to fight for just about every right and privilege that we enjoy today, and the fight will continue because there are those who would want you to forget how powerful you are. Indeed, they try to tell you everyday how weak and ineffective we are, don’t they? That’s because they know that we can be powerful. We just need to choose to recognize and embrace--and OWN--our power.

Another major battle that is looming immediately before us is the reauthorization of ESEA or No Child Left Behind. Let me just say to you that I have been deeply disappointed by the administration’s approach to this issue. President Obama, who I believe is sincere in his desire to improve education in this country, made a serious strategic error in judgment, in my opinion, when he chose Arne Duncan to lead the Department of Education instead of Dr. Linda Darling Hammond. Dr. Darling-Hammond gets it that what is wrong with education in this country today isn’t something we need to compete to get--it’s about equality and equity and having high quality teachers who are well trained and dedicated to their profession that makes the difference in our classrooms. Race to the Top funds are all about competing, and when you have competition, there are always winners and losers. We shouldn’t have an education system that rests on the ability of some to succeed and thrive while others flounder and fail! The ESEA Blueprint that has been provided for consideration by Congress presents us with numerous problems and issues, and we need to speak up with a loud and consistent voice.

I know that I haven’t offered much in the way of good news this morning, and I even depress myself even when I lay out all of the various challenges that we are facing, but there is nothing to be gained by putting our heads in the sand and not dealing with the undeniable and unassailable facts before us, is there?

As though working in a hostile political environment weren’t bad enough, we have also suffered in other ways this year. In spite of being referred to in the news as “the powerful VEA lobby,” the VEA has lost members in significant numbers this year due to a whole host of reasons that I don’t need to dwell on here, but along with the external challenges of having few friends in high places, we have also been suffering from an internal malaise of sorts in many of our very own local affiliates. We need to take note and take note fast of the fact that if we don’t stop the hemorrhaging and stop it NOW, we will no longer be the “powerful VEA lobby.” Power comes with numbers and with unity and with activism, and we need to build our numbers--and our unity and our activism--immediately. We need to accept that lately we haven’t done a very good job of communicating our effectiveness to our members and potential members, and we need to make it clear to our non-member colleagues that we need them to join with us NOW. They need to help us in our fight NOW. Waiting for another year may be too late.

Now, there have been some locals who haven’t suffered from the malaise to which I refer, and perhaps the most shining example of that fact is the Orange County Education Association. They are the source of the “Richmond Rally” that got so much attention back in February. That rally, which attracted hundreds of individuals from all over the state, was started when one lone bus driver heard what was about to happen to her school division and she said, “This isn’t right.” She went to her leadership in the OCEA and they agreed and decided that they needed to “do something” and the next thing we knew we were having a rally in Richmond. It was effective because it was a homegrown effort to get people motivated to do something. They took advantage of the circumstances that they faced and they made lemonade out of lemons. And make no mistake about the effectiveness of that rally. The Governor heard our message and offered to help move the House toward the Senate version of the budget, which ultimately resulted in the compromise that favored K-12 funding more than the House version did.

For those of you who were at the Richmond Rally that the Orange County Education Association got started and held on February 27, you might remember that my good friend and the Legislative Liaison for the Virginia PTA, Kathy Burcher, used the story of Horton Hears a Who to make her point about the importance of voices being heard. Most of you know this story, but just in case you don’t, Horton is an elephant in a Dr. Seuss story, and one day thinks he hears a voice coming from a tiny dust speck on a very small clover. No one else can hear the voice, and at first Horton is not sure he has actually heard it, but sure enough, as he listens a little harder, he hears a voice that tells him that the inhabitants of this small dust speck are in trouble and they need Horton’s help. Horton wants to respond to their plea, but he needs his jungle friends to hear the voice as well, so he asks that the folks--who, it turns out are the inhabitants of Who-ville--to shout out, and it takes the participation of every single Who in Who-ville before they are actually heard by anyone but Horton. In his plea to the very last inhabitant--a “shirker” who wasn’t participating in the effort--the Mayor proclaims:

“This is your town’s darkest hour!”
The time for all Whos who have blood that is red
To come to the aid of their country!” he said.
“We’ve GOT to make noises in greater amounts!
So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!”
Thus he spoke as they climbed. When they got to the top,
The lad cleared his throat and he shouted out, “YOPP!”
And that Yopp...
That one small extra Yopp put it over.”

Like the Whos of Who-ville, the members of the VEA need every member to become engaged in the work of our association so that others will hear our voices. We can no longer ride on our past victories. We can no longer rest on the successes of the 1970’s, 1980’s, or 1990’s. We need to shout out about our victories of today and we need to engage more members--and potential members--in our battle for the hearts and minds of Virginians who don’t understand what is going on with public education today.

And what is, you might ask, “going on” with public education today? Well, my friends, I do not believe that I overstate the case when I say that public education is under siege. It is being attacked at every corner, and there are those who would not only under fund public education, which is what they have been doing for decades, but they would dismantle public education in favor of alternative avenues that would favor a few but exclude way too many. While we have been successful so far in fending off voucher schemes and tax credit proposals, we will have to continue to battle those issues because there are those who would like to offer special—and limited—opportunities to the talented or lucky few as opposed to equalizing the playing field for ALL students. I believe that our first obligation as a society is to provide for the education of our young people...ALL of our young people. And our Virginia constitution says so. I suggest that the folks who are determined to dismantle public schools in Virginia by under funding them are forfeiting their moral obligation to provide for a high quality education for every child in the Commonwealth. And to them, I say, “Shame on you. You don’t deserve to hold the office you have been elected to.” But if I feel that way and don’t act on that sentiment, I am just whistling in the wind.

That’s why we need to act together. It is why we need to raise money for the VEA Fund. We need to find and fund “friends” who will come to Richmond prepared to do the right thing by the students and educators of Virginia. They are out there. We just need to work against the odds and get them elected. And we CAN do it. We just need to muster the political will to make it happen.

Our convention theme this year is “Keep the Promise,” and while we have talked about how our legislators’ need to keep their promise to the educators of Virginia and the students we teach, we at the VEA need to keep a promise of our own. We must promise each other and ourselves that we will not give up the fight, no matter how hard it is. We owe it to ourselves as professionals who need to be able to respect ourselves even if no one else is rushing to demonstrate their respect for us; but even beyond doing it for ourselves, we need to do it for our students. They depend on us. We are, after all, their advocates and their champions. They need us to lead the charge and fight for an equal opportunity for each and every one of them.

In a few minutes, you will see a video presentation that re-enacts a time when someone stood up and took action instead of just complaining about how unjust the world is. That someone was a young African American high school student who lived in Prince Edward County, Virginia. The young woman’s name was Barbara Johns, and the place where she took her stand was the auditorium of Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia. At the young age of 16, Barbara Johns organized and galvanized a strike among her fellow classmates. The day of that strike was April 23, 1951. Forty-nine years ago on this very day, Barbara Johns and a small group of friends tricked their principal into leaving the building while they called an emergency student assembly. Once assembled, Barbara asked the teachers to leave so they wouldn’t lose their jobs by knowing what was being planned. Barbara then delivered a speech that would change history for herself and her classmates. She and her fellow students—450 of them—decided right there on the spot to walk out of their school because of the unequal treatment that they were receiving at the hands of their county school board. It was out of that action that Prince Edward County eventually became part of the case now known as Brown v. Board of Education.

As an adult, Barbara continued to be committed to education and became a librarian—a profession she practiced until her death in 1991.

Barbara Johns’ contribution to the civil rights movement is often overlooked because she was just a teenager when she took her stand and made a difference. But make a difference, she did.

Barbara Johns and her classmates are being remembered as the Robert Russa Moton Museum hosts a gala fundraiser that is being held tonight in Farmville. Were it not for the fact that I need to be here with you, I would be there celebrating Barbara’s legacy along with the fact that the NEA has pledged $250,000 toward the development of the permanent exhibit of Gallery VI, the Bound for Freedom Gallery, where the contributions of NEA members from the 1960’s will be remembered.

For the next few minutes, I would like to share with you a video presentation that has been created for tonight’s gala. It is entitled “Strike: April 23, 1951.”

You are receiving envelopes that will allow you to contribute personally to the Moton Museum if you would like. A minimum contribution of $19.63 is being requested, but I hope you will feel moved to give generously. We cannot let this history get lost. Indeed, in the climate and culture that we are all currently experiencing, it is more important than ever that we remember our collective history and strive to continue to bring about equality and equity for every child in this Commonwealth...every single one.

In closing, I would like to share with you the mission statement from Apple Computers. You know about Apple Computers. They continue to confound and amaze the world with their new innovations and they continually change the world with their inventions whether they be iPods, iPhones, or their latest iPad.

Here’s their mission statement. It’s entitled “Think Different.”

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify them or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.

My fellow VEA members, Delegates, Friends, Colleagues: I want to change the world, don’t you? Does that make me crazy? Maybe. Is it worth the effort if it changes for the better the life of one child who is currently in our care? You bet it is. So, I ask you, let’s get crazy together. Let’s change the world by creating a culture where it is okay to say, “Hey, we are here! We are the educators who know what is best for our students and for education reform and for our nation. We are here, and we demand to finally be heard!

If we are to be heard, however, we must each do our part individually and collectively, and we must start growing this organization right now into a powerful, unstoppable, unified organization that elects friends who will not turn their backs on K-12 education when times are tough. We cannot afford to wait. Let’s remember Barbara Johns and those brave students who took action right then and there. Let’s go out and change the world. And let us begin today!

Thank you.

Remarks made to the Longwood SVEA Chapter on April 19, 2010

2010-04-20T03:42:00.000-07:00

Last night (April 19) I attended a dinner hosted by the Longwood SVEA chapter at Longwood University in Farmville, VA. The students were celebrating the 70th anniversary of their charter as a student chapter of the Virginia Education Association. As a 1975 alumnus of Longwood, I was proud and privileged to bring remarks to the small group of future educators and their sponsor and special guests.

I thought I would include the remarks that I made to that group in my blog. The remarks include a little history and a bit of reflection on the importance of collective action which is the life blood of our organization.

As I post these remarks, I am preparing for our 2010 VEA Convention which will be convening in Virginia Beach in just a few days. I will return to post reflections on that meeting sometime next week.

Until then....

Kitty

Remarks to the Longwood SVEA on the Commemoration of the
70th Anniversary of Their Charter

It is with great pleasure that I join you this evening. As you know, I am a proud alumnus of Longwood. I graduated in 1975, the year before Longwood became coed. I lived in Curry Hall, and I worked in the library on the student work program while I earned my B. A. degree in English with teaching endorsements in secondary English and PK-12 Library Science.

While I was here at Longwood, I did not belong to the SVEA, I’m sorry to say. I don’t know if it is because I was too buried in my studies to be aware of a chapter or if no one asked me or why I was just oblivious to its existence, but oblivious I was. I did not learn about the VEA until I got my first teaching job as a librarian in Franklin County, Virginia, and a representative of the FCEA brought me my application and indicated that she would pick it up at the end of the day. She never mentioned any benefits and she sure didn’t mention anything about dues. I tell people that it was November before I realized that I was paying monthly dues for that membership.

I didn’t get active in the VEA until the early 1980’s. I had moved to Roanoke County by then and was working as a library media specialist in a small elementary school. We were going through some tough economic times not dissimilar to what has been happening this past year although admittedly not as bad, and our Board of Supervisors was eager to cut costs in order to balance an otherwise out of balance budget without increasing taxes.

One of their strategies included trying to turn teachers and support personnel against one another. We all received a survey asking us to rate in order the people and programs we would be willing to see eliminated. The list included art, music, physical education, librarians, etc. Ironically, because of a change in the law that mandated librarians in any school with 300 or more students, they shouldn’t have been including librarians in the list, but that is how thoughtless they were being.

As a result of their insensitive and ill informed actions, my local association, the Roanoke County Education Association, decided to attend a Board of Supervisors meeting in mass to register our concerns about the budget. As more and more people indicated their intentions to attend the meeting, the venue of the meeting was moved from the regular Board Room to the Salem Coliseum. I don’t know how many people showed up that night, and they weren’t all teachers, but most of our RCEA members were there in support of our local president, and I would say it was well over 700 people there.

I learned a lesson that night about the power of the collective whole as opposed to the lone individual. If you want to affect change in anything—the political realm, the social realm, the educational realm—you need the power of the collective whole to make it happen. Every once in a while a charismatic spokesperson can show up and give voice to the collective—like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama—but unless those individuals are striking a chord with the masses so that they show up to support the messengers, the message falls flat, and nothing happens.

It is because of the power of the collective whole that the VEA is as strong as it is--and likewise the NEA.

Most of you are probably not aware of the history of your state and national affiliates, and I thought it might be fitting tonight to share just a little history lesson since you are commemorating the 70th anniversary of your SVEA Chapter.

The NEA got its start in the summer of 1857 when 43 educators gathered in Philadelphia. At that time, ten states had state organizations, but as there was no unified voice at the national level, there was a call to have a unified group work to bring the issues that faced the nation as a whole to the nation’s attention. Ironically, during this time in history, learning to read and write was a luxury reserved mostly for the fairly wealthy and somewhat privileged. In fact, at that time, it was actually a crime to for a child of color to be taught to read and write, and especially in the southern states like Virginia, students of color who attempted to learn to read and write did so at their own peril.

Don’t think that the NEA was totally enlightened as it formed. It was very much a product of its time, and when the NEA was first founded, membership was restricted to “gentlemen” only. The two women who showed up for the initial meeting in Philadelphia were allowed to be honorary members, but it would be nine more years before women would be allowed to have equal membership in the NEA.

Unfortunately, the issues that faced the nation’s early teachers were not so dissimilar from the issues that still face us today. Salaries have always been a concern along with working conditions and debates over the proper teaching methods and the type of curriculum that should be delivered. Teachers were often forced to work in isolation in one-room schools in their rural communities without the benefit of even the most rudimentary creature comforts. Teacher contracts of that era often required that the female teachers live with a respected family in the community, remain unmarried, avoid any appearance of personal impropriety, and be forced to resign if and when she decided to marry.

By the time the NEA turned 100 in 1957, it had witnessed many changes, not the least of which was the landmark decision that became one of the most important events in education and civil rights history. In Brown v. Board of Education, the Court ordered the desegregation of the nation’s schools, reversing its “separate but equal” doctrine and opening the door to a new era in public education. You are probably aware that Prince Edward County played an important role in that seminal case, and this week, the Robert Russa Moton Museum will be celebrating and commemorating the speech made by 16-year-old Barbara Johns who led a walk out on April 23, 1951 in protest to the abominable conditions that she and her classmates were being subjected to because of the neglect of the local school board.

Now let me back up a bit, and talk about the VEA and its history for a minute.

The Virginia Education Association was founded as the Educational Association of Virginia at a statewide meeting that was held on December 29, 1863. The meeting was held in the basement of the First Baptist Church in Petersburg. It’s mission was, “By all suitable means, to promote the educational welfare of Virginia and of the whole country.”

Among the VEA’s early accomplishments were the promotion of sound educational practices, boosting passage of a statewide minimum salary schedule, and supporting a sound retirement system for teachers.

While segregated public schools persisted in Virginia well into the 1960s, all that began to change eventually because of Brown v. Board of Education, and in 1967, the VEA and the all black teachers association, the Virginia Teachers Association, merged, becoming one unified education association.

In 1973, VEA members voted to unify with the National Education Association and became one of the 51 state affiliates that currently make up the NEA.

Things that we at the VEA consider proud accomplishments include successful campaigns to significantly increase the state’s level of public school funding, enhancements in the teacher retirement system, and legal victories preventing a school board from firing a teacher for becoming pregnant.

In these tough economic times, we are fighting setbacks in the areas of teacher salaries and retirement. We are also finding ourselves facing an increasingly hostile General Assembly who seems bent on ignoring that one of their fundamental duties is to seek to ensure a high quality education for all children of school age in the commonwealth. It is the job of the VEA and its members to remind our legislators of their responsibility, and we do that every single day.

We cannot do it alone, however, and that’s where our members—members like you—come in. We need our individual members to get involved and engaged in a meaningful way in the debate and discourse about the importance of public education in this country. Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond has recently written a book, The Flat World and Education: How America's Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future.

Dr. Hammond contends, and I agree with her, that what has made our country great to date has been our commitment to giving everyone an opportunity to succeed. A quality education is the key to the future, and if we don’t provide a quality education to every child in the country regardless of his or her color, race, gender, ethnicity, or zip code, we will surely decline into a country that trails India, China and other nations that value education in this flat world in which we live.

I am already concerned that a college education is becoming inaccessible to the average middle class student. I was just reflecting the other day on the fact that were I graduating from high school now instead of in 1971, I might not have been able to afford to go to college at all. I was able to get my first master’s degree with the help and financial assistance of my school division, and many of those benefits have been drying up in recent years as well.

We live in tough times, but as I hope you see from the brief history that I have shared with you this evening, we have always lived in tough times. It is only because of the rosy lens of glasses that allow us to romanticize the past that we seem to forget that every generation has had its share of challenges and accompanying opportunities. When the NEA was being formed, the country was being torn apart by the pre-Civil War debates that raged throughout every state. We survived that. When your own Longwood SVEA Chapter was being formed in 1939, the winds of war were blowing and World War II was not far behind. The 1950’s saw the injustice of Jim Crow laws that sought to keep a whole people subjected to second-class citizen status, and the 1960’s saw that change on its head.

We continue to feel the effects of the instructional debates that erupted in the 1970’s over humanism, and in 1983, the “Nation at Risk” report came out that once again set the education world in a tailspin.

The 1990’s in Virginia saw the emergence of the Standards of Learning program and testing and accountability movements took permanent hold.

Today we are struggling with the residual effects of an economy struggling to regain its bearings after the worst recession in decades. We are also continuing a hot debate over what was wrong with No Child Left Behind and how the reauthorization of ESEA could be used to fix many of those problems if only someone in the Department of Education would listen to the practitioners instead of the politicians. And we are, I am sad to say, still struggling with the issue of race in just as real a way today as we were in the 1960’s. We have made much progress, but we have much yet to do before we can claim to be a country that truly provides for equality and equity for all of its citizens regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender.

And so you are experiencing an exciting time. You have many opportunities before you and you have many choices to make as well. I pray that you will each find success in whatever you endeavor to undertake. My simple request would be that whatever you undertake, you remember that you are not alone. You are part of a social fabric that makes up your local community, your state, and the nation. You can be a part of the progress or you can stand by and let others do it for you. I hope you will decide to get involved. It is not only your future that is at stake—it is the future of our state and our great country.

Thank You.

What Happened to the Month of March?

2010-04-05T09:41:00.000-07:00

It hardly seems possible that the last time I posted something on this blog, it was still February, and here I am today writing on a beautiful Easter Monday in April. Where did the month of March go?

Mostly it is a blur because I was traveling for much of the month. I started out by attending the Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference which is a fabulous professional development conference hosted in New York City. I attended the conference with the entire VEA Leadership team who includes VEA Vice President, Meg Gruber, Sr. NEA Director, Lee Dorman, and NEA Directors, Sarah Patton and Tommie McCune. We all attended a variety of sessions and learned much. The plenary sessions were awesome and included special guests, Queen Noor of Jordan and queen of rap, Queen Latifah.

One of the highlights of the conference for me was hearing Diane Ravitch speak to her "awakening" regarding her ill advised past support of charters, choice, merit pay, etc. and her realization that research and experience do not support the success of any of those so-called "reforms." Her latest book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education has launched a frontal assault on those from the reform movement who contend that schools should be run on a business model.

What is sad about Ms. Ravitch's epiphany regarding these reforms is that there isn't a teacher in the room to whom she spoke who couldn't have told her the exact same thing 20 years ago when the madness first began. I love her book mostly because I could have written it myself. I think what I like most is that I finally feel validated. I just hope it's not too late to wake others up.

For most of the rest of March, I have been traveling to a variety of pre-convention caucuses in preparation for the 2010 VEA Convention which is scheduled for later this month. I have attended 10 such meetings so far and have one more coming up mid-month. I love getting out and being with our members in this way. It gives me a chance to find out what is going on and to see for myself the vast differences between our various districts and regions. I have managed so far to visit every region in my efforts to get to as many pre-convention caucuses as possible, so I have been to Wise County, Roanoke, Front Royal, Newport News, Danville, Christiansburg, and Hanover, just to name a few.

Our convention, which will be held in Virginia Beach this year, is shaping up to be an exciting one. We are planning to open on Thursday night with a panel discussion of where we should go next with regard to the economic issues facing our commonwealth and how those economic issues are impacting our schools and our students. On Friday, we will conduct business and hear a variety of reports, and then on Friday evening, we will hold our second annual Awards Banquet followed by our second annual Art Auction. On Saturday, we will wind up the business and send delegates on their way, hopefully energized and inspired to activate their locals in preparation for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of us individually, professionally, and organizationally.

I have no idea when I might get to write again, but until then, may I suggest that anyone who is interested, pick up Diane Ravitch's book, or take a look at Linda Darling-Hammond's latest work entitled, The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future. I just read that Dr. Darling-Hammond gave a copy of her latest book to President Obama, and I for one, sure hope he reads it. I fear that he made a huge strategic error when he chose Arne Duncan over Dr. Darling-Hammond when he selected the Secretary of Education. Unlike Mr. Duncan who apparently thrives on competition, i. e. Race to the Top, where there must always be winners and losers, Dr. Darling-Hammond gets it that what our nation has striven for in the past in the education realm was equality and equity. I am currently reading The Flat World and Education and recommend it to anyone interested in an alternative way to approach education reform in this nation.

On that note, I will sign off for now.

Happy Spring everybody!

Kitty

Hundreds Rally for Kids

2010-02-28T16:01:00.000-08:00

I experienced one of the prouder moments of my VEA presidency yesterday. Not that I am not always proud to serve as the president of the Virginia Education Association. Indeed, I always feel proud, privileged, and honored to have the opportunity to represent our VEA members and to advocate for the children of the commonwealth, but some moments are, frankly, more memorable than others...and yesterday was certainly right up there near the top of the list of most memorable moments.

First of all, I have to offer a great big shout out to the school bus driver from Orange County who made yesterday possible. Lori Gues of the Orange County Education Association proved that one person CAN make a difference. Of course, she needed help, and that is where her president, Wanda Jones, her UniServ Director, Dave Oberg, and members like Kyle Wormuth joined in. A great big shout out also goes to the Superintendent of Schools in Orange County. Dr. Bob Grimesey modestly deferred all credit to Lori and the OCEA and offered that all he did was stay out of their way as they planned yesterday's event; but surely he knows that staying out of their way was a huge contribution to the event. Not many superintendents have the kind of courage that it takes to "get out of the way" of his or her employees, frankly, so a special thanks should go to him for his support--both moral and material.

In the final analaysis, though, it was the hundreds of members who showed up yesterday that made the event truly noteworthy. There have been times in the past when the VEA has attempted to sponsor an event and the concern is always whether anyone will come or not. In this case, because it was a grassroots effort--and because the issue is so critical to the future of Virginia--the rally took on a life of its own.

As I surveyed the crowd, I was moved by a variety of emotions. I was certainly proud of the Orange County leaders for stepping up and offering leadership the way they did. They didn't let cynicism or resignation or defeatism win the day. They stared the obstacles in the face and decided to do something anyway. Good for them!

I was also moved by the number of children in the crowd. Some carried signs (like the picture above). Few probably really appreciated why we were there. Surely they can't comprehend that their governor and their elected leaders are about to set them back educationally at just the time when we need to be more competitive than ever. Surely they don't understand that the budget shortfall of the commonwealth is to be balanced on their backs or that they are being asked to pay the price for an economy in crisis. Surely they don't appreciate that their teachers are about to be laid off by the hundreds leaving them in classes that are too large and too unweildy for any real learning to take place. At least, I hope the kids don't understand. It's bad enough that the adults in the crowd understood only too well what is about to happen.

The one thing that I hope came through what everyone said yesterday from Robley Jones, the Director of Government Relations at the VEA to Kathy Burcher, the Legislative Liaison for the Virginia PTA to Dr. Grimesey to Senator Edd Houck to me is that yesterday has to be the first step in what is going to be a long, drawn out battle for the hearts and minds of Virginians. The economic crisis that we face is very real, it is extremely deep, and it is going to last for several years.

That means that we at the VEA and our members across the state need to start educating members of the community at large about the need for a BALANCED approach to our state budget. A "cuts only" approach is going to set Virginia on a backward course...a course from which we may never really recover. If we are to move forward and recover from this period of crisis, we need to start looking at realistic ways to raise revenue. There are many avenues available to us and they wouldn't have to be painful; but they will require a recognition that we have an obligation as a society to work together on matters that relate to public education, public health, and public safety. The VEA is going to have to lead the way in developing that conversation, I believe, and based on yesterday's first step, I believe we are poised and ready to move that conversation forward. Too much is at stake not to. Indeed, our children are depending upon us, and we cannot let them down.

Virginia Needs Leadership NOW!

2010-02-14T16:02:00.000-08:00

The snow is still on the ground, but it's really beginning to heat up here in Richmond. Senators have been calling on the Governor to take a stand and offer some leadership. Meanwhile, the Governor finally unveiled his "education initiatives," but he has kept it strangely quiet that he has plans to cut education funding. The article that details the Governor's plan is entitled "McDonnell Privately Proposes Children’s Insurance, Education Cuts" which can be found at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2010/02/mcdonnell_cuts_emerge_slowly_p.html.

Another article which lays out what is happening in Richmond is entitled "Va. Senate Democrats in a Bind on Balancing State Budget," and can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/11/AR2010021104789.html.

These articles and several others like them get to the point that the General Assembly members are fast running out of time--and options--regarding what to do about the gaping hole in Virginia's budget for the next biennium. While they stick steadfast to their pledge to one another and the public not to raise taxes in the midst of a recession, they have also failed to offer one concrete suggestion as to what should be cut, and the cliff toward which they are careening will present itself next Sunday afternoon when the budget must be made public.

In the meantime, those who understand only too well what is about to happen--those in the education field including school board members, superintendents, and VEA leaders and employees--walk around the capital grounds with grim expressions and a very real sense of dread and doom. We understand only too well that unless something drastic happens soon, our school children are about to be robbed of their educations and their future prospects for successful lives. Instead of being the best place to bring a business and the best place to raise a child, manufacturers and corporate presidents will run away from Virginia as quickly as possible because our schools will no longer enjoy the ranking of being one of the best in the nation.

Ironically, it was just this week that the College Board recognized Virginia for increasing Advanced Placement test scores more than any other state over the past five years. (The full article can be found at http://hamptonroads.com/2010/02/virginia-ranks-third-advanced-placement-test-rankings.)

The Roanoke Times seems to have summed it up fairly well with the commentary, "McDonnell Wanted to Lead; Now's the Time" which can be found at http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/radmacher/wb/236365.

The VEA is ratcheting up its activity, too, in hopes of getting the public to pay attention to what is happening before it's too late. Starting this week, we will be paying for eight billboards around the Richmond Metro area. The site that we are using to promote our campaign is http://supportvirginiaschools.com/. We will be using a banner campaign on numerous web sites hoping to catch the eye of Virginia parents and citizens who care about the future of Virginia and its children.

If you haven't already gone to that site and clicked on it to communicate with the Governor and your Senator and Delegate, please do that right away. The only effective strategy that we have at our disposal is to put pressure on our "leaders" letting them know that decimating our schools is not the job we sent them to Richmond to do.

We need leaders now. Please join me in letting our legislators know that shortchanging our children on their futures and the quality of their education is not an option.

Until next time.

Kitty

2010-02-06T17:08:00.000-08:00

Since my last posting on January 17th, I have been busy monitoring the General Assembly; attended the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Conference in Cincinnati; traveled to the Tidewater and NOVA regions for two more Presidents’ Dinners; conducted a press conference; held a Tele-Town Hall meeting; chaired the January VEA Board of Directors meeting; and met with the new Secretary of Education, Gerard Robinson.

As I write this post, I am snowed in—like most of my fellow Virginians—watching the third major snowstorm of this winter and the second one in a week. Last weekend, I was snowed in at the Embassy Suites about six miles from my home because by the time we recessed our Board meeting that had started at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, the roads were too treacherous to try to navigate my way home and have any hope of returning for the rest of our board meeting on Sunday. The members of the board who were also snowed in made the best of the situation, sometimes playing in the snow while digging their cars out of the snow banks that surrounded the cars in the hotel parking lot.

In spite of the snow, we had a hugely successful VEA Lobby Day on Monday, February 1st. About 200 VEA members from all over the state showed up for the briefings either Sunday night or Monday morning. I cannot thank those folks enough. Their determination to show up in spite of the weather conditions speaks to their dedication to their jobs and also speaks to their understanding that we are facing some dire circumstances with regard to this year's General Assembly session.

We also had a few thousand members tune in to our Tele-Town Hall meeting on Thursday, January 28th while Robley Jones, Tom Allen, and I talked about the serious budget shortage that we are anticipating and some of the proposed changes in our Virginia Retirement System. I wish I could convey to our members just how hard our VEA lobbying cadre is working on their behalf. We have worked tirelessly to protect our VRS program; and we are also ever diligent in our efforts to kill off bad bills and promote those that we believe would be beneficial.

It's all an uphill battle, however. Our legislators in the House of Delegates seem to have undertaken a full out assault on public education with their cuts only approach to the budget. They have also taken steps to send the message that they don't trust local school boards to make decisions that they would rather make for them while not seeming to care about not being able to meet their financial responsibility to the school divisions around the state.

It leaves me wondering about leadership and the lack of it that I witness everyday.

While members of the House of Delegates prepare to gut school funding, they blissfully go about insisting on more tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations. They would permanently change the SOQ funding with no regard for their constitutional duty to "provide a system of free public elementary and secondary schools for all children of school age throughout the Commonwealth, and shall seek to ensure that an educational program of high quality is established and continually maintained."

Where has visionary leadership gone? There was a day, I believe, when legislators governed with a sense of deep responsibility toward their constituents--including children of future generations. Somewhere along the way, however, long range planning has become a thing of the past. Concern about future generations makes for good rhetoric but not for realistic action.

Legislators routinely speak out of both sides of their mouths. They claim the need to govern from Richmond such local issues as when school divisions can start school and what sorts of things need to be included in the day-to-day curriculum, but when it comes to sending the state's fair share of funding so that teachers can be paid a decent salary and students can continue to count on important programs like full day kindergarten or art and music, they claim that that isn't their responsibility. I believe that some have either never read the Constitution of Virginia and therefore really don't understand their duty or they have deliberately chosen to ignore their constitutional duty to the citizens of Virginia. Either way, what they are doing is, in my opinion, unconscionable.

What I entreat those reading this post to do is to start paying close attention to what is going on in Richmond this winter. The unusual snow storms that we have experienced are not the only historic events that are taking place. What is also about to take place is a gutting of historic proportions of our school funding at the state level. Our children are being robbed of their futures, and it is happening right under our noses.

I urge readers to monitor the VEA's legislative update daily at http://www.veadailyreports.com/ and to read your local newspapers to try to keep up with what is happening in Richmond.

Respond to the Cyberlobbying action alerts and information alerts. If you aren't yet a Cyberlobbyist, please sign up. You may do that by going to http://www.veadailyreports.com/2009/11/become-vea-cyber-lobbyist.html.

We need our members to take action.

Write your legislators. Call the legislative hotline.

Let your legislators know that shortchanging our children is not an option. We need them to do the job that they were elected to do--responsibly.

Until next time.

Kitty

New Year - New Challenges

2010-01-17T17:45:00.000-08:00

The 2010 year has started on a busy and challenging note. I have started my travels around the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of conducting the Regional Presidents' Dinners, and we have already completed three of the nine meetings. On January 6th, I traveled to the Skyline region and met with presidents and vice presidents from Page, Frederick, Warren, and Shenandoah Counties.

The budget news is bleak everywhere. School divisions are already facing budget shortfalls for this school year, and that doesn't even start to address the crisis that is looming for the next biennium.

The good news is that our local leaders have been making good use of the 10-minute meeting format around our information on the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and superintendents and principals across the region are eager to have the VEA leaders share their information.

On January 12th, I traveled to Lynchburg and met with local leaders from Bedford, Lynchburg, Charlotte Courthouse, Campbell, Amherst, and Danville. The news regarding the budget was much the same.

Then, on January 14th, I traveled to Charlottesville and met with leaders from Albemarle, Orange, Augusta, Louisa,and Harrisonburg.

Traveling with me to each of the regional meetings was VEA Vice President, Meg Gruber, and we were also joined in Front Royal and Charlottesville by NEA Director, Lee Dorman, and in Lynchburg by NEA Director, Tommie McCune.

In spite of the less than great news about budget issues, our leaders remain committed to promoting the VEA to members and yet-to-be members. They report creating a sense of working with administrations because the VRS issue is something that all education employees share in common, and there is something to be said about standing together as situations become more challenging.

Also this week, the 2010 session of the Virginia General Assembly began, and yesterday, Governor Bob McDonnell was inaugurated as the 71st governor of Virginia.

Like us, Governor Bob McDonnell is being presented with numerous daunting challenges. I hope that we will be able to find areas of common ground and an ability to work together for the betterment of the school children of Virginia.

I look toward this next week as another busy week of meetings with leaders and monitoring the General Assembly. Please stay tuned to the VEA's website (http://www.veanea.org) for pertinent news related to our association, and for the purpose of following the General Assembly session, check out the daily blog that is going to replaced the daily hotline. The address is http://www.veadailyreports.com.

Until next time.

Kitty

Winding up 2009--Looking ahead to 2010

2009-12-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

Since my last post, I have been on the go and have traveled much of the state. I started out the first week of December in Abingdon and attended the Legislative Dinner that was hosted by leaders in Districts 1 and 2. Representatives from the House of Delegates and the Senate attended, and a great dinner and dialogue was the result of the evening. VEA leaders used the opportunity to share the VEA's Legislative Agenda for 2010, and legislators each got a turn to share their predictions about how difficult the 2010 General Assembly session is shaping up to be. At that time no one knew what Governor Kaine's budget proposal might entail, but everyone was well aware that the budget of needs far exceeds the budget of available revenue unless some major overhauls are prescribed. It was a great evening of lively discussion, but the gloomy projections could not help but cast something of a pall over an otherwise delightful get-together.

I left the scenic mountain region of far Southwest Virginia on Tuesday morning and traveled I-81, I-77, and Route 58 to Danville where I met with leaders from the Southside of Virginia for the last of the Pre-Legislative Dinners.

On the following morning, after having returned to Richmond from Danville the night before, I traveled with Rob Jones to the Capital and met with members of the Virginia League of Women Voters. This active group of civic-minded women from all over the Commonwealth were holding their annual pre-legislative luncheon. At this event, representatives from a variety of state agencies and associations are invited to share their organizations' legislative agendas. Groups representing the environment, certain state agencies, women's and children's advocacy groups, the PTA, and several others along with the VEA were able to share the highlights from their various 2010 legislative agendas.

I left Richmond that afternoon to travel to Williamsburg where I attended the 2009 annual Virginia ASCD Conference. I heard a number of wonderful speakers and came away from that conference with a brain full of new ideas and thoughts regarding the future of public education and the momentous transition that we are all facing at this particular point in history. I believe it is safe to say that we are on the brink of major change in the way we conduct public education in this country. It is an exciting--if perplexing and somewhat anxiety producing time--to be involved in public education.

On Saturday of that week, I attended the VEA Fund for Children and Public Education Executive Committee meeting--and all of that took place in just one week!

The following week was no less busy. I traveled to Chesapeake on Monday and met (along with representatives from the Virginia Education Coalition) with Governor-elect McDonnell's Education Transition Team Co-Chairs (Dr. Bill Bosher and Delegate Chris Saxman) in Richmond on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I traveled to Washington D. C. for December's Super Week. I attended a number of meetings from Wednesday through Friday, and then on Saturday morning, I took off for New York City for a weekend of fun and pre-Christmas celebration.

Last week (starting December 14), after returning to Washington, D. C. from New York, I attended the December Arlington Education Association meeting, and spent the rest of the week conducting numerous meetings and clearing up end-of-the year activities in anticipation of being away from the office over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

One of the most important activities of last week was that I was witness to one of the last official duties of Governor Tim Kaine as he presented his 2011-2012 budget to the "money committees" of the General Assembly. For the details of the proposed budget, you might want to check our web site: http://www.veanea.org.

As we wind up this year, it is impossible not to be cognizant of the extremely difficult time that we are all facing. The majority in the House of Delegates has already declared the Governor's proposed revenue raising part of the budget "dead on arrival." Given that that is their attitude, things could get even rougher for our members and the students we teach, and, frankly, the cuts proposed to K-12 are already concerning enough.

I don't want to depress us all right here at the holidays with projections of doom and gloom, so I will simply say that the one thing I know for sure is that we will be working as hard as we can to make the most noise we can trying to protect the interests of our members and our students. Indeed, we are the only educator advocacy group who will. If anyone has ever questioned the wisdom of educators being engaged in politics, I believe they are about to learn via a crash course in reality why we need to be active in the political arena.

I'll sign off on that thought.

Happy Holidays to all.

Until next year.

Kitty

The Last Two Weeks

2009-11-24T17:53:00.000-08:00

Since writing last on November 8th, I have been busy as usual.

On November 9th, I testified before the Joint Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education for the purpose of maintaining the VEA position that in spite of the revenue shortfall that continues to get worse rather than better, we urge our lawmakers to protect K-12 classrooms as much as possible. It is important that we not shortchange our students at the very time when they need a high quality education that will help to prepare them for the challenges of the 21st century global economy. Specifically, one of the recommendations that I offered was as follows:

"VEA supports the policy direction adopted by the Virginia Board of Education on October 22, 2009, to 'Advocate against permanent structural changes to the Standards of Quality that result in decreased funding for K-12 public education.' The Board adopted this position following extensive study of the issue of funding our schools and following extensive public input. I urge you to base your decisions on this important policy direction."

In short, we continue to urge that lawmakers make every attempt to make cuts to K-12 education minimal and temporary. We have an uphill battle ahead of us, however. There are those in the House of Delegates who fail to appreciate their responsibility to uphold the Constitution of the Commonwealth which requires that they " shall provide for a system of free public elementary and secondary schools for all children of school age throughout the Commonwealth, and shall seek to ensure that an educational program of high quality is established and continually maintained."

Rest assured, we stand ready to remind them at every opportunity of their responsibility, but we will need the help and support of every educator in the Commonwealth as we enter this General Assembly session.

On November 10th I attended the Brunswick regional Pre-Legislative Dinner with Director of the Office of Government Relations and Research, Rob Jones and his Assistant, Doris Boitnott. We had a great turn out for that event, and we have one more dinner to attend next week in Danville.

On November 11th, I served as one member of a panel discussion sponsored by the Atlantic in partnership with Altria. The topic of discussion was "Beyond the Classroom: Collaborating to Leverage In-and Out-of School Efforts for Student Success." Joining me on the panel were Sherrie Brach, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg, Karen Pittman, Executive Director of the Forum for Youth Investment, and Ellen Winn, Director of the Education Equality Project. The event was moderated by the Deputy Managing Editor of Atlantic Monthly, James Gibney.

On November 12th, I left for New Orleans in order to attend a national conference of elected officers and executive directors from each of the state affiliates. This group which identifies itself as the National Council of State Education Affiliates (NCSEA) meets quarterly for the purpose of sharing with one another and networking around the various issues that are affecting us all. Topics of discussion included the most recent released regulations that are part of the Race to the Top funds, charter schools, and performance pay just to name a few. We listened to two dynamic speakers, and we had a great time networking with one another and sharing issues of common concern.

I returned to Virginia on November 17th and traveled the next day to Alexandria to celebrate ESP Day and American Education Week at John Adams Elementary School. I was joined by NEA President, Dennis Van Roekel and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan along with NEA Executive Committee member, Paul Monroe and ESP of the Year Debbie Axtell. We had a great time. We were entertained by the musical performance of students who played for us and we had 4th graders join us in the library media center so that they could help celebrate and recognize several of the ESP employees in their building.

After a brief ceremony in the library, we moved to the cafeteria where Dennis, Secretary Duncan, Paula, Debbie and I served lunch to 2nd graders who were pretty awestruck by the number of cameras that surrounded them while they chose between chicken or grilled cheese for lunch.

On Saturday, November 21st, I chaired the second and final meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee to Study Dues and yesterday and today I spent some valuable but rare time in the office for the purpose of catching up on mail, meetings, and routine business.

Next week I will be headed for Abingdon for a Legislative Dinner with the southwest legislators and leaders from Districts 1 & 2, and then I will meet Doris and Rob in Danville for the 9th and final Pre-Legislative Dinner of 2009.

Other important events that have occurred include the hiring of a new Director of Human Resources and Finance and a new secretary for the Office of Government Relations and Research. These new hires are the result of long time VEA employees who are retiring and leaving us next week. Brenda Cloyd who has been a part of the VEA landscape ever since she became vice president back in the early 1980's and Betty Wright who has worked for the VEA for 40 years are both retiring and their last day will be next week. It is going to be hard to think of their not being part of the VEA family...but we look forward to working with the individuals who are coming on in their new roles. We welcome them and hope that they will find the VEA a place where they can stay for the next 40 years.

In a couple of days we will all be celebrating Thanksgiving. I would like to sign off by offering my heartfelt wishes for a happy Thanksgiving for all who read this post. We have much to be thankful for in spite of the many challenges that are presenting themselves to us. Most specifically, we have each other, and for me, at least, I am thankful for that every single day.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Until next time.

Kitty

Looking Ahead

2009-11-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

The 2009 gubernatorial election is now behind us, and it is time to turn our serious attention to the problems and challenges that face us as a commonwealth. Many of our members and their families are going to be dealing with the challenges brought about by the gloomy economic forecasts which will impact our schools in the coming months and years.

With that thought in mind, I wrote the following letter of congratulations to Governor-elect McDonnell. It is a sincere message of congratulations. He ran a spectacular campaign. I hope he will have an equally spectacular term because his success will mean success for Virginians and ultimately for the children of Virginia.

For those who might be interested, I am including the text of the letter that I sent to Mr. McDonnell this week. That letter will make up the content of my blog posting for this time.

Until next time.

Kitty

Dear Governor-elect McDonnell:

Please accept my sincere congratulations on your election to Virginia’s highest office. Your campaign can only be characterized as disciplined and highly organized. Your hard work and ability to inspire voters ultimately won the day.

As you move from campaign mode into the realm of governing the commonwealth of Virginia, I would like to extend not only my congratulations but an offer to work with you for the betterment of public education in Virginia. In your acceptance speech on Tuesday evening, you said, “Give me a chance to earn your trust to work with you for the betterment of the commonwealth of Virginia.” I will certainly do that, and I respectfully request that you give me that same chance.

You also said that you plan to keep the promise as governor that you made as a candidate and that is to create more jobs and opportunity “so that every Virginian can use their God-given talents to pursue the American dream and liberty....” I would like to offer my assistance in helping you keep that promise.

The campaign is behind us. You will undoubtedly face many great challenges in the four years ahead. Ultimately, your success will translate into Virginia’s success. I look forward to working with you. In the meantime, please accept my warmest congratulations on your hard won victory.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kitty J. Boitnott, President

Virginia Education Association

Seven Stops in Seven Virginia Locations for Deeds Educational Opportunities Bus Tour

2009-10-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

Photo: The first bus stop on the Deeds Educational Opportunity Bus Tour
Charlottesville, VA, October 19, 2009

I have just finished three of the more intensive days of my presidency so far. I stumped around the Commonwealth traveling almost 1000 miles in those three days trying to reach out to our members and the state's secondary media markets with the message that we have less than two weeks before the Virginia election for statewide offices and all 100 House of Delegates seats, and we are in need of pumping a little excitement and enthusiasm into our otherwise voter fatigued citizenry.

My appeal is especially to my VEA members and education colleagues who have much riding on this gubernatorial election. We have two clear choices. Creigh Deeds who has been a proven friend of public education and the 93.5% voting record to prove it, or his opponent, who is a champion of merit pay, vouchers and tax credits, and whose own voting record from his days in the House was only 52%.

Hmmm. 93.5% = A. 52% = F.

Could our choice for electing a friend of public education--one who believes in the opportunities to be afforded to Virginia's citizenry through public education--be any clearer? I don't see how.

I started out our statewide trek in Charlottesville on one of the most beautiful autumn mornings we have had so far this fall. From there, we headed back east to Petersburg for an afternoon stop in front of the Petersburg Courthouse. We wound up the first day of our tour with a stop in Richmond.

On the bus, we had First Lady of Virginia, Anne Holton, who is committed to helping Creigh Deeds become our next Governor of Virginia. We also had Creigh's son, Gus, with us in Charlottesville before he peeled off for other campaign duties.

While Gus needed to be somewhere else, we met up with others throughout the day who helped us to carry our message from differing perspectives. In Charlottesville, for example, we had Dr. Fred Diehl, a professor from the University of Virginia with us. He spoke to his understanding of Creigh's commitment to higher education in Virginia as well as his well-known record in K-12 education over the course of his 18-year history in the General Assembly both as a Delegate and as a Senator.

In Petersburg, we were joined by parent, Stella Edwards, a long time friend of the VEA, and Senator Henry Marsh who shared his own experience working with Creigh over the years.

In Richmond, we continued on with the First Lady and Senator Marsh, and we were joined by Mayor Dwight Jones and several other city and state officials and candidates for office. The neat thing about the Richmond stop is that we were joined by school-aged children who attend the Peter Paul Development Center's after school program. How appropriate to have children with us since it is for the children that we teach that this election is the most critical regarding its outcome.

Immediately upon the conclusion of the Richmond bus stop, I took off for northern Virginia where I stayed in Falls Church in order to be positioned for the first stop of that day at the VT Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church. By Wednesday, I was the only person on the tour who had completed the first day of traveling. The First Lady had to deal with other responsibilities, and Gus Deeds and Dr. Diehl and the others were replaced on the tour by former Delegate Jim Dillard, Republican, from Fairfax.

Many of our members know Delegate Dillard not only as a retired delegate from the House and a long time friend of public education, but he is also a retired educator from the Fairfax County Public Schools and FEA-Retired. Jim's message was powerful because as Chair of the House Education Committee while he served in the House, he had opportunities to work with both of the candidates for Governor. In spite of his long time standing with the Republican party, Delegate Dillard supports the Democratic candidate, Creigh Deeds, and he laid out clearly the reasons for doing so.

In addition to having Delegate Dillard join me in Falls Church, we were privileged to be joined by Congressman Jim Moran who also spoke quite eloquently and forcefully to the reasons for electing Creigh to be the next Governor of Virginia.

From Falls Church, we traveled to Leesburg where we were joined by Senator Mark Herring and House of Delegates member and candidate for re-election, David Poisson. Both men joined me and president of the Loudoun Education Association, Sandy Sullivan, in speaking to why we need to work hard between now and November 3 to get out the vote for our candidate.

From Falls Church, we traveled to Winchester and there, in front of the Charlotte Dehart Elementary School, we were joined by former Senator Russ Potts, a long time friend of the VEA and a fierce advocate for education. Senator Potts chaired the Senate Health and Education Committee. He, too, is able to speak straight from his experience in working with both candidates for Governor, and in spite of his long time stance in the Republican Party of Virginia, Senator Potts is endorsing Creigh Deeds for Governor.

It should be hugely telling to our moderate Republican friends and Independent voters that the judgment of Delegate Dillard and Senator Potts along with the endorsement of former Senator John Chichester and others that they are backing Creigh Deeds for Governor. They are crossing party lines and breaking ranks with their own party for the good of Virginia. We at the VEA need to help them get that message out. It is an important message that has been largely lost in the campaign rhetoric until now, but we still have over a week to get the message out among our members, their families, and their neighbors.

From Winchester, I headed south on I-81 and spent the night in Roanoke where I wound up our three-day, seven-stop tour in front of the Jefferson Center, joined by Sarah Patton, NEA Director from Covington and former Delegate and current Chair of the Virginia Democratic Party, Dick Cranwell. We were also joined by parent activist and public education advocate, Butch Johnstone.

For my closing remarks about just how critical I believe this election is, please click on the link below and you can hear first-hand my plea to the assembled crowd to help get out the vote. Time is running out, but it's not too late for us to make a difference in spite of what the polls say.

The only poll that matters is the one that is taken on Election Day, and we can make the critical difference if we turn out in sufficient numbers!

Kitty Boitnott appearing in Roanoke, Virginia, October 22, 2009 with a message to Virginia voters.

As I write this post, we have 11 days to make a difference. Everyone who cares about the future of Virginia is turning out from President Obama to Governor Kaine to Senators Warner and Webb along with Creigh's Republican supporters and dozens of other organizations that have committed themselves to Creigh's success.

No one is more committed to Creigh's success, however, than I am, as president of the Virginia Education Association. I understand the significance of this election on the three core values that I have and that drive me as I perform the duties of president of the largest association of educators in the Commonwealth of Virginia--preserving public education, promoting the education profession, and advocating for the students we teach every day.

I know that Creigh shares those goals and values with me.

I urge you to get out and help Creigh in these last days of the election.

Volunteer in these last days and you could win an opportunity to meet President Obama when he makes his Virginia appearance at ODU Tuesday, October 27th. For more information, click here.

I'll be leaving Richmond again in just a couple of days. I have a breakfast scheduled with members in Staunton Monday morning, October 26 before my VP, Meg Gruber, and I head west for Abingdon for our fourth Pre-Legislative Dinner and budget and resolutions hearings. From Abingdon, we'll head back to Salem for the Pre-Legislative Dinner scheduled there, and then back to Staunton where we will complete the sixth of our nine scheduled Pre-Legislative Dinners combined with the hearings on the 2010-2011 budget and resolutions.

From there, I will be heading to the Tidewater area next weekend, I think, to help with the GOTV efforts for some of our friends in the region as the last days of the election season wind down.

I'm doing all I can to help our friends finish a successful bid for their respective offices. Please join me.

The VEA CAN make a difference in this election--I just know it.

Until next time.

Kitty

VEA Members Walk for Friends of Public Education

2009-10-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 17th was the day that the Virginia Education Association selected to walk for our friends who are running for office in the General Assembly, for Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General. We might have been able to pick a worse day weather-wise, but we would have had to work at it. In spite of the drizzly rain and chilly temperatures, however, dozens of our members turned out to canvas neighborhoods for our friends.

In Fairfax, we kicked off the day with a Rally for Creigh Deeds, our recommended candidate for Governor. Creigh joined us at the FEA Office and dozens of volunteers were there to cheer him on and gear up to either walk neighborhoods or work phone banks.

A huge thank you goes out to the FEA for their offering of the FEA office for the event. It was a great collaborative effort as not only did the FEA step up, but I was able to attend representing the state affiliate, and we were honored to have our Immediate Past President and current NEA Executive Committee member, Princess Moss who joined us for the event.

In addition to having Princess with us, another NEA officer also volunteered his Saturday. NEA Executive Committee member, Len Paolillo of Massachusetts walked with House of Delegates representative, Paul Nichols and members of the Prince William Education Association. I know that there were other walks that were being conducted all over the state, and I look forward to receiving reports from folks as to how their day went.

In addition to attending our own Rally for Creigh Deeds on Saturday morning, I also attended a rally at the Mason District Park in Fairfax where Governor Tim Kaine was traveling with Creigh and Jody Wagner, the candidate for Lt. Governor. We are also recommending Jody for that office along with Steve Shannon who is our recommended candidate for Attorney General.

The day was miserable weather-wise, but the good feeling being generated by our hopes that Creigh can come from behind one more time and prevail in this election was palpable. As Creigh himself said yesterday, we have 17 days and he's only 7 points down. As I have been saying for weeks now, I believe that our VEA members can make the difference in this race. We must make the difference. We know that Creigh is committed to taking Virginia forward--not taking us backward. We know that Creigh is committed to making Virginia's public schools the best in the nation. We know that his rhetoric matches his record. We know we can count on Creigh.

The day was topped off with the great news that the Washington Post has also recognized that Creigh should be the next Governor of Virginia. They offered an endorsement for Creigh in their "Mr. Deeds for Governor" article late last night.

We have just over 2 weeks to go.

Election day is November 3, 2009.

We have a lot of work to do, but we CAN do it.

Until next time.

Kitty

Pre-Legislative Dinners Begin Along with Budget and Resolutions Hearings

2009-10-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks have been such a blur of activity that I can hardly remember everything I have done and everywhere I have been. This week, Meg Gruber, VEA Vice President, and I started our round of the state in conjunction with VEA Director of Government Relations and Research, Robley Jones, and his Assistant, Doris Boitnott for the purpose of gathering input on the budget and resolutions and presenting the VEA's 2010 Legislative Agenda. We were in Hampton on Monday night, Norfolk on Tuesday night, and in NOVA on Thursday night. I would like to thank everyone who turned out for these important events. It's always appreciated when our members take time out of their busy schedules in order to demonstrate their commitment to the association.

I am proud of our Legislative Agenda. We have worked hard to create a balance of issues that are important to all of our members. We address funding, we continue to address parity and the lack of it for our ESP members, and we are committed to opposing legislation that would be detrimental to public schools. We have also come to recognize that we need to prepare to fend off any and all attacks on our Virginia Retirement System (VRS). We are very concerned that the downtown in the economy is going to serve as too great a temptation to our legislators who may see that pot of money as a convenient fund to raid. We at the VEA will not allow that to happen, but our members need to understand the importance of protecting that benefit for the educators of Virginia.

Today, we held our All Committee Day at the Crossings in Glen Allen. We hosted just under 100 of our committee members and staff who convened for the purpose of reviewing their various committee's charges and creating recommendations that will be taken to the VEA Board of Directors for consideration.

We also got an update on the upcoming election. It is only a few weeks away, and I am increasingly concerned that our members are suffering from election fatigue. We worked so hard last year for President Obama, and it has been hard to work up the same kind of enthusiasm this year even though the state election in Virginia in 2009 is a critical one.

It hasn't helped that both campaigns have taken a negative turn. Unfortunately, negative campaigns work which is why candidates use them.

At the VEA we have stuck to the facts, and we are proud of the ads that the VEA sponsored and aired in the Richmond and Tidewater regions. The polls have demonstrated that our ads have been effective, and they have stuck to the facts.

I wish I knew what magic words to use to get our members energized enough to work as hard as they can in these final days. I also wish I could count on everyone going to the polls on November 3 and taking their family, friends, and colleagues with them to vote for Creigh Deeds, Jody Wagner, and Steve Shannon along with our other friends of education.

Somehow our members have got to start making the connection between politics, education policy, and the association's political power. We have talked about it to some degree, but we have a long way to go before we are ready to fully embrace our full potential as a political power player. Our friends and opponents see it...but our own members fail to understand and/or appreciate their own important part in developing the political landscape of Virginia.

Having said that, I urge every individual who is reading this post to volunteer to do something for one or more of our recommended candidates between now and November 3.

Next Saturday, October 17 would be a great place to start. All over Virginia, the VEA will be sponsoring walks for our candidates. In Fairfax, I will be joining Past President and current NEA Executive Director Princess Moss at the Fairfax Education Association building in downtown Fairfax for a rally for Creigh. Others will be convening at different locations around the Commonwealth for walks, canvassing, and drumming up support for our recommended candidates. Please consider participating. It will only take a few hours, and it could be the effort that we need to turn the tide on the polls and tip the advantage toward our recommended candidates.

No matter what you do, please plan to vote for our recommended candidates on November 3. For Governor, we recommend Creigh Deeds. For Lt. Governor, we recommend Jody Wagner. And for Attorney General, we recommend Steve Shannon. For specific targeted races, please check out our election related web site at http://www.veaelection09.com.

Until next time.

Kitty

Future Prospects for Public Education in Virginia and Why the VEA Supports Creigh Deeds for Governor

2009-09-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

Since my last posting, I have turned my attention to several different issues and important events in a variety of arenas including politics, policy, and association business. Last weekend, for example, I attended a VEA Board Retreat at Mariners Landing in Bedford County on beautiful Smith Mountain Lake. Our VEA Board of Directors embarked on a new membership year with an important training on diversity followed by a discussion of the need to create a new vision and mission statement for the VEA followed by the conduct of business with a full board agenda before adjourning at noon on Sunday.

Midweek, I went to Washington, D. C. in order to attend part of NEA's "Super Week." Quarterly, the state presidents and national officers and all of the NEA Board of Directors descend upon our nation's capital for the purpose of conducting the association's business between Representative Assemblies. It's called "Super Week," I suspect, because it involves a super human effort to cram as many meetings into four days as possible.

I came home from "Super Week" earlier than usual this time because I wanted to meet with the UniServ Directors who had been conducting their own staff meeting on Thursday and Friday; and today, I convened a brief meeting of our VEA Fund for Children and Public Education Executive Committee and PAC Directors in order to finalize some of our local candidate recommendations in preparation for the November 3rd state election.

With regard to the upcoming state election, we at the VEA have launched a series of political messages and mailings including a television ad that I hope will help to communicate to the public and to our members that the gubernatorial race that looms ahead is one that warrants their serious attention. We have made a recommendation for Creigh Deeds for Governor of Virginia because of Creigh's excellent 18-year-record of support for public education. His record in contrast to his opponent's legislative record made our choice fairly easy this time. Creigh had a 93.5% voting record (compared to his opponent's 52% voting record) over the course of his tenure in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate. He has been a champion for the goal of bringing Virginia's teachers' salaries to the national average, and he recognizes the importance of providing every child in the Commonwealth of Virginia with an opportunity for a great public school and a highly qualified teacher. Creigh's own history is a testament to the power of a public education and the importance of every Virginia student being given an opportunity to succeed.

Creigh Deeds has a long road on the campaign trail ahead of him, however. The economy continues to create worries about the future. President Obama's popularity has taken some serious blows as the result of the health care debate which has, unfortunately, reached new lows as far as public discourse and debate. People are afraid and uncertain about their own futures, much less the futures of the Commonwealth and the nation. It's a tough time to be in public office or to be seeking public office.

One thing I know for sure, however. The future of public education in Virginia hangs in the balance as this political race heats up. We have on the one hand a candidate who clearly and unabashedly supports public schools and public school employees. We know that not just from his rhetoric but from his accumulated actions over the course of an 18 year legislative record. That candidate is Creigh Deeds.

We know from Creigh's opponent in this race for Governor that he is not so much a fan of the opportunities to be found in a system of high quality public schools. Instead, he is a proponent of vouchers and tax credits, and he claims to be a candidate in favor of "bold reforms" such as charter schools. The odd thing about that claim is that when asked for specifics about his plan for charter schools, he had nothing to offer with regard to any specific proposal or outline. He also admitted that given our current laws in Virginia, pursuing an expansion of charter schools in Virginia might be "problematic" but he dismissed the "problem" as being something that he would work out later.

The "problem" is that in Virginia, we have legislation already in place that addresses how charter schools can be established. Furthermore, Virginia's Constitution requires that public schools--including public charter schools--be established, operated, and overseen by local school boards.

For more on how and why charter schools are not the answer for Virginians, please see the following article that was printed in the Washington Post last July: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/11/AR2009071102327.html. (To see the article, click on the link.)

What has become increasingly apparent in recent weeks and months is that the line between politics and public policy--including education policy--has become blurred. What used to be relegated to the realm of policy--the establishment of schools and the rules they are run by; the development of "alternative" forms of public education; the discussion of what constitutes educational innovation, creativity, experimentation, etc.--these are increasingly included in the political debate about schools. Worse, the debate is increasingly driven by ideology as opposed to what is research based, considered best practice, or is in the best interest of the children whom are in need of the education.

The fact of the matter is that the research is mixed regarding the success of charter schools in the nation. You can find examples of great ones; but you can also find examples of failing ones, many of which are being closed down daily.

The same can be said of our neighborhood's public schools. There are some great ones, and there are some that are in need of support.

So why the push for charter schools as the silver bullet that will solve the problems that are being faced in some of our nation's poorest public schools? The media has certainly helped to create the sense of crisis around the current public school system in this country; and it's been egged on by our current Secretary of Education and our President who are familiar with one type of charter school that they have seen succeed in Chicago. I respectfully disagree with their point of view that what may have been good for the troubled schools in Chicago's urban centers necessarily translate to what would be good for the rest of the nation.

The fact of the matter is that most parents are satisfied with their own public neighborhood school! And aren't they the ones to have the best idea as to what is really going on in their kids' schools? For the research on that finding, see http://www.gallup.com/poll/122432/parents-rate-schools-higher-americans-overall.aspx. (To see the article, click on the link.)

Furthermore, just a few days ago (September 23rd), Forbes once again announced that Virginia is the best state in the nation for business, and included in that ranking is a comment on the quality of life in Virginia which includes an index of schools. (For the article, clink on the link: http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/23/best-states-for-business-beltway-best-states.html.)

What Creigh Deeds promises to do is to continue to move Virginia forward. His opponent would like to take us back to the Leave to Beaver days. If you don't believe that, you need to read his thesis (see full thesis, click this link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/McDonnell_thesis_082909.pdf?sid=ST2009082902758) which he has alternately denied and then refused to retract. For his latest comment on the content of his thesis, see the following link entitled "I'm Not Apologizing:" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR_KGwcGOSY#watch-main-area.

Moving forward? Taking us back? The choice for me is clear. The choice for our VEA Fund Directors was clear. Creigh Deeds is our recommendation, and I encourage each and every one of our VEA members to get informed and then get involved so that we can make the difference for Creigh Deeds. We at the VEA want to move Virginia forward.

We will need your help. Creigh will need your help.

Until next time.

Kitty

The Message of the President at Wakefield High

2009-09-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

I had the extraordinary privilege yesterday of participating in an historic event. I knew it was historic as did the gymnasium full of young people and adults who were experiencing it along with me. The principal of Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, Mrs. Doris Jackson knew it, and she reminded the students to “be in the moment.” She told them that she knew they were excited, and they were going to want to take pictures and text and “all that,” but she seriously implored them to take time to “BE in the moment.”

“You will talk about this day not just today and tonight and tomorrow...but you will talk about this day to your children years from now...and to their children.”

It was a reminder to everyone in the room that an important moment was about to take place. And those in the gymnasium were going to have the honor of being there to experience it in person.

I felt the electric energy of those hundreds of young people as I entered their school gym. I have no idea how long they had been sitting there, patiently waiting. And they did wait patiently. There was a buzz in the room, but there were no antics, no horseplay, no tomfoolery.

There was just eager anticipation. The crowd erupted into enthusiastic cheers every time the announcer came on the loudspeaker. When Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was being introduced, the crowd came dangerously close to booing because their patience had just about been exhausted by then. They wanted to see and hear their President!

When he finally approached the podium, the students erupted. One might have wondered if they had wandered into a rock concert. This President has an extraordinary appeal, and that, I suspect, is what the critics were so worried about as they voiced their otherwise incomprehensible objections over the President’s desire to speak to the nation’s children on the first day of a new school year.

Part of the President’s appeal to this crowd, however, is that he is one of them. He WAS one of them as a teenager. He reminded his listeners that he had not always been President. He was a kid whose dad disappeared when he was only two years old. He was raised by a single mother who struggled with the everyday challenge of paying the bills, and she wasn’t always able to give him everything that other kids had. There were times when he missed having a father in his life. There were times when he was lonely and didn’t fit in. So he wasn’t always as focused as he should have been, and he sometimes got into trouble. “And,” the President admitted, “my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.”

The difference for the President was that he got some “second chances,” and he took advantage of them and went to college and law school and “followed his dreams.”

His story is not so different from the story of millions of students who populate our classrooms every day. Every teacher knows them. The kids who are struggling with challenges at home that interfere with their ability to concentrate and care about school. Today, perhaps more than ever, kids are suffering from the same worries and anxieties as their parents. There are a lot of families who are struggling right now. Millions have lost their jobs. Millions have lost their homes. Millions more are hanging on by their fingernails, barely keeping up, living month to month with no savings to speak of. The future is uncertain at best and scary at worst. And on top of it all, the adults in their lives seem to have, in some cases, lost their senses and all sense of reality.

The whole speech was, in my opinion, worthy of any student’s attention.

Some of the gems that I took special note of as I sat there and listened in rapt attention along with the rest of folks in the room include the following:

“You become good at some things through hard work.” He followed that up by encouraging students to experiment with different things and pursue different topics in order to learn what they are “good at.” He encouraged them to take advantage of every opportunity to learn and participate in activities so they could discover their own individual talents, abilities, and passions.

“All kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn,” and he suggested that perhaps his listeners might decide to “stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look.”

“There is no excuse for not trying.”

What else can you say about that?

When I returned home from Arlington yesterday, I walked into a local 7-Eleven to get a cup of coffee, and I saw a couple of my former students. The last time I saw them, they were in the third grade. This year they are starting fifth grade. As is typical of boys that age, they had grown about six inches since the last time I saw them, but they recognized me immediately and spoke.

I told them that I had just been to hear the President’s speech, and their eyes lit up, and one of them said, “Realllllly???”

I asked them if they had had a chance to see it at school. “No. They told us we might get to see it Friday,” they said rather wistfully.

I was sad for them that they didn’t get to participate in the historic moment live, because, frankly, I think it will likely lose something in its delayed format.

Don’t get me wrong. The message will still be strong and clear.

Work hard. Do your best. Stay in school. Take personal responsibility for your own success. There is no excuse for not trying.

Those are powerful words any time, live or taped.

Furthermore, I believe that the words are particularly powerful when delivered in the context of a culture that glamorizes and glorifies individuality but diminishes and downplays the idea of personal responsibility.

Hum. Maybe that is what the critics were worried about.

Regardless of the critics and pundits and the Twitterers, in the end, the President proved once again that he has an extraordinary talent for using words and ideas to communicate important concepts and messages. I believe that his message resonated in a powerful way with his young listeners yesterday at Wakefield High and in the hundreds of schools where it was allowed to play live. I believe that it will resonate in a powerful way with the listeners who have an opportunity to listen to it later as well. It’s just that they won’t experience the same sense of participating in an historic moment.

It won’t be a critical difference, perhaps, but it will be a difference.

One last thought before I sign off.

I think we should ALL take the President’s message to heart even though we may not be students, and as adults, we are not necessarily the intended audience. That makes his message no less important, however.

“Work hard. Do your best. There’s no excuse for not trying.”

Wouldn’t our country be better off if we all took that message to heart everyday in everything we do?

Wouldn’t we be better off as a country, as citizens, and as human beings trying to make a positive difference in this world of ours?

Until later,

Kitty

On the Back to School Message of the President

2009-09-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

President Obama has scheduled an address to children on the importance of working hard and doing their best as the new school year kicks off for much of the country on Tuesday, September 8.

Much to my consternation, Conservatives have decided to take offense.

They are accusing the President of attempting to "indoctrinate" the nation's children.

Apparently some of the critics of the idea think the President will try to sell his economic plan and his hopes for health care reform to the captive audience while he speaks.

Really?

Does anyone think the kids would even listen if he were to start talking economics and health care? Do they know any children at all?

In localities all around the country, teachers are being told not to show the speech to their students because it is being viewed as "political."

Really?

Since when did working hard and valuing an education become a political message?

Given the craziness that seems to have gripped many of the otherwise rational citizens of our nation, you would think I would be getting used to this topsy turvy world by now.

I admit, though, that I am really struggling with this one.

We have our first ever African American President who is where he is in large part because of his access to an education that he has used to help him reach the highest office in the land.

He has repeatedly mentioned the importance of his getting a good education as a contributing factor of his success.

We know from his election night speech and his Inaugural speech and his dozens of other speeches that he has a gift for oratory that can uplift and inspire his listeners.

For many children of color or children from low income families or children from single-parent homes who have never considered that THEY might ever become president, his message could easily be a powerful motivator.

And why wouldn't we want to motivate our kids to work hard, do their best, value their education, respect their teachers and the opportunities available to them?

This is indoctrination? This is political?

Really?

This from the same folks who, not so long ago, insisted on forcing teens to watch Channel One's morning version of the daily news and the accompanying advertisements? Where was the outrage about indoctrination then?

Let's not forget that President Obama is the President of the United States. Having an opportunity to address the children of the nation in order to encourage them to work hard and do their best is a privilege that goes along with the job.

President Reagan did it and it was okay.

President George H. W. Bush did it and it was okay.

I would think we would want to use any and all methods we can to start kids off on a positive note with a view of what their education can mean to them or what they can do if they just put their minds up to it.

I would think we would want to use any and all methods we can to start kids off with the intention that they are going to do well, set goals, and finish school.

But instead, there are those who would teach our students to disrespect not only their President, but the office of president.

So much for Civics 101.

Kitty

An Open Letter to VEA Members: Why We Need to Work Hard for Creigh Deeds for Governor

2009-09-02T05:03:00.000-07:00

I am writing this entry from out of town, and I am writing regarding a topic that brings me no great pleasure, I assure you.

I feel compelled to share, however, how deeply disturbed I am now that I have read for myself the Bob McDonnell thesis that has been the topic of so much conversation and controversy since Sunday.

I have read it through myself instead of depending on the editorializing of the political pundits. I believe it is worth the time it will take for you to read it yourself.

Please understand. I get it that it was written 20 years ago. I get that it was an academic paper. I get that things change...people change...and perhaps, I could even get that we should give Mr. McDonnell the benefit of the doubt...until I actually read his words for myself.

In my opinion, they are quite chilling in their condemnation of a large portion of our society--working women, those who consider themselves "feminists," members of the GLBT community, heads of single-parent homes, singles who delay or choose not to marry at all, those who believe in and promote public education or government assistance of any sort for families in distress...and the list goes on. Anyone who isn't a conservative Republican interested in the preservation of the family unit as defined by the Christian Bible is subject to criticism and judgment.

His passion is clear. His intention for the Republican Party as a vehicle for social engineering is unmistakable. His longing for the 1950's "Leave It To Beaver" days is palpable.

I, too, remember the 1950's as an idyllic time. I grew up in a traditional two-parent family and had the luxury of a wonderful childhood. I knew I was loved. To this day, I know where my family's roots are. I am one of the lucky ones. In today's world, I may very well be in the minority.

That doesn't make me superior, and it shouldn't make me smug or judgmental of those who have had a different experience...either by choice or by happenstance.

The judgment around the issue of women needing to work outside the home; of women believing that they have equal rights in our society; the condemnation for those who are part of the GLBT community; the clear and unmistakable assessment that the family unit as a traditional mother, father, and one or two children with no deviation...it's all there.

It isn't a matter of putting words in the man's mouth. It is a matter of reading the man's words for yourselves.

Again, I get that he wrote these words 20 years ago. I get that people change, and certainly, I would hope that we all mellow a little from the rigidity of our youth as we experience life's various challenges.

But I find it very difficult to believe that one's personal, deeply held values and heartfelt beliefs would have changed that much. And frankly, as you read the responses of those who worked with Mr. McDonnell while he was in the House of Delegates, you will see that they believe the thesis does, in fact, portray Mr. McDonnell's personal and political views and gives us a peek at what sort of Governor he would become if elected.

Please don't just take my word or it, however. I am just one individual who has my own biases and filters. I am more than ready to admit that I run the risk of not being totally objective in my reaction to this document.

And please understand. I feel some compassion for Mr. McDonnell given that the firestorm around his words rouses a certain amount of compassion for anyone who finds himself in the midst of a media free-for-all...but in this matter we have too much at stake not to be aware so that we can know what our choices are in November.

It is up to us to be informed.

We have access to the actual document.

I think we should take advantage of the information available to us.

I am including the link to the thesis below so all you have to do is cut and paste into your browser and read.

It took me a little over an hour to read all the way through. You can get the gist of it by skimming it, I think, but like being at the scene of a car wreck, I found myself unable not to read it carefully all the way through, so it took me a little over an hour.

I suggest that you need to read it for yourself, because in my opinion, the pundits don't do it any justice. You have to see it for yourself.

In my opinion, it gives us all motivation to work as hard as we can to elect Creigh Deeds Governor of Virginia in November. We need an inclusive Governor who accepts people from all walks of life and who is looking for solutions to society's problems not for ways to condemn those who don't agree with one particular point of view.

The Bob McDonnell Thesis:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/McDonnell_thesis_082909.pdf?sid=ST2009082902758

Back to School and Fall Elections

2009-08-23T07:00:00.001-07:00

The past two weeks have been filled with back to school events and preparation for the fall elections. It's just that time of year.

On August 10, I had the honor and privilege of speaking to the newest group of national board candidates who committed most of that week in August to preparing themselves for the most rigorous of professional development processes. They demonstrated their resolve and commitment to the process by going through the intense JumpStart training that is offered each year jointly by the Hampton Public Schools and the VEA.

The national board process is not for sissies...and it's not for people who are looking for a few easy professional development points. It's a process that requires individuals to delve deeply into their teaching practice, their philosophy, and to question and reflect on the multitude of decisions that they make as professionals each and every day. It is also a process for those in our profession who are deeply committed to students and achievement and want an opportunity to prove their mettle. I am a national board certified teacher myself, so I am very well aware of the sacrifice that these folks will be making as they immerse themselves in this most rigorous process. I wish them all well and congratulate them on having just made the decision to put themselves on the line in this way.

I also attended and presented at the Northern Virginia Regional Rep Training in Loudoun. I presented a session on "Current Issues and Advocacy." I found out later that the session was listed as "Critical Issues" on their agenda, so I had apparently misread the topic when I got my assignment. I decided that since our current issues are also, for the most part, critical in nature and they require our collective advocacy, it all worked out.

My presentation included the current debate over health care, the recognition that the economic crisis is having a major impact on what we do in the classroom as declining resources bump up against growing needs. We all know that we worry everyday about those students who don't have enough support at home to be successful in school. That means adequate housing, a healthy diet, and good health care that includes preventive medicine as well as an opportunity for medical attention when needed. Those essential needs impact the quality of life of our students, and when they come to school after spending a night in the car--assuming the family still has a car--hungry and/or sick--is it any wonder that their attention in school is lacking and their level of achievement is negatively impacted?

The upcoming elections here in Virginia are also beginning to heat up. I don't think most people will start to pay serious attention until after Labor Day when the traditional election season begins. There are many political pundits who are already weighing in, however, and within the circles where folks have something riding on the upcoming gubernatorial election, the debate is already heated.

We at the VEA are wholeheartedly recommending to our members for their consideration the gubernatorial candidate, Senator Creigh Deeds.

Creigh has been a long time friend of the Virginia Education Association. His 18-year record as a legislator--first in the House of Delegates and later as state Senator--has yielded a 93.5% voting record on our issues. In most school divisions around the state, that would round up to an "A" on his report card.

Even more significantly, Creigh has been consistent in his support, and we appreciate his heartfelt belief that the right to a quality public education is the responsibility of the state and an obligation that we owe every child in the Commonwealth.

Some will dismiss our recommendation because there is the mistaken belief that the VEA is only ever going to recommend those in the Democratic party. I suggest that those critics take a closer look. We are, in fact, recommending some Republican friends because we are issue driven and party blind. We don't care what party one belongs to. We care about their position on our issues.

There are those who would misrepresent or mis-characterize or take our comments out of context for their own political aims, however. And while they think they are clever in their derision, they just strike me as unable to debate the merits of the issue every time they feel the need to criticize me personally or the VEA in general.

Just this week, for example, my name was used in not so flattering terms with regard to characterizing our VEA legislative and policy positions in at least three different forums: the Family Foundation Blog; The Richmond Times Dispatch opinion section on Friday, August 21; and today in the Washington Post, as the head of the Virginia Republican Party attempted to mis-characterize comments that I made to a group of our members with regard to our position on charter schools.

What I said was that we were working with the administration in Washington on those issues because the "devil is in the details." And I believe that to be the case. I also contended in an article that was printed in the Washington Post a few weeks ago that in Virginia, we don't need a proliferation of charter schools because we believe that we already have many avenues already available to our communities that allows for innovation and creativity within the public school sector. I also contended and continue to contend that the authority for establishing charter schools should remain with the local school board--not with the state board of education.

What I find unfortunate is that the folks who disagree with us on these and similar issues can't seem to separate the issues from personalities. Please, let us debate the merits and demerits of the issue of charter schools, pay for performance, vouchers and tax credits. But can't we do it without the negative tone of implied derision and open disrespect that comes with name calling and the deliberate mis-characterization and misinterpretation of positions?

Whatever happened to the process of civil public discourse?

I think we as adults set a terrible example for our children when we engage in disrespectful public debate. We know better. We should do better.

In the meantime, however, as the President of the VEA, I will continue to advocate for the policies and positions that have been adopted by the VEA Delegate Assembly who gives me my marching orders.

We are very clear that as professional educators, we know something about best practice and what is in the best interest of the students we teach. We will continue to advocate for them because that is what we do.

That is why this week, the VEA sponsored the "Caps Hurt Kids" Rally at the Bell Tower in Richmond. We contend that the Governor's proposal to permanently cap the number of support personnel hired by the school divisions around the state, if made permanent, will do irreparable harm to our ability to do our job and to the students we teach.

I wound up this week attending the New Teacher Orientation of the first-year teachers starting out their careers in Page County. I talked to those new teachers about the fact that they have entered a time honored profession. They have many challenges before them, but there is something so special about the first day of school where we all feel the excitement that surrounds new possibilities and new beginnings.

For those of you who are already back to work, I hope you are having a great year.

For those who have yet to go back but will be going back sooner rather than later, I hope you have a great beginning.

Know that the VEA is here to support our members and our students. That's who are are. That's what we do.

Until next time.

Kitty

Year Two Begins

2009-08-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

It hardly seems possible, but on July 31, I wound up the first year of my first term as VEA President, and on August 1, I began the second year of my first term. I spent the last week in July taking a few days to rest up from what has been a whirlwind year. I have learned much, experienced much, and wound up my first year with a deep sense of having come a long way and having much yet left to do.

I spent my few vacation days both at home and traveling. The first days of the week, I caught up on some errands that had been put off for too long. Mid-week I left home and drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for three nights in a B&B in Cape Charles, a town in our very own Northampton County. I had a most delightful time there, and I will have fond memories of the friendly people, the slow pace, my most hospitable B&B host, and acquaintances and conversations with many wonderful individuals.

On Saturday, August 1, I started something of an odyssey west across Virginia toward Norton, where I spent the night on Sunday. I met with Wise County Education Association leaders for dinner, and on Monday morning, Jim Blackburn, WCEA President and I headed for the Wise County-Wide Teachers' Meeting which was the kickoff for their 2009-2010 school year.

After I finished speaking in Wise, I started heading east, spending the night in another wonderful B&B in Marion, a small town in Smyth County. From there, on Tuesday, I drove to Floyd County in order to meet with the Deeds Campaign and to walk with Creigh Deeds, candidate for Governor of Virginia along the Main Street of Floyd, winding up at the Floyd Country Store.

From Floyd, I drove back to Wytheville, where on Wednesday morning, I met with the local leaders of VEA District 2. There were leaders attending the Activist Training from Wythe County, Tazewell County, Washington County, and Smyth County led by Smyth County Education Association President, Stephen Marion and Amherst Education Association President, Sarah Thomas.

I left Wytheville after lunch on Wednesday and drove to Mariner's Landing in Bedford County where I met briefly with the newly formed cadre of trainers trained by the Office of Teaching and Learning.

On Thursday morning, I left Mariner's Landing and drove to McLean for the Deeds/Obama/Kaine campaign event that was held at the Hilton Hotel in Tysons Corner. The VEA was able to secure tickets that allowed several leaders and staff members to attend the rally, and a few of us were even able to attend a smaller reception where we got to see the President at a slightly closer angle, and we all even got to shake his hand.

I spent the night in McLean that evening because the next day I was scheduled for a meeting with the Fairfax Education Association Board of Directors and UniServ Staff on Friday morning. After spending the day with the FEA, I drove home, tired but satisfied that I had put in an excellent first week of my second year as VEA President. I didn't add up the miles for the week, but I am guessing I put somewhere between 800 and 900 miles on the car.

As I look at the way this next week is shaping up, I know that I will be in Hampton on Monday and Loudoun on Wednesday night and Thursday. I am going to be in Portsmouth and Suffolk as well as in Page County the week after that. I am making a sincere effort to get around to as many places as I possibly can as our members get ready to go back to work for yet another school year.

And that brings me to the thought that I will sign off on.

Ours, it seems to me, is the only profession that allows our members to start fresh every single year. Even if one is on a year-round schedule, there is a demarcation that marks the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one. It reminds me of a "do over" in a game. If we've had a not so great year, we can put it behind us and move on into a new year that is full of possibility. There is something that is very special about the first day of a new school year. It holds all sorts of promise, doesn't it?

And so, I sign off wishing you, my reader, a wonderful start to a new school year. There are going to be challenges ahead of us, but I am confident that we can meet those challenges head on knowing that we have each other and the power of the Virginia Education Association holding us up and supporting us through these difficult times.

Happy New School Year!

Until next time.

Kitty J. Boitnott, Ph.D., NBCT
President, Virginia Education Association

P. S. The photo above is of Leonard Bumbaca, President of the Fairfax Education Association, Sandy Sullivan, President of the Loudoun Education Association, and Dominic Melito, President of the Virginia Beach Education Association who attended a reception for the Deeds/Obama/Kaine Campaign event with me at the Hilton Hotel in Tysons Corner, McLean, Virginia on August 6, 2009.

For other pictures, you may go to my Facebook Page.

VEA Supports Creigh Deeds for Governor of Virginia

2009-07-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

The VEA Fund for Children and Public Education Executive Committee and VEA Fund Directors voted on July 23, 2009 to recommend to our members the candidacy of Creigh Deeds for Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the November 2009 election.

Our choice was based in large part upon Creigh’s proven record as an advocate and friend of public education and the public education professionals who work in our public schools.

Unlike the previous two governors who had no voting record to look to as a predictor, Creigh has a proven VEA voting record. His voting record of 93.5% compared to his opponent’s 52% voting record was just one factor that was taken into consideration, but in addition, the VEA Fund leaders took into account that in 2004, Creigh voted for Governor Mark Warner’s budget which provided an additional $1.5 million for public education. In 2008, Creigh sponsored SB267 which supported bringing Virginia teacher salaries to the national average; and Creigh also supported the ESP Health Care Credit which has been a part of our VEA Legislative agenda.

Creigh sees funding for public schools as an investment, not an expense. Unlike his opponent, he is absolutely opposed to vouchers and tuition tax credits.

Additionally, in recent days, Creigh's opponent released a proposal for addressing Virginia’s dire transportation problem with funds that would literally pit the need for road construction against the need to fund Virginia’s public schools.

The choice was clear. Virginia needs strong leadership to address the transportation crisis without pitting it against the education of our children.

I hope that our members will join me in supporting Creigh’s campaign in every way that they can. I am asking that they work in his local campaign by walking neighborhoods, working phone banks, contributing much needed VEA Fund dollars, and ultimately, getting out the vote in November.

I would also ask members of the general public to consider voting for Creigh Deeds for Governor of Virginia in 2009. He is a man of principle, and he will work hard to move Virginia forward.

This is a critical juncture for public education in Virginia. The VEA could not afford not to weigh in on this campaign, and I believe that we must help Creigh become the next Governor of Virginia.

Commentary on Transportation and Education

2009-07-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

The following essay was published yesterday in a variety of formats including the Huffington Post in response to the McDonnell transportation proposal. The essay sums up how the VEA feels about the proposal:

By Kitty Boitnott, Ph.D., NBCT & President of the Virginia Education Association

I have to admit that the last thing I ever thought I would be writing about is transportation. As Virginia Education Association (VEA) President, my main concerns center primarily around funding for Virginia's public schools and advocating for the children of the Commonwealth. Given the problems that Bob McDonnell's proposed transportation plan would cause Virginia's public schools, however, I feel compelled to speak out.

The McDonnell plan is cause for concern on two grounds. First, the plan reopens the debate regarding taking funds from the General Fund to build roads. McDonnell's plan destroys the line between the state's General Fund, which has traditionally supported schools and other core services, and the Non-General Fund, which has historically been used for our roads.

McDonnell's proposal is particularly troubling given that it is a fact that current revenues are already insufficient to fund our public schools and other core public services such as public safety. The Board of Education, the Governor, and the General Assembly are, in fact, considering permanent cuts of $340 million per year to Virginia's school funding formula. This is absolutely the wrong time to pit the interests of the construction industry against Virginia's school children.

A second concern is that, once again, Virginians are being served up a plan for solving a critical problem that our economic future absolutely depends upon, with a plan that is largely based upon highly speculative assumptions. Let me offer some questions for readers to consider:

Can we really assume either a budget surplus or new revenue growth in the near future? If you answer, "No," subtract $136 million from the McDonnell plan.

Do you think that Pennsylvania's unapproved federal application to toll I-80 in that state establishes legal precedence and, therefore, a clear path to Virginia tolling I-81 and I-95? If that's not clear, subtract another $50 million.

My understanding is that the cost of extracting offshore oil is $100 a barrel. When the price of oil is $64 a barrel, what investor is going to go drilling off Virginia's shore looking to make a profit? Aside from that, both the Navy and NASA oppose offshore drilling in Virginia for defense related reasons. And let us not forget that there are environmental issues to be considered as well. If that plan doesn't pan out, subtract another $177 million a year from McDonnell's proposal.

Without a doubt, Virginia's transportation needs pose serious problems that deserve serious proposals. From my perspective, the problem with McDonnell's proposal is that a major portion of the money to be used would be taken away from our already financially strapped public schools. Virginians want and deserve a serious solution to our transportation crisis. I do not believe that they want to solve the transportation crisis by taking revenue from Virginia's schools and its children.

Virginia Delegates Attend the 2009 National Education Association

2009-07-13T17:58:00.001-07:00

Over two hundred Virginia delegates from all over the Commonwealth of Virginia attended the 2009 NEA Representative Assembly in San Diego, California from June 30-July 7. We joined almost 10,000 other delegates from all over the country for the purpose of conducting association business. We had about half of our delegates who were attending their first ever NEA Convention, and from all accounts, they had a great time, learned a lot, and have returned home eager and energized, ready to promote the good work of the NEA and the VEA.

This was a special RA for a variety of reasons. It was the first for Dennis Van Roekel as president of the NEA. It was the last for Bob Chanin who has served as the general counsel to the NEA for 40 years and he is retiring at the end of this year. It was also my first NEA RA as the VEA President, and it was held in one of the greatest cities in the country.

We accomplished much during the activity packed week starting with a special town hall meeting with Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Virginia was honored to have one of our own serve on the panel who asked the Secretary questions about the reauthorization of ESEA (otherwise known as No Child Left Behind). Frank Cardella, the new president of the Chesterfield Education Association and Chair of the NEA National Board Certified Teachers Caucus was invited to serve as one of eight panelists. We also had Sarah Patton, NBCT from Covington and NEA Director on stage representing Virginia, and in addition, Jim Livingston of Prince William was allowed to ask a question of Secretary Duncan.

In addition to having an opportunity to interact with Secretary Duncan, Virginia was honored to host three international guests including former NEA and VEA president, Mary Hatwood Futurell who was one of the founders of Education International. Additionally, we hosted the General Secretary of EI, Fred Van Leeuwen of Brussels and Bob Harris of Australia.

Each morning, our Virginia delegates met to discuss the business of the day. Then we spent long days in the San Diego Convention Center going over more than 80 new business items, a number of Legislative Amendments, and a host of Bylaw Amendments.

In short, it was a great convention. Our new delegates were inspired by what they learned about the NEA, and they were given the charge of going home and sharing with their friends, family and colleagues what they had learned about the work that we do for our profession and for the children we teach.

For pictures of the convention, see the link on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/23812434@N04/sets/72157621313418222/.

Until next time.

Kitty

"Kitty Boitnott, Ph.D., NBCT" Web Site in Transition

2009-07-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

If you are a regular follower of the blog that I have been maintaining as President of the Virginia Education Association, you will notice a transition taking place in the next few days. I have asked that the original site that I have been using be taken down for a while so that I may use my iWeb program for campaign purposes (it is time to run for re-election if you can believe it) and I will be switching out for this Blogspot web site as the link from the VEA web site for the purpose of chronicling my duties and activities as VEA President. I'll apologize right now for any inconvenience or confusion that may be caused during the transition. The iWeb site is the one that I have advertised as my campaign site, and it seemed to me that I should ask that it not be provded as a link from the VEA web site while I'm in campaign mode.

In the meantime, I haven't had time to post anything on the iWeb site regarding our 2009 NEA Convention in San Diego, but I have posted pictures on my Facebook page.

This week, I am headed for Portland, Oregon for a meeting of state presidents, so I am not sure when I might get a chance to post reflections on the NEA Convention. I sincerely apologize for the delay. It will seem like "old news," I know, before I get a chance to write anything about what we did in San Diego, but between catching up on work after being out of the office for 9 days and getting ready to leave town again for another week, finding the time and energy to write anything coherent has, so far, escaped me.

I have been busy on our behalf, however, as I have posted a response to a criticism of the NEA NBI E that the Family Foundation decided to post last week, and I wrote an article for the Washington Post in response to their unabashed (and unwarranted) enthusiasm for charter schools. It was published in the Sunday, July 12 edition.

I was also interviewed this past week by a reporter who wanted to know more about the damage that vouchers could do to our public schools system. In short, I have been pretty busy since arriving back from California, and while I haven't had time to post to my blog, I have been hard at work on behalf of our members.

If you are interested in today's article from the Washington Post, just follow this link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/11/AR2009071102327.html

Until next time.

Kitty

Thoughts on Standards of Learning Tests in Virginia

2009-06-27T04:21:00.000-07:00

On June 25, I spoke to the Virginia Board of Education about the proposal that had been withdrawn by the state superintendent regarding the elimination of the 3rd grade Standards of Learning (SOL) test that she had proposed back in April. Even though she had withdrawn the proposed change, I thought it was important to share the report that my organization, the Virginia Education Association, had done with regard to our members' thoughts and opinions regarding the 3rd grade SOL in general as well as high stakes testing for young children in particular.

The remarks I made to the Board of Education are below. The report that I referenced may be found on the VEA's web site at http://www.veanea.org.

I would like to offer one more thought from my own personal and professional perspective before offering the public remarks made at the Board of Education meeting yesterday.

We have become a nation of test takers and test givers. My contention is that memorization is now being mistaken for learning and one's ability to pass a single test on a single day in a single school year has been mistaken for achievement. I worry that our children will forever lose their ability to try and fail, to experiment, or to be willing to create and innovate without a guarantee of success because the subliminal message built into the single test mode of assessment is that there is only one right answer and there is no room--or tolerance--for miscalculation or for being wrong.

I wonder how well Albert Einstein or Thomas Edison would have functioned in the classrooms of today?

Remarks for Virginia Board of Education
By Dr. Kitty Boitnott, President
Virginia Education Association
June 25, 2009

Dr. Emblidge, Dr. Wright, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Board:
My name is Kitty Boitnott, and I am the President of the Virginia Education Association.
We were surprised last month when we first heard of the proposed elimination of the third grade social studies SOL test. We weren’t sure how our members would feel about the proposal, so we asked them. I gave Mrs. Castro copies of our report yesterday, and we will be posting the results of our survey on our web site today.
We understand that the specific proposal to eliminate the social studies test for 3rd grade has been taken off the table, but we would offer that the interest that the initial proposal created suggests that the issue of testing and its importance and impact are near and dear to the hearts of many, and while this specific proposal is no longer under consideration, it might be that you would want to take this time as an opportunity to fully review and reflect on the whole issue of high stakes testing and the impact of that testing on young children.
The one missing piece, it seems to me, in this whole debate has been what is in the best interest of children? I respect the interests of the various subject matter experts and those who sincerely believe that if it isn’t tested it won’t receive the attention it should, but I would suggest that what has been missed in this entire debate is, “Where do 8 and 9-year-old's fit in the puzzle?” Is it fair to ask them to deal with the stresses of such high stakes tests? What happens to the joy of learning when everything rides on a single test score?
Clearly our members had more questions than answers to offer, but we took from the responses that we received that this issue is important to them as teachers and as parents. I hope you will take this opportunity to discuss the whole issue of testing rather than focus on the merits—or demerits—of one particular test.

Thoughts on 21st Century Skills

2009-06-11T05:25:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed for an article in School Library Journal a couple of months ago. The article was posted on June 8 in the SLJ's "Extra Helping" section.

I am very interested in promoting the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, so I am providing a link to the article for any one who might be interested.

Enjoy!

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6652250.html

VEA Celebrations

2009-03-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

The Virginia Education Association members whom I represent have much to celebrate this week along with the beautiful weather which is prevailing this weekend. First, we got planning time for elementary teachers passed in the 2009 General Assembly session! This was no small feat, and it is a goal that we at the VEA have been working toward for at least 36 years!

Another big legislative win was the passage of a fairer grievance procedure for our Extra Support Professional (ESP) members; and a third major victory was the inclusion of enough funds in the budget to make whole the funding needed to make sure that all of the eligible national board certified teachers in Virginia get the full amount of the incentive funds that they had been promised.

It was quite a session to say the least. Many thanks go all around to our Government Relations staff, our UniServ Directors who do double duty as lobbyists during the session, and our local presidents and Board members along with our members at the grassroots level who took action and wrote and called their legislators when we needed them to. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You proved that collective action does make a difference.

The week wound up with my attendance at not one but two major education conferences. The first was a day-long summit held by the Learning First Alliance. For more information about the Learning First Alliance, click on the link and peruse to your heart’s content. (http://www.learningfirst.org/) The second, much larger conference was sponsored in large part by New York’s public broadcasting station (PBS) Thirteen WLIW21 along with corporate funding from Chase Bank and a number of other groups including the National Education Association and the New York State United Teachers. More than 8,000 teachers, administrators, and educators attended the two-day event which was the fourth annual celebration of its kind. Nationally renowned speakers and authors attended, and the level of conversation around the kinds of changes that we must undertake in this rapidly changing global environment with regard to public education were both invigorating and inspiring.

Many of the sessions were focused on the changing world and our need to change the way we school youngsters in a very fundamental way. The tide of opinion regarding education reform is changing fundamentally in this era of rapid change, and there is a definite sense that educators are tired of being left out making important policy decisions. Indeed, from what I heard, they are more than ready to take their power back--at long last. I believe that it is truly an awesome time to be an educator in this country.

2009: A Year of Challenges & Opportunities

2009-01-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

As I have reflected on the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, I have been reminded of the quote from Charles Dickens’ novel, Tale of Two Cities. The part of the quote with which most people are familiar is, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....” The quote goes on to say, however, “it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us....”
Whether these seem like the best of times or the worst of times, the season of Light or the season of Darkness, we are surely facing uncertain times. And yet, in spite of the uncertainty that we all know lies ahead in 2009, there is a tangible sense of hope that I believe many of us are also feeling as we begin a new era in our nation.
This coming year will surely present us with many challenges, but as I keep reminding myself, where there are challenges, there are also opportunities. We need to reach out to each other, reminding ourselves that no one needs to go through these trying times alone. The times are, indeed, uncertain--but there is surely comfort in knowing that we are facing the challenges together.

Wow! What a Week This Has Been!

2008-11-09T16:15:00.000-08:00

This has been a week that I will long remember. On Monday, all during the day, I could feel the momentum building, and I was certainly hopeful that the election that was about to take place would make history. While I felt confident that the Obama campaign had done everything it could conceivably do, admittedly, the anxiety mounted as well. What if people decided, for some reason, not to vote after all?

Needless to say, I was gratified to see the long lines that showed the thousands of people who turned out in spite of rain in some parts of the country. I was also relieved to hear that incidents of trouble were limited and not widespread. That had been another fear in the back of my mind. I had felt that the elections of 2000 and 2004 were snatched away from me. I was, I admit, fearful that some trick up someone's sleeve would prevail again resulting in heartbreaking disappointment.

Needless to say, I was thrilled by the outcome of the day on Tuesday. It occurs to me to consider that those who have worked tirelessly on behalf of the NEA/VEA’s recommended candidates will now have to find some other way to fill their free time. The weekends of neighborhood canvassing, the evenings of phone banks...they are all behind us now as we celebrate what feels like a definite turning point for our nation and for Virginia.

On Tuesday evening, I was allowed to join the party faithful in McLean, Virginia where Democrats converged to wait for the outcome. Not surprisingly, Mark Warner carried the election for the Senate seat vacated by John Warner easily and early. He and Senator Jim Webb arrived for the first round of congratulations and celebration around 9:30. It was not until much later, however, before we knew what the outcome of the race for the White House would be.

When Governor Tim Kaine came out to announce to the awaiting crowd that he had just received a call from the Associated Press informing him that Virginia had turned blue for Obama, the crowd erupted into elation. For myself, the tears ran, and I hugged everyone within arm’s length. Moments later, the room erupted again when the TV monitors were turned back on and the outcome of the election nationwide was being announced: Barack Obama had been elected President of the United States!

This election has caused me to feel all sorts of emotions--some expected and some not. We at the Virginia Education Association have talked some--and will continue to talk more--about what are the best strategies for dealing with being a “battleground state” if that should ever happen again. We took a lot of push back from our members about the seemingly relentless barrage of mailings. There are certainly lessons to be learned, and we will study how we conducted ourselves during this campaign cycle and how we might do things differently in the future.

While we have pledged to learn lessons from this experience, many of us are gratified by this victory because we believe that this election had so much riding on it with regard to where we will go in our country with the future of public education. As I traveled the commonwealth of Virginia these past several months, I told folks that my single issue this year was No Child Left Behind. My prayer now will be that the Obama administration will name people to the Department of Education who are true educators and who understand the need for addressing the many negative (if unintended) consequences of NCLB.

I am bolstered, too, by the overall message of this presidential campaign. "Yes We Can" sums up the spirit that we as a nation need to embrace in the months ahead. We are certainly facing uncertain economic times. The challenges remain, but with that "can do" spirit, who doesn't want to believe that with the right leadership, we can, in fact, do anything we set our minds to?
What a fabulous message. We as educators must remember that mantra as we face the numerous challenges ahead of us.

Thoughts on Voting

2008-10-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

I exercised my right to use the option of absentee voting this afternoon, and I was surprised that it took about 45 minutes to do so. Last year when I needed to vote absentee, it took about ten minutes. I was the only person voting that afternoon. Today I was joined by dozens of others who were exercising their right as well.

It was very encouraging to see the number of people who were already out ready to exercise their right of citizenship. There were all sorts of people there--many elderly people who were with their grown children who were assisting them because of a variety of health issues. I talked to a marvelous gentleman in line behind me who was carrying his oxygen tank and sitting in a portable walker. He told me that his wife had fussed at him last night because he had sent more money to the Obama campaign in spite of these hard economic times. He said that he had donated 8 or 9 times already even though he has never contributed to a political campaign before.

I talked to teachers and retired teachers and students and I saw all ages, waiting patiently in a facility that was clearly not set up for the volume of business that they were handling this particular day. There were two fabulous gentlemen who were shouting out directions and guiding people to fill out the forms properly, making sure that everyone knew exactly what they needed to do. I thought of them as angels because in spite of what could clearly be a frustrating job, they were gracious and patient and still cheerful after answering the same question hundreds of times.

I didn't count, but I bet that in the time I was there, I saw at least 100 people--those ahead of me in line and those waiting in line behind me as I left. I arrived at about 2:35--I left at 3:15.

I share all of that with you by way of encouraging others to vote before the 4th if you can. If you can't, however, please go prepared for a lengthy wait. Take a bottle of water and a snack with you. Take a yard chair if you have bad knees or a bad back that will make standing for over 30 minutes uncomfortable for you. Take a book. Take a friend that you haven't seen for awhile so your can catch up while you wait in line together and the time will go by more quickly.

Whatever you do, don't let the long lines and what could be a very long day deter you from participating in this historic election. I write this mindful that not everyone who may read this post plans to vote the same way, and that is absolutely okay. EVERYONE's vote counts, and this is no time for the faint of heart regardless of their personal politics. Regardless of your choice on the 4th, in the long run, we owe it to our children to demonstrate for them in a meaningful way that we believe in the democratic process (notice the little "d") and we are in a position to make history on Tuesday.

Educators & Politics: An Unlikely But Necessary Match

2008-10-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

The election for the highest office in our land is fast approaching. Given that this has been the longest presidential campaign in history, it hardly seems possible that it will all be over in a little less than one month.

The National Education Association and its state affiliates have recommended the candidate that we believe has offered the best platform on public education, and our members have been working hard to participate in the process in order to bring about the outcome that we believe is in the best interest of the students we teach and the personnel who work in our public schools.

The fact that the NEA and its state affiliates are working so hard for their chosen candidate doesn’t sit too well with some people, but that is okay. We live in a country that is based on the principles of democratic discourse and debate. What isn’t okay is when disagreement leads to name calling and the debasement of those who disagree. There are those who would apparently like to bully educators into silence during these final weeks of the election. Fortunately, that isn’t going to happen; but it is a sad day, indeed, when certain individuals will rely on any tactic necessary—including personal attack—on those who have the temerity to disagree with them.

I urge my fellow educators to participate in this election to the fullest extent that they can. Many teachers tend to shy away from political action because it is sometimes unpleasant. I used to be one of those individuals. I didn’t believe that teachers and educational support professionals should “dirty their hands” with politics. We should somehow be above all that.

What I finally came to understand is that educators are impacted by political decisions that are made on the local, state, and federal level every single day. From the moment we arrive at school until we leave, every aspect of our work day is driven by a political decision of some sort—from the curriculum, to the number of children we can have in our classes, to the number of minutes we can have for planning time—or not, depending on whether we even get a planning time.

If we don’t start participating in a more meaningful way in the political process, educational policy decisions will continue to be made without our input. That has been happening for far too long, and it is time for us to wake up to our true power and start exercising it in a meaningful way through the political process that is available to us. Will that make everyone happy? No. Is it the right thing to do? You bet. Educators and politics may be an unlikely match, but if we are to take back control of our own profession, it is one that is absolutely necessary.

First Days and New Beginnings

2008-09-02T17:01:00.001-07:00

For 45 of my 55 years--starting with first grade and ending last September--the first day of school has had special meaning for me. It has meant new beginnings, fresh starts, and hope that THIS year would be better than all the ones before.

There is something special about the first day of school. Everyone feels it whether it is parents, teachers, or students. You can feel the excitement in the air as the kids roll off the bus or as parents tentatively walk their children to class. For some students, they are coming to a new school. For most they are meeting a new teacher. They will also be making new friends, some of which will last them a lifetime.

Today as the still new VEA President, for the first time in my 34 year career, I didn’t HAVE to show up for the first day of school...but I did anyway. Toward the middle of last week, I began to feel odd about not having to show up for teacher work week. It felt strange not to have to attend the first faculty meeting or to attend a convocation. I realized it was going to feel even stranger not to have someplace to be that involved kids on this first day back in the metro Richmond area, so I called my former principal and asked if she would be interested in having a volunteer help out with the first day. I knew I could help my replacement get into the routine of helping with van duty, for example, and the principal eagerly accepted my offer of help.

While I went under the guise of helping out, I realized that I needed to go for more selfish reasons. I needed a “kid fix.” I needed to be around that excitement to help me get into the frame of mind that it is, in fact, a new school year filled with challenges and the promise of great things to come.

I arrived at about 8:00 so I missed seeing the school buses. I visited classes, however, and felt the excitement in the air. I traveled from room to room and got a few hugs....gotta go back every once in a while for those hugs.

At the end of the day, I assisted in getting the van riders on their correct vans and tracked down kids who had ridden the bus...but were supposed to ride a van. By the time I left, there were still a handful of students waiting for a ride or being brought back by their bus because no one was at the bus stop. I trust that by now every child has gotten home safely and has many wonderful stories to tell of their first day.

As I get deeper into my presidency, I don’t know if I will feel the same urgency to get a “kid fix,” or if I will continue to feel odd about not going back for the first day of school. What I know for sure is that I needed today to help remind me that my job NOW is to champion those students and teachers that I saw and spoke with and hugged today. My job, like theirs, is full of promise and challenge. And like the students I saw today, I am filled with optimism that it is going to be very good year.

Don't Give Up on Public Education

2008-08-10T00:53:00.000-07:00

During this, my first official week as president of the VEA, I was asked to write an op ed. piece for the Richmond Times Dispatch. The request came as the result of recent coverage of Delegate Chris Saxman’s announcement of a new “bipartisan,” nonprofit organization promoting school choice and a recent Washington Post editorial offered by Sen. Joe Lieberman on the public schools in Washington, D. C. I was asked to write about something “good” about public schools in an effort to provide a balance.

I am providing a copy of what I submitted for you in case you don’t get to see the editorial in print. It is entitled, “Don't Give Up on Public Education.”

“During this past school year, I became aware of the fact that one of my students—a new Latina in the fifth grade—had a problem sometimes getting to school on time. She periodically overslept and missed the school bus. Her parents, who spoke little English, were unable (or unwilling) to drive her to school, so she would call the school office to ask if someone could come get her. As far as I know, someone always did. Another child was reported to the principal because he kept falling asleep in class and just didn’t seem interested in his schoolwork. The teacher had talked to him and he wouldn’t tell her why he was so listless, so the teacher asked the principal if she might try to get to the bottom of what was going on with him. After much coaxing, he finally admitted—embarrassed but worn down—that he was hungry. It wasn’t yet the end of the month, and there was no food in the house. As a result, he had been coming to school for several days in a row with no breakfast and no morning snack. The principal pulled a snack from the stash she kept in her office and told him the next time he came to school with no breakfast, he was to come straight to her.

Public schools are succeeding every day in ways that go beyond academic achievement with students like these by offering not only a free and appropriate public education, but also a safe haven. We at the VEA absolutely believe that we owe it to our children to ensure that they have every opportunity to succeed in the 21st century. That is, in fact, what we are all about and what we advocate for every single day. We vigorously disagree, however, with proponents of school choice programs on how to provide that opportunity to each and every child. I believe that the promise of vouchers and tuition tax credits programs is a false one for too many of the children who need our public schools the most.

Instead of dreaming up so many different ways to abandon our public schools, wouldn’t it be more helpful and productive if folks spent the same amount of time and energy trying to work for meaningful reforms within the system? Politicians want to blame teachers for being in the way of school reform, but I would suggest that teachers haven’t yet been asked to be a meaningful part of the solution. Instead we are just being blamed for the problems caused in large part by policies that were adopted as short term fixes for long term problems. Practicing educators would love to be part of the conversation around how to fix some of the problems that exist in the current system—just give us a place at the table and listen to us for a change!

Let us be very clear. Public schools are not perfect. They never have been. But our public schools should certainly not be abandoned by the very public they strive to serve. The fact of the matter is that with all of its various problems, public schools in America need to be defended and protected because it is there that the vast majority of our nation’s citizens learn about what it really means to be an American. In our public schools, the principles of freedom and democracy and what is fair and right are taught as part of the core curriculum. Everyday, the ideals of our nation are taught not just from textbooks but from the practice of bringing together diverse members of the community with every effort made toward getting along and learning together. In spite of their problems, both real and imagined, public schools are the best hope that we have for producing more than just a select few students who are ready to tackle the challenges of the 21st century. I believe that our last real hope for the future lies with our public schools and its preservation and promotion. I urge the readers of these words to get involved in the public schools in their communities and make contributions and changes there—where every child has a reason to hope that someone cares deeply enough to protect his or her right to a free and appropriate public school education.”

NBCT's Partner with SVEA Chapters

2008-08-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

Last year at about this time, while others were winding up their summer vacations or professional development pursuits or preparing to return to school, 30 national board certified teachers from all around the Commonwealth of Virginia convened at beautiful Mariner’s Landing on Smith Mountain Lake to hear about a new initiative that the VEA was launching. The idea was to pair NBCT’s (National Board Certified Teachers) with SVEA (Student Virginia Education Association) chapters around the state in an effort to (1) beef up the SVEA programs where they already existed and generate interest in starting a program where there wasn’t one; (2) provide students planning to enter education as a career an opportunity to meet accomplished teachers who can tell them what it is “really like” to be a teacher; and (3) provide the kind of pre-service experience of the VEA that will hopefully translate into those students, upon graduation and induction into a school system somewhere, being eager to join the VEA as their primary professional organization.
After a year of varying experiences with very mixed results, about 20 of the original group reconvened today in Richmond in order to debrief and share their different experiences as pioneers in this new venture. Some had experienced great success...others had met with a certain resistance...and a couple had been unable to break through the wall of indifference presented to them; but that had done nothing to spoil the individuals’ energy or their enthusiasm.
This program is just one example of the many opportunities that the VEA routinely provides for members who wish to get involved and contribute to the profession in a meaningful way. For those who are looking for an opportunity to “give back” or to share their expertise, whether they they national board certified or have some other talent to offer, I hope that you will take a look at the VEA as a way to find a vehicle for sharing your many talents. We are, after all, a grassroots organization, and we are only as strong as the individual members who take the time to offer their interest, their energy, and their need to contribute to the good of the whole group. I appreciate these dedicated national board certified teachers who took time out of their busy schedules today in order to come to Richmond to share their stories, and I hope to be able to use this blog for sharing this kind of information in the coming months ahead.

Courage, Activism, and Doing What's Right

2008-08-01T20:26:00.001-07:00

At the 2008 NEA convention, during a Teacher Quality forum, John Wilson, the NEA Executive Director spoke of the need for educators to display both “courage and activism.” More specifically, he said, “Courage, activism, and doing what’s right...that’s what we [at the NEA] need to be about.” He went on to say that “We need to seize this opportunity—as our nation faces a critical choice that will not only impact us for the next eight years but will impact us well into the foreseeable future—to connect the “promise of policy with the practice of politics.”

As the newly elected President of the Virginia Education Association, I plan to remind our members that we are--our association is--in fact, all about courage, activism, and doing what’s right. I absolutely agree with Mr. Wilson that the time for connecting the promise of policy with the practice of politics has come.

As a result, when I visit local associations and regional events that are coming up around the state this fall, members and nonmembers alike will hear my call to have courage; to stand up for what is right; and to become activists not just for public education but for social justice on behalf of their students and their profession. By doing so, I believe that we can collectively change the course of history in our country for the better. The time has come; the time is here; and the time is now.

Looking Forward to the Future

2008-06-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

If you were looking for my campaign blog, I have taken it down. I will be maintaining this blog regarding thoughts on public education during the months ahead as I become the next president of the Virginia Education Association.