QTL News & Stories

FLOYD, VA - The Floyd County, Virginia school system is already a high performing district, despite its predominantly TITLE I designation. So, when they decide to take on a district-wide initiative that involves most of their teacher population, they don’t take anything lightly.

FUN ALLOWED - Floyd County principals Jack McKinley and Sandy Montgomery strike a pose during a QTL break.

That’s why Floyd County decided to host the Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning for a 2-Day Instructional Leadership Seminar.

The district's principals, assistant principals and district administration attended the workshop, designed to give educators a ‘taste’ of the QTL™ program coupled with the Professional Learning Communities program.

“This is a very intense program for both teachers and principals,” says QTL™ instructor Vonda Ferguson. “Principals need to see what their teachers would be doing and how they will be involved to make the critical decision to join the QTL™ program.”

QTL™ is not new to Floyd County, as they have been getting an earful from educators in nearby Botetourt County. Director of Instruction Dr. Linda Petrie teaches at a nearby university, and says she understands the need to ‘model’ instructional strategies to all teachers.

“I get teachers before they actually have students, for the most part," says Dr. Petrie. "They need to see and understand how instructional strategies work in the classroom. I see this program as letting teachers see and experience the strategies, then use them directly in their classrooms and it becomes job-embedded with the Whole Faculty Study Groups.”

“This seminar allows educators to understand their roles as instructional leaders in schools. Sometimes, that has not been defined for them and this 2-day session moves them closer to a deep understanding,” adds Ferguson.