Work Session – June 27, 2018

 

Follow-up on Data Requests from April 2018 Board Retreat

Per requests at their April retreat, the Board received the following data:

 

Virginia Teacher Salary in High and Low Poverty Schools

• Data indicates a substantial gap between teacher salaries in high and low poverty schools over time.  The average teacher’s salary in high poverty schools is $46,032.  In low poverty schools the average salary is $57,383.
• The gap between teacher salaries in high and low poverty schools is smaller for schools in the same division.  Statewide the average salary gap is $11,997 and in the same division it is only $3,599.
• Teachers in high poverty schools are less likely to have graduate degrees (54.2%) compared to teachers in low poverty schools (63.7%) in the same division. The salary gap between high and low poverty schools in the same division is most likely due to the distribution of teachers’ experience or degree level given how divisions typically structure salary schedules.
• Some divisions may provide incentives to teachers who teach hard-to-fill subjects or hard-to-staff schools. The department does not collect any information on this. The department also does not have a method to determine years of teaching experience for all teachers.

 

Route to Endorsement for Virginia Teachers New to the Profession

• More than one-third of first year teachers receive endorsements through approved programs in Virginia.

 

Completion Rates for Teacher Preparation Programs

• Neither SCHEV nor USED Title II report completion rates by program.
• A lack of formal entry requirements makes it difficult to determine when a student enters a program.
• Determining completion rates for teacher preparation programs would require additional data collection from colleges and universities.

 

Teacher Turnover and Division Salary Schedules

• Although research suggests that providing larger salary increases to newer teachers as a method of early-career retention, very few divisions in Virginia “front-load” their salary schedules.
• Examining the relationship between teacher turnover and salary schedule would require additional data from divisions.

 

 

Funding for State-level Activities under the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015

Virginia serves as a pass-through entity for the distribution of funds to school divisions under the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA).  Awards for each grant program are made by the U.S. Department of Education annually according to federal formulas (around July 1). For each grant program, a designated percentage of funds can be        reserved at the state level for grant administration and state-level activities.  State-level funds must be spent within 27 months.

 

Title I, Part A: Improving Basic Instruction - 2017-2018 Allocation: $254,532,699

• State set-aside (up to 1%): $2,320,529
• Reserved for state activities: $711,063
• Uses of funds: Teacher Direct platform; National Student Clearinghouse (used to track post-secondary education and other data required by ESSA); Project Hope (McKinney Vento – homeless assistance), School Quality Profile updates required by ESSA; Professional development for teachers of English learners; Virginia Preschool Initiative Educators’ Institute; and Federal Program Coordinators’ Academy.

 

Title II, Part A: Supporting Effective Instruction - 2017-2018 Allocation: $36,500,579

• State set-aside (up to 5%): $1,825,028
• Reserved for state activities: $1,525,028
• Uses of funds:  Teacher Direct platform; Institutes for Foreign Language Teachers; English SOL Institutes; Mathematics SOL Institutes; History and Social Science SOL Institutes; Regional Biology Teacher Academy; Environmental Science Course Institute; Health Smart VA Curriculum Revision; University courses for teachers of English Learners; ESOL Praxis Preparation Workshops; and Federal Programs Coordinators’ Academy.

 

Title III, Part A: Language Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students 2017-2018 Allocation: $12,743,264

• State set-aside (up to 5%): $637,163
• Reserved for state activities: $318,582
• Uses of funds:  Strategies to Support Newcomer Students and Students with Limited and Interrupted Education training; Teaching English Learners with Learning Disabilities in the Inclusive Classroom training; Expediting Reading Comprehension for English Language Learners (ExC-ELL) training; Teaching and Reaching Newcomers via ExC-ELL training; and Federal Programs Coordinators’ Academy.

 

Title IV, Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants - 2017-2018 Allocation: $6,969,326

• State set-aside (up to 5%): $348,466
• Reserved for state activities: $288,466
• Uses of funds:  Health Smart VA curriculum revision; Elementary Physical Science Institute; Computer Science training; Algebra Readiness training and Federal Program Coordinators’ Academy

 

Title V, Part B, Subpart 2: Rural and Low-income School Program - 2017-2018 Allocation: $2,092,347

• State set-aside (up to 5%): $104,617
• Reserved for state activities: $59,617
• Uses of funds:  Gifted Education training and Federal Program Coordinators’ Academy
• Unlike the other programs previously reviewed, only divisions that meet the federal definition of “rural” receive awards under this grant programs. Funds can be used to support one or more of the grant programs previously mentioned (Title I, II, III, and IVA).
• From the $2 million that Virginia was awarded in FY17, $104,000 was set aside and just under $60,000 can be used for state activities. The projects being implemented to support this program to date include training on gifted education and support for our annual coordinators’ training.)

 

 

Implementation of 2018 General Assembly Legislation Related to Teacher Education and Licensure

 

The Board reviewed the two procedures that will be used for revising teacher education and licensure regulations to meet the requirements of 2018 legislation.  These are:

• Exempt Actions - Agency must implement regulatory action (no discretion is involved); the regulatory action involves minor changes, does not differ materially from federal law/regulations, relates to internal workings of the *agency, or is otherwise listed as exempt; and
• Standard Process - This action is appropriate when it does not qualify as an exempt action, the agency has no authority to promulgate an emergency regulation, and some element of the action may be controversial.  It requires the use of the Administrative Process Act, and thus takes substantially longer to implement.

 

Legislation requiring exempt action includes:

 

HB 80 

• Accept third-party employment verification forms.

 

HB1125 and SB349

• Eliminate various requirements for initial licensure and renewal;                  
• Establish 10-year, renewable licenses and require no more than 360 points to renew licenses;
• Allow license reciprocity by accepting a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, that is in force at the time the application for a Virginia license;
• Extend Provisional License for at least one additional year, but for no more than two additional years, the three-year provisional license of a teacher upon receiving from the division superintendent a recommendation from the division superintendent for such extension and satisfactory performance evaluations for such teacher for each year of the  original three-year provisional license;
• Allow completion of following requirements during first year of a Provisional License:
  • Child abuse recognition
  • Emergency First Aid, CPR, and Use of AEDs
  • Dyslexia Awareness Training
• Revise three-year CTE License by allowing a recommendation for licensure from the local school board that meets certain basic conditions for licensure as prescribed by the Board and meets one of the following requirements:
  • Holds, at a minimum, a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education and has completed coursework in the career and technical education subject area in which the individual seeks to teach,
  • Holds the required professional license in the specific CTE subject area in which the individual seeks to teach, where applicable, or holds an industry certification credential in the specific CTE subject area in which the individual seeks to teach;
  • Has at least four years of full-time work experience or its equivalent in the specific career and technical education subject area in which the individual seeks to teach; and
  • If appropriate, has obtained qualifying scores on the communication and literacy professional teacher's assessment prescribed by the Board.
• Require additional study in dyslexia for Reading Specialist Programs;
• Allow education programs to include four-year bachelor’s degree programs in teacher education; 
• Accept a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, that is in force at the time the application for a Virginia license.

 

• ELIMINATED LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS
  • Every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license demonstrate proficiency in the use of educational technology for instruction; and
  • Every person seeking initial licensure or renewal of a license shall receive professional development in instructional methods tailored to promote student academic progress and effective preparation for the Standards of Learning end-of-course and end-of-grade assessments.

 

HB 2/SB 103

• Accept a valid out-of-state license, with full credentials and without deficiencies, that is in force at the time the application for a Virginia license. spouses of Armed Forces members; and
• Allow license reciprocity for spouses of Armed Forces members

 

HB 215 HB 1265 and SB 368

• Require education preparation program for reading specialists to include a program of coursework and other training in the identification of and the appropriate interventions, accommodations, and teaching techniques for students with dyslexia or a related disorder.  Such program shall:
  • Include coursework in the constructs and pedagogy underlying remediation of reading, spelling, and writing and
  • Require reading specialists to demonstrate mastery of an evidence-based, structured literacy instructional approach that includes explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction.
• Require that an education preparation program include four-year bachelor's degree programs in teacher education.

 

Legislation requiring the use of the standard regulatory process includes:

HB 215 Experiential Route to Licensure (one-year renewable license) requires that an applicant:

• • Receive a graduate degree from a regionally accredited institution                       of higher education
  • Complete at least 30 credit hours of teaching experience as an instructor at a regionally accredited institution of higher education
  • Receive qualifying scores on the professional teacher's assessments prescribed by the Board, including the communication and literacy assessment and the content-area assessment for the endorsement sought
  • Meet the requirements set forth in subdivisions D 2 and 5. (Child Abuse Recognition and Intervention Training and Emergency First Aid, CPR, and Use of AEDs).

 

HB 1125 and SB 349 Alternate Route for Elementary Education Prek-6 and Special Ed:  General Curriculum Endorsements requires that an applicant:

• Meet the qualifying scores on the content assessment
• Complete a Board of Education approved program that provides training in the pedagogy and methodology of the respective content or special education area.
• Requires convening a Stakeholder Group

 

HB 1156 Endorsement in dual language instruction pre-kindergarten through grade 6:

• Establish a Dual Language Endorsement
• Requires convening a Stakeholder Group

 

 

Committee on Evidence-Based Policymaking – June 27, 2018

 

Overview of Committee Progress to Date

Thus far, the Committee’s focus has been on teacher quality and development and students’ access to high-quality teachers.  A definition of equity was identified as: Students receive the resources they need to be successful.  It was determined that the Committee would: use the Education Trust’s Framework to advance the committee’s charge; be transparent; set clear improvement expectations; target resources; develop networks; and break down silos.  In order to accomplish this the Committee will utilize the Board’s five levers of action: issue guidance; amend or create regulations; request changes to the Code of Virginia; request funding to issue grants; and convene conferences, training, alliances.

 

Update on Teacher Retention, Mentorship and Induction Research

The Committee received a report, How to Access Excellent Teachers which provided some general attrition facts:

• Teacher attrition remains at a high level: Nationally it is 8% annually. That is 2x’s higher than countries like Finland and Singapore;
• Much of the demand for teachers is caused by attrition. Recently, it has accounted for more than 95% of demand, and in years to come, it will continue to account for at least 85% of annual demand;
• About 1/3 of teacher attrition is due to retirement. Pre-retirement attrition accounts for the largest share of turnover;
• Another 8% of teachers shift to different schools each year, bringing the total turnover rate—the combination of those who move schools or leave the profession—closer to 16% of the total teacher workforce;
• If the attrition rate could be reduced from 8% to 4%, closer to where it is in some other countries, U.S. hiring needs would decrease by around 130,000 teachers annually, cutting annual demand by nearly half and teacher shortages would be eliminated; and
• It would allow for increased selectivity in hiring, boost the quality of teachers in the nation’s classrooms, and significantly reduce the substantial costs for replacing teachers who leave.

 

In fall of 2015 tens of thousands of teachers were hired on emergency or temporary credentials to meet these needs, and the same pattern emerged in 2016. These individuals are not fully prepared to teach.  Schools facing shortages have the options to increase class sizes, cancel classes, use short-term substitutes, or assign teachers from other fields to fill vacancies.  All of these stopgap solutions undermine the quality of education, especially for the students who most need effective teachers.

 

Teachers are more likely to leave schools that have lower salaries and less-desirable working conditions. Too often, these conditions exist in schools with more students of color and more student from low-income households. Turnover rates are 70% higher for teachers in schools serving the largest concentrations of students of color and nearly 50% higher for teachers in Title I schools, which serve more low-income families. Turnover rates in these schools are even higher in key shortage fields, such as mathematics, science, and special education.

 

The Committee examined the following areas impacted by high attrition rates: 

• Student Achievement⎯ High teacher turnover negatively affects student achievement, and the detrimental effects extend to all of the students in a school, not just those students in a new teacher’s classroom;
• Hard to staff schools⎯ High teacher turnover results in disproportionate number of inexperienced teachers.  This undermines student achievement as a function of teacher inexperience, under preparation, and overall instability; and
• Schools⎯ Schools suffer from diminished collegial relationships, a lack of institutional knowledge, and the expense of training new teachers who, oftentimes, will not stay.

 

Factors that impact teacher recruitment and attrition include:

• Compensation
• Preparation ⎯ growing body of evidence indicates that attrition is unusually high for those who lack preparation for teaching. Teachers who receive little pedagogical training are two to three times more likely to leave teaching after their first year;
• Mentoring and Induction—Well-designed mentoring programs improve retention rates for new teachers, as well as their attitudes, feelings of efficacy, and instructional skills;
• Teaching Conditions such as class sizes and salaries, unhappiness with administrative practices and policy issues.

 

Workplace Conditions Associated with Teachers’ Decisions to Stay or Leave include:

• Quality of instructional leadership, school culture, collegial relationships, time for collaboration and planning, teachers’ decision-making power, experiences with professional development, facilities, parental support, and resources.

 

Possible policy recommendations to ensure access to excellent teachers include:

• Creating competitive, equitable compensation packages that allow teachers to make a reasonable living across all kinds of communities;
• Enhancing the supply of qualified teachers into high-need fields and locations through targeted training subsidies and high-retention pathways. In critical shortage fields—mathematics, science, special education, and bilingual/ESL education, and in urban and rural areas with perennial shortages;
• Improving teacher retention, especially in hard-to-staff schools, through improved mentoring, induction, working conditions, and career development; and
• Ensuring effective school leadership because it drives high-quality support for new teachers, improves teaching conditions, and increases teacher retention.

 

 

Fairfax County Public School’s School Improvement Model:  Project Momentum

The Committee received a Project Momentum presentation from Dr. Mark Greenfelder, Executive Director, Office of School Support (OSS), Fairfax County Public Schools.   This program is a school improvement model designed to ensure that all schools are accredited.  It involves structure, support, and success.  Data were used to identify which schools required additional support to include:  instructional support, extended contracts for teacher leaders; funding for accelerated School Innovation and Improvement Plan, instructional coach(es) up to 2, access to Title I staffing for additional collaborative team time, customized professional development and resources from OSS, interdisciplinary monthly meeting with OSS staff and region leadership and differentiated support from the Department of Human Resources.  When Project Momentum was implemented, the first thing that was done was to administratively transfer ten principals and 25%-50% of teaching staff.  This change in staff permitted the culture of each school to change drastically.  Expectations of students (lower) from the past became more of a “forgotten” aspect.  All schools were fully staffed for first time in at least the last 15 years.  These actions along with the support provided by the OSS has improved the number of schools accredited.

 

 

Discussion of Committee Next Steps

• Continue research on teacher training and diversity; and
• Review all equity presentations for the purpose of mapping common threads.

 

 

Business Meeting – June 28, 2018

Proposal to Establish the Governor’s Health Sciences Academy at T. C. Williams High School

The Board waived first review and approved the proposal to establish the Governor’s Health Sciences Academy at T.C. Williams High School. The beginning date for the Governor’s Health Sciences Academy at T. C. Williams High School, Alexandria City Public Schools is school year 2018-2019.   The Governor’s Health Sciences Academy initiative is designed to increase career options for students in high-demand, high-wage, and high-skill occupations within the eight regions of the Commonwealth. The Academy must offer students a well-articulated plan of study consisting of rigorous academic and technical content for each of the five career pathways within the Health Sciences Cluster. The Academy must implement at least two pathways in year one; and the remaining three pathways must be fully implemented within the following three years. Strong partnerships developed among the school divisions, healthcare institutions, business and industry, higher education institutions, and other community organizations is a key component of the Academy.

 

 

Request for Increased Graduation Requirements from Buena Vista City Public Schools

The Board waived first review and approved the request from Buena Vista City Public Schools (BVCPS) for approval of an additional local graduation requirement, to require all freshmen to take the Information Technology Fundamentals (IT Fundamentals) course beginning in the 2019-2020 school year unless an Individualized Education Program (IEP) team determines otherwise.  Through discussions and surveys with local industries and students, BVCPS identified that students were not developing adequate technology skills that are needed for the workplace, such as problem solving, communication, and collaboration.   

 

 

Proposed Procedural Guidelines for Conducting Licensure Hearings

Due to the absence of two Board members who are attorneys, the Board moved first review of the proposed Procedural Guidelines for Conducting Licensure Hearings to its next meeting.   The proposed Guidelines were developed because of the Board’s commitment to providing an equitable and fair process that affords a license holder who is seeking license renewal or reinstatement or whose license is the subject of a petition for suspension or revocation adequate and timely notice of the proceedings and a meaningful opportunity to be heard.  These proposed guidelines are intended to assist the parties and the decision makers in that process. A draft of these guidelines can be found at:  http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2018/06-jun/agenda.shtml.

 

 

Guidelines for Training on the Prevention of Trafficking of Children as required by House Bill 2282 (2017)

The Board waived first review and approved the Guidelines for Training on the Prevention of Trafficking of Children as required by House Bill 2282 (2017).  In 2017, this legislation amended § 22.1-16.5 of the Code of Virginia, relating to certain school board employees; training on the prevention of trafficking of children, and required the Board of Education to develop guidelines for training for school counselors, school nurses, and other relevant school staff on the prevention of trafficking of children.

 

In response, the Guidelines for Training on the Prevention of Trafficking of Children were developed with input from stakeholders that included experts from school, state, and private agencies. The Guidelines offer recommendations and resources to assist school divisions in providing professional development to school counselors, school nurses, and other relevant school personnel in recognizing and responding to the signs of child trafficking.  Additional information regarding these Guidelines can be found in Item D – Attachment A at:

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2018/06-jun/agenda.shtml.

 

 

Proposed Revisions to the Science Standards of Learning

The Board received for first review proposed revisions to the current Science Standards of Learning that were adopted in 2010 and scheduled for review in 2017.  On January 28, 2016, the Board delayed the review of the science standards, with the rationale of lessening the impact on teachers and administrators due to simultaneous revision and implementation of both English and Science Standards of Learning.  The revision of the standards was further delayed in order to incorporate initiatives in the proposed Standards of Accreditation. 

 

In accordance with the revised timeline, the Department of Education took the following steps to produce the proposed revised Science Standards of Learning for the Board’s first review:

• Posted Superintendent’s Memo #052-16, March 11, 2016, which solicited review input from teachers, administrators, curriculum supervisors, and the general public, and requested division superintendents to submit nominations for participants on the Standards of Learning review teams;
• Received and reviewed 258 online comments from 38 different sources on the 2010 Science Standards of Learning from stakeholders including teachers, parents, and administrators;
• Identified SOL review team members for each discipline from school division nominations;
• Met for four days on July 12-15, 2017, with a committee that consisted of science educators and division supervisors to review the public comments, consider recommendations and reports from stakeholder groups, and consider documents such as the Next Generation Science Standards, Science Framework for the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Trends in Mathematics and Science Studies 2015 Science Framework (TIMSS), College Board Advanced Placement Course Descriptions (2014), Working with Big Ideas of Science Education (2015), and science standards and frameworks and from other states including Rhode Island (2011) and Ohio (2014);
• Met with stakeholders including informal education agencies, businesses, and representatives from higher education to garner additional input;
• Met with a steering committee of science supervisors to review the proposed revised Standards of Learning through the lens of Profile of a Graduate and the 5C’s;
• Developed the proposed revised Science Standards of Learning;
• Worked collaboratively with the Virginia Department of Education Mathematics Instruction team to ensure that mathematics skills were appropriately integrated into the proposed revised Science Standards of Learning;
• Facilitated the creation of a secure website that allowed a committee of external stakeholders representing institutions of higher education, STEM businesses, science organizations, and the Virginia Education Science Leaders Association to review and comment on the proposed Science Standards of Learning;
• Received feedback from the Student Assessment Office, the American Chemical Society, Virginia Science Education Leaders Association, James Madison University, and the Virginia Resource Use Education Council; and
• Developed the proposed revised Science Standards of Learning found in Attachment A.

 

Public comment will be solicited from June 29, 2018- September 15, 2018.  The traditional time allotted for public comment has been extended to accommodate school calendars.  Two public hearings will be held; one in August and one in September 2018.  The public comment period and the public hearings will be announced through Superintendent’s Memo.  Specific information regarding the proposed Standards can be found in Item E, Attachments A, B, and C at:

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2018/06-jun/agenda.shtml.

 

 

Revisions to Board of Education Physical Education and Activity Guidelines for Public Elementary and Middle Schools as required by House Bill 357 and Senate Bill 211 (2016)

The Board waived first review and approved the Physical Education and Activity Guidelines for Public Elementary and Middle Schools as required by 2016 bills, House Bill 357 (Loupassi) and Senate Bill 211 (Miller).  These bills directed school divisions to provide during the regular school year “a program of physical activity available to all students in grades kindergarten through five consisting of at least 20 minutes per day, or an average of 100 minutes per week during the regular school year and available to all students in grades six through 12 with a goal of at least 150 minutes per week on average during the regular school year. Such program could include any combination of physical education classes, extracurricular athletics, recess, or other programs and physical activities deemed appropriate by the local school board.  The approved Physical Education Guidelines for Public Elementary and Middle Schools are found in Item F, Attachment A at:

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2018/06-jun/agenda.shtml

 

 

Recommendation of the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure (ABTEL) for a Passing Score for the Praxis Computer Science (5652) Test for the Computer Science Endorsement

 

The Board received for first review the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure’s recommendations to approve the use the Praxis Computer Science (5652) test as a professional teacher’s assessment for the Computer Science endorsement.  In doing so, the Board:

• Set a passing score of 142 for the test; and
• Will implement the assessment requirement on September 1, 2018, with the exception of individuals applying for a license with an endorsement in Computer Science through Virginia approved programs who would become subject to the requirement effective January 1, 2020.

A detailed summary of the study, Multistate Standard-Setting Technical Report – Computer Science (5652) can be found in Item G, Attachment A at:  http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2018/06-jun/agenda.shtml.  The Praxis Test at a Glance document (Item G, Attachment 2) can also found at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2018/06-jun/agenda.shtml. This document describes the purpose and structure of the assessment.  The Praxis Computer Science (5652) test is a three-hour assessment which contains 100 selected-response items covering five content areas: Impacts of Computing (approximately 15 items), Algorithms and Computational Thinking (approximately 25 items), Programming (approximately 30 items), Data (approximately 15 items), and Computing Systems and Networks (approximately 15 items).  The reporting scale for the Praxis Computer Science (5652) ranges from 100 to 200 scale-score points. 

 

Recommendation of the Advisory Board on Teacher Education and Licensure (ABTEL) for a Passing Score for the Praxis School Leader Licensure Assessment (6990) for the Administration and Supervision Endorsement

The Board received for first review information on the ETS computer delivered Praxis for School Leadership Licensure Assessment which will require 240 minutes for 120 selected-response questions. The School Leader Licensure Assessment (SLLA) is designed to measure the extent to which entry-level school leaders demonstrate the standards-relevant knowledge and skills necessary for competent professional practice.  The content of the SLLA was defined by a national committee of expert practitioners and preparation faculty and confirmed by a national survey of the field.  The School Leader Licensure Assessment is aligned with the 2015 Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL), developed by the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA). These standards were previously known as the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards.  The Leadership Licensure Assessment includes questions in the following 7 categories with the number of questions and percentage of the overall score:  Strategic Leadership - 20 questions worth 13%;  Instructional Leadership – 27 questions worth 17%; Climate and Cultural Leadership    - 22 questions worth 13%; Ethical Leadership – 19 questions worth 12%; Organizational Leadership – 16 questions worth 10%; Community Engagement Leadership – 16 questions worth 10%;  Analysis Constructed Response (CR) – 4 questions worth 25%.  Additional information regarding the School Leadership Licensure Assessment can be found at Item G. Attachment A at: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/index.shtml.

 

Reports

The Board received the following written reports:

• Legislative Report 2018 General Assembly
• Report on Civic Education Policy