Mountain View Elementary School teachers (from left) Brandy Moye, Charlee Bland, and Lisa Bryant attend a recent professional development workshop at Mountain Gateway Community College. Dwayne Ross, director of secondary instruction for Alleghany Highlands Public Schools, is pictured in the background. Teachers attended voluntary workshops on literacy (Science of Reading) and updates to new math standards released by the Virginia Department of Education.
AHPS Teachers Devote Time to Training During Summer
LOW MOOR — Alleghany Highlands Public Schools Division teachers have been participating in important training since school ended in early June.
A week after the 2023-2024 school year ended, teachers received important professional development workshops in literacy (Science of Reading) and updates to new math standards released by the Virginia Department of Education.
The voluntary training sessions were held at Mountain Gateway Community College in Clifton Forge with hospitality provided by The Alleghany Foundation under direction of Dianne Garcia.
The training was provided to emphasize up-to-date methods for effective instruction of reading and math concepts in grades K-5. Lisa Boothe and Jessica Fauber, AHPS reading specialists, provided training in English/Language Arts instruction. Heather Auvil, an AHPS math specialist, provided training in mathematics teaching.
The training sessions are a key part of AHPS’ strategy for implementing new Virginia Standards of Learning in elementary schools. The Standards of Learning (SOLs), or objectives for what students should know and be able to do, are expected to change in reading, math, science, and social studies over the next few years. At the same time, the school division will continue to implement the Virginia Literacy Act, a law focused on the science behind effective reading instruction.
“We have a lot of changes in the year ahead for both math and reading teachers. The Virginia Department of Education has set the new standards for math and reading teachers to align our lessons and curriculum and therefore, we will be assessed on these instructional guidelines on the Standards of Learning (SOLs) tests,” said Fauber.
“Our dedicated teachers took time out of their summer break to unpack the new standards and begin preparing our lessons and curriculum for the next school year. There are numerous changes, for the betterment of our students, and our teachers want to be ready and prepared,” Fauber said of the voluntary training that was held at Mountain Gateway Community College.
Teachers who attended the training were compensated with funds AHPS received from the All In Virginia initiative. All in Virginia allocated $418 million to local school divisions statewide allocated statewide for high-intensity tutoring and other initiatives.
Teachers were trained in vertical alignment, new crosswalk updates, and Virginia Literacy Act training requirements and overall implementation, among other valuable teaching aspects. Vertical alignment is a term describing how content taught in one grade level connects to content taught in the next, and “crosswalks” help teachers understand how new teaching standards overlap with old ones.
“We are so proud of the teachers in Alleghany Highlands Public Schools and excited for them to continue their ongoing learning,” said Kim Halterman and Melinda Snead-Johnson, leaders of AHPS. “This is particularly important as we prepare for many Standards of Learning changes and implement the Virginia Literacy Act.”
The Alleghany Highlands Public Schools Division serves approximately 2,700 students. The school division was established on July 1, 2022, when Alleghany County Public Schools, Covington City Public Schools, and Jackson River Technical Center merged.
School division news and events are regularly posted on Facebook at AHPublicSchools The division website is www.ahps.va.k12.va.us.
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