LOCAL

ASSOCIATION
PRESIDENTS

Melanie Lewis,
Amherst
Clara Jo Cunningham,
Appomattox
Cheryl Sprouse,
Bedford Co.
Christel Coman,
Campbell Co.
Connie Finney and
Kathy Hudson,
Lynchburg

Issues and Answers

V O L U M E

X X X I I

M A R C H

2 0 1 5

Five Issues That Will Decide If the Era of NCLB is Really Over
www.nea.org

Many public school educators

may be surprised to learn that
535 members Congress and their
staffs are deciding what teaching
and learning will look like in the
classroom over the next ten
years. But that is exactly what is
happening right now on Capitol
Hill the reauthorization, or
rewriting, of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act better known as No Child Left Behind.
The stakes couldnt be higher. What kind of education will
we be able to deliver to our students for the next decade? Will
public schools exit the era of
test and punish, narrow curriculum, drill and kill and
enter a period characterized more
by opportunity for all and a
well-rounded education?

That all hangs on how these

five critical issues are addressed
and whether the voices of
educators over the next few
weeks are heard loud and clear.
1.How Many Tests?
The number of federallymandated standardized tests
almost tripled over the
past ten years. Harder to measure, however, is the intense
stress felt by students and
teachers from an accountability
system based strictly on test
scores. Whether Congress decides to preserve the one-sizefits-all annual federal testing
structure or create a more flexible system for teachers and
students is one of the most important questions being resolved right now on Capitol

Hill. Less time spent on tests

means more time to develop the
types of assessments that will
provide educators the most useful
information to improve instruction and help students learn.
2. More Time for Teaching and
Learning
The expression
teach to the
test didnt
originate with
NCLB, but the law practically
branded it on every classroom
door in the country. The average
teacher now spends about 30 percent of her work time on testingrelated tasks, including preparing
students, proctoring, and reviewing results. The hours and days
dedicated to test prep and testtaking have drained the joy out of
teaching and learning, which,
according to a recent NEA sur-

Rally in Richmond! April 18

The VEA and Virginia PTA are
demanding that Virginia's elected
leaders Put Kids First. We invite all
teachers, school employees, parents, community members, or any
supporter of public education to
rally for our cause. Bus transportation available for those more than
one hour from Richmond. Call 1800-552-9554 for details. After you
RSVP, you will hear from VEA
organizing staff to confirm your
attendance, see if you'll be bringing
anyone with you, and whether you
need seats on a bus from your area.

Here's what's going on leading

up to the 3 pm Rally:
1 pm Pre-Event staging and bus
drop-off at the Richmond Convention Center (North 3rd &
East Marshall)
Come if you can! We'll have
music, speakers, activities for
kids, and a limited number of Tshirts.
2 pm March to Capitol
All are welcome to walk a parade route from the Convention
Center to the Capitol; it's about
five blocks.

3 pm Rally at Capitol Bell Tower, Franklin and 9th Streets

We'll hear from passionate Virginians dedicated to children and public education. Rally will end by 4
pm and buses will load passengers
afterward at the Convention Center.

Pickup Location: 150 Alum

Springs Road, Lynchburg
Bus Leaves at 9:30 am

PAGE

UPCOMING
VEA EVENTS
VEA Convention
Hampton: March
26-28
Rally in Richmond:
April 18

For more
information: http://
www.veanea.org/
home/upcomingevents.htm

Five Issues Continued from pg. 1...

vey, has driven almost half of teachers to consider leaving the profession.
3. Opportunity for All Students: Measuring the Important Things In
its relentless focus on measuring outcomes
with test scores, NCLB failed to provide the
resources to ensure that every student had the
opportunity to learn and excel. As a result,
achievement goals were never reached and
teachers, students and schools were pilloried
by everyone and anyone looking for a scapegoat. A new education law can set a better
course by fostering greater transparency to
parents and communities about the kinds of
supports students truly need to learn and
hold states accountable for providing the necessary resources and learning opportunities.
This is why, when applying for ESEA funding, states should be mandated to report
opportunity dashboard data. This includes
student access to extracurricular activities,
advanced placement courses, early education,
school counselors and nurses and other indicators that can be used to attack inequity and
the role of zip codes in determining quality of
education.
4. Remember Arts, Music and Social Studies? If Congress approves a bill that reduces
the amount of, and high stakes attached to,
standardized testing, time may be freed up to
bring back subjects that have been sidelined

during the NCLB era. Over the

past decade, the presence of
history, art, music, and physical
education has diminished.
Why? Because these subjects
arent covered on standardized
tests. High-poverty schools
have been forced to narrow the
curriculum much more drastically than wealthier schools
with worse consequences for low-income students.
Regardless of socioeconomic background, every
student should have access to a curriculum that
fosters creativity and critical thinkingkey skills
that cant be developed through rote memorization
and no. 2 pencils.
5. Smaller Class Size and Professional Development ESEA reauthorization isnt all about the future of testing. Lawmakers are also debating what
to do with Title II funds, which are dedicated to
training and supporting teachers. Title II can also
be used to hire more teachers and decrease class
size. Congress is actually considering putting these
programs on the chopping block by capping the use
of Title II funds for reducing class size at 10 percent. During the 2013-14 school year, districts used
35 percent of their funds for this purpose. Unless
this provision is protected, educator jobs will be
lost and class sizes especially in high-poverty
schools will increase, depriving countless students
of valuable one-on-one instruction time.

Teacher Pushes for Pay Raise

VEA CenVaServ

ISSUES

Its quite frankly disheartening and to be more

precise disgraceful that providing for our school
employees continues to need someone to advocate for it. Yet, here I am again talking about
giving our school employees a decent, respectable raise, continued Coman, who is chair of the
Campbell County Education Association. Coman pleaded with the School Board to be an
advocate for school employees and to say loud
and clear that the Campbell County school
system and its employees are valued. Speaking after the meeting, Dr. Robert Miller, who
represents the Brookneal District on the School
Board, addressed Comans comments, saying,
That was a very impassioned plea, but youre
talking to the choir here. You need to have that

AND

ANSWERS

www.theunionstar.com

same talk over at the Board of Supervisors. There

are some people there that have to hear that. We,
here, are all for raises. During her address, Coman, who teaches at Altavista Elementary School,
reminded the School Board that while members of
the Campbell County Board of Supervisors have
said they value education, some have voted in ways
to limit access of county residents to public service
and educational opportunities. We have some
elected officials who would vote against a library.
How shortsighted, Coman said. You dont have
to be a Harvard economics major to know that everyones property value, whether you have children
in school or not, whether you use the library or not,
is worth more if these are valued parts of your
communities. ... You can clearly tell what a com-

VOLUME

XXXII

PAGE

Teacher Pushes Continued from pg. 2...

munity values by where it places its funding.
Superintendent Dr. Robert Johnson presented
the preliminary School Board budget during
his remarks at the meeting. We finally
started to hear something about the state
budget, Johnson said. We should have
something from the Department of Education
by the end of the week. Johnson said he
would have a rough draft to the School
Board by the March 9 meeting. We have
been looking at priorities and incentives,
Johnson said. Not a lot of big changes in the
budgets. Continue to support the teachers.
We did add a 3 percent raise and that was
before we knew the state was putting in a
raise. Johnson continued, I was disappointed the state only recommended a 1.5
percent (raise). I think that says what they
really think about education. I know there is
only so much money to go around, but I
think it talks about your priorities. Also,
speaking at the public hearing was Amy
Witt, president of the Special Education Advisory Committee for Campbell County.
Witt is also a parent. Witt said her commit-

tee asks that aides who work with students with special needs have ongoing
training. They are contracted to only
work when students are in the school.
This leaves no ability for them to have
additional or ongoing training, Witt
said. Witt said many parents of students
with disabilities feel this lack of training
is hindering the ability of the aides to
properly instruct the students. A budget
priority that has been submitted would
include professional development days,
as well as training days, in the summer.
We feel very strongly this part of the
budget needs to be approved and presented to the Board of Supervisors,
Witt said. Johnson said those provisions
are included in the budget. However,
until Johnson knows the level of funding
provided by the county and state, he
cant guarantee any item. Johnson said
2010 saw the lowest birth rate in Campbell County, and the schools would have
fewer children starting kindergarten.
The schools are funded based on the
number of students in the system, and a
reduction in the number of pupils would

result in a loss of revenue. Some places

have it as high as 200 fewer students. We
think it will be closer to 130-140 students, Johnson said after the meeting.
Even using the school systems lower
number, it would be a loss of over
$600,000 in state funding from last year.
We have to work in nailing that
(number) down, Johnson said. Johnson
will provide a draft budget to School
Board members the first week of March.
What our deficits will be, I dont want
to predict until the first week of March,
Johnson said. We have some idea of
what kind of funding we will get from
the state and the county. We try to work
somewhere in a realistic framework.
Its going to be another tough budget
year, Leon R. Brandt, the Sunburst District representative, said when board
members had an opportunity to speak.
We dont have any dollars. We depend
on the state and the local supervisors. I
would strongly encourage you to talk to
those seven gentlemen to provide us with
some dollars to provide for our teachers.

Bedford County Teacher Raises Discussed at Budget Work Session

www.newsadvance.com

A Bedford County teacher representative received a challenging welcome

from the Board of Supervisors during
a budget work session Monday. Chad
Honeycutt, who spoke for the Bedford
County Education Association, asked
the board to fully pay for the budget
yet-to-be proposed by the Bedford
County School Board. Honeycutt gave
a similar presentation to the School
Board last month asking for teacher
raises. Our goal here is to open up an
honest level of communication that
kind of stops the ball from bouncing
back and forth with blame, Honeycutt
said, referencing a sometimes tense

relationship between the countys two governing boards.

Bedford Countys government provides a
chunk of the local schools funding, although the largest piece is paid for by the
state. Increasing local contributions to the
Virginia Retirement System and rising
health care costs along with other budget
constraints have squeezed the budgets
statewide. Bedford County schools have
received $6.2 million per year in relation to
Bedford City reverting to a town, and that
money is supposed to continue for 13 more
years. With the presentation barely begun,
Supervisor John Sharp challenged Honeycutts proposal that the Board of Supervi-

sors should pay for the school boards

upcoming spending plan as is. Sharp
does not believe the school board has
always made the best decisions with
money. The exchange exemplifies a
back and forth in which Honeycutt
tried to make the case for monetary
support, and supervisors pointed him
back to the school board. Chairwoman
Tammy Parker pointed to the $1.6 million to $2 million being saved by closing Body Camp and Thaxton elementary schools this fall as a way to pay for
teacher raises. Parker asked if the
teachers association requested that
money be earmarked for their raises.

PAGE

UPCOMING
VEA EVENTS

VEA Convention
Hampton: March
26-28
Rally in Richmond:
April 18

For more
information: http://
www.veanea.org/
home/upcomingevents.htm

Bedford Co. Teacher Continued...

From where I stand, and I think from where
my colleagues stand, should we have to? Honeycutt said. He said teachers have increased
demands from state testing requirements and
from personalized learning initiatives, a method
of teaching to individual students needs. Both
require teachers to stay longer after school to
adapt lesson plans, he said. Were going to
teach as long as we have students to teach, but
its no reason to ignore the fact that our staff is
underpaid for the services they provide, Honeycutt said. The presentation showed teacher
pay across 11 nearby localities. Bedfords average pay was last at $41,023. The highest was
Salem with $53,186, although the comparisons
may be skewed by the number of new compared
to experienced teachers and other factors. Honeycutt admitted they were not apples to apples comparisons. Supervisor Curry Martin
said the school board should not have eliminat-

ed step pay an increase in pay with experience

and with it teachers would have been in a better
position today. Martin said more experienced
teachers are worth more to each student and should
be paid better. Sharp later referred to late in the
2011-2012 budget year when the school board
asked for $2.5 million to fully fund their budget at
the last minute. The supervisors pulled the money
from savings, Sharp said. We do understand the
value of education. We clearly did not want our
teachers and staff suffering, Sharp said. He said
supervisors were painted as having taken away the
$2.5 million in later years. He said the money
shouldnt have been counted on annually because it
had to come out of savings. Thats between you
and the school board as to the light under which
its painted, Honeycutt said. I think your
comment speaks to what I was talking about earlier, is there is this us against them mentality. Our
goal as educators is to work for the children.

Womens History Month

In honor of Womens History Month
here is President Jimmy Carters Message to the nation designating March 28, 1980 as National Womens History
Week.
VEA CenVaServ

ISSUES

From the first settlers who came to our

shores, from the first American Indian
families who befriended them, men and
women have worked together to build
this nation. Too often the women were
unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength
and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men
whose names we know so well. As Dr.
Gerda Lerner has noted, Womens
History is Womens Right. It is an
essential and indispensable heritage
from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, and long-range vision.
AND

ANSWERS

I ask my fellow Americans to recognize

this heritage with appropriate activities
during National Womens History Week,
March 2-8, 1980. I urge libraries,
schools, and community organizations to
focus their observances on the leaders
who struggled for equality Susan B.
Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone,
Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
Harriet Tubman, and Alice Paul.
Understanding the true history of our
country will help us to comprehend the
need for full equality under the law for all
our people. This goal can be achieved by
ratifying the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states that
Equality of Rights under the Law shall
not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any state on account of sex.

Local Association Memos

Dear Members:
Recently, I had the
unusual task of
sorting through
CCEA files and records housed in our
Lynchburg office. Thinking this to be
a fairly mundane part of the many
tasks I have encountered as President,
I decided to dive in on one of our recent snow days. I assumed I would be
finished rather quickly. Well, you
know what happens when one assumes...it never quite turns out that
way.
To my surprise, this task brought me
face to face with history..our history.CCEAs history. When I found
the journal with edges fraying and
binding held together with a prayer, I
hesitated to open it.yet I couldnt
wait. There, in beautiful, fountain-pen
handwriting were minutes and notes
from 1907. As I turned the pages towards the very beginning, there were
some even older than that.
WE...US...CCEA have been..a very

long time!!!
It didnt really matter what the particulars were.just that they were. The
causes, concerns, the positions taken.all similar to those we share today. Some philosophies a little outdated, but probably quite on the mark for
the tine, To see how it evolved, how it
was built upon generation after generation, was humbling.
As I became more familiar with the
names, and those that perhaps stood out
more than others, it became somewhat
less daunting. It became almost invigorating. WE.YOU.US...have continued our Association.have continued the belief in what we do each
day.have continued in our history of
advocating for public education and for
children.no matter where they come
from.
Our Association has been there for
teachers in Campbell county for generations.and it is this history that becomes our responsibility.to contin-

ue...and to make stronger. But it needs

the next generation to begin to assume
the roles that we have now...to become the members that will continue
this historical belief in public education as the future of our country...as
the future of us.
Please continue to have those day-today conversations with those who are
not yet members.especially those
who are new to the teaching profession. I cant imagine that if they knew
what came before them that helped
shape their todays, that they wouldnt stand up to assume their
place..in the history of CCEA.
As always, my sincere thanks for all
that you do each day for our students.
Christel Coman,
President CCEA

PAGE

VEA Regional Pre-Retirement Meeting 2015

March 12 Fairfax
(4:30-6:00 pm)
FEA Building
3917 Old Lee Hwy
Fairfax, 22030

April 8 Winchester
(5:00-6:30 pm)
Wingate by Wyndham
150 Wingate Dr.
Winchester, 22601

April 21 Chesterfield
(6:15-8:00 pm)
Meadowdale Library
4301 Meadowdale Blvd.
Richmond, 23234

March 18 Richmond
(4:30-6:00 pm)
Holiday Inn Express
201 E. Cary St.
Richmond, 23219

April 9 Staunton
(4:30-6:00 pm)
Hampton Inn Fisherville
15 Four Square La.
Fisherville, 22939

March 19 Chesapeake
(4:30-6:30 pm)
Chesapeake Public School Admin. Bldg.
312 Cedar Rd.
Chesapeake, 23322

April 13 Emporia
(4:30-6:00 pm)
Country Inn & Suites
107 Sadler La.
Emporia, 23847

April 29 Abingdon/
Washington Co.
(5:30-7:00 pm)
Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Room 240
Partnership Circle
Abingdon, 24210

March 25 Newport News

(4:30-6:00 pm)
Point Plaza Suites
950 J. Clyde Morris Blvd.
Newport News, 23601
April 2 Virginia Beach
(4:30-6:00 pm)
Va. Beach Educ. Association
445 Kings Grant Rd.
Virginia Beach, 23452

April 14 Loudoun
(4:30-6:00 pm)
Harper Park Middle School
701 Potomac Station Dr.
Leesburg, 20176
April 15 Arlington
(4:00-5:30 pm)
Kenmore Middle School
200 S. Carlin Springs Rd.
Arlington, 22204

EASY PAY GOALS

Amherst: 2
Appomattox
Bedford: 5
Campbell
Lynchburg: 3

ISSUES

AND

April 30 Roanoke
(4:30-6:00 pm)
Jefferson Center Rehearsal Hall
541 Luck Ave.
Roanoke, 24016

ANSWERS

For the Fairfax meeting (FEA

office on 3/12/15), please contact
the FEA office at 703-352-7300
and make a reservation. Or you
can email [email protected]

New Members Since Aug

1, 2014
Amherst +20
Appomattox +7
Bedford +18
Campbell +6
Lynchburg +23

VOLUME

XXXII

PAGE

Local Legislator Contact Information

Delegate Kathy Byron
Email: [email protected]
Office Phone: (804) 698-1022

Delegate Terry Austin

Email: [email protected]
Office Phone: (804) 698-1019

Serves Counties of Bedford, Campbell Franklin, Lynchburg City

Serves Alleghany, Bedford, Botetourt Counties, Covington City

Delegate T. Scott Garrett

Email: [email protected]
Office Phone: (804) 698-1023

Delegate Matt Fariss

Email: [email protected]
Office Phone: (804) 698-1059

Serves Amherst, Bedford Counties, Lynchburg

Serves Appomattox, Buckingham, Campbell, Nelson

Counties

Delegate Benjamin L. Cline

Email: [email protected]
Office Phone: (804) 698-1024
Serves Counties of Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Rockbridge,
Lynchburg City

Senator Tom Garrett

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (804) 698-7522

Senator Steve Newman

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (804) 698-7523

Among others, serves: Amherst, Appomattox Counties,

Lynchburg City

Among others, serves: Bedford, Campbell Counties, and

Lynchburg