COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 32

February 10, 2006

INFORMATIONAL

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Patricia I. Wright Acting Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	Virginia Middle and High School Principals Conference & Exposition, June 25-28, 2006

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 25-28, 2006, 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 success. The theme for this years conference recognizes VASSPs centennial anniversary with the theme of Learning From the Past: Building For the Future. The conference sessions will focus on school law, teacher quality, instructional leadership, school management, and academic accountability.

The leadership conference will feature general and concurrent sessions that will provide participants with strategies for assessing classroom practices and methods for improving instruction, meeting 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 training programs and resource materials that support the Standards of Learning.

The conference will address other pertinent topics identified in the 2006 Principals Needs Assessment Form. To further assist the conference planners, please complete and return the 2006 Principals Needs Assessment Form no later than March 15, 2006. You and your staff are also invited to submit the 2006 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.doe.virginia.gov/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 by April 1, 2006.

Please mail your forms to VASSP, 4909 Cutshaw Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23230. 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 early April. The forms also will be posted on the VDOE and VASSP websites. If you have questions about the conference, please call VASSP at 804-355-2777.

PIW/RDB/eh