World language supervisors/contact persons and gifted education coordinators who oversee the Governor’s World Language Academies application process are invited to participate in three world language-related training sessions facilitated by VDOE. Please register in advance to attend one or more of the following sessions.   

• October 8, 10:00 a.m. - Orientation for new world language supervisors. This overview of tools and resources to support a school or division’s world language programs is designed for new world language supervisors and for those who want a refresher. Topics include the Seal of Biliteracy, World Language Academies, and the implementation of the World Language Standards of Learning. 
• October 15, 9:00 a.m. - Governor’s World Language Academies: Accessing and Navigating SSWS.  This session will focus on how to request access and use the Single Sign-on Web System (SSWS) to enter data for the Governor’s World Language Academies.  
• October 15, 10:00 a.m. - Governor’s World Language Academies application process.  Learn about the student nomination process for World Language Academies, including Survey Monkey Apply, roles, responsibilities, and how to support schools and students through the application stages. 

Per the Virginia Literacy Act, each local school board shall post, maintain, and update as necessary on each school board’s website a copy of its division-wide literacy plan and the job description and contact information for any reading specialist employed by such school division pursuant to subsection G of § 22.1-253.13:2 and for any dyslexia specialist employed by such school division. 

The VDOE is also required to post each division-wide literacy plan on its website.  VDOE plans to post the links to division literacy plans by September 25, 2024.  

• Divisions should maintain an accurate website link which contains the DLP, job descriptions and contact information for reading specialists and dyslexia specialists employed by the division. 
• Divisions should share the DLP with stakeholders, including teachers who are implementing the plan, parents, and the community.  

The Institute of Education Policy at Johns Hopkins School of Education is conducting a Teacher Survey of Curriculum Use on behalf of the Virginia Department of Education. The purpose of this survey is to learn more about teachers' experiences with K-12 ELA and math instructional materials and curricular resources. This survey poses detailed questions about teachers’ use of curricular materials in general and for specific lesson-planning components; teachers’ use of supplemental curricular materials; their opinions about published ELA and mathematics curricula; and the prevalence of specific instructional practices. This information will be used to inform future decisions about K-12 ELA and mathematics instructional materials and resources used to support the curriculum in the Commonwealth.   The survey window is from September 25, 2024, through October 16, 2024. All K-12 ELA and mathematics classroom teachers are being asked to complete the brief survey. Division superintendents will receive a welcome letter and survey link on September 25, 2024, from Dr. Kecia McCoy, Program Administrator at The Institute of Education Policy at Johns Hopkins School of Education.  

Division superintendents are asked to share this information with key division leaders to ensure that the survey is disseminated to all K-12 ELA and mathematics classroom teachers.  

Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order 36, Stand Tall – Stay Strong – Succeed Together Reentry Initiative, is designed to strengthen cross-provider services for Virginians leaving incarceration and reentering communities. In support of this initiative, the VDOE recognizes education and training as proven strategies to prepare incarcerated adults for successful reentry into their communities, including improving community safety. 

In Program Year 2023-2024, adult education providers served over 1,000 individuals in correctional facilities and successfully assisted over 400 of those to work toward earning an industry-recognized credential through the integrated education and training (IET) programming model. An additional 374 justice-impacted individuals participated in community-based and probation-based IETs to train for in-demand careers. 

The VDOE’s Connecting Probations to Adult Education in Virginia (passcode: W!FNyzN5) is an informational video developed for probation and parole officers about adult education programming models for their clients. The agency also maintains resources for adult education and adult education regional programs on its website. Additionally, through a cooperative agreement with the VDOE, the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center (VALRC) provides resources and training for adult educators serving in a variety of instructional settings.  

The Office of Assessment is accepting nominations for standard setting committees for the Mathematics Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. Standard setting is necessary because of the implementation of new mathematics tests in spring 2025 based on the 2023 Mathematics SOL. The committee meetings will be held November 19-21, 2024, in Glen Allen, Virginia. 

 The standard setting committees are responsible for recommending performance level cuts that not only reflect students’ achievement status but also promote high expectations for all students in Virginia. The recommendations developed by the committee will ultimately be considered by the Board of Education as part of a broader, comprehensive process for establishing performance level cuts. Committee members selected for these committees will be expected to sign and adhere to a Non-Disclosure/Conflict of Interest Agreement and be present for the entire first two days of the meetings. Some committee members will be asked to attend a third day, November 21, of the standard setting process and will be notified of this request ahead of time.  

 School division leaders are invited to nominate teachers from their school division to serve on each of the standard setting committees using the Mathematics Standard Setting Nomination form. Nominations are to be submitted by school division personnel in the online nomination form no later than Friday September 27, 2024. Please refer to the Mathematics Standards Setting information document for detailed information and criteria. If you have questions, please contact the assessment staff at Student_Assessment@doe.virginia.gov or (804) 225-2102.    

The VDOE Office of Dispute Resolution, in partnership with the Center for Implementation and Evaluation of Education Systems at Old Dominion University, has developed the Office of Dispute Resolution Learning Library. This online library provides training videos and resources to aid in understanding special education laws and regulations, as well as strategies to encourage effective collaboration between parents and educators to ensure that school divisions deliver a free appropriate public education to students with disabilities. 

The learning library includes Back to Basics: Special Education Law, a series of professional development video modules focused on topics of special education laws and regulations to support Virginia teachers and division personnel. Certificates are available upon completion of each module and quiz.  

The learning library also offers training videos on managing high-conflict and low-conflict Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings to help IEP Team members foster healthy relationships and enhance collaboration with parents. The Resources section includes resolution strategies to further enhance the preparation of school division personnel for potential situations that may arise during IEP Team meetings. 

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is pleased to announce a microgrant opportunity for school divisions to support educating families in removing barriers to education, specifically focusing on cell phone addictions and mental health challenges related to social media. These parent education programs can also support chronic absenteeism, social media, bullying and hazing. The school-based grant has been referenced as a support to the implementation of Executive Order 33. Parent education programs should focus on community conversations and removing student barriers to learning.  

Schools can seek up to $5,000 through this competitive grant award process. Interested school divisions should complete the application. If the proposal is the same for multiple schools within a division, one application may be used. The school division may apply for up to $10,000 for multiple schools.  

The VDOE will work through the school division’s designated contact person, as provided by the division, for all matters related to the application, contacts, negotiations, and notifications. Applicants submitting proposals that are not awarded by the VDOE will be notified in writing.  

The division’s designated contact person should complete the application.   

The deadline for grant proposals is October 3, 2024.

The Institute for Collaborative Research and Evaluation (ICRE) at the Virginia Commonwealth University is conducting a survey on behalf of the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to better understand suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention in schools across the Commonwealth. The survey should be taken by one school counselor at each school across Virginia, although the person taking the survey would be welcome to request input from anyone else on their team when responding to the questions.  Findings from the survey will help inform VDH and the VDOE about policies and resource allocation to support suicide prevention in PK-12 schools in Virginia.  

A brief video and slides are available to assist school divisions with key questions about the survey effort. You can preview the full survey here. There should only be one response for each school across Virginia.  

Access the Suicide Prevention in Virginia Schools Survey to participate. The deadline for completing the survey is Friday, October 11, 2024.  

School divisions are also eligible to purchase naloxone through VDH. If a school has an anticipated use of naloxone that is outside the parameters of the Naloxone Distribution Program (e.g., providing naloxone to each teacher/staff) please contact VDH about establishing an agreement to purchase product. 

School divisions may also purchase epinephrine and albuterol through VDH. 

Questions? 

Contact VDH at opioidreversal@vdh.virginia.gov. 

The VDOE Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs (VDOE-SCNP) invites and encourages school divisions and community sponsors to celebrate Virginia farm to school events in October, including: 

• Virginia Farm to School Week (October 7-11, 2024): The Genral Assembly has designated the first full week in October as Virginia Farm to School Week. Program operators celebrate in various ways, including seasonal foods featured on school menus, poster contests, farm tours, Standards of Learning (SOL)-based lessons highlighting Virginia Harvest of the Month crops, and the Crunch Heard 'Round the Commonwealth. 
• Crunch Heard ‘Round the Commonwealth (October 10, 2024): Across the Commonwealth, Virginians will make noise for farm to school programs by biting into fresh, Virginia grown apples. To participate and receive the digital 2024 Crunch Toolkit and marketing materials, complete the Crunch Registration Form. The Toolkit contains lesson plans with SOL for all ages/grade levels. Participants are encouraged to share their celebrations on social media using the hashtags #VACrunch, #VAFarmtoSchool, and #ElevateEducatorsVA, and tagging @VDOESCNP.  
• National Farm to School Month: Throughout October, celebrate and build connections between school nutrition programs, local farms, school gardens, and nutrition and agriculture education. 
• Virginia Farm to School and Directors’ Conference (October 29-30, 2024) convenes school and community nutrition program operators, producers, nonprofit organizations, and other farm to school stakeholders for program capacity building and networking. Visit the conference website to learn more. 

 For additional information, please reference the VDOE-SCNP (Director) Memo No. 2024-2025-22 and visit the VDOE-SCNP Farm to School Website.  

The annual Pupil Ridership Count is scheduled for the week of October 14, 2024. This information will be used when completing the Pupil Transportation Report for the 2024-2025 school year. This count should be conducted for five consecutive days that school is in session starting on Monday, October 14th. If your school division is closed anytime during this designated period, please use the following week to reach the five-day requirement. 

During this week, school bus drivers count the number of pupils being transported by every yellow school bus each day. School bus drivers should conduct the count each morning and again each afternoon for every yellow school bus. At the end of the week, take the higher count of students from the morning or afternoon for each day of the week and calculate an average for the five days. Keep the ridership count separated by pre-K, non-public, regular, and exclusive ridership. Thank you for your division’s efforts in obtaining this important data. 

The annual Pupil Transportation Report used in calculating pupil transportation funding through Standards of Quality Basic Aid will be open for data entry on September 30, 2024. The Pupil Transportation Report application is located in VDOE’s Single Sign-on for Web Systems (SSWS) portal. This data is required per the Board of Education’s Regulations Governing Pupil Transportation at 8VAC20-70-235. Funding for Pupil Transportation. 

Please note that your school division’s Annual School Report Financial Section (ASRFIN) data must be submitted to VDOE before the Pupil Transportation Report can be completed. Pupil Transportation Reports should be submitted to VDOE via the SSWS portal by October 31, 2024. 

The Virginia Department of Education, Office of School and Community Nutrition Programs (VDOE-SCNP) published the updated Certification of New School Nutrition Program Administrator form, found in Attachment A of SCNP Director’s Memo #2024-2025-24. This form is for division superintendents to certify that any newly hired school nutrition program (SNP) administrator meets the hiring standards as outlined in 7 CFR §210.30. Hiring criteria depends on the local education agency (LEA) enrollment size. The demands and complexity of SNPs increases as student enrollment increases. Refer to SCNP Director’s Memo #2024-2025-24 and attachment for a list of the minimum education hiring standards and training requirements. 

Division superintendents must complete and submit the certification form, along with a copy of the newly hired administrator’s resume, to the VDOE-SCNP State Director within 30 days of hiring a new director. The SNP administrator (director) is responsible for the operation of the SNP, must be the contact for all VDOE-SCNP communications, and must be designated as the SNP administrator in the SNPWeb system. The local Educational Registry Application administrator should assign appropriate permissions in SSWS to grant SNPWeb access. The VDOE-SCNP will monitor compliance with the professional standards as part of the administrative review process. Failure to follow this guidance could result in withholding of federal reimbursement. 

VQB5 Registration – 2 Weeks Left! - Deadline October 1  

All publicly-funded programs that serve children ages birth to five are required by state law to participate in VQB5 and must complete registration in the LinkB5 data portal between August 15 - October 1. Contact your Ready Region for VQB5 registration support and CLASS training.   

VQB5 Quality Profiles Preview   

This fall, families will have access to information about quality options as required by state law.  Additional information can found in the following resources:  VQB5 Quality Profile Fall Preview (PDF Presentation) or Quality Profile Fall Preview Recording (5 min Video).  

The VDOE is officially recognizing the second to last Saturday in September and the eight days thereafter as Blue Star Welcome Week. The VDOE is proud to partner with Blue Star Families, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting military families and strengthening communities across the United States, from September 21 - 29, 2024, to raise awareness among Americans and build grassroots support for our military families.  

Each year, Blue Star Families conducts the Military Family Lifestyle Survey (MFLS) — the largest, most comprehensive survey of its kind — that acts as a listening tool for military families to sound off on what is and is not working for them. Data from the 2023 MFLS report shows that only 41 percent of active-duty respondents feel a sense of belonging to their local civilian community. Blue Star Welcome Week addresses this by creating opportunities for community engagement that bring together local supporters, neighbors, and military families to help build stronger, integrated connections, and ease the stress of frequent moves.  

Blue Star Welcome Week is made possible through the support of valued partners, dozens of local small businesses, nonprofit partner organizations, and more. Support from corporate sponsors, private foundations, and individual donors sustains Blue Star Families and its mission to strengthen America’s military families by offering services and programs such as Blue Star Welcome Week.  

To learn more about Blue Star Welcome Week events and opportunities to get involved, visit Blue Star Welcome Week 2024: Fostering Community and Belonging for Military Families website.