VIDE cites modest Smarter Balanced gains, outlines tutoring, apprenticeship and federal funds plan

The Virgin Islands Department of Education presented a territorywide review of student performance and recovery efforts to the Committee on Education and Workforce Development on Feb. 4, saying Smarter Balanced results for 2023–24 show modest gains and outlining plans to expand interventions, career and technical education and a teacher apprenticeship program.

Commissioner Dion W. Hedrington told senators that English language arts, mathematics and science scores trended up from prior years but remain well below grade level for many students. He said the territory’s provisional proficiency rates rose to 23.5% in ELA and 19.5% in math and gave a detailed breakdown by district and grade. “Our schools are moving in the right direction,” Hedrington said in testimony to the committee.

Nuts and bolts: VIDE officials said district leaders are using diagnostic tools such as i‑Ready and interim assessments to identify students for small‑group intervention blocks, expanding after‑school and summer bridge programs, and reintroducing a multi‑tiered system of support (MTSS). Dr. Charlene Belton Gonzales and Dr. Stefan Jorgen described learning‑walks, targeted professional development and expanded literacy coaching anchored in the science‑of‑reading approach for K–3 teachers.

The department also announced a new teacher apprenticeship program in partnership with the Department of Labor and the University of the Virgin Islands. Commissioner Hedrington said the first cohort will include 10 paraprofessionals from each district who will begin summer coursework toward teacher certification.

Federal relief funds: VIDE briefed senators on the status of COVID‑era grants. The department reported procurement of 11,415 Chromebooks and other devices and said CARES and CARES 2 closeout work is underway; the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds remain in liquidation with an extended deadline the department said it expects to meet for ongoing maintenance and construction projects. Keisha Culpepper Smith, VIDE’s federal grants director, told the committee the districts receive the bulk of consolidated grant allocations and that schools are being asked to align local budgets with school improvement plans.

Immigration guidance: Assistant Commissioner Victor Soom said the department formed a task force and issued guidance to schools after the governor’s January memorandum on enforcement activities, and reminded the committee of the Supreme Court precedent that all children in U.S. schools are entitled to education regardless of immigration status. “The role of education is not to police immigration,” he said.

Why it matters: Committee members pressed VIDE for school‑by‑school breakdowns — including subgroup analysis for English learners and special education students — and for faster turnaround on evaluations, staffing and facilities repairs. Hedrington and the superintendents acknowledged persistent math gaps and said literacy improvements so far informed the pivot to a territorywide math focus for the coming year.

What’s next: Senators asked VIDE to return with school‑level diagnostics, a roster of funded vacancies, and an explicit timetable for the teacher apprenticeship rollout and for closing out federal grants that support summer and after‑school interventions.