Superintendent's Memo #026-10

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Department of Education

February 5, 2010

TO: Division Superintendents

FROM: Patricia I. Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT: Spring Professional Development Training for Using the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Framework in Assessment

As part of the Virginia Department of Education’s ongoing effort to ensure compliance with the English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessment and standard requirements under Section 1111(b)(7) and Section 3113(b)(2) of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a training entitled “Assessing for Success: Using the WIDA Framework to Modify Formative Assessment” will be offered.  The workshop will provide an overview of formative and summative assessment practices for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students based on the WIDA English language proficiency standards. The training is recommended for kindergarten through 12th -grade ESL teachers, middle and secondary core content area teachers, and elementary classroom teachers.  Due to space limitations, registration is limited to two teachers per division.

The training will be provided from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in five locations throughout the state as follows:

March 8, 2010 – Chesapeake City
Greenbrier Intermediate School
1701 River Birch Run North
Chesapeake, Virginia 23320
(757) 578-7080

March 9, 2010 – Fredericksburg City
Hugh Mercer Elementary School
2100 Cowan Boulevard
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401
(540) 372-1115

March 10, 2010 – Manassas City
Joseph B. Johnson Learning Center
9051 Tudor Lane
Manassas, Virginia 20110
(571) 377-7250

March 11, 2010 – Rockingham County
Rockingham County Administration Center
Fire/Rescue Wing
20 East Gay Street
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22802
(540) 564-3000

March 12, 2010 – Galax City
Crossroads Institute
1117 East Stuart Drive
Galax, Virginia 24333
(276) 236-0391

Lunch and materials will be provided.  Travel costs are the responsibility of attendees; however, these expenses are authorized activities and may be charged to local Title I, Part A, and Title III, Part A, budgets.

To register for a training site, please complete the online application by March 5, 2010, at:
http://www.logicdepot.com/surveys/run/start.cfm?skey=MK1D9-RD9PR

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.

PIW/JR/sf