Tuesday, March 28, 2017

116 South Third Street ∙ Richmond, VA 23219
www.veanea.org  ∙  800-552-9554 (Toll Free)  ∙  804-775-8379 (Fax)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, March 28, 2017

History, Gubernatorial Candidates Highlight VEA Convention in Roanoke
Fifty years ago, the merger of the predominantly black Virginia Teachers Association and the largely white Virginia Education Association united state educators behind the common goal of providing excellent public education to all of Virginia’s young people. Fittingly, celebrating that historic half-century of collective action and growth will be the focus of VEA’s 132nd annual VEA Delegate Assembly this week in Roanoke.
            Some 700 convention delegates, who are educators from across the Commonwealth, will also consider issues of importance to public education, chart the Association’s course for the year ahead, and hear from gubernatorial candidates Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello. The event begins Thursday evening, March 30, at the Berglund Center and runs through Saturday, April 1.
“Our annual convention offers us a chance to discuss and work through some of the most important issues facing public education in Virginia,” said VEA President Jim Livingston, a middle school math teacher from Prince William County. “We anticipate a meeting that will be productive for both our students and our educators.”    
Northam and Perriello, both Democrats, will speak at Thursday evening’s opening session. Republican candidate Ed Gillespie, who also completed the questionnaire provided by the VEA Fund for Children and Public Education, is unable to attend the convention.
Another convention highlight is the awards banquet on Friday evening, at which the Association will honor deserving supporters of public education in Virginia, both individuals and organizations. A list of honorees will be available to media members in a separate release that day.

Media members interested in covering the Delegate Assembly should call Tom Allen in VEA Communications at 804-274-9569.

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Posted by Tom Allen at 1:15 PM