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Congratulations to our 2025 Virginia
Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Avanti Yamamoto!
Congratulations to our 2025 Virginia Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Avanti Yamamoto!
We are thrilled to have Mrs. Yamamoto, a mathematics teacher at Hanover County Public Schools’ Atlee High School, represent Virginia and serve as the Commonwealth's nominee for 2025 National Teacher of the Year.
Mrs. Yamamoto and the seven other 2025 Virginia Regional Teachers of the Year were celebrated and honored for their dedication to their students, schools, and communities during an announcement ceremony and reception hosted by Governor Glenn Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin on Capitol Square this past Monday.
Congratulations, Mrs. Yamamoto, and congratulations to all our regional winners! Virginia is fortunate to have outstanding educators all throughout the Commonwealth.
Click here to watch an exciting recap of the Regional Teacher announcements and see the full ceremony from this week here.
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News from Across the Commonwealth
Every Wednesday, Mrs. Green, a reading specialist from Poquoson City Schools, gets on "The Morning Show" and asks the students at Poquoson Primary School if they’re “reading all the books.” Then she introduces them to a book and gives them a vocabulary word from the book. She reads one to two sentences with the word, and models how to decode the word looking at syllables, vowels, and vowel patterns. Students are celebrated for getting the correct answers and get highlighted in the show! #EverybodyReadsVA |
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Senior varsity cheerleaders at Prince George High in Prince George County Public Schools recently gifted teachers who have positively impacted their high school education with a t-shirt that says, "I'm a Difference Maker." #ElevateEducatorsVA
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This Tuesday Dr. Jeremy Raley, VDOE Chief of Staff, met with students at Franklin County High School who will be entering the military upon their graduation. Thank you to Franklin County superintendent Dr. Kevin Siers for making the biscuits and gravy for breakfast and for your recognition of these students! Congratulations to all of the students who have made the decision to serve their country in our nation's armed services. |
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Dr. Lisa Coons, Superintendent of Public Instruction
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We began Teacher Appreciation week by recognizing our Regional Teachers of the Year with a lunch at the VDOE offices, a discussion of their role in my advisory panel and ended the evening with the announcement of the Virginia Teacher of the Year! Avanti Yamamoto of Hanover County Public Schools (Region 1) was selected as the 2025 Virginia Teacher of the Year, and her passion was evident as she discussed the gifts she is given by teaching her students every day. She truly elevated the work and impact teachers have in her acceptance speech. Seven other educators were celebrated for their service as Regional Teachers of the Year: Chanda L. Woods, Newport News Public Schools (Region 2); Beth Marshall, Spotsylvania County Public Schools (Region 3); Darnell Greene, Manassas Park City Schools (Region 4); Genevieve Weaver, Bedford County Public Schools (Region 5); Candace Nichole Carrier, Montgomery County Public Schools (Region 6); Andy Holmes, Smyth County Public Schools (Region 7); and Emily Overstreet, Cumberland County Public Schools (Region 8). Each regional teacher of the year demonstrates their focus and commitment to their students each day and represent the dedicated teachers we have across the Commonwealth.
I am proud of our educators’ commitment and “over and above” dedication to our students. Over the past few weeks, I have spoken to educators in Hampton City about their transformation of their literacy practices and their wall-to-wall academy model that provides expansive readiness skills and work-based learning opportunities. In Williamsburg, two high school teachers have launched a house system that ensures every high school student is connected to their peers and feels a sense of belonging. We also kicked off Mental Health Awareness month by visiting the innovative counseling center in Hanover High School. This center is not only equipped with a calming center for high school students, QR codes for supports, but they also staff the center with a full-time mental health counselor. Finally, I visited Fredericksburg City Schools yesterday where at-risk youth get to work with educators and community members two Saturdays a month to ensure they are high school ready. Their Farmers Scholars program truly goes above and beyond for the students in their community. In every part of the Commonwealth, the efforts of educators are making an impact and changing students’ lives. I am humbled and proud to witness your work and elevate educator voice in Virginia.
As an educator and a Mimi to two beautiful Virginian grandchildren, I am thankful. I am humbled by all that you do to ensure our students can reach their hopes and dreams. Thank you for choosing to be a Virginia teacher. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! #ElevateEducatorsVA
-Lisa
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News from our Content Specialists and Special Education
New ActiVAtED Learning Podcast
Article: 2024-18-162
Contact: Calypso Gilstrap, Associate Director, Office of Educational Technology and Classroom Innovation, Calypso.Gilstrap@doe.virginia.gov
Blue Ridge PBS, the Virginia Department of Education, and the Virginia Society for Technology in Education are pleased to announce the release of season one of ActiVAtED Learning, a 12-episode podcast designed to elevate the profession of teaching and explore trends and best practices in instructional technology, including discussions with classroom teachers who share their own philosophies of learning.
The series features interviews with thought leaders, award winning teachers, technology leaders and others focused on improving instruction in the Commonwealth. The series premiered in January with a conversation with Blended Learning expert and author Catlin Tucker. Recorded on location at the 2023 VSTE Conference in Roanoke before a live audience, the episode set the tone for the rest of the podcast series. New episodes have been released every other Wednesday on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and Spotify as well as being aired on the ECHO Channel, a broadcast and streaming channel focused on Education, Community, Health and Opportunity.
New episodes will continue to be released until the season concludes on June 19th.
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School Performance & Support
Community Eligibility Provision Toolkit and School Eligibility Report
Article: 2024-19-174
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Nutrition Program Administrators
Contact: Lynne A. Fellin, SNP Technical Advisor to the State Director, Lynne.Fellin@doe.virginia.gov
The VDOE Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs has developed a Community Eligibility Program (CEP) toolkit for local education agencies with schools eligible to participate in the CEP option for school breakfast and lunch programs. Schools, groups of schools, and divisions with an identified student percentage (ISP) of 25 percent or greater are eligible beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. The April 1, 2024, Report of LEAs and Schools Eligible and Near Eligible to Participate in CEP is now available.
The lower ISP threshold increases the number of schools eligible to provide meals at no cost to students, if CEP is financially viable. This change does not increase the 1.6 ISP multiplier used in the meal reimbursement process. Additional federal funding is not available to support the cost of meals in schools with the lower ISP. Decision makers should assess CEP financial viability. The toolkit includes an estimator tool available for download through the SSWS SNPWeb portal.
The Virginia CEP Toolkit was provided to school nutrition program (SNP) administrators during an April 18 webinar. Tools to evaluate, communicate, and implement CEP are part of the online toolkit. More information is available in SNP Memo No. 2023-2024-74 on this VDOE-SCNP webpage. USDA regulations require CEP participation to be at the discretion of the local school board. More information about state legislation on CEP participation is available in Superintendent’s Memo No. 063-23 on this VDOE-SCNP webpage.
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News from the Virginia Board of Education
Public Comment on Lab School Applications
Article: 2024-19-176
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Teachers, Non-teaching staff, Parents, Students
Contact: Claire Bremner, Innovation Coordinator, Claire.Bremner@doe.virginia.gov
The Standing Committee also directed the VDOE to post the lab school application for public comment and send the applications to be considered by the Board of Education at its next meeting.
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 Board of Education is seeking public comment on each application through the following forms:
Public comments for these applications will be accepted through May 20, 2024.
Public Hearing on Revisions to the Standards of Accreditation
Article: 2024-19-174
Audience: Superintendents, Directors, School Principals, Teachers, Directors of Testing
Contact: Katie Carroll, Deputy Superintendent of School Performance and Support, Katie.Carroll@doe.virginia.gov
The Virginia Board of Education will hold a public hearing on the proposed revisions to the Standards of Accreditation on June 4 at 4 p.m. This revision to the Standards of Accreditation focuses on changes to the accreditation process and the development of a school performance and support framework. Parents, educators, and interested citizens are invited to attend the session and comment. Interested individuals can register to attend and/or speak in the public hearing. Additional information on the revisions to the Standards of Accreditation can be found here.
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