Page County details Grow Your Own teacher pipeline and explains contract types ahead of contract offers

School division staff updated the board on the Grow Your Own teacher pipeline, hiring and contract procedures, and the division’s timeline for issuing employment contracts.

Doctor Johnson (business operations presenter) said the division received seven additional slots for employees to enroll in teacher-preparation coursework through a partnership with Laurel Ridge and James Madison University. Sixteen employees applied for the seven slots; most of the newly awarded slots are for Laurel Ridge-to-JMU pathways and two were direct JMU slots that required applicants to already hold an associate’s degree. The slots are fully funded through JMU grant funds, Johnson said. Johnson also said nine employees are already in the program and two enrolled employees at JMU are nearing completion.

Johnson explained the district’s contract types and how they interact with state law. He said teacher and administrator contracts follow the Code of Virginia: employees in their first three professional years are generally on annual contracts that are renewed each year; after three years the division is required, under state code, to offer a continuing contract at the start of year four. Classified (hourly/nonexempt) employees, drivers, nutrition services, and contract (nonbenefited) services use different contract forms. Johnson described how staffing, program placement (special education, Title I constraints), and student counts drive contract decisions and how those decisions feed into budgeting.

Leaders told board members they hope to issue contracts for employees on Tuesday, May 27, and ask that signed contracts be returned by Monday, June 2. Staff said paper contracts are used for newly hired teachers who do not yet have TalentEd accounts; once acknowledgements are returned the district will convert files into its TalentEd system.

Board members asked about teacher evaluation and remediation. Johnson said principals and district staff use the state-approved summative evaluation tool (eight categories including instruction and professionalism) and that improvement supports and performance-improvement plans are used to help struggling employees; nonrenewal is a last resort. He also discussed staffing ratios tied to the Standards of Quality (SOQ) and local decisions to fund positions above SOQ levels to meet student needs.

Ending: The board received the update and asked staff to return with contract issuance and budget implications as the state budget develops. Staff said final contract offers and any budget-driven changes will be reported back to the board before final adoption.