May 2022

Welcome to Teaching and Learning TODAY. It is our goal to provide high-quality professional learning for teachers and ESPs as a value of membership in your Union. The intrinsic rewards you get when one of your students is successful are one of the great aspects of our profession–allow us to assist you as you learn, grow professionally, and impact others!

Updates from Teaching & Learning

Members to Reap Benefits of $750,000 Grant to VEA Teaching & Learning!

VEA Teaching & Learning has been awarded $750,000 over three years from NEA’s Great Public Schools Grant Fund! Yes! The grant, VEA Promotes Excellence in the Profession to Increase Student Learning, will focus on three major areas – supporting members in National Board Certification, high-quality professional learning opportunities that include the introduction of a learning management system, and mentor programs for Early Career Educators and ESPs. We hope you are as excited as we are!

VEA Hosting 'Banned' Equity Resources Online

The removal of educational equity resources from the VDOE website was a cynical and partisan move by Gov. Youngkin. To show how strongly we feel that educators should have access to these resources, the VEA website will now house those materials on our own website, free of charge.

Find Resources Here

National Board Certification

Want to learn more about National Board Certification, including an overview of the process, how to become a candidate, and the benefits of certification to educators, their students, and schools? Join us for one of the following informational webinars:
Monday, May 23 at 4:00 p.m. (register here)
Saturday, June 4 at 10:00 a.m. (register here)

Several opportunities exist for current NBCTs to get involved with our work to support National Board Certification. We are currently seeking individuals to develop content, work with candidates in a one-on-one or cohort setting, and help us advocate for National Board Certification support at the state and local level. To learn more, contact Dr. Amy Brown at akbrown@veanea.org or submit this form to identify your areas of interest.

Special Education

As educators who support students with disabilities, there are so many resources that can be used to make the load a bit lighter. This month, we will highlight a community partner. AIM-VA is a service of the Virginia Department of Education through a grant to The Kellar Institute for Human disAbilities at George Mason University. AIM-VA provides accessible instructional materials to Virginia K-12 students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and are unable to access traditional print. Accessible instructional materials, or AIM, refers to print-based educational materials that are converted into specialized formats required by the IDEA (e.g., braille, large print, audio and digital text).

Check out their website

SVEA Aspiring Educators

Early enrollment is open for first-time Aspiring Educators to join for the upcoming 2022-2023 membership year. Their membership will start September 1, but they will be offered liability coverage and access to NEA Member Benefits starting the day they join. This is a great opportunity for students who will begin their student teaching assignments prior to September 1^st. Click here to join and choose the “Next Membership Year” option.

Current Aspiring Educators may renew their membership for the upcoming year, too.

Join Now!

Upcoming Opportunities

Regional Trauma Workshops

Jump Start Registration is Open

Are you in Commonwealth, Piedmont, and New River UniServ zones (VDOE Region 6)?

As we are highlighting our regional trauma workshops that will be coming to a city near you, the following article, The Role of Resiliency in Student Learning Recovery, is a snippet of information that can be considered when we think of using a trauma-centered understanding when working with students.

Who's Who in Teaching and Learning

This month we would like to introduce Chastity Urquhart, Administrative Assistant for the departments of Human and Civil Rights and Teaching & Learning. Chastity has worked in various offices at the VEA for a total of 20 years. She coordinates the Mini-Grants awarded by Teaching & Learning, assists with planning and logistics for the IPD Conference and other events, and provides support needed at other times, especially organizing information, proofreading, and learning new technology that improves workflow. Chastity may be reached at choward@veanea.org.

The Latest from VEA

Teaching & Learning Today: May 2022