Tools and Opportunities from Equity, Justice and Learning
August 4, 2026
August 4, 2026
VEA members don’t just fight for school funding improvements and workplace protections for educators—we make members’ professional growth a top priority, too. We know how committed our members are to being the best they can be for their students and communities, and your union is ready to help you do exactly that. Everything VEA does is tied inextricably to social justice and equality, and our Department of Equity, Justice, and Learning is the engine that keeps everyone on track. Below are the conferences, committees, workshops, and toolkits this department built while using a social justice lens, designed to assist you on your journey as an education professional:
We know that some of the best learning our members can experience happens when they can get together and compare notes. So, we try to offer something every year which brings together educators from a wide range of roles and backgrounds to participate in interactive discussions, breakout sessions, and meaningful dialogue create the kind of collaboration that goes below the surface. The two most popular of these are the EPIC (Education Professionals in Collaboration) Conference, and the Summit on Educators of Color. These conferences alternate years, so EPIC won’t be held again until 2027, while the Summit on Educators of Color will take place November 6-7th. This year’s Summit theme is: “Be Empowered: Claim Your S.E.A.T. at the Table,” and focuses on solidarity, empowerment, action and transformation (S.E.A.T.). More information will be forthcoming later in the year, so stay tuned! Another annual conference we hold is the Education Support Professionals Conference, dedicated to the professional growth of ESPs. A strong union requires the engagement and investment of all of us, and the Department of Equity, Justice, and Learning is laser-focused on creating conferences that are uplifting and inclusive.
Many of VEA’s most active committees are also housed in the Department of Equity, Justice, and Learning. These include the LGBTQIA+ committee, Minority and Women’s Concerns Committee, Fitz Turner Commission for Human and Civil Rights, and the Members of Color Alliance (MOCA). In addition, we also have the Special Education Committee and the Instruction and Professional Development (IPD) Committees. These are all made up of members, supported by staff and focused on equality and inclusion no matter your race, gender, or sexual identification. Everyone has a role to play in the work of the union, and these committees work to enact VEA’s vision year-round by offering a variety of events, fundraisers, opportunities to connect, and pathways to advocacy work.
VEA offers training targeting education support professionals and support for National Board Certification candidates, Praxis test takers, and future colleagues through the SVEA-Aspiring Educators. There are also VEA workshops, created and facilitated primarily by members, your colleagues, doing this work every day in Virginia schools.
Members have joined together to create resource packets called toolkits around LGBTQIA+ advocacy, VEA safe schools, Black Lives Matter at School, Immigration Rights and ICE enforcement preparedness and other topics. Information about these and other opportunities is available on the VEA’s website, veanea.org. Additionally, every third Friday, the Equity, Justice, and Learning Department emails a newsletter called the Equity, Justice, and Learning Impact. If you are not getting this newsletter, please ensure your email address is up to date in our files by emailing info@veanea.org!
The average pay of Virginia public school teachers in 2023-24 was $65,830. That is $4,260 below the national average of $70,090.
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