COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 44

February 24, 2006

INFORMATIONAL

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Patricia I. Wright Acting Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	2006 Content/Teaching Academies

The Virginia Department of Education is collaborating with James Madison University (JMU) to sponsor the 2006 Content/Teaching Academies on June 26-30, 2006. These academies will provide instruction in each of the four assessed Standards of Learning areas and special education. The academies will integrate strategies from the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM) developed by The University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning Institute for Effective Instruction. Each academy will focus on the following:

• Mathematics problem solving skills;
• Science investigating through inquiry in the Life, Physical, and Earth sciences;
• English - innovative practices for teaching reading and writing;
• History and Social Science US and World History and Geography; and
• Special Education collaboration and instructional technology.

The goal of the Content/Teaching Academies is to combine high-quality subject-area content with high-quality instruction in an intellectually rigorous and stimulating environment. The academies will be conducted on the campus of JMU and will be open to all educators. Scholars and master teachers from around the commonwealth and across the nation will comprise the faculty of the academies. As an added feature, school and central office administrators who do not choose to attend an entire academy may join their colleagues on Thursday and Friday. This strand will begin with a morning session specifically designed for administrators. The planning group for the academies included university liberal arts and teacher education professors, school district administrators and teachers from across the state, and Department of Education specialists.

For more detailed information regarding the Content/ Teaching Academies, please visit the website at http://coe.jmu.edu/academy2006/default.htm.

For further information, please contact Diane Gillam (diane.gillam@doe.virginia.gov), specialist, Office of Special Education Instructional Services, at (804) 371-8283 or Eric Rhoades (eric.rhoades@doe.virginia.gov), science specialist, Office of Middle and High School Instruction, at (804) 225-2676.

PIW/dcg