COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2120
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 136
July 2, 2004
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne
DeMary Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Training Opportunity: School-Level Academic Review Process |
This memo provides you with information about
regional training opportunities for school division staff in the School-Level
Academic Review Process. Those
individuals who participate in this training will receive certification
verifying their knowledge about the Academic Review Process and allowing them
to become eligible to serve as an academic review team member.
As you know, the provisional accreditation ratings
will no longer be available to schools. The Department of Education anticipates
that during the school year 2004-2005 an increased number of schools may need
to undergo a School-Level Academic Review as required by the Standards of
Accreditation (8 VAC 20-131-340). Many of these schools may be warned for the
first time and many may be warned in only one content area.
The Department of Education also anticipates that a
significant number of schools will not have made adequate yearly progress (AYP)
under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for a second consecutive
year. NCLB requires school divisions to
provide technical assistance to such schools. The legislation requires the
state to provide a statewide system of support to divisions and requires the
state to monitor the divisions systems of support for their schools in
improvement.
This
training will enable each school division to have one or more individuals on
the staff who will have expertise in the School-Level Academic Review Process
and in the federal requirement for implementing school improvement plans. The process includes, but is not limited to,
understanding the academic review process, identifying strengths and weaknesses
of instructional practices, and understanding the components of effective
school improvement plans. Should there
be warned schools in the division or schools that are in improvement status,
this expertise among staff members will be valuable in providing these schools
with technical assistance and support.
Each
school division may send a team of up to three people to one of the training
sessions listed below. Participants may choose to attend a training session
scheduled outside of their regions if other training dates are more
convenient. Training sessions will be filled
on a first-come, first-served basis.
The training dates are as follows:
For Regions 5, 6, 7: July 27-28
For Regions 1, 4, 8: August 10-11
For Regions 2, 3:
August 17-18
Central locations will be selected for each training
session. More details about locations and the timeframes will be provided as
part of the confirmation to those who register in advance.
Attached is a registration form, which you should
complete and return via FAX to (804) 786-9763.
The registration deadline is 10 working days prior to the date of the
training. There is no fee for this training, but participants will be
responsible for their own travel expenses.
If you have any questions, please feel free to
contact Marsha Owens, Office of Accreditation, by calling (804) 692-0250 or by
e-mail: mowens@mail.vak12ed.edu.
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