Welcome VERA Members,
Future Members, and Friends!

We’re glad you’ve taken the time to visit our brand-new website.

As the members of the VERA Executive Committee, we have spent a lot of time discussing how this website can best communicate our goals, plans, and outreach for VERA over the course of this year and into the future.

We want to make sure you are informed about upcoming events, opportunities for engagement, and ways to reach out to us with any questions or needs.

Please take a look around!

Expanding into a diverse, vibrant, and effective organization

We are beginning a thorough initiative to reach more educators and researchers across Virginia. We know how much Virginia’s education community has to offer, and want to make sure our membership reflects this.

We are conducting specific outreach efforts to:

  • Institutions of Higher Education
  • School districts across the state

How you can help us with this initiative:

Please share this website, conference details, and our contact information with your colleagues and friends—we want them to join us!

We Are a Source of Insight and Support

Thank you for taking the time to visit and learn more about VERA’s upcoming activities. We are very excited to continue working to celebrate educational research in Virginia and to be a source of insight and support for our members.

Please stay tuned for more information about the Annual Meeting and other initiatives, and feel free to contact us with any questions.

Good luck and good health,

The VERA Executive Committee

Meet the VERA Board

As a member of VERA,
you will benefit from:

participating in an active research community.

networking opportunities with education professionals across Virginia’s research community, including educators, leaders, researchers, and policymakers.

experiencing diverse opportunities to make a direct impact by participating on VERA committees.

engaging in research presentations across a wide range of educational topics.

assisting in fostering a supportive presentation environment for graduate and undergraduate researchers and scholarly practitioners.

opportunities for recognition and awards.

being a part of a national educational research association.

Annual Membership Included with Conference Registration

VERA – VPEL Annual Conference

This virtual event will take place online and In-Person at Virginia Tech, Richmond
Sept. 25 – 26, 2025.

  • Registration is $75, includes one year VERA membership.
  • Registration for Graduate and Undergraduate Students is $50, includes one year VERA membership.

Registration cost has increased, since it is a two-day event this year, rather than a one day event.

Presentation Proposals

Presentation proposals are welcome across all areas of educational research including academics, graduate students, K-12 educators, policymakers, and more!

Keep checking back here for the presentation application deadline.

Testimonial About the VERA Conference

“I participated in the 2022 VERA conference. It was a wonderful place to present my research and to hear what other educational research is happening in Virginia. My dissertation was awarded the Most Distinguished Paper Award at the conference, and I was invited to present my research at the AERA National Conference in Chicago in April 2023.

AERA has approximately 15,000 people attend each year and took place across 7 hotels in downtown Chicago. While a little overwhelming, presenting at AERA provided me the opportunity to listen to the latest research in our field, learn from the myriad of speakers, and discuss with other educators how far we have come and how far we still have to go. I appreciate being recognized and thank the VERA committee for the opportunity.”

REGISTER FOR CONFERENCE SUBMIT PRESENTATION PROPOSAL

Congrats to Our 2023 Award Recipients

VERA Distinguished Paper Award

Paper Title: Examining Established and Emerging Teacher Working Conditions that Influence Teacher Retention
Recipients: 

Dr. Amy L. Reynolds, University of Virginia

Dr. Rachel S. White, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Outstanding Dissertation Award 

Title: Alternatively Certified K-12 Teachers: Their Preparedness to Teach and Their Administrative Needs for Retention

Recipient: Dr. Kristin Rankin, Virginia Tech

2023 VERA Charles Clear Research Award

Dr. Jodie L Brinkmann, Virginia Tech
Dr. Carol S. Cash, Virginia Tech