Laura Dixon, a Falls Church City Public Schools (FCCPS) teacher attended the Virginia Center for Excellence in Teaching (VCET), a professional development program that launched in June on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University. Dixon, a teacher at Thomas Jefferson Elementary, was accepted into and attended the program’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academy, according to a press release from VCET’s Laura Fry.

Out of 800 applicants to the program statewide, Dixon was one of 100 Virginia teachers selected to attend VCET. Each of the four summer academies – STEM, humanities and language arts, fine arts and interdisciplinary studies – accepted 25 teachers for a six-day program where they focused on classroom instruction, education policy and leadership.

“One of the goals of the program is to create networks of outstanding teachers who support each other and work together to improve public education in Virginia,” said Dr. Elizabeth Sturtevant, VCET director.