May 26, 2006

INFORMATIONAL

TO:

Division Superintendents

FROM:

Patricia I. Wright

Acting Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT:

Teacher-Training Academies for Selected Industry Certifications (JuneAugust 2006); Pre-Registration for Selected Fall 2006 Sessions

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), Office of Career and Technical Education Services, is pleased to sponsor another round of teacher-training academies to prepare career and technical education teachers for selected industry certification examinations. Testing options for the specific industry certification will be available as a part of each academy.

These industry certifications have been approved by the Board of Education for the student-selected verified credit option. Career and technical education teachers must be certified in at least one industry certification before their students can be eligible for the student-selected verified credit that may be earned by passing an industry certification exam while completing a career and technical education course and/or program sequence.

Training will be offered both online and in on-site academies. The virtual online academies continue to be offered in selected certification areas. The academies, which offer any time/any day course content access, may be an attractive training option for teachers wanting to do self-study using the Internet. Currently, the virtual online academies feature training for Internet Core Computing Certification (IC³) and Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Certifications.

Industry certification training (or testing) academies for June-August 2006 (as well as several pre-registration opportunities for fall 2006) are listed on the attached registration form. Registration information should be returned by June 19, 2006. Enrollment confirmation, information about academy times, directions, and preparation materials will be sent directly to participants.

Registration for all academies will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. A waiting list will be maintained for each academy and will be used to give first priority when enrolling participants in the next round of training academies. Persons who registered for a previous academy and were put on a waiting list (to be given priority for the next schedule of academies) must register again to indicate they still want to attend a particular training academy. The location of an academy also may differ from the previous schedule.

For all industry certification academies, the VDOE will reimburse participants for mileage expenditures at 32.5 cents per mile. Expenditures will be reimbursed for either daily commuting mileage to an academy or, if staying overnight, one round trip to a training academy. School divisions will be reimbursed for substitute pay for each day their teachers attend training academies. Overnight lodging and meals will not be reimbursed for training academy participants for any event.

All training academies will be tuition free to career and technical education teachers who include preparation for the specific industry certification in their course or course sequence and who use the industry certification as an option for their students to earn student-selected verified credit.

Teachers attending instructor-led training academies must test on-site or, if exam vouchers are provided, within 30 days of training at a test-out site. Teachers enrolling in virtual online academies must participate in preparation and examination testing between the dates indicated for the specific academy session.

The attachment can be found by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page. For further information about industry certification training academies, contact the coordinator listed on the registration form for specific training academies, or a career and technical education program specialist. For information about a specific industry certification, contact Gordon Creasy, specialist for industry certification and licensure, Office of Career and Technical Education, at 804-225-2057 or Gordon.Creasy@doe.virginia.gov.

PIW/GC/sgj

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2006/inf115a.doc