Many students and staff expressed kindness during the week by volunteering at food banks, collecting items for families in need, writing cards to senior home residents, decorating doors with inspiring messages, and more.

The Virginia Secretaries of Education and Health and Human Resources invite you and your school community to an evening featuring award-winning researcher Arthur Brooks, coauthor (with Oprah Winfrey) of #1 New York Times bestseller Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier.  

In the face of unprecedented levels of stress, uncertainty, and mental health challenges, university leadership, faculty, staff, students, and community members are craving a new way forward in which they can enjoy a greater sense of meaning, purpose, and life satisfaction. This event will focus on concrete actions young people can take to build a strong framework. It is an incredible opportunity for our young people and their supporting communities – including families, church groups, school communities, colleges, after-school programs, mentors, business communities, and more – to come together and hear from the nation’s leader on making strategic and thoughtful decisions to light the path to happiness and fulfillment.

This event serves as the third installation of the Commonwealth Conversations series around the Reclaiming Childhood initiative. Over the last six months, the First Lady has fostered conversations throughout Virginia empowering our youth with the knowledge and support to build fulfilling lives; conversations included the nation’s leading experts on childhood brain development, youth mental health, legislation related health trends and general guidance on youth well-being. In this forum, the First Lady and Dr. Brooks will explore how to recenter lives around four key elements: family, faith, friendship, and meaningful work.

Please share this event with your communities – it is free and open to the public. Register here for a spot – space is limited! For additional information, please visit our website. For any questions, please reach out to Assistant Secretary Aly Buckner at alyson.buckner@governor.virginia.gov. 

The Office of Behavioral Health and Student Safety is hosting the Beyond the Threat Assessment: Best Practices for Developing Student Support Plans webinar on Monday, March 3, from 1-2:30 p.m. This presentation explores the critical steps following a school threat assessment, focusing on developing comprehensive support plans to prevent future incidents and address root causes. Key topics include:  

• Post-assessment action planning  
• Best practices for support plan design 
• Implementing proactive interventions to mitigate risk factors 

This session will provide suicide risk and threat assessment teams with evidence-based strategies to effectively support students post-threat assessment, fostering a safer school environment and reducing the likelihood of future violent incidents. School counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and administrators are encouraged to attend. 

Those interested in attending can register via the Beyond the Threat Assessment registration form. A recording will be made available to all registrants.   

VDOE is pleased to announce that free access to Zearn Math for all school divisions will be extended through the 2025-26 school year as a part of ALL In Tutoring, Virginia’s statewide intensive tutoring program for third- through eighth-grade students.  

As a part of the ALL In Tutoring program, last year more than 1,100 schools from 109 divisions used Zearn Math to accelerate student math learning. Research from the first year of usage shows Virginia students who completed three to five Zearn lessons per week made 22-24% more math growth on the Virginia SOL Assessment Program than the state average. -24% more math growth on the Virginia SOL Assessment Program than the state average.

Free access includes Zearn’s K-8 math platform offering more than 1,000 digital lessons, training for educators, and materials to support families and resources. Families can also use Zearn at no cost.

Virginia educators (both current and new users) who would like to participate for the 2025-26 school year should reach out to their school or division leads to indicate their interest. Division leaders who are ready to opt in should contact Zearn. Licenses will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, so early action is encouraged. 

On February 27, 2025, the Virginia Board of Education will receive for initial review lists of recommended Virginia Literacy Act Supplemental and Intervention Programs for Grades 6-8. 

Beginning February 20, 2025, the recommended 6-8 Supplemental and Intervention Programs will be available for a 30-day public review and comment period via the VDOE website. It is anticipated that the Board of Education will take final action on the recommended lists of Virginia Literacy Act Supplemental and Intervention Programs for Grades 6-8 at its March 2025 meeting.   

Additional information is available at Intervention Instructional Program Guide & Supplemental Instructional Program Guide | Virginia Department of Education webpage.

In accordance with section 8VAC20-132-50 of the Board of Education’s Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia (referred to as the “Standards of Accreditation”), students who meet the requirements for graduation and demonstrate academic excellence and outstanding achievement, may be eligible for one or more diploma seals. For a list of available diploma seals and criteria for awarding each, please see VDOE’s Diploma Seals webpage. Graduation requirements are available on the Graduation Requirements webpage.  

School divisions who need to place their order for diploma seals for this year’s graduating class should do so through the 2025 Diploma Seal Order Form prior to March 28, 2025. Only one order per division will be accepted.  

Please note that diploma seals do not change in appearance year-to-year. Please use any seals remaining from previous years before ordering new seals this year for students graduating in the spring and summer of 2025.  As a reminder, the Seal of Advanced Mathematics and Technology is no longer available. This seal has been replaced by the STEM seal.   

We ask that divisions accurately report the number of seals awarded in the Student Record Collection as these numbers inform the future production seals. Please be sure to report awarding any STEM, Science, and Environment seals on this report.  

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Theresita Martinez, Office Manager, Division of Programs, by email at theresita.martinez@doe.virginia.gov  

Previously, applicants for a Driver Privilege Card (DPC) could use the school’s final road skills test to obtain a license at DMV. However, a recent legal determination of Virginia law now requires DPC applicants to also pass a DMV-administered road skills test before receiving a license.  

Students are eligible to obtain a driver privilege card if they are: 

1. a non-U.S. citizen residing in Virginia,  
2. have reported income from Virginia sources or are claimed as a dependent on a Virginia tax return filed within the past 12 months,
3. their driving privileges are not currently suspended or revoked in Virginia or any other state, including for insurance-related infractions, and are 16 YEARS and THREE months or older 

After successfully completing driver's education, the driver education instructor issues each student a Virginia Driver Training Certificate (DTS B or TDL-180). The following information has been added to the TDL-180 and the Parent/Guardian Form Granting the School Permission to Issue Their Child a 180-Day Temporary Driver’s License: If you are applying for a driver privilege permit, you will receive a letter in the mail instructing you to visit the DMV for your final road skills test.  

Adding this information to the parent permission form and the TDL-180 ensures the parent/guardian is also aware of the change. Driver Educaton teachers do not need to identify which students are applying for a DPC nor ask about the student’s permit type or immigration/citizenship status. 

In 1980, a consortium of women’s groups and historians—led by the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women's History Alliance)—successfully lobbied for national recognition. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week. Women’s History Month, an honorary observance during the month of March in the United States, as designated in 1987 by the United States Congress, recognizes women’s many accomplishments throughout history.  

Women’s History Month resources, including exhibits and collections, are available for teachers to explore and for schools to incorporate into instructional programming. The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have joined together to commemorate and encourage the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. Additional resources can be found at the National Women's History Museum.  

Help celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence by making history come alive, sparking a civics renaissance, and celebrating democracy! Through the work of the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission (VA250), the Commonwealth is commemorating the anniversary with educational activities, community and statewide events to celebrate that “Virginia’s History is America’s Story.”

The Virginia Department of Education has partnered with VA250 to engage students across the Commonwealth through the study of civics, history, and democracy to promote the principles of engaged and informed citizenship.

Included in this effort is our Expressions of Freedom contest – an opportunity for students to share their ideas and perspectives through artwork, videos, audio recordings, or essays in response to the question: “What does Freedom mean to you?”

The contest is open to students in Grades 3-12. Winners will have the opportunity to have their work placed in a time capsule in the restored pedestal of the statue of George Washington located in historic Trafalgar Square, London, England. The statue serves as a reminder of the enduring friendship and shared ideals, principles, and sacrifices between America and England.

In 2026, the United States will mark our Semiquincentennial: the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Students are encouraged to participate in America’s Field Trip Contest. America’s Field Trip is a contest that invites students across the country in Grades 3-12 to be part of America’s 250th anniversary by sharing their perspectives on what America means to them – with the opportunity to earn an unforgettable field trip experience at some of the nation’s most iconic historic and cultural landmarks.  

Students are asked to submit writing or original artwork in response to the contest’s prompt: “What does America mean to you?” 

Applications will be accepted until Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at 5 p.m. EST. See official rules for full details including how to enter, eligibility requirements, prize description/restrictions, and judging procedures.