COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Department of Education

August 31, 2012

TO:  Division Superintendents

FROM:  Patricia I. Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT:  K-12 History and Social Science Standards of Learning Institutes

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is pleased to announce the K-12 History and Social Science Standards of Learning (SOL) Institutes to be held in October 2012, at four sites throughout the Commonwealth.  The four Institutes are designed to provide an advanced level of support for teachers and central office curriculum and instruction leaders as they examine rigor in the 2008 History and Social Science Standards of Learning.

The Institutes will focus on deepening participants’ understanding and application of the rigorous practices and critical reasoning skills embedded in each history and social science standard.   The Institutes will use primary sources to provide participants with examples of how effective history and social science instruction may be enhanced for students in each course range and how teachers can improve student achievement in content areas of greatest challenge.

These one-day Institutes (8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.) will be offered to six participants from each school division.  Participants should include history and social science supervisors, and elementary, middle, and high school teachers.  Participants will attend a general morning session and an afternoon session aligned to the following courses:

• Kindergarten:  Introduction to History and Social Science – Grade 3;
• Virginia Studies and United States History to 1865;
• United States History:  1865 to the Present to Civics and Economics; and
• World History and Geography to 1500 A.D. (C.E.) to Virginia and United States Government.

Registration – The Office of Continuing and Professional Education at Virginia Tech will manage registration.  The registration process can be completed online at http://www.cpe.vt.edu/reg/soli-hss.

Institute Sites

October 3	Downtown Richmond Marriott 500 East Broad Street Richmond, Virginia 23219 Online registration will end September 25, 2012.
October 4	The National Conference Center 18980 Upper Belmont Place   Leesburg, Virginia 20176 Online registration will end September 25, 2012.
October 9	Wytheville Meeting Center 333 Community Boulevard Wytheville, Virginia 24382 Online registration will end October 1, 2012. (Lodging:  Hampton Inn, 950 Pepper’s Ferry Road, Wytheville, VA 24382.)
October 10	The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center 110 Shenandoah Avenue Roanoke, Virginia 24016

              
Online registration will end October 1, 2012.

Lodging and Meals – Lunch and breaks will be provided for participants.  School divisions are encouraged to cover lodging and travel expenses for division participants for the training Institutes, as these costs are not assumed by the VDOE.

Directions – Site directions may be found as follows:

• The Downtown Richmond Marriott -
  http://www.marriott.com/hotels/maps/travel/ricdt-richmond-marriott/

• The National Conference Center -
  http://www.conferencecenter.com/contact/index.cfm

• Wytheville Meeting Center -
  http://www.wythevillemeetingcenter.com/directions.php

• Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center -
  http://www.hotelroanoke.com/contact/index.php

Questions regarding registration should be directed to Christy Wallace, program registrar, Office of Continuing and Professional Education at Virginia Tech, by e-mail at wallacec@vt.edu  or by telephone at (540) 231-6735.  Questions regarding the K-12 History and Social Science SOL Institutes should be directed to Beverly Thurston, history and social science coordinator, Office of Humanities and Early Childhood, by e-mail at  Beverly.Thurston@doe.virginia.gov or by telephone at (804) 225-2893; or Betsy Barton, history and social science specialist, Office of Humanities and Early Childhood, by e-mail at Betsy.Barton@doe.virginia.gov or by telephone at (804) 225-3454.

PIW/BT/vdg