VEA E-source

Virginia Education Association

March 2009

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.

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	Budget Picture Improving; Uncertainty Remains
	A compromise forged in the last days of the 2009 legislative session—aided by millions of economic stimulus dollars from the feds—rescued Virginia public schools from the most severe cutbacks. Your advocacy helped make it happen, as thousands of VEA members contacted their lawmakers in Richmond and in Congress to protect school funding. The budget passed by the General Assembly rejected a damaging permanent change in the budget formula and restored $350 million in state funding that Gov. Kaine's December budget proposal had cut. The battle is far from over, though. Please work with your local Association leaders to make sure that your school board and local governing body minimize the recession's fallout on students and public education employees. Here's more information about Virginia’s school funding picture: VEA's analysis of the Virginia’s 2008-2010 biennial budget as approved by the General Assembly. It includes charts for local school divisions. (pdf file, 26 pp.) The National Education Association's latest updates on the economic stimulus package, which brought a record-setting boost in federal education spending. This area also includes charts on Congressional dollars bound for Virginia.
	In Tough Budget Year, Key Legislative Victories
	Elementary teachers, holders of national board certificates, and education support professionals (ESPs) are among those benefiting from VEA's legislative efforts during the just-concluded General Assembly session. Elementary teachers will now be guaranteed an average of 30 minutes per day during the students' school week as planning time. (Middle school and secondary school teachers had previously won that right, but local school divisions were not required to provide it to elementary teachers.) Lawmakers also passed a VEA-promoted bill expanding grievance rights for ESPs. In another victory for Virginians, the House of Delegates reversed itself and agreed to record votes taken in subcommittee, ending several years of the practice of using unrecorded votes to kill bills quietly and anonymously. Finally, VEA successfully fought to have bonus payments to teachers earning their national board certification funded in their entirety. Click here for a more complete legislative recap from the VEA Government Relations team (member login required).
	Rewards for Students Scrutinized
	Where do you draw the line between giving a student a gold star for a good effort and paying a student for scoring well on a test? The question came up recently in a provocative article in the New York Times that noted that several new programs pay students (sometimes hundreds of dollars) for taking or scoring high marks on Advanced Placement exams. The money comes from private sources, but public school students in Dallas and New York City are reaping the rewards. Critics of such programs cite research suggesting that rewarding students this way can backfire. As the Times put it: "Even at an early age, children can sense that someone is trying to control their behavior. Their reaction is to resist." What do you think? Are rewards a good idea? Should they be limited? Send your thoughts to e-Source editor John O’Neil (joneil@veanea.org) by March 20, and be sure to include your name and where you work. We may include you in the next e-Source.
	Helping Students from Military Families
	With so much attention focused on our economic troubles, the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have been pushed out of the headlines. It's important to remember the contributions of our members of the Armed Forces, and to recognize the life-changing effects of their service on their sons, daughters, and extended families. For a glimpse of what some of your students' families might be experiencing, be sure to watch an acclaimed special on PBS first airing April 1, "Coming Home: Military Families Cope with Change." (Check local listings for specific air times and dates.) You can get additional information about the project here.
	Has Your Car Given Up? Give a Saturn a Spin
	If you're in the market for a new car, you should know that Saturn is offering special incentives for education employees who are members of a credit union. For qualified buyers, the incentives could add up to 0-percent financing for 60 months. (Saturn has partnered with the NEA on many projects and was most recently a sponsor of the Saturn awards.) Get started by going to www.saturn.com/educators.
	Invest in Professional Development for ESPs
	Across America, nearly 3.5 million ESPs help schools run efficiently. But despite their power in numbers, support professionals are often thwarted from turning their jobs into careers, or gaining promotion opportunities, because of a lack of professional development and advanced training. A great resource from the NEA can help turn that picture around. It's the professional development "Action Guide" posted here on the NEA's web site. It gives real examples of how members have created and implemented ideas to advance their professions, improve their working conditions, and contribute to student achievement. Check it out and share with your fellow ESPs.