vCTM 2020 UPDATE

VCTM 2020 Attendees --

On March 11, several events occurred that have caused us to re-evaluate the decision to hold a conference this weekend. We have seen the World Heath Organization declare the outbreak of COVID-19 an epidemic. Additional presumptive positive tests of COVID-19 were reported, including one in central Virginia. We have heard from several school divisions that have restricted travel for their teachers. Most recently, after normal business hours, we received word that President Michael Rao of Virginia Commonwealth University made several announcements regarding their response to COVID-19, including the cancellation of university events. These events have provided us no other alternative than to cancel this weekend's conference.

We are heartbroken to make this decision. Countless volunteer hours have gone into planning the event, including those of the conference and program committee. In addition, over 200 speakers dedicated their time to prepare for sessions that would have been wonderful and invaluable to Virginia educators. We encourage all of our speakers to save their sessions and consider presenting at our conferences in the future. We are grateful for all of those volunteer hours that were spent preparing for the conference and are as disappointed as anyone that we cannot see the hard work come to fruition.

The executive board of VCTM will be meeting to evaluate the next steps regarding registration costs. We want to do what is right for our attendees, but we also acknowledge that we have incurred several costs in conference preparation that cannot be refunded. We will notify everyone of the board's decision when it has been determined. We are a non-profit organization of volunteers with full-time jobs and no paid employees, so please be patient and allow us time to make this decision.

Thank you for your understanding.