Assistant Superintendent for Instruction

SUBJECT:

Virginia Middle and High School Principals Conference & Exposition, June 21-24, 2005

The Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals VASSP) and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) are pleased to announce that the annual Virginia Middle and High School Principals Conference & Exposition will be held

June 21-24, 2005, at the Williamsburg Marriott, 50 Kingsmill Road, Williamsburg, Virginia. This statewide event is sponsored jointly by the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals (VASSP) and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to develop and enhance middle and high school administrators leadership skills, increase their understanding of current educational issues, and expand their knowledge base for educational change. The theme for this years conference is Principal 21C: Taking Charge of Learning. The conference sessions will focus on school law, teacher quality, instructional leadership, school administration, and academic accountability.

The leadership conference will feature general and concurrent sessions that will provide participants with strategies for analyzing classroom practices and methods for improving instruction; meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), monitoring Standards of Learning (SOL) implementation; analyzing and interpreting assessment data for high school/middle/junior high/intermediate school principals, assistant principals, and other school administrators for instructional purposes; and using instructional technology to teach the Standards of Learning; and selecting training programs and resource materials that support the Standards of Learning.

The conference will address other pertinent topics identified in the 2005 Principals Needs Assessment Form. To further assist the conference planners, please complete and return the enclosed 2005 Principals Needs Assessment Form no later than March 25, 2005. You and your staff are also invited to submit the enclosed Call for Presentations Form to be considered for inclusion in the conference program. You may download these forms from the VASSP website (www.vaprincipal.org) or from the VDOE website (www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/secdirec.html) - under Frequently Requested Information. We are particularly interested in presentations on programs and strategies that have proven to be successful in schools making AYP and helping improve student achievement on the Standards of Learning. Presentations that include strategies for meeting the needs of diverse populations are of special interest. The presentation form must be returned no later than March 25, 2005.

Please mail your forms to VASSP Summer Conference, Box K 170, Richmond, Virginia 23288. The VASSP office will mail the completed program, registration information, and hotel accommodation forms to division superintendents and to all middle level and high school administrators in April. The forms also will be posted on the VDOE and VASSP websites. If you have questions about the conference, please call VASSP at 804-288-2777.

LMW/BA

Enclosures

http://www.pen.k12.va.us/administrators/principals_memos/2005/ems008a.pdf

http://www.pen.k12.va.us/administrators/principals_memos/2005/ems008b.pdf