March is here, and with it comes National Literacy Month—my ABSOLUTE favorite time of year. It is a time to focus on the essential role reading plays in shaping the future of our students. Throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, many schools have already kicked off this month-long celebration with Read Across America Week, held this week (March 3-7). This event brings together students, teachers, and communities to celebrate the joy of reading through a variety of fun and engaging activities. Though we have a week to celebrate reading, we have to focus on reading every day and continue championing literacy throughout National Literacy Month and every day.  

Over the past few months, I have truly enjoyed highlighting the outstanding work of schools that are making a significant impact on student achievement as indicated in the SPSF. Thank you to our school division leaders and educators who have taken time to share their amazing programs.  It is important to me that we elevate our educators. The VDOE #ElevateEducatorsVA initiative is designed to celebrate the hard work and successes of Virginia’s educators. This initiative fosters a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement by showcasing innovative programs that support student success and recognizing the achievements of educators across the state. VDOE is committed to elevating the teaching profession and strengthening the future of education in Virginia, ensuring that every educator has the support they need to help students thrive. 

This commitment to supporting and celebrating educators is evident in the efforts of schools like Harding Avenue Elementary, which exemplifies the values of innovation, collaboration, and student success. Harding Avenue Elementary School, part of Montgomery County Public Schools and home of the Purple Panthers, is a shining example of community spirit and dedication to student success. Each year, the school adopts a theme to guide its focus, and this year's theme is FIESTA: Feedback, Instruction & Interventions, Engagement, Student Achievement, Teamwork, and Atmosphere. 

At Harding Avenue Elementary, educators regularly collaborate in Professional Learning Communities, faculty meetings, and professional development sessions as part of the school's commitment to the FIESTA framework. These opportunities allow staff to share and refine strategies for student engagement, specially designed instruction, co-teaching models, and data-driven decision-making. A key component of this ongoing professional growth includes vertical discussions in mathematics, ensuring continuity across grade levels, with an emphasis on math vocabulary and instructional techniques. Teachers have also received targeted training on the Concrete-Representational-Abstract model for teaching math, further strengthening their ability to support student understanding. All of these strategies, insights, and resources are put into practice during the school's "WIN" (What I Need) Period, which provides both intervention (through programs like UFLI Foundations, Zearn, and Lexia) and enrichment opportunities tailored to meet each student's needs. 

The results of these efforts are evident in Harding Avenue Elementary's outstanding performance. The school achieved an impressive 97.2% Overall Framework Score in the School Performance and Support Framework. Scores in specific areas include 23.35 out of 22.5 in Reading, 23.75 out of 22.5 in Mathematics, and a perfect 10.70 out of 10 in Science. In terms of growth, Harding Avenue earned 15.02 out of 17.5 in Reading and 15.43 out of 17.5 in Mathematics, with Chronic Absenteeism scoring 8.98 out of 10. Superintendent Dr. Bernard Bragen Jr. commended the school’s success, stating, “We are proud of the outstanding student achievement at Harding Avenue Elementary. This success is the result of the hard work and dedication of our students, staff, and families, and it reflects the excellence of our schools within Montgomery County Public Schools.” 

In addition to the dedicated efforts of teachers, Harding Avenue benefits from strong partnerships with local institutions like Virginia Tech and Radford University, which further enhance classroom instruction. The school's Parent-Teacher Association also plays a critical role in boosting staff morale and organizing community events, including the Fall Festival, Family Game Night, and Beautification Day. A standout initiative at Harding Avenue Elementary is the One School, One Book program, which promotes community-building through shared literacy. Each year, all students read the same book and participate in an activity that supports a charitable cause. Last year, the school read The Adventures of a South Pole Pig and raised funds for a local animal sanctuary. This year’s book is Appleblossom the Possum, with students collecting donations for the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center. The program culminates in a community-wide celebration, where families participate in activities related to the book, fostering a shared learning experience that strengthens ties between the school and the broader community. 

Principal Marcia Settle sums up the school’s ethos by saying, “At our school, we believe that success is built on strong relationships with our students, families, and community. With dedicated teachers, motivated students, and supportive parents, we create an environment where collaboration thrives. Every student is valued, and we are committed to fostering their growth, both academically and personally, as we work together to achieve excellence.” Harding Avenue Elementary School continues to uplift its students, families, and community, ensuring that every Panther has the opportunity to thrive and succeed in a nurturing and collaborative environment.   

Please share with VDOE the amazing work being done to elevate educators in your school divisions by using #ElevateEducatorsVA. 

The Virginia Department of Education is pleased to announce that no-cost access to Ignite Reading’s 1:1 foundational reading skills tutoring program and Lexia’s Core5 and Power Up reading programs will be extended through the 2025-26 school year as a part of the ALL In Tutoring initiative. 

While we are excited to continue these programs next school year, there is less funding available than in school year 2024-25. Therefore, divisions must submit interest forms to request seats for each respective program by March 21, 2025. 

• Interest form for requesting Ignite Reading seats
• Interest form for requesting Lexia Core5 and Power Up seats  

About Ignite Reading

Ignite Reading’s program provides 1:1 virtual tutoring through daily, 15-minute sessions delivered by consistent tutors who are trained in Science of Reading-based instruction. The program helps students requiring extra support to master foundational reading skills so they become confident, fluent readers.  

About Lexia Core5 and Power Up

Through Core5® Reading and PowerUp Literacy®, Lexia provides personalized learning, real-time performance data, and resources aligned with the 2024 Virginia Standards of Learning to increase efficacy, sustainability, and student outcomes. 

VDOE and the Virginia Literacy Partnerships will be hosting a webinar to review key components of the research behind the Virginia Language & Literacy Screening System (VALLSS). Join on March 12 at 8:30 a.m. for a webinar on the VALLSS: Grades K-3 Technical Manual. Dr. Jim Soland, Associate Professor at UVA, the lead psychometrician of VALLSS development, will spend the hour providing a presentation to aid in understanding of the VALLSS: Grades K-3 Technical Manual, which can be found on the VLP website here. This presentation will provide information regarding the technical development of VALLSS, including information on the development of VALLSS Bands of Risk and Scaled Score and what went into the determination of the final set of items chosen for VALLSS.  

Division literacy leaders as designated in SSWS will receive an invitation to attend and interested division and school literacy contacts should contact their literacy leaders to obtain registration information. Please plan to limit individual registrations per division by watching the webinar together under one registration. The webinar will be recorded and posted publicly. 

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

The Fine Arts Program is pleased to announce the release of Instructional Guides on March 10, 2025. Instructional Guides, companion documents to the 2020 Fine Arts Standards of Learning, amplify the standards by defining the core knowledge and skills in practice, supporting teachers and their instruction. The newly released Instructional Guides will be housed on the Fine Arts webpage. Additional instructional supports are accessible in the VDOE Fine Arts Resource Hub. Instructional Guides support decisions school divisions make concerning local curriculum development and how best to help students meet the goals of the standards. The local curriculum should include a variety of information sources, readings, learning experiences, and forms of assessment to create a rigorous instructional program. The Instructional Guides are divided into sub-sections for each strand: Understanding the Strand, Standards, Concepts, Supporting Questions, Student Look-fors, Assessment Strategies, Content Connections, and Instructional Supports.  

VDOE staff will provide professional learning sessions to ensure that teachers and division staff can learn about the purpose, intention, structure, content, and context for implementation. Further announcements of such training will be provided in upcoming Virginia Education Update newsletters.  

A webinar will be held March 11, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. to discuss the purpose and appropriate use of the instructional guides. Please register in advance to attend this session. 

Section 22.1-93, Code of Virginia, requires the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) within fifteen days following final adjournment of the General Assembly session to provide “...estimates to be used for budgetary purposes relative to the Basic School Aid Formula...” based upon the budget actions taken by the General Assembly with respect to public education. The calculation template referenced in this communication references amendments adopted by the 2025 General Assembly that affect the 2024-2026 biennium.

The 2024-2026 budget adopted by the 2025 General Assembly is now under consideration by Governor Youngkin. The Governor has 30 days to act on the budgets.  Any actions that require action by the General Assembly will be reviewed at the reconvened session scheduled for April 2, 2025. If the 2025 General Assembly takes further actions at the reconvened session that affect the Direct Aid to Public Education budget, VDOE will communicate those actions in a future VDOE Education Update Newsletter.

VDOE has published a calculation template related to the amended budget adopted by the 2025 General Assembly at this website. The downloadable calculation template allows users to enter local projections of enrollment and test the effect on projected state payments and estimated required local matching amounts.  Please review the “Instructions” tab of the calculation template for details on how to use it and what information is provided.

The website includes narratives that provide detailed information of the funding changes adopted by the 2025 General Assembly Conference Budget that impact the FY 2025 and FY 2026 Direct Aid to Public Education and VDOE Central Office budgets.   

Divisions may request state mentor funding if: 

• A school division has employed new, full-time contracted teachers in the Career Switcher Program since the Fall 2024 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 2024-2025 school year. 

Please submit the names of the new teachers through the New Teachers Program Data Collection (NTPDC) application, accessible from the VDOE Single Sign-on for Web Systems (SSWS) portal. Once divisions have submitted the names of the eligible teachers, the 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 2024 consolidated collection must be submitted by Friday, March 21, 2025. Funding is contingent on the availability of state funds for fiscal year 2025.  

The Virginia Department of Education Grow Your Own (GYO) Competitive Grant for Teacher Pre-Apprenticeship and Paraprofessional Development (Planning and Implementation Grant) aims to establish a pathway for divisions to engage homegrown talent early in their exploration of the teaching profession. Particularly, VDOE wishes to provide resources to establish or expand on the many high-quality pathways for teacher education already happening across the Commonwealth and create a seamless transition from these programs to Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching Programs (T-RAPs). The main objectives of this grant program are (1) to increase the number of pre-apprentices engaged in high school programming that exposes them to teaching as a profession, and (2) increase the likelihood that these aspiring educators matriculate into a registered apprenticeship program with their home division.  

By integrating affordable academic coursework with hands-on learning experiences, and by ensuring that the division maintains a connection with the aspiring educator once they graduate from high school, the division increases its chances of the aspiring educator returning to teach in their home community after earning a bachelor’s degree via a registered apprenticeship program.  

Additional information can be found in the Competitive Request for Applications packet with a March 21, 2025, application deadline. The VDOE will host information sessions in collaboration with the National Center for Grow Your Own. School divisions will receive an invitation to attend via email.  

March is Literacy Month and the VDOE is excited to highlight engaging ways divisions can celebrate literacy in Virginia’s schools. This is a time to celebrate the power of reading and encourage everyone to pick up a book and dive into the world of words! Below are some ideas that divisions can use to promote reading across their community, schools, and with families throughout the month. Together we can ensure that #EverybodyReadsVA.  

• Host a family reading night at schools to share resources with families to support literacy at home.  
• Participate in a book swap to share a favorite title with a friend.  
• Partner with community organizations to host guest readers in classrooms.  
• Partner with the local library to share upcoming events and programs.  
• Invite an author (in person or virtually) to talk about their books, the writing process, and the importance of reading.  

Continue to encourage families to utilize the resources found on the Virginia Department of Education website as well as the "Family Supports for Reading” in the Resource Hub. Please use #EverybodyReadsVA to help Virginia celebrate reading this month. 

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.”

VDOE 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.