Late Starts For Professional Development Off Table At Loudoun Schools

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Loudoun County Public Schools is rethinking its options to fit in new teacher professional development requirements after mainly negative feedback about a 16 late start days option.

LCPS Superintendent Aaron Spence said in a letter to families Friday that it is reconsidering options other than the 16 days of late starts for students. The school division received nearly 2,000 responses in a public survey, and many families expressed that late starts is not an ideal option.

"We are currently exploring alternative options that will allow us to meet the VDOE requirements while minimizing impact on families," Spence said in the message to families. "Our goal is to find a solution that balances the need for increased PD time with the practical needs of our community. We are committed to ensuring our educators receive the training they need to enhance their teaching practices and align with state standards, ultimately benefiting our students.

The Loudoun County School Board had received a proposal for 16 two-hour delay days for students in the 2024-2025 school year to allow for professional development. The late start days were suggested to help LCPS meet the Virginia Literacy Act, which include up to 27 hours of required training modules for teachers.

Along with the new training requirements, LCPS is in the Virginia Language & Literacy Screening System, a new assessment for third grade and new kindergarten to second grade teachers, and faces new standards for the mathematics and English Standards of Learning standardized tests that teachers must instruct students in. The mathematics standards will apply to SOL assessments in the 2024-2025 school year, while the timeline for the English standards is pending.

Leesburg District School Board representative Lauren Shernoff, who has worked as a teacher, expressed support for additional professional development time for teachers. But after receiving hundreds of comments from constituents on her Facebook page, she said she is open to alternatives to late starts.

"Your feedback illuminated things I had not considered and it helped to change my original thinking," Shernoff shared on Facebook. "I hope you feel heard, and know that the division, in partnership with the board, is changing course because of your voices-maybe in some way, this response will help build back trust by showing we are transparent and accountable for our actions."