Welcome to your one-stop shop for all things TOCLI, and all things VBEA!
We hope that after watching and reading this, you’ll want to join all of us as a part of Virginia Beach Education Association (and with that, the Virginia Education Association and National Education Association) and learn why #MembershipMatters. Being a member will give you #PeaceOfMind in so many ways. Watch, then read below.
If you already know about us and understand what we do and the value of it, JOIN US. If you need to know more, and want to see how you can earn $50 today for joining the VBEA, READ ON.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools provides all newly hired teachers with a professional learning program called Teacher Orientation and Continuous Learning Institute (TOCLI), which begins with Orientation Week from Monday, August 22 through Thursday, August 25, 2016 at Tallwood High School.
TOCLI is a contractual obligation, and all first-year and new-to-Virginia Beach teachers are required to attend.
The purpose of Orientation Week is to orient teachers to the Virginia Beach City Public Schools Strategic Plan, Compass to 2020, and to introduce them to their respective curricula and effective instructional strategies. Differentiated professional learning opportunities will be made available to new teachers throughout the school year.
We will be here throughout TOCLI, so let us introduce ourselves and let you know what we’re all about.
How does VBEA fit into all of this?
The Virginia Beach Education Association (VBEA) is YOUR professional association. We’re at TOCLI so you can learn about us, and we hope, JOIN US in our aim to represent public school educators across Virginia Beach.
What have we done for our educators lately?
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VBEA along with the Virginia Education Association (VEA) helped secure a 3.34 percent raise this year from local/state funds, on top of a 4 percent raise this year for ALL school employees.
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VBEA advocated for this year’s 181-day calendar, which provides 2 days of embedded professional development. It also adds 2 more vacation days for students and families – the extra day for winter break we didn’t have in 2015-16, and Columbus Day for students, adding another long weekend.
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Continued to open lines of communication between VBEA and school staff/administration.
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VEA lobbying efforts led to more than $900 million in increased K-12 funding in the new biennium budget, and members have helped reduce the number of SOL tests burdening students and educators.
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The National Education Association (NEA) lobbied successfully for the new Every Student Succeeds Act, replacing test and punish “accountability” of No Child Left Behind.
If you support these things, JOIN US.
It’s because of the efforts of the VBEA and VEA that employees enjoy the above benefits and these benefits here:
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Sick leave bank
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Professional leave
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Personal reasons leave
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Planning time
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Duty-free lunch
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Pay for unused sick leave
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Increased tuition reimbursement
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Advertising custodial vacancies
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Guidelines for access of personnel files
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Increased Virginia Retirement System (VRS) contributions
If you believe these things are valuable to you as a new teacher, JOIN US.
We support our new teachers
This year VBEA will roll out its new mentor program called NewEd. In support of NewEd, the VBEA will be sponsoring quarterly Professional Development Programs, which count towards your 22 mandatory PDP points, and VBEA will be sponsoring quarterly social events. Information about these opportunities is forth coming and these events are FREE for VBEA members.
Every November, members are invited to attend the Instructional Conference where educators and support professionals can learn about the latest on topics such as alternative assessment, teacher evaluation, technology in the classroom, reducing stress and other critical issues.
Every spring, VEA sponsors a program called SPARKS, which gives members the opportunity to make discoveries about fellow educators and your Association on your own, related to your own priorities. It is where future leaders are born!
VBEA can help you enhance your professional network, can help you take charge of your career and we can help you in your lifelong learning. Through VBEA you can develop your leadership skills and there is the additional bonus of exclusive services and member benefits.
Also, be sure to check out VEA’s New Teacher Guide, with helpful pointers on starting your first year out right, and NEA’s 3 Things I Wish I Had Known to begin your first year on a strong note. By being a part of the NEA, which comes with your membership, you can save 20 percent on Lesson Planet, a powerful curriculum search solution.
If you want to have a ready-made support system at your disposal, JOIN US.
What else can we do for you?
With your VBEA membership, you are also a member of the Virginia Education Association and the National Education Association, and with that, you have a personal $1 million liability insurance policy and the full support of the VEA professional staff to handle workplace problems and have representation in any grievances. For $1.60 or less per day, membership pays!
You can save on such things as cell phone service, car buying, wholesale club membership, movie tickets, a variety of insurance options, and consumer resources on such topics as credit and debt counseling, home and buying, investing, health resources and travel guides. You will also receive the VEA’s Virginia Journal of Education and NEA Today magazines, indispensable guides to what’s going on in your profession. You can’t afford not to be a member.
If you believe that having representation, and having savings on things you use everyday are valuable, JOIN US.
On behalf of Virginia Beach Education Association (VBEA) welcome to Virginia Beach City Public Schools! We stand poised to assist you as you join the best school division in the state. Whether you are a new teacher, career switcher, a teacher who has relocated to the beach or an educational support professional, VBEA is YOUR professional organization and we are here to support you and the students of Virginia Beach.
Our VISION, Our MISSION, Our VALUES
Our VISION – A great public education for every child in VBSchools.
Our MISSION – To advocate for a positive professional environment in all Virginia Beach City Public Schools that will foster lifelong learning for all.
Our VALUES – Advocacy, Professional Respect, Integrity, Compassion, Collaboration
What we stand for
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WE serve as a voice for education
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WE advance the cause of education for all individuals
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WE promote professional excellence among educators
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WE work to gain recognition of the basic importance of the professional educator in the learning process
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WE protect the rights of educators and advances, advanced the interests and welfare of educators
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WE secure professional autonomy
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WE unite educators for effective citizenship
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WE promote and protects human and civil rights
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WE obtain for OUR members the benefits of an independent and united teaching profession
JOIN us now
We are confident that you will want to be part of an association that has done, and will continue to do, whatever it takes to support our educators here in Virginia Beach and continue to enhance an already world-class school division.
You’ve heard about all that we’ve done, and all that we plan to do. JOIN US, and we can do even more TOGETHER.
As an incentive, if you join during TOCLI, you will receive $50 CASH, and be entered to win one of several door prizes.
More importantly, you will be joining YOUR professional association, you will have support and, you will have PEACE OF MIND from day one. Please complete the attached forms and return it to our office. You can email an attached copy of the form, bring it by or mail it to our office. If you need any assistance, please call our office at 757-486-0202. But don’t take too long, while you can become a member anytime, this special offer expires on September 6, 2016, so HURRY!
And once you’ve joined us, join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to keep up with association news and happenings.
We look forward to meeting you and having you JOIN US, because #MembershipMatters, and it brings #PeaceOfMind.