Virginia School Safety Forum Brings Educators, Law Enforcement Together

More than 1,100 people registered to attend the 2023 Virginia School Safety Training Forum, which will address roughly 20 topics pertaining to school safety and student well-being.

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and its Center for School and Campus Safety partner with several other organizations, including the attorney general’s office and the Virginia Department of Education, to put on the forum, now in its 22nd year.

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TDOE Releases Annual Educator Survey Revealing Growing Teacher Dissatisfaction

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) and Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) released on Friday key findings and responses from the 2022 Tennessee Educator Survey (TES). Survey results reveal that in every category measured, teachers are more dissatisfied this year than last year.

In 2021, 91 percent of teachers reported being generally satisfied. In 2022, that number has declined to 87 percent.

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Study Shows Educators Giving Students Assignments ‘Substantially’ Below Grade Level

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic significantly hampering K-12 education, millions of students across the U.S. are working on assignments substantially below their grade level, according to a study released Monday.

Readworks, a non-profit focused on K-12 literacy gaps, studied 65 million assignments given to three million students in the 2020-2021 school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused students to miss months of learning, according to the report. Students were given assignments below their “grade level,” or academic expectations correlating to their age, one-third of the time.

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At Least 135 Educators Charged with Child Sex Crimes in 2022 Alone

man in handcuffs

In less than five months, at least 135 teachers, teachers’ aides, and other school employees across the country have been arrested and charged with various child sex crimes.

As reported by Fox News, the total of 135 does not account for arrests that haven’t been publicized, meaning the final total for the year 2022 thus far may be even higher. The 135 arrests have taken place across 41 states between January 1st and May 13th, averaging to about one arrest per day. Most of the suspects are men.

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Virginia Education Department Promotes Pro-Critical Race Theory Book, Despite McAuliffe’s Claims the Curricula Isn’t Taught in the State

Young girl in pink long sleeve writing

The Virginia Education Department promotes pro-Critical Race Theory books despite claims from state officials, including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, that the curricula is not taught in its public schools.

The state’s Department of Education (DOE) promotes pro-Critical Race Theory (CRT) content on its “What We Are Reading” tab on its website, which compiles a list of resources from the Office of Equity and Community Engagement to recommend reading and develop its own work, Fox News first reported.

The list includes titles such as “Foundations of Critical Race Theory in Education” that “acts to further spur developments in education policy, critical pedagogy, and social justice, making it a crucial resource for students and educators alike,” according to its description.

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Commentary: Parents Aren’t Domestic Terrorists

It is probably an understatement to say that when one group designates another as a terrorist organization, diplomatic relations between the two become strained.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights.”

Truths. Equal. Creator. Rights. Concerned parents want schools to teach truths, not ideologies; operate under equality, not equity; and respect faith in our Creator and our parental rights. These are the fundamental principles from our Declaration that are at stake in American education today.

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Nearly One-Third of Teachers in Minnesota Consider Quitting Due to Overwhelming Workload

A study released by Education Minnesota, Minnesota’s teachers union, says that nearly one-third of the state’s educators are considering quitting their jobs due to stress and an overwhelming workload.

The study, which was conducted from Sept. 25 to Oct. 5, had 9,723 respondents, about one-sixth of the educators in the state, according to recent numbers. Overall, 29% of respondents said that they were “thinking about quitting or retiring,” with upwards of 70% saying they were feeling stressed or overwhelmed.

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Commentary: Educators Should Learn from Homeschoolers, Not Antagonize Them

The editors at Harvard Review must be surprised at the reaction they provoked with their magazine’s recent article, “The Risks of Homeschooling.” For an issue that concerns “roughly 3 percent to 4 percent of school-age children,” the great profusion of responses from every corner of the internet would convince a person that it is really 96 percent to 97 percent who are homeschoolers—which might currently be the case since nearly every school has closed down for the year to prevent the spread of the Wuhan virus.

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JC Bowman Commentary: Giving Tennessee Educators a Choice and a Voice

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As teachers and administrators go back to school across the state, they will have a choice in what teacher association in which they want to join.  We hope they will join Professional Educators of Tennessee.  As an independent, Tennessee -focused professional association, we keep our membership dues low by ensuring that our dues dollars are put to good use meeting the needs of our members here in Tennessee, not supporting a national labor union and a national agenda. In fact, our dues are so reasonable that you can cover the $189 cost simply by taking advantage of our various benefit programs which are clearly valued by educators (teachers & administrators, as well as support personnel) .  Contrast that to the roughly $600 plus union members pay for less legal coverage and benefits.  Educators are also consumers and should expect quality services at an affordable price. You won’t have to look for the fine-print on our application just to see what you are joining.  Many Tennessee educators dislike the concept of forced “unified dues” and are opposed to the militancy of teacher unions’ nationwide.  (See NEA and AFT websites for your own comparison). You will find that our organization, Professional Educators of Tennessee is NOT engaged in aggressive political partisanship. We are NOT involved in a…

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Professional Educators of Tennessee to Conduct Teacher Survey on School Safety

Teacher

The Professional Educators of Tennessee (ProEd) announced Thursday it is conducting a ten-question, online survey for teachers from now through Friday, March 9 about the level of safety in schools. “Tennessee Public Schools are entrusted with the responsibility of educating the citizens of tomorrow,” the statement announcing the survey said: A safe and secure environment is a requirement for effective teaching and learning. Educator and student safety is a priority for Professional Educators of Tennessee. We believe school management and planning in regards for student and educators must be a constant process and priority for all policymakers. Tennessee citizens think for themselves. Educators think for themselves, with an authentic voice that advocates for students entrusted in their care. We invite Active and Retired Educators to take this brief survey and share your opinion on school safety in order that we can share with state leaders and the media. By conducting the survey, Professional Educators of Tennessee can assist and help educate legislators in understanding how teachers feel on the growing concern of school safety. Because we have the direct input of educators, Professional Educators of Tennessee advocacy efforts carry significant weight with legislators. The survey for educators is located here:…

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Steve Gill Commentary: Teacher’s Union Salaries Far Exceed Payments to Classroom Teachers

The State Board of Education instituted a minimum teacher’s salary of $33,745 in 2017, which essentially established a starting salary for the approximately 10 months a year that teachers work each year. Overall, Tennessee teachers receive an average annual salary of over $50,000. How does that stack up against income earners across the country? According to the National Taxpayers Union (ntu.org) the starting salary for most teachers would place the near the top half of income earners. The AVERAGE teacher salary would place an individual teacher at about the top THIRD of income earners. There is no question that the best teachers deserve better compensation, but education bureaucrats and the teachers’ unions have long fought to preserve a system that essentially pays the best and the worst the same amount. Every day, millions of teachers’ union members have money taken from their paychecks to support their union’s liberal political agenda. The TEA/NEA use teachers’ dues money to almost exclusively support the Democratic Party nationally. The activism of the TEA/NEA nationally includes endorsements of candidates like Hillary Clinton, demonizing 2nd Amendment advocates, and supporting abortion with donations to Planned Parenthood . Are Tennessee teachers’ union dues being used to promote their own beliefs…

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Unions Offer the Same Old Song and Dance

Tennessee Star

  By J.C. Bowman and Justin Owen   This week is National Employee Freedom Week. From August 20 to 26, we celebrate Americans’ right to work freely of compulsory union representation, as well as every citizen’s right to join a union if he or she believes it is in his or her best interest. However, for Tennessee teachers, that freedom comes with some limits. A simple glance at the half page of fine print on Tennessee’s National Education Association affiliate’s membership application offers troubling music for union members’ ears. First up is the “Hotel California” clause. You can check out of the union anytime you like, but you can rarely leave. In order to withdraw from your union, you must provide written notice of termination to multiple entities prior to September 1 each year (how far in advance the notice can be sent is unclear). Otherwise, you are locked in for an entire year. And the key statement on the application form is revocation will only be acted upon in accordance with the established policy of the union board. That’s right, the union leadership decides if you get out of the union based on their policies, not based on your…

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Commentary: Breast Feeding 101 for Educators

teacher

Health professionals and public health officials promote breastfeeding to improve infant health. Breastfeeding also provides long-term preventative effects for the mother, including an earlier return to pre-pregnancy weight and a reduced risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer and osteoporosis. It is important to note that 82% of public school teachers are female in Tennessee. Women are the predominate sex in our profession. More importantly, most of these women are of child bearing age. So this is an important topic for all stakeholders.

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