Governor Ralph Northam and Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane announced today that VDOE and Virginia Ed Strategies will collaborate to create a professional development program to increase teacher effectiveness and improve in-person, remote, and hybrid instruction in science, mathematics, and computer science.
Virginia Ed Strategies, lead by CEO Jennifer Stevens received a $10.8 million Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the US Department of Education to develop this program. The program, Professional Learning by Choice Community (CHOICE), will impact 2100 secondary science, mathematics, and computer science teachers over the next 5 years. CHOICE will begin during the 2021-2022 school year with a pilot program involving approximately 100 teachers selected by Virgnina Ed Strategies.
“By providing teachers with this opportunity to increase their content knowledge and improve their effectiveness, this initiative will make a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of Virginia students,” Lane said. “And we will create a platform that can be expanded and impact teaching and learning statewide. I congratulate Virginia Ed Strategies for its leadership and vision in pursuing this opportunity to improve teaching and learning in the commonwealth.”