LET ME REMIND EVERYONE THAT DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC EMERGENCY, THIS MEETING OF THE
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CITY SCHOOLS SUBCOMMITTEE IS BEING HELD ELECTRONICALLY IN A CODE SECTION TO TALK TO TEST.THIRTY SEVEN TO EIGHT TO A THREE, THE CONTINUITY GOVERNANCE ORDINANCE, WHICH WAS ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL ON JUNE TWENTY TO TWENTY TWENTY AND SECTION FOUR DASHT 0.01 G AND HOUSEFULL 29 HOUSEFULL BILL THIRTY, WHICH WAS ENACTED BY THE 2020 VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY, VIRGINIA ACT OF ASSEMBLY TWENTY THREE AND TWENTY NINE, WHICH ALLOW US TO UNDERTAKE ESSENTIAL BUSINESS.
ALL THE MEMBERS OF THIS BOARD AND THE STAFF ARE PARTICIPATING FROM REMOTE LOCATIONS THROUGH VIDEO CONFERENCE ON ZOOME MEETINGS BEING HELD ELECTRONICALLY DUE TO A DETERMINATION THAT IS NOT YET SAFE ENOUGH TO HAVE THE MEETING IN THE CITY COUNCIL WORK ROOM. ELECTRONIC ACCESS WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE MEETING AND THE PUBLIC CAN ACCESS VIA THE RESUME LINK THAT WAS PROVIDED.
I BELIEVE A VIDEO IS POSTED AFTERWARD AS WELL.
ALL RIGHT. SO I'M GOING TO CALL YOU WILSON.
I'M SORRY. I THINK I MISSED THE THIRD LINE OF THAT.
YOU MIGHT REPEATING THAT ONE MORE TIME.
YOU JUST DID SUCH A GREAT JOB.
YEAH, WE'LL DO IT. WE'LL DO IT AT THE END.
YOU CAN HANG OUT AND WE'LL DO IT AT THE END.
WE'LL DO ONE OF THOSE PRIVATE ZOOM'S THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER.
I JUST FELT LIKE YOU HAD AND SAID IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE SOMETHING YOU'D SAID.
THE CITY ATTORNEY HAS ASSURED ME THAT THE DAYS OF ME READING THAT MAY BE SOON IN THE PAST. SO THANKS TO SOME SOME SOME CHANGES WE'RE GOING TO MAKE TO HOW WE CAN HANDLE THAT.
ALL RIGHT. I'M GOING TO CALL THIS CITY SCHOOLS, CITY COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE, SCHOOL BOARD SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER FROM OUR TWENTY SECOND.
WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN, AS WE HAVE DONE FOR THE LAST YEAR, WITH AN UPDATE ON COVID-19
[I. COVID-19 Update]
PLANNING AND ALL RELATED COORDINATION.WHO AM I TURNING THIS OVER TO FIRST TO START THAT CONVERSATION? MR. DINK'S DR.
HUTCHINGS, WHO'S GOING FIRST? I GO AHEAD, SIR, I DON'T SEE DOCTOR ERRING ON THE SIDE OR JUST LET HIM OUT.
HE KNOWS MORE THAN I DO, SO GET IT RIGHT HERE.
GOOD EVENING. DR. STEPHEN HERRON, DIRECTOR OF ALEXANDRIA HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
THANKS FOR HAVING ME HERE HOUR.
I'LL START WITH A NUMBER OF CASES.
WE'RE STILL JUST UNDER 11000 CASES.
THAT HAS BEEN INCREASING LATELY.
OUR SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE HAS MOVED UP INTO THE MID UPPER 20S OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS.
BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF MARCH, IT WAS AS LOW AS NINE POINT FOUR.
IT HAD NOT BEEN THAT LOW SINCE SINCE JUNE.
AND TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, IT WAS IT WAS IT HAD BEEN AS HIGH AS NEARLY 60 AT THE MIDDLE OF JANUARY AFTER THERE WAS A SURGE FROM HOLIDAY TRAVEL THAT HAD INCREASED FROM MID-NOVEMBER TO JANUARY, GOT DOWN TO NINE AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MONTH, AND IT HAS BEEN EDGING BACK UP. THE OTHER THING THAT'S BEEN INCREASING RECENTLY IS OUR PERCENT POSITIVITY.
IT'S NOW AT ABOUT I THINK IT'S FOUR POINT EIGHT PERCENT.
THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF SCHOOLS AND THE RISK OF TRANSMISSION IS A NUMBER OF LESS THAN 10 PER 100000 AND A POSITIVE PERCENTAGE, A POSITIVE THE RATE OF LESS THAN FIVE, LESS THAN 10, LESS THAN FIVE.
SO WE'RE STILL BELOW THE FIVE PERCENT POSITIVITY, BUT WE'RE DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF NEW CASES IN TERMS OF THE RATE WE HAVE VACCINATED.
TWENTY EIGHT THOUSAND PEOPLE, AT LEAST PARTIALLY, AND OVER CLOSE TO 19000 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FULLY VACCINATED.
OUR GOAL, OUR TARGET IS ONE HUNDRED AND 6000.
SO WE'RE WE'RE MOVING ALONG WITH THAT.
WE HAVE A 50 PERCENT INCREASE OF THE NUMBER OF VACCINES THAT WERE ALLOCATED TO ALEXANDRIA THIS WEEK COMPARED TO LAST WEEK.
WE'RE ANTICIPATING CONTINUED INCREASES OVER THE COMING WEEKS AND I EXPECT AN EXPONENTIAL INCREASE SOMETIME IN APRIL.
WHETHER THAT'S THE FIRST FULL WEEK IN APRIL OR SECOND FULL WEEK IN APRIL, I'M NOT REALLY SURE. BUT WE'RE READY TO EXPAND THE NUMBER OF PODS THAT WE'RE CONDUCTING IN ANOVA IS READY, READY TO SPIN UP AT THE VICTORY CENTER WITH ANY VACCINE THAT EXCEEDS OUR CAPACITY.
WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF OUTREACH TO CHILD CARE PROVIDERS, TO PRE-K, TO 12 TEACHERS.
AND I THINK ACPS HAS SOME RECORDS OF OR AT LEAST SURVEYS OF WHAT THEY'VE DONE IN TERMS OF THE RESPONSES OF THE THEIR TEACHERS THAT HAVE BEEN VACCINATED.
AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER VERY SIGNIFICANT ASPECT, IS THAT THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL CAME OUT FRIDAY AND SAID THAT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST THREE FEET OF DISTANCE.
THE REASON FOR THIS IS SEVERAL FOLD, AND IT COMES FROM THE SCIENCE, THE DATA THAT'S BEEN SHOWN THAT KIDS TEND TO, NO ONE, NOT BE AS SICK WHEN THEY'RE WHEN ONE'S NOT AS SICK.
TYPICALLY, YOU DON'T HAVE AS HIGH A VIRAL LOAD.
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AND ALSO KIDS TEND NOT TO HAVE AS MUCH EXHALATION WHEN THEY'RE YELLING.MAYBE TEACHERS FEEL DIFFERENTLY ABOUT THAT.
BUT AS A RESULT, THEY'RE EXHALATIONS, THEIR DROPLETS DON'T TRAVEL AS FAR.
SO THAT'S THAT'S THE RATIONALE BEHIND IT.
HOWEVER, I HAVE BEEN AND I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH DR.
HUTCHINGS FRIDAY NIGHT, HOWEVER, OUR DEFINITION OF A CLOSE CONTACT IS STILL SIX FEET.
SO WE'LL BE TALKING TO SCHOOLS ABOUT THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THIS AND WHAT THAT MEANS IN TERMS OF IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY OPERATING WITHIN THREE FEET AND THERE'S A CASE AND THEN THERE'S A BUNCH OF PEOPLE AROUND YOU WITHIN THAT SIX FEET OF DISTANCE, WE STILL USE THE SIX FEET BECAUSE THAT'S THE DISTANCE THAT WE USE FOR CLOSE CONTACT.
AND THAT'S NOT AN ALEXANDRIA HEALTH DEPARTMENT DECISION.
THAT IS A DECISION BY THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL.
SO THAT'S THAT'S MY PRESENTATION AND WE'LL BE WORKING WITH THE SCHOOLS ON THIS WHOLE THREE TO SIX FOOT DISTANCING ISSUE THIS COMING WEEK.
AND IN THE MEETING. EXCUSE ME, DR.
HUTCHINGS, EVERYTHING I JUST WANT TO ADD AND THANK YOU, DR.
HARUN, BECAUSE THIS WEDNESDAY WE'RE GOING TO BE MEETING WITH OUR TRANSITION TEAM IS TYPICALLY WHERE WE TAKE MATTERS WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ANY CHANGES OR REFINEMENTS.
WE HAVE A DIVISION WIDE TRANSITION TEAM THAT MEETS EVERY WEDNESDAY.
AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE IS SOME CONTRADICTION THAT HAPPENS OUT THERE.
AND I FEEL LIKE WE JUST NEED TO BE OPEN ABOUT THOSE CONTRADICTIONS.
IS NOT THAT ACPS DOESN'T WANT STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS OR IT'S NOT EASY THAT DOESN'T WANT TO HAVE THREE FEET APART.
BUT WE DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TAKING ALL OF THE DIFFERENT GUIDELINES AND MAKING THE BEST DECISIONS POSSIBLE WITH THAT INFORMATION AND NOT JUST UTILIZING BITS AND PIECES OF GUIDELINES TO DO WHAT WE WANT TO DO.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE DOING THAT ACROSS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND I'M JUST REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WORK ACPS WORKS DIRECTLY WITH THE ALEXANDRIA HEALTH DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY HAVE A MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE THAT WE DON'T HAVE AS EDUCATORS.
HARING THUS FAR. AND YOU HAVEN'T DONE IS WRONG YET.
DR. ERIC. SO I WANT TO KEEP MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE RELYING ON HIS EXPERTIZE AND HIS INSIGHT AS WE ARE MAKING OUR DECISIONS IN REGARDS TO TO TO ACPS.
HUTCHINGS FOR THE KIND OF COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE, DR.
DO YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHT INTO, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF BOTTOMED OUT THERE, WHICH YOU TALKED ABOUT, AND WE WERE IN SOME REALLY, REALLY GOOD NUMBERS AND NOW WE'RE SEEING A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPTICK. DO YOU GET ANY INSIGHT FROM THE CONTACT TRACING DATA AND INVESTIGATIONS OF WHAT WHAT IS DRIVING THE LATEST UPTICK? OR IS THIS JUST IS THIS SOMETHING THAT'S AN ANOMALY OR IS THIS JUST I GUESS WHAT DO YOU GET A SENSE OF AT THIS POINT? WE GET THE SENSE THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING REGIONALLY AND STATEWIDE.
WE GET THE SENSE THAT IT IS A RELAXATION OF PEOPLE'S GUARD, IF YOU WILL.
WE'RE ACTUALLY STARTING TO HEAR AND I JUST HEARD THIS IN OUR PREVIOUS MEETING AS I WAS COMING TO THIS ONE THAT WE'RE STARTING TO HEAR MORE AND MORE.
IT'S ACTUALLY PEOPLE TRAVELING, WHICH IS WHERE WE FOUND THE UPTICK BOTH IN DECEMBER AND IN JANUARY. AND SO WE'RE HEARING THAT IT'S TRAVEL.
SOME OF IT IS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH ATHLETICS.
AND IT'S JUST BASICALLY PEOPLE LETTING THEIR GUARD DOWN, NOT WEARING THE MASK, NOT MAINTAINING THE PHYSICAL DISTANCING.
THERE IS SOME REPORT, ALTHOUGH WE DON'T HAVE THIS DATA, BECAUSE WE DON'T DO THE TYPE OF TESTING ON EVERY SINGLE SPECIMEN THAT COMES IN.
BUT THERE IS SUGGESTION THAT THE NEW VARIANTS HAVE A HIGHER TRANSMISSIBILITY.
AND SO THAT COULD BE IN PLAY AS WELL.
SO IT MAY BE BOTH BOTH DOCTORS HERE COULD COMMENT A LITTLE BIT ON THE ON THE TRAVEL ISSUE, BECAUSE I KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HEADING INTO SPRING BREAK IN A WEEK.
AND I KNOW ACPS YOU GUYS PUT SOME MESSAGING OUT.
AND I THINK THE THING THAT WENT OUT ON FRIDAY, I THINK I GOT IN MY MY EMAIL BOX AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE GOING TO DO THE SAME ON THE CITY SIDE, BUT GIVEN THAT WE WE WILL HAVE SOME FOLKS TRAVELING OVER THE NEXT WEEK, WHAT TYPE OF GUIDANCE AND HOW WE COORDINATING THAT GUIDANCE FOR BOTH POPULATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS ARE TAKING THE APPROPRIATE PRECAUTIONS. SO WE HAVE TOLD PEOPLE DON'T TRAVEL UNLESS IT'S ESSENTIAL TRAVEL.
DON'T DON'T TRAVEL UNLESS IT'S ESSENTIAL.
THEN IF YOU TRAVEL, TRAVEL SMART, IF YOU CAN TRAVEL BY CAR, OBVIOUSLY, THAT'S SAFER THAN TRAVELING BY TRAIN OR BY PLANE OR IF YOU'RE GOING TO TRAVEL BY MASS TRANSIT.
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WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT YOU ACTUALLY GET TESTED ONE TO THREE DAYS BEFORE YOU TRAVEL.AND ALSO WHEN YOU GET BACK TO TEST THREE TO FIVE DAYS AFTERWARDS AND TO SELF QUARANTINE AFTER YOU'VE TRAVELED.
SO THAT WAY IT REDUCES THE RISK, IF YOU HAVE CALLED, IT REDUCES THE RISK OF YOUR TRANSMITTING IT TO OTHERS.
DR. HUTCHINGS ACTUALLY HAS SAID THIS TO HIS STAFF, AND I'LL LET HIM JUMP IN AND DESCRIBE HOW HE HAS SHARED THAT WITH THE ACPS COMMUNITY.
HERRON. WE USE THE SAME LANGUAGE BECAUSE WE WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE ALEXANDRIA HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WITH OUR LANGUAGE, AND WE REALLY ARE DISCOURAGING OUR STAFF TO TRAVEL.
WE CAN'T SAY YOU BETTER NOT TRAVEL AND WE DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T DO BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL HUMAN BEINGS AND ADULTS IN MOST CASES.
SO WE CAN'T, YOU KNOW, TELL THEM THAT THEY CAN'T TRAVEL.
BUT WE ARE DISCOURAGING THE TRAVEL IN THAT IF PEOPLE ARE HAVING TO DO SOME FORM OF ESSENTIAL TRAVEL, THAT THAT THEY DO GET TESTED UPON RETURN.
AND IF THEY DO A SELF QUARANTINE FOR SEVEN DAYS, WE WENT BACK AND FORTH WITH DR.
WEIL. I KNOW I KEPT ASKING DR.
HEARING QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW.
OUR STAFF, WE HAVE VACCINES BECAUSE SOME OF OUR STAFF, MANY OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE VACCINATED AND DOES THIS, YOU KNOW, DOES THIS STILL APPLY TO TO THOSE WHO ARE VACCINATED? AND DOCTOR, HEY, YOU MAY WANT TO TALK MORE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT IT, BUT YOU THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU ARE RECOMMENDING THAT THAT ALSO APPLIES TO OUR OUR STAFF MEMBERS WHO ARE VACCINATED.
AND YOU MAY WANT TO PROVIDE MORE OF A MEDICAL REASON AS TO WHY OR THE MEDICAL JUSTIFICATION AS TO WHY YOU ARE REQUIRED OR RECOMMENDING THAT.
MAKE SURE. THE REASON IS SEVERAL FOLD.
ONE IS THAT WHEN ONE TRAVELS, THERE COULD BE TRAVEL TO AN AREA WHERE THERE ARE HIGHER PERCENTAGES OF THE VARIANTS THAT TRANSMIT MORE READILY AND PERHAPS VARIANTS THAT ARE NOT AS RESPONSIVE TO THE VACCINE.
IN OTHER WORDS, SOME OF THE VARIANTS WE WE KNOW THERE'S WHEN WE SAY, DO YOU HAVE IMMUNITY TO A VIRUS OR TO A VARIANT OF A VIRUS, THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF IMMUNE RESPONSE. AND IN TERMS OF THE ANTIBODY RESPONSE, PUBLIC HEALTH IS STILL RESEARCHING AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE ANTIBODY RESPONSE IS STILL EFFECTIVE AGAINST THE VARIANTS OR NOT.
THE OTHER IS THAT YOU MIGHT KNOW THAT THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL HAS SAID IN A HOUSEHOLD, IN A HOUSEHOLD, IT'S OK TO REMOVE YOUR MASK WHEN YOU'RE SOCIALIZING WITH OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN FULLY VACCINATED FOR TWO WEEKS OR MORE IF YOU HAVE BEEN AND THE OTHER PEOPLE HAVE BEEN.
HOWEVER, THAT IS NOT BEEN EXTENDED TO THE WORKPLACE.
IT'S NOT THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY HAS IN VIRGINIA HAS NOT EXTENDED THAT TO BE THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE WORKPLACE.
SO WE'RE FOLLOWING WHAT THE EMERGENCY TEMPORARY STANDARDS ARE THAT ARE BASICALLY IN EFFECT BY LAW IN TERMS OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO EMPLOYERS.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO FOLLOWING THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH WHEN IT COMES TO TRAVEL.
AND ARE THERE OTHER QUESTIONS FOR DR.
HARING BEFORE WE MOVE ON, BECAUSE WE CAN LET DR.
HARRIS LEAVE? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, DR.
HARING, WE APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR WORK AND YOUR LEADERSHIP AND AND HOPEFULLY CAN GET SOME REST. SO THANK YOU.
HUTCHINGS, YOU WANT TO GO NEXT OR MR. JINX. OH, GOD, I DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH MORE TO ADD.
THE WE CONTINUE TO BASICALLY GOING HIRING, STAFFING UP FOR EXPANDED VACCINATION, BOTH CITY EMPLOYEES WORKING AS PART OF THEIR WORK AND HIRING NEW EMPLOYEES, ABOUT ONE HUNDRED AND SOME NEW EMPLOYEES.
WITH THE MONEY WE GOT FROM FEMA TO WORK THE VACCINATION SITES, CITY MUSEUMS ARE OPENING BACK UP ON A LIMITED BASIS.
VISITOR CENTERS OPENING BACK UP AND JUST SENT OUT THEIR SUMMER ANNOUNCEMENT OF THEIR SOME LIMITED SUMMER PROGRAMING.
SO WE STARTED TO GRADUALLY OPEN LIKE A FLOWER, GRADUALLY OPENING UP AND TAKING, TAKING, TAKING ADDITIONAL STEPS.
MR.. YOU HAVE DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE? I KNOW WE WE GOT SOME REQUIREMENTS AROUND SPACE AND THINGS LIKE THAT THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT. DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE ON SOME OF THAT STILL WORKING OUT OK.
SO JUST TO ADD ON TO KNOW SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I JUST MENTIONED, WE SINCE THE LAST
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TIME WE MET, WE DO HAVE MORE STUDENTS IN OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS, WHICH IS EXCITING.AND OUR STAFF, THEY AS IF I WAS DOING SUAREZ OVER THE PAST THREE WEEKS, YOU CAN SEE THAT PEOPLE ARE JUST HAPPY TO BE BACK IN THEIR LEARNING SPACE.
YOU KNOW, I THINK OUR STAFF, THEY WERE DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB AND THE ONES WHO ARE STILL WORKING FROM HOME RIGHT NOW ARE DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB WITH, YOU KNOW, PIVOTING TO VIRTUAL LEARNING. BUT THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE THE CLASSROOM.
AND IT WAS REALLY GREAT TO SEE OUR STAFF AND OUR STUDENTS VERY EXCITED ABOUT BEING BACK INTO OUR BUILDINGS. WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH HOW WE'RE GOING TO TRANSITION ADDITIONAL STUDENTS INTO OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS, BECAUSE WE DO KNOW THAT THE CURRENT STUDENTS ARE IN OUR BUILDINGS ARE BASED ON OUR DECEMBER POLLS THAT WE DID OF OUR FAMILIES.
IT WAS A FAMILY CHOICE, DOCUMENTS TO DETERMINE IF THEY WERE GOING TO RETURN OR NOT, IF WE WERE GIVEN THAT OPPORTUNITY.
AND WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME FAMILIES WHO STILL WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THEIR KIDS COME TO IN PERSON.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING THROUGH.
WE WANTED TO BUY OURSELVES THIS TIME OVER THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, LAST WEEK AND THIS WEEK TO REALLY GET A FEEL OF HOW ARE THINGS OPERATING UNDER THESE CONDITIONS, HAVING SOCIAL DISTANCING IN OUR SCHOOLS, HAVING SOCIAL DISTANCING ON OUR BUSSES AND SOME FAMILIES WHO HAVE OPTED TO NOT DO THE HYBRID.
THEY DID IT FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND THEN THEY DECIDED THEY WANTED TO REMAIN VIRTUAL.
SOME FAMILIES WHO JUST NEVER CAME, EVEN THOUGH THEY SIGNED UP TO DO THE HYBRID, BUT THEY JUST OPTED NOT TO HAVE THAT IN PLACE.
SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH KIND OF MAKING UPDATES TO ALL OF THOSE THINGS AND WE'RE STRATEGIZING ON HOW DO WE EXPAND FURTHER FAMILIES TO, YOU KNOW, TO EXPERIENCES AND PERSON LEARNING CHOICE. ONE THING THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT AS WE TRANSITION STUDENTS BACK AND WE'RE GOING TO SHARE MORE DETAILS WITH OUR FAMILIES NEXT MONTH, AS WELL AS WITH THE BOARD ON APRIL 8TH. BUT ONE THING THAT WE'RE SPECIFICALLY LOOKING AT IS MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE PRIORITIZING THESE ADDITIONAL STUDENTS THAT WE'RE BRINGING BACK INTO OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS, THAT SPECIFICALLY WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR STUDENTS WHO HAVE HAD SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES WITH SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, ACADEMIC LEARNING AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE GETTING THOSE STUDENTS INTO OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS FIRST AS WE'RE DOING THIS TRANSITION THERE.
THERE ARE STILL SOME LIMITATIONS, EVEN WITH THE NEWEST KIND OF REPORT OUT FROM THE CDC IN REGARDS TO THREE FEET, IT'S STILL NOT BACK TO NORMAL WHERE EVERYBODY COULD BE INTO EVERYONE CAN GET INTO A CLASSROOM SPACE ALL AT ONE TIME AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO WE STILL HAVE SOME SOME RESTRICTIONS AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A LARGER UPDATE NEXT MONTH.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING THROUGH OUR SUMMER LEARNING AND FINALIZING OUR SUMMER LEARNING, PLANNING. AND SPECIFICALLY, WE ARE LOOKING TO OFFER VIRTUAL OPTIONS AS WELL AS IN-PERSON OPTIONS FOR OUR SUMMER LEARNING FOR ALL.
WE ARE ALSO FOCUSING ON STUDENTS ONCE AGAIN WHO ARE EXPERIENCING SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND ACADEMIC LEARNING NEEDS SO THAT WE'RE MAKING SURE WE'RE REALLY ADDRESSING SOME OF THE LEARNING LOSS THAT HAS OCCURRED OVER THE PAST YEAR.
SO WE'RE GOING TO SPECIFICALLY BE WORKING WITH THAT.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON MAKING SURE THAT THOSE STUDENTS ARE IN-PERSON FOR SUMMER AS WELL AS OUR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
WE'RE WORKING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE IN-PERSON LEARNING FOR FOR FOR THOSE PARTICULAR STUDENT NEEDS AS WELL.
WE HAVE JUST RECENTLY LAST WEEK, WE MET WITH OUR SCHOOL BOARD TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FALL. AND WE ARE PLANNING TO TO OFFER OUR FIVE DAYS OF.
OF COURSE, IN THE FALL, BUT WHAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH IS SOME ADDITIONAL ALTERNATIVE PLANNING ON HOW THAT WILL WORK IF WE ARE STILL UNDER ANY TYPE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES FOR THE FALL, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD TO PREDICT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
I MEAN, WE SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS THREE FEET SOCIAL DISTANCING COMPONENT, BUT THEN WE JUST GOT ON FRIDAY OR LAST WEEK THE GUIDELINES FOR GRADUATION.
THAT'S IN JUNE THAT SAYS SIX FEET, YOU KNOW, SO WE REALLY HAVE TO WORK THROUGH ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT GUIDELINES THAT WE ARE RECEIVING TO DETERMINE WHICH WHICH GUIDELINES ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BE FOLLOWING.
AND WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE HAVING MULTIPLE PLANS IN PLACE.
BUT WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LOT TO DO.
ONE PLAN, WE'RE DOING TWO OR THREE PLANS AND THEY MAY CHANGE IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, WHICH WE'RE DOING BECAUSE, I MEAN, THAT IS OUR JOB TO DO.
BUT WE ALSO DON'T WANT TO UNDERESTIMATE THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT IT TAKES TO GET THESE PLANS IN INTACT AND IN ORDER AS WELL AS CONTINUE TO OPERATE AND RUN OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR
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FACILITIES. BUT THAT'S PRETTY MUCH ALL THAT I HAVE AT THIS POINT IN REGARDS TO TO OUR UPDATE. I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT OUR STUDENTS COMING BACK AND WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS.I JUST WANT TO MAKE ONE MORE POINT.
MOROSI, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT OUR VACCINES AND WE ARE DOING A POLL OF OUR OUR STAFF EACH MONTH. SO OUR MARCH POLL WENT OUT TODAY IN REGARDS TO VACCINATIONS.
AND THIS IS SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE MOST RECENT AND MOST UP TO DATE VACCINATION STATUS FOR OUR STAFF MEMBERS.
WE DO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
SO OUR LAST POLL WAS DONE IN FEBRUARY.
SO WE WILL BE DOING OUR POLL THIS WEEK AND WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO REPORT THAT OUT AS WELL TO THE BOARD AT THE APRIL 8TH UPDATE.
THANK YOU, DR. HUTCHINGS, FOR THAT UPDATE, IF I CAN IF I CAN ASK SO.
WHEN YOU SAY YOU GUYS ARE DOING THAT, PLANNING NOW IS THE ASSUMPTION THAT THOSE ADDITIONAL KIDS WHO MAY WANT TO OPT IN TO A HYBRID, WOULD THAT BE WITH THOSE KIDS BE COMING BACK AFTER THE AFTER THE SPRING BREAK? IS THERE A TIMING ON THAT OR HOW ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THAT? BUT WE'LL BE REPORTING OUT TO THE TO THE BOARD AFTER SPRING BREAK, SO I'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TIMING AT THAT TIME.
SO AND THEN I GUESS THE SECOND QUESTION IS, IS, IS THE ASSUMPTION THAT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WILL REMAIN IN THE TWO DAY A WEEK HYBRID? OR IS THERE A POSSIBILITY, LIKE WE'VE SEEN IN SOME OF THE OTHER SCHOOL SYSTEMS, THAT WILL ADD MORE DAYS OF IN-PERSON AS WE GO WITH THE WITH THE CHANGING HEALTH GUIDANCE AND THINGS LIKE THAT? AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT THE TWO DAYS PER PER WEEK, BUT WE'RE STILL HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS.
I DON'T HAVE A FINAL PLAN OF TOTAL NOW BETWEEN NOW AND JUNE.
BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT THE TWO DAYS PER WEEK.
ALL RIGHT, OTHER QUESTIONS FOR DR.
HUTCHINGS, MR. MAYOR. MR. CHAPMAN, AIR TRAFFIC, QUICK QUESTION FOR DR.
HUTCHINGS. I KNOW IN SOME NEIGHBORING JURISDICTIONS AND YOU MENTIONED THIS KIND OF WITH CLASSROOM CAPACITY, SOME OTHER JURISDICTIONS HAVE BEEN USING MULTIPURPOSE SPACE INSTEAD OF CLASSROOMS. THEY UNFORTUNATELY HAD TO USE IT FOR STORAGE OF DEATH AND THINGS LIKE THAT BECAUSE OF THE SPACING AND THE EQUIPMENT.
IS THAT IS THAT AN ISSUE AT SOME OF OUR SCHOOL SITES AS WELL, WHERE WE'VE TRANSFORMED GYMS OR MULTIPURPOSE ROOMS INTO STORAGE ROOMS? NO, WE'RE ACTUALLY WE TRANSFORM THEM INTO CLASSROOMS. SO WE'RE ALREADY USING THOSE SPACES FOR A CLASS SPACE.
NOW WE'RE NOT USING THEM AS STORAGE ROOMS, ALL THOSE ADDITIONAL SPACES.
I THINK WHAT OUR OUR CHALLENGE IS, IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORING JURISDICTIONS. AS YOU KNOW, FROM THE CITY POINT OF VIEW, WE'RE OVERCROWDED IN OUR SCHOOLS. SO WE DON'T HAVE LIKE A NORMAL CLASS SIZE OR STUDENT ENROLLMENT SIZE PER BUILDING. AND THAT BRINGS US CHALLENGES IN OTHER SCHOOL DIVISIONS.
THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE HAVE OUR EXPANSION PROJECT THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. WE ARE ADDING THE BUILDINGS AND MAKING BUILDINGS LARGER.
ALL OF OUR BUILDINGS ARE OVER CAPACITY FOR THE MOST PART PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, AND THAT BRINGS THE ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES THAT WE ARE SEEING IN ACPS.
SO IT'S DIFFICULT AND THIS IS WHY IT'S HARD TO COMPARE ACPS AND REALLY ANY SCHOOL DIVISION TO EACH OTHER, BECAUSE EVERY SCHOOL DIVISION HAS DIFFERENT FACILITIES, CHALLENGES OR SPACE CHALLENGES OR STAFFING CHALLENGES THAT ARE UNIQUE FOR FOR THEIR FOR THEIR SCHOOL DIVISION.
BUT WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THAT.
WE'RE USING SOME OF THOSE PRETTY MUCH ALL THOSE SPACES.
NOW, EVEN WITH THE SIX FOOT DISTANCING WE HAD, WE HAD TO EXPAND IT A LITTLE FURTHER.
BUT ANOTHER. MR. CHAPMAN AND MISS ALDERTON, THANK YOU SO AS A FOLLOW UP TO THAT AND KIND OF TALKING ABOUT SPACE. IS THERE ANYTHING MORE AND MAYBE I MISSED THIS EARLIER START FROM MY LATENESS.
I KNOW LAST MONTH WE TALKED I THINK ONE OF YOUR STAFF MEMBERS KIND OF TALKED ABOUT AN UPDATE FOR GETTING OR LOOKING AT EXTRA SPACE.
IS THERE ANY UPDATE THIS MONTH ON THAT PIECE OF THIS WHOLE PUZZLE? YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THAT MR. JENKS IS GOING TO BE ABLE WE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE SOON.
BUT WHAT OUR TEAM HAS BEEN DOING ALREADY IS SHARING SOME OF THE THE SPACE NEEDS IN
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REGARDS TO LIKE SQUARE FOOTAGE AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.AND OUR TEAMS ARE LOOKING AND WORKING TOGETHER ON POTENTIAL SITES FOR THIS ADDITIONAL SPACE THAT IS NEEDED. AND I KNOW MR. JENCKES GOING TO YOU, YOU SAID, I KNOW THE TEAM IS WORKING ON IT.
IS THERE ANY KIND OF EXPECTED TIMEFRAME WHEN THAT'S GOING TO BE TURNED AROUND AND AVAILABLE? AT THIS POINT, WE DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC SPECIFIC REQUEST.
WE HAVE EXAMPLES OF SPACE AND PROGRAM, BUT NOT LIKE WE NEED HERE.
WE NEED IT THERE. SO IT SHOULDN'T TAKE TOO LONG TO AT LEAST IDENTIFY THE CITY SPACES THAT IF WE HAD TO KNOW THAT MEETS SCHOOL SPECIFICATIONS IF WE NEEDED TO VACATE.
SO, MR. JENCKES, YOU SAID A SPECIFIC REQUEST.
IS THAT SUPPOSED TO COME FROM ACPS? OH, YEAH, WE HAVE SPECIFIC REQUESTS WOULD COME FROM ACPS, SO AT THIS POINT THEY'RE NOT AT THE STAGE TO SAY THIS IS THIS IS THIS PART OF THE CITY, THIS PARTICULAR BUILDING, WE NEED TO MOVE OUT. WHETHER IT'S ASSAYER, WE NEED TO MOVE OUT COMPANYA AND MOVE THEM.
AND WHAT SPACE DO YOU HAVE? SO THAT'S WHAT I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE THERE IS A SPECIFIC REQUEST THAT IS A BASED ON A NEED. THE SCHOOL HAS RATHER ITS LIST OF POSSIBILITIES.
TRYING TO DISTRACT FROM MR. AND MRS. ROSS. I WANT TO PROVIDE SOME CLARITY AROUND THAT.
MR. JINX'S NOT THAT A REQUEST HAS BEEN MADE.
IT'S NOT A REQUEST THAT WE NEED THE SPACE TODAY.
BUT WE HAVE HAD CORRESPONDENCE IN REGARDS TO THE WEEK WHEN WE IF WE GET TO SITUATIONS WHERE WE HAVE MAJORITY OF OUR STUDENTS WANTING TO RETURN INTO OUR BUILDINGS AND WE STILL HAVE THOSE CDC GUIDELINES THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING.
BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW, BASED ON OUR WORK, I MEAN, BASED ON OUR NUMBERS CURRENTLY WE'RE NOT IN A SITUATION WHERE WE NEED THAT THAT ADDITIONAL SPACE.
WE ARE ALSO GOING TO BE NEXT MONTH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHAT ARE SOME OF OUR FAMILIES WHO WANT TO GO FROM THE VIRTUAL NOW TO HYBRID AND TRYING TO WORK THROUGH THOSE NUMBERS AS AS WILL EVERY EVERY FAMILY RIGHT NOW DOES NOT WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO COME BACK INTO OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
BUT WE DO KNOW IN THE FALL WE HOPE THAT THERE WILL BE A LOT MORE PEOPLE WHO DO WANT TO COME BACK INTO OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS, WHO WANT TO BE PREPARED SO THAT WE CAN DO THAT FIVE DAYS A WEEK AND NOT JUST ON A TWO DAY PER WEEK BASIS.
SO WE HAVE IDENTIFIED OVERALL BEEN A NUMBER OF KIND OF LIKE SOME POTENTIAL SQUARE FOOTAGE THAT WE MAY NEED, AS WELL AS HOW WE WANT TO CONTINUE OFFERING SOME OF THE SERVICES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR SCHOOLS, TOO, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THOSE CHILD CARE PROVIDERS ARE HELPING WITH THIS HYBRID APPROACH THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR FAMILIES, AS WELL AS FAMILIES WHO ARE NOT DOING THE HYBRID APPROACH.
IT'S AN EXTREME ASSET THAT WE NEED TO KEEP TO KEEP IN PLACE AND NOT CAUSE FURTHER COMPLICATIONS WHERE THE CHILD CARE PIECE IS BEEN IMPACTED.
AND THEN FAMILIES ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SCHOOLING BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE CHILD CARE NOW.
SO THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF LOGISTICS THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH.
BUT OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS MEET WITH ACPS ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
SO THERE IS WEEKLY MEETINGS WITH KIRK HUFFMAN, WHO IS OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS. BUT I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY, THERE'S NOT A REQUEST THAT WE NEED TO BUILD IN TODAY FOR FOR STUDENTS.
BUT THERE HAS BEEN INFORMATION SHARED WITH THE CITY IN REGARDS TO WHEN WE GET X NUMBER OF STAFF, OUR STUDENTS, BACK INTO OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS OF THIS IS THE KIND OF SPACING THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO ACCOMMODATE THAT ON A FIVE DAY PER WEEK TYPE THING.
AND WE'RE HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS NOW SO THAT WE DON'T WAIT UNTIL JUNE TO JUNE OR JULY OR AUGUST TO START WORKING THROUGH THAT, THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH OUR STRATEGY IN MARCH, APRIL SO THAT WE CAN BE PREPARED FOR THE FALL.
SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE THAT.
CAN I JUST SHOW YOU REAL QUICK AND FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
SO WHEN WE MEET AGAIN NEXT MONTH, CAN WE HAVE DEPENDING ON WHAT THE ALTERNATIVES ARE.
RIGHT. CAN WE HAVE A PRESENTATION, A JOINT PRESENTATION FROM THE TWO SIDES ON THOSE REQUIREMENTS? YEAH, IF THERE'S AND SHOW US SCENARIOS WHERE IF THERE IS A IF THERE IS A THREE FOOT CDC GUIDANCE REMAINING IN PLACE COME COME SEPTEMBER, THIS IS WHAT THOSE REQUIREMENTS LOOK LIKE AND THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE.
IF THERE IS SIX FOOT, SHOW US WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AND THEN IF THERE'S NOT NO FOOT, YOU KNOW, SHOW US WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
[00:30:02]
OBVIOUSLY, WE USE EXISTING FACILITIES.SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND WHAT KNOWS WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE AND WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE ON THE CITY SIDE SO THAT WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PRESENTATION OF THAT.
AND WE CAN AND WE CAN GET THAT OUT OF THE COMMUNITY IN THE APRIL MAY TIMEFRAME, NOT THE AUGUST TIMEFRAME. ABSOLUTELY.
SO WHAT THE BOARD JUST HAD THE CONVERSATION ABOUT.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AHEAD OF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, MR. MAYOR WILSON. BUT THE BOARD HAS HAD THIS CONVERSATION AT OUR LAST BOARD MEETING THAT IS SPECIFICALLY WE'LL BE DOING IN THE MONTH OF MARCH, IN THE MONTH OF APRIL.
THIS WAS ALREADY PLANNED OUT TO.
IT'S NOT BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ASKING US TO DO IT.
WE HAVE HAD OUR SPRINT'S PLANNED OUT BACK IN JANUARY IS WHEN WE ACTUALLY GAVE OUR TIMELINE ON WHEN WE WERE WORKING ON EACH OF THESE SPECIFIC AREAS.
AND SPECIFICALLY, WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IS WITH THREE FEET, WHAT IS THE AMOUNT OF SPACE WE NEED WITH SIX FEET? WHAT IS THE. OUTER SPACE, WE NEED WE KNOW WE ALREADY KNOW WHAT THE SPACE WE NEED WHEN WHEN WE DON'T HAVE ANY GUIDELINES BECAUSE WE OPEN SCHOOLS WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, HAVING ALL THESE GUIDELINES BEFORE.
SO THAT'S NOTHING. WE DON'T NEED A PLAYBOOK TO DO THAT.
SO THAT INFORMATION IS GOING TO BE SHARED WITH THE BOARD NEXT MONTH.
SO YOU WILL HAVE THAT INFORMATION, TOO.
WE CAN PROVIDE THE SAME UPDATE THAT WE'RE SHARING WITH THE BOARD AS A PART OF THIS WAS A PART OF OUR PLANNING FROM JANUARY.
SO WE HAVE JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL, MAY IS WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY PLANNED OUT AND HAS BEEN SHARED WITH THE BOARD SINCE JANUARY.
SO NEXT MONTH THEY WILL SEE THAT AND WE'LL JUST SHARE THAT INFORMATION.
BUT I WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT IT'S NOT JUST WHAT YOU GUYS ARE PRESENTING.
IT'S WHAT WHAT'S IT'S MELDED WITH WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THE CITY.
LIKE, I WANT TO I WANT TO HEAR THAT IN ORDER IN ORDER TO IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE THREE FEET FIVE DAYS A WEEK IN THE FALL, YOU KNOW, WE GOT TO CLEAR OUT CHARLES, A REC CENTER.
AND THIS IS WHAT THAT MEANS, ARE WE HAVE TO CLEAR OUT MANUALLY.
THIS IS WHAT THAT MEANS LIKE THAT.
THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO UNDERSTAND AS I WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE TRADE OFFS ON THE CITY SIDE AS WELL FOR FOR MAKING THAT HAPPEN.
NOT NOT JUST SIMPLY WHAT WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE ON YOUR SIDE.
SO I THINK IT'S A IT'S A JOINT PRESENTATION FROM FROM THE CITY AND SCHOOLS ABOUT THESE ARE THE REQUIREMENTS. THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE AND THIS IS THE GAP.
IF IF WE CAN'T ADDRESS ALL THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
MR. MAYOR. MR. CHAIRMAN. SO FIRST OF ALL, I SHOULD NOT LET YOU JUMP IN BECAUSE YOU JUST STOLE ALL THE THUNDER. BUT BUT I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT.
YOU'RE HITTING THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD.
AND YOU AND I MIGHT HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THIS ON.
LOVE TO TUNE IN FOR THAT AS WELL.
WE LOST YOU THERE FOR A MINUTE. CAN YOU START BACK? I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT. WE TRY TO.
I WAS JUST SAYING THAT IF POSSIBLE, ONCE ALL THIS PLANNING HAS BEEN DONE, IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE THIS TYPE OF UPDATE WITH A STAFF OF THE APPROPRIATE CITY STAFF COME TO A COUNCIL MEETING. AND I KNOW WHILE WE GIVE OUR UPDATE, MAYBE THEY CAN EXPOUND ON SOME OF THE PLANNING PROCESS AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY CAN EXPECT IN THE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
I THINK MY COLLEAGUES WOULD BE INTERESTED IN AND HEARING THAT IT'S NOT JUST FOR ME AND YOU, BUT FROM ACPS STAFF IN CASE THEY HAVE QUESTIONS.
I THINK THAT I WOULD ACTUALLY BE EXTREMELY BENEFICIAL FOR US TO BE INVITED TO A CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE AFTER WE PROVIDE AN UPDATE TO THE BOARD.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT. MR. JENCKES, WHERE YOU TRYING TO GET IN? SORRY, I WAS NOT.
NO, OK, MISS ALDERTON WAS NEXT.
HUTCHINGS THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL, AS WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, INITIATIVES FOR NOW, IF IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE.
IDEA IN THE PROSPECT OF THE SEAL SUPPORT MON'S, IS ADDITIONAL IN-PERSON OPPORTUNITIES FOR KIDS AT THE MOMENT. YES, WE HAVE BEEN SO ARE WE ARE PLANNING TO BEGIN OUR SEAL MONDAYS, WHICH SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, ACADEMIC LEARNING MONDAYS, THESE ARE IN-PERSON OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS THAT ARE EXPERIENCING SIGNIFICANT SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND ACADEMIC LEARNING NEEDS AT THIS TIME. SO THIS IS OUR WAY.
WE'RE ALREADY PROVIDING VIRTUAL SUPPORTS TO OUR STUDENTS.
BUT THIS IS KIND OF AN ADDITIONAL LAYER FOR FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE STILL HAVING SOME, YOU KNOW, SOME NEEDS IN PARTICULAR AREAS AND THAT IT'S GOING TO BEGIN IN APRIL AS WELL.
SO ESSENTIALLY FOR FOR SOME OF THOSE KIDS WHO ARE IN THOSE CATEGORIES, THEY'LL BE AT A THREE DAY A WEEK TEMPO, BASICALLY.
YES, SOME SOME COULD POTENTIALLY BE IN A THREE DAY PER WEEK SCENARIO, YES, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME FAMILIES THAT ARE STILL OPTING TO KEEP THE VIRTUAL SUPPORTS THAT ARE IN PLACE.
SO FAMILIES, WE'RE NOT FORCING THEIR CHILDREN TO HAVE TO COME ON MONDAY IN PERSON, AND
[00:35:02]
THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN GET THEIR SERVICE.WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE STILL OFFERING THAT VIRTUAL SUPPORT THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE BEEN GETTING, THAT THEY'RE GETTING THAT OPTION TO BECAUSE WE ARE HAVING RIGHT NOW, I MEAN, WE ARE SEEING THAT MANY OF OUR OUR FAMILIES WHO ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR ARE NOT OPTING TO SEND THEIR STUDENTS BACK.
WE HAVE SOME SITUATIONS OF OUR LOW INCOME FAMILIES THAT ARE NOT WILLING TO SEND THEIR STUDENTS BACK. WE HAVE NOT HOLD TO ASK SPECIFICALLY WHY THEY'RE NOT SENDING THEIR KIDS BACK AT THIS TIME.
BUT SOME OF THE ANECDOTAL DATA THAT I KNOW I'VE HEARD MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM HAVE HEARD AND I'VE HEARD FROM SOME OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS AS THEY SPEAK WITH CONSTITUENTS IS, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR FAMILIES ARE JUST THEY THEY DON'T TRUST AND THESE ARE JUST THEIR WORDS.
SOME LORBER. NO SPEAKING FOR ALL FAMILIES OF COLOR, I'M JUST SPEAKING FOR SOME FAMILIES THAT I'VE SPOKEN TO THAT THEY DON'T TRUST THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS REALLY GOING TO DO THINGS IN THEIR BEST INTERESTS FOR WHATEVER REASON.
RIGHT. THAT MANY FAMILIES THAT I HAVE SPOKEN WITH HAVE SAID, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE. SO IF THEY GO IF SOMEBODY TESTS POSITIVE OR SOMEBODY GETS SICK, THEN THAT BECOMES A FINANCIAL BURDEN AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO GET THE SAME TREATMENT IF THEY GO TO THE HOSPITAL OR IF THEY GO TO THEIR DOCTORS OFFICES.
SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF REASONS WHY FAMILIES ARE OPTING OUT TO SEND THEIR KIDS IN AND INTO OUR BUILDINGS.
AND MANY OF THEM ALSO BEEN IMPACTED BY BY COVID.
AND THEY'VE HAD A LOT OF DEATHS, DEATHS IN THEIR FAMILIES.
AND THEY ARE CONCERNED ABOUT IT, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S SOME RESEARCH OUT THERE THAT SAYS STUDENTS ARE NOT SPREADERS, WE HAVE HAD STUDENTS TEST POSITIVE.
SO IT'S NOT THAT STUDENTS CAN'T TEST POSITIVE.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD FOR US TO SAY WE CAN GUARANTEE THAT BECAUSE NO ONE CAN MAKE ANY GUARANTEES. SO WE ALWAYS INFORM PEOPLE YOU HAVE TO MAKE WHATEVER THE BEST DECISION IS FOR YOUR FAMILY. BUT THESE ARE SOME OF THE REASONS WHY SOME OF OUR FAMILIES ARE JUST SAYING THEY'RE JUST NOT READY TO SEND THEIR KIDS BACK IN.
SO I SAID ALL THAT TO SAY WE'RE OFFERING VIRTUAL OPTIONS AS WELL BECAUSE EVERYBODY IS NOT READY TO SEND THEIR KIDS BACK INTO OUR SCHOOLS.
ANYTHING ELSE FROM YOU? NO, THANK YOU. OK, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR EITHER DR.
HUTCHINGS OR MR. JINKS ON COVID COVID RESPONSE RETURNED TO SCHOOL, ETC..
MR. MAYOR, YOU KNOW, QUICK QUESTION, SOMETHING MR. HUTCHINGS SAID KIND OF SPARKED SOMETHING, MR. HUTCHINGS OR MISS ALDERTON WITH ANY OF THE ANY OF THAT KIND OF SITUATIONS THAT DR.
HUTCHINGS DESCRIBED WHERE A FAMILY OR CHILD DOESN'T HAVE THE HEALTH SUPPORTS THAT MIGHT BE NEEDED. IS THERE ANY KIND OF DISCUSSION WITH OUR OUR FOLKS TO, YOU KNOW, HUMAN SERVICES TO TRY TO GET THEM KIND OF THOSE SUPPORTS? IS THERE ANY WAY THAT WE CAN KIND OF SUPPORT SOME OF THOSE FAMILIES HAVING SOME OF THOSE KIND OF HEALTH ACCESS ISSUES? YES. SO WE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE OUR HELPLINE, WHICH OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM HAD UP AND RUNNING BACK IN SEPTEMBER, AND WE'RE ABLE TO REFER OUR FAMILIES AND GET THEM IN CONTACT WITH POLICE. AND THAT IS REALLY THE AVENUE THAT WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN FAMILIES HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT APPROPRIATE ACPS OR ARE WE FEEL, YOU KNOW, GUIDELINES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, WE PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO THEM AS WELL.
WE DO THIS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES, WHICH I THINK IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, WE SERVE OUR POPULATION AND I DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH AS A FIRST LANGUAGE.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING THE APPROPRIATE TRANSLATION SERVICES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. WE'RE DOING THAT.
BUT YES, WE ARE REFERRING THEM TO AND CONNECTING THEM WITH THE CITY SERVICES THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE. OK, GREAT.
OTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE HERE.
ALL RIGHT. THAT BRINGS US ALONG TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MEETING SUMMARY FROM FEBRUARY.
[III. Approval of February 22, 2021 Meeting Summary]
TWENTY SECOND. IS THERE IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THAT MEETING SOMEWHERE? I HAVE TO ABSTAIN FROM ALL RIGHT, SO I HAVE A MOTION FOR MR. CHAPMAN, SECONDED BY NOLAN.IS THAT RIGHT? ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF PLACING MY SAYING? I I'M SAYING WE HAVE THE ABSTENTION HERE AND.
ALL RIGHT. THAT BRINGS US TO SORRY I LOST MY AGENDA HERE.
THAT BRINGS US TO MAJOR PROJECT UPDATES.
[IV. Major Projects]
WE'RE GOING TO START WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT.[00:40:03]
IS THIS GOING TO DR.HART WHO'S WHO'S GOING HERE OR IS IT GOING TO GO LIKE MY SCHOOL YEAR ON? HI, EVERYBODY, GOOD EVENING, ERICA GILLICK, DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL PROGRAMS, PLANNING AND DESIGN WITH ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
SO ON THE HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION GOING ON LATELY.
JUST THIS MONTH, OUR SCHOOL BOARD APPROVED OUR ED STOCK, WHICH THEN LED US INTO CONCEPT DESIGN. WE HAVE THREE CONCEPTS THAT HAVE BEEN CIRCULATING, INCLUDING IN A COMMUNITY MEETING LAST WEEK. WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER COMMUNITY MEETING THIS THURSDAY.
WE'VE WE'VE HAD A LOT OF INTERNAL MEETINGS WITH CITY STAFF, AS WELL AS OUR OWN SCHOOL TEAM AND STAFF AND THE SUPERINTENDENTS ADVISORY TEAM AS WELL.
SO WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER SUPERINTENDENTS ADVISORY TEAM MEETING AND COMMUNITY MEETING ON THURSDAY. THE SCHOOL BOARD IS SET TO VOTE ON A CONCEPT TO CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THE DESIGN ON APRIL 8TH, WHEN WE RETURN FROM SPRING BREAK.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE IN WITH THAT RIGHT NOW.
WE ARE DISCUSSING IT ALONG WITH THE CITY STAFF, IN PARTICULAR THE NEW I DON'T KNOW HIS TITLE, BUT THE NEW P THREE PERSON, JULIAN, WHO HAS BEEN HIRED AND STARTING TO WORK WITH HIM ON POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER THE AQUATICS FACILITY AS THAT NOT IS NOT CURRENTLY IN EITHER OF OUR BUDGETS.
AND SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THROUGH THAT, AS WELL AS SOME OTHER OTHER CITIES CURRENTLY EVALUATING THEIR PRIORITIES FOR OTHER CO-LOCATED SPACES.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT.
AND THEN IT'LL BE FULL STEAM AHEAD THROUGH DESIGN, ANTICIPATING THAT THE DESIGN WILL COME TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THE DCP APPROVAL SOMETIME EARLY NEXT CALENDAR YEAR IS WHAT WE'RE TARGETING. SO IT'S A LOT OF WORK BETWEEN NOW AND NOW AND THEN, BUT WE ARE EXCITED AND THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE. THAT'S GREAT NEWS.
SO COMING FOR ENTITLEMENT EARLY NEXT YEAR AND THEN WITH AN IDEA THAT CONSTRUCTION BEGINS A YEAR AFTER WE'RE LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER, WHAT DO YOU THINK? AND NO, WE WE WOULD HOPE IDEALLY WITHIN SIX MONTHS AFTER THAT WITH A SIMILAR KIND OF PHASE CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE.
SO WE'LL DO A FOUNDATION GRADE AND THEN GO FOR FULL CONSTRUCTION, ALL TARGETING THAT SEPTEMBER. TWENTY TWENTY FOUR OPENING.
OK, ALL RIGHT. MR. GENTRY LIKE IT WAS RIGHT.
MAYBE I'M MISSING SOMETHING, BUT I THOUGHT A JOINT MEETING, I THOUGHT THE KIND OF IDEA OF THE POOL WAS BOUGHT UP AND PUT TO THE SIDE.
I KNOW THE CITY MANAGER URGED CAUTION IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURES.
AND I DON'T REMEMBER KIND OF COUNSEL HAVING ANY TYPE OF DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD KIND OF COST US TO TRY ASSUMING OPERATE THAT FACILITY OR PARTIALLY OPERATED.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT'S GOING TO WORK.
AND SO CAN SOMEBODY KIND OF CLUE ME IN TO THE DISCUSSION THERE AND KIND OF BRING YOU UP TO SPEED? I'LL JUMP IN IN REGARDS TO THAT, SINCE I WAS KIND OF BROUGHT UP THE ISSUE OF AFFORDABILITY AND THAT IS IS COUNCILMAN THOSE IN THE SKY OR THOSE ARCHETYPES TYPE THERE, THINGS WE WANT TO DO.
AND A SWIMMING POOL IS SOMETHING THAT WE GOOD TO HAVE BUT NOT NECESSARY TO HAVE.
I THINK THE POINT WAS WE DON'T HAVE 15 MILLION DOLLARS OF CITY MONEY OR SCHOOL MONEY TO INCREASE THE PET PROJECT BY A SWIMMING POOL.
THAT SAID, EXPLORING THREE OPPORTUNITIES IS WORTH IT.
WORTHWHILE TO SEE IF THERE IS AN OPERATOR WHO IS OUT THERE WHO WOULD FUND THE CAPITAL AND THE OPERATING. I'M A LITTLE SKEPTICAL THAT THIS ONE WOULD WORK BECAUSE IT'S NOT STANDALONE. IT'S PART OF A BUILDING, BUT SET ASIDE THAT SKEPTICISM AND HAVE OUR THREE PERSON WORK WITH US WITH THE SCHOOLS TO EXPLORE.
IS THAT A FEASIBLE IDEA OR NOT? ANYBODY, ANYBODY FROM THE SCHOOLS WANT TO COME IN TO WHERE YOU GUYS ARE, THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS. OUR NUMBER IS GENTRY, SO THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WAS PUT OFF TO THE SIDE THAT I GUESS I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S WHAT I'M HEARING.
WE WERE SPECIFICALLY HAVING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT IF WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A POOL OPTION, THAT IT WOULD BE SOMETHING DONE THROUGH A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE IS THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD SPECIFICALLY WITH THE BOARD, THE SCHOOL THAT I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY THING IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU KNOW, THE THE SCHOOL BOARD, THE SCHOOL BOARD'S DECISION ON THAT.
I'LL JUST CLARIFY THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD'S DECISION ON THE CONCEPT WILL NOT NECESSARILY
[00:45:03]
NOT NECESSARILY SOLIDIFY WHETHER THERE WILL BE A POOL OR NOT.THAT'LL JUST KIND OF SET THE BUILDING CONFIGURATION AND FORM.
AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THE P THREE OPPORTUNITY TO FINANCE AND POTENTIALLY OPERATE AND MAINTAIN A FUTURE POOL FACILITY, KNOWING THAT IT'S SOMETHING WE WOULD ALL REALLY LIKE TO SEE, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR STUDENT ATHLETES, BUT ALSO THE COMMUNITY AND EVEN YOUNG SWIMMERS.
AND SO IT IS KIND OF OUR OUR LAST RESORT EFFORT TO SEE IF IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN INCLUDE AS PART OF THE PROJECT. BUT THE PROJECT WILL PROCEED KIND OF AS PLANNED WITH OR WITHOUT THE POOL. AND THE SCHOOL AGAIN, DOES THAT WHEN DOES THAT DECISION HAVE TO BE MADE IN TERMS OF THE CURRENT SCHEDULE THAT YOU HAVE AS IT RELATES TO STARTING CONSTRUCTION? BUILDING IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE A STAR, RIGHT? SO THE WAY ALL THE CONCEPTS ARE CONFIGURED RIGHT NOW, THE POOL IS BASICALLY BELOW THE GYMNASIUM. SO IN THE EVENT THAT IT'S SIX MONTHS FROM NOW BEFORE IT COMES TO A HEARING FOR YOU ALL, WE TAKE OUT THE POOL.
IT'S NOT A SIGNIFICANT DESIGN CHANGE THAT WOULD CAUSE SUCH A CHANGE IN THE IN THE SCHEDULE FOR US.
SO I WOULD SAY WE PROBABLY HAVE THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS POTENTIALLY INTO EARLY FALL, LATE SUMMER TO MAKE THAT DECISION, DETERMINE IF THERE ARE ANY OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE.
OK, THANK YOU. OK, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON HIGH SCHOOL? ALL RIGHT, LET'S MOVE TO THE FACILITY UPDATES OR THE FACILITY, THE FACILITY ASSESSMENTS AND SEE PEOPLE IN. HELLO, CATHERINE CALLAWAY WITH PARTNER PLANNING AND ZONING, SO I DON'T REALLY HAVE MUCH OF AN UPDATE FOLLOWING LAST MONTH'S UPDATE, I THINK I TOLD YOU I THINK LAST MONTH WE WERE JUST GETTING READY TO HAVE OUR COMMUNITY MEETING, WHICH WE DID HAVE.
THAT WENT WELL. WE RECAPPED WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS AND INTRODUCED SOME ROADMAP THEMES AND ARE NOW WORKING IN DEVELOPMENT OF OUR DRAFT PLAN.
WE ANTICIPATE FINALIZING THAT DRAFT END OF MAY, BUT HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU ALL WITH SOME DRAFT ELEMENTS OF THAT BEFORE THEN.
THAT'S ABOUT ALL I HAVE, UNLESS YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, MISS CARAWAY, FOR THE UPDATE.
NEXT UPDATE IS A JOINT CAPITAL PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION.
IS THIS. WHO'S THIS? I THINK THAT WAS KIND OF ME.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT WAS ALL PART OF THIS WHOLE TOGETHER HELD TOGETHER.
THANK YOU. LET'S GO NOW TO EARLY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND WE HAVE AN UPDATE ON OUT OF SCHOOL TIME. AS WELL.
MUGABE AND YOU HAVE A PRESENTATION.
CAN NOT HEAR YOU, MUSCOVY, IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT, SORRY, I'M KAGARI, I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HUMAN SERVICES, AND I MAY HAVE OTHER PARTNERS WHO MIGHT JUMP IN ON THIS PRESENTATION, BUT JUST WANTED TO TALK ABOUT JUST TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON WITHIN SMART BEGINNINGS.
ALEXANDRIA ONE IS AN EXCITING PIECE, SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR A LONG TIME, IS LOOKING AT A DATA SYSTEM AND DATA SHARING AGREEMENTS.
AND WE HAVE CONTRACTED WITH A CONSULTANT TO SUPPORT THIS WORK TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE THE INDICATORS WE'RE TRYING TO FOCUS ON, WHAT'S THE AVAILABLE DATA, HOW DO WE GOVERN REALLY THINKING THROUGH THE LEADERSHIP RELATED TO GOVERNANCE POLICY AND THEN CREATE THE CREATION OF A DASHBOARD.
SO HOPING THAT WE WILL HAVE A PLAN READY TO PUT FORWARD IDENTIFYING THE RESOURCES THAT ARE NEEDED BY JULY 30 FIRST AND THE OTHER JUST I DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH THE ENTIRE THING. YOU WILL GET A COPY OF THIS.
I APOLOGIZE. YOU DON'T HAVE IT ALREADY.
BUT WE CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON FINANCING AND WE HAVE WITHIN THE BUDGET A PROJECT THAT DOES DEMONSTRATE A DIFFERENT WAYS OF FUNDING EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES.
I'M THINKING THROUGH HOW DO WE RESPOND EFFECTIVELY TO PROVIDERS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE WEEPIES SERVICES AS WELL AS OTHER CHILD CARE? NEXT, WE ARE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IS AND I DON'T KNOW IF JANE WANTS TO JUMP IN, BUT HOSTING INFORMATION SESSIONS THROUGH ZOOME RELATED TO REGISTRATION.
SO JUST WITH, AS YOU KNOW, PIVOTING IN ALL CASES, TRYING TO BE RESPONSIVE AND ACCESSIBLE TO ALL FAMILIES.
ONE THING I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS THE BASICS.
THIS IS WAS LAUNCHED FEBRUARY 1ST AND THIS IS A NATIONAL APPROACH.
IT'S A SCIENCE BASED PARENTING, EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH TOOL THAT'S USED VERY WONDERFUL
[00:50:01]
MATERIALS, REALLY TRYING TO SUPPORT FAMILIES AS THEY ARE THEIR THEIR CHILDREN'S FIRST CAREGIVER AND REALLY PROVIDING MATERIALS THAT SUPPORT THEIR INTERVENTION AND THEIR SUPPORT OF THEIR CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT.AND WE CAN SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF THE MATERIALS THAT ARE AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY ARE THEY TRULY ARE LOVELY.
AND THEN ALSO IN OUR TARGET TO INCREASE QUALITY, WE HAVE NINE NEW PROGRAMS THAT JOIN THE VIRGINIA QUALITY INITIATIVE.
AND SO WE'RE, AGAIN, REALLY SEEING THE RESPONSIVENESS OF THE CHILD CARE COMMUNITY TO ADVANCE EQUALITY.
AND I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S ANYBODY FROM THE TEAM, SMART BEGINNING'S TEAM WHO'D LIKE TO CORRECT ANYTHING I'VE SAID OR ADD TO ANYTHING.
WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO CORRECT IT, BUT THEY MAY WANT TO ADD ANYTHING MISCA YOU SAID.
ALL RIGHT, THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MOSCATI? ALL RIGHT, MR. CHAIRMAN, QUICK QUICK QUESTION FOR MOSCATI.
I LOVE THIS LOOKING AT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY TALK IN KIND OF THE EARLY CHILDHOOD SPACE AROUND THE EFFECTS THAT THIS LAST YEAR IS GOING TO HAVE ON ON SOME OF THESE ZERO TO THREE FOLKS? OBVIOUSLY, THAT'S FOLKS MIGHT KNOW.
I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF BIAS NOW IN THIS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A QUESTION THAT MY WIFE AND I ALWAYS KIND OF ASK EACH OTHER EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS. WHAT'S WHAT'S THE EFFECT ON SOME OF THESE YOUNGER PEOPLE GOING TO BE? AND HOW ARE WE, AS LOCAL GOVERNMENT PARTNERS, GOING TO KIND OF REACT TO THE.
YEAH, THAT'S DEFINITELY A POINT OF CONCERN AND WITHIN THE CHILD CARE COMMUNITY, REALLY TRYING TO BECAUSE THEY'VE WORKED AS HARD AS THEY COULD TO STAY OPEN, REALLY TRYING TO SUPPORT FAMILIES, BECAUSE NOT JUST SEEING AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT LEARNING LOSS, BUT ALSO THE IMPACT OF STRESS ON THE FAMILY, PARTICULARLY FOR YOUNG CHILDREN.
SO HOW CAN WE SUPPORT FAMILIES AND CONVERSATIONS TO ACROSS SMART BEGINNINGS AND OTHER OTHER SORT OF CONFIGURATIONS OF SUPPORT? OR HOW DO WE RESPOND IN A MORE COMPREHENSIVE WAY SO THAT WE'RE BRINGING DOWN THE STRESS THAT FAMILIES HAVE RELATED TO FINANCIAL EMPLOYMENT AND FOOD ISSUES? AND THEN ALSO, HOW ARE WE SUPPORTING FAMILIES TO SEE WHAT ARE THE INDICATORS OF THEIR CHILD DEMONSTRATING THAT THEY'RE RESPONDING TO THAT STRESS OR THEY HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE LEVEL OF ATTENTION AT THAT TIME.
SO TRYING TO OPERATE IN A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS.
I THINK THE BASICS IS A IS A LOVELY APPROACH TO WHERE YOU CAN WHERE PARENTS CAN IN MANAGEABLE WAYS BE ACTIVATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR CHILDREN, TOO.
SO I THINK IT'S IN ALL AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT AND THE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL APPROACHES WITH FAMILIES. BUT IT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
COULD I SAY WE HAVE METRICS OR MEASUREMENTS RELATED TO THAT AT THIS POINT NOW, BUT ARE WE LOOKING AT THE INTERVENTIONS THAT WE THINK REALLY ARE GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL TO TO ENSURE AND PROTECT? I THINK WE'RE WORKING ON THOSE WITH A LOT OF KEY PARTNERS.
AND I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THIS, BUT I FOUND OUT A LOT IN THE LAST YEAR ABOUT FOLKS WHO HAVE, I GUESS, ALTERNATIVE CHILD CARE SETUPS LIKE NANNY SHARES AND ONE ON ONE NANNIES.
HOW DO FOLKS LIKE THAT GET SOME OF THESE KIND OF DOCUMENTS OR INFORMATION? YEAH, WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO DO A LOT WITH SOCIAL MEDIA TO GET THIS INFORMATION OUT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WITH A BRIMLESS FOUNDATION AND WITH ACT AND OTHERS REALLY TRYING TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT HOW WE'RE REACHING OUT BROADLY AND GETTING TO PLUG INTO WHERE WHERE WE BELIEVE FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN ARE PAYING ATTENTION AND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT. SO THAT'S A KEY PIECE OF IT, TOO.
SO THEY SHOULD THIS SHOULD BE A UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION OF THIS INFORMATION.
AND WE'RE JUST BUILDING UP THAT DISTRIBUTION.
I DON'T KNOW IF MICHELLE HOWARD IS ON IT BECAUSE SHE WOULD BE ABLE TO SPEAK MUCH MORE AUTHORITATIVELY THAN I CAN ON EXACTLY ALL THE EFFORTS THAT SHE'S BEEN PUTTING FORTH.
I'M USING KATE'S LINK. SO MICHELLE, SMART POWER WITH SMART BEGINNINGS, ALEXANDRIA AND KATE MENTIONED. WE ARE DEFINITELY DOING A LOT OF PUSHING OUT, UNFORTUNATELY.
BUT OF COURSE, THE WORK OUT, THE EARLY CAREER EDUCATION EVOLVED FROM WHAT USED TO BE THE EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION WORK GROUP.
AND ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS WHY WE CAME UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF SMALL BEGINNINGS AND REALLY BRANDED OURSELVES AS SMART BEGINNINGS.
ALEXANDRIA IS WE WANTED TO BE SEEN AS A RESOURCE IN THE COMMUNITY AND NOT JUST A GROUP THAT WAS BUILDING THE SYSTEM BEHIND THE SCENES.
AND SO OUR TIMING WITH PUSHING SMART BEGINNING'S ALEXANDRIA OUT THAT OUT THERE, REALLY,
[00:55:06]
UNFORTUNATELY FOR US, COINCIDED WITH THE HIT OF THE PANDEMIC.AND SO THAT'S HOW WE REALLY BEEN RELYING ON OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
AND SO WE'RE ALSO ASKING YOU AS LEADERSHIP OF THE CITY TO HELP PUSH SMART BEGINNING'S OUT THERE. WE REALLY WANT TO BE SEEN AS THE RESOURCE FOR FAMILIES.
AND SO WE REPRESENT THE COLLECTIVE VOICE OF THE EARLY EDUCATION COMMUNITY IN ALEXANDRIA.
AND SO WE'RE NOT JUST BUILDING THE SYSTEM, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TONS OF RESOURCES THAT WE CAN SHARE. AND SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE OUR WEBSITE, SB ALEXANDRIA THAT.
WE HAVE INFORMATION THERE TO CONNECT THEM WITH OTHER PARTNERS AND BE A RESOURCE IN ONE PIECE. ALWAYS WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS THAT WE ARE NOT A DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDER.
WE ARE HERE TO CONNECT FAMILIES WITH OUR PARTNERS.
AND SO TO YOUR QUESTION, YES, THOSE RESOURCES ARE THERE.
AND THEN IF THERE ARE WE, WE WANT THE FEEDBACK.
SO IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE NOT THERE THAT WE FIND THAT FAMILIES NEED OR WANT, THEN WE NEED THAT FEEDBACK SO THAT WE CAN BE CERTAIN WE ARE ABLE TO PUSH THAT OUT FOR FAMILIES. PERFECT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. IT'S OUR SOCIAL MEDIA, TOO, WE'RE ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, ONLINE, SO WE'RE TRYING TO GO WHERE OUR FAMILIES ARE GETTING THAT INFORMATION.
SO IF YOU CAN HELP US GET THAT NAME OUT THERE, WE WOULD APPRECIATE IT.
OK, THANK YOU. AND AS WE KIND OF SLOWLY ROLL OUT OF THIS MOMENT, WHAT WHAT HAS THE PANDEMIC DONE TO SOME OF OUR EARLIER CAPACITY, BOTH PRIVATE AND NONPROFIT PARTNERS? WHAT ARE WE WHAT ARE WE SEEING THERE? AND I GUESS GIVE ME GIVE ME SOME GENERALIZATIONS AND THEN WE CAN DRILL DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
WE HAVE SEEN IN SOME THE CAPACITY RELATED TO SOCIAL DISTANCING AND REALLY DID IMPACT SOME PROVIDERS. SO REALLY HAD THE SETUP HAD TO SHIFT AND SO THEY WERE UNABLE TO HAVE AS MANY SO MANY CHILDREN AS THEY WOULD NORMALLY.
WE HAVE AND I NEED TO GET A COUNT FOR YOU BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE IT RIGHT NOW UNLESS ROBYN CAN SLIP IT TO ME.
HOW MANY PROVIDERS WE DID LOSE DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME? IT'S FEWER THAN WHAT WE EXPECTED.
AND I THINK A KEY PART HAS BEEN THE SUPPORT, THE CARE SPENDING AND THE SUPPORT OF THE CITY TRYING TO GET AND THEN ALSO THE SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS THAT CAME OUT TO RIGHT IN THE NICK OF TIME, BECAUSE THAT WOULD GIVE A LOT OF THEM WERE FACING REALLY SORT OF FRIGHTENING SITUATIONS.
AND SO THIS IS THE FAMILY CHILD CARE HOMES AND THE CENTER BASED.
WE DID SEE THEM ABLE TO BE SUSTAINED, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT FOR SOME THEY WERE NOT.
BUT I THINK IT'S A FEWER A SMALLER PROPORTION THAN SOME COMMUNITIES, ROBIDAS OR ANYTHING, AGAIN, THAT YOU WANT TO CORRECT OR ADD TO THAT.
NO CORRECTIONS, BUT WE LOST FEWER THAN 10 PROVIDERS AND NOT ALL OF THOSE PROVIDERS WERE LOST TO TWO CHILD RELATED ISSUES.
SOME OF THEM WERE LOST TO KOVIK RELATED ISSUES OF THEIR OWN HEALTH.
SO BUT MOST OF OUR PROVIDERS IN ALEXANDRIA REMAINED OPEN THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC AND HAVE CONTINUED TO DO SO, MAKING ALL KINDS OF CONCESSIONS TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT FAMILIES WHO COULD NOT CONTINUE TO PAY.
SO IT STRIKES ME IS AS WE AS WE GET INTO THIS PHASE WHERE WE'RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF FOLKS RETURNING TO WORKPLACES AND IN THE POTENTIALLY RETURNING TO EARLY ED PROVIDERS THAT WERE THEY WERE NOT UTILIZING DURING THE PANDEMIC, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT PRESENTS SOME CHALLENGES, BUT ALSO SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR US.
YOU KNOW, I KNOW PREVIOUSLY WE'VE STRUGGLED IN FINDING PRIVATE SPOTS FOR FOR FAMILIES WITH WITH SUBSIDIES THAT WE PROVIDE.
AND SO POTENTIALLY, AT LEAST IN THE SHORT TERM, YOU HAVE SOME CAPACITY AVAILABLE.
AND POTENTIALLY WE CAN HELP PRIORITIZE SOME OF OUR SOME OF OUR FAMILIES AS THEY COME BACK. I GUESS I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HAVING A CONVERSATION AT SOME POINT ABOUT HOW WE BOTH FROM A FUNDING PERSPECTIVE POTENTIALLY, BUT ALSO JUST FROM KIND OF ORGANIZATIONAL LOGISTICS SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE.
WE HELP WE HELP PRIORITIZE THOSE FAMILIES AS WE COME BACK OUT OF THIS, BECAUSE IT DOES SEEM LIKE WE DO HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITIES THERE THAT I'M HOPING WE CAN SEIZE.
SO MAYBE I'M WRONG ABOUT THAT, BUT I'D BE INTERESTED IN THAT CONVERSATION AT LEAST.
ABSOLUTELY. AND WITH THE RESCUE, THE ARE THERE'S A LOT OF SUPPORT THAT'S BEING PROVIDED SINCE I THINK IT'S A TIME WHERE WE CAN REALLY SEE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AND MAXIMIZING
[01:00:06]
WHAT'S COMING IN FROM THE FEDERAL FUNDING.SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT, HOW WE MAKE SURE THAT THOSE WHO HAVE THE GREATEST NEED ARE GETTING THE ATTENTION ARE IN THE SETTINGS THEY'RE MOST APPROPRIATE FOR THEM. AND I REITERATE, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, AS WE TALKED ABOUT LAST TIME, THE COUNCIL TALKED ABOUT THE RECOVERY PLAN AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT TOMORROW NIGHT.
BUT THE RESCUE PLAN, I ALWAYS WANT TO CHANGE THE NAME OF IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE BUILD SOME SOME CAPACITY TO AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, IN ADDITION TO JUST PROVIDING THE SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES, WE MAKE SURE WE HAVE CAPACITY.
WE BUILD CAPACITY USING THOSE FUNDS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES FOR A GENERATION AS OPPOSED TO JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS.
ANY OF THE TEAM HERE? ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST IN AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE ON THIS AS WE GO FORWARD.
ALL RIGHT. YOU GUYS WANT TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OUT OF SCHOOL AS WELL.
OR THAT THAT WAS JUST ON THE AGENDA FROM AS A KNIFE? IT IS, I THINK, MARGARET AND MR. SPANGLER, MR. SPANGLER AND MARGARET AND CERTAINLY AND MR. MAYOR, THIS IS JIM SPANGLER, DIRECTOR OF RECREATION PARKS AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES.
WE DON'T HAVE A FORMAL UPDATE IN THE NEAR TERM.
WE CONTINUE WITH USE OF REC CENTERS TO SUPPORT THE SCHOOL'S VIRTUAL PLUS PROGRAM.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE CONTINUE TO USE SPACE FOR THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT CONTACT TRACERS.
WE HAVE SPACE FOR OVERNIGHT SHELTER.
AND OUR LIMITATION IS BASICALLY THE GOVERNOR'S SPACE AND GATHERING GUIDELINES.
WE DID HEAR RECENTLY THAT THE COURT SYSTEM HAS DECIDED NOT TO USE THE LEAST CENTER.
SO THAT SPACE THAT WE WON'T BE LOSING TO THAT TO THAT USE ALL OF OUR SUMMER INFORMATION GOES LIVE WEDNESDAY AND WE'LL HAVE CAPACITY FOR APPROXIMATELY HUNDRED AND THIRTY STUDENTS IN THE SUMMER OUT OF SCHOOL TIME PROGRAM, WHICH IS STILL PROBABLY 30 PERCENT OF WHAT WE NORMALLY DO IN A NON COVID SUMMER SITUATION.
AND THEN AS YOU HEARD EARLIER IN THE MEETING FOR THE FALL, WE'RE STILL WAITING TO SEE WHAT CONFIGURATIONS ACPS WILL HAVE IN TERMS OF CLASSROOM AND ADDITIONAL SPACE NEED BEFORE WE FULLY PLAN WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE FALL.
BUT WE WOULD ANTICIPATE OFFERING ADDITIONAL TIME IN THE FALL BASED ON WHATEVER GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS THERE ARE IN.
MARGARET, YOU MIGHT WANT TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE FIRST MEETING TODAY OF THE COMMITTEE THAT'S WORKING ON PARTLY WORKING ON OUR SCHOOL TIME.
WELL, HI, MARGARET ORLANDO WITH THE RECREATION AND PARKS.
YEAH, THERE IS A STEERING COMMITTEE.
THERE WAS A POSITION THAT IS BEING FUNDED BY MOORE'S FOUNDATION FOR A NETWORK MANAGER FOR YOUTH, AND THAT'S CAITLIN BROWN.
AND SHE DID HAVE A STEERING COMMITTEE TODAY AND BROUGHT UP A LOT OF THE GROUPS TOGETHER THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR QUITE SOME TIME, LOOKING AT SOME POTENTIAL OPTIONS FOR CREATING A NETWORK FOR AFTERSCHOOL TIME, BOTH WORKING TOWARDS.
RECOVERING FROM COVID AND MOVING FORWARD WITH COVID AND THEN BEYOND THAT AS WELL.
OK, AND WHEN SHOULD WE EXPECT TO HEAR KIND OF THE OUTPUTS FROM THAT PROCESS? WELL, I'M NOT THE LEAD ON THAT, SO I WOULD HAVE TO, YOU KNOW.
TALK WITH THEM AND SEE HOW WE CAN.
BEST WAY TO GET THAT INFORMATION TO YOU.
OK. ALL RIGHT, I THINK IS, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THERE'S I THINK COUNCILMAN CHAPMAN BOTH.
AND I HAVE I HAVE HAD A LOT OF INTEREST IN THAT.
SO WE CAN WE CAN DO TO GET SOME SOME UPDATES FROM THAT EFFORT.
THAT WOULD BE GREAT. ALL RIGHT.
ANYTHING ELSE FOR RPK TEAM? WELL, I'M SORRY, I WILL SAY THAT WE FOR THE MODIFIED SUMMER PROGRAMS, WE DID GET SOME
[01:05:03]
ADDITIONAL SPACE FROM THE SCHOOL, SO WE HAVE SOME FOR ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS THAT WE CAN DO SOME PROGRAMING IN WHERE LAST SUMMER WE DID NOT DO ANY SPECIALTY CAMPS.BUT WE WILL HAVE SPECIALTY CAMPS THIS SUMMER.
OUR MODIFIED CAMPS ARE STILL GOING TO BE HAVE A PREREGISTRATION, WHICH WILL BE A PRIORITY FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO WORK OUTSIDE THE HOME.
AND PEOPLE WHO NEED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE WILL GET A TOP PRIORITY IN THOSE PROGRAMS. BUT AGAIN, WE HAVE SOME OTHER SPECIALTY CAMPS AND SOME OTHER CLASSES AND THINGS GOING ON FOR THE SUMMER THAT WILL THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE AN OPTION FOR LAST YEAR.
OK. ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, THERE ARE OTHER QUESTIONS.
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. LET'S MOVE TO BUDGET UPDATE.
AND WHO IS THIS GOING TO, MR. ROOT? MR. WROTE IN THE EVENING MORGAN DIRECTOR OF MANAGEMENT BUDGET, THE CITY'S BUDGET PROCESS IS IN THE WORK SESSION AND BUDGET QUESTION PHASE.
IN FACT, WE HAVE A WORK SESSION WEDNESDAY NIGHT ON THE HEALTHY AND THRIVING RESIDENTS FOCUS AREA, WHICH INCLUDES THE PARKS, RECREATION AND HEALTH, WHICH YOU ALL HEARD FROM TODAY. SO THAT'S THE NEXT WORK SESSION.
NEXT MONTH WILL BE A BUSY ONE AS WE WILL PRESENT REVENUE REVENUE ESTIMATED IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES THERE TO CITY COUNCIL.
AND ABDULLE PROPOSALS WOULD BE DUE FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS IN MID-APRIL AS WELL.
WE'VE BEEN IN COORDINATION WITH THEM ON HOW THEIR SHARE OF THE FUNDING IS POTENTIALLY GETTING ALLOCATED TO STATES, AND WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THAT WITH THEM.
SO I THINK THAT'S ABOUT ALL WE HAVE TO REPORT FROM THE CITY SIDE.
HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
YEAH, I WANT TO I WANT TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONVERSATION AROUND THE THE THE FEDERAL FUNDS AND JUST THE COORDINATION BETWEEN BOTH SIDES, I GUESS.
LET'S TURN OVER TO MR. TURNER. AND CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE TOPICS THAT WAS ON OUR AGENDA FOR THE JOINT WORK SESSION.
WE NEVER REALLY GOT TO WAS AROUND THE THE PAY INCREASE THAT THE STATE HAD PASSED AND HOW WE WERE HANDLING THE LOCAL MATH REQUIREMENTS AND ALL THAT.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
SO. SURE, SO JUST GIVE A BRIEF UPDATE AND THEN I'LL I'LL ANSWER THAT QUESTION AS WELL.
SO AS FAR AS THE SCHOOL BUDGET PROCESS, AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE APPROVED THE SCHOOL BOARD HAS APPROVED THE BUDGET BACK IN FEBRUARY.
WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON OUR APPLICATION FOR THE SECOND ROUND OF THE ELEMENTARY SECONDARY SCHOOL EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND.
WE SHOULD BE PUTTING THE BOW ON THAT AT THE END OF THIS WEEK AND SUBMITTING IT FOR THE APRIL 1ST DEADLINE OF VIDEOIQ.
ONCE THE BOWL IS ON THAT AND SHIPPED OFF TO VIDEO, WE WILL BE TURNING OUR ATTENTION TO THE AARP AND WAITING TO GET GUIDANCE FROM VIDEOIQ ON THAT AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO SUBMIT OUR APPLICATION FOR THOSE FUNDS AS WELL.
AND THEN AS FAR AS THE EMPLOYEE PAY INCREASE.
SO THAT WAS ADDITIONAL FUNDING WOULD BE PROVIDED FROM THE STATE TO HELP SUPPORT THAT.
OUR LCI LOCAL COMPOSITE INDEX IS 28.
SO THAT MEANS THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA WOULD HAVE TO PUT 80 PERCENT OF THAT IN THE STATE FUNDS, 20 PERCENT OF THAT.
SO AS LONG AS WE GIVE ANYWHERE BETWEEN A I BELIEVE IS TWO AND FIVE PERCENT SALARY INCREASE, THEN WE WILL GET PRORATED THAT PORTION FROM THE STATE.
SO RIGHT NOW, WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR BUDGET IS IN BETWEEN THE TWO AND FIVE PERCENT.
SO RIGHT NOW, THERE IS NO NEED TO CHANGE ANYTHING TO GET ADDITIONAL FUNDS.
UNLESS WE DO WANT TO MAX OUT WITH THE FIVE PERCENT, THEN IT WOULD COST ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO GET TO THE FULL FIVE PERCENT.
KIM. ALL RIGHT, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THE CHANCES OF A TENNESSEE TAKEN OUT OF TWO SEED IS TONIGHT? I HOPE.
I HOPE VERY GOOD, BECAUSE MY UNCLE HAS GOT HIS PH.D.
ALL RIGHT. I JUST I WASN'T SURE WHO YOU WERE CHEERING FOR.
I WASN'T IT WASN'T CLEAR WITH YOUR BACKGROUND WHO YOU WERE, WHO YOU WERE PULLING FOR TONIGHT. SO I JUST I FIGURED I'D, YOU KNOW, MY SCHOOL WAS ELIMINATED DUE TO COVID.
SO I'M CHEERING FOR ANYONE LOCAL AT THIS POINT.
[01:10:01]
SO SOMEONE FROM THE BIG TEN'S GOT TO WIN THE GAME.YEAH. YOU FIGURE YOU FIGURE IT'S NOT THE EIGHT 10.
ANY ANY QUESTIONS FOR FOR MR. TURNER. MR. ROOT. ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU BOTH FOR THOSE UPDATES.
I DO WANT TO, AS I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING TOMORROW NIGHT ABOUT OUR HOUR, LOOK AT THE FEDERAL FUNDS.
AND I HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE BOTH SIDES, CLOSE COORDINATION AROUND HOW WE WE EXPEND THESE FUNDS.
I KNOW YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT A LOT OF DIFFERENT STREAMS THAT YOU GUYS ARE BENEFITING FROM. SAME FOR US AS WELL.
AND THEY HAVE DIFFERENT RESTRICTIONS AND WE HAVE TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THAT.
BUT I THINK WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, QUITE HONESTLY, A ONCE IN A GENERATION OPPORTUNITY HERE ON BOTH SIDES TO TO MAKE SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS THAT THAT LAST LAST LONG IN THE FUTURE. AND SO I HOPE WE DON'T WE DON'T PASS IT UP AND I HOPE WE COORDINATE TO MAKE SURE WE MAXIMIZE THE ADVANTAGE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO, MR. MAYOR, PRETTY EXCITING OPPORTUNITY, MR. CHAIRMAN. YEAH.
ON KIND OF THE TOPIC YOU WERE DISCUSSING, AND I DON'T KNOW IF I MAYBE MISSED IT AND SOMEBODY CAN POINT ME TO IT IF I HAVE HAS ACPS AND THE SCHOOL BOARD MAYBE HAD THE SIMILAR CONVERSATION THAT COUNCIL DID KIND OF PUBLICLY AROUND WHAT THEY MIGHT WANT TO DO OR MIGHT BE THINKING WITH DOING WITH POSSIBLE THE POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL FEDERAL FUNDING COMING DOWN.
IT'S IT'S COMING INTO THE STATION ABOUT FEDERAL FUNDING WAS GEARED TOWARDS THE CONVERSATION WE HAD WITH THE BOARD DURING OUR BUDGET CONVERSATIONS WAS GEARED TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY, GEARED TO GEARED TOWARDS ANY TYPE OF HYBRID LEARNING, VIRTUAL LEARNING, THAT TYPE OF PIECE. BUT WE REALLY FOCUSED ON SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, ACADEMIC LEARNING, WHERE PSYCHOLOGISTS, SOCIAL WORK, ANYTHING THAT RELATES TO ACADEMIC LOSS AND SUPPORTING THOSE PARTICULAR AREA ARE LEARNING LOSS AND SUPPORTING THOSE SPECIFIC AREAS.
BUT THAT WAS THE TARGETED DOLLARS THAT WE WERE SEEING.
IF WE GOT ANY FUTURE FUNDS THAT THAT IS GOING TO BE WHERE THOSE THOSE DOLLARS WILL GO WILL GO TOWARDS. I CAN SHARE DOMENICK.
I KNOW THAT WE HAD I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH BOARD MEETING WAS, THOUGH, BUT I KNOW THAT WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION THAT WE PROVIDED AND THE POWERPOINT.
WE CAN FORWARD THAT ON TO MAYOR WILSON AND JUST POINT THAT SLIDE OUT.
THAT'S PERFECT. THANK YOU FOR THAT RESPONSE.
I THINK ONE OF THE QUESTIONS AND I CAN ASK THIS OFFLINE IS AROUND KIND OF THE STRUCTURAL TAKE THAT MAYOR OLSEN HAS HAD ON THE USE OF SOME OF THE FEDERAL FUNDS WOULD WITH THE SEAL PROGRAM. I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE ACRONYM WAS.
WOULD THAT BE A LONG TERM FOCUS OR IS THAT REALLY TO COVER THE LEARNING LOSS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, OR IS THAT SOMETHING STRUCTURAL ACPS IS LOOKING TO PUT IN PLACE FOR KIND OF THE LONG TERM? IT'S.
I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS THE QUESTION, COUNCILMAN CHAPMAN? IT WAS FOLLOWING UP ON WHAT YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT WHERE THE FUNDS WERE BEING TARGETED.
IS THAT REALLY FOCUS FOR THE TO TO DEAL WITH THE LEARNING LOSS BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S MUCH MORE LONGER TERM STRUCTURALLY FOR HOW ACPS IS GOING TO OPERATE DIFFERENTLY AFTER COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC? YEAH, IT'S A LEARNING LOSS THAT CAME FROM THE PANDEMIC, BUT THAT LEARNING LOSS IS NOT GOING TO BE REMEDIED IN A YEAR.
SO WE'RE LOOKING BEYOND JUST THIS YEAR BECAUSE AS YOU AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT IT'S NOT A QUICK FIX FOR A YEAR OF NOT BEING IN OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
SO IT IS GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME.
AND WE ARE STRATEGIZING BEYOND JUST THE FIVE TWENTY TWO FISCAL YEAR.
WE'RE LOOKING BEYOND THAT FOR THESE SERVICES.
YEAH, I THINK THE ONLY THING I WOULD I WOULD SAY, AND IT'S THE SAME MESSAGE I'M SAYING ON OUR SIDE, IS WE'VE GOT TO THINK BIG.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS THIS IS THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY AND AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO TO, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE SOME INVESTMENTS THAT THAT WILL LAST FOR A WHILE.
AND WE HAVE A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FLEXIBILITY TO AT LEAST ON OUR SIDE, I DON'T I DON'T KNOW ALL THE DETAILS AND THE MONEY YOU GUYS ARE GETTING BESIDES THE TOP LINE NUMBER. AND I'VE HEARD THE TOP LINE NUMBER, AND THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER.
SO I THINK I THINK WE NEED TO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE AND AGAIN, OPPORTUNITIES FOR COORDINATION, TOO.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE WE COORDINATE AND MAXIMIZE THE BENEFIT OF THIS MONEY, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S A IT'S A REALLY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR US.
[01:15:01]
SO AND I AGREE AND I FORGOT THE NAME THE OTHER COMMUNITIES.SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I GOT THEM RIGHT, BECAUSE WE HAVE ACCORDING TO THE ACADEMIC RUNNING GLASS PIECE, THE SEAL SUPPORTS THAT.
WE TALKED ABOUT THE COVID-19 MITIGATION PROJECTS WAS THE OTHER SPECIFIC AREA.
SO THESE ARE MITIGATION PROJECTS THAT RELATE TO SOME OF THESE BUILDINGS AS WELL AS THE CLASSROOM MONITOR SUPPORT WAS THE OTHER SPECIFIC AREA.
SO THOSE WERE THE FOUR SPECIFIC AREAS THAT WE WERE GOING TO TARGET.
WHAT WHAT I CAN SAY IS THAT ALL OF THESE AREAS ARE VERY EXPENSIVE AREAS THAT ARE NOT TYPICALLY IN OUR BUDGET. SO THESE THESE ARE HIGH PRICE THINGS, ESPECIALLY WITH THE WHOLE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT I HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT EARLIER, AS WELL AS THE MITIGATION PROJECTS. THOSE ARE SIGNIFICANT COSTS, BUT THEIR LONG TERM KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT ARE SUSTAINABLE AND ALSO WE BENEFIT IN A LONG TERM FROM SOME OF THESE PARTICULAR PROJECTS. SO THOSE ARE THE SPECIFIC AREAS THAT WE WILL FOCUS ON.
OK, OTHER QUESTIONS FOR EITHER OF OUR BUDGET DIRECTORS ON EITHER SIDE.
ALL RIGHT, MR. TURNER, GOOD LUCK TONIGHT. AGAIN, I'LL BE CHEERING FOR THE TROOPS THIS TIME, TOO.
SO I GOT NOTHING LEFT, SO I GOT NOTHING LEFT.
EVERY VIRGINIA SCHOOL IS OUT NOW, SO I GOT NOTHING.
LET'S SEE. SORRY I LOST MY JOB.
AND AGAIN, IT WAS AT VIRGINIA TECH UPDATE.
DO WE HAVE ANYTHING ON THAT SIDE? ANYONE? NOTHING ON THE CITY SIDE, DR.
HUTCHINGS, ANYTHING ON THE ACPS, NOTHING ON OUR END.
DO WE HAVE ANYTHING IN THE OTHER CATEGORY? ANYTHING ELSE ANYBODY WANTS TO BRING UP? ALL RIGHT, HEARING NOTHING.
WE MEET AGAIN ON SHOOT, I DON'T EVEN KNOW, APRIL SOMETHING OR OTHER.
SOMEONE WILL TELL ME HERE, IS THAT APRIL 19TH, IS THAT RIGHT? I'M GOING TO ASSUME THAT'S CORRECT.
ALL RIGHT, EVERYONE HAVE A HAVE A GREAT SIX, APRIL 26 THE FOLLOWING WEEK.
OK, SORRY ABOUT THAT. HAVE A HAVE A GREAT NIGHT, EVERYONE.
STAY SAFE AND WE'LL TALK AGAIN IN APRIL.
THANK YOU.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.