A Montgomery County Education Association program designed to bring positive change to the local community has been recognized for its impact by the Virginia Education Association.
Matthew Fentress, President of the Montgomery County Education Association, announced Tuesday that the MCEA program is this year’s winner of the VEA’s Fitz Turner Award.
“The VEA Fitz Turner Award for Outstanding Contributions in Intergroup Relations was presented to the MCEA Dialogue on Race program at the VEA Convention in March. Dialogue on Race (DOR) was recognized for its efforts to bring about change in the community,” said Fentress. “The DOR is doing great work and has had a real impact on the community as the group deals with issues of race and diversity in the school system and the community at large.”
The Fitz Turner Award for Outstanding Contributions in Intergroup Relations is named for the former president of the predominantly black Virginia Teachers Association, which merged with VEA in 1967. The award “honors an individual or organization that has contributed to the enhancement of human and civil rights in Virginia,” according to information released by the MCEA.
Dialogue on Race is “a group founded in 2010 with the goal of bringing people together to talk about race and address problems of inequity,” according to the MCEA. “Today, a significant part of the group’s work is with local schools, helping to make progress on important goals, including lowering the dropout rate for African-American students, closing achievement gaps among the county’s students, hiring more educators of color, and addressing discipline disparities between African-American and other students.”
In a statement, VEA President Jim Livingston called Dialogue on Race’s work is “incredibly important for the students, educators, and families of Montgomery County.”
“We’re delighted to present this award and hope it serves as both a celebration of what the organization has accomplished and an encouragement for what they’ll continue to do,” he said.
