~ New Fellowship to connect Virginia Teachers to Education Policy operation ~

Governor McAuliffe recently announced a new statewide partnership between the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and Hope Street Group, to support and equip teachers to engage local and state policymakers in education policy development.

“I am thrilled to announce the launch of the Virginia State Teacher Fellowship, which will provide teachers around the Commonwealth with new skills to support their engagement with state and local policymakers,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “The voices and experiences of teaching professionals are a critical part of developing sound education policy at every level.”

The Virginia State Teacher Fellowship, which will launch in January 2018, is designed to connect educators to state and school division policymakers. The two-year fellowship will provide Virginia teachers with training, resources, and support to interact with policymakers and inform policy decisions that impact the teaching and learning conditions in Virginia public schools.

The collaborative statewide program is an initiative of Hope Street Group, a national organization known for its influential teacher engagement work. The fellows program has already been successfully implemented in Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah.

“We are excited about the opportunity this program provides to our teachers in the way of training and professional development. We know from Hope Street Group’s work in other states that teachers find the training highly engaging and valuable. We are pleased that educators in Virginia will now be able to access it,” said Dr. Steven Staples, Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction.

State Teacher Fellows are selected after a rigorous application and selection process. The recruitment of teachers to apply to serve as a Virginia State Teacher Fellow will begin shortly after the 2018 launch.

“We are committed to selecting an inaugural cohort of highly regarded educators who represent a cross-section of the teachers in a state with an emphasis on diversity. We are excited this program will now be available to Virginia educators and appreciate the warm reception it has received thus far,” said Dr. Tabitha Grossman, National Director of Education Policy and Partnerships with Hope Street Group.

Hope Street Group is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding economic opportunity and prosperity for all Americans. For more information, see: www.hopestreetgroup.org

-Submitted by Press Assistance Charlotte Gomer