WCS was recently spotlighted by University of Virginia’s Partnership for Leaders in Education (UVA/PLE) as a district that is leading the way to embrace transformations in education following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the past several years, WCS has been part of the PLE program with the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and Curry School of Education. “PLE is one of the nation’s top leadership programs for educators,” shared Dr. David Hoffert, WCS Superintendent. “Seeing our transformative work spotlighted in their national report on the New Frontiers of education further validates that our educators, administrators and community partners are making strides in the much-needed work to accelerate learning and rethink education.”
The “New Frontiers'’ report was released yesterday and recognized WCS for its investment in staff, which provides scholarships for dozens of employees to pursue a multitude of degrees and certifications at no cost. These opportunities have included transition-to-teaching degrees, reading endorsements, educational specialists post-master’s degrees, and educational leadership master’s degrees, and many more.
Briana Kelly, EL teacher at Leesburg Elementary, added, “I am currently completing a Transition to Teaching program through Teachers of Tomorrow. About 6 months ago I got a job serving, on top of coaching two cheerleading teams and teaching full time. There were many nights I came home and cried because of how tired I was, only to get up the next morning and do it all again. Thanks to Warsaw Community Schools, the remainder of my transition to teaching program is being covered and I’m officially debt free. Today I have happy tears. I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach and continue to grow and learn as an educator at Warsaw Community Schools.”
The report highlights WCS’s inventive solutions to attracting and retaining staff. “David Hoffert and his leadership team in Warsaw Community Schools jumped into action and created unique partnerships with universities where qualified district personnel taught courses and maintained the program integrity. In return, the universities agreed to offer a more cost-effective degree program, which for the past two years, came at no cost to staff.” The report argues that education systems and dynamic leaders that embrace change will succeed at creating an educational environment that is more equitable and prepares students for their futures.
“Our New Frontiers report spotlights the most successful education leaders who are courageously rising to the moment and making once-in-a-generation investments and changes to their educational systems for the benefit of their students, their staff and their communities,” said William Robinson, executive director of UVA-PLE and co-author of the New Frontiers report. “Districts like Warsaw Community Schools that innovate and embrace change will thrive, and the districts that choose to ignore or, worse, resist transformation put themselves and their students at risk.”
About UVA-PLE: The Partnership for Leaders in Education (UVA-PLE) is a unique joint venture between the highly ranked University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and School of Education and Human Development. UVA-PLE advances leadership capacity building and insights to help leaders courageously create conditions to respond to their communities needs and demonstrably improve educational and life outcomes for our nation's students.