School divisions that have opted into Zearn Math for Virginia ALL In Tutoring are invited to join live trainings with the Zearn team. These sessions are designed to help you launch your Zearn Math implementation for high-dosage tutoring.  

Launch Zearn Math sessions are being offered on January 23, 25, and 31 and February 1 and 13. Lead Zearn Math sessions are being offered on January 22 and 31 and February 14. 

Register here for an upcoming session.  

The VDOE is pleased to accept applications for the fiscal year 2024 Hometown Teacher Program. This program was formerly known as the Grow Your Own Teacher Pilot Program and provides grants of $7,500 to low-income high school graduates who graduated from an institution of higher education in the Commonwealth and subsequently returned to teach within one year of college graduation in a high-need public school in the school division in which they graduated from high school.  

Eligible individuals should work with their Human Resources Directors to submit applications using the designated process outlined in the application packet. Each Superintendent’s Region may select up to four applicants to send forward for consideration for initial applications. Individuals who received an award through this program during a previous fiscal year should complete the continuing application. All applications are due by March 15, 2024.  

Additional information can be found in the Hometown Teacher Program Application Packet.  

To honor Virginia teachers who represent the best in teaching in the Commonwealth and across the nation, all public and accredited nonpublic schools are invited to participate in the 2025 Mary V. Bicouvaris Virginia Teacher of the Year Program.  The program is open to all exceptionally skilled and dedicated teachers in pre-kindergarten through grade 12, including school librarians, school counselors, technology specialists, math specialists and reading specialists, who hold a current renewable Virginia teaching license in the assigned teaching area. Additional criteria also apply.  

Completed division applications packet should be submitted by Thursday, February 8th at 4pm to TeacheroftheYear@doe.virginia.gov. Please see our Educator Recognition webpage for complete details and to download the division application. Original posting was in #2023-18 Virginia Education Update 2 November 2023. 

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) will be participating in a “Virginia Military Signing Day” event at the Virginia War Memorial on Friday, May 17, 2024, from 5-6:30 p.m. This is the agency’s fourth year participating in a celebration of this kind. Military signing day events aim to replicate the fanfare and attention given to star high school athletes when they sign to compete at Division 1 colleges. 

The VDOE is requesting that school divisions across the Commonwealth consider providing transportation to the ceremony in Richmond for their honored students. If this is beyond your division’s ability, please consider holding a similar local celebration. At a minimum, schools should consider setting aside recognition of these students during end-of-year senior assemblies. 

Those divisions who intend to send students to the ceremony should RSVP to Mr. Dan Dunham by email. Mr. Dunham can also assist schools in connecting with local military recruiters who may have knowledge of students selecting military enlistment or ROTC programs upon graduation.  

The Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to ensure the total number of students assessed in a subject using the alternate assessment aligns with alternate achievement standards and that the state may not exceed one percent of the total number of all students who are assessed in a subject. Virginia continues to exceed this cap for students participating in the Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP).  

To create alignment with the VDOE’s Corrective Action Plan for exceeding the one percent cap for alternate assessment participation, VDOE has recently revised and augmented its guidance regarding VAAP participation. The purpose of the revision is to ensure Individualized Education Program Teams are identifying the appropriate students for VAAP participation. School divisions should plan implementation of the forthcoming VAAP Participation Decision-Making Tool by July 1, 2024.  

The VDOE continues support for school divisions on improving the implementation of the VAAP participation guidelines and ensuring that the appropriate students are assessed using this alternate assessment. Local school divisions’ Directors of Special Education will receive an email containing additional information, including access to an introductory recording and upcoming online and live question and answer sessions. Directors are encouraged to share the training information with their school division’s IEP Team members and school administrators. 

VDOE’s Title II and Title III team has gained a new team member. Allegra Brown has joined the team as a Title II, Part A/Title III, Part A Specialist.   

With the addition of new personnel, there are new regional assignments for Title II and Title III.  Please see the Title II and Title III webpages for the contact information for your assigned specialists.  Allegra will be reaching out directly to the divisions she serves to make an introduction as your new specialists. 

As a reminder, your assigned specialist will be the person that you contact for technical assistance, general questions, and OMEGA inquires for each program. 

The second collection for divisions to report on their Title IV, Part A federal objectives and outcomes for the FY 2021 ESEA application will begin Monday, January 22, 2024, and close Friday, March 22, 2024.  The previous collection was for the FY2020 ESEA application. 

All school divisions, including those that transfer 100% of Title IV, Part A funds to another federal program, must report in the Title IV, Part A Submission application.  The division superintendent or designee must electronically verify the report in SSWS for final submission. 

More information on 2023-2024 Title IV, Part A, Required Federal Reporting for FY2021 is available. 

The revised 2023 Title III, Part A, English Learner (EL) and Immigrant Youth (IY) (XLSX) reallocations for each school division receiving over $10,000 are now available.  The revised 2023 Title III English Learner reallocation for statewide consortium divisions receiving under $10,000 (XLSX) and the Additional Required Special Terms and Conditions for Grant Awards or Cooperative Agreements  (DOCX) are also available on the VDOE Title III, Part A, website.      

The reallocation of EL and IY FY 2023 allocations differ from the original FY 2023 allocations released in the Superintendent’s Newsletter #2023-08 . The IY allocations are final and were revised in accordance with the procedures provided in Superintendent’s Memorandum 179-17. 

Title III, Part A coordinators can submit an application amendment based on the revised FY 2023 allocation through the Online Management of Education Grants Award (OMEGA) application in the VDOE's Single Sign-On Web Systems (SSWS). 

Certain school divisions are receiving federal program monitoring of Title IX, Part A, the Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program (McKinney-Vento), during the 2023-2024 academic year. States are required to monitor school divisions for compliance in certain program areas, and school divisions in Virginia are monitored for Title IX, Part A, on a three-year cycle for McKinney-Vento subgrantees or a five-year cycle for non-subgrantees. School divisions scheduled to receive Title IX, Part A, monitoring in the spring of 2024 are listed below. 

In preparation for the monitoring, Project HOPE-Virginia will host an informational session via webinar on Thursday, February 15, 2024, at 10 a.m. The webinar aims to familiarize school divisions with the process used for monitoring and to discuss the federal program monitoring protocol that will be used. The webinar will be recorded for those unable to participate at that time. Additional resources are posted to the Project HOPE-Virginia monitoring webpage.  

Directions for logging into the webinar and the monitoring protocol will be sent directly to all homeless student liaisons in school divisions being monitored in 2024. If you are not the liaison or not from a school division being monitored and would like to be included, or should you have trouble connecting to the webinar, contact Laura Hackett, Assistant State Coordinator, lihack@wm.edu or Patricia A. Popp, State Coordinator, pspopp@wm.edu. 

2023-2024 McKinney-Vento Monitoring Schedule (* MV subgrantee) 

• Bedford County Public Schools
• Botetourt County Public Schools
• Bristol City Public Schools
• Charlotte County Public Schools
• Chesapeake City Public Schools
• Chesterfield County Public Schools*
• Colonial Heights City Public Schools
• Culpeper County Public Schools
• Falls Church City Public Schools
• Floyd County Public Schools*
• Franklin County Public Schools
• Giles County Public Schools*
• Highland County Public Schools
• Lee County Public Schools
• Lunenburg County Public Schools
• Mecklenburg County Public Schools
• Middlesex County Public Schools
• Montgomery County Public Schools*
• New Kent County Public Schools
• Northampton County Public Schools
• Northumberland County Public Schools
• Patrick County Public Schools
• Poquoson City Public Schools
• Portsmouth City Public Schools*
• Prince George County Public Schools
• Pulaski County Public Schools*
• Radford City Public Schools*
• Rappahannock County Public Schools
• Rockingham County Public Schools
• Scott County Public Schools
• Shenandoah County Public Schools
• Southampton County Public Schools
• Washington County Public Schools
• West Point Public Schools
• Wise County Public Schools
• York County Public Schools

On January 8, 2024, the College Partnership Laboratory Schools Standing Committee accepted for first review a college partnership laboratory school application from Mountain Gateway Community College.  

In order to provide appropriate input from parents, teachers, and other interested parties and to obtain information to assist in its evaluation of the lab school application, the Standing Committee is seeking public comment on the application through this form.    

Public comments for these applications will be accepted through February 1, 2024. Comments will be shared with the Standing Committee in advance of its next meeting.