Virginia Preschool Initiative Plus

In 2015, Virginia was awarded a federal Preschool Development Grant-Expansion Grant (PDG) and launched the Virginia Preschool Initiative Plus (VPI+) in 11 school divisions across the Commonwealth. The goal of VPI+ was to provide high-quality preschool to children in Virginia by (1) supporting new VPI+ classrooms that meet specific quality standards and (2) enhancing the quality of existing Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) classrooms. This investment was intended to support positive school readiness outcomes for children. These intended benefits for children also translate to benefits for society, as improved educational outcomes for children enable them to grow into adults who make positive contributions to their communities. 

13 Virtual Games to Play in Your Elementary Classroom

After noticing how much her students missed informal socializing during hybrid learning, Liz Henneberry, a third-grade teacher in Franklin, Massachusetts, transformed Connect Four, Trouble, Chess, and Checkers to Google Slides—all of which can be downloaded and immediately used in your virtual classroom. During recess breaks, students click a board game shelved in a virtual recess room, which creates their own copy of the game. Students can then share the game with their friend using Google Drive so that the two can play a round together. If students are new to sharing Google Slides, Henneberry recommends modeling the step-by-step process first.