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About e-source
VEA is proud to send you this e-source newsletter, a tip-filled resource to help you on the job and in your profession. These monthly dispatches will keep you informed about the latest news affecting your job and will help you take advantage of all the resources offered by your Association. If you'd rather not receive the e-source again, click the "Unsubscribe" button at bottom right.
For the latest information and resources for Virginia educators, go to www.veanea.org. Share this e-source! Click at bottom left to forward this message to your colleagues. |  |
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Budget Axe Swings at Public Schools. Take Action Now! |
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Nearly 300 VEA members traveled to the General Assembly Monday for VEA Lobby Day. (See our story here and event photos here.) The big topic: how to minimize cuts to the state's education budget and make sure that they will not permanently hinder school funding. We've a huge battle on our hands, because the budget axe already is swinging at school programs across the Commonwealth. Among the budget-reducing proposals being considered in many school divisions: salary freezes, RIFs, larger class sizes, cuts to instructional materials and supplies, school closings, privatizing bus and custodial services, and more. You may feel like now is a time to hunker down, but your action is more critical than ever. Take these actions to give a boost to school funding:
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Education Support Professionals: A Vital Part of the Team |
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Throughout a day-long Education Support Professional (ESP) workshop held by the Fairfax Education Association, one point was underscored again and again: ESPs serve a vital role in public education, deserving of respect, job rights, and fair pay and benefits. That fact was reinforced throughout sessions on managing differences, member rights, workplace issues, and job strategies. For more on what ESPs learned, click here. For event photos, go here. And you'll find more ESP resources on the VEA and NEA web sites.
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Members Gear Up for Read Across America March 2 |
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The NEA's Read Across America program March 2 will have millions of kids across the country sporting Cat-in-the-Hat hats, eating green eggs and ham, and otherwise enjoying a good book. All the latest information on Read Across is posted here on the NEA web site. You'll find free downloads of selected books, a 2009 Resource Calendar, links to the Seuss store cat-a-log, and more. Plus templates and tools to help you plan your celebration and build public and media awareness.
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We Like These Tax Cuts |
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If you're ready to tackle your taxes, NEA Member Benefits is ready for you with a nice discount on services from H&R Block. Download a discount coupon and save up to $40 on your in-person tax consultation at an H&R Block retail office, or choose online tax filing and pay less than the standard cost. Get more information, including your coupon, at www.neamb.com/taxcut08 or call toll-free, 1-800-786-3429.
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Making Tests Really Pay Off |
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Tests almost always result in a mark, score, or grade. But they can also raise your awareness of how much your students really understand your content -- if you know how to prepare the test items and make sense of the results. In the February Virginia Journal of Education, authors Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey review several strategies for giving your tests more punch. Looking for more resources? Fisher and Frey suggest www.easytestmaker.com and www.testdesigner.com.
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U.S. Schools Don't Support Professional Learning |
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Teachers need to head back to the classroom, too. That's one conclusion of a new international study that found that American teachers spend more time teaching students, and less time in professional learning activities, than teachers in top-performing nations in Asia and Europe. The study by the National Staff Development Council found that nine of 10 teachers have participated in professional learning opportunities, but most have been short-term workshops. In other countries, professional development is built into the teachers' work schedule. To browse the report, click here.
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