VDOE’s Literacy Network Implementation Series is designed to support Division leaders in developing and implementing effective strategies to achieve the goals of the Virginia Literacy Act and increase literacy outcomes for students across Virginia.  

 Session #1 will review the process for leading impactful systems-level change to improve literacy outcomes for all of Virginia’s students. Participants will explore the Division Literacy Plan, deepen their understanding of the components of a coherent literacy strategy, and can develop and/or refine their school division literacy vision while planning to share and invest all stakeholders in this vision. 

Division Teams of up to seven people should be formed and should include the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction or CAO/Director of Instruction, Division Level Literacy Lead (supervisor/coordinator/director), and Principal(s) who can help carry the message back to the Division. Teams should also invite a Director of Special Education, Director of Multilingual Learning/ESL or special populations, or Reading Specialist(s).  Participants will receive professional development points for attending the three-hour long sessions.  

Superintendents or designee may register their team using the regional links HERE.   

Regional sessions will be held: 

• Region 2: February 29 at 12:30 p.m. held at Mariners Museum, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News. 
• Region 3: February 29 at 9 a.m. held at Spotsylvania Boardroom Administrative Services, 8020 River Stone Drive, Fredericksburg. 
• Region 4: February 23 at 1 p.m. held at 121 Mustang Alley, Falls Church. 
• Region 5: February 20 at 9:30 a.m. held at Center 1. 1180 Seminole Trl. Charlottesville, VA. 
• Region 6: February 21 at 9 a.m. held at Salem High School, 400 Spartan Drive, Salem, VA.
• Region 7: March 7 at 9:30 a.m. held at Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Grand Hall 1 Partnership Cir, Abingdon. 

Limited state funds may be available to support mentoring programs for new teachers who hold an active Provisional Career Switcher License, are enrolled in the Career Switcher Program, and were employed after the fall consolidated data collection.  

If your school board has employed new, full-time contracted teachers in the Career Switcher Program since the fall 2023 consolidated data collection who have completed Level 1 of the Career Switcher Program, have zero years of teaching experience, and are completing Level II of their program during the 2023-2024 school year, you may request state mentor funding.  

Please submit the names of the new teachers through the New Teachers Program Data Collection (NTPDC) application, accessible from the Department of Education’s Single Sign-on for Web Systems (SSWS) portal. Once you have submitted the names of the eligible teachers, the division superintendent or designee must verify the report. Each school division has an SSWS account manager who can provide the designated program coordinator access to this application. Instructions for entering and submitting the data are available online as part of the NTPDC application.  

The names of all eligible teachers, who were not part of the fall 2023 consolidated collection must be submitted by Friday, March 8, 2024. Funding is contingent on the availability of state funds for fiscal year 2024.  

In 2023, the General Assembly appropriated state funding awards to incentivize teachers to pursue National Board Certification. School divisions submitted data via the Single Sign-On for Web Systems (SSWS) for those teachers who met the criteria established by the Virginia Board of Education (VBOE) for the National Board Certification Incentive Award.   

Funds were distributed to school divisions in November 2023 for this fall collection. We recognize that some teachers may have inadvertently left out of the data collection. If that is the case for your school division and you need the SSWS window reopened, please email Shawna LeBlond by March 1, 2024 requesting the window to be opened. Keep in mind that teachers had to have met the eligibility criteria by September 30, 2023. Teachers that received their NBCT in December 2023 do NOT qualify this year.   

Further directions will be provided for those school districts about how to submit the additional names for consideration with a due date. This will be the last opportunity to submit names for consideration for fiscal year 2024. Remember, you can pull your verification report at any time through SSWS. If a school division does not need their window to be re-opened, then no action is needed.  

Dr. Rob Wright has joined VDOE’s Title IV, Part A Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants and Title IV, Part B Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC Community Learning Centers Grants team as a Title I, Part A/Title IV Specialist.    

With Rob’s addition, there are new regional assignments for Title IV, Part A and B.  Please see the Title IV, Part A and Title IV, Part B webpages for the contact information for your assigned specialists.  Rob will be reaching out directly to the divisions he serves to make an introduction as your new specialist.  

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 Virginia Department of Education is pleased to announce the availability of 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) grant funds to be awarded to school divisions and eligible organizations to support the implementation of community learning centers that will assist student learning and development. 

Applications for 21st CCLC competitive grant funds must be received by 4 p.m. on Friday, April 19, 2024.  The application and Guidelines, Instructions and Assurances documents are available at  Title IV, Part B, Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC Community Learning Centers | Virginia Department of Education.  

Information about technical assistance workshops will be posted on the 21st CCLC website once details are finalized.   

The completed application and attachments must be emailed to 21stCCLC@doe.virginia.gov. 

On February 5, 2024, the College Partnership Laboratory Schools Standing Committee accepted for first review a college partnership laboratory school application from the University of Virginia.   

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 March 1, 2024. Comments will be shared with the Standing Committee in advance of its next meeting. 

The Virginia Board of Education (Board) is seeking nominees for several vacancies on the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure (“ABTEL”), the Early Childhood Advisory Committee (“ECAC”), the State Special Education Advisory Committee (“SSEAC”), and the Virginia Advisory Committee on Advanced Learning (“VACAL”). A full list of open seats is available on the VDOE website.  

Please note that, by state or federal law or regulation, some of the vacancies on advisory committees require specific categories of expertise, qualifications, or geographic representation. A map of the VDOE Superintendent’s Regions is available here.   

Members of advisory committees do not receive compensation for their service but may be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with state travel guidelines set forth by the Department of Accounts.  

Educators, parents, administrators, and other individuals are invited to apply by completing this nomination form before 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 1, 2024.