COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 15

January 18, 2008

INFORMATIONAL

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Billy K. Cannaday, Jr. Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	Spring Professional Development Institutes for K-8 Teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs)

 

As part of the Virginia Department of Education's ongoing effort to meet the professional development requirements for Title III, Part A, Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students, and Reading First, Title I, Part B, Subpart 1, under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), spring professional development Training of Trainers (TOT) institutes for teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs) in kindergarten through grade 8 will be offered. The institutes, entitled What's Different About Teaching Reading to Students Learning English, have been developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) and will be held as follows:

 

• Richmond and Virginia Beach: 9 a.m. 4 p.m. on February 20-22, 2008
• Staunton and Wytheville: 9 a.m. 4 p.m. on February 25-27, 2008

 

The purpose of the institutes is to provide turnaround training for three-member teams to teach reading effectively to ELLs. School divisions are requested to enroll a teacher of ELLs, an elementary classroom teacher or middle school content teacher and a reading teacher as part of the team. If a reading teacher is not available, an additional elementary classroom teacher or middle school content teacher may be part of the three-member team. Course participation at each site is limited to sixteen three-member teams.

 

Registration costs, materials, lunch, and breaks will be provided for all participants. Additionally, lodging will be provided for those participants requiring an overnight stay. A block of hotel rooms will be reserved at the state rate for participants as listed below. The costs of travel will be the responsibility of the participants. Please contact the hotels listed below directly to make a reservation. Please reference Virginia Department of Education Reading for ELLs Institute. The deadline for hotel reservations is February 8, 2008.

 

• Virginia Beach: Virginia Beach Resort Hotel and Conference Center, 2800 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23451, (757) 481-9000
• Richmond: Sheraton Park South, 9901 Midlothian Turnpike, Richmond, VA 23235, (804) 521-2210
• Staunton: Stonewall Jackson Hotel and Conference Center, 24 South Market Street, Staunton, VA 24001, (540) 885-4848
• Wytheville: LaQuinta Inn, 1800 East Main Street, Wytheville, VA 23482, (276) 228-7400 (Institute will be held at the Wytheville Meeting Center)

 

To enroll, please complete Attachment A, and fax it to Stacy Freeman, ESL specialist, at (804) 371-7347, on or before February 8, 2008.

 

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Stacy Freeman, ESL specialist at the Virginia Department of Education, at (804) 371-0778 or at Stacy.Freeman@doe.virginia.gov.

 

BKCJr/JR/sf

 

Attachment

 

a. Professional Development Institutes Registration Form (.doc)