Mission

The mission of Dominion Education Center is to provide informed, scientifically research- based, educational outreach services to all of Hampton Roads and to build a private-public connection that will give critical access to such resources to all individuals in our community.

Who Are We?

Dominion Education Center (DEC) is an extension of Chesapeake Bay Academy (CBA), providing outreach services created from a foundation centered around the school's areas of educational expertise.

What Do We Do?

DEC currently offers three programs: Professional Development, Student Assessment, and Adjunct Services. A fourth, the Career and University Success Program (CUSP), will launch in 2010. CUSP will exist solely for the purpose of providing young adults in Hampton Roads who might benefit from explicit guidance in the transition to post-secondary education or to the workforce with much needed support and guidance. CUSP plans to serve as a bridge that eases the transition and guides participants through Individual Flight Plans, beginning with their personal goals for the future and working backwards to create a road map, developing structure where there otherwise is none.  Stay tuned for news regarding CUSP start dates. For more information, contact the DEC Director.

Professional Development

By teaching the foundations of language acquisition, DEC's professional development program in reading, writing and spelling prepares teachers to effectively and efficiently teach every child. The cornerstone for DEC's training, Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS^TM), is a high-quality program that is both scientifically research-based and parallel to the findings of The National Reading Panel (2001), upon which the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 is based. Students who can effectively read and write can understand all texts better; they write better essays; they perform better on tests. This improved reading ability results in greater success, higher self-esteem, and improved quality of life through self-support and productivity. LETRS bridges the gap between theory/research and actual classroom practice for educators and will close the gap between achievement and individual potential for Hampton Roads' students.

Regional Student Assessment

DEC's Assessment Program is the only private program in Hampton Roads that combines a child's formal psycho-educational evaluation with explicit, research-based instructional strategies, and creates a specific plan unique to the individual child for use at school and in the home. With a team approach to the identification, demystification, and triumph over learning difficulties DEC's assesment services allow bright students, including those with learning disabilities and ADHD, to realize their full potential in school and in everyday life. Families will participate in a meeting with the DEC Director and receive a written set of individualized recommendations and strategies identified through careful analysis of their child's test results.

DEC's Assessment Program is:

• Available to CBA families and/or those who have participated in assessment elsewhere
• Appropriate for families seeking further understanding of the information found within their child's testing reports
• Families looking for comprehensive educational interpretation of their child's test results for both classroom and home application

Adjunct Services

Currently under Adjunct Services, DEC offers College and Career Counseling, Teacher and Administrator Support, Parent and Sibling Education, and a GED Preperation/State-approved ISAEP Program. Accepted and approved by the Virginia Department of Education, the Individual Student Alternative Education Plan is for students 16 - 18 years old. It combines preparation for the GED with vocational training, each for a minimum of ten hours per week.

Fee Schedule for DEC Services*

Please contact Kate Mitchell, Director of Dominion Education Center, at 757.497.6200 or via email at kmitchell@cba-va.org with questions regarding the fees for individual services.

For general questions and to receive more information about our DEC's programs and/or our upcoming schedule, please contact DEC Director, Kate Mitchell, at 757.497.6200 ext 414. Email: kmitchell@cba-va.org.