Laura Dixon of Thomas Jefferson Elementary was chosen to participate in the Virginia Center for Excellence in Teaching, a new, selective professional development program for teachers, which launched this summer on the George Mason University campus in Fairfax.
Dixon is one of 100 of Virginia’s best teachers selected to attend one of four innovative summer academies focused on classroom instruction, education policy and leadership. As part of the academy training, the teachers visited Capitol Hill and visited with Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner to learn about how education policy works.
Funded by a grant from the Virginia Department of Education, each of the four academies accepted 25 teachers. The free, six-day residential academies focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); interdisciplinary studies; fine arts; and the humanities and language arts.
