August 5, 2016

TO:  Division Superintendents

FROM:  Steven R. Staples, Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT: Parents as Educational Partners (PEP) Training

As part of the Virginia Department of Education’s ongoing effort to ensure compliance with the parental participation requirements under Section 1118 and Section 3302(e)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, a two-day training titled Parents as Educational Partners (PEP): School Related Curriculum for Language Minority Parents, will be held at the following site on the dates specified below:

As part of the Virginia Department of Education’s ongoing effort to ensure compliance with the parental participation requirements under Section 1118 and Section 3302(e)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, a two-day training titled Parents as Educational Partners (PEP): School Related Curriculum for Language Minority Parents, will be held at the following site on the dates specified below:

Date and Time	Institute Location and Lodging Information
Monday and Tuesday October 24-25, 2016 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.*	Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa/Short Pump 12042 West Broad Street Richmond, Virginia 23233 804-364-3600

*Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.

The purpose of the training is to provide participants a curriculum designed to assist parents of English Learners (ELs) in overcoming the language and cultural barriers that may prevent them from participating fully in their children’s educational experience.
Recommended attendees for the training are federal Title I, Part A; Title I, Part C; and Title III, Part A, coordinators or designees. 

Registration and Lodging:  The Office of Continuing and Professional Education at Virginia Tech will manage online registration and lodging. A limited block of hotel rooms for participants outside of a fifty-mile radius of the training location will be provided.  Lodging reservations will be made during the online registration process.  Please register and reserve your lodging room, if needed, online at http://www.cpe.vt.edu/reg/pep/. Your room will be charged to the Department’s master account.  The deadline for registration and lodging is Monday, September 19, 2016.

Authorized Expenses:  Evening meals, parking, and travel costs are the responsibility of attendees; however, these expenses are authorized activities and may be charged to local Title I, Part A; Title I, Part C; Title II, Part A; or Title III, Part A, budgets.  Materials, breakfast, and lunch will be provided.  
Cancellation: If participants need to cancel their hotel reservations, please contact
Christy Wallace, the Virginia Tech registrar, but no later than October 17, 2016, at wallacec@vt.edu or (540) 231-6735. Failure to advise the registrar in advance of cancellation may result in lodging charges to the attendee.

For questions, please contact Judy Radford, ESL professional development coordinator, at Judy.Radford@doe.virginia.gov or (804) 786-1692.

SRS/jr