INFORMATIONAL

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 and Exposition will be held June 27-June 
30, 1999, at the Williamsburg Lodge in Williamsburg.  This annual 
event is held jointly by the VASSP and VDOE to develop and 
enhance middle and high school administrators? leadership skills, 
increase their understanding of current issues, and expand their 
appropriate knowledge base for educational change.  A major focus 
of this year?s conference will be on implementing the Standards 
of Learning and improving student achievement on the SOL 
assessments. 

A special feature of the conference will be general and 
concurrent sessions that will provide participants with 
strategies for monitoring SOL implementation, analyzing and 
interpreting SOL assessment data for instructional purposes, and 
using instructional technology to teach the SOL.  Model SOL 
training programs and materials will also be showcased.

The enclosed Call for Presentations form and Principals Needs 
Assessment form are being mailed to all middle level and high 
school administrators.  Conference planners also invite you and 
your staff to submit a presentation form to be considered for 
inclusion in the conference program.  The presentation form must 
be returned no later than April 1, 1999, to Summer Conference, 
VASSP, Box K 170, Richmond, Virginia 23288.  The completed 
program, registration information, and hotel accommodation forms 
will be mailed to division level administrators and to all middle 
level and high school administrators in April. 

If you have questions about the conference, please call VASSP at 
(804) 288-2777 or Dr. Thomas L. Shortt, Assistant Superintendent 
for Accountability, at (804) 786-9421.

PDS/eh

Enclosures:     A hard copy of this memo and its attach-
                ment will be sent to the superintendent's
                office