COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 111

May 20, 2005

INFORMATIONAL

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Jo Lynne DeMary Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	E-Learning for Teachers

The U.S. Department of Education offers free online professional development sessions that focus on improving teachers content knowledge and teaching skills in reading, mathematics, and science. With approval from their school division, teachers may be able to use these sessions to earn credit or points to meet their High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE) to become highly qualified.

Fifteen sessions are available and additional sessions will be added soon. Course titles include Building Fluency: Do It Well and Do It Right; Phonics: The Building Blocks of Early Reading; Early Steps Count: Teaching Arithmetic to Prepare Students for Algebra; Building Teacher Leaders; Examining Student Work: A Protocol for Improving Reading; Reading in the Content Areas: Its Just Different; and Taking the Dense out of Density.

To learn more and sign up for free e-mail updates on the Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative, visit www.ed.gov/teacherinitiative or call 1-800-USA-LEARN; or contact Connie Fisher, teacher quality special projects coordinator, at (804) 371-7583, or connie.fisher@doe.virginia.gov.

JLD/cf