Application for Journey into Teaching Academy: A Professional Development Initiative for Selected Second-Year Provisionally Certified Special Education Teachers (Virginia Department of Education, VDOE)

Description:

The Teacher Application and Administrator's Recommendation Form are due by September 16, 2024. The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) Department of Special Populations is announcing its sixth cohort of the Journey into Teaching Academy. The Academy is a yearlong professional development initiative for grades K-12 teachers completing their second year of teaching by the end of the 2023-2024 school year (SY) and entering their third year of teaching during the 2024-2025 SY as a provisionally licensed special education teacher.

In Virginia, special education is considered the number one critical shortage area for teachers. The Journey into Teaching Academy is designed as a program to provide teacher support beyond mentorship to enhance the retention as well as the overall performance of provisionally licensed special education teachers.

This year-long initiative (September 2024 - May 2025) will include Saturday workshops that will be held on the following dates: September 28, 2024; October 12, 2024; November 9, 2024; January 11, 2025; February 8, 2025; March 8, 2025; and April 12, 2025. All sessions will be held in Richmond, Virginia. Selected participants will receive a $1,000 stipend for successful completion of the Academy and any other relevant activities.

The Journey into Teaching Academy is designed to be a competitive application process. Priority will be given to teachers from school divisions that have been identified by the VDOE. Approximately 25 participants will be selected for this cohort.

The selection process requires completion of the 2024-2025 Cohort of Journey into Teaching Academy: Teacher Application and the Administrator’s Recommendation Form. All candidates must:

·         have successfully completed or will complete two years of successful teaching as documented in an administrator’s recommendation and/or evaluation;

·         hold an active, provisional Virginia teaching license;

·         be actively engaged in taking coursework to satisfy licensure requirement;

·         be continuing their contract with their current school division for the 2024-2025 SY; and

·         submit the Journey into Teaching Academy Teacher Application and the Administrator’s Recommendation Form must be completed for the teacher.

Completed applications and recommendations are due to VDOE by September 16, 2024. A committee will review the applications and select participants based on the above criteria. The applicants selected will reflect a balanced division representation based on the number of applicants. Once applications are reviewed, notification and information on upcoming events will be sent via email to selected participants. Applicants who are not chosen for this cohort will be also notified by September 23, 2024.