Testing...Testing...1, 2, 3...

Several CEA Members recently attended a public forum on High-stakes Testing sponsored by the Richmond Teachers for Social Justice. It was great to see our Members and Building Reps out in the community sharing their expertise and networking with other teachers and parents in the Richmond Metro Area. Participating in events like this is a great way to share our message about what really works well (and what doesn't) in public education, and to confront in a very positive way the corporate-sponsored and government-backed attacks on our profession.

RTSJ is hosting a follow-up meeting on Monday, June 4, 4:30-6:00 pm, at VCU's Oliver Hall Room 4084B (1015 W. Main St., Richmond). The agenda includes a continuation of the public discussion, including steps that can be taken to resist the corrupting effects of high-stakes testing. You can learn more about the group and how to become involved by visiting their website, http://www.rvatsj.org/.

While not affiliated with RTSJ, Chesterfield County Public Schools acknowledges the amount of student, parent, and teacher stress created by high-stakes testing, at the emotional and cognitive levels. The April 2012 edition of Psych Briefs, published by CCPS Psychological Services, was entirely dedicated to managing test anxiety.

This is a big conversation nationally and at the state level. Don't let all the dialogue occur between people who are years removed from the classroom; become part of the conversation here at the local level. Tests, like any other entity, are neither inherently good nor bad; it is the design, implementation, administration, and utilization of the results they yield that can have significant impact on quality teaching and student learning.      

Forget 9-9-9, CEA Supports 3-3-3

Most of us were not sad to see Herman Cain and his "9-9-9 Plan" retire from the presidential nomination race earlier this year; the same can not be said of the retiring Members we recognized last night.  CEA said goodbye and thank you to our version of the "3-3-3 Plan": three hundred thirty-three years of experience and educational excellence.  The attending retirees, including former committee chairs and long-time Building Reps, were recognized by the current CEA Rep Council and Board of Directors for their dedicated service not only to the children of Chesterfield County, but also to the colleagues who they have mentored and supported over the years, and to the greater good of public education.

While the retirees were treated to cake and hot hors d'oeuvres, former CEA President and current Chair of the CEA Retired Educators committee (CEA-R) delivered a humorous and passionate keynote address, filling in for VEA President-elect Meg Gruber who was representing VEA senior staff at a funeral in Chesapeake.

Also recognized were the winners of the Dawn Campbell CEA Member Scholarships: Donna Charles-Koski (Guidance Counselor, Thomas Dale HS) and Rich Peterson (Math Teacher, Manchester HS), and the Fred Thompson CEA Student Scholarship: Maya Henderson (Meadowbrook HS), as well as Judith Leshen (Elizabeth Scott ES) who completed her 10-year renewal certificate as a National Board Certified Teacher.

The evening concluded with the regular monthly business session of the Rep Council, in which the CEA Budget for FY2013 was approved.

Thank you again to all of our retiring Members for your professional pride in your work, your students, your union, and your community. We wish you the best in all future endeavors, and hope you stay involved with CEA/VEA/NEA through our Retired Educators group. Congratulations on such meaningful and empowering careers!  

CEA Annual Recognition Meeting and Rep Council Tomorrow!!!

One day left until the CEA annual Recognition Meeting.  Time to say thank you to the CEA Members who are retiring at the end of the year, announce our Student and Member scholarship winners, congratulate newly achieving and renewing National Board Certified Teachers, and install the members of our Board of Directors who have been elected and/or appointed for the coming year.  
All this happening tomorrow, May 15, from 4:30-6:00pm, at the Fulghum Center.

National School Nurses Day

It was nice of the General Assembly to pass a law requiring that life-saving medication be present at all times during the school day in ALL of our schools; it would be nicer if they passed a law requiring that highly qualified medical personnel be present at all times during the school day to administer it.  Thank you to all of the public health nurses who diagnose, treat, comfort, and educate in CCPS schools.  

CEA Annual Recognition Meeting

Just a reminder that Tuesday, May 15, from 4:30-6:00pm, CEA will hold it's annual Recognition Meeting where we say thank you to the CEA Members who are retiring at the end of the year, announce our Student and Member scholarship winners, congratulate newly achieving and renewing National Board Certified Teachers, and install the members of our Board of Directors who have been elected and/or appointed for the coming year.

This year's keynote speaker is VEA President-elect Meg Gruber, of Prince William County. Meg recently purchased a home in Chesterfield to shorten her commute to Richmond. Come welcome Meg to Chesterfield, and hear her in one of the first speaking engagements in her new role. This is an open meeting, and all members are welcome to attend!

Following the Recognition Meeting, there will be an abbreviated business session of the regular monthly Rep Council meeting. Reps are reminded to please send all reports or concerns in advance as the agenda for this meeting is more tightly constrained than the other months of the year.

The meeting will be held in the Chesterfield Room of the Fulghum Center. Hot and cold refreshments will be provided. Come and thank our retiring Members for all their years of dedicated service to their students and their union colleagues.

National Educator Appreciation Week

Thank you for making CEA such a meaningful organization of education professionals.  I am proud to represent you.  I hope you are thanked so much today that you don't have time to grade a single paper!  (And don't take any home either!)