>>CHAIRPERSON: GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. [00:00:05] THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY FOR THE JUNE 16TH, SCHOOL BOARD MEETING. I AM VERONICA, YOUR VICE CHAIR. OUR CHAIR MEGHAN ALDERTON WILL BE JOINING THE MEETING SHORTLY. UNTIL THEN I CALL THE MEETING INTO ORDER AT 5:07 P.M. [1. Meeting Called to Order by Chair Alderton] PLEASE NOTE ON MARCH 12TH, 2020 VIRGINIA GOVERNOR NORTHAM DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY TO THE COVID19 PANDEMIC. AS A RESULT THIS MEETING IS BEING HELD ELECTRONICALLY PURSUANT TO VIRGINIA CODE OF SECTION 2.2. FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FOR THE CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS. ALL MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD ARE PARTICIPATING VIA ZOOM WITH SIX MEMBERS IN PERSON IN THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING ROOM. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION REMAINS VIRTUAL, AND MAY BE ACCESSED ON CABLE CHANNEL 71, AND THROUGH THE LIVE STREAM OR VIA ZOOM BY FOLLOWING THE LINK. WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME, PLEASE INDICATE THAT YOU ARE PRESENT. I'LL START WITH MYSELF, VERONICA NOLAN, PRESENT. CINDY ANDERSON. >> PRESENT. >> HALEY GENTRY. >> PRESENT. >> MICHELLE REEF. >> PRESENT. >> HEATHER THORNTON. >> PRESENT. >> AS NOTED MEGHAN ALDERTON WILL BE JOINING THE MEETING LATER, 80. MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA. [2. Adopt the Agenda for the June 17, 2021 School Board Meeting] >> I MOVE WE ADOPT THE AGENDA. >> SECOND. >> OKAY. BOARD MEMBER SUAREZ SECONDS BOARD MEMBER'S REEF MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA. IS ANYONE LOOKING TO AMEND THE AGENDA FOR THIS EVENING? >> I MOVE TO AMEND THE AGENDA TO ADD CONTRACT FOR HVAC RENOVATIONS AT GEORGE WASHINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HVAC BAS RECONFIGURATION AND ROOFTOP REPLACEMENT AT THE SAMUEL TUCKER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO THE CONSENT CALENDAR. >> SECOND. >> BOARD MEMBER GENTRY SECONDS BOARD MEMBER REEF'S MOTION TO THE CONSENT CALENDAR. I WILL CALL FOR THE VOTE TO AMEND THE AGENDA. PLEASE INDICATE YOUR VOTE AS I CALL YOUR NAME. MEGHAN ALDERTON IS NOT PRESENT FOR THE MOMENT. CINDY ANDERSON. >> YES. >> RAMI GENTRY. >> YES. >> CHRIS SUAREZ. >> YES. >> THE VOTE IS 80. I WILL NOW CALL FOR THE VOTE TO ADOPT THE AMENDED AGENDA. PLEASE INDICATE YOUR VOTE AS I CALL YOUR NAME. ROLL CALL. THE AGENDA IS NOW ADOPTED FOR A VOTE OF 80. [3. Closed Meeting] MAY I PLEASE HAVE SOMEONE CALL US INTO CLOSED SESSION AT THIS TIME. >> MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD CONVENE A CLOSED MEETING PURSUANT TO VIRGINIA CODE 2.23711, FOR THE DISCUSSION OF THE AWARD OF A PUBLIC CONTRACT, INVOLVING THE EXPENDITURE OF PUBLIC FUNDS, INTERVIEWS OF BIDDERS OR OFFERS AND DISCUSSION OF THE TERM OR SCOPE OF SUCH CONTRACT. WHERE DISCUSSION IN AN OPEN SESSION WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT THE BARGAINING POSITION OR NEGOTIATING STRATEGY OF THE BOARD. SPECIFICALLY CONTRACTS RELATED TO HVAC RENOVATIONS AND ELA TEXTBOOK ADOPTION. >> SECOND. >> THANK YOU. I WILL NOW CALL FOR THAT VOTE. MEGHAN ALDERTON IS ABSENT. ROLL CALL. THAT VOTE IS 80. THANK YOU, WE WILL NOW CONVENE TO CLOSED SESSION MOMENTARILY. [00:05:13] LET'S BEGIN WITH MS. GENTRY. [4. Certification of Closed Meeting] >> PURSUANT TO VIRGINIA CODE 2.23712, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD CERTIFY THAT TO THE BEST OF EACH MEMBER'S KNOWLEDGE ONLY PUBLIC BUSINESS MATTERS IDENTIFIED IN THE MOTION BY WHICH THE CLOSED MEETING WAS CONVENED AND ARE LAWFULLY EXEMPTED BY THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT WERE HEARD, DISCUSSED OR CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD IN THE CLOSED MEETING HELD ON JUNE 17TH, 2021. >> SECOND. >> THANK YOU, MS. GREEN FOR SECONDING BOARD MEMBER REEF'S MOTION TO CERTIFY THE CLOSE MEETING. PLEASE INDICATE YOUR VOTE AS I CALL YOUR NAME. >> ROLL CALL. >> THAT IS A VOTE OF 80. THE BOARD RETURNED TO OPEN SESSION AT 5:57 P.M.. I WILL NOW ASK THAT WE ALL OBSERVE [5. Observe a Moment of Silence] A MOMENT OF SILENCE. WE WILL NOW BE ADJOURNING TO COMMUNICATION AND ADDRESSES TO THE BOARD. [6. Public Hearing on the Fall Reopening Plan] I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MR. ANDY BAKER WHITE IN SUBMITTING REOPENING PLAN, IN PARTICULAR FEEDBACK OF THE CONTINUITY OF LEARNING FALL REOPENING PLAY BOOK. WE WILL NOW BE MOVING INTO PUBLIC COMMENTS. PLEASE NOTE THAT EACH SPEAKER, YOU WILL BE GIVEN THREE MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE [7. Public Comments] BOARD. THE CLERK WILL BE TIMING YOU. IF YOU HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK, PLEASE TURN ON THE RAISE HAND IF YOU ARE JOINING US VIRTUALLY. WE HAVE SPEAKERS IN PERSON. WE ARE UNFORTUNATELY UNABLE TO RESPOND TO YOUR COMMENTS, BUT WE GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR PARTICIPATION. >> WE WILL BEGIN WITH MS. SALZA. >> I THANK THE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS WHO HAVE CARED FOR AND EDUCATED MY CHILDREN THIS PAST YEAR. BECAUSE OF YOU AND MY FAMILY'S UNIQUE SITUATION, THIS PAST YEAR HAS WORKED WELL FOR THEM FROM AN ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE, IT HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE FROM A SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVE. TO THE SCHOOL BOARD, YOUR MISSION STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS THAT YOU ARE TO ENSURE THAT ALL STUDENTS REACH THEIR HIGHEST ACADEMIC POTENTIAL. WHEN CONDUCTING THE ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE SUPERINTENDENT PURSUANT TO VIRGINIA CODE 22161, YOU WERE REQUIRED TO EVALUATE SEVEN PERFORMANCE STANDARDS SET FORTH IN THE GUIDELINES DEVELOPED BY THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. THE OVERALL FOCUS OF THESE STANDARDS ARE TO ASSURE THE DIVISIONWIDE ACADEMIC PROGRESS ON ALL STUDENTS, FOSTER THE SUCCESS AND SAFETY OF ALL TEACHERS, STAFF AND STUDENTS. SUDDEN DEPARTURE OF ANTHONY BROUGHT TO LIGHT THE FACT THAT ACPS ABANDONED AN EDUCATION CENTERED GROWTH AND IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND IN PLACE FOR A POLITICALLY MOTIVATED IDEOLOGICAL SOCIAL REENGINEERING OF THE CULTURE WITHIN ACPS. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT AS YOU THE SCHOOL BOARD AND SUPERINTENDENT FOR ACPS, YOU'RE REQUIRED TO MAKE EDUCATION YOUR TOP PRIORITY. YOU ARE TO BE EDUCATORS, NOT POLITICIANS. KEEP IN MIND THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (AUDIO CUT OUT) INCREASE IN TEACHERS AND STAFF LEAVING ACPS, LOW RANKING OF ACPS, IN COMPARISON TO OTHER VIRGINIA SCHOOL SYSTEMS. THE LARGE NUMBER OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS WHO LANGUISHED AT HOME WITHOUT APPROPRIATE LEARNING CONDITIONS. RUMBLINGS OF LOW MORALE WITHIN ACPS AT ALL LEVELS. HYPER FOCUS OF REENGINEERING FROM A SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE AS OPPOSED TO FOCUSING ON ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND SAFETY FOR ALL ACPS STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AND STAFF. THE REFUSAL TO OPEN ACPS SCHOOLS TO CLASS IN LEARNING, WHEN SCHOOL DISTRICTS ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY WERE WILLING AND ABLE TO DO THIS. INCREASED WILLINGNESS TO PARTNER WITH CITY COUNCIL, TO YIELD USE OF SCHOOL PROPERTIES FOR PROJECTS THAT SHOULD BE PAID FOR USING CITY FUNDS AND NOT SCHOOL [00:10:04] PROPERTY. AS OPPOSED TO DEPLETING ACPS FUNDS AND PROPERTY SPACE. I ASK THAT YOU CONSIDER MY COMMENTS IN EVALUATING ACPS FOR THIS PAST YEAR AND WITH AN EYE TOWARD FULFILLING THE EDUCATION AND SAFETY GOALS AND PLANS FOR THE UPCOMING 20212022 SCHOOL YEAR. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE WILL BE JOINED BY MS. LEIGH ABBOTT. >> IS IT ALL RIGHT IF I TAKE THIS OFF HERE OR NO? CAN I TAKE THIS OFF? >> I'M SORRY. WE'RE NOT ALLOWED. >> THAT IS FINE. >> I FEEL YOUR PAIN, THOUGH. >> ALL RIGHT. GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE. THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN. AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. MY GRANDMOTHER TAUGHT ME THAT PRAYER. I SEARCHED MY SOUL DURING DIFFICULT TIMES, EVALUATE MY MOTIVES AND TRY TO DETERMINE THE NEXT RIGHT THING. SOMETIMES I GET CAUGHT UP IN THE MOMENT. AND LOSE SIGHT OF MY GOALS. SOMETIMES THE ENERGY I HAVE AROUND AN ISSUE IS THERE FOR THE WRONG REASONS. SOMETIMES GROUP THINK STIRS THE POT, DECISIONS ARE MADE, AND LATER I REALIZE THAT I DO NOT AGREE. I AM ALWAYS SEARCHING. I ASK THAT EACH OF YOU, DR. REEF, MS. NOLAN, MS. GENTRY. MR. SUAREZ, MS. GREEN, MS. ANDERSON, MS. THORNTON AND MS. ALDERTON, AS BOARD MEMBERS REPRESENTING OUR TODDLERS, YOUNG CHILDREN, PRETEENS, AND TEENS, TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND PAUSE AND CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS. HAVE I USED MY VOICE TO EXPRESS MY CONCERNS? HAVE I ACCEPTED NONANSWERS? HAVE I FOLLOWED THROUGH ON IMPORTANT ISSUES? HAVE I STAYED QUIET BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THE FALLOUT? OR MAKE SOMEONE MAD OR NOT BE LIKED. DO I AGREE WITH THE UNILATERAL DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE OVER THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF? HAVE I LET OTHERS CARRY THE TORCH ON ISSUES I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH? HAVE I TAKEN THE EASY WAY OUT, IF EVEN FOR ONE DECISION? REMEMBER, I ASK MYSELF SIMILAR QUESTIONS. DID I ALLOW THESE UNILATERAL DECISIONS TO BE MADE WITHOUT CALLING FOR A VOTE? WAS I FULLY AWARE AND WELL EDUCATED ON WHAT OTHER AREA SCHOOLS WERE DOING? IN THE MIDST OF TRYING TO GET CHILDREN BACK TO SCHOOL, DID I THINK IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO DISCUSS THE MANY NONRELATED TOPICS THAT WERE PUT FORTH AT OUR MEETINGS? DO I HAVE THE COURAGE TO SPEAK MY TRUTH FROM THIS POINT FORWARD? EVEN THOUGH I AM BONE TIRED, WILL I REACH DOWN, GATHER MY STRENGTH AND STAND UP FOR WHAT I BELIEVE IS RIGHT? NO MATTER THE CONSEQUENCES. WE'VE HAD SUICIDE ATTEMPTS, DEATH BY SUICIDE, SELFHARM, CUTTING, OVERDOSES, FATAL. APATHETIC CHILDREN THAT NO LONGER WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE. MANY THINGS HAPPENED THIS YEAR THAT DID NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN. GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE, THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU, MS. ABBOTT. I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THAT WE DO HAVE ONE WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENT ALSO FROM MR. ERIC ANDREW WITH REGARDS TO COMMUNITY MEMBER ON RACIAL EQUALITY WORK. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT. PLEASE NOTE FOR THE UPCOMING FALL, IF YOU WISH TO SIGN UP OR SUBMIT WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS, FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS, SIGN UP PLEASE NO LATER THAN NOON THE DAY PRIOR TO THE MEETING, USING THE LINK ON THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING WEB PAGE. IT IS MY PLEASURE AND EXCITED TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT WE WILL HAVE TWO NEW STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES JOINING US THIS UPCOMING FALL. I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK THEM, INTRODUCE THEM AND ALLOW THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY HELLO TO US. GREAT HONOR TO INTRODUCE TO YOU BOTH MS. SYLVIA AND MS. EMILY MILTON. [00:15:03] HELLO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR YOU MS. MILTON. MS. RAHEEM, I SEE YOU AS WELL. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. WE REALLY TRULY VALUE AS A BOARD THE STUDENT VOICE AND ARE GOING TO BE EXCITED TO HAVE YOU JOIN US AS OUR TEAM. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO BOTH AND WELCOMING YOU AND THANKING YOU. WE WILL NOW BE ENTERING CONSENT CALENDAR INTO OUR AGENDA ITEM. [Consent Calendar (Part 1 of 2)] MAY I PLEASE HAVE A MOTION TO ADOPT THE CONSENT CALENDAR? >> MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT WE ADOPT THE CONSENT CALENDAR. >> SECOND. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH MEMBER GENTRY, WHO SECONDED BOARD MEMBER ANDERSON'S MOTION TO ADOPT THE CONSENT CALENDAR. ARE THERE ANY ITEMS TO BE PULLED AT THIS TIME? >> MADAM CHAIR, I ACTUALLY INFORMED OUR CHAIR PERSON ALDERTON IN ADVANCE, I WOULD LIKE TO PULL THE STRATEGIC PLANNING UPDATE. >> OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ARE THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS TO BE PULLED? >> IS THAT THE STRATEGIC PLAN REVISION, ITEM 10? >> YES. REVISIONS, YES. >> THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU FOR THAT. SO WE ARE GOING TO THEN PULL THE STRATEGIC, WHAT NUMBER IS THAT BOARD MEMBER LORABER. EXCUSE ME, NUMBER TEN. STRATEGIC PLAN REVISION. PLEASE INDICATE YOUR VOTE FOR PULLING OUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN REVISION WHILE I CALL OUT YOUR NAME. >> ROLL CALL. NOW VOTE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THANK YOU FOR THAT. TAKES A VILLAGE APPARENTLY TO VOTE ON A CONSENT CALENDAR. WE WILL NOW BE VOTING ON THE CALENDAR WHILE PULLING OUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE. SO PLEASE INDICATE YOUR VOTE AS I CALL YOUR NAME. ROLL CALL. I'M EXCITED TO WELCOME CHAIR ALDERTON AND WILL YOU BE VOTING ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR? >> YES. >> I WILL VOTE FOR MYSELF. YES. THAT VOTE IS NOW 80. >> 90. >> 90. THANKS. JUST MAKING SURE EVERYONE IS PAYING ATTENTION. I'M GOING TO PASS THE BATON OVER TO OUR HONORABLE CHAIR ALDERTON. >> THANK YOU ALL. IT'S BEEN A WILD DAY. MS. LORBER, YOU PULLED AN ITEM FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR AND YOU WANTED TO MAKE COMMENTS? SO I BELIEVE MS. LORBER WANTED TO HAVE SOMEONE LIKELY I HAVE TO PULL IT UP. [36. Strategic Plan Revision] MS. LORBER WANTED INFORMATION ABOUT IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE. [00:20:01] THAT IS WHY SHE PULLED THAT ITEM FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR. SHE HAD A QUESTION ABOUT IT. >> IT'S ON PAGE 15. WELL, BEFORE I DO THAT, I REALLY WANTED TO COMPLIMENT THE PEOPLE. I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE SPECIFICITY OH. I SEE. OKAY. >> WE CAN'T SEE YOUR FACE. >> THERE YOU GO. >> I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE SPECIFICITY OF THE REVISIONS. AND I WANTED TO COMPLIMENT, I FELT IT WAS WORTH PULLING THIS ITEM SO THAT TO THANK THE FOLKS WHO MUST HAVE WORKED QUITE HARD TO GET THESE REVISIONS IN PLACE. I THINK THEY WERE REALLY EXCELLENT. BUT I DID HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT ONE ON PAGE 15, THAT WAS THE ONE, IT WAS DISCUSSING I KEEP FORGETING THE PHRASE. WHAT SCIENCE? IT REFERRED TO IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE, WE WOULD BE USING IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE TO IDENTIFY THE ROOT CAUSES OF RACISM. AND I DON'T REALLY KNOW, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE TERM IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE. AND I THOUGHT MOST READERS MIGHT NOT BE. AND IT MAY BE A TERM OF ART IN AMONG THOSE WHO DO THIS WORK. BUT I WAS WONDERING IF SOMEONE COULD EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE REFERS TO AND IF THAT IS A TERM OF ART. IF I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO ISN'T FAMILIAR WITH IT. >> MADAM CHAIR. SO I KNOW OUR ACCOUNTABILITY TEAM IS HERE WITH US AND THEY CAN ELABORATE A LITTLE MORE IN REGARDS TO OUR IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE. THIS IS THE PHILOSOPHY THAT WE'VE BEEN USING IN REGARDS TO OUR ACCOUNTABILITY AS WELL AS OUR DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS. SO THIS IS A TERM THAT ACTUALLY STARTED PRIOR TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN DEVELOPMENT, IT CAME OUT OF OUR ACCOUNTABILITY DEPARTMENT TO ENSURE THAT WHEN WE ARE DOING OUR DATA ANALYSIS THAT WE ARE USING THE SCIENCE TO ENSURE THAT THE DATA IS COLLECTED APPROPRIATELY AND ANALYZED APPROPRIATELY AND THAT WE'RE MAKING INFORMED DECISIONS BASED ON THAT. THIS IS AN ACTUAL PHILOSOPHY THAT CAME OUT OF THE CARNEGIE FOUNDATION, BUT I'M GOING TO ASK FOR OUR TEAM, YOU KNOW, I'M DOING THIS BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW THIS WAS GOING TO BE A QUESTION FROM YOU TODAY. BUT I KNOW OUR TEAM IS HERE WHO CAN ELABORATE. DR. EBIE, I SEE THAT YOU ARE ON. >> HI. YES. THANK YOU. DR. SIMMS, I SEE THAT YOU ARE ALSO OFF MUTE. I WILL START AND I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO TAKE IT FROM ME. I CAN START WITH A BRIEF DEFINITION OF IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE. IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE IS AN HE EMERGING FIELD OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT THAT LEVERAGES STAKEHOLDER VOICE AND FORMATIVE IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS. ONE OF THE KEY HALL MARKS IS THAT WE'RE DOING RAPID CYCLES OF MONITORING AND IMPROVEMENT. SO WE'RE GAUGING OUR IMPACT ALONG THE WAY SO THAT WE ADJUST AND ADAPT ALONG THE WAY. RATHER THAN WE'RE GOING TO SET OUT ON THIS THREEYEAR LONG PROJECT, AT THE END WRITE A REPORT. THAT IS NOT FAST ENOUGH, LEARNING AFTER THREE YEARS OR LONGER, AFTER WE TRIED SOMETHING NEW OR PUT IN AN INTERVENTION, IT'S NOT FAST ENOUGH FOR US TO MAKE CHANGE. IT'S NOT FAST ENOUGH FOR US TO SCALE UP THROUGHOUT ACPS. SO WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO LEARN FAST AND IMPROVE FAST, QUICKLY. AND YEAH. AND HELP AS MANY STUDENT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. DR. SIMMS, WOULD YOU ADD ANYTHING TO THAT? >> NO. I THINK YOU COVERED IT. I WAS JUST GOING TO ADD FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, IT IS A MORE DISCIPLINED APPROACH TO PROBLEMSOLVING. YOU OFTEN HEAR PEOPLE TALK ABOUT BEING DATA DRIVEN. BUT IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE CAUSES US TO THINK ABOUT WHAT IS A SHORT CYCLE, MOVING FAST, WHAT IS A SHORT CYCLE THAT ALLOWS US TO LOOK AT INFERENCES THAT WE MAKE, BASED ON DATA, MAKE ASSESSMENTS AND THEN ADJUSTMENTS AND TAKE ACTION BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO CONTINUING A PROCESS THAT MAY NOT BE YIELDING THE RESULTS THAT WE WANT. IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE GIVES US A FRAMEWORK FOR DOING THAT IN A CYCLICAL MANNER. AS DR. HUTCHINGS POINTED OUT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTE DOES A LOT OF WORK AROUND THE IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE AND HOW IT APPLIES TO EDUCATION PRACTICES. [00:25:01] >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. I KNOW THERE IS A GLOSSARY AT THE END OF THE I RECALL THERE WAS A GLOSSARY. PERHAPS IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE OUGHT TO BE A TERM IN THE GLOSSARY. I MEAN, I HAD NO IDEA THAT IT WAS REALLY A FIELD. THAT IS THE REASON I ASKED THE QUESTION, OBVIOUSLY. SO THAT IS SOMETHING I MIGHT SUGGEST. >> THANK YOU, MS. LORBER. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT. SO WITH THAT, I WILL NEED A MOTION TO ADOPT THE MADAM CHAIR I MOVE THAT WE ADOPT THE STRATEGIC PLAN REVISION. >> SECOND. >> SO I HAVE RAMI GENTRY, SORRY, DR. REEF WHO SECONDS MS. GENTRY'S MOTION. I WILL CALL FOR THE VOTE. >> ROLL CALL. >> SO WE HAVE ADOPTED THE REVISIONS TO THE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN. THANK YOU, EVERYONE. ALL RIGHT. SO MOVING RIGHT ALONG, WE WILL TAKE A MOMENT JUST TO COMMENT BECAUSE WE HAVE [Consent Calendar (Part 2 of 2)] ADOPTED THE CONSENT CALENDAR. AND AN IMPORTANT ITEM ON THAT CONSENT CALENDAR WAS THE REPLACEMENT OF DR. HUTCHINGS'S CONTRACT. SO I WILL JUST START BY SAYING WE ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR DR. HUTCHINGS'S SERVICE. IT HAS BEEN A VERY GOOD COUPLE OF YEARS SINCE YOU JOINED ACPS AS THE SUPERINTENDENT. WE ARE EXCITED TO SEE WHERE WE WILL GO UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP. SO THAT IS WHAT I WILL SAY. AND IF I HAVE ANY BOARD MEMBERS WHO WANT TO COMMENT, PLEASE DO. ALL RIGHT. I WILL START WITH DR. REEF. >> THANK YOU, CHAIR ALDERTON. AND DR. HUTCHINGS. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS. THIS PAST YEAR AND A HALF HAS CERTAINLY BEEN EXTREMELY CHALLENGING FOR OUR SCHOOL DIVISION AND YOU KNOW, THIS BEING THE LAST MEETING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, IT'S REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY TO REFLECT ON EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN THROUGH. AND I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO ACKNOWLEDGE DR. HUTCHINGS FOR LEADING OUR SCHOOL DIVISION THROUGH THIS VERY DIFFICULT TIME. WE HAD TO GRAPPLE WITH THE UNCERTAINTY CAUSED BY COVID AND CONSTANTLY CHANGING GUIDANCE FROM THE CDC AND THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, AND ONE OF THE BIG TAKEAWAYS TOO FOR ME THIS YEAR WAS THAT OUR SCHOOL DIVISION IS A REALLY DIVERSE COMMUNITY AND DIFFERENT LEVELS OF RISK TOLERANCE. TRYING TO BALANCE THAT WAS NO EASY FETE. THERE WAS NO PRECEDENT OR PLAYBOOK FOR HOW TO LEAD A SCHOOL DIVISION THROUGH A GLOBAL PANDEMIC. DR. HUTCHINGS, YOU GOT US THROUGH THIS PERIOD. AND YOU AND YOUR TEAM CONTINUE TO FEED THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS WHILE THEY WERE LEARNING AT HOME. WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE LAPTOPS AND TABLETS TO EVERY SINGLE STUDENT AS WELL AS INTERNET SERVICE TO THOSE WHO NEEDED IT AND WE STRUGGLED THROUGH VIRTUAL LEARNING AND CONCURRENT TEACHING. I KNOW THAT THE PAST YEAR HAS NOT BEEN EASY ON ANYONE, MYSELF, I AM A PARENT OF THREE ACPS STUDENTS, I CAN VOUCH FOR THAT. BUT WE HAVE MADE IT TO THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, EVERYBODY. WE'RE NOW ON THE PATH FOR A FULL REOPENING IN THE FALL. WE CONTINUED DOING WORK THAT HAD TO GET DONE. APPROVING TWO BUDGETS AND CONTINUING OUR AMBITIOUS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. THIS ISN'T TO SAY THAT THERE AREN'T AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT, AS WE CERTAINLY KNOW. THERE CERTAINLY ARE. BUT AFTER EVERYTHING WE'VE GONE THROUGH THIS PAST YEAR, WE NEED STABILITY AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMITMENT TO OUR SCHOOL DIVISION. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH YOU TO MAKE ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS THE VERY BEST SCHOOL DIVISION. THANK YOU. >> ALL RIGHT. MS. LORBER. >> FIRST OF ALL, I WILL JUST SAY WELL SAID, MICHELLE. I WOULD LIKE TO OWN THOSE COMMENTS. BUT THEN I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SAY, THANK DR. HUTCHINGS. THIS IS MY LAST YEAR ON THE SCHOOL BOARD. I'VE SERVED FOR SIX YEARS. I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM SINCE 1988. BEING A PARENT FOR THE FIRST MANY YEARS. AND THEN AN EMPLOYEE WITHIN THE SYSTEM FOR NINE YEARS. AND SO I HAVE SEEN THE EFFECTS OF INCONSISTENT LEADERSHIP AND I'VE ALSO SEEN THE EFFECTS OF LET'S PUT IT, LET'S SAY IMPLICIT BIAS THAT RUNS THROUGH THE [00:30:02] SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE CITY THAT I THINK MANY PEOPLE ARE NOT AWARE OF. AND ONE OF MY PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS I BELIEVE THAT WE HIRED DR. HUTCHINGS TO COME IN AND HELP US GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WE NEED TO MOVE AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM SO THAT EVERY CHILD FEELS RESPECTED AND GETS WHAT THEY NEED AND WHERE THEY ARE. I THINK COVID CLEARLY WAS SOMETHING WE DIDN'T EXPECT. IT SIDETRACKED A VISION THAT DR. HUTCHINGS ARRIVED WITH, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT DR. REEF JUST POINTED OUT ABOUT HOW HE HANDLED THE SITUATION, BUT I HAVE GREAT FAITH THAT I THINK MOVING FORWARD WITH THE SUPPORTIVE NEW BOARD AND SOME OF US STILL ON THE BOARD, I WISH YOU THE BEST AND I AM CONVINCED THAT WE'RE GOING TO HEAD CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD AND MOVE FORWARD. AND THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH. IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE BEING ON YOUR BOARD. >>. >> MS. NOLAN. >> I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH DR. HUTCHINGS FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE. I KNOW YOU ALWAYS POINT OUT IT'S A TEAM EFFORT. SO I WANT TO TAKE THIS MOMENT THAT IT REALLY IS I THINK DR. REEF, YOU SAID SO WELL THIS YEAR, I WAS SAYING TO SOMEONE THE OTHER DAY, IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THIS TIME LAST YEAR WE WERE STRUGGLING TO FIND EGGS AND TOILET PAPER. I SAY THAT BECAUSE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER WHAT THAT MOMENT IN TIME IS LIKE. IT'S EASY TO SAY IN HINDSIGHT WHAT THIS YEAR COULD HAVE BEEN OR SHOULD HAVE BEEN. WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THE REALITY OF WHAT WE WENT THROUGH AND THE CHANGING GOAL POSTS CONSTANTLY. THANK YOU TO YOUR COMMITMENT AND DEDICATION ALWAYS TO STUDENTS. THANK YOU TO THE TREMENDOUS TEAM THAT YOU'VE PUT TOGETHER FROM EVERY SINGLE PERSON, YOU KNOW, TO THE CAFETERIA WORKERS, IT FOLKS THAT WERE THERE FOR STUDENTS, PRINCIPALS WHO WERE THERE EVERY DAY, TO THE TEACHERS THAT YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE ASSEMBLED HERE, TO ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS IN CENTRAL OFFICE, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS BEING SUPPORTIVE OF THEM AND GUIDING THEM THROUGH THIS, IT'S AMAZING WHAT THIS TEAM AT ACPS HAS DONE TOGETHER. REALLY APPRECIATE THE CONTINUED LEADERSHIP, BECAUSE THE CONTINUITY IS GOING TO BE SO IMPORTANT. ESPECIALLY AS WE HAVE ADOPTED A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, TO SEE THAT VISION COME TO LIGHT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN THAT. I APPRECIATE IT. >> OKAY. I DON'T DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING ANYONE SAID. SO I'LL TRY TO ADD ON. I THINK THAT DR. HUTCHINGS, I THINK THAT YOU RECOGNIZE THE CHANGES THAT NEED TO HAPPEN IN ACPS. I THINK YOU'VE ALREADY MADE SOME OF THE CHANGES. AND I THINK YOU HAVE THE VISION TO LEAD US TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE. I THINK YOU'VE RAISED THE LEVEL OF PROFESSIONALISM. I WILL GIVE ONE EXAMPLE, EVEN WITH THE BOARD WORK ON THE BUDGET. AND THE WAY THAT WE HAVE A DATA DRIVEN BUDGET PROCESS THAT IS REALLY SO WELCOME AND FEELS SO GOOD TO BE A PART OF IT AND MAKES EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND WHY WE'RE DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WE'RE FUNDING WHAT WE'RE DOING. I ALSO APPRECIATE THE WAY THAT YOU TREAT STAFF AND I THINK THAT IS VERY CRITICAL. IT'S BECOME MORE CRITICAL DURING THIS YEAR AS WE'VE ASKED EVERYBODY TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND, OVER AND OVER AGAIN. SO EVEN AS DIFFICULT AS THIS YEAR HAS BEEN, I THINK THE STAFF, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T FORGET THEM AND YOU FORGET THAT THEY HAVE LIVES AND YOU ALSO KNOW THAT THERE HAS TO BE SOME BALANCE. YOU KNOW, RUNNING A SCHOOL SYSTEM DURING A PANDEMIC IS DAUNTING. I THINK THAT PANDEMIC AND PERFECTION ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE. BUT I THINK THAT YOU'VE DONE WITH YOUR STAFF, A METHODICAL AND TRANSPARENT. I KNOW THAT PEOPLE WILL DISAGREE WITH THAT. BUT SOMETIMES THE INFORMATION IS COMING SO QUICKLY AND CHANGING SO QUICKLY, IT'S HARD TO GET IT OUT. WE'RE STILL IMPLEMENTING OUR COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT, SO THAT I FEEL LIKE THE COMMUNICATIONS THAT PEOPLE WILL BE SEEING EVEN EVERINCREASING YOU KNOW, GOOD THINGS THERE. BUT IT WAS JUST A LOT OF INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE TO ABSORB. AND THEY WERE BUSY TRYING TO FIND TOILET PAPER AND THINGS. YOU KNOW, THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF THINGS THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE THE BANDWIDTH TO REALLY UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING WE WERE DOING ALL OF THE TIME. SO I JUST THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH US AND DOING THE JOB THAT YOU DO EVERY DAY. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU. FIRST I WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUES FOR THE RIGOROUS AND THOUGHTFUL PROCESS THAT WENT INTO REVIEWING DR. HUTCHINGS'S CONTRACT. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT IT'S KEY AND VITAL RIGHT NOW FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR ENTIRE [00:35:02] SCHOOL SYSTEM TO HAVE CONTINUITY AS WE RECOVER FROM THE PANDEMIC. IN ADDITION, AS ONE OF THE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS THAT SERVED ON THE STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE, THE INCREDIBLE PLAN THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE, IT'S BENEFICIAL TO HAVE LEADERSHIP REMAIN SO THAT WE CAN FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THAT INCREDIBLE PLAN. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE AND ALL THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE TO DO FOR OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. THANK YOU. >> NICE TO GO FURTHER, SO YOU GET TO SAY WHAT EVERYONE ELSE SAID AND THEN JUST ADD. I'LL ADD A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. SO I DID THE MATH, I'VE BEEN AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN THE ACPS COMMUNITY FOR OVER A DOZEN YEARS, FIRST AS A PTA PRESIDENT, THEN MEMBER AND CHAIR OF BOARD ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THEN AS A BOARD MEMBER. I HAVE THE VERY DUBIOUS DISTINCTION OF BEING THE PERSON THAT GOT TO SERVE AS THE CHAIR FOR NOT DURING NOT ONE, THREE SUPERINTENDENTS. I REALLY HOPE THAT NO ONE ELSE GETS TO HAVE THAT VERY DUBIOUS HONOR. IT REALLY CANNOT BE OVERSTATED HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR AN ORGANIZATION AS COMPLEX AND VITAL AND WITH, YOU KNOW, DAY TO DAY STAKES ON THE LINE OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR CHILDREN, WHICH WE ALL AGREE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, TO HAVE STRONG CAPABLE COMPETENT LEADERSHIP AND TO HAVE THAT CONTINUITY. ACPS HAS NOT HAD THAT FOR MANY MANY YEARS. AND THOSE OF US THAT HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING ACPS HAVE SEEN WHAT THAT DOES. THE TURNOVER IN SUPERINTENDENTS ALSO LEADS TO TURNOVER IN STAFF. AND WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE THAT STAFF CONTINUITY, WHERE THEY FEEL SURE ABOUT WHERE THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY'RE GOING, THE SHIP IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE BECAUSE IT'S NOT STEERING IN ONE DIRECTION. SO EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE MANY CLEARSIGHTED PEOPLE THAT UNDERSTOOD WHAT THE CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS ARE WITH ACPS, IT IS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO STEER THE SHIP IN THAT DIRECTION WITHOUT SOME KIND OF CONTINUITY. SO IT'S REALLY EXCITING AND REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS LEADERSHIP, NOT JUST AT THE SUPERINTENDENT LEVEL, BUT WHAT I REALLY SENSE IS THROUGHOUT THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM AND THE TEACHERS, IS A BUNCH OF PEOPLE THAT REALLY WANT TO STAY WITH ACPS AND REALLY WANT TO WORK THROUGH ALL OF THESE THINGS. AND QUITE FRANKLY, ARE WILLING TO HAVE SOME VERY HONOR FRANK CONVERSATIONS. AGAIN, IF YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH ACPS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, THE ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO SOLVE ARE NOT EXACTLY NEW. BUT THE DEGREE TO WHICH PEOPLE ARE OPENLY TALKING ABOUT THEM AND SHARING THEM AND SHARING THE DATA ABOUT THEM IS REFRESHING. I THINK THAT IS REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT. I REALLY WELCOME THAT OPPORTUNITY AND I THINK AS PEOPLE ALLUDED TO, WE HAVE THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WE HAVE SOME WE'VE DEDICATED STAFF. WE REALLY DO HAVE A DIRECTION GOING FORWARD. HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT, I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT AS HUMAN BEINGS, PEOPLE ARE NOT ALWAYS GOING TO AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS EVERY SINGLE TIME. THAT IS OKAY. IT IS OKAY. AND WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER TO HAVE GOOD CONVERSATIONS, WHEN WE HAVE DISAGREEMENTS. AND FIND WAYS TO CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER FOR WHAT WE ALL KNOW IS A COMMON GOAL FOR ALL OF OUR CHILDREN. AND AS LONG AS I'M A BOARD MEMBER, I KNOW I SPEAK, I'M SURE FOR MY OTHER BOARD MEMBERS, WE ARE READY AND WILLING TO LISTEN TO YOU ALL. AND WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL. AND WE WANT YOU TO KEEP TALKING WITH US. AND WE WANT TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER. I KNOW HOW HARD THIS YEAR HAS BEEN FOR SOME OF YOU. PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T ALWAYS UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF THAT HAVE ALSO PERHAPS GONE THROUGH SOME OF THE SAME PAIN THAT SOME OF YOU ALL HAVE GONE THROUGH. WE ARE ALL GOING TO NEED TO USE THE NEXT YEAR TO HEAL. I AM EXCITED THAT WE ARE A COMMUNITY THAT EVEN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC WAS STARTING, [00:40:01] WAS TALKING ABOUT TRAUMA BASED SUPPORTS. WE ARE READY TO SUPPORT AND WORK ON HEALING FOR EVERYONE. SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO DO THAT WITH EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER. >> MS. THORNTON. >> THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT EVERYONE REMEMBER THAT THIS IS A YEAR WHERE A LOT OF SUPERINTENDENTS ARE CHOOSING NOT TO RETURN. I THINK ESPECIALLY FOR OUR SUPERINTENDENTS ALL ACROSS THIS COUNTRY RIGHT NOW. I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU, NUMBER ONE, DR. HUTCHINGS FOR PERSEVERING AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF HAVE WHAT THEY NEED. YOU COULDN'T PAY ME ALL OF THE MONEY IN THE WORLD TO BE A SUPERINTENDENT RIGHT NOW. BECAUSE I SEE HOW MUCH OF A TOLL THAT IT TAKES. BUT I DO PRESSURE DEDICATION DESPITE THAT FACT. AND YOU KNOW, ONE THING I DO APPRECIATE WITH OUR NEW STRATEGIC PLAN AND WITH YOUR LEADERSHIP, DR. HUTCHINGS IS THE FACT THAT YOU ARE NOT AFRAID TO SHY AWAY FROM DISCOMFORT AND FROM HAVING THOSE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS THAT WE ALL NEED TO HAVE IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE TYPE OF SCHOOL DIVISION THAT WE'RE ALL SAYING WE WANT TO ACHIEVE. YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE THING I'VE LEARNED IS THAT NOT EVERYBODY HAS THE SAME DEFINITION OF WHAT EQUITY FOR ALL STUDENTS IS. AND THAT IS OKAY. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THAT. AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ARE AND SEE HOW WE CAN KIND OF COME TO COMMON GROUND. AND YOU KNOW, NOT TO SAY THAT WE'LL GET THERE, BUT TO AT LEAST HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS, I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT STARTING POINT. SO YOU KNOW, I AGREE WITH THE CONTINUITY POINTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE. THIS SCHOOL DIVISION HAS SEEN TOO MUCH TRANSITION WHEN IT COMES TO LEADERSHIP. AND YOU KNOW, I REMEMBER DURING OUR CAMPAIGN SPEECHES AS A BOARD, WE ALL TALKED ABOUT FIDELITY OF PLANS, CONSISTENCY, MAKING SURE WE FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THINGS. YOU CANNOT DO THAT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE CONSISTENT LEADERSHIP. THAT IS FUNDAMENTAL. I AGAIN, APPRECIATE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO CONTINUE IN THIS RECOVERY PHASE. THE PANDEMIC WAS TOUGH. BUT I THINK THE RECOVERY WILL BE EQUALLY TOUGH IN DIFFERENT ASPECTS. YOU KNOW, I THINK AS A BOARD, I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT TOGETHER AS A COLLECTIVE, WE HAVE THE FOUNDATION OF A STRATEGIC PLAN. DR. HUTCHINGS, THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR CONTINUING TO KIND OF LEAD THE SCHOOL DIVISION THROUGH THAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> THANK YOU, MR. SUAREZ. >> THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. GOING LAST, I THINK EVERYONE SAID SOMETHING THAT I WAS GOING TO SAY. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN A REALLY CHALLENGING YEAR. IT'S BEEN A CHALLENGING YEAR NATIONALLY, INTERNATIONALLY AND WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH A LOT. AND THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF TOUGH CONVERSATIONS UP ON THIS DIACESE, A LOT OF DEBATE AND DISCUSSION IN THE COMMUNITY. I UNDERSTAND WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM WITH A LOT OF THE ISSUES. WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD AND WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT THE FUTURE IS GOING TO BRING FOR ACPS. FUNDAMENTALLY, AS MY COLLEAGUE SAID, DR. HUTCHINGS IS FROM THIS COMMUNITY, HE BELIEVES IN THIS SCHOOL DIVISION. HE BELIEVES IN THE FUTURE OF ACPS. AND THESE STEPS THAT WE'VE TAKEN OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, ARE CRITICAL. HAVING A STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WE DO NOT TAKE, PUT UP ON THE SHELF AND LEAVE FOR FIVE YEARS, WE ACTUALLY TAKE OFF THE SHELF, SCRUTINIZE, LOOK AT THE DATA AND USE IS A FUNDAMENTALLY IMPORTANT THING. THAT HASN'T BEEN DONE IN THIS DIVISION FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT DR. HUTCHINGS WANTS TO DO NOW. WE HAVE THESE NEW PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, DASHBOARD EMPLOYEES, LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS GOING FORWARD. AND FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE SOME TOUGH DECISIONS MADE THIS YEAR, IT WAS A HARD YEAR. AT THE END OF THE DAY, NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME BACK FIVE DAYS IN PERSON, TO REALLY GIVE DR. HUTCHINGS A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGIC PLAN IN A NORMAL SETTING, EVERYONE WOULD ASSUME A [00:45:02] SUPERINTENDENT WOULD HAVE TO WORK IN. I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THAT. I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT DR. HUTCHINGS IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO UNCONSTRAINED FROM THE PANDEMIC. AND I KNOW THAT DR. HUTCHINGS IS A REFLECTIVE INDIVIDUAL. I KNOW THAT HE IS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WANTS TO REALLY SEE GREAT THINGS FOR ACPS. I THINK THAT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. COMMENT EARLIER TODAY SUGGESTED THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD YOU KNOW, IS NOT REVIEWING DR. HUTCHINGS PERFORMANCE. AND THAT IS SIMPLY INCORRECT. WE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC STARTED, WE IMPLEMENTED A COMMITTEE THAT, SUPERINTENDENT'S EVALUATION COMMITTEE, WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT EVERY ONE OF THE SEVEN PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, WE ARE DOING A MIDTERM REVIEW WITH DR. HUTCHINGS, AS WE DID LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR. EXECUTING ON THAT REVIEW THROUGH THE END OF THIS YEAR. AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS. AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS WEREN'T PREVIOUSLY DONE IN THE DIVISION IN THE PAST. DR. HUTCHINGS NOT ONLY IS WILLING TO UNDERTAKE THE REVIEWS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD. THE SCHOOL BOARD TAKES THOSE REVIEWS VERY SERIOUSLY. AND IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THE RIGOROUS CONVERSATIONS. ALONG THE LINES WITH WHAT MS. GENTRY SAID, I INVITE THE COMMUNITY TO CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE THE BOARD, CHALLENGE DR. HUTCHINGS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE THE DIALOG WITH DR. HUTCHINGS, THAT HE IS WILLING TO HAVE, BUT FUNDAMENTALLY I BELIEVE IN DR. HUTCHINGS. I BELIEVE HE HAS THE RIGHT VISION FOR THE SCHOOL DIVISION. IT GOES BACK TO THE POINT SEVERAL OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE MADE, WHEN I CAME HERE WE CONSTANTLY HEARD ABOUT THIS THREE SUPERINTENDENTS IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. AND THAT IS AN ABOMINATION. YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT TYPE OF INSTABILITY IN A SCHOOL DIVISION. IF YOU HAVE A SCHOOL BUILDING WHERE THE PRINCIPAL ROTATES OUT EVERY YEAR, IF YOU HAVE A CLASSROOM WHERE A TEACHER CHANGES EVERY YEAR, THOSE KIDS ARE NOT LEARNING, NOT ACHIEVING THE WAY THEY NEED TO ACHIEVE. IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT, PARTICULARLY AS WE COME OUT OF THIS PANDEMIC TO HAVE A STEADY HAND AT THE WHEEL, MOVING THE DIVISION FORWARD. YOU KNOW, DOES EVERY MEMBER OF THIS BOARD AGREE WITH DECISION DR. HUTCHINGS MADE ON EVERY ISSUE? NO. I THINK THE BOARD IS IN AGREEMENT THAT DR. HUTCHINGS HAS THE RIGHT VISION FOR THE DIVISION, HE HAS DONE MANY THINGS WONDERFUL FOR THE DIVISION. ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO HIGH LEVEL, GETTING THE STRATEGIC PLANS IN PLACE AND ALL OF THESE IMPORTANT IDEAS IN. AND HE HAS SHOWN THAT HE CAN EXECUTE ON REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUES, LIKE THESE INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES THAT WE HAD TO DEAL WITH. LIKE MAINTENANCE THAT HAS BEEN PUT OFF FOR MANY MANY YEARS, TIME AND TIME AGAIN. THINGS ARE GETTING DONE. THIS BOARD I JUST WANT TO SAY, CAN WALK AND CHEW GUM AT THE SAME TIME. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUES, SOME ISSUES UNCOMFORTABLE FOR PEOPLE TO HEAR IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT THOSE ISSUES NEED TO BE DISCUSSED. WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DISCUSS THOSE TOUGH ISSUES ABOUT RACIAL EQUITY AND JUSTICE AND HANDLE THOSE WHILE EXECUTING. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THOSE CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS WITH THE BOARD AND WITH DR. HUTCHINGS. AND I'M EXCITED FOR THE FUTURE. I'M EXCITED FOR US TO GET BACK TO FIVE DAYS, PAST THIS PANDEMIC AND TO REACH OUR TRUE POTENTIAL. SO THANK YOU, DR. HUTCHINGS, FOR YOUR SERVICE AND LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT THE FUTURE BRINGS FOR ACPS. >> THANK YOU, MR. SUAREZ. DR. HUTCHINGS. >> FIRST OFF, I CAN'T EVEN TALK. IF MY TEAM, YOU KNOW, IF EVERYBODY ON THE TEAM, IF YOU COME ON, IF YOU CAN. I KNOW SOME PEOPLE MAY NOT WANT TO SHOW THEMSELVES RIGHT NOW. IF YOU CAN, SHOW YOURSELVES. BECAUSE I REALLY DO, I NEED THE BOARD AND I KNOW THE BOARD KNOWS THIS, BUT OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL TO KNOW THAT I AM NOTHING WITHOUT OUR TEAM. I REALLY AM. WE'RE NOT ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING WITHIN ACPS WITHOUT OUR TEAM. AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE BEEN SAYING SINCE I ARRIVED. I AM PROBABLY THE MOST BLESSED SUPERINTENDENT IN THE WORLD. I REALLY AM. BECAUSE I HAVE PEOPLE ON MY RIGHT, MY LEFT, MY FRONT, MY BACK, WHEN THINGS ARE DOWN, THEY COME TOGETHER, WE MAKE IT HAPPEN. WHEN WE FALL, WE GET BACK UP. WE ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER, WE SUPPORT EACH OTHER. AND I JUST WANT YOU ALL TO KNOW, THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR CONTINUOUSLY DOING THAT ON OUR BEHALF. THE BOARD AND I SAID THIS TO LORI, OUR BOARD FACILITATOR SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, I TOLD HER THAT THIS IS THE BEST BOARD I'VE EVER WORKED WITH. [00:50:04] THIS IS THE BEST BOARD. I'VE WORKED WITH SEVERAL BOARDS IN THE PAST EIGHT YEARS. I'M FINISHING MY 8TH YEAR AS A SUPERINTENDENT. THIS BOARD, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT COURAGE, BOLDNESS, VISION, INTEGRITY, PASSION, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE HAVE HERE. I TELL OUR STAFF EVERY OPPORTUNITY I GET, HOW THANKFUL I AM TO HAVE A BOARD LIKE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, YOU ALL HAVE NOT ONLY BEEN PROFESSIONAL COLLEAGUES, BUT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE PERSONAL CONVERSATIONS AS WELL YOU ARE MY SUPPORT NETWORK. I PUT YOU ON THE SAME CATEGORY AS MY MOM, WIFE, SISTER, BROTHER, BOARD MEMBERS. YOU'RE ALL IN THAT SAME GROUP BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE PHONE CALLS THAT I ANSWER. ALL OF MY FRIENDS, THEY DON'T GET AN ANSWER. TWO WEEKS TO GET BACK TO THEM. GREG NEVER CALLS ME. YOU ALL SERIOUSLY HAVE BEEN I THINK THE BEST BOARD EVER. I HATE THAT SIX OF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO CONTINUE IN THE TENURE. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING ME TOILET PAPER TO THE HUTCHINGS HOME AND LEAVING IT ON MY FRONT DOOR AND I TRULY APPRECIATE THAT. THAT IS A REAL STORY. BUT THESE ARE THE THINGS YOU KNOW, THAT OUR BOARD MEMBERS HAVE DONE. AND EACH OF YOU, YOU KNOW, FROM KEEPING IN CONTACT WITH ME, LIFT ME UP, SHE KNOWS WHEN I'M DOWN. SHE KNOWS THE RIGHT SCRIPTURE TO SEND, RIGHT SERMON I NEED TO LISTEN TO. RAMEE WHO IS ALWAYS LIKE GREG, YOU HAVE BEEN THERE FROM THE BEGINNING, I APPRECIATE THAT. I STILL REMEMBER THE TOUR THAT I GOT OF ALEXANDRIA IN YOUR CAR, DRIVING ME AROUND FOR MY INTERVIEW. TRYING TO BE INCOGNITO THROUGHOUT THE CITY. VERONICA, I WILL NOT PLAY WITH HER. IF I'M EVER GOING TO BE IN TROUBLE, I NEED VERONICA WITH ME. BECAUSE SHE REALLY IS RIDE OR DIE. YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE SEAT OF CEO. YOU UNDERSTAND EDUCATION. YOU HAVE THE BACKGROUND, THE EXPERIENCE, AND I TRULY VALUE EVERYTHING THAT YOU PROVIDE ME. I TRULY APPRECIATE THAT. MEGHAN, WE HAVE HAD SO MANY PHONE CALLS, OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, BECAUSE THINGS HAVE ESCALATED YOU KNOW, JUST RECENTLY WITH OUR CLIMATE. AND IT'S DIFFICULT, I THINK FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE IN LEADERSHIP ROLES WHO HAPPEN TO BE PEOPLE OF COLOR, THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO ENDURE AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO HAVE IN COMMON AND I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU ARE VULNERABLE AND YOU ALLOW ME TO BE VULNERABLE WHEN WE ARE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS. BECAUSE AS SUPERINTENDENT, I CAN'T BE VULNERABLE ALL OF THE TIME. I HAVE TO BE THE STRONG PERSON IN THE ROOM. I HAVE TO BE THE PERSON THAT SAYS WE CAN DO THIS. BUT YOU DO ALLOW ME TO BE VULNERABLE SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. MARGARET IS LIKE MY SECOND WIFE. I LOVE ME SOME MARGARET. BECAUSE SHE IS YOU KNOW, SHE ALWAYS, I MEAN, SHE IS JUST LIKE SOMEBODY WHO IS CARING. YOU KNOW THE RIGHT THINGS TO SAY AND AT THE RIGHT TIME. I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU SMILE. I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOUR FACE. YOU'VE BEEN THAT WAY EVEN PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, WHEN WE WOULD GO TO LUNCH AND WE WOULD GO OVER TIME BECAUSE WE WOULD TALK. DR. REEF, OUR RELATIONSHIP HAS GROWN TREMENDOUSLY OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. AND I REALLY VALUE AND RESPECT YOU KNOW, THE CONSTANT CALLS YOU GIVE. BECAUSE YOU DO GIVE ME SUPPORT AND LOVE BEHIND THE SCENES. YOU'RE LIKE DR. HUTCHINGS, YOU CAN DO THIS. YOU CAN DO IT. IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY. AND I JUST REALLY GENUINELY APPRECIATE THAT ABOUT YOU. BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WE COME FROM DIFFERENT WORLDS. WE DIDN'T KNOW EACH OTHER PRIOR TO THIS. YOU KNOW, TO YOU BEING ON THE BOARD AND ME BEING SUPERINTENDENT. I TRULY BELIEVE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, WE WERE ABLE TO GO OUT AND FINALLY HAVE LIKE DINNER. IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS NOW. [00:55:02] ALMOST TWO YEARS. BECAUSE IT WAS RIGHT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. AND I REALLY VALUE AND APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU KNOW, YOU DO PUSH AND THAT IS YOUR THING, YOU PUSH BUT ALSO SUPPORT. I THINK THAT IS THE TRUE PART OF LEADERSHIP, YOU PUSH AND SUPPORT. YOU DO BOTH. I APPRECIATE THAT ABOUT YOU. I APPRECIATE THE PHONE CALLS THAT WE HAVE HAD AND THE TEXT MESSAGES. HEATHER IS LIKE A SILENT FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH SOMETIMES. HEATHER AND I HAVE, WE HAVE DEVELOPED A RELATIONSHIP OVER THE PAST YEARS TOO. YOU TALK ABOUT SOMEBODY WHO GENUINELY STANDS BEHIND INTEGRITY, LIKE EVERY TIME I THINK OF HEATHER THORNTON, EVEN STAFF, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT BOARD MEMBERS IN A POSITIVE WAY, FOLKS, NOT NEGATIVELY. HEATHER'S INTEGRITY IS SOLID. SHE IS THERE. AND YOU REALLY ARE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. I WISH WE COULD HAVE THREE MORE YEARS, I REALLY DO. I KNOW THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE DOING BIGGER THINGS AROUND HERE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. BUT I SEE SOMETHING BIG IN YOUR FUTURE. BIGGER THAN THIS. GET READY, HEATHER AND GET READY WORLD FOR HEATHER THORNON. THANK YOU FOR THAT. EVERYBODY, I WANTED TO SAY I APPRECIATE YOU ALL. I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO HAVE LITTLE STORIES JUST TO SHARE ABOUT EACH OF YOU IF WE DIDN'T HAVE A RELATIONSHIP AND THAT IS THE KEY PIECE TO ANY ORGANIZATION, RELATIONSHIPS. SO THANK YOU. I AM HONORED. THIS IS YOU KNOW, A SECOND CONTRACT FOR ME IN A PLACE THAT MADE ME THE PERSON I AM TODAY. THE ULTIMATE GIFT I FEEL IN MY LIFE IS THIS JOB. I APPRECIATE YOU ALL. I KNOW DR. CRAWFORD AND MS. WOOD, AS WELL AS DR. REEF AND MR. SUAREZ WERE [37. Equity Policy Audit Update] A PART OF OUR EQUITY POLICY. >> GOOD EVENING, THANK YOU DR. HUTCHINGS. GOOD EVENING. I'M JENNIFER, THE DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND BOARD INITIATIVES, I WILL BE INTRODUCING TONIGHT'S UPDATE OF ACPS'S INNOVATIVE EQUITY AUDIT OF SCHOOL BOARD POLICIES. FIRST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF OUR UPDATE THIS EVENING. WE ARE GOING TO SORRY. WE'RE GOING TO START THE PRESENTATION HERE. CAN YOU SEE THE SLIDES? >> YES. >> OKAY. GREAT. FIRST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF OUR UPDATE, WE'LL BEGIN WITH THE BACKGROUND OF THE EQUITY CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, SUSAN. WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN WITH THE BACKGROUND OF OUR AUDIT, INCLUDING ITS PURPOSE. AND THEN MS. WOOD, OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EQUITY AND ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS WILL REVIEW OUR AUDIT PARTNERSHIP. SHE WILL REVIEW PHASE ONE WHICH WE ARE CURRENTLY IN. HIGHLIGHT OUR PROCESS TO DATE. INCLUDING THE TIMELINE AND THE POLICY REVIEWED SO FAR. AND THEN SHE WILL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR CONTINUING WORK, INCLUDING OUR NEXT STEPS AND UPCOMING PHASES. FINALLY, FROM OUR CONSULTANT PARTNER, THE INTERCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH ASSOCIATION, THE THEMES AND HIGHLIGHTS IDENTIFIED IN THE AUDIT TO DATE WILL BE PRESENTED BY MR. TERRANCE WILSON, IDRA'S REGIONAL POLICY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR. AS WE KNOW, POLICY DRIVES PRACTICE. IF WE WANT TO ENSURE CONSISTENT IMPLEMENTATION OF EQUITABLE PRACTICES ACROSS THE DIVISION, FOR OUR STUDENTS, STAFF AND FAMILIES, THEN OUR PRACTICES [01:00:03] AND PROCEDURES MUST BE BUILT ON A SOLID FOUNDATION OF EQUITABLE POLICY. AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE BOARD MEMBER REEF WHO WILL REVIEW THE GENESIS OF OUR EQUITY POLICY. >> THANK YOU. >> EQUITY, AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT IS THE HEART OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THIS IS THE KEY TO TAKING OUR SCHOOL DIVISION TO THE NEXT LEVEL. AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH SCHOOL YEAR, WE IDENTIFY OUR FOCUS AREAS FOR THE YEAR AND OUR FOCUS AREAS ARE ALIGNED WITH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. THIS YEAR ONE OF THE FOCUS AREAS WE SELECTED WAS TO BEGIN AN EQUITY AUDIT OF OUR SCHOOL BOARD POLICIES, YOU'RE GOING TO BE HEARING MORE ABOUT THE WORK WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS EVENING. AND I JUST WANT TO SAY ALSO THAT THIS WORK IS ONGOING, IT'S BEEN VERY LABOR INTENSIVE. IT'S GOING TO TAKE A WHILE TO DO THIS WORK. AND OUR AUDIT TEAM IS HOPEFUL THAT THE BOARD WILL CONTINUE TO PRIORITIZE THIS WORK IN THE 2122 SCHOOL YEAR. I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO MR. SUAREZ. >> GREAT. THANK YOU, DR. REEF. I'M GOING TO GO OVER THE PROJECT PURPOSE, IF WE CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. OUR POLICIES REALLY NEED TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN. RACIAL EQUITY BEING AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO. ENSURING THAT WE ERADICATE A LOT OF THE STRUCTURAL BIASES IN OUR POLICIES. AND SO THROUGH THIS POLICY WE'RE UNDERTAKING, WE ARE SYSTEMICALLY GOING THROUGH EVERY SINGLE POLICY THAT EXISTS IN ACPS. WE ARE READING EVERY WORD OF THEM, WE'RE SEEING IS THIS POLICY SOMETHING THAT IS REALLY PROMOTING THE VALUES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ESPOUSE, THE SCHOOL DIVISION. THE THIRD BULLET FOCUSING ON THE MOST MARGINALIZED POPULATION TO ENSURE EQUITY FOR ALL. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING ALL STUDENTS IN OUR WORK. BUT THE MOST MARGINALIZED POPULATIONS HAVEN'T ALWAYS BEEN THE LENS THROUGH WHICH THESE POLICIES MAY HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE POLICIES, THESE POLICIES FROM THE VANTAGE POINT OF THOSE WHO MAY NOT HAVE THE STRUCTURAL ADVANTAGES THAT EXIST IN OUR SOCIETY, SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THE POLICIES ARE AGAIN, ENHANCING EQUITY AND ENSURING EVERYONE HAS A FAIR CHANCE OF SUCCESS IN THE DIVISION. FOURTH, WE'RE TRYING TO UNCOVER AND REVIVE POLICIES THAT SUPPORT THE SUCCESS OF THESE GROUPS. THROUGH ALL OF THIS WORK, THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS REALLY TO DISMANTLE CURRENT SYSTEMS THAT ARE BARRIERS TO STUDENTS SUCCESS. IT'S BEEN A JOYABLE EXPERIENCE TO WORK WITH DR. REEF, AND THE VARIOUS MEMBERS OF THE EQUITY POLICY AUDIT TEAM, AS WE'VE CONTINUED THROUGH THIS WORK AND I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT YOU KNOW, THE OUTCOME OF THIS, YOU KNOW, JUST TO MY BOARD COLLEAGUES, I THINK THIS IS AN EXCITING INITIATIVE AND REALLY EXCITED FOR THE FUTURE. SO WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT ON. JENNIFER, I'M NOT SURE WHO IS SUPPOSED TO GO NEXT. MAYBE YOU CAN HELP ME OUT WITH THAT. YEAH. THE NEXT PERSON IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS PARTNERSHIP ARE IDRA, WHO IS WORKING [01:05:04] WITH US IN THIS. THAT IS AN EXCITING PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE. >> AS YOU MAY RECALL ON OCTOBER 29TH, WE PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL BOARD OUR PROPOSED PARTNERSHIP WITH INTERCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH ASSOCIATION. IDRA AFTER MULTIPLE INFORMATION MEETINGS AND CONSULTING GROUPS, AND THE SEARCH OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE DONE THE WORK, WE REALIZED WE WERE EMBARKING ON A FAIRLY NEW JOURNEY. IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY, THE TEAM BEGAN PLANNING OUR PROCESS, DESIGNING A TIMELINE FOR COMPLETION. THIS IS PART OF WHAT YOU SEE HERE TODAY. IN FEBRUARY, WE STARTED REVIEWING EACH POLICY. EACH TEAM MEMBER WORKS TIRELESSLY READING THE POLICIES, TAKING INDIVIDUAL NOTES, COMING TO OUR MEETINGS, WHICH ARE LIFELONG TO OUR MEETINGS AND DISCUSS AND DOCUMENT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WITH THE GUIDANCE OF OUR PARTNER'S IDRA. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THANK YOU. ALSO, DURING PHASE ONE, WE EMBARKED ON OUR JOURNEY, THIS WAS THE MAIN PART, A JOURNEY OF OUR POLICY REVIEW. WE STARTED OUR JOURNEY WITH OUR FOUNDATIONAL POLICIES. WE HAVE MOVED ALONG THROUGH THE J POLICIES, WHICH ARE STUDENT POLICIES, AND OUR I POLICIES, INSTRUCTIONAL POLICIES. BASED ON A TIERED APPROACH. THE TEAM BELIEVED IT WAS IMPORTANT TO START WITH THE POLICIES THAT HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON OUR STUDENTS. WE WERE INTENTIONAL ABOUT REVIEWING OUR POLICIES THROUGH A TRUE EQUITY LENS, TO MOVE CLOSER TOWARDS DISMANTLING SYSTEMIC RACISM AND REPLACE IT WITH EQUITABLE ACCESS AND PRACTICES FOR ALL. AS WE CONTINUE OUR PHASE ONE, WE'RE READING OUR POLICIES AND REVIEWING THEM. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF MORE LEFT. TO LOOK AHEAD, PHASE TWO IS HOW WE ARE CONTINUING OUR JOURNEY. WHERE THE TEAM WILL CONTINUE TO REVIEW TIER TWO LEVEL POLICIES AND ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDERS AND WORK WITH OUR SCHOOL BOARD TO CREATE A SCHEDULE TO REVIEW AND REVISE THE POLICIES IN THE FALL, BASED ON OUR IDRA AND TEAMS RECOMMENDATIONS. PHASE THREE, MOVE INTO ACTION PLANNING, WORKING ON IMPLEMENTATION, AND CAPACITY BUILDING AS WELL AS THE REEVALUATION PROCESS THAT IT WILL TAKE TO BE CONTINUOUS IN OUR IMPROVEMENT AND OUR REVIEW OF OUR POLICIES AS WE GO ON. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US AS A PART OF THIS PROCESS. IT REALLY HAS BEEN A TREAT AND A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH THE FOLKS ON YOUR BOARD AND ON YOUR TEAM TO DO THIS IMPORTANT WORK AROUND LOOKING AT YOUR POLICIES AND MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF THE STUDENTS IN YOUR SCHOOL DIVISION HAVE EQUITABLE ACCESS AND TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND SO PART OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO TODAY IS TALK THROUGH A LITTLE BIT OF THE FIRST STAGE OF RESULTS THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM OUR EQUITY [01:10:05] POLICY PROCESS, BUT JUST REALIZING THAT THIS IS THE BEGINNING AND WE ENVISION YOU KNOW, THIS HAS NOT BEEN A PROCESS WHERE YOU HIRE THE CONSULTANT TO COME IN AND DO THE WORK FOR YOU. I WILL ECHO THE SENTIMENT FROM YOUR STAFF MEMBERS AND BOARD MEMBERS, THIS HAS BEEN A LABOR OF LOVE FOR ALL OF US TOGETHER. OUR EXPERIENCE AT IDRA, WE WORKED WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT STATE AGENCIES ON DOING THIS WORK, THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW TIMES THAT WE'VE SEEN SUCH COMMITMENT ON THE PROCESS FROM ALL FOLKS INVOLVED. SO WE'VE HAD A WONDERFUL TEAM AND ONE OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE ON OUR TEAM THAT I WANTED TO PASS THE MIC, QUICK AUDIBLE. BUT I WANT SOMEONE FROM OUR TEAM TO SPEAK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT OUR EAC SOUTH DIRECTOR, PAULA JOHNSON, SHE IS GOING TO TELL US ABOUT THE EAC. >> GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. I'M GOING TO KEEP IT AS BRIEF AS POSSIBLE. I JUST HAVE TO SAY, I AM OVER THE MOON TO BE WORKING WITH YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT AND JUST THE RIDE SO FAR, THE JOURNEY SO FAR HAS BEEN AMAZING. I TALK ABOUT YOU GUYS A LOT. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I'M LOOKING AT HI. I'M LOOKING AT YOUR VIRTUAL BACKGROUND. THIS IS, I'LL JUST SAY IT THIS WAY. GIVEN THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS, AND GIVEN THE CURRENT CONDITIONS OF EDUCATION, AND WHERE PEOPLE ARE GOING, YOU'VE SEEN A LOT OF LEGISLATION BEING PASSED, THAT IS ENTIRELY AGAINST THIS VIRTUAL BACKGROUND THAT I AM TOTALLY HERE FOR, AND I NEED A SHIRT. SO I'M JUST LIKE PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS SO MUCH GOOD HAPPENING. YOU GUYS KEEP ME GOING. WHEN I SEE HOUSE BILLS BEING PASSED, I THINK ABOUT ACPS, JUST KNOW THAT YOU ARE A LIGHT, YOU ARE A LIGHT HOUSE TO MANY. AND I REALLY BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE SERVING UP A MODEL FOR WHAT SCHOOL BOARD WORK IN THE AREAS OF DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION SHOULD LOOK LIKE AND HOW THAT FILTERS DOWN TO THE CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY, SO I'M GOING TO LEAVE IT AT THAT. BECAUSE I'LL GET EMOTIONAL. I AM DR. PAULA JOHNSON, I SERVE AS DIRECTOR OF THE EAC SOUTH, YOU WILL SEE ON THE GRAPH, REGION TWO MEANS WE SERVE 12 STATES. EVERYTHING FROM TEXAS OVER TO FLORIDA, UP TO D.C., WE ARE ONE OF THE ONLY FOUR EQUITY ASSISTANCE CENTERS ESTABLISHED BY THE CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION OF 1964, THAT FOCUSES SPECIFICALLY ON EDUCATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS FOR STUDENTS, AROUND RACE, GENDER, NATIONAL ORIGIN AND RELIGION. YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND THESE WERE ENACTED, THE CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION OF '64 LED TO THE FIRST EQUITY ASSISTANCE CENTERS AT THE TIME CALLED DESEGREGATION ASSISTANCE CENTERS IN 1975. IDRA WAS A RECIPIENT OF ONE OF THE FIRST GRANTS. WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS WORK SOME TIME. AND WE BEGAN IN FIVE STATES, NOW WE'RE IN 12 STATES. AND UNFORTUNATELY, THE WORK IS STILL CONTINUING. AND STILL NECESSARY. AND WE ARE ENTIRELY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS WITH DISTRICTS, TRYING TO MAKE PROGRESS AROUND EDUCATIONAL EQUITY FOR ALL STUDENTS. THE FOUR FOCUS AREAS SPECIFICALLY SPEAK TO RACE, GENDER, NATIONAL ORIGIN AND RELIGION. WE JUST HAD A NATIONAL I GUESS REVISION THAT ALSO NOW INCLUDES GENDER AND GENDER IDENTITY. AND GENDER SEXUAL ORIENTATION. BUT THE THING ABOUT OUR EQUITY ASSISTANCE WORK IS THAT WE LOOK FOR THE CROSSWALKS, WE LOOK FOR HOW DOES THE INTERSECTION OF RACE, GENDER, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, SPECIAL EDUCATION, STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, BILINGUAL STUDENT POPULATIONS, HOW ARE THEY AND THEIR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES BEING SERVED BY THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. SO IT GOES FAR BEYOND THESE FOUR MAJOR BROAD CATEGORIES, BUT IT REALLY DOES LOOK AT A [01:15:07] VARIETY OF EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS. YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. AND I'LL BE PASSING IT BACK TO TERRANCE, IF THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS. IT'S NOT A Q&A, I'M ASSUMING. ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE, YOU CAN SEND THROUGH TERRANCE OR DIRECTLY TO MYSELF, WITH ANY INFORMATION. HI, JENNIFER. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH, PAULA. AND SO YES, GETTING INTO THE PROCESS AND THE OVERVIEW OF OUR POLICY REVIEW, WE REALLY WANTED TO FOCUS AS WAS MENTIONED ON THOSE POLICIES THAT ARE GOING TO BE DIRECTLY IMPACTING STUDENTS AND THOSE, ALTHOUGH THE PLAN IS TO LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE POLICIES, WE WANTED TO START WITH THOSE THAT WERE GOING TO BE HAVE THE MOST IMPACT ON STUDENTS, ALL STUDENTS, MARGINALIZED STUDENTS IN PARTICULAR, SO WE DECIDED TO START WITH THE A POLICIES, J POLICIES AND I POLICIES. FOCUSING ON FOUNDATIONS, BASIC COMMITMENTS, STUDENT POLICIES AND INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM POLICIES. I WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS THAT WE HAVE IN LOOKING THROUGH SOME OF THE POLICIES TOGETHER. WE CAN GET INTO THE ANALYSIS THUS FAR. SO OUR GUIDING QUESTIONS THROUGH THIS PROCESS, I WON'T READ THEM OUT FOR YOU, BUT REALLY WE TALK ABOUT LOOKING AT ALL OF THE POLICIES THROUGH AN EQUITY LENS, REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE IMPACTS ARE OF THE POLICIES THAT WE WERE REVIEWING. YOU KNOW, FIGURING OUT, YOU KNOW, FROM AN EQUITY STANDPOINT, WHICH STUDENTS ARE INCLUDED, WHAT FAMILIES ARE EXCLUDED, THE LANGUAGE INCLUSIVE. SO WE TRIED TO HAVE A VERY RIGOROUS KIND OF SET OF QUESTIONS THAT WE WOULD ASK AT THE BEGINNING, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, WHEN LOOKING AT THESE POLICIES. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO FROM YOUR FOUNDATIONS AND BASIC COMMITMENTS, WE STARTED WITH THESE BECAUSE THESE ARE FOUNDATIONAL, BASIC COMMITMENTS. WE THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD PLACE TO REALLY START TO OUTLINE THE VISION THAT YOU ALL HAD FOR YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND HAVING EQUITY THROUGHOUT ALL OF YOUR POLICIES. REALLY, ONE OF THE MAJOR THEMES THAT EMERGE, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT EXIST, IS THAT THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE BEYOND JUST NONDISCRIMINATION IN THE WAY THAT YOU ARTICULATE THE VISION FOR EQUITY IN YOUR SCHOOL DIVISIONS. WE REALLY THINK THAT NONDISCRIMINATION IS JUST A FLOOR, THAT IS WHY SOME OF THE BASIC EXPECTATIONS THAT WE HAVE FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, FAMILIES, STAFF, THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GO BEYOND NONDISCRIMINATION, TO THINK ABOUT WHAT A CULTURAL SUSTAINING SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT WOULD LOOK LIKE, HOW DO WE ARTICULATE THAT VISION WITHIN OUR FOUNDATIONAL COMMITMENTS. HOW DO YOU HAVE THOSE SAME KIND OF COMMITMENTS FILTER IN TO THESE PARTICULAR POLICIES. MOVING BEYOND GIVING STUDENTS EQUAL ACCESS, BUT LOOKING AT WHAT ARE EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES, HOW DO YOU LOOK AT WHAT STUDENTS HAVE BEEN NOT GIVEN CERTAIN OPPORTUNITIES, WHAT STUDENTS HAVE ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES AND FINDING WAYS TO MEET THOSE NEEDS. YOU ALL HAVE A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO ALIGN THE SCHOOL BOARD GOALS, ACPS DIVISION GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND PLANS THAT YOU SET UP, WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT YOU HAVE ADOPTED. WE THINK THAT YOU'RE ON THE CUTTING EDGE AROUND THE COUNTRY, BEING INTENTIONAL ABOUT THIS WORK. I THINK THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FURTHER ALIGNMENT. GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. POLICIES AROUND EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY AND NONDISCRIMINATION. WE THOUGHT THAT YOU ALL HAD A ROBUST LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS, YOU KNOW, WAYS TO ADDRESS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG, WAYS TO REPORT CERTAIN INCIDENTS, BUT WE WANTED TO HAVE YOU ALL FOCUS AS AN OPPORTUNITY ON WAYS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS. WHEN THERE IS AN INCIDENT WHEN A STUDENT FEELS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST, WHAT ARE THE SUPPORTIVE AREAS THAT YOU PUT IN PLACE, WHAT ARE THE SERVICES THAT YOU PROVIDE FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TO RESTORE HARM CREATED. AGAIN, WE'RE NOT TALKING JUST ABOUT NONDISCRIMINATION, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CREATING A VISION AROUND WHAT KIND OF CULTURE SUSTAINING SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT WE WANT TO HAVE. WE THINK THERE ARE LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES HERE TO MAKE SURE THAT NOT ONLY ARE YOU TRACKING WHEN INCIDENTS HAPPEN, DOING THAT CONTINUOUSLY, I WAS HAPPY TO HEAR ABOUT THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, KIND OF PROCESS THAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN USING, BECAUSE I THINK IT WORKS VERY WELL. IT GIVES YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT ARE THERE AREAS WHERE WE'RE NOT FOLKS ARE HAVING CHALLENGES WITH REGARD TO DISCRIMINATION OR EQUAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY AND ALLOWS US TO ADDRESS THOSE THINGS AS WE GO FORWARD. [01:20:02] SO WE REALLY WANT THE FOCUS NOT ON SOME OF THE PUNITIVE ASPECTS OF WHAT HAPPENS, BUT THINKING ABOUT RESTORATIVE SUPPORT THAT WE CAN PROVIDE TO STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AND STAFF WHEN THINGS COME UP. GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. IN TERMS OF ACADEMIC POLICIES, WE REALLY YOU KNOW, LOOKED AT ADMISSION, PLACEMENT AND TRANSFER, WE THOUGHT THIS WAS A PLACE TO START EARLIER ON IN THE PROCESS OF REVIEW, IDENTIFY WHAT ARE THE TRENDS IN TERMS OF HOW STUDENTS ARE COMING INTO YOUR SCHOOL DIVISION, AMONGST SCHOOL DIVISION, WHAT CAMPUSES THEY'RE ATTENDING. AND REALLY THINKING ABOUT THE GOAL OF HAVING A DIVERSE YOU KNOW, STUDENT BODY AND HOW CAN WE WORK ON ACHIEVING THOSE GOALS TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT IS UPLIFTING TO ALL OF THE STUDENTS IN YOUR DIVISION SO THEY CAN BENEFIT FROM THE BENEFITS OF HAVING A DIVERSE STUDENT BODY TO ATTEND SCHOOL. AND SO I THINK THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS ATTRACTANTS THAT YOU HAVE WITHIN THE SCHOOL DIVISION TO ATTRACT LOTS OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES. BUT I THINK WE WANTED TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT ACCESS TO SOME OF THOSE PROBLEMATIC OPTIONS THAT WOULD ATTRACT STUDENTS TO INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS. PROGRAMATIC OPTIONS, WHAT STUDENTS ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE AND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BARRIERS. WE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE CAN HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY, AGAIN, LOOKING AT DATA AND REALLY TRYING TO GET IN TO THE WHY AROUND WHAT STUDENTS ARE WHERE AND HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE WE'RE LOOKING TO CREATE DIVERSE AS ENVIRONMENT AS POSSIBLE. WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THANK YOU. NEXT GROUP OF POLICIES WE LOOKED AT WERE AROUND DISCIPLINE. A LOT OF THE POLICIES WERE WRITTEN ON IN A WAY THAT YOU'RE HIGHLIGHTING WHAT NOT TO DO AND THE CONSEQUENCES. BUT I THINK THAT YOU KNOW, THERE ARE LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THESE POLICIES TO REALLY ARTICULATE HOW WE CAN RESTORE HARM, ONCE IT IS CREATED. ARE WE TREATING THESE DISCIPLINARY INCIDENTS OF MANIFESTATIONS OF OTHER CONCERNS THAT THE STUDENTS ARE HAVING. ARE WE PROVIDING THEM SUPPORT. OR ARE WE FOCUSED ON PUNISHMENT. I THINK THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES, YOU ALL HAVE TAKEN A CLOSE LOOK AT DISCIPLINE AND YOU'VE PROVIDED SOME ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE, I KNOW IN THE SCHOOL CODE OF CONDUCT. BUT THINKING ABOUT HOW THE SCHOOL BOARD POLICIES CAN REFLECT THAT WANTING TO PROVIDE SUPPORT AND WANTING TO PROVIDE SUPPORT IN MULTIPLE DIFFERENT WAYS, DEPENDING ON WHAT STUDENTS ARE GOING THROUGH. THINKING ABOUT TRUANCY AND HAVING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR NOT TO TREAT IT IN A PUNITIVE MANNER, BUT TO PROVIDE SUPPORT AND UNDERSTAND WHAT MIGHT BE SOME OF THE ROOT CAUSES THAT MAKE STUDENTS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND SCHOOL, AND THEN REALLY ALSO THINKING ABOUT GOVERNANCE IN TERMS OF HOW STUDENTS ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE DECISIONS THAT IMPACT THEM. WHICH STUDENTS ARE YOU HEARING FROM. I THINK THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU ALL TO HAVE INCORPORATED A STUDENT'S VOICE IN A LOT OF YOUR GOVERNANCE DECISIONS. I THINK THE QUESTION CAN BE RAISED AROUND WHICH STUDENTS. ARE YOU GETTING THE STUDENTS FROM THE TOP OF THE CLASS, OR DO YOU HAVE SYSTEMATIC WAYS TO UNDERSTAND THE STUDENT PERSPECTIVE AND EXPERIENCE, FOR THAT STUDENT IN THE BOTTOM OF THE CLASS, THE STUDENT IS DISENGAGED. I THINK THERE ARE LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES THERE TO CONTINUE TO FLESH OUT WHAT THAT STUDENT EXPERIENCE LOOKS LIKE. AND REALLY HAVE WAYS THAT IT CAN IMPACT THE GOVERNANCE OF THIS DIVISION. NEXT SLIDE. THE NEXT ONE WE TALKED ABOUT WAS AROUND CULTURAL SUSTAINING CURRICULUM. REALLY I THINK ONE OF THE MAIN ISSUES THAT CAME UP, YOU HAVE TO TALK ABOUT EQUITY WITHIN THESE POLICIES, ESPECIALLY AROUND CURRICULUM, ESPECIALLY YOU KNOW, IN TODAY'S CLIMATE, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT STUDENTS HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF EQUITY PRINCIPLES AND THAT THEY'RE LEARNING AND BEING ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS THAT COMES FROM LOOKING AT EQUITY. [01:25:21] AND REALLY BEING ABLE TO RELATE BETTER WITH THEIR FELLOW STUDENTS. BUT ALSO BEING ABLE TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FAMILIES AND STUDENTS TO COCREATE CURRICULUM AND FOR YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT DURING THE PANDEMIC, STUDENT ENGAGEMENT HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE CULTURAL SUSTAINING CURRICULUM THAT WILL REENGAGE STUDENTS TO CONNECT WITH THEIR PEERS, COMMUNITY, AROUND THINGS IMPORTANT TO THEM CULTURALLY. HOW CAN WE LEVERAGE THE IMPACT OF POSITIVE ASPECTS OF DIVERSE SETS OF FAMILIES THAT YOU HAVE AND HAVE THEM BE A STAKEHOLDER AND CREATING THE CURRICULUM THAT OUR STUDENTS LEARN. GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. AND THEN FINALLY, WE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS AROUND CULTURALLY SUSTAINED PEDAGOGY. ESSENTIALLY HOW ARE WE PREPARING OUR TEACHERS TO TEACH YOU KNOW, DIVERSE SET OF STUDENTS, HOW ARE WE UNDERSTANDING GROUPING AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION WITHIN OUR CLASSROOM SETTINGS, TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW, STUDENTS ARE GETTING WHAT THEY NEED IN A CLASSROOM SETTING. AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING HELPING TO AFFIRM THE NEED TO HAVE SPACES, WHERE STUDENTS CAN FEEL CULTURALLY SUPPORTED, WHETHER IT'S AROUND SPEAKING ABOUT THEIR OWN IDENTITY, CULTURE, CURRENT EVENTS, WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE EDUCATORS PREPARED TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS. AND WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SO WE HAVE SEVERAL MORE POLICIES TO REVIEW BEFORE THIS INITIAL PHASE IS OVER. AND WE'VE STARTED TO PLAN OUT THAT PROCESS BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE COVERED A LOT OF GROUND ALREADY AND WE ALREADY WILL HAVE LOTS OF SUBSTANTIVE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE AREAS THAT WE MENTIONED. BUT WE PLAN TO ADDRESS ACADEMIC PATHWAYS, HOW STUDENTS GET INTO CERTAIN COURSES. WE PLANNED TO ADDRESS GRADING, TESTING AND PROMOTION. WE PLAN TO ADDRESS FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES AND THE WAY THAT WE ENGAGE OUR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES AS PARTNERS AND ALSO EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. THOSE ARE STILL IN PROGRESS, BUT WE LOOK FORWARD TO FINISHING THOSE UP IN THE SUMMER AND HAVING A FULL REPORT FOR YOU ALL TO CONSIDER AS A SCHOOL BOARD. >> NEXT SLIDE, I'M SORRY. >> SO AT THIS POINT, WE WILL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTION AND DISCUSSION, AS I MENTIONED, YOU HAVE GOT ME AND ALSO DR. JOHNSON HERE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. BUT I WILL SAY THAT BOTH JENNIFER AND THE FOLKS ON THE BOARD HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN WORKING RIGHT ALONGSIDE US, AS WE'VE DONE THIS TOGETHER. FEEL FREE TO ASK THEM QUESTIONS AS WELL. I WILL PAUSE THERE AND TURN IT BACK OVER TO JENNIFER TO FACILITATE QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS FROM THE BOARD. >> THANK YOU TERRANCE. MADAM CHAIR, WE'RE READY FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD MAY HAVE. >> ALL RIGHT. SO DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I HAVE MS. GENTRY. >> WOW. IT'S LIKE CHRISTMAS OR WHATEVER, WINTER FESTIVAL YOU WANT IN JUNE. YEAH. THIS IS SO EXCITING, JUST ONE QUICK COMMENT AND THEN JUST A CLARIFYING QUESTION. I JUST WANT TO REALLY EMPHASIZE FOR PEOPLE THAT YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS KIND OF STUFF, IT'S NOT ALWAYS IF YOU DON'T LIVE AND BREATHE AND HANG OUT IN POLICY WORLD, IT'S NOT ALWAYS CLEAR TO PEOPLE YOU KNOW, WHAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS BETWEEN THIS KIND OF WORK AND MY KID AND MY KID LEARNING AND MY KID SUCCEEDING. I JUST WANT TO REALLY EMPHASIZE TO PEOPLE THAT THERE ABSOLUTELY IS A DIRECT LINE AND YOU KNOW, PUTTING IN THE TIME TO REALLY WORK ON THESE POLICIES WILL ABSOLUTELY FEED INTO ALL OF OUR STUDENTS THRIVING. I MEAN, THIS IS VERY VERY EXCITING WORK. SO THANK YOU EVERYBODY ON THE TEAM THAT HAS BEEN DOING THAT. JUST A CLARIFICATION FROM ME, LOOKING AT THE SCHEDULE. ON THE VERY LAST PAGE, BECAUSE I'M EXCITED, BECAUSE I SKIPPED TO THE LAST PAGE, JUNE 15TH THROUGH JUNE 30TH, IDRA FULL REPORT DRAFTING. SO IF WE CAN GET A SENSE OF LIKE, IT WAS GREAT TO GET THIS REVIEW OF WHAT POLICIES YOU GUYS WERE LOOKING AT. GIVE US A SENSE OF THE NEXT TIME SOMETHING WILL BE COMING BACK TO THE BOARD AND WHAT SHAPE IT WILL BE IN. >> SO I'LL CHIME IN AND SAY THAT WE HAD AN AMBITIOUS END DATE FOR THIS POLICY REVIEW. [01:30:04] WE SET IT UP SO THAT WE WOULD GET THROUGH ALL OF THE POLICIES BY THE BEGINNING OF JUNE. AND SO UNFORTUNATELY, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET THROUGH ALL OF THE POLICIES. WE'RE WORKING ON THE REPORT NOW. SO YOU KNOW, THIS IS AN ONGOING PROCESS, BUT THE PLAN IS TO FINISH REVIEWING THE POLICIES IN JULY. AND TO HAVE THE END OF JULY THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST, BE THE TIME WHEN YOU ALL WILL [38. Continuity of Learning Fall Reopening Playbook 6.0 (Documents uploaded 6/16/21)] REVIEW SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS REPORT. AND YOU KNOW THAT IT'S GOING TO BE AN ONGOING PROCESS, REVIEW AND REVISION FOR THESE INDIVIDUAL POLICIES. WE'RE ALSO YOU KNOW, WHAT KANNEDRA TALKED ABOUT EARLIER IN PHASE TWO AND PHASE THREE, WE'RE ENVISIONING SUPPORTING YOU THROUGH THAT PROCESS AS WELL. EVEN THOUGH THE REPORT MAY BE ONE THING, WE'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU THE REPORT AND WASH OUR HANDS, WALK AWAY. WE'LL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT YOU AS A BOARD AND OTHER FOLKS ON THE EQUITY AUDIT COMMITTEE AS WE ARE GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS. BECAUSE I KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GO THROUGH THESE POLICIES AND MAKE LINE BY LINE REVISIONS. I THINK THAT IS WHAT THE IDEA WILL BE IN TERMS OF OUR TIMELINE. I WANT TO I LOVE THE IDEA, THAN WHY, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE SOME OF THIS WILL [01:35:03] NEED TO COME TO US IN CHUNKS. I CERTAINLY WANT TO ENCOURAGE THAT. I WOULDN'T WANT TO WAIT UNTIL YOU GUYS HAVE GONE THROUGH EVERY SINGLE POLICY, I SEE DR. REEF SHAKING HER HEAD. GREAT. WE WON'T DO IT THAT WAY. BECAUSE WE CAN DEFINITELY REALLY START HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING. SO THANK YOU EVERYONE. >> THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION. CHAIRPERSON: ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. >> I WOULD JUST SAY AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, IS OUR CONTACT INFORMATION, SO FOLKS ON THE BOARD OR EVEN FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT RECEIVED THESE PRESENTATIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO US IF YOU'VE GOT ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS. WE'RE EXTREMELY HAPPY TO BE WORKING WITH YOU ALL AS A BOARD. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME THIS EVENING. CHAIRPERSON: THANK YOU. >> WE HOPE THAT OUR CHILDREN ARE ABLE TO GET VACCINATED THIS SUMMER BEFORE THE SCHOOL YEAR NEXT FALL AND WE'RE EXCITED CHILDREN WILL BE GOING BACK TO SCHOOL FIVE DAYS A WEEK. I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MISS CHERYL WALDREN. I WILL GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE POLL RESULTS. THESE ARE THE FINAL RESULTS AND I HAVE PRESENTED APRIL, WHICH WAS THE PRIOR MONTH AND THE CURRENT FINAL REPORTING FOR MAY. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE HAD A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE. WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO OBTAIN A 95% RESPONSE RATE TO OUR POLL WITH ONLY 5% WHO WERE EITHER INCOMPLETE IN THE RESPONSE OR DID NOT RESPOND TO THE POLL. THIS IS UP FROM 61% OF THE RESPONDENTS FROM APRIL AND 39% WHO DID NOT RESPOND. IN TERMS OF OUR VACCINATED STAFF, WE ARE RECORDING 62% OF OUR STAFF AS FULLY VACCINATED AND THAT ALSO IS AN INCREASE FROM OUR REPORT IN APRIL WHERE WE HAD 47, SO LET'S THAN HALF PERCENT OF THE STAFF AND FOR THOSE WHO EITHER DID NOT DISCLOSE BECAUSE, AS YOU TOE WEB THERE WERE THOSE THAT WERE NOT GOING TO DISCLOSE OR WERE NOT GOING TO TAKE THE VACCINE AND THOSE THAT STARTED THE PROCESS BUT DID NOT COMPLETE IT AND THIS IS BASED ON 2,648 FTD'S. AND I WILL TURN IT BACK OVER TO DR. MAZINKO. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. THIS SLIDE, ACTUALLY, INCLUDES THE RANGE OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS AS WELL AS SENATE BILLS THAT GUIDED THE SCHOOL DIVISIONS IN THE COMMONWEALTH, AS YOU CAN SEE SINCE MARCH OF 2020 ALL THE WAY THROUGH MARCH 30, 2021. AND THE EXCLUSIVE ORDERS OR THE SENATE BILLS ACTUALLY PROVIDED GUIDANCE FOR HOW WE SHOULD OPERATE DURING THE PANDEMIC AND OVER THIS YEAR. I WOULD LIKE TO JUST QUICKLY DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO MARCH 30, 2021 AND FOR YOU CAN SEE THAT SENATE BILL 3003, WHICH IS WHAT WE ARE OPERATING UNDER AS WE OPEN IN THE FALL [01:40:07] AND THIS SENATE BILL WAS GENERATED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND ASSIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR WHICH IS REQUIRES IN PERSON INSTRUCTION. IT WILL MOVE TO OUR SCHOOLS. IN AUDITION, WE'RE REQUIRED FOR FAMILIES WHO DECIDE TO OFFER A VIRTUAL OPTION FOR THE FAMILIES AND YOU WILL HEAR MORE ABOUT VIRTUAL IN A SHORT WHILE. BUT AGAIN, WE WANTED YOU TO BE AWARE FOR THE REQUIREMENTS FOR REOPENING AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT WHAT IS OCCURRING IN THE FALL. I WOULD LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO DR. MANN. >> THANK YOU, DR. MAZINKO. THIS IS AN ARMY OF PEOPLE LEARNING AND WE START BACK IN SEPTEMBER. WHEN YOU SPLIT OR PROGRAM, WE HAVE 21 PROGRAMS THIS SUMMER AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND ALL OF THE FAMILIES AND PRE K 8TH GRADE THAT WERE INVITED WILL BE IN PERSON AND WE WILL BE PRACTICING WHAT WE'LL DO IN THE FALL, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, SOCIAL DISTANCING AND WE'LL STILL BE WEARING MASKS AND YOU'LL SEE HERE THAT THIS IS PRE K TO 8TH GRADE AND WE'LL HAVE 1715 STUDENTS PARTICIPATING AS YOU'LL SEE. WE ARE PLANNING FOR OVER 3500 STUDENTS VIRTUALLY IN VARIOUS PROGRAMS AND THEN YOU'LL SEE SPECIAL ED TEAM HAS BEEN HARD AT WORK GETTING 432 STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON AND THAT COULD BE EITHER BE THE ESY PROGRAM OR THE CLOSING THE GAP PROGRAM AND WE'VE BEEN GIVING STAFFING UPDATES FROM MYSELF OR SANDRA HARDIN AND 99 SUPPORT STAFF AND WE'RE GRATEFUL TO EVERYONE WHO SAID YES WHETHER THEY ARE COMING IN PERSON OR VIRTUAL AND WE HAVE BEEN WORKING AGAIN WITH OUR CITY PARTNERS OR STUDENT SERVICES AND WE'LL BE PILOTING AT ALL OF OUR LOCATIONS THE COVID TESTING AND WE'LL BE EXCITED AND THAT INFORMATION IS GOING HOME TO PARENTS AND FAMILIES TOMORROW AND WE'LL BE SENDING THIS VIA EMAIL AND ALSO SNAIL MAIL AND THEY'LL GET AN UPDATE ON SOME OF THE CHANGES WE'VE MADE ON THE SCHEDULES AND ALSO WHAT SCHOOL THEY'LL BE ATTENDING AND THE TEACHER AND THE INFORMATION ON THE PILOT TESTING FOR COVID. AND YOU'LL SEE BELOW THAT WE SCALED BACK ON SOME OF THE SCHOOLS AND WE RECENTLY WENT OUT THINKING WE MADE NEED TO USE UP TO TEN SCHOOLS AND WE'LL SEE FOR ELEMENTARY AND WE'LL USING THE VARIOUS SCHOOLS. WE'VE CLUSTERED SCHOOLS USING TRANSPORTATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN CLUSTER SOME OF THE SCHOOLS EAST SIDE AND WEST SIDE AND THERE'S JEFFERSON AND HOUSTON AND SOME FOR JOHN ADAMS AND DUAL LANGUAGE WILL BE AT JOHN ADAMS. THE BOARD MEMBERS WOULD BE ON THE LAST FRIDAY IN JULY AND THAT'S BEEN AN EXCITING TIME FOR THE SENIORS AND THEN GOING BACK TO THE JUNIORS, SOPHOMORES AND FRESHMAN AND THIS IS MAXIMIZING THE IN PERSON TIME. IF A STUDENT CANNOT MAKE IT IN PERSON, THERE'S A VIRTUAL OPTION FOR CREDIT RECOVERY. WE HAVE MADE CHANGES TO ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL, THERE'S ASYNCHRONOUS WORK AND WE'RE PAIRING UP THERE. OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE VIRTUAL AND THEY WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO ENROLL AT A BOOST COURSE IN ENGLISH OR MATH. WE'RE PAIRING THEM WITH STAFF AND WE'VE MADE CHANGES WITH OUR PARTNERS TO BETTER SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS. AGAIN, WE'RE EXCITED FOR THE 21 PROGRAM AND I WON'T LIST THEM ALL BUT THERE'S MANY FOR THEATER AND EXCEL AND AP BOOTCAMPS AND CALCULOUS AND JUST AN AP COURSE FOR THE [01:45:07] FIRST TIME AND SUMMER BRIDGE PROGRAMS. THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THINK ABOUT THE SCHEDULE FOR IN PERSON, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE'LL START FROM 9:00 TO 1:00 AND THEY'LL BE IN SCHOOL FOUR DAYS A WEEK, MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY AND THE FIRST IS TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AND WE'RE ALL FOR THE 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND. YOU'LL SEE IN BOTH SCHEDULES, THAT ELEMENTARY WILL START WITH THE MORNING AND SEAL AND THE SIMILARITY IN BOTH SCHEDULES THAT WE'LL BE FOCUSING ON AND WRITING IS A SIMILAR ELEMENT IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHEDULE. THANK YOU FOR THE WORKFORCE SERVICE'S TEAM AND ALSO OUR LITERACY FOR POWERING WITH THE SEAL TOPICS. HOW DO WE INCORPORATE WITH LITERACY? YOU SEE INQUIRY AND CHANGE MAKER. AT THIS TIME, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DR. HOOVER. >> THANK YOU, DR. MANN. WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE. YOU'LL NOTICE TWO THINGS ON THE SLIDE, AND NUMBER ONE THAT THE IN PERSON THE NUMBER OF IN PERSON STUDENTS ATTENDING IN THE FALL HAS INCREASED UP TO 14,113 AND SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. THERE'S ABOUT A LOT OF EFFORTS TO FAMILIES WHO SELECT TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE PROGRAM AND THE REFLECTION AND THIS CHART REFLECTS DISCUSSIONS BASED ON MORE INFORMATION AND YOU'LL NOTICE AT THE BOTTOM THE TOTAL. I JUST WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT RIGHT NOW THE TOTAL IS A TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS ENROLLED FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR AND IT HAS CHANGED IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS BECAUSE WE'VE HAD ADDITIONAL STUDENTS ENROLLED NEXT SCHOOL YEAR AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT TO CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER. AGAIN, THAT IS NOT OUR PROJECTED ENROLLMENT, BUT THAT'S AN EVER CHANGING NUMBER AT THIS POINT IN TIME. SO WE'RE EXCITED THAT 94% OUR STUDENTS WILL RETURN IN PERSON. NEXT SLIDE. AS IN POSITIONS ARE BUDGETING, THERE'S DEPARTMENT REORGANIZATIONS, POSITIONS GET ORGANIZED. AS OF TODAY, WE HAVE COMPLETED 11 JOB FAIRS AND IN A YEAR WHERE FLEXIBILITY IS ESSENTIAL, WE USE PLATFORMS FOR HIRING. WE HAVE A TEACHER FAIR THAT TOOK PLACE EARLIER THIS WEEK. IN THAT FAIR ON TUESDAY, WE HAD 202 CANDIDATES THAT PREREGISTERED AND WE CONDUCTED 96 INTERVIEWS THAT DAY AND 13 OF OUR SCHOOLS PARTICIPATED AND IN THE MONTH OF JULY, WE HAVE SCHEDULED EVERY FRIDAY A MEET THE EMPLOYER EVENT THAT WILL TARGET SUPPORT STAFF RECRUITMENT EFFORTS. AS YOU REVIEW THE STAFFING TIMELINE, YOU SEE THE NEXT TWO MONTHS ARE CRITICAL AND THIS IS WHEN WE DO ALL OF THE OFFERS FOR HIRE AND BEGIN ON BOARDING FOR THE NEW TEACHER ORIENTATION WHICH IS SLATED FOR AUGUST 10TH THROUGH THE 12TH AND WE'RE EXPECTING JUST UNDER 200 NEW LICENSED STAFF IN THE NEW TEACHER ORGANIZATION AND I'LL TURN THIS OVER TO RANEY PASCAL. >> THANK YOU. NEW PRINCIPALS KNOW WELL ABOUT REOPENING IN THE FALL, BUT NOTHING ROUTINE ABOUT TRANSITIONING BACK FROM SCHOOL AS WE'VE KNOWN IT FOR DECADES. THE ITEMS ON THE RIGHT ARE INTENDED TO HIGHLIGHT NUANCES WITH STUDENT'S SUCCESS. [01:50:01] THIS IS ESTABLISHING A WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS. THIS IS AT THE ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS WHICH IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT THIS YEAR WHEN ALL SCHOOLS WILL BE WELCOMING NEW FAMILIES THAN ANY OTHER YEAR IN HISTORY. WE KNOW THAT WE MUST STAY ON TOP OF MODIFICATIONS TO THE PREVAILING HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES AND BE PREPARED TO PIVOT AS NECESSARY AND THIS WILL CONFIRM THE ARRIVAL, DISMISSAL AND OTHER PROCEDURES REFLECT KEY PRIORITIES. WE MUST BE INTENTIONAL IN FOCUSING IMPROVEMENT PLANS ON THE DISRUPTIVE LEARNING OF STUDENTS AND BUILD MASTER SCHEDULES FOR TIERED INTERVENTIONS. SPEAKING OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT, I WILL HAND THIS OVER TO DR. SANDS. >> WE WANTED TO OUTLINE SOME OF THE THINGS WE WILL DO TO MITIGATE LEARNING LOSS FOR STUDENTS IN THE FALL. WE WILL CONTINUE OR EFFORTS USING OUR MULTITIERED SYSTEM OF SUPPORT TO IDENTIFY SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL NEEDS FOR STUDENTS AND WILL ENGAGE IN IDENTIFYING NEEDS BOTH ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL FOR STUDENTS AND SO WE CAN DEVELOP INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATIONAL PLANS FOR THEM AND WE ALSO WILL CONTINUE TO ENGAGE OUR PROGRESS MONITORING EFFORTS. TWO OF THE AREAS TO CONTINUE WITH INCLUDE THE PLCS TO EXAMINE STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND UNIT ASSESSMENT DATA, BUT ALSO OUR QUARTERLY CHATS SERVING AS TOOLS FOR SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT AND SENIOR LEADERS SO THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY THE INSTRUCTIONAL CHALLENGES, AS WELL AS AREAS OF NEED, AS WELL AS AREAS OF SUCCESS AROUND PERFORMANCE. THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS FALL IN TERMS OF ADDRESSING THE LEARNING LOSS IS AN APPLICATION WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING AND THAT IS THE 3 APPLICATION. THIS INCLUDES FIVE BROAD CATEGORIES TO ADDRESS IS ONE IS REOPENING SCHOOLS AND KEEPING THEM OPEN AND ANOTHER PRIORITY AREA IS ACCELERATING STUDENT LEARNING AND THE NEXT PRIORITY IS POST SECONDARY PATHWAYS IS CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND FINALLY RESIGNING ASSESSMENTS AND ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS. WE HAVE MULTIPLE PEOPLE IN ACPC WORKING ACROSS TEAMS TO IDENTIFY AREAS IN OUR APPLICATION THAT WILL HELP US TO ACCELERATE LEARNING TO MITIGATE LEARNING LOSS THAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE EXPERIENCED DUE TO THE EXTENDED TIME AWAY FROM OUR TRADITIONAL SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND WE ENVISION THAT SOME OF THOSE AREAS INCLUDE OPTIONS FOR SUMMER LEARNING AND ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES, EXTENDED DAY OPPORTUNITIES, COMPREHENSIVE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND AGAIN, ENHANCEMENTS TO THE MULTITIER SYSTEMS OF SUPPORTS TO LOOK AT DIVISION WIDE MONITORING SYSTEMS DEVELOPING A KIND OF WEB BASE PLATFORM THAT WILL ALLOW US TO MORE CLOSELY MONITOR OUR MTSS OUTCOMES. AND WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO TURN THE PRESENTATION OVER TO CARMEN SANDERS, I BELIEVE. >> YES, THANK YOU, DR. SAMMS. LAST NIGHT, JUNE 16TH, AT 7:00 P.M., ACPS HELD A WANTENER IN COLLABORATION WITH VIRTUAL VIRGINIA LEADERSHIP TO PROVIDE FAMILIES WITH INFORMATION ABOUT VIRTUAL VIRGINIA AND ACPS SUPPORT FOR THE 2021 2022 SCHOOL YEAR IS THIS WEBINAR WAS SCHEDULED A THE REQUEST OF FAMILIES AND SCHOOL LEADERS THAT WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT VIRTUAL VIRGINIA AND SUPPORTS THAT THEY OFFER AND WHAT ACPS [01:55:03] SERVICES AND RESOURCES WILL BE PROVIDED FOR STUDENTS WHO CHOSE THE VIRTUAL LEARNING OPTIONS FOR THE FALL. SPANISH, ARABIC WERE PROVIDED WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE ACPS WEBSITE FOR FAMILIES THAT WERE NOT ABLE TO ATTEND LAST NIGHT. HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED INFORMATION ON THE K 5, MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL SCHEDULES, COURSE OFFERINGS, THE K 5 PARENT GUARDIAN ROLE, THE ATTENDANCE EXPECTATIONS, STUDENT SUPPORTS AND TIERED INTERVENTION STEPS. ACPS STAFF PRESENTED INFORMATION ON SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, ENGLISH LEARNERS AND TALENTED AND GIFTED STUDENTS. PANEL MEMBERS RESPONDED LIFT TO PARTICIPANT'S QUESTIONS AND ZOOM QUESTION AND ANSWER FUNCTION. THERE WERE QUESTIONS POSED ABOUT IEP ACCOMMODATIONS, CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT BETWEEN ACPS AND VIRTUAL VIRGINIA, COURSE OFFERINGS, TALENTED AND GIFTED EDUCATION PLANS AND TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS. AND IN THE COMING DAYS, WE ANTICIPATE A DECREASE IN THE NUMBERS THAT WERE PRESENTED IN THE FALL LEARNING CHOICE RESULTS PRESENTED BY DR. HOOVER EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION. AS FAMILIES ARE BETTER INFORMED AND HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE INSTRUCTION AND THE SUPPORT THAT CAN BE PROVIDED BY VIRTUAL VIRGINIA AND ACPS. NOW TO MY AWESOME CO PROJECT MANAGER DR. EVERSON. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE FANTASTIC MISS SANDERS. ACPS IS IN THE PROCESS OF DESIGNATING A VIRTUAL LEARNING MENTOR AT EVERY ACPS SCHOOL. FOR ANY OF OUR FAMILIES WHO ARE CURRENTLY TAKING ONLINE COURSES THROUGH ACPS, THIS WILL MIRROR THE LEARNING ROLE. WE ASKED OUR PRINCIPALS TO SELECT INDIVIDUALS AT THEIR SCHOOLS WHO EXEMPLIFY THESE INDIVIDUALS. THEY WILL AID STUDENTS IN SETTING AND MAINTAINING THEIR GOALS. I'M GOING TO BRIEFLY PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHARACTERISTICS. AS A COACH, THE VIRTUAL MENTOR WILL HELP TO NURTURE AND GUIDE STUDENT'S PROGRESS IN THEIR VIRTUAL PROCESS. THEY FOSTER AND SUPPORT THE LEARNING BY HELPING THEM SET AND ESTABLISH GOALS. IN THE EVENT THAT STUDENTS ARE SUCCESSFULLY MEETING GOALS, THEY WILL HELP STUDENTS ADJUST THEIR GOALS AND THEIR STRATEGIES BASED ON THE STUDENT'S NEEDS. THEY WILL WORK WITH ANY REQUIRED SERVICES AND I WILL TURN IT OVER TO DARRYL SAMPSON TO DISCUSS THE UPDATES FOR FALL. >> WE WANT TO CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS TO OUR STUDENTS IN THE UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR AS WE KNOW THE ONGOING EFFECTS OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC AND THE IMPACTS OF THE SYSTEMIC RACISM WILL HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE STUDENTS AND ONE OF THE AREAS WE'LL WORK ON AND WORK THROUGH IS THE DELIVERY OF A SOCIAL EMOTIONAL AND ACADEMIC WORKING CURRICULUM TO ALL OF THE STUDENTS AT THE TIER 1 LEVEL AND THIS IS THE EXPANSION OF THE RULER CURRICULUM FROM THE CENTER FROM EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TO ALL SCHOOLS WHICH WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL MATERIALS AND SUPPORTS DEVELOPED BY THE DEPARTMENTS OF STUDENT SERVICES AND EQUITY AND TEACHING LEARNING AND LEADERSHIP IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR SCHOOLS. THEN THROUGH OUR MTSS PROCESS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK TO IDENTIFY STUDENTS WHO NEED FOR TARGETED INTERVENTIONS AT THE TIER 2 IS TIER 3 LEVEL AND WE ARE LOOKING TO INCLUDE A SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND UNIVERSAL SCREENING TOOL TO ASSIST IN PROVIDING BASELINE DATA BY WHICH STUDENTS MAY BE IDENTIFIED FOR ADDITIONAL [02:00:05] INTERVENTION SO WE CAN USE THIS BOTH FROM THE ACADEMIC SIDE OF THINGS WITH DR. SIMM'S SIDE OF THE HOUSE AND IDENTIFY THOSE STUDENTS WHO NEED THOSE MORE TARGETED INTERVENTIONS IN THE AREAS OF ACADEMICS, SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS AND BEHAVIORAL CONSIDERATIONS AND I WILL TURN THIS OVER TO DR. NICKERSON. >> THANK YOU, MR. SAMPSON. THIS FALL WE SUPPORT OUR GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS ON USING THE PRACTICES IN TIER 1 CORE CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION AND OUR L TEACHERS WILL PROVIDE DIRECT LANGUAGE THROUGH A DEDICATED BLOCK OF TIME FOR DEVELOPMENT. COLLABORATION FOR EDUCATORS IS A FOCUS AREA FOR PROFESSIONAL COMMITTEE MEETINGS, GRADE IS CONTENTS LEVEL MEETINGS WITH GENERAL EDUCATION AND ALSO WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS FOR DULY IDENTIFIED STUDENTS AND AT THE USE OF ASSESSMENT, IT WILL BE A FOCUS AREA THIS FALL. DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, WE WILL NOT HAVE ACCESS FOR DATA FOR ALL OF OUR L STUDENTS WORKING THROUGHOUT THE AREA FOR THE READING AND SPEAKING RUBRIC. THERE WILL BE GUIDANCE FOR NEWCOMERS IN OUR SCHOOLS, FOR NEWLY ENROLLING IMMIGRANT STUDENTS AND HOW BEST TO SUPPORT OUR LONG TERM LS, FOR OUR STUDENTS IN OUR L PROGRAM FOR OVER FIVE YEARS. AND WE WILL BE INCREASING OUR FAMILY OUTREACH THROUGH OUR L TEACHERS THIS FALL TO ENSURE STUDENT'S SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS ARE MET IN ADDITION TO ACADEMIC NEEDS. AT THIS TIME, I'LL TURN THE PRESENTATION OVER TO MISS TERRY WERNER. >> THIS IS FOCUSING ON THREE KEY CRITICAL AREAS AS WE MOVE INTO SUMMER AND INTO FALL PLANNING. AND FIRST IS COMMUNICATION AND THEN COLLABORATION. WE ENSURE THAT THERE'S A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF EXPECTATIONS BOTH IN THE VIRTUAL AND BACK TO SCHOOL PROGRAM. WE ARE, AGAIN, THROUGH OUR COLLABORATION INITIATIVES WORKING TO ENSURE THE BEST PRACTICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ARE IMPLEMENTED IN THE GENERAL CLASS ROOM AND CITY WIDE CLASSROOMS. OUR CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH OUR TEACHERS AND WITH OUR SCHOOL BASED STAFF TO ADDRESS BOTH LEARNING LOSS AND THOSE INTERVENTIONS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO ADVANCE STUDENTS THROUGH THE CURRICULUM. WE ARE LOOKING AT A DATA FOCUSED PROCESS AND WILL, AGAIN, COMMUNICATE BACK WITH PARENTS AND ENSURE THAT WE PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE PROGRAM WITH STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AND I'LL HAND THIS OVER TO DR. ALICIA HART. >> I WOULD LIKE TO WRAP UP WITH WHAT WE WILL BE DOING FROM A FAMILIAR'S STANDPOINT IN THE FALL. WITH REGARDS TO SOCIAL DISTANCING, WE WILL NOT OPPORTUNITY WITH THE THREE FEET OF SOCIAL DISTANCING IN THE SUMMER, AS WELL AS THE FALL. WE WILL CONTINUE WITH OUR ENHANCED CLEANING PROCEDURES THAT WE IMPLEMENTED AS A COVID MITIGATION STRATEGY OVER THE SUMMER AND INTO THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR AND WE WILL KEEP IN PLACE OUR TEMPERATURE SCREENING AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MODIFYING AND/OR ADJUSTING TEMPERATURE FROM CDC AND THE AH D AND I WANT TO REITERATE, WE ARE WEARING MASKS IN OUR FACILITIES AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO SO UNLESS WE GET ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE FROM ONE OF THE AGENCIES REGARDING THAT PARTICULAR PIECE OF MITIGATION. NOW TURNING IT OVER TO DR. HUTCHINGS. >> ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION. AS YOU CAN SEE AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH ALL OF THESE UPDATES, WE ARE GOING BACK TO FIVE DAYS A WEEK, BUT WE'RE NOT GOING BACK TO HOW THINGS USED TO BE AND WE SHOULDN'T. WE DIDN'T HAVE IT RIGHT PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, SO LET'S TRY TO GET IT RIGHT AFTER THE PANDEMIC. AND THIS IS OUR GOAL, TO REALLY TAKE EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE LEARNED OVER THE PAST 15 MONTHS. IT'S BEEN GRUESOME, BUT A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO REGION HOW WE SERVE OUR [02:05:03] STUDENTS AND HOW WE SERVE OUR STAFF, AS WELL AS OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR FAMILIES. I'M HOPING THAT OUR TEAM WILL CONTINUE TO EXPLORE HOW WE CAN DO BETTER FOR OUR KIDS AND IN LIGHT OF THIS PANDEMIC AND SOME OF THE LEARNING LOSS THAT WE'RE HAVING, THESE ARE SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITIES TO REGION SUPPORTS, WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE, NOT ONLY IN OUR CLASSROOMS, BUT AS WELL AS THE SUPPORTS AT HOME OR ON THE WEEKENDS OR IN THE EVENINGS, WHICH WE HAVE A VERY INNOVATIVE TEAM WHICH WILL HELP US COME UP WITH SOME OF THE ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS. SO I'LL STOP HERE AND OPEN THE FLOOR BECAUSE I'M SURE THE BOARD HAS MANY QUESTIONS AND WE'LL STOP HERE. >> THANK YOU, MISS GENTRY. I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND I FEEL WE'RE ON TRACTOR THE FALL. I THINK THIS IS GREAT TO SEE THE SUMMER PLAN REALLY COME INTO FULL FRUITION AND I'M EXCITED ABOUT THAT. I REALLY JUST WANTED TO KIND OF DRAW A RED CIRCLE AROUND THE LAST PART OF THE PRESENTATION BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF TIMES AND I THINK THIS IS UNDERSTANDABLE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO IMAGINE THE DAY. IN THE COMMUNITY, I HEAR A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT MASKS. I THINK THE ANSWER TO THAT IS KIND OF WHAT WAS SAID IN THE SECOND TO LAST SLIDE. WE'RE GOING TO KEEP FOLLOWING THE GUIDANCE, BUT I AM POSITIVE. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE GUIDANCE WILL BE, BUT I'M SURE IT WILL CHANGE BETWEEN 7:48 P.M. ON JUNE 17TH AND THE FALL. AND SO THIS IS AS FULL AND FLESHED OUT A PLAN AS WE CAN GIVE OUR COMMUNITY AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME AND WE WILL CERTAINLY SHARE IF THERE ARE ADJUSTMENTS FOR THAT. I JUST WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION. I CONTINUE TO REALLY APPRECIATE THE STRONG WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. AS WE MOVE INTO THE FALL AND THE VACCINE BECOMES AVAILABLE FOR YOUNGER AND YOUNGER PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, I JUST FEEL LIKE WE HAVE A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER WITH OUR PUBLIC HEALTH COLLEAGUES IN TERMS OF VACCINES AND SO I GUESS I JUST WANTED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT WHAT CONVERSATIONS OUR STAFF HAS HAD WITH ALEXANDRIA HEALTH DEPARTMENT THINKING AHEAD TO WHEN THOSE DAYS WILL COME. >> DR. CRAWFORD. >> HI, GOOD EVENING, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WONDERFUL, VERY TIMELY QUESTION, AS ALWAYS. AND WE ARE ACTUALLY PREPARING A BOARD BRIEF FOR TOMORROW. THE WORK WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND VACCINATION PODS AND EXCITED TO INCLUDE HOW MANY STUDENTS HAVE BEEN VACCINATED TO DATE. WE HAVE WEEKLY CONVERSATIONS AND TWO DIFFERENT SETS. WE HAVE SOME WITH OUR SCHOOL TEAMS AND EPIDEMIOLOGISTS AND WE LOOK AT A VARIETY OF OPTIONS TO HAVE OUTREACH TO THE STUDENTS AND WE HAVE SEVERAL FAMILY DAYS, AS YOU KNOW. AND I THINK SOME OF MY MEETINGS ARE BLENDING AND I CAN'T REMEMBER IF I SHARED THIS. BUT AT THE LAST FAMILY DAY, THEY WERE REMEMBER THEY HAD FIRST TIME SHOTS OF FAMILIES, NOT JUST STUDENTS. OUT OF THE TWO FAMILY DAYS SO FAR, WE HAD 800 AND SOME OF OUR FAMILIES COME IN, INCLUDING OUR MAYBE A 12 YEAR OLD WHO WAS ABLE TO GET THEIR PARENT TO GET VACCINATED AND SO FAR, OUR FAMILY EFFORTS FOR THOSE DAYS HAVE BEEN WORKING. A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO THE CITY AND OUR COMMUNICATION'S DEPARTMENT FOR EVERYTHING THAT THEY DID TO REALLY PUSH THAT AVAILABILITY AND WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE. WE WERE TRYING TO GET ON SITE VACCINATION PODS IN SCHOOL AND THAT PIECE HAS PROVEN TO BE A CHALLENGE, PARTICULARLY AS SOME OF THE STAFFING BETWEEN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND US HAS BEEN DIFFICULT, BUT WE HAVE NOT ABANDONED THAT THOUGHT [02:10:01] MOVING FORWARD, EVEN DOING THAT FOR OUR STAFF. DON'T WANT TO GET TOO FAR IN FRONT. BUT ONE OF THE IDEAS AMONG SENIOR LEADERSHIP AND I SPOKE WITH DR. GADDY IS FOR OUR NEW HIRE WEEK AND HAVING THAT VACCINATION SITE FOR OUR STAFF. WE HAVE NOT ABANDONED LOOKING AT TRYING TO DO VACCINES IN THE SCHOOLS IN THE FALL, DEPENDING ON THE AVAILABILITY. THE GOOD NEWS DR. GADDY SPOKE, THAT THE YOUNGER STUDENTS WOULD BE RECEIVING SOME ELIGIBILITY FOR A VACCINE CLOSER TO THE NEW CALENDAR YEAR AND THAT HAS BEEN MOVED UP IN CONVERSATIONS THAT I'M HEARING AND FINGERS CROSSED THEY ARE LOOKING AT CLOSER TO THE FALL FOR KIDS YOUNGER THAN 12 BEING ELIGIBLE. IF THAT BECOMES THE CAUSE, WE WILL PUSH TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIESES HOPEFULLY IN SCHOOLS TO BE AVAILABLE TO VACCINATE THE KIDS. SO CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THE PODS AND LOOKING FOR EXPANSION AND I KNOW THAT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS LOOKING AT CAN THEY OFFER VACCINES AT THE TEEN WELLNESS CLINIC SO THEY CAN COME DURING THE CLINIC AND I KNOW THOSE DETAILS ARE STILL BEING OUTLINED. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU. >> DR. REEF. >> THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND I WAS WONDERING IF WE COULD PULL UP SLIDE 5, PLEASE. >> AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE THERE, IT TALKS ABOUT THE LEGISLATION, SB1303 AND IT SAYS SCHOOL DIVISIONS MAY OFFER A VIRTUAL OPTION DURING A DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY AND, OF COURSE, THAT'S BEEN IN EFFECT SINCE MARCH OF 2020. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WILL BE LIFTED AT THE END OF JUNE AND SO I WAS WONDERING, JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS PARTNERSHIP WE'RE ENTERING INTO WITH THE VIRTUAL VIRGINIA TO KIND OF SUPPORT WHERE WE RIGHT NOW, UNDERSTANDING THAT EMERGENCY PLAN WILL BE LIFTED, I WAS WONDERING, DR. HUTCHINGS OR SOMEONE ON THE TEAM COULD TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT USING TECHNOLOGY AND VIRTUAL LEARNING IN THE FUTURE? ONE OF THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED WAS NOT GOING BACK TO THE WAY THINGS USED TO BE, WHICH I KNOW IN SOME WAYS THAT CAN BE GOOD AND I DEFINITELY HAVE HEARD FROM FAMILIES WHO HAVE CONCERNS THAT THE KIDS WILL BE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME ON SCREENS. I KNOW I SAW IN THE PLAYBOOK USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM AND WHAT YOU'RE THINKING IN THE PARTNERSHIP WITH VIRTUAL VIRGINIA IN A LONG TERM SENSE AND I WAS CURIOUS, MAYBE DR. HOOVER COULD CHIME IN, WHY STUDENTS ARE NOT TURNING IN THE CHROMEBOOKS AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR BUT TOLD TO DEEP THEM FOR THE SUMMER AND BRING THEM BACK NEXT YEAR AND I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THAT DECISION, AS WELL? >> SO I'LL START OFF AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DR. MAZINGO AND THEN DR. HOOVER. WE'RE LOOKING AT ADDITIONAL OPTIONS. WE HAVE A COMMITTEE THAT IS WORKING TO DETERMINE, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE, LIKE, VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS THAT WILL BE PERMANENTLY OFFERED IN ACS. WE HAD THEM PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC. WE HAD A SATELLITE CAMPUS AND THEN SOME ONLINE BUT WHAT IS OUR TEAM CALLED WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT? THE EDUCATION DESIGN. I HAD BRAIN LOSS FOR A SECOND. OUR EDUCATIONAL DESIGN TEAM. I REMEMBERED EDT. I JUST HAD A MOMENT, THAT'S IT. VIRTUAL OPTIONS THAT COULD HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE. WE'RE NOT LOOKING TO LAUNCH THAT NOW, THIS UPCOMING YEAR BECAUSE WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE SUMMER AND FALL PLANNING AND WE PARTNER WITH VIRTUAL VIRGINIA FOR THIS FALL, BUT WE DO HAVE THIS COMMITTEE THAT'S WORKING TO BRING BEFORE THE BOARD SOME ADDITIONAL VIRTUAL OPTIONS IN THE FUTURE AND DR. MAZINGO, YOU MAY WANT TO TAKE ON ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. >> THANK YOU, DR. HUTCHINGS, YOU DO A GREAT JOB ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS. WE STARTED WITH A VIRTUAL ACADEMY DESIGN TEAM BECAUSE WE HAD THE VISION WE NEEDED TO BE MORE INNOVATIVE. ONE OF OUR GOALS TO CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THIS NEXT YEAR WITH VIRTUAL VIRGINIA. IN A FEW WEEKS, GIVE EVERYONE A CHANCE FOR A VACATION AND RESUME THE WORK OF THE TEAM. ONE OF OUR FIRST STEPS WILL BE TO CONDUCT A SWATH OF OUR PRIOR PROCESS WITH ONLINE [02:15:03] INSTRUCTION INTO THE WHOLE VIRTUAL PLUS PROCESS THROUGH THIS COMPREHENSIVE TEAM TO GET THEM TO HELP DESIGN AND RECOMMEND ACPS'S OWN VIRTUAL ACADEMY INCLUDING SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT DR. HUTCHINGS MENTIONED, BUT WE SEE THAT WE CAN GO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER AND THAT IS OUR GOAL FOR A RECOMMENDATION FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. THAT'S A YEAR FROM NOW, NOT NEXT YEAR. NEXT YEAR WOULD BE A PLANNING YEAR AND WE'LL CONTINUE WITH VIRTUAL VIRGINIA IN THE SHORT TERM FOR THE FAMILIES THAT CHOOSE, START THIS DESIGN TEAM AND WHAT WORK AND DIDN'T WORK AND USE THAT TO BE CREATIVE IN DESIGN AND KIND OF SOME VIRTUAL OPTIONS FOR ALEXANDRIA FOR OUR STUDENTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL. >> AND DR. HOOVER, YOU MAY WANT TO TALK TO THE TECHNOLOGY COMPONENT. >> SURE. >> I KNOW SOME PEOPLE HAVE TECHNOLOGY FATIGUE, INCLUDING THE SUPERINTENDENT WITH ZOOM. SO DR. HUTCHINGS TALKED ABOUT DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY AND SO WE ARE EXPLORING SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS AND SOME SCHOOL DIVISIONS ALLOW STUDENTS TO KEEP THEIR DEVICES OVER THE SUMMER REGULARLY AND WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT THIS SUMMER, NUMBER ONE, BECAUSE WE THOUGHT IT WAS EASIER AND IT'S A CAPACITY ISSUE RIGHT NOW, TOO. WE HAVE EIGHT WEEKS OF SUMMER SCHOOL AND A LOT TO DO TO RECOVER AND PREPARE FOR THE FALL. WE ARE REPLACING MANY OF OUR BOOKS FOR THE SECOND AND THIRD GRADERS. WHEN STUDENTS BRING DEVICES IN, WE FILL THEM IN WITH NEW DEVICES AND WITH ALL OF THE SAME MODEL. WE HAVE KIDS WITH DIFFERENT MODELS AND WE'RE TRYING TO BE THOUGHTFUL FOR OUR TEACHERS, TO MAKE SURE THAT ALTHOUGH THEIR LAPTOPS IN THE ELEMENTARY ARE THE SAME MODEL, INSTEAD OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT. BECAUSE IT WILL BE DIFFERENT NEXT YEAR MAKING SURE IT'S EASIER TO DO CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT. WE HAVE BEEN IN A CYCLE THAT WE REPLACE EVERY THREE YEARS AND SO WHAT WE'RE THINKING WE'RE GOING TO TRY, AT LEAST, AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE 2003, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS THE SIXTH GRADERS WILL RECEIVE NEW CHROMEBOOKS, BRINGING IN THE CHROMEBOOKS FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. WHEN YOU ENTER NINTH GRADE, YOU WILL GET A NEW CHROMEBOOK BECAUSE THE DEVICES ARE SO DIFFERENT. AND IN ADDITION, JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT DEVICES. THE TABLETS, WE KNOW THEY'RE SMALL. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT TOILET PAPER EARLIER AND IT WAS A SIMILAR SITUATION LAST YEAR, TRYING TO GET DEVICES. CHROME TABLETS WILL BE IN CLASSES FOR THE YOUNG ONES THAT ARE TEN INCH AND IT'S A TABLET AND NOT A FULL KEYBOARD. AND SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, NEXT YEAR, AS WE GO THROUGH THE PANDEMIC IS NOT OVER AND WE WILL HAVE SITUATIONS WHEN STUDENTS NEED TO TAKE DEVICES HOME AND WE'LL WORK THROUGH THAT. BUT WE ARE WORKING AT ESPECIALLY THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, HAVING STABILITY IN THERE, MAKING SURE THERE'S THE ENVIRONMENT TO KEEP THEM CHARGED AND WHEN THEY NEED TO BE USED. SCHOOLS WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO DECIDE WHEN KIDS TAKE THEIR DEVICES HOME AND WHAT AGE AND WHAT KIND OF PREPARATION. AND THEN REALLY GETTING BACK INTO THE CHROMEBOOK MANAGEMENT, WHICH I THINK PEOPLE HAVE THROWN AROUND, THE SOFTWARE MANAGING DEVICES. SO HOPEFULLY WE'VE LEARNED LESSONS THAT WILL MAKE THE CLASSROOM BETTER. WE'RE LOOKING ACT THE ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY, MAKING SURE THAT IT'S IN A LANGUAGE THAT IS BETTER FOR ALL FAMILIES. >> THANK YOU. MISS GREEN. >> THANK YOU, EVERYONE, FOR THE PRESENTATION. I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS AND MY FIRST QUESTION. JUST CLARIFICATION FROM EITHER DR. HUTCHINGS OR DR. MANN. I SEE 114 VACANCIES FOR SUMMER LEARNING. IS THAT BASED OFF OF THE 750 STUDENTS THAT ARE ATTENDING OR WAS THAT AN ORIGINAL [02:20:09] NUMBER? IF THAT IS THE CASE AND WE NEED 114 MORE PEOPLE FOR SUMMER LEARNING, HOW WILL YOU MAKE THAT UP IN SUCH AMOUNT OF TIME? >> SO DR. MANN, YOU CAN ELABORATE, BUT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE SCHEDULES FOR ALL FAMILIES TO THE SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAM THAT HAVE ACCEPTED AND WE HAVE THE STAFFING. YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT INITIALLY, OUR NUMBERS WERE BASED ON 100% OF PEOPLE TAKING THAT ON. WE DIDN'T HAVE 100% WHO ACCEPTED. SO WE ARE STAFFED TO PROVIDE THE SUMMER LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR ALL FAMILIES THAT ACCEPTED THE INVITATION. >> SO WHAT IS THE 114 VACANCIES? >> SO DR. MANN? >> ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE DIFFERENCE WHAT WE SAID WE WOULD NEED 600 AND NOW 433? >> I'M SORRY, SHE'S TALKING I WAS CONFUSED. YOU WERE REFERRING TO THE FALL STAFFING PROCESS, NOT THE SUMMER? >> NO, I WAS TALKING THE SUMMER. I THOUGHT THE 114 WAS FOR SUMMER. I JUST WANTED CLARIFICATION. >> YES, THAT'S RELATED TO FALL. SO THOSE NUMBERS ARE RELATED TO THE FALL AND SO, YES, AND MISS HARDEMAN CAN CHIME IN AND THESE NUMBERS ARE RELATED TO WHAT ARE NUMBERS ARE FOR THE FALL. THIS IS TYPICAL FOR THIS TIME. THIS IS WHY THAT NUMBER LOOKS THAT WAY AS OF TODAY. >> I JUST NEED THAT CLARIFICATION AND I'M GLAD WE'RE STAFFED FOR SUMMER. WE STILL HAVE TIME FOR FALL. MY SECOND QUESTION, BACK TO MASS, IF I COULD GET CLARIFICATION ON MASK WEARING OUTSIDE ON PLAYGROUNDS. IS STILL THE CASE OR BEING RELAXED. TO THE END OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR, THE MANDATE IS THAT THE MASKS ARE WORN ON SCHOOL PROPERTY. THAT'S GOING TO CHANGE AFTER JUNE 30TH. SO DURING THE SUMMER, THERE MAY BE A DIFFERENT MANDATE THAT COMES OUT IN REGARDS TO SCHOOLS. RIGHT NOW PEOPLE WHO ARE VACCINATED, WHEN CHILDREN ARE NOT AROUND, YOU CANNOT HAVE ON A MASK, BUT AS OF THIS TUESDAY, WHEN I MET WITH OUR STATE SUPERINTENDENT, THEY WERE STILL SAYING THAT WE WERE TO WEAR MASKS WITH STUDENTS PRESENT. BUT THINGS CAN CHANGE IN THE NEXT WEEK. WE HAVE OUR NEXT FOLLOW UP AT THE END OF JUNE AND WE'LL GET MORE INSIGHT AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS AS WE RECEIVE UPDATES TO THE GUIDELINES. >> THANK YOU. >> MR. SUAREZ. >> THANK YOU. I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS, AS WELL. THE FIRST QUESTION IS ABOUT THE VACCINATIONS AND I AM LOOKING AT SLIDE NUMBER 4. I AM ENCOURAGED THAT WE GOT A 95% RESPONSE RATE, BUT FOR THE 38%, DOES THAT MEAN 38% HAVEN'T EVEN DONE THE FIRST DOSE? AND IF SO, I DON'T KNOW IF OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOLKS ARE STILL ON THE LINE, BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M WONDERING HOW THAT COMPARES TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE VACCINATION RATE. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE IS GOING ABOVE THAT AND I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S A DISCONNECT TO MAKE SURE ALL OF OUR STAFF IS FULLY VACCINATED. RELATED TO THAT, AS WELL, OBVIOUSLY, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE MAY BE PEOPLE OBJECTING TO THE VACCINE FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS THAT WE'LL NEED TO HONOR, BUT I'M WONDERING IF WE THOUGHT THROUGH OUR POLICY IN TERMS OF STAFF WHO ASKED TO RETURN WHO ARE VACCINATED VERSUS THOSE WHO ARE NOT AND ARE THE ONCES VACCINATED DOING MASKS? AND I LOOKED THROUGH OUR SORT OF 120 PAGE GUIDE AND I DIDN'T SEE GUIDANCE. I'M WONDERING IF WE'RE THINKING THROUGH THOSE POLICIES. THESE MY FIRST BUCKET OF QUESTIONS. MAYBE I'LL PAUSE THERE. >> THANK YOU, MR. SUAREZ. IT IS IMPORTANT TO SEE THAT WE DO HAVE AND WE GROUP THESE TOGETHER, 38% OF OUR [02:25:07] STAFF WHO EITHER DIDN'T RESPOND, DID NOT WANT TO DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION OR CHOOSING NOT TO BE VACCINATED AND SO PEOPLE COULD BE VACCINATED AND THEY'RE CHOOSING NOT TO TELL US THAT THEY ARE. >> RIGHT. >> WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT INTO ACCOUNT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE OVERALL PERCENTAGE. RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT REQUIRING STAFF TO PROVIDE US WITH DOCUMENTATION THAT THEY HAVE BEEN VACCINATED AND SO, UNTIL WE MAKE THAT A MANDATE, IT IS GOING TO BE DIFFICULT TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE ACCURATE DATA ON WHO HAS BEEN AND WHO HASN'T. AND SO AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE'RE NOT MANDATING THAT, POLICIES HAVEN'T CHANGED AND WE HAVE TO KEEP WATCHING. SOMETHING CAN CHANGE IN THAT AREA MOVING FORWARD. BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE CANNOT MANDATE A STAFF IF THEY HAVEN'T BEEN VACCINATED AND SOME ARE CHOOSING NOT TO DISCLOSE THAT. I WANT TO ADD SOMETHING. I WAS GOING TO SAY, DR. CRAWFORD WANTED TO ADD ANYTHING? >> IN RESPONSE TO THE COMMENT ABOUT THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA AND THE VACCINATION RATE, THE INFORMATION FROM THE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS BRIEFING, 57% OF ALEXANDRIA RESIDENTS HAVE RECEIVED AT LEAST ONE SHOT AND THAT'S NOW BEGINNING AT AGE 12 AND UP. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT FULLY VACCINATED AND TWO WEEKS OUT FROM YOUR SECOND DOSE, WE'RE AT 52% AS A CITY AND SO THAT'S JUST OUR RESIDENTS, AGES 12 AND UP. >> OK. YEAH, AND I GUESS I'M JUST HOPEFUL WE CAN WORK WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND ENCOURAGE ALL OF OUR STAFF TO GET THE VACCINATION AND HOPEFULLY, WE CAN GET THAT DOWN TO 5%, 10% AND I JUST HAVE A CONCERN. OBVIOUSLY WE CAN'T MANDATE BUT WITH NEED TO KNOW THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE HEALTH IMPLICATIONS AND WE WANT TO BE TRANSPARENT AND I REALIZE THESE ARE DELICATE ISSUES. I'M LOOKING AT SLIDE 18 AND GIVEN THAT 13,000 OF THE 14,000, STUDENTS ARE PLANNING TO RETURN FOR THE FALL AND WE WILL BE AT CAPACITY. WE'RE ASSUMING THERE WILL BE NO SOCIAL SOCIAL DISTANCING AND I DID WANT TO FOLLOW UP ON THE QUESTION I HAD BEFORE. I KNOW THERE WERE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CITY PARTNERSHIPS AND SO, I GUESS I'M JUST KIND OF THINKING FOR THE THRUST OF BOTH OF MY QUESTIONS. WHAT IS MY CONTINGENCY PLANS, AND WHAT IF ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, 13,000 KIDS SHOW UP AND THERE IS A MANDATE FROM THE CDC THAT SAYS WE HAVE TO HAVE THE THREE FEET OR THERE HAS TO BE THE SOCIAL DISTANCING? I WANT TO UNDERSTAND, WHAT IS THE CONTINGENCY? WE WERE HAVING CONSIDERATIONS AROUND THE FACILITY POTENTIAL IN THE EVENT THAT SOMETHING LIKE THAT WERE TO HAPPEN. HOPEFULLY IT DOESN'T, BUT I'M CURIOUS WHERE WE ARE THERE. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. DR. HUTCHINGS, DO YOU MIND IF I JUMP IN AND ANSWER? SO, YES, BOARD MEMBER, SUAREZ, WE WERE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY TO USE THEIR RECREATIONAL FACILITIES AS OVERTHROW IF THE THREE FEET REMAINED. AT THE LAST SCHOOL BOARD MEETING, IT DID OCCUR AND DR. HUTCHINGS DID RECOMMEND ABOUT THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS RETURNING. WE DID HALT THOSE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE USE OF THE RECREATIONAL FACILITIES. AND THE CASE THAT WE COULD COME BACK WITH THE CITY COLLEAGUES AS WELL AS COLLEAGUES ON OUR SIDE OF THE HOUSE THAT WE MAY NEED TO GO BACK TO USING YOUR FACILITIES. [02:30:01] WE DID TELL THEM WE WOULD HALT THE CONVERSATIONS FOR RIGHT NOW TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THEIR PROGRAMMING, THEY MAY BE ABLE TO FIND OTHER SPACES TO POTENTIALLY USE. THAT MAY NOT BE THE MOST ROBUST CONTINGENCY PLAN, BUT WE ARE HOPING NOT TO GO BACKWARDS WITH RESPECT TO COVID AND SOCIAL DISTANCING. BY ARE JUST MAKING SURE WE'RE KEEPING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS IN PLACE SO WE CAN HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS OR REIGNITE THOSE CONVERSATIONS IF NEED BE. >> IN ADDITION TO SOME OF THE REASONS IT'S NOT AS ROBUST IS BECAUSE WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION ABOUT A MONTH AGO, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO GO INTO HAVING CONTRACTS WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS IN ORDERS TO ACCOMMODATE SOME OF OUR STUDENTS AND WHEN YOU GO INTO CONTRACTS LIKE THAT, WHETHER YOU USE THOSE FACILITIES, YOU WILL BE OBLIGATED. SO WE WANTED TO AVOID THAT SIGNIFICANT EXPENSE. WE DID THE INVESTIGATIONS AND IT WAS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO ACCOMMODATE THIS UPCOMING YEAR AND THAT'S USING ALL OF OUR FACILITIES AND HAVING, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE OTHER SITES TO ACCOMMODATE STUDENTS AND THIS IS WHY WE MADE THAT DECISION, USING THE CURRENT GUIDELINES, WHICH DOES NOT MANDATE THE SOCIAL DISTANCING. AND THAT'S WHY WE MADE THAT DECISION NOT TO HAVE SOCIAL DISTANCING IN THE SUMMER AND FALL. ONE QUICK FOLLOW UP ON THAT, BECAUSE I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU SAID, DR. HART, ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE MAY BE SOME ALTERNATE OPTIONS, NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROGRAMMING THAT THE PARKS AND REC AND SO FORTH ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH. IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET A LIST OF WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE AND, OBVIOUSLY, IF WE HAVE TO SPEND MORE MONEY, THAT'S ANOTHER CONSIDERATION, BUT IS IT WORTH GATHERING A LIST AND HAVING THOSE AVAILABLE IF THE EVENT THAT WE DO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL CONSTRAINTS TO USE THOSE, YOU KNOW, IF SOMETHING HAPPENING? AND FRANKLY, IF SOMETHING DOESN'T HAPPEN, USE THOSE ADDITIONAL SPACES FOR ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING OR USE FOR KIDS? I'M WONDERING GIVEN SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS. ANYONE WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS I'M A CONSTANT OPTIMIST AND I'M AFRAID THAT THERE IS A SITUATION THAT HAPPENS AND WE HAVE TO TURN ON A DIME AND THE MORE OPTIONS WE POTENTIALLY HAVE ON THE TABLE, I FEEL LIKE THE BETTER. >> AND I CAN DEFINITELY SAY THE TEAM AND I CAN WORK ON JUST PUTTING TOGETHER SOME SORT OF LIST THAT WE CAN HAVE. I WOULD LIKE TO BE COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT IN TERMS OF OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY IS CITY COLLEAGUES IN UNDERSTANDING THAT THEIR PORTFOLIO OR THEIR INVENTORY OF JUST AVAILABLE FACILITIES AND WHAT THEY'VE SHARED WITH US, IT'S NOT UNLIMITED. SO WE WERE LOOKING AT THE RECREATIONAL CENTERS AND WE DO KNOW THAT SOME OF THE OTHER SPACES THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR INSTRUCTION OR TO EVEN TRY TO MAKE INTO A SUITABLE INSTRUCTIONAL SPACE AND SOME OF THE CITY OPTIONS MAY BE VERY LIMITED. WE WERE LOOKING INTO POTENTIAL RENTING OF SOME FACILITIES, BUT, AGAIN, WITH THE RENTAL MARKING, THAT WE STOPPED LOOKING AT THOSE, THOSE ARE NOT AVAILABLE. THE LIST WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE EVER CHANGING, JUST BASED OFF OF THE CURRENT REAL ESTATE MARKET FOR RENT IN TERMS OF THE AVAILABLE SPACE THEY HAVE. THE TEAM AND I DO HAVE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES IN TERMS OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS THAT WE LOOK FOR SPACE TO SEE WHAT'S AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET. BUT WE WOULDN'T MOVE FORWARD FROM A CONTRACTUAL STANDPOINT. >> I WOULDN'T WANT US TO INCUR COSTS GIVEN THE SITUATION RIGHT NOW. I DO THINK GIVEN THE CONSTANT CHALLENGE, NOT JUST WITH THE PANDEMIC BUT JUST GENERALLY WITH NEEDING SPACE AND JUST THINGS THAT WILL BE USEFUL THAT HERE ARE THE THREE OPTIONS WITH THE CITY WHEN WE NEED TO HAVE SPACE NEEDS AND BUILDING THAT LIST AND THE WORK IS VALUABLE FOR US AND I PRECIATE YOUR TRANSPARENCY. SO THANK YOU. >> MR. SUAREZ, ONE THING WE CAN DO IS TO MAKE SURE WE PROVIDE THE BOARD OR REVISIT THIS WITH THE BOARD OR SHARE, AGAIN, WITH THE BOARD, IS OUR LAND ACQUISITION LIST BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT DIFFERENT LAND OPPORTUNITIES [02:35:01] IN REGARDS TO CAPACITY, RIGHT? >> THAT'S A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION THAT WON'T GO AWAY OVER THE NEXT YEAR. SO ANY BOARD THAT WILL BE DEALING WITH THIS EVEN BEYOND THIS CONTRACT FOR FOUR YEARS, IT WILLING BE AN ONGOING PROJECT. WE MAY WANT TO RESHARE OUR LAND ACQUISITION LIST BECAUSE THAT DOES HAVE DIFFERENT OPTIONS. THIS IS DIFFERENT WORK WITH OUR FACILITY'S TEAM, WHERE WE HAVE DEVELOPED ALL OF THE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDE BE ACPS BUILDINGS, THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA BUILDINGS AND WE HAVE PROVIDED INFORMATION ON WHAT ARE POSSIBILITIES WITH THE DIFFERENT SITES AND WHAT COULD THEY BE USED FOR AND WHAT HAS TO BE DONE AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE TO THE BOARD OR RESHARE WITH THE BOARD. BUT IT IS ON ONGOING DISCUSSION. IT DOESN'T MEAN WE WON'T TALK ABOUT IT. THIS WILL BE ALL OF THE FALL WITH THE CIP DISCUSSION THIS UPCOMING FALL. >> FOR SURE, THANK YOU. >> DR. REEF. >> THANK YOU. I JUST HAD A QUICK FINAL QUESTION ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP WITH VIRTUAL VIRGINIA AND THIS MAY BE A QUESTION FOR DR. EVERSON. YOU DID A VIRTUAL LEARNING MENTORS WHO WILL BE SELECTED FROM FOLKS IN THE SCHOOLS, WHO HAVE GREAT TRAITS FOR THAT POSITION AND I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, WILL THAT BE THE FULL TIME JOB RESPONSIBILITY TO BE THE VIRTUAL LEARNING MENTORS? WILL THEY HAVE A WHOLE SLEW OF KIDS OR WILL THEY HAVE OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES, AS WELL. >> YES, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THIS WOULD BE IN ADDITION AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THE FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT TO DISCUSS EXACTLY HOW THE COMPENSATION WOULD WORK. AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL, THIS WOULD WORK TO OUR KNOWN MENTOR ROLE AND IN THAT CASE, WE HAVE TEACHERS ACTUALLY PERFORMING THESE DUTIES DURING THE SCHOOL DAY AND SO, OF COURSE, IT WOULD BE A PART OF THEIR SCHOOL DAY DUTIES AND SO THERE ARE DEFINITELY A VARIETY OF OPTIONS AVAILABLE AND WE SHOULD KNOW MORE WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK AS WE'RE WORKING WITH FINANCIAL SERVICES. THIS WOULD BE AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS IDEALLY VOLUNTEERING FOR THIS POSITION AND COMMITTED TO THE WORK THAT WE ARE ENGAGED UPON, BUT SPECIFICALLY LOOKING TO SUPPORT STUDENTS FROM THAT COACHING, NURTURING PERSPECTIVE TO REACH THOSE GOALS AND SOMEONE WHO IS RESPONSIVE AND ENGAGED. DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? >> YES, THANK YOU. >> GREAT. AND SO I THINK THAT IS THE END OF THAT DISCUSSION AND WE ARE MOVING FORWARD. SO THIS IS ALWAYS GOOD NEWS. LAST BUT NOT LEAST. [39. Options for FY 2023 Budget Calendar] WE HAVE NEW BUSINESS TO ATTEND TO AND WE'RE GOING TO BE PRESENTED WITH OUR OPTIONS FOR THE 2023 BUDGET CALENDAR. DR. HUTCHINGS. >> I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MR. TURNER TO GET US STARTED WITH OUR DISCUSSION REGARDING OUR BUDGET CALENDAR. I DO, AS I'M TURNING IT OVER TO MR. TURNER, THANK YOU TO THE BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THEIR HELP. IT WAS HELPFUL AS WE DEVELOPED OPTIONS. WE TOOK THAT TO OUR TEAM AND MADE SURE THEY WERE INCORPORATED IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE THE BOARD TODAY. AND SO JUST A SINCERE THANK YOU TO OUR BUDGET ADVISORY COUNCIL, AS WELL AS OUR BOARD LIAISON AND AS WELL AS DR. MICHELLE REEF, YOU WERE A PART OF THAT WORK WITH THE GROUP. BUT I KNOW THAT MISS GENTRY WAS THE BOARD LIAISON AND THANK YOU. MR. TURNER. >> THANK YOU AND GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. SO THIS YEAR, WE WERE ASKED TO PROVIDE MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD TO CONSIDER A RECESS BEFORE WE COME BACK IN THE FALL FOR APPROVAL OF THE BUDGET CALENDAR FOR BUDGET YEAR 2023 AND WE THEN WORKED WITH THE BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND TOOK THE RECOMMENDATIONS INTO CONSIDERATION TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT TO ADDITIONAL OPTIONS IN ADDITION TO THE OPTION ONE, WHICH IS STATUS QUO. OPTION ONE IS THE STATUS QUO, CONTINUING TO PUT TOGETHER THE BUDGET PROCESS [02:40:06] AS WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE AND IT PROVIDES THE MOST ROBUST PROCESS FOR DELIBERATION FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD AND THEN TO MOVE UP DATE FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVAL BEFORE THE CITY WOULD PROPOSE THEIR BUDGET AND THAT ONE MOVES IT UP BY ONE WEEK AND THIS OPTION CONTINUES TO PROVIDE A PRETTY ROBUST PERIOD IN THE MONTHS OF JANUARY AND FEBRUARY AND THAT DOES TAKE A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE BAC TO USE A WORK SESSION TO MOVE IT UP ONE WEEK AND THEN OPTION THREE IS THE MOST AGGRESSIVE ONE AND TAKING THE RECOMMENDATION TO PROVIDE AS MUCH TIME BETWEEN THE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVAL AND THE CITY MANAGER PROPOSAL AS POSSIBLE AND OPTION THREE MOVES IT UP THREE WEEKS AND THIS OPTION WOULD HAVE CONSIDERABLE DATES REMOVED FROM THE TIMELINE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT FEASIBLE. EACH ONE OF THE THREE OPTIONS PROVIDES THEIR OWN CHALLENGES AND WE BELIEVE THAT ANY ONE WOULD BE FEASIBLE WITH SOME CHANGES POTENTIALLY TO THE RULES OF THE ENGAGEMENT. THAT WAY, WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THE STAFF STILL HAS ENOUGH TIME TO BE ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED TO DO, TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS, PROVIDE ALL OF THE PRESENTATIONS WITHIN THAT TIMELINE. AGAIN, OPTION THREE IS BEING MOST AGGRESSIVE WITH SOME OF THE DATES AND REALLY REVOLVES AROUND A 24 HOUR TURN AROUND AND OPTION TWO HAS A ROBUST PROCESS USING THE WORK SESSION 2'S RECOMMENDED BY THE BAC. WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO THE CHAIR WITH ANY QUESTIONS. >> MISS GENTRY. >> AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND THANK YOU TO THE STAFF FOR PUTTING TOGETHER THESE CALENDARS AND I THINK THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THIS AND TO CONSIDER THE OVERALL PROCESS AND I THINK CLEARLY, THE INTENT IS NOT TO MAKE DECISIONS TONIGHT. THIS IS TO GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO THINK ABOUT THIS AND COME BACK IN THE FALL. I WANTED TO GIVE MY FELLOW MEMBERS A THING TO MULL OVER AS THEY'RE CONSIDERING IT. AND THAT IS, ONE THING PARTICULARLY, IF IT'S HAPPENING WITH THIS BUDGET CYCLE IS THERE WILL BE NEW BOARD MEMBERS AND WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY. BUT THERE WILL BE NEW BOARD MEMBERS IN JANUARY PARTNERSHIP THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS AN ASPECT OF IT. I DO THINK THAT PART OF WHAT THAT MEANS, WE CAN USE THE TIME BETWEEN NOW AND JANUARY WE KNOW THERE WILL BE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ACPS IS SPECIFICALLY REACHING OUT TO CANDIDATES TO PROVIDE INFORMATION AND THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED BEFORE AND I DO THINK THAT ONE THING THAT WE CAN HELP CONVEY TO CANDIDATES AND ALSO TO THE COMMUNITY IS HOW MUCH OF A BUDGET PROCESS IS HAPPENING LIKE LITERALLY NOW. EVEN NOW, THERE IS A BUDGET PROCESS HAPPENING. AND THE REALLY SIGNIFICANT WORK THAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FALL WHEN SET THE BUDGET PRIORITIES. AND IT'S NECESSARY FOR THE BUDGET PRIORITY MOMENT TO HAPPEN IN THE FALL. WE ARE A CONTINUING BODY. IN ORDER FOR THIS STAFF TO PREPARE THE BUDGET, THEY WILL NEED THAT TIME. THEY CANNOT WAIT UNTIL JANUARY AND START THEN. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT IS A REALITY THAT THE NEW BOARD MEMBERS FROM THIS TERM HAD TO GRAPPLE, THEY WERE INHERITING. >> I HAVE TO KEEP SAYING THIS TO CEMENT IN PEOPLE'S MINDS. AND 88% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET IS OUR STAFF AND SO, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET AND THAT JANUARY AND FEBRUARY PERIOD, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE 12%. AND EVEN WITHIN THAT 12%, SOME OF THAT IS NONNEGOTIABLE. THE LIGHTS HAVE TO BE KEPT ON AND BUY A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF PAPER AND SO I JUST WANT TO THIS IS A MESSAGE THAT I'M SAYING TO THE COMMUNITY AND ALSO TO WHATEVER [02:45:06] CONFIGURATION BOARD WE HAVE. AND THINKING ABOUT THE PROCESS IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, WHENEVER CALENDAR WE CHOOSE, EVERYONE WILL HAVE TO FOCUS ON WHAT IS ACTUALLY MOVABLE IN THE BUDGET. YOU THINK THE BUDGET OVERALL CONTAINS SO MUCH INFORMATION AND AS WE LEARN AS A PART OF THIS PROCESS, IT'S INHERENT THAT THE BUDGET BOOK MEET THE HIGH STANDARDS OF ACCREDITATION THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS SET. SO IT'S MEANT TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IS ACTED UPON AND CHANGED BECAUSE, AGAIN, OF THAT 88%, YOU KNOW, GOING AS A NEED FOR THE STAFF. SO THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME RAMBLE. BUT, AGAIN, REALLY I WANT TO THANK THE BAC AND THE STAFF FOR THIS WORK. >> MISS THORTON. >> THANK YOU, CHAIR ALDERTON AND THANK YOU FOR THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND TO BE BAC WHO KIND OF HELPED TO KICK THIS OFF. AND I WAS VERY I'M THINKING OF THE THREE OPTIONS HERE AND THE MIDDLE ONE IS JUST RIGHT IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY. OPTION TWO TO ME, DEFINITELY, SEEMS TO MEET THE OBJECTIONIVES OF THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO FIX, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY THE SEQUENCING ISSUE WHICH WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THE BOARD APPROVES THE BUDGET BEFORE THE CITY MANAGER PRESENTS HIS. IN MY OPINION, A WEEK ADJUSTMENT IS SUFFICIENT TO DO THAT AND I THINK OPTION THREE IS A LITTLE BIT TOO ROBUST, ESPECIALLY FOR THE REASONS THAT MISS GENTRY JUST LISTED. FOR NEW BOARD MEMBERS AND BOARD MEMBERS THAT AREN'T SO NEW BUT NEED MORE TIME TO DIVE INTO THE BUDGET, 24 HOUR TURN AROUND TIMES ARE A LOT TO ASK OF ANYONE, STAFF AND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS. AND SO, I WAS CURIOUS, WHEN STAFF WAS COMING UP WITH THIS RECOMMENDATION, WHAT WERE THE PROS YOU ALL WERE CONSIDERING WITH OPTION THREE? >> SO WITH OPTION THREE, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO PROVIDE AS MUCH TIME IN BETWEEN THE SCHOOL BOARD'S APPROVAL AND THE CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSAL. SO WITH OPTION ONE, ONE WEEK WAS, YOU KNOW, NOT THAT MUCH TIME, BUT THREE WEEKS IS ALMOST A MONTH AND JUST LOOKING FOR AN OPTION THAT PUT MORE THAN JUST A WEEK IN BETWEEN WHEN THE SCHOOL BOARD WOULD OFF PROVE AND THE CITY MANAGER WOULD PROPOSE. WE TRIED TO PUT TOGETHER THE THREE OPTIONS THAT WERE FEASIBLE OR AS FEASIBLE. AGAIN, THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE FROM CHANGES TO THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT TO TURN THINGS AROUND IN 24 HOURS. AGAIN, WE WERE JUST TRYING TO PROVIDE AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE ONE OF THE OPTIONS. ONE OF THE THINGS AS MENTIONED IN THE RECOMMENDATION WAS TO LOOK AT POTENTIALLY HAVING THE SUPERINTENDENT PROPOSE PRIOR TO THE WINTER BREAK AND GETTING ADDITIONAL TIME THAT WAY. AND THAT JUST WASN'T FEASIBLE FOR STAFF TO BE ABLE TO DO. AS THE BUDGET OFFICE I THINK THE ONLY OFFICE WORKING OVER THE WINTER BREAK. WE HAD TO DO A REAL ASSESSMENT OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE AND WHAT WASN'T AND IT JUST WASN'T POSSIBLE FOR STAFF TO SAY, THE SUPERINTENDENT COULD PROVIDE THE PROPOSED FUNDS PRIOR TO THE WINTER BREAK. >> DR. REEF. >> THANK YOU, MR. TURNER FOR THE PRESENTATION FOR PREPARING THESE THREE BUDGET OPTIONS, CALENDAR OPTIONS. I APPRECIATE IT AND I APPRECIATE THE BACK, ALSO, FOR THE WORK THAT THEY CONTRIBUTED AND I APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS THAT MISS GENTRY MADE ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE WILL HAVE TURN OVER FOR THIS COMING CYCLE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE COMBINED FUNDS IN THE BEGINNING OF 2022. AND JUST A LITTLE FEEDBACK AND THEN A COUPLE OF COMMENTS TO MAKE. I AGREE WITH MISS THORNTON THAT THE OPTION THREE IS WAY TOO COMPRESSED, ESPECIALLY FOR A NEW BOARD. OPTION TWO IS THE MOST PROMISING. [02:50:03] IN THE SECOND WEEK, THERE'S NOT MUCH HAPPENING AND THERE ARE WAYS TO BE REFINED AND I KNOW I SHARED COMMENTS WITH DR. HUTCHINGS. I DON'T KNOW IF HE PASSED THOSE ALONG TO YOU YET. BUT HOPEFULLY, HE CAN DO THAT. AND SO, THAT WAS MY THOUGHTS ON THAT AND I DID WANT TO MAKE A COMMENT, TOO, ABOUT THE PART OF THE BUDGET THAT WAS THE SAME IN ALL THREE CALENDARS. I WOULD HOPE WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. THAT BRINGS ME TO THE FINAL COMMENTS, WHICH IS MISS GENTRY TALKS ABOUT A LARGE PERCENTAGE GOES TO SALARIES AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT TO KEEP IN MINDS AND I AGREE WITH THAT AND THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE SAID BEFORE, BUT I THINK IT BEARS REPEATING AND IT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THIS BUDGET PROCESS. OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN ALEXANDRIA ARE A PUBLIC GOOD. AND 83% OF OUR OPERATING BUDGET COMES FROM THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA AND THE TAXPAYERS. IN ADDITION, THIS IS MAKING HISTORIC LEVELS IN OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS YOUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. I THINK THAT MY PERCEPTION, THE ACPS NEEDS A PARADIGM SHIFT WHERE WE'RE GENUINELY INVITING THE COMMUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BUDGET PROCESS AND THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT OUR FINANCIAL TEAM IS NOT COMPLETELY THE EXPERTS IN THIS AREA AND YOU DO IT DAY TO DAY, BUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS NOT WHEN WE HAVE MODEL IN A BUILDING, BUT WE NEED TO BE INFORMING OUR COMMUNITY OF HOW WE'RE SPENDING THEIR DOLLARS AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS, ASKING FOR INPUT, BECAUSE WE WANT THEIR SUPPORT AND WE NEED THEIR SUPPORT. AND WHEN WE PEOPLE'S TAXES GO UP IN THE COMING YEARS, PEOPLE WILL WANT TO KNOW, WHERE IS THE MONEY. WHATEVER TIME AND MONEY INTO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT NOW WILL PAY OFF LATER. SO I'M REALLY HOPING THAT THE FINANCIAL TEAM CAN COLLABORATE WITH THE FACE TEAM OR THE BACK WHO HAS VOLUNTEERED THEIR SERVICES TO HELP WITH THIS PROCESS AND WE CAN REALLY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF JUST WORK TO REALLY IMPROVE AND GETTING OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGED IN OUR BUDGET PROCESS BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD BE A BENEFIT FOR OUR SCHOOL DIVISION. SO THANK YOU. >> MISS ANDERSON. >> I'LL ADD SOMETHING BASED ON DR. REEF'S COMMENTS. YOU THINK THIS IS WHERE THE BITE SNACK AND YELLOW THING CAN WORK WELL WITH THE BAC'S HELP AND YOU THINK THAT'S BEEN TALKED ABOUT AND HOW THEY CAN GO OUT TO DIFFERENT GROUPS AND THEY'RE WILLING TO DO THAT FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND. SO I THINK THERE IS SOME AREA TO WORK IN THERE. BUT MY COMMENTS THAT I SIGNED UP TO RAISE MY HAND TO, WHEN WE'RE ON THE ORDER OF MISS GENTRY'S. YOU HAVE TO THINK BACK, THE BUDGET, WHEN PEOPLE COME ON WILL NOT BE THE ONLY ISSUE. WE CAN'T SET EVERYTHING ASIDE. THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE THE THE ONLY ISSUE. WHEN PEOPLE CAME ON, THEY WERE CONFRONTED WITH PATRICK HENRY AND YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT, AGAIN, I HAVE SAID THAT I DON'T FEEL STRONGLY AT ALL. IT SEEMS SYMBOLIC. IT WON'T BE AS EASY TO GET SIGNIFICANT CHANGE AND I THINK THE CIP WOULD BE A [02:55:08] LARGER ASK THAN THE CITY HAS INTENDED. BE MINDFUL BECAUSE IT CAN SORT OF SET THE STAGE IMPROPERLY FOR THE NEW PEOPLE COMING ON IN TERMS OF TRUST AND TEAM BUILDING AND I JUST WANT TO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THAT AND FIGURE OUT WHICH IS THE BIGGER PRIORITY. AGAIN, I DON'T THINK THAT ONE DAY TURN AROUNDS ARE GOOD. THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE THEIR ONLY JOB. THIS IS EASY TO LOOK AT THE BUDGET CALENDAR AS THE SINGULAR THING, BUT YOU JUST DON'T KNOW AND WE HAVE PROJECTS GOING AND WE HAVE THE HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT GOING AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL LAND IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY AT THIS POINT. SO THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU. >> BEFORE I GO TO THE NEXT PERSON, MR. TURNER, YOU HAD A RESPONSE THAT YOU WANTED TO SHARE. >> PUBLIC HEARING, WE TRIED TO HAVE THOSE ON A SCHOOL NIGHT AND WE WERE TO MOVE IT UP AND WE WILL BE PUTTING IT BEFORE THE SUPERINTENDENT IS PROPOSING HIS ADJUSTMENTS TO THE BUDGET AND BREAKING THE CALENDAR UP AND IN MAY, IF WE MOVED IT UP, IT WOULD BE ON THE SAME DAY THE SUPERINTENDENT PRESENTED HIS ADJUSTMENTS. SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THERE WITH THE PUBLIC HEARING AND SO WE COULD GET IT AT A DIFFERENT DATE. THIS IS FINE. I TRY TO KEEP IT ON A REGULAR SCHEDULE TO NOT ADD IT. AS FAR AS THE TIP SIDE, MISS GULICK WANTED TO SPEAK TO THAT PIECE. >> THANK YOU, MR. TURNER. WE HAVE THE SAME REASON FOR IT BEING SET UP IN NOVEMBER. THERE'S ONE SCHEDULED MEETING AND THAT IS THE MEETING WHERE WE PRESENT THE BUDGET AND AS MR. TURNER STATED, IF WE WANTED TO ADD A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING EARLY ENOUGH DURING THE WORK SESSIONS IN NOVEMBER, THAT'S SOMETHING TO WORK OUT WITH THE BOARD TEAM. >> HOW WE DO A PUBLIC FORUM IN OCTOBER, WHEN WE'RE UNDERTAKING THE PLAN WE'RE WORKING ON, THERE IS NO ISSUE FOR FORMULATING A BUDGET. SO WITH THIS, THERE WILL BE SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITY INTERACTION AND WE HAD A PUBLIC HEARING TONIGHT AND WE WILL HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON AUGUST 3RD. EVERY SIX MONTHS, WE WILL BE REVIEWING THIS PLAN AND HAVING A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVERY SIX MONTHS FOR THE FULL TERM OF THAT GRANT. SO THIS WILL BE WORKING AUTOMATICALLY FOR THE ESSR PLAN FOR THE COMBINED FUNDS HEARING, AS WELL, AND WE'LL TAKE THIS UP TO GET MORE COMMUNICATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC AND DEFINE HOW WE DO THAT. WE WANT TO SHARE THE GOALS OF OUR PUBLIC FORUM AND OUR PUBLIC FORUM IS DEFINITELY TO COMMUNICATE TO THE PUBLIC HOW THE BUDGET PROCESS WORKS TO EDUCATE THEM ON HOW THE PUBLIC BODY DOES THE BUDGETING AND TO GET SOME IDEAS WHERE THEY THINK THE DOLLARS SHOULD BE GOING. AS FAR AS THE COMMUNICATION PIECE, WE WORK ON THE COMMUNICATION'S AUDIT. [03:00:06] WE ALSO HAVE DIFFERENT PIECES OF INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE TO TRY TO DELIVER THAT MESSAGE. WE NEED TO SEE WHERE THE MONEY IS BEING SPENT THROUGHOUT PCRS. >> I DON'T SEE ANY MORE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. SO WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION AND THAT WILL DEFINITELY BE COMING BACK AROUND TO US. WE ARE AT THE END HERE AND I HAVE MY CHAIR'S REPORT. SO SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WE WILL BE HAVING A NEW SCHOOL BOARD [40. Report from Meagan L. Alderton] CANDIDATE INFORMATION SESSION ON SATURDAY, JUNE 26TH. THAT WILL HAPPEN AT 1:00 P.M. IT WILL BE VIA ZOOM AND IT WILL BE VIRTUAL AND IT'S FOR CANDIDATES TO LEARN ABOUT THE POSITION AND, YOU KNOW, ALL ANY OF US WHO CAN ATTEND ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND BECAUSE WE CAN BE ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR NEW CANDIDATES. JUST A REMINDER, ON AUGUST 3RD, A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING AND PART OF THAT MEETING WILL BE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON OUR ESSR FUNDS AND THAT IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO ENGAGE AND THERE'S ALSO THE SURVEY THAT IS OUT THERE THAT CAN BE COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN PROVIDE INPUT UNTIL JUNE 18TH ON THE SURVEY. AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE INPUT ON HOW WE SPEND THESE FUNDS, DEFINITELY DO SO. WE HAVE A THANK YOU TO GIVE FROM THE BOARD AND THAT IS TO MISS SUSAN NEILSON. THIS YEAR HAS ADDED A SIGNIFICANT WORKLOAD. >> THIS IS A THANK YOU FOR MISS NEILSON. THIS HAS ADDED HOURS AND HOURS TO HER WORK. SHE WAS MANAGING THE ZOOM AND DOING ALL OF THE STUFF SHE HAS HAD TO DO FOR US AND I'M SURE THAT WHEN WE GOT OFF OF THAT ZOOM, SHE CONTINUED TO WORK. SO I WANT TO THANK SUSAN. SHE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE HIDDEN LOAD WITH THIS PANDEMIC AND WE APPRECIATE YOU, MISS NEILSON. MISS GREEN AND SHE SAID, PEOPLE WERE WORKING FOR ME! THEM AND EVERY SINGLE PERSON WAS STRESSED. DR. HUTCHINGS TEXTED ME AND HE'S, LIKE, ARE WE WEARING THE SHIRTS TODAY? YES, I'M GOING TO SEND A REMINDER TO EVERYBODY. I SENT A REMINDER TO EVERYBODY. CINDY, FULL DISCLOSURE, I DON'T KNOW WHERE MY SHIRT IS. [03:05:23] I SAID, WELL, GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL, BECAUSE MY CAR WON'T START AND VERONICA, YOU'RE IN CHARGE. SO I THINK IT JUST NEEDED TO END TODAY, BUT WE SURVIVED AND YOU ALL ARE AMAZING! I AGREE WITH DR. HUTCHINGS WHEN HE SAYS THAT THIS BOARD, I'VE JUST BEEN IMPRESSED AT HOW WE'VE COME TOGETHER. YOU ALL ARE MAKING COMMENTS THAT, OH, I WON'T BE HERE AND THAT DOES NOT MAKE ME HAPPY. LOSING SIX OF YOU WILL BE REALLY HARD. >> BUT WE'RE NOT MOVING OUT OF THE CITY. >> YOU'RE NOT MOVING AWAY. >> AND WE STILL HAVE UNTIL DECEMBER. >> WE STILL HAVE TIME. >> I'M PROCESSING NOW. >> SO THANK YOU, EVERYONE, AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE STAFF. OH, MY GOODNESS. FAMILIES AND YOUR WORKLOAD. SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE FAMILIES AND PARENTS. >> A QUICK UPDATE. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT JUNETEENTH. [41. Report from Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr.] THIS WILL BE A FEDERAL HOLIDAY THIS YEAR AND I WANTED TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT. BUT JUNETEENTH IS WHERE WE CELEBRATE EMANCIPATION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN SLAVES. THIS ORGANIZE THOUGHTED IN TEXAS IN 1866 AND CELEBRATED ANNUALLY ON JUNE 19TH THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND IT IS COMMEMORATED ON THE ANNIVERSARY DATE OF JUNE 19TH, 1865, WHICH WAS THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GENERAL ORDER NUMBER 3 BY UNION ARMY GENERAL GORDON GRANGER. THIS IS A HISTORY LESSON AND TWO, IN HISTORY IN THE MAKING. ALL OF THE THINGS ABOUT THE EFFORTS WE'RE DOING HERE IN THE ALEXANDRIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND COMES TO FRUITION THAT WE ARE FIGHTING THIS BATTLE THAT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 1865. WE'RE ON AN ANTI RACIST JOURNEY IS THE TIME IS NOW FOR US TO GET THIS DONE AND I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT WE ARE MOVING HEAD ONTO TACKLE AND DISMANTLE SYSTEMIC RACISM. WE WILL HAVE TO ENSURE THIS IS A FEDERAL HOLIDAY. I KNEW IF I CLOSED TOMORROW PARENTS WOULD GO CRAZY. YOU CAN'T GO THAT OVERNIGHT. I'M NOT TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO, PRESIDENT BIDEN. BUT I DO WANT TO SAY THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN THESE EFFORTS AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE SHARING WITH OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT JUNETEENTH. [03:10:03] IF A FAMILY MEMBER SAYS I WANT MY FAMILY MEMBER TO STAY HOME TO CELEBRATE, THAT'S YOUR PREROGATIVE. YOU DON'T NEED PERMISSION. YOUR FAMILY SHOULD COME FIRST AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR TODAY, MADAM CHAIR. >> CHAIR NOLAN. >> THIS CANNOT BE OVEREMPHASIZED, HUGE, HUGE THANKS TO EVERY STAFF MEMBER [42. Announcements] THAT WORKS HERE. THIS YEAR, THERE'S NO WORD THAT CAN CAPTURE HOW HARD EVERY SINGLE PERSON HAS WORKED AND HOW EXHAUSTING IT HAS BEEN AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE AND YOU'VE BEEN INCREDIBLE AT THE CENTER FOR ALL TIMES AND A SPECIAL THANKS THAT WHILE EVERYONE HAS DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB, WE'VE GOT CERTAIN STAFF MEMBERS THAT WERE THERE IN PERSON AND I WANTED TO TAKE A PERSON TO SINCERELY THANK OUR SCHOOL NUTRITION SERVICE FOLKS WHO HAVE DELIVERED THOUSAND AND THOUSANDS OF MEALS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF OUR FAMILIES. AND IT WAS JUST PHENOMENAL SERVICE AND JUST THE CARE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THE KINDNESS AND THE CULTURAL COMPETENCE WAS AWE INSPIRING AND THANK YOU TO DR. ELIZABETH HOOVER AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OF THE FOLKS THAT WORKED IN OUR BUILDINGS AND OUR CUSTODIAL STAFF AND THANK YOU TO OUR BRILLIANT NEW MEMBER OF THE TEAM AND THANK YOU SO MUCH TO HER LEADERSHIP, DR. HART. AND EVERY SINGLE STAFF MEMBER, ESPECIALLY OUR TEACHERS AND FOR THOSE ON THE GROUND, FRONTLINE. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, IT'S SO HARD TO IMAGINE THAT SATURDAY WAS A WEEK AGO. SO MUCH HAPPENS. BUT, WITHOUT FURTHER A'DO, I THINK IT NEED TO BE SAID HOW MANY GRADUATIONS ARE HAPPENING THIS WEEK, I DROVE BY ON MONDAY, AND I KNOW FRANCIS HAMMOND HAD A GRADUATION AND THERE'S FIFTH GRADE GRADUATIONS HAPPENING AND JUST WANTED TO SAY A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT AND NO IDEA HOW THE STAFF, GIVEN EVERYTHING THEY HAD TO DO WAS ABLE TO PREPARE TRIBUTES TO OUR STUDENTS AND CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU AND A SINCERE HONOR. >> SO I HAD MISS GREEN. >> THANK YOU, CHAIR. AND I WANT TO GIVE A BIG SHOUT OUT TO THE TEAM AND TO THE TEAM THAT DID GRADUATION. >> I LOVE GOING TO THE SCHOOLS EVENTS BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE WHERE ALL OF THE HARD WORK PAYS OFF AND IT WAS IT WAS TRULY A WONDERFUL DAY AND MISS HOLTICE AND TO [03:15:19] SEE KIDS WHO HAVE BEEN VIRTUAL ALL YEAR TO COME OUT AND SEE THEIR TEACHERS AND THEIR FRIENDS AND THEN COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT SAW THIS HAPPENS AND IT JUST MAKES YOU PROUD TO LIVE HERE AND THANK YOU EVERYONE. >> THANK YOU. >> YEAH, MISS NOLLEN REMINDED ME, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU'RE PARTICULARLY INFORMED ABOUT AND FEEL PROUD. YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MANY REALIZE THAT OUR CENTER IS A ONE OF A KIND PROGRAM IN THE STATE AND THE WORK THAT WENT ON DURING THE PANDEMIC OF THIS AS WELL AS PAID STAFF OF HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PHONE CALLS TO PARENTS. TRANSPARENCY IS NOT AN ISSUE. I'M VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THEY'VE DONE AND I WOULD POINT OUT THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENIOR CLASS THIS YEAR WHO GAVE A I THOUGHT HIS SPEECH WAS RIGHT ON AND HE'S AN IMMIGRANT AND HIS MOM WAS ONE OF MY COPRESENTERS YEARS AGO. I JUST WANTED TO REALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ARE SO MANY OF OUR FAMILIES WHO WOULDN'T BE ON BOARD AND INVOLVED AS MUCH AS THEY ARE IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE TREMENDOUS FAMILY OUTREACH PROGRAM WE HAVE HERE IN ALEXANDRIA. >> THANK YOU. >> I MOVE THAT WE ADJOURN. >> SECOND. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.