Happy Holidays, 

This week, the department and Board returned from Thanksgiving to hold its’ December Board meeting. Several critical topics including updates to Career Readiness, Academic Career Plans, and the 6-12 ELA Textbook Adoption list were approved. The Board also began reviewing work on the work-based learning definition and the seat-time flexibility regulations.  

We also had a critical presentation from Learning Heroes’ Bibb Hubbard, the Founder and President of Learning Heroes, the leading research non-profit studying parent mindsets in the US as it relates to their child’s education, and Cindi Williams, the co-founder of Learning Heroes and the CEO of Waypoint Education Partners. 

The Learning Heroes team shared the deck, Go Beyond Grades | Equipping Parents to Be Informed Advocates for Their Child, which focused on the importance of parent engagement in a student’s school experience, the importance of parent-teacher conferences, and the importance of parent support when a student is struggling. Two critical slides in the presentation which I have shared below show the focus of parents when they understand whether their child is behind or not.  

I encourage you, your educators, and your students’ parents to visit the Performance and Support Framework Hub’s Family Support page. On this page, see the Parent Teacher Planning Tool English and Spanish that helps plan successful Parent-Teacher conferences and Parent Teacher Planning Tool  to help parents better understand the Fall Growth Reports. 

As the department continues to build resources for the SPSF Hub, please recommend resources that would be helpful for you and your students’ parents. We know you understand the importance of parental engagement, and we want to help you strengthen those ties. 

Best,

Lisa 

The VDOE is pleased to announce the Virginia Middle School Teacher Corps (MSTC) application window is open for the 2024-2025 school year. The MSTC program reinforces a high quality of mathematics instruction by providing recruitment and/or retention incentives ($5,000 per year for up to three years) for effective mathematics teachers in schools with middle grades (grades six, seven, and/or eight) where mathematics is an area identified for improvement.

School divisions can access and use MSTC funds to help recruit and/or retain up to two mathematics teachers for each of the eligible schools through the MSTC application, due to VDOE by 5 p.m., Friday, December 20, 2024. A list of the MSTC-eligible schools is provided on the Virginia Middle School Teacher Corps webpage.

Teachers receiving the MSTC incentives must occupy full-time teaching positions in an eligible school and must meet the following requirements: 

1. hold an active Virginia teaching license 
2. hold an appropriate teaching endorsement to teach middle school mathematics
3. have at least two years of experience in full-time teaching of middle or high school mathematics 
4. have a minimum of 15 semester hours of mathematics coursework 
5. have demonstrated success in improving students’ academic achievement in mathematics

Please note that the second and third years of the three-year school award are contingent upon continued annual funding from the Virginia General Assembly.

Additional information about the MSTC program and how to apply may be found in the 2024-2025 Middle School Teacher Corps Application, located on the Virginia Middle School Teacher Corps website.   

The VDOE is seeking qualified individuals available to serve on committees to support the implementation of the 2023 Mathematics Standards of Learning by participating on a Mathematics Textbook and Instructional Materials Review Committee. Applicants should be teachers, principals, administrators, content specialists, mathematics specialists, or other educators who have expertise with the content area and current standards.  

Individuals who wish to serve on a textbook review committee must submit an application using the VDOE Mathematics Textbook and Instructional Materials Review Committee Application by Friday, December 20, 2024. A performance task is a component of the application process; the completed task can be accessed through the application and must be uploaded into the application platform. 

Committee members will be selected on the basis of expertise, experience, and balanced regional representation and notified by Thursday, January 2, 2025. Committee members will be asked to participate in multiple virtual meetings and trainings starting Monday, January 6, 2025. Textbook and Instructional Materials Review Committee expectations include:  

• Attending a 1.5-hour training on the Textbook and Instructional Materials Review process on January 6, 2025. Three additional one-hour meetings will be held throughout the review period to support the review process and to determine reviewer consensus on the submitted materials. 
• Working independently and collaboratively to review Textbook and Instructional Materials over a two-week period in January. Reviewers will receive a submission schedule to enable VDOE staff to offer feedback and assist them in utilizing the review rubric during the two-week process. 
• Completing all work by February 1, 2025.  A stipend will be provided for all committee members that complete the review process. 

Under provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia, local educational agencies are required to submit an Annual Plan/Part B Flow-Through Application for providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.

The 2025-2026 Special Education Annual Plan/Part B Flow-Through Application serves as the formal agreement between a local school board and the VDOE for implementing federal and state laws and regulations governing these services. Accordingly, the disbursement of state and federal funds appropriated for the education of children with disabilities is contingent upon the approval of this plan and each of its components. The 2025-2026 Plan/Application must be uploaded via the Online Management of Education Grant Awards (OMEGA) system by Friday, May 9, 2025.  

The VDOE’s 2025-2026 Annual Plan Information Document  contains all application components and detailed instructions, including access to the 2025-2026 Special Education Annual Plan/Part B Flow-Through Application, required documents, processes for approval and submission, and VDOE staff contacts for support.

The VDOE is requesting a Tydings waiver for the periods of Federal FY2022 for Title I Part, A, Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged used to carry out section 1003 school improvement, section 1003A direct student services, Title III, Part A, Language Instruction for English Learners & Immigrant Students, and Title IV, Part B, Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC Community Learning Centers. For Title IV, Part B, Nita M. Lowey 21st CCLC Community Learning Centers the VDOE is also seeking a waiver for FY2020 and FY2021.   

This request to extend the obligation period is submitted pursuant to section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA). This permits the VDOE under the criteria it develops, to expend the remaining FY2020, FY2021, and FY2022 awarded balances related to this waiver request. 

The VDOE is seeking public comment to provide notice to the public of the intention to submit a waiver that would extend certain Federal Title Funding (as indicated above) to allow LEAs with unexpended funds to fully reimburse on these funds and this will provide the SEA additional time to use state set aside funds to provide supplemental support to all divisions in the Commonwealth. 

Public comment on this waiver is open. Any individual or organization may submit written comments on the proposed waiver available on the VDOE Every Student Succeeds Act | Virginia Department of Education webpage. Written comments must be submitted to ESSA@doe.virginia.gov by December 15, 2024.  

This information is requested to be shared with members within the education community and local boards of education.

Late Enrollment, a report required for school divisions who requested Late Enrollment slots via the Single Sign-On Web System (SSWS), is due January 10, 2025. This report will collect enrollment data for the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) as of December 31. Slots will be prorated based on student enrollment date and may have additional proration based on available funding. VPI Coordinators in eligible divisions have been notified via email of their available slots.   

To support school divisions, the VDOE will host a technical webinar to review the VPI Late Enrollment Report on December 19 at 11 a.m.  Attendance is recommended for VPI Coordinators in divisions that requested Late Enrollment slots, or other school division reporting contacts. Registration is required.   

On December 3, 2024, the Virginia Board of Education received the Final Review of Proposed State Approved Textbooks for 6-12 English. The Board of Education took action to approve the list of proposed secondary English textbooks. The Department of Education has published revised lists of approved textbooks on its 2024 English Textbooks webpage.   

The Code of Virginia permits local school boards to use textbooks not approved by the Virginia Board of Education. If a local school board opts to use a textbook not approved by the Board of Education, a local textbook review process should be conducted that includes components similar to the state level review. The Guidelines for Local Textbook Approval, updated by the Board of Education in September 2011, provide additional information.  

A comprehensive overview of the current textbook review process, along with the Regulations Governing Local School Boards and School Divisions, are available in Virginia’s Textbook Review Process.  

Note: This process is separate from the legislation set forth in the Virginia Literacy Act, which requires local school boards to adopt core curriculum from the Board approved list for Grade K-5.