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Warren County schools outline hiring gains, induction program and curriculum priorities for 2025-26
Summary
District instructional leaders reported hiring 78 new substitutes, launched a Trek to Excellence induction program for new teachers, set a 75% PD engagement target and said the Virginia Literacy Act implementation expands to grades 4–8 this year.
Warren County Public Schools administrators told the School Board on Aug. 20 that the district has strengthened staffing and teacher support ahead of the 2025–26 school year.
Instructional presenters said the district added about 78 new substitutes since last August and reported improved fill rates and recruiting gains tied to community events. Staff outlined a structured induction and mentoring program (Trek to Excellence) for teachers in their first three years, a renewed focus on staff development with a target of 75% engagement (up from roughly 58% last year), and quarterly monitoring via the district’s management system. "Since August of last year, we did hire on 78 new subs," one presenter said.
Curriculum coordinators described an expanded implementation of the Virginia Literacy Act: K–3 was implemented last year and grades 4–8 will be added this school year, with selected students taking the updated reading assessments. Math leaders said universal diagnostic screeners are being administered this week with grade-level data to follow, and elementary instruction will emphasize number sense using the CRA (concrete–representational–abstract) model. Science presenters said revised K–12 pacing guides now include common assessments, higher-level essential questions and a developing phenomena database to support inquiry-based instruction.
Administrators tied these efforts to the district’s strategic goal of all schools scoring 90% in tested subjects and said monthly leadership and professional-development sessions will continue. Officials also noted capacity-building supports — differentiated induction, content-lead mentors, peer observations and a year-one retention survey in partnership with Reach Virginia that found strong year-one retention intent among respondents.
Next steps: district leaders will deliver diagnostic data to schools in the coming weeks, continue monthly instructional leadership sessions, and present further implementation details and second readings of policy changes to the board as they move forward.
