COMMONWEALTH
OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION
P.O.
BOX 2120
RICHMOND,
VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 134
October 4, 2002
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne DeMary Superintendent of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
TEACHERS-TEACHERS.COM |
In
a continuing effort to address the critical shortage of qualified special
educators for Virginia schools, I am pleased to announce a special education
teacher recruitment initiative funded through the Virginia Special Education
State Improvement Grant. This grant,
awarded by the Office of Special Education Programs at the U. S. Department of
Education, is, in part, earmarked to support the Virginia State Improvement
Plan Strategic Direction II for
Personnel Development. Goal 2 under
this Strategic Direction is to promote
and increase the supply of qualified special education and related service
personnel who are qualified in the special education area assigned.
Beginning this fall, public service announcements
from the National Clearinghouse for Professions in Special Education,
will begin airing on TV stations statewide to recruit individuals into our
states special education personnel preparation programs. Interested viewers
will be directed to a toll-free number they may call and receive up-to-date
information on special education personnel preparation programs in Virginia,
including financial aid opportunities and personnel preparation programs funded
by the United States Department of Educations Office of Special Education
Programs.
In addition, Teachers-Teachers.com, a
Web-based recruitment service, will be available to all school divisions. This service is designed to help Virginia
school divisions meet the challenges of recruiting and placing qualified special
education teachers in classrooms.
Presently, Teachers-Teachers.com contains more than
68,000 resumes, 9,400 of which have indicated a desire to serve in Virginia
schools. This service will enable
Virginia school divisions to:
Post vacancies and hire candidates in a variety of
teaching areas;
Search resumes by residency, grade level, education,
and licensure areas;
Receive cover letters from candidates by e-mail;
Forward resumes electronically to other
administrators; and
Screen candidates by listening to brief recorded interviews.
A special
education membership to Teachers-Teachers.com is provided by the Virginia
Department of Educations Office of Special Education, at no cost to school
divisions and state-operated programs.
Your membership may begin on October 7 and will last for one year from
the date you register. This service is
available for accessing and posting immediately.
To get started, you may register directly by going
to www.teachers-teachers.com/virginia,
or send an e-mail to Virginia@teachers-teachers.com
identifying the persons in your school division who are in charge of recruiting
special education teachers and related services personnel. Include their names, titles, telephone
numbers, and e-mail addresses. Include
individuals from the personnel and special education departments.
A representative from Teachers-Teachers.com will
contact your staff within the next few weeks to provide training and immediate
access as you seek qualified special education candidates for the 2002-2003
school year. Ongoing technical
assistance will be provided for each school division by Teachers-Teachers.com.
The demand for highly qualified special educators is
complex, requiring the collaboration of multiple players, resources, and
approaches. Our goal is to provide you
with technological resources available to help you locate and employ highly
qualified teachers and related services personnel for Virginia classrooms.
If you need additional information concerning this
service, contact Carol Teliska, at cteliska@teachers-teachers.com
or (877) 812-4071. Questions concerning
the availability of membership through the Virginia Department of Education
should be directed to Dr. Patricia Burgess, special education human resource
specialist, at (mailto: pburgess@mail.vak12ed.edu) or (804) 225-2096.