[00:00:05]
          THANK YOU, EVERYONE, FOR YOUR PATIENCE. 
          OK. I AM NOW IN NEED OF A MOTION TO GO INTO CLOSED MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD 
          [4.	Closed Meeting]
CONVENE A CLOSED MEETING PURSUANT TO VIRGINIA CODE TWO POINT TWO DASH THREE SEVEN ONE ONE EIGHT ONE FOR THE DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION OF EMPLOYMENT, PERFORMANCE AND CONTRACTUAL MATTERS FOR 10 SPECIFIC PUBLIC EMPLOYEES THAT I HAVE. 
          MS. GENTRY SECONDS MS. NOLAN'S MOTION. 
          OK, WE WILL BE BACK IN A FEW. 
          OK. CAN I GET THE MADAM VICE CHAIR TO READ US TO CERTIFY THE CLOSED STUFF? 
          [5.	Certification of Closed Meeting]
YES, SURE. 
          ALL WRITTEN PURSUANT TO VIRGINIA CODE TWO POINT TWO DASH THREE SEVEN ONE TWO. 
          I MOVE THAT THE BOARD CERTIFIED. 
          THAT'S THE BEST OF EACH MEMBER'S KNOWLEDGE. 
          ONLY PUBLIC BUSINESS MATTERS IDENTIFIED IN THE MOTION BY WHICH THE POST 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 DECEMBER 16. 
          TWENTY TWENTY ONE SECOND OK MS. GREENE, WHO SECONDS MS. NOLAN'S MOTION. 
          OK, THANK YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO COMMUNICATIONS AND ADDRESSES TO THE BOARD. 
          [6.	Public Comments]
JUST A REMINDER, EACH SPEAKER IS GIVEN THREE MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE BOARD. 
          THE CLERK WILL TIME YOU AND ANNOUNCE WHEN YOUR TIME HAS EXPIRED. 
          IF YOU'VE ALREADY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK AND YOU ARE PARTICIPATING THROUGH ZOOM, AND IT'S VERY HELPFUL IF YOU CAN RAISE YOUR HAND IN THE ZOOM FUNCTION SO THAT WE COULD NOTICE YOU RECOGNIZE YOU AND CALL ON YOU. 
          SO WITH THAT SAID, OUR FIRST PUBLIC COMMENT IS FROM PAM TOWNSEND, WHO'S AN ACPS PARENT. 
          I WANTED TO ASK BEFORE I BEGIN TO THINK, DO I SEE MY TIME OR DO YOU WAVE AT ME WHEN MY TIME IS UP OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? OK, AND THEN YOU'LL LIKE, YOU'LL GIVE ME LIKE A SOMETHING. 
          OK? CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION ALSO BEFORE? SO I WAS COMING TO TALK ABOUT THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR, BUT IS IT IT'S STAYING ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR IS MY UNDERSTANDING. 
          SO THERE WON'T BE JUST SO ANY ITEMS CAN ALWAYS BE PULLED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR BY THE BOARD. ANY TIME? OK. 
          OK, GREAT. ALL RIGHT. 
          I'M READY. THANK YOU. 
          SNUCK IN A FEW EXTRA SECONDS THERE. 
          OK. I'M PAM TOWNSEND AND I HAVE A FIFTH GRADER AT BROOKS AND THEN A NINTH GRADER AT MANY. 
          HOWARD AND I PREVIOUSLY SERVED ON THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE, AS YOU ALL KNOW, SINCE I WAS HERE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. 
          I SPOKE TO YOU LAST TIME ABOUT THE FLAWED CALENDARS THAT ARE BEFORE YOU FOR A VOTE AND THE THE FLAWED PROCESS. 
          SO NOW I WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOLUTIONS. 
          WHEN I ASKED FOR THREE THINGS, FIRST IS THAT YOU TAKE OFF THE TWENTY THREE TWENTY FOUR CALENDAR AND SEND IT BACK TO THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE FOR IMPROVEMENT AND CONSIDERATION NEXT FALL TO REQUEST THAT ACPS STAFF MAKE A FEW SMALL CHANGES TO THE TWENTY TO TWENTY THREE CALENDAR FOR CONTINUITY BEFORE YOU APPROVE IT, AND THREE PROVIDE STRUCTURE AND GUIDANCE TO THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE GOING FORWARD. 
          FIRST, I JUST WANT TO RUN THROUGH A QUICK IDEA OF SOME WAYS THAT THEY COULD SMOOTH OUT THE 20 TO 23 CALENDAR FALL. 
          MIDDLE SCHOOL CONFERENCES COULD BE MOVED BETWEEN YOM KIPPUR AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY, WHICH WOULD GIVE YOU A NICE LONG BREAK INSTEAD OF TWO DAYS OFF AND THREE DAYS ON AND BACK AND FORTH. SAME FOR THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MOVE THOSE FOR FRIDAY AND MONDAY BEFORE ELECTION DAY. EASY FIXES, NO CHANGES TO DAYS OFF AND TEACHER DAYS AND STUDENT DAYS. 
          ALSO MOVING THE FEBRUARY CONFERENCES. 
          SIMILARLY, NO CHANGES TO THE NUMBER OF DAYS THAT YOU'LL COUNT OR HOURS THAT YOU NEED. 
          MOVE THEM TO THE ALL TOGETHER THE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY BEFORE PRESIDENTS DAY. 
          AND IT ALSO SUGGESTS THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER STARTING AGAIN, AS ALWAYS ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 23RD INSTEAD OF MONDAY FOR AN EASIER TRANSITION BACK TO SCHOOL WITH A FOUR DAY WEEK. 
          SO SOME QUESTIONS THAT I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU ASK ABOUT THE CALENDAR FOR ANY PRESENTATION THAT YOU WILL HAVE TONIGHT IS WHAT IS FAIRFAX DOING FOR THEIR SPRING BREAK IN THEIR DAYS OFF? THE DRAFT IS NOT PUBLIC YET, BUT IN THE PAST WHEN I WAS ON THE COMMITTEE, WE WOULD GET THAT INFORMATION IN ADVANCE. 
          [00:05:02]
MS., THE LARGEST DISTRICT IN OUR AREA, IT'S WISE TO CONSIDER WHAT THEY ARE DOING. 
          SO MANY OF OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF HAVE THEIR FAMILIES ATTENDING FAIRFAX PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
          ALSO, WHY DO WE HAVE THE FALL CONFERENCES AS FULL DAYS OFF AND THEN THE FEBRUARY CONFERENCES AND EARLY RELEASE? I KNOW PART OF THAT IS ABOUT, AGAIN, THE NUMBER OF DAYS AND HOURS THAT WE NEED, BUT WE SHOULD SURVEY THAT. 
          WHAT DO FAMILIES AND TEACHERS REALLY PREFER? WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE BEST SITUATION TO GET THE MOST CONFERENCE TIME AND WITHOUT STRAINING OUR TEACHERS SEVERELY WITH THEIR TIME? WHY ARE THE FEBRUARY CONFERENCES SEPARATED AGAIN? I'M RECOMMENDING THAT YOU BRING THEM BACK TOGETHER TO HAVE THE SAME DAY AS THE FORMER COMMITTEE. WHEN I WAS ON THE COMMITTEE DETERMINED THAT THAT IS WHAT FAMILIES WANTED WANTED, AND I QUESTION WHY THAT CHANGED. 
          AND HOPEFULLY IT CAN'T OR CAN BE MOVED BACK TOGETHER. 
          WHY DO WE HAVE ROSH HASHANAH, YOM KIPPUR AND DIWALI OFF, BUT NOT VETERANS DAY IN THE FALL? ORIGINALLY, WHEN I WAS ON THE CALENDAR, VETERANS DAY WAS PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE IT PRODUCED A CHOPPY CALENDAR. 
          NOW WE BASICALLY JUST MOVE THE CHOPPY CALENDAR TO OCTOBER BECAUSE IN VETERANS DAY IS NOT OFF. THAT'S ME, ISN'T IT? OK? YES, THAT'S IT. 
          THE REST OF YOU, YOU'LL HAVE TO READ. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. 
          THANK YOU. NEXT UP, WE HAVE MS. GRETA GORDON. 
          GOOD EVENING, DR HUTCHINGS AND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN, AND I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE. 
          I KNOW THIS IS THE LAST NIGHT AND I AM HERE AGAIN TO TALK ABOUT THE CALENDAR. 
          IT IS MY HOPE THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD CONSIDER MAKING CHANGES TO THE CALENDARS AS THEY'VE BEEN PRESENTED. 
          FIRST AND FOREMOST, THE TWENTY THREE TWENTY FOUR CALENDAR SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AT THIS TIME. BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. 
          DR HUTCHINGS REQUESTED THE CALENDAR BE DEVELOPED TWO YEARS AT A TIME, BUT A LOT OBVIOUSLY HAS CHANGED SINCE THEN AND THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF UNKNOWNS. 
          THE INITIAL INTENT OF TWO CALENDARS HAD BEEN TO ALLOW FAMILIES AND STAFF AND OPPORTUNITY TO PLAN. BUT IF WE'RE GOING TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE TWENTY THREE TWENTY FOUR CALENDAR NEXT YEAR, WHAT IS THE POINT OF PUTTING SOMETHING OUT THERE THAT WILL THEN CHANGE AGAIN? IT'S CERTAINLY WORTH NOTING THAT FAIRFAX COUNTY IS NOT GOING TO HAVE THEIR TWENTY TWO TWENTY THREE CALENDAR PRESENTED UNTIL THIS JANUARY OF TWENTY TWENTY TWO. 
          AND AS YOU MAY KNOW THIS, YOUR FAIRFAX CHANGED THEIR SPRING BREAK WEEK TO FALL DIFFERENTLY FROM OTHER JURISDICTIONS, AND IT'S UNKNOWN WHETHER OR NOT THEY'LL CONTINUE WITH THAT TREND GOING FORWARD. 
          I CAN APPRECIATE THAT WE DON'T WANT TO BASE OUR CALENDAR BASED ON FAIRFAX AND WHAT FAIRFAX DOES, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH NEIGHBORING SCHOOL DISTRICTS SO THAT TOGETHER WE CAN PRODUCE COORDINATED CALENDARS THAT GENERALLY FOLLOW ONE ANOTHER. NOT ONLY ARE THERE SPORTS LEAGUES TO CONSIDER, BUT OF COURSE WE ALSO HAVE MANY STAFF AND TEACHERS WHO LIVE IN FAIRFAX WITH CHILDREN WHO ATTEND SCHOOL THERE. 
          MANY COMMENTS WERE COLLECTED WITH THE SURVEY, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE REACHED ALL OF OUR CONSTITUENCIES. 
          IT MEANS THAT WE REACHED THOSE WHO HAD COMMENTS TO SHARE, WHICH SHOULD BE WEIGHED AND CONSIDERED. THERE WERE QUITE A FEW COMMENTS ABOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR CONTINUING SO FAR IN JUNE, EVEN THOUGH WE START SO EARLY IN AUGUST AND THE GOAL OF STARTING EARLIER WAS TO HAVE MORE INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS PRIOR TO TESTING. 
          DO THE CALENDARS REALLY ACHIEVE THAT? THERE WERE ALSO COMMENTS ABOUT THE FRAGMENTED FALL SCHEDULE. 
          THE LINE AND CONFERENCES WITH HOLIDAYS WOULD ADDRESS THAT, AS PAM HAS ALREADY OUTLINED. 
          SO I WILL LEAVE THAT PART OUT, AND I ALSO AGREE THAT THE MONDAY START DATE IS SHOULD BE MOVED TO TUESDAY. 
          THAT MONDAY START DATE WAS ONLY INCLUDED BECAUSE WE NEEDED TO FULFILL THE ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY FIVE TEACHER CONTRACT HOURS. 
          IT DOESN'T AFFECT THE STUDENT DAYS. 
          WE DON'T HAVE TO GO A DAY LATER. 
          IT JUST MEANS WE START. 
          ON TUESDAY AS A COMMITTEE, WE WERE ASKED TO DEVELOP THE TWENTY TO TWENTY THREE CALENDAR AND THEN BASE AT TWENTY THREE TWENTY FOUR CALENDAR ON THAT WHICH WAS A TALL ORDER FOR A NEW COMMITTEE AS SOME MEMBERS LEFT IN THE SPRING. 
          OTHERS JOINED AND WE LACKED CONSISTENCY IN OUR MEMBERSHIP AND OUR HR PERSONNEL. 
          PLEASE INSTRUCT ACPS TO WORK WITH THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE TO DEVELOP GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT WILL SERVE AS PARAMETERS TO THIS PROCESS. 
          THIS WILL HELP PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND WILL ALLOW US TO DEVELOP A COHESIVE CALENDAR. 
          THANK YOU. MEAGAN MS. GORDON. UH, NEXT UP, WE HAVE ZACHARY ROBERTS. 
          OK. HELLO, BOARD. 
          BOARD I MR. HUTCHINGS I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT AS MANY HARVARD STUDENTS AND 
          [00:10:08]
FRESHMEN ASKS, WE HAVE TO. 
          SOME OF US HAVE TO GET ON A BUS EVERY DAY. 
          IT'S CROWDED. 
          THERE IS NO SEMBLANCE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING ANYWHERE IN THE SCHOOL, AND FRESHMEN ARE BEING MADE TO SIT THREE TO A SEAT ON THESE BUSSES. 
          MOST OF THE TIME, UNLESS THE PERSON IS VERY SMALL, THEY END UP THE PERSON ENDS UP SITTING PRETTY MUCH IN THE AISLE OR HAVING STAND, WHICH IS A SAFETY RISK. 
          WE NEED TO HAVE MOST OF THE SCHOOLS ARE JUST SORT OF THERE'S SOCIAL DISTANCING. 
          WHAT SOCIAL DISTANCING? THERE IS NONE. WE DON'T SEE SOCIAL DISTANCING. 
          IN HECK, MOST PEOPLE, THERE'S A DECENT NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT DON'T EVEN WEAR MASKS. 
          SO IT'S LIKE, DO YOU REALLY WANT TO? I MEAN, FIXING TRANSPORTATION LIKE PEOPLE ARE WALKING OFF CAMPUS LIKE WHEN THEY GET TO KING STREET, PEOPLE WALK OFF THE CAMPUS. 
          PRETTY MUCH EVERY TIME I'VE GONE OVER TO KING STREET TO TAKE CHINESE, I HAVE SEEN PEOPLE IMMEDIATELY AFTER GETTING OFF THE BUS, WALKING AWAY. 
          NOBODY STOPS THEM AND THEY JUST WALK OUT OF THE SCHOOL. 
          OR COMPLETELY GO, WHO KNOWS WHERE. 
          IT JUST FEELS LIKE. 
          OR RE TRYING TO SPREAD COVID BY SHOVING AS MANY STUDENTS AS WE CAN ON A SINGLE BUS WITHOUT SOCIAL DISTANCING OR. 
          AND THERE'S REALLY JUST NOTHING GOOD ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH TRANSPORTATION AT THE MOMENT LIKE. 
          WHEN IF, LIKE, I'VE ONLY RIDDEN THE ACTIVITY BUS ONCE BECAUSE STUFF HAPPENED, THE ONLY TIME I DID, MAINLY THE FACT THAT I GOT SLAPPED IN THE FACE BECAUSE STUDENTS MOBBED THE BUSSES WHEN THEY ARRIVE AT KING STREET. 
          THE BUSSES, THE ACTIVITY BUSSES ARE MOBBED BY LITERALLY EVERY BY ALL THE STUDENTS. 
          THERE IS NO ROOM FOR PEOPLE TO GET OFF THE BUS. 
          AND YOU ARE JUST STUCK ON THEM, AND IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY YOU CAN GET THROUGH WITHOUT SOMEONE HITTING YOU, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE IN THE BACK OF THE BUS. 
          THANK YOU. OK, THANK YOU, ZACHARY. 
          NEXT UP, WE HAVE GABY ROBERTS. 
          ALL RIGHT, NEXT UP, WE HAVE JERRY ROBERTS. 
          NOW WE HAVE MR. RICARDO ROBERTS. 
          I'M TROUBLE. I'M TROUBLED BECAUSE. 
          WE ADULTS. HAVE NOT TAKEN OWNERSHIP. 
          OF THE CHAOS AND CONFUSION THAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
          WE'RE NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROTECTING OUR KIDS, OUR TEACHERS. 
          OUR STAFF, OUR SORROWS. 
          KIDS ARE BRINGING. 
          BOX CUTTERS. AND LOADED GUNS TO SCHOOL. 
          WE HAVE A BUNCH OF PARENTS RUNNING AROUND, AND I CAUGHT THEM ON VIDEO CALLING BOMB THREATS AND GETTING THE KIDS TO JUMP UP BITS. 
          ACCORDING. WE HAVE A COACH WHO ARE CALLED IN SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. 
          BECAUSE. WE HAVE THE ONLY HIGH SCHOOL IN THE CITY. 
          AND THEY EXTORT THE KIDS, HE'S ABUSING THE KIDS AND THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR OVER THERE. 
          HUTCHINGS, I REPORTED IT TO YOU. 
          AND I TOLD YOU THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. 
          BUT YET YOU DID NOT. WE HAVE KIDS STILL BRINGING GUNS AND WEAPONS INTO THE SCHOOL. 
          AND YOU WILL PUT UP METAL DETECTORS, REALLY. 
          NEW BOSS, NEW BOSSES, THOUGH. 
          TO BE JAMMING THE KIDS ON THE BUSSES, BUT YOU DON'T BOARD METAL DETECTORS. 
          [00:15:03]
MY SON WAS ABUSED. 
          WHEN HE WAS AT GW. 
          YOU GET A CRIMINAL GET AWAY. 
          DR. MAZER. WHO KNEW THE KIDS WERE BEATING MY SON UP? MR. BETTISON, WHO WAS BEATING MY SON UP. 
          AND YOU ASK ME WHY I WAS SO PASSIONATE. 
          AND BY THE WAY, THAT'S WHY YOU DIDN'T SEE ME YARD SIGNS UP FOR SCHOOL BOARD. 
          SO, YOU KNOW. SO, YOU KNOW. 
          I NEVER LIED TO YOU. 
          WOULD YOU LIKE TO US TO PROTECT OUR KIDS? HOW CAN THEY LEARN? HOW CAN THESE KIDS SIT IN THE BUILDING AND LEARN? WHEN YOU A CHECK. 
          I MEAN, YOU SIT ON A MESSAGE, DR HUTCHINGS. 
          TELLING THE KID BLAMING THE ATTACK ON VICTIMS. MAN, COME ON, MAN, YOU BLAME THE VICTIMS. DON'T REPORT IT. HOW ELSE ARE WE TO LEARN WHAT'S GOING ON IN THESE SCHOOLS IF THE KIDS ARE NOT REPORTING? GEORGE FLOYD. 
          I KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO SEND PEOPLE AFTER ME AGAIN. 
          THEY ARE SO ROADS. HE I SAID SIX MONTHS AGO. 
          THREE YEARS AGO, THANK YOU. 
          NEXT UP, WE HAVE ALLISON MCGOWAN. 
          GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS ALISON MCCOWAN. 
          I'M A RESIDENT AND PARENT IN THIS COMMUNITY AND A CAREER EDUCATOR. 
          WELL, I GREW UP AS A MUSIC AND THEATER KID, SPEAKING BEFORE AN AUDIENCE OUTSIDE OF MY CLASSROOM IS DEFINITELY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE THESE DAYS. 
          BUT I COME BEFORE YOU TONIGHT IN SPITE OF THAT. 
          BECAUSE I WANTED SOME MEMBERS OF THIS BODY TO HEAR FROM ME BEFORE THEIR TERMS END. 
          PERHAPS I'LL BE BACK TO INTRODUCE MYSELF TO THE NEW MEMBERS IN THE WEEKS AHEAD. 
          IN MY CLASSROOM, I USE NARRATIVE AS A VEHICLE TO HELP STUDENTS MAKE CONNECTIONS, REAL WORLD CONNECTIONS TO CHALLENGING TOPICS. 
          SO IF YOU'LL INDULGE ME, I HAVE A STORY TO SHARE. 
          YEARS AGO, EARLY IN MY CAREER, I WORKED IN A SCHOOL THAT FACED MANY CHALLENGES, AS DO SO MANY OF OUR SCHOOLS RIGHT NOW. 
          AMONG THE MYRIAD OF ISSUES THAT THIS SCHOOL FACED WAS THAT MANY STUDENTS WEREN'T GETTING ENOUGH TO EAT. I HAD A COLLEAGUE, A GOOD FRIEND AT THE TIME WHO DID HER VERY BEST TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM, SHE WOULD PURCHASE LARGE BOXES OF GRANOLA BARS. 
          AND STUDENTS WERE WELCOME TO GRAB ONE OR MORE AS A SNACK, SOMETHING TO TIDE THEM OVER. 
          IT DIDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM, BUT SHE WAS DOING SOMETHING. 
          SHE COULDN'T REACH EVERYONE THIS WAY, BUT SHE WAS AT LEAST ABLE TO REACH SOME STUDENTS AND FILL AT LEAST ONE OF THEIR NEEDS. 
          IT DIDN'T FIX EVERYTHING, BUT AT LEAST IT WAS SOMETHING, IT WAS SOMETHING ONE PERSON, A YOUNG TEACHER JUST STARTING OUT COULD DO. 
          I STAND BEFORE YOU NOW LOOKING AT A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE WHO BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND COLLECTIVELY HAVE A LOT MORE POWER THAN A SINGLE, WELL-INTENTIONED PERSON JUST STARTING OUT. AND I AM ASKING YOU PLEADING WITH YOU TO USE THAT POWER AND EXPERIENCE TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING. 
          GRANTED, YOU HAVE TAKEN SOME STEPS. 
          AS A BODY, YOU ADVOCATED FOR THE RETURN OF THE ASTEROIDS TO THE SCHOOLS, AND THAT WAS A REASONABLE MEASURE. 
          BUT IN THE WEEKS SINCE THE ASTROS HAVE RETURNED FROM WHAT I CAN SEE, LITTLE HAS CHANGED. 
          WHILE A FEW STUDENTS MIGHT FEEL A BIT SAFER WITH THE SROS AROUND THEIR PRESENCE IS A BAND-AID, OR YOU COULD SAY A GRANOLA BAR. 
          THE ATHEROS ARE NOT ABLE TO BE EVERYWHERE. 
          THEIR PRESENCE HAS NOT PUT A STOP TO THE FIGHTS, TO THE HARASSMENT THAT MANY STUDENTS ARE SUBJECT TO. I'M NOT UPSET THAT THE SROS ARE BACK. 
          IT MIGHT HELP A FEW KIDS AND ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING. 
          BUT JUST LIKE THAT BOX OF GRANOLA BARS, THE SIMPLE PRESENCE OF THE SROS IS NOT SOLVING THE CORE ISSUE. 
          STUDENTS IN YOUR SCHOOLS DO NOT FEEL SAFE. 
          MY SON HAS STOOD BEFORE YOU ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS PLEADING FOR MEANINGFUL HELP FOR HIMSELF AND OTHERS WHO HAVE FACED BULLYING. 
          MY HUSBAND HAS BEEN A CONSTANT PRESENCE. 
          SHARING OUR CONCERNS. 
          BUT IT SEEMS THEY HAVE FALLEN ON DEAF EARS. 
          DO YOU KNOW THAT IT TOOK UNTIL JUST LAST WEEK? IS THAT MY BUZZER? IT IS. 
          I'LL SEND THE REMAINDER OF MY COMMENTS BY EMAIL. 
          THANK YOU. OK, NEXT STEP, WE HAVE DON LUCAS. 
          [00:20:03]
LOOK AT HOW PEOPLE WITH ME, TOO. 
          GOOD EVENING, CHAIR ALDERTON, VICE CHAIR, NOLAN SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES AND DR. 
          HUTCHINGS, AS YOU KNOW, MY NAME IS DON LUCAS AND I'M A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER AND I'M HONORED TO SERVE AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF ALEXANDRIA, ALSO KNOWN AS EAA. I HAVE WITH ME THE VICE PRESIDENT, MARY GADDIS, AS WELL AS OUR EAA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER, AS WELL AS BUILDING REP GAIL ROBERSON. 
          I'M HERE TONIGHT TO OFFER MY SINCERE GRATITUDE FOR OUR SCHOOL BOARD. 
          I COME BEARING GIFTS AS A SMALL TOKEN OF OUR APPRECIATION FOR THE SERVICE THAT YOU ALL HAVE PROVIDED TO THE STUDENTS AND STAFF AND THE ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
          THE WE HAVE AN ITEM AND IT'S INSCRIBED AND I WILL READ THE INSCRIPTION. 
          THE MEMBERS OF THE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF ALEXANDRIA NOTE WITH GRATITUDE THE SERVICE OF INSERT NAME ON THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. 
          DURING THE EXTRAORDINARY TIMES, YOU PROVIDED LEADERSHIP TO MEET THE PERILOUS DEMANDS ON STAFF, STUDENTS AND FAMILIES NOT EXPERIENCED IN PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED YEARS. WE THANK YOU. 
          SOME OF YOU HAVE NOT ONLY SERVED DURING THIS PANDEMIC, BUT YOU'VE ALSO BEEN THROUGH REDISTRICTING, THE BUILDING OF TWO SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS THE RENAMING OF TWO SCHOOLS. 
          THEREFORE, WHETHER YOU WILL BE LEAVING THE BOARD OR RETURNING TO THE BOARD IN JANUARY. 
          PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU AND YOUR EFFORTS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED. 
          E.A. WISHES YOU JOY AND MUCH SUCCESS. 
          THANK YOU. THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YOU GOT. I JUST. 
          SO. 
          MADAM CHAIR, MADAM CHAIR, I ALSO HAD A FEW COMMENTS THAT I NEED TO MAKE AS WELL. 
          OK, DR. HUTCHINGS. 
          SO FIRST OFF, THANK YOU TO OUR EAA REPRESENTATIVES HERE. 
          WE APPRECIATE OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM. 
          THANK YOU ALL. AND I JUST WANT A SECOND EVERYTHING THAT OUR PRESIDENT JUST SAID. 
          WE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE SO MANY COMMITTED BOARD MEMBERS. 
          BUT I MEAN, HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE NINE COMMITTED FOLKS WHO ARE HERE, YOU KNOW, TO WORK HARD FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE IN SPITE OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC, RIGHT? I MEAN, BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY, NO ONE KNEW THAT IN MARCH OF 2020, OUR ENTIRE LIVES WOULD CHANGE, YOU KNOW, AND THAT WE WOULD STILL BE GOING THROUGH THIS NOW. 
          BUT YOU ALL HAVE DONE THIS WITH SO MUCH GRACE AND YOU HAVE TAKEN ON, I THINK ONE OF THE LARGEST CHALLENGES, THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THAT ANYBODY COULD HAVE IMAGINED. 
          SO FIRST, I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE, THESE ARE ALL OF OUR STUDENT POSTERS. 
          YOU ALL CAN CHOOSE TO PICK UP ANYONE YOU WANT TO TAKE HOME WITH YOU. 
          BUT OUR STUDENTS FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT SCHOOLS, THEY WANTED TO SHOW THEIR APPRECIATION AND OUR PRINCIPLES DROPPED THEM OFF TODAY AND HAD THEM ALL SET UP BEFORE YOU ALL GOT HERE. AND THEY WANTED TO TELL YOU ALL PERSONALLY THAT THEY TRULY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU ALL DO. YOU KNOW THE WORK AND THE DECISIONS THAT YOU WILL MAKE HERE AT THE DAIS. 
          IT DOES IMPACT OUR STUDENTS LIVES IN A POSITIVE WAY, AND WE WANTED TO JUST SHOW A SMALL TOKEN OF APPRECIATION. 
          ALSO, EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A BAG LOOKS LIKE THIS, AND I'M GOING TO BORROW DR. 
          RIEF BAG TO KIND OF TELL YOU WHAT'S IN THERE, BUT YOU OPEN THEM UP. 
          I'LL LET DR. RIEF GO AHEAD AND OPEN HERS UP. 
          I WANT TO LET HER I WILL TURN THINGS OVER TO DR. 
          RIEF TO OPEN HER BACK UP. 
          MY WIFE AND SAY, YOU'RE NOT LETTING ANYBODY OPEN ANYTHING. 
          MY WIFE IS IN MY HEAD ALL THE TIME. 
          SO WHAT? YOU ALL WILL SEE ONE, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS TRY TO BE CREATIVE WITH OUR GIFTS TO OUR BOARD MEMBERS BECAUSE YOU ALL HAVE SO MANY OTHER GIFTS THAT YOU GET FROM PEOPLE. 
          SO THE ONE THING I DO WANT TO POINT OUT IS THIS RIGHT HERE? AND THERE'S A WHOLE THERE'S A PURPOSE IN THIS. 
          WE TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT FROM LITTLE SEEDS, WE CAN GROW MIGHTY TREES AND YOU ALL HAVE PLANTED SO MANY SEEDS IN ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND WE KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO GROW. I MEAN, YOU WILL HAVE A LEGACY HERE AND PEOPLE WON'T FORGET ABOUT THIS BOARD EVER BECAUSE YOU'RE THE PANDEMIC BOARD. 
          FOR ONE, YOU'RE IN THE HISTORY BOOKS FOR LIFE. 
          BUT WHAT YOU WILL SEE IN HERE ARE SOME SEEDS THAT YOU WILL GET TO PLANT. 
          NOT RIGHT NOW. IT'S NOT A GOOD TIME TO PLANT SEEDS. 
          EVERYBODY WAIT TILL THE SPRING AND YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE FLOWER POT. 
          [00:25:02]
AND THEN THERE'S SOME CANDY IN HERE. 
          OF COURSE, WE NEEDED SOME CHOCOLATE FOR YOU. 
          INSTEAD OF SAWYER, WE GAVE YOU CHOCOLATE. 
          THEN IF YOU OPEN YOUR BOX, THE LITTLE NICE BLACK BOX THAT YOU'LL SEE IN HERE. 
          NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, TIFFANY'S NO LONGER MAKES APPLES. 
          I WAS SO UPSET THAT THEY NO LONGER HAVE APPLES BECAUSE YOU ARE DESERVED THE TIFFANY APPLE, BUT THEY DON'T MAKE THEM ANYMORE. 
          TIFFANY AND COMPANY, CAN YOU PLEASE GET THOSE APPLES BACK? CRYSTAL APPLES? BUT THESE ARE JUST AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE TIFFANY CRYSTAL APPLES, AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE ON HERE SAYS THANK YOU FOR SERVING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE IN ACPS. 
          TWENTY NINETEEN AND TWENTY TWENTY ONE. 
          IT'S JUST A KEEPSAKE FOR YOU ALL TO REMEMBER THE SERVICE THAT YOU'VE DONE FOR US AND OUR BOARD MEMBERS WHO ARE RETURNING THE SERVICE YOU WILL CONTINUE TO DO. 
          BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY ON BEHALF OF ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL STAFF AND STUDENTS, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE AND WE TRULY APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. 
          WELL, GOSH, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MOVE FORWARD. 
          AM I. I'M INCLINED TO. 
          MAYBE I'LL LEAVE THIS TO MY COLLEAGUES, I'M INCLINED TO HAVE MY COLLEAGUES MAKE ANY COMMENTS NOW IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO. 
          BECAUSE THIS WAS REALLY NICE, SO WELL. 
          MS. LORBER MS. LORBER. OKAY, WE COULD DO PARTING COMMENTS AT THE END. 
          ABSOLUTELY. BUT I DO WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK THE EAA TO THANK DR. 
          HUTCHINGS. THANK YOU TO THE PRINCIPALS WHO SAID THANK YOU TO THE STUDENTS. 
          IF THERE IS A TIME THAT SCHOOL BOARDS COULD USE A LITTLE BIT OF THIS, IT IS NOW I'M WILLING TO BET THERE'S NOT A LOT OF SCHOOL BOARDS OUT THERE GETTING THIS LEVEL OF LOVE. 
          SO I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU AND I LOOK FORWARD. 
          DON'T REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO THE PARTING COMMENTS AT THE END, ACTUALLY, BUT I SAID, I DON'T REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO THE PARTING COMMENTS AT THE END, AND I'M REALLY GOING TO MISS MARGARET LORBER. 
          OK, I GOT TO MOVE MY STUFF HERE. 
          WE'LL MOVE ALONG IN THE AGENDA. 
          [7.	Report from Student Representatives Emily Milton and Sylvia Rahim]
I NEVER. AND ALL RIGHT, STUDENTS, YOU HAVE YOUR TIME TO REPORT, AND RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE WE ONLY HAVE MS. MILTON TODAY. 
          HELLO, MY NAME IS EMILY, AND UNFORTUNATELY, MY OTHER STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE SYLVIA COULDN'T BE HERE WITH US TONIGHT, BUT WE WANTED TO START OFF BY GIVING THANKS AND WELL-WISHES TO ANY OUTGOING BOARD MEMBERS TONIGHT. 
          IT HAS BEEN AN HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO WORK WITH YOU, AND WE TRULY APPRECIATE THE WORK YOU'VE DONE FOR US IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          WE ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PASSING OF MY FELLOW CLASSMATE, KYRIE WEST. 
          MAY HE REST IN PEACE. 
          WE WANT WE WANT TO RECAP THAT. 
          LAST WEEK, GOV. RALPH NORTHAM CAME TO VISIT ALEXANDRIA CITY HIGH SCHOOL AND GAVE AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING THE RAYS AND TEACHER SALARY BY 10 PERCENT OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS. WE ALSO APPRECIATE HOW DEDICATED THIS SHOWS VIRGINIA TO BE IN REGARDS TO EDUCATION AND IMPROVING OUR EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ALIKE. 
          WE'D ALSO LIKE TO GIVE AN ENORMOUS SHOUT OUT TO WESTBRIDGE FINALIST ABDUL RAHMAN ABDEL ZEDEK, WHO WON THE NATIONAL QUEST BRIDGE MATCH SCHOLARSHIP, WHICH IS WORTH THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS AND AND WILL BE ATTENDING COLBY COLLEGE NEXT YEAR. 
          HE ALSO WELCOMED GOV. 
          RALPH NORTHAM AT HIS PRESENTATION TO THE HIGH SCHOOL, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT HE ACCOMPLISHES IN THE FUTURE. 
          AFTER OUR LAST MEETING, WE WENT TO INSTAGRAM TO ASK STUDENTS THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE DISCUSSION OF THE DRESS CODE AND STARTING SCHOOL BEFORE LABOR DAY. 
          IN REGARDS TO THE DRESS CODE COMMENT, ONE STUDENT SAID THAT THEY ARE NOT COMPLETELY AWARE OF THE DRESS CODE, BUT THEY LIKE HOW IT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED SO FAR AND IN REGARDS TO THE EARLIER START TO OUR SCHOOL YEAR TO STUDENTS STATED THAT THEY LIKED IT BECAUSE IT GAVE MORE DAYS BEFORE APP TESTING AND IT ALIGNS WITH OTHER STATES. 
          ANOTHER STUDENT SAID SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT, WHICH IS THAT BEFORE BECAUSE THEY LIKE IT BETTER NOW BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE DOES IT, INCLUDING US, FOR EXAMPLE, AND IT IS MORE PRACTICAL. WE ALSO WANTED TO SHOWCASE THAT TO FIND SOME STUDENT COVERAGE OF THE TORPEDO FACTORY PROPOSAL PUT UP BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          TAKE A LOOK AT THE ORGANICA ALEXANDRIA CITY HIGH SCHOOL'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER. 
          WE ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT THE SCOTTISH DAY PARADE WAS A HUGE SUCCESS, AND WE APPRECIATED 
          [00:30:02]
SEEING PHOTOS OF SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE. 
          AND WE ALSO WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE VIDEO THAT DR. 
          HUTCHINGS PUT OUT THIS WEEK TO REMIND STUDENTS AND STAFF ABOUT SCHOOL SAFETY THAT IS BEING SHARED WITH STUDENTS AT BOTH THE HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMPUSES ON TUESDAY. 
          THAT CAN ALSO BE FOUND CURRENTLY ON ACPS EXPRESS AND I PERSONALLY WANT. 
          WE WANTED TO STRESS THAT SYLVIA AND I FEEL THAT IT IS IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS TO FEEL SAFE AT SCHOOL, AND I PERSONALLY TALKED IN MANY OF MY CLASSES IN A GROUP SETTING ABOUT SCHOOL SAFETY AND AFTER WATCHING THE VIDEO. 
          AND OVERALL, THE CONSENSUS WAS THAT MANY STUDENTS FELT THAT THEY NEEDED CLEARER COMMUNICATION AND CLEAR DIRECTIONS IN A CASE WHERE WE MAY NEED TO PERFORM A LOCKDOWN OR SECURE THE BUILDING PROCEDURE. 
          MANY STUDENTS ALSO SAID THAT IT WAS REALLY NICE TO TALK IN A GROUP SETTING ABOUT HOW THEY WERE FEELING REGARDING WHAT THEIR THOUGHTS WERE ON WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED OR JUST THEIR GENERAL IDEAS REGARDING SCHOOL SAFETY. 
          THEY ALSO STATED THAT IT WAS NICE TO KNOW THAT THEY WEREN'T ALONE IN THEIR THOUGHT PROCESSES. WE THINK THIS COULD POSSIBLY BE BENEFICIAL TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS EXPANDED INTO OTHER ACPS CLASSROOMS AS IT SEEMED TO BE HELPFUL FOR THESE STUDENTS. 
          WE ALSO WANT TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON AND HOPEFULLY A RESTFUL BREAK. 
          THANK YOU. THANK YOU. 
          FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES. 
          ALWAYS SO INSIGHTFUL, SO THOUGHTFUL. 
          THANK YOU, EMILY. 
          OK, WE ARE GOING TO MOVE ON. 
          [Consent Calendar]
WE DO NEED TO ADOPT THE CONSENT CALENDAR, SO I NEED A MOTION TO DO SO. 
          MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. 
          AND MS. LORBER LORBER, WHOSE SECOND MS. GENTRY A MOTION, ARE THERE ANY ITEMS TO PULL? YES, MADAM CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO PULL ITEM 15, THE TWENTY TWENTY TWO TWENTY TWENTY FOUR ACADEMIC CALENDAR. FOR OVER 16. 
          IN NUMBER, 16. NO. 
          NO. 17, 16 AND 17. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE 17, 18. 
          LET'S SAY TO MY LEFT ADVISORY COMMITTEE FORMATION OF NEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY AND AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE AMERICAS SPEAKING TO ME. 
          OK, SO WE CAN PULL THOSE THREE ITEMS. AND I GUESS WE WILL HAVE DISCUSSION. 
          WELL, FIRST, SO YES, ALL RIGHT, WE'VE GOT THREE ITEMS PULL, SO NOW WE NEED TO ADOPT THE CONSENT CALENDAR WITHOUT THOSE THREE ITEMS. SO WE HAVE A SECOND. 
          WE DID. YES. 
          YEAH. IT'S NOT HERE. 
          OH, OK. ALL RIGHT, SO NOW WE CAN GO AHEAD AND HAVE DISCUSSIONS WITH CERTAIN MS. GENTRY REGARDING THE TWENTY TWENTY TWENTY TWO TO TWENTY TWENTY FOUR ACADEMIC CALENDARS. 
          [21.	2022-2024 Academic Calendars]
THANK YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO JUST EXPAND ON THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE. 
          FIRST OFF, THANK YOU AGAIN TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT CAME AND SPOKE TONIGHT AND HAD SPOKEN TO US PREVIOUSLY AND ALSO THE PEOPLE THAT CONTACTED THE SCHOOL BOARD WITH REGARDING THE CALENDAR. 
          I DO WANT TO SAY I DO WANT TO SAY THAT I WILL BE VOTING YES FOR BOTH CALENDARS, AS IS, BUT I WANTED TO CLARIFY A LITTLE BIT. 
          SOME OF THE THE THINKING THAT'S GOING BEHIND THAT. 
          SO ONE THING THAT CAME UP IN THE LAST TIME THAN WE DID THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE DISCUSSION IS THE REALITY THAT EVERY EVERY TIME THERE IS SOMETHING THAT'S, YOU KNOW, A GAIN IN ONE ASPECT OF THE CALENDAR, IT BECOMES A TRADE OFF IN ANOTHER AREA OF THE CALENDAR. 
          AND THAT'S JUST REALITY. 
          THERE'S HUGE SUPPORT. 
          WE'VE SEEN THAT IN THE COMMENTS FOR WIDER INCLUSION AND RECOGNITION OF ALL THE DIFFERENT, THE ALL OF THE DIFFERENT CULTURES AND RECOGNIZING THAT DIVERSITY REFLECTED IN OUR HOLIDAYS. THE THE NECESSARY TRADE OFF OF THAT IS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE SOME DIFFERENT KINDS OF DAYS OFF. 
          THAT IS A REALITY AND IT'S A TRADE OFF AND WE ULTIMATELY MAKE THAT DECISION. 
          I THINK ANOTHER ONE THAT HAS COME UP, I THINK THIS CAME UP THE LAST TIME YOU WERE SPEAKING WAS THE CHALLENGE WITH CONFERENCES. 
          WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE WE WE ARE BLESSED WITH SO MANY STUDENTS AND, YOU KNOW, FULL FULL 
          [00:35:06]
CAPACITY OF SCHOOLS AND THE LOGISTICS OF MAKING SURE THAT AS MANY PARENTS AS WANT TO HAVE FULL ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THEIR TEACHERS MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO GIVE ENOUGH SPACE AND TIME FOR THAT KIND OF MEANINGFUL THING. 
          AND IN ADDITION TO LITERALLY HOURS IN A GIVEN DAY, THE HUGE LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE THAT WE HEARD FROM FROM MANY PARENTS WAS IF YOU HAVE KIDS THAT ARE IN DIFFERENT AGES, THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF HAVING TO RACE ACROSS TOWN ON A SINGLE DAY. 
          SO AGAIN, THIS BECOMES ONE OF THESE FULLY RECOGNIZE THAT FOR SOME PARENTS, IT'S A, YOU KNOW, AGAIN HAVING THESE DIFFERENT MULTIPLE DAYS AS AN INCONVENIENCE. 
          BUT WHEN WE HAVE TO WEIGH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN INCONVENIENCE AND VIRTUE AND LITERALLY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PARENT BEING ABLE TO DO A PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE, AND NOT THAT BECOMES A GOOD REASON FOR US TO TO MAKE THIS CHANGE, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT IS A PIECE OF FEEDBACK THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING FOR MANY YEARS. 
          I ALSO WANT TO JUST COMMENT ON THE VALUE OF GOING AHEAD AND ADOPTING TWO YEARS WORTH OF CALENDARS. IT IS SURPRISING, OR MAYBE NOT THAT SURPRISING FOR PEOPLE HOW FAR IN ADVANCE. 
          IT'S HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE TO PLAN AND GET A SENSE OF THE CALENDAR. 
          I THINK WE ARE CLEAR IN OUR INTENTION NOW, YOU KNOW, THE PRE LABOR DAY START WHAT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF IN TERMS OF RECOGNIZING THE DIFFERENT HOLIDAYS. 
          AND SO IT'S ACTUALLY INCREDIBLY HELPFUL TO GO AHEAD AND ESTABLISH TWO YEARS WORTH. 
          WILL THERE POSSIBLY BE SLIGHT ADJUSTMENTS TO THE CALENDAR? I HAVE NO DOUBT. I THINK EVERY YEAR THAT I'VE BEEN ON THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER, SOME CHANGE IN AN SAT DATE OR SOME. 
          I MEAN, THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN SOME KIND OF REASON THAT THERE'S BEEN AN ADJUSTMENT, BUT IT'S STILL REALLY HELPFUL FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR STAFF. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE THAT EXTRA PLANNING TIME AND PARTICULARLY TO GO TO ONE OF THE LAST STRONG BITS OF FEEDBACK, REALLY STRONG AND VALUABLE BITS OF FEEDBACK WE GOT PASSING THESE NOW MEAN THAT IT GIVES OUR DIVISION EXTRA TIME TO REALLY DIG IN AND TAKE ALL OF THE SORT OF LESSONS LEARNED FROM THIS, FROM THIS, FROM THIS PARTICULAR CALENDAR PROCESS. 
          AND REALLY THINK ABOUT WHAT'S MOVING FORWARD. 
          THE BEST WAY TO APPROACH FORMING THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE'S SCHEDULING, THE MEETINGS, GETTING FULL COMMUNITY FEEDBACK, REALLY MAKING SURE WE'RE HAVING A TRULY RICH, REWARDING AND INCLUSIVE PROCESS. 
          I DON'T THINK IT WILL NECESSARILY MAKE IT FOR AN EASIER PROCESS, BUT I THINK IT GIVES THE DIVISION A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO WORK ON THAT WITHOUT THE PRESSURE OF WORKING ON THAT PROCESS STUFF, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME ALSO KNOWING THAT THERE'S A VOTE AND A DECISION THAT HAS TO BE MADE ON THE CALENDAR. 
          SO JUST WANTED TO AGAIN, THANK EVERYONE, PLEASE KNOW THAT I DEFINITELY TOOK ALL OF THOSE THAT THAT FEEDBACK TO HEART AND AND THAT'S REFLECTED IN THE REMARKS THAT I'VE MADE HERE. 
          SO THANK YOU AGAIN, EVERYONE. 
          THANK YOU, MS. GENTRY, ARE THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION? REGARDING THE CALENDAR. MS. NOLAN, THANK YOU. YEAH, I JUST WANT TO THANK MY GENTRY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE DISCUSSION AS WELL, AND I THINK IS A MS. GORDON FOR COMING TODAY, AS WELL AS IT REFLECTS A LOT OF FEEDBACK WE'VE HEARD OVER THE YEARS IN PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, MAKING IT SMOOTH THE THE ESPECIALLY THE CONFERENCES AND ALL OF THAT. AND SO I JUST HOPE THAT WE REALLY DO UTILIZE THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE MOVING FORWARD. YOU KNOW, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM DR. 
          K-Y. YES. 
          AND SO IT SOUNDED LIKE THERE WAS ALSO SOME THINGS LOST IN TRANSLATION WITH THE SHIFT OF TRANSITION. AND SO WE JUST REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I JUST DON'T WANT THIS. 
          I THOUGHT THAT THE FEEDBACK WAS REALLY VALUABLE TODAY FOR MS.. 
          TOWN'S NAME IS GREENE, SO I JUST DON'T WANT THAT TO GET LOST. 
          SO I WOULD JUST ASK FOR DR. HUTCHINGS IF YOU CAN MAKE SURE THAT THAT FEEDBACK GETS PASSED ALONG AND THAT WE REALLY DO REINVIGORATE THE CALENDAR COMMITTEE BECAUSE IT IS JUST SUCH IMPORTANT FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THAT WE CAN CONTINUE HONING THIS AS WE MOVE ON. 
          SO JUST WANTED TO ADD MY MY THOUGHTS AS WELL AND THINK MS. GENTRY FOR HERS, AS WELL AS THINGS ALL THE FOLKS THAT HAVE SERVED ON THE CALENDAR COMMITTEES, IT'S REALLY A VERY THEY PUT IN A LOT OF TIME AND IT'S JUST A REALLY HUGE GIFT TO GIVE TO THE COMMUNITY. SO THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MS. NOLAN, OR ANY OTHER COMMENTS REGARDING THE CALENDAR. 
          OK, I WANT TO JUST CHECK WITH THE CLERK, MS. NIELSEN, WOULD YOU LIKE FOR ME TO ADOPT AS WE GO? YES. OK. 
          AWESOME. OK, SO GIVEN THOSE COMMENTS, GIVEN THAT FEEDBACK, WE WILL NEED A MOTION TO ADOPT. THE 20 I'M GETTING, I GOT TO LOOK AT THE DATES. 
          TWENTY TWENTY, TWENTY FOUR, I'LL DO IT. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD APPROVED THE TWENTY TWENTY TWO TWENTY 
          [00:40:03]
TWENTY FOUR ACADEMIC CALENDARS. 
          AND IN A SECOND. SECOND, MS. LORBER, WHO SECONDS MS. GENTRY A MOTION, SO. 
          WE WILL VOTE. 
          OK. ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT ITEM THAT WAS PULLED. 
          [22.	Formation of New Advisory Committee for the Spanish-Speaking Community]
          [23.	Formation of New Advisory Committee for the Amharic-Speaking Community]
CAME FROM MS. LORBER, SO SHE'S GOING TO GIVE A COMMENT ABOUT THE FORMATION OF TWO, WHICH IS ACTUALLY BECOMING THREE COMMITTEES. 
          SO GO AHEAD. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          I ASK THAT THESE ITEMS BE PULLED BECAUSE IN FACT, THIS BOARD HAS NOT HAD MUCH TIME TO DISCUSS AND LOOK INTO. 
          WHAT EXACTLY THESE NEW COMMITTEES ARE GOING TO BE DOING, WE ARE FORMING A SPECIALIZED COMMITTEE FOR SPANISH, THE SPANISH SPEAKING COMMITTEE, THE AMHARIC SPEAKING COMMUNITY AND THE ARABIC SPEAKING COMMUNITY INDIVIDUALLY SO THAT THESE GROUPS CAN BE TOGETHER AND BE HEARD. BUT THE POINT I WANTED TO I WANTED TO REASSURE FOLKS, BECAUSE MANY TIMES YOU THINK NO, ANOTHER NEW COMMITTEE. 
          WHAT IS THIS ABOUT? ACPS HAS MADE INCREDIBLE PROGRESS IN THE LAST 15 YEARS IN BUILDING A FRAMEWORK AND REACHING OUT TO AND INCLUDING AND MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR THOSE FAMILIES WHO DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THEIR CHILD'S SCHOOL. 
          WE HAVE SO MANY NEW TOOLS, SO MANY GREAT EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MADE AND WE HAVE TWO OFFICES NOW. WE HAVE THE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT CENTER THAT HAS STAFFED ALMOST ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS WITH LIAISONS, BILINGUAL PARENTS LIAISONS. 
          WE ALSO SPANISH SPEAKING LIAISONS FOR ALMOST EVERY SCHOOL AND THEN FLOATING PARENT LIAISONS WHO SPEAK AMHARIC AND ARABIC. 
          SO ON TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, YOU KNOW THAT IN YOUR SCHOOL THERE'S GOING TO BE SOMEONE WHERE YOU CAN MEET WITH WHO SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE. 
          THOSE ARE THE TOP THREE LANGUAGES IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
          IN ANY CASE, WE CONTINUE TO MAKE GREAT PROGRESS. 
          WE ALSO NOW ADDED THERE'S I THINK MANY OF YOU ARE AWARE OF LANGUAGE LINE, WHICH HOSPITALS USE. IT'S A TELEPHONE. 
          YOU CAN PICK IT UP AND DOWN INTERPRETER. 
          UP UNTIL NOW, IT WAS UP TO THE SCHOOL PERSONNEL TO DIAL THE INTERPRETER. 
          BUT THE BEST INNOVATION THAT I'VE SEEN LATELY IS THAT NOW ANY PARENTS IN ACPS WHO NEEDS AN INTERPRETER TO CALL THE SCHOOL HAS ACCESS TO A PHONE NUMBER THAT THEY CAN CALL TO DIAL UP AN INTERPRETER AND THUS COMMUNICATE WITH THE SCHOOL. 
          BECAUSE IT'S IT'S DIFFICULT FOR FRONT OFFICE PERSONNEL TO DROP EVERYTHING AND CALL AN INTERPRETER WHEN SUDDENLY A CALL COMES IN FROM A PARENT WHO NEEDS ONE. 
          MUCH SIMPLER NOW IS THE IDEA THAT THE INTERPRETER CALLS AND SAYS AND STARTS THE CALL. 
          IN ANY CASE, I SIMPLY WANT TO MAKE THE POINT THAT THESE NEW COMMITTEES STILL, INFORMATION WILL BE ALIGNED VERY CLOSELY WITH THE PROGRESS AND THE PROGRAM AND THE FORMATS THAT WE HAVE DESIGNED IN BOTH OUR FAMILY ENGAGEMENT, OUR SPACE CENTER AND OUR EQUITY PROGRAMS. THESE ARE TWO PROGRAMS THAT ARE REALLY BASED ON. 
          CULTURAL AWARENESS AND INCLUSION OF EVERY SINGLE GROUP AND STUDENT AND PARENT IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. AND SO I JUST WANTED TO BE SURE. 
          ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I WON'T GET TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FORMATION OF THESE COMMITTEES, BUT I AND I'M SURE THERE ARE QUESTIONS OUT THERE AND I REALLY DO THINK WE HAVE A FABULOUS GRADE. WE LAID THE GROUNDWORK. 
          AND AS LONG AS THESE COMMITTEES WORK WITH OUR. 
          WORKING CLOSELY IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR FAITH PROGRAM AND OUR EQUITY PROGRAMS, I THINK WE'LL BE ON THE RIGHT TRACK. 
          SO THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO SAY. 
          THANK YOU, MS. LORBER. WERE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THOSE ITEMS? ALL RIGHT. AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT MS. LORBER PULLED THE SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY IN THE AMHARIC SPEAKING COMMUNITY. 
          WE ADDED THE ARABIC SPEAKING COMMUNITY AS ITEM NUMBER 20, SO THAT WAS NOT AN OVERSIGHT OF WANTING TO DISCUSS THAT AS WELL. 
          I THINK SHE CLEARLY SHARED HER INTENTIONS ABOUT ALL THREE. 
          WE ARE, HOWEVER, NOW GOING TO ONLY HAVE TO ADOPT THE NEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY AND THEN THE NEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE AMHARIC SPEAKING 
          [00:45:05]
COMMUNITY. OK. 
          SO I WILL NEED A A MOTION. 
          TO ADOPT. 
          I GUESS I'M SURE I MOVE, WE ADOPT THE. 
          FORMATION OF THE NEW ADVISORY, NO NEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY AND THE NEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR DENMARK SPEAKING COMMUNITY SECOND. 
          DON'T HAVE TO BE, TOO. OH YEAH, WE HAVE TO DO TWO SEPARATE SO. 
          ALL RIGHT. SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY SECOND. 
          OK, SO I HAVE A A MOTION FROM MS. LORBER TO ADOPT THE NEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITY. 
          IT IS SECONDED BY MS. GREENE. 
          THANK YOU. I NOW NEED A MOTION TO ADOPT THE FORMATION OF A NEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE SPEAKING COMMUNITY. 
          I'M SO MOVED AND SECONDED. 
          OK, I HAVE A MOTION FOR MS. LORBER THAT SECONDED BY MS. GREENE. 
          OK, THANK YOU, EVERYONE. 
          SO WE ARE MOVING ON AND WE HAVE SOME OLD BUSINESS OR FAVORITE BUSINESS. 
          [24.	COVID-19 Update]
THE BUSINESS WE CAN'T GET AWAY FROM BE AN UPDATE ON OUR COVID 19. 
          ALL THINGS COVID 19. 
          SO I'LL HAND IT OVER TO DR. 
          HUTCHINGS. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, AND I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO TURN THINGS OVER. 
          I KNOW WE HAVE DR. 
          GADDY AS WELL AS DR. 
          CRAWFORD, WHO ARE GOING TO JOIN US TO GO THROUGH OUR UPDATES. 
          AND I MEAN, JUST TO PREFACE THIS PRESENTATION TODAY, I'M SURE EVERYBODY'S WATCHING OUR NEWS AND SEEING THAT THERE IS A SPIKE IN REGARDS TO CASES AS WELL AS EVEN IN ACPS WITH THE BOARD GETS UPDATES AND YOU'VE GOT MANY THIS PAST WEEK AND WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT TODAY. 
          I MEAN, WE'RE NOT AT A HIGH SUBSTANTIAL LEVEL AT ANY PARTICULAR SCHOOL BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT TO KEEP IN MIND THOSE CASES ARE AT DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. 
          IT'S NOT ONE BUILDING THAT HAS THE 40 CASES IN ACPS, BUT WE ARE SEEING MORE CASES THAN WE HAD PREVIOUSLY. 
          BUT I'M NOT GOING TO STEAL THE THUNDER OF OUR TEAM, SO I'M GOING TO TURN THINGS OVER TO TO DR. CRAWFORD TO PROVIDE US WITH OUR UPDATE TODAY, AND THEN WE CAN OPEN THE FLOOR FOR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          DR. HUTCHINGS, CHAIR ALDERTON, VICE CHAIR, NOLAN AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE SOME TIME WITH YOU TO TALK ABOUT AN UPDATE ON COVID 19 AND OUR HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES. 
          NEXT SLIDE. SO NO THUNDER STOLEN HERE, BUT AS DR. 
          HUTCHINGS WAS JUST SAYING, IT IS NOT A SURPRISE IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING THE NEWS AT ALL TO SEE THIS SLIDE AND WE BEGIN HERE WHERE WE DO WITH ALL OF OUR PRESENTATIONS TO REALLY GROUND OUR WORK ON WHAT DOES OUR COMMUNITY SPREAD IN THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA? YOU CAN SEE THAT WE HAVE RETURNED TO HIGH TRANSMISSION AND THAT OUR NUMBER IS ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THREE POINT SEVEN PER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PERSONS IN THE LAST SEVEN DAYS. 
          NOW, JUST FOR CONTEXT, THE LAST TIME WE SPOKE MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER, THAT NUMBER, I BELIEVE, WAS SEVENTY THREE. 
          AND WE WERE IN THE SUBSTANTIAL RANGE AND REALLY HOPING THAT WE WERE CREEPING TOWARDS MODERATE. SO WE HAVE SEEN A TURN TO BE AN INCREASE IN NUMBERS, AND I'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE HERE. TALKING ABOUT ACPS SPECIFIC CASE DATA, WE HAVE SEEN THAT SIGNIFICANT INCREASE, SO THE 40 THAT DR HUTCHINGS JUST MENTIONED IS WITH RESPECT TO THE UPDATE ON THE COVID 19 DASHBOARD FOR OUR CASES FROM LAST WEEK. 
          SO BOARD MAY REMEMBER THAT THE DASHBOARD IS UPDATED EVERY MONDAY AFTERNOON. 
          SO OUR CASES GO REALLY MONDAY AFTER FOUR P.M. 
          TILL THE FOLLOWING MONDAY LAST WEEK. 
          DURING THAT TIME FRAME, WE HAD 40 POSITIVE CASES AND WE WERE REALLY SURPRISED. 
          THAT WAS THE HIGHEST NUMBER THAT WE HAD SEEN SINCE COVID 19 STARTED 40 CASES FOR THE WEEK WAS ALARMING THIS WEEK, AND SO FAR THIS WEEK, OF COURSE, WE HAVE TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND HALF A DAY TODAY WHEN WE WERE UPDATING THE DATA. 
          WE HAVE 52 POSITIVE CASES AND I WILL JUST HIGHLIGHT SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY TOOK MOST OF THE DAY FOR A LOT OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS YESTERDAY. 
          WE HAD 30 POSITIVE CASES FROM STAFF AND STUDENTS REPORTED YESTERDAY. 
          WE HAD A ONE TIME, A ONE DAY REPORT OF 30 CASES. 
          [00:50:03]
AND JUST AGAIN, COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING, WE WERE ALARMED BY 40 CASES FOR THE WEEK AND YESTERDAY WE HAD 30. 
          SO JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT TO THE BOARD. 
          WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE, IT REALLY SINCE WE HAVE RETURNED FROM THANKSGIVING, WE SAW A LITTLE BIT OF A CREEP WITH THE FOUR DAY AND THIS WEEK WE HAVE SEEN A REAL SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE THERE. 
          AND ALSO, I JUST GAVE YOU WHERE WE ARE SO FAR THIS WEEK WITH THE FIFTY TWO CASES AGAIN, THAT WAS AS OF 12 30. 
          WE HAD A BREAKDOWN OF THIRTY EIGHT STUDENTS AND 14 STAFF MEMBERS. 
          THAT'S A LITTLE BIT HIGHER ON THE STAFF END THAN WE TYPICALLY SEE BECAUSE WE HAVE BOTH FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR STAFF SUCH AN EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH VACCINATION RATE. 
          SO KNOWING THAT WE SEE THESE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES AND THAT WE HAVE STILL CASES THAT WE ARE CLOSING OUT FROM TODAY AND LEARNING ABOUT FROM TODAY AND WE HAVE SCHOOL, OF COURSE, TOMORROW THIS IS A PLEA TO OUR TO OUR FAMILIES. 
          PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU CHECK YOUR EMAIL PERIODICALLY OVER THE BREAK BECAUSE WE KNOW LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE TRAVELING AND WE ARE GOING TO TRY TO KEEP ON TOP OF ALL OF OUR CONTACT TRACING. 
          WE MAY BE EMAILING FAMILIES AND ALSO TRYING TO CALL THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS THE SAYING ANSWER THE CALL. 
          MANY OF US DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE NUMBER, BUT IT COULD BE THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT POTENTIALLY CALLING OR ACPS. 
          WE HAVE WONDERFUL CONTACT TRACERS THAT ARE GOING TO WORK OVER THE TWO WEEK BREAK BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE CASES THAT WILL BE REPORTED AND WE'LL NEED TO NOTIFY CLOSE CONTACTS. SO WE'RE ASKING OUR FAMILIES, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU GIVE AN EYE TO YOUR EMAIL AND ALSO ANSWER THE CALL IF IT'S AN UNFAMILIAR NUMBER. 
          NEXT SLIDE. OK, SO WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT OUR POSITIVE CASES? WE ARE CONTINUING TO PUSH OUR VACCINATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY WITH OUR YOUNGER STUDENTS, SINCE IT'S STILL A RELATIVELY NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR FIVE TO 11 YEAR OLDS. SO I JUST HAVE SOME VISUALS HERE FROM ACTUALLY A HEALTH DEPARTMENT FLIER THAT WE SHARED WITH OUR SCHOOLS YESTERDAY WITH SOME UPCOMING VACCINATION POD OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR FAMILIES AND OUR STAFF MEMBERS, IF NEEDED. 
          I WON'T GO ON ON THIS SLIDE OTHER THAN I DO WANT TO GIVE THANKS IN TWO FRONTS. 
          NUMBER ONE, I WANT TO THANK OUR SCHOOL PRINCIPALS. 
          I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL OF OUR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION AT HHS AND GW. 
          WE'RE APPROACHING A YEAR OF DOING THESE PODS AND THOSE WERE OUR POD SPOTS THAT WE WOULD GO TO FOR THE BETTER PART OF THAT YEAR. 
          AND REALLY, IT'S AND DR. 
          I SHOULD ALSO SAY DR. 
          HART'S TEAM AND OF COURSE, SOME MEMBERS OF STUDENT SERVICES, PHENOMENAL JOB AND WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN REACHING OUT TO GET OUR COMMUNITY VACCINATED. 
          NOW, WHEN WE MADE THE SWITCH TO OUR YOUNGER STUDENTS, WE KNEW WE HAD TO HAVE A DIFFERENT APPROACH. OUR SCHOOL PRINCIPALS REALLY CONTACTED US, SAYING, CAN WE HOST A POD? I PROBABLY TOLD THE BOARD THIS BEFORE. 
          CAN WE HAVE IT NEXT? WE WANT TO HAVE IT WALKABLE IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          SO. AND HERE'S THE SECOND SHOUT OUT TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT JUST FOR THEIR FLEXIBILITY AND PLANNING. THEY EMBRACED THE IDEA AND HAVE REALLY HAD TO ALTER SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE, FROM GOING FROM MASSIVE PODS TO SMALLER COMMUNITY PODS, INCLUDING WALK UPS, WHICH WAS A CHANGE. 
          USUALLY YOU HAD TO BE PRE-REGISTERED, BUT KNOWING SOME OF OUR FAMILIES, THAT MAY BE MORE OF A CHALLENGE. THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS PIVOTED AND THEY ALLOW WALK UPS FOR OUR FAMILIES. I WAS AT THE POD THIS SATURDAY AND YOU CAN SEE MS. CREWS IN THIS PICTURE AT CORA KELLY AND I JUST CAN'T SAY ENOUGH TO HOW STUDENTS ENTERED THE POD WAS AND EVERYTHING THAT THEY HAD THOUGHT OF BALLOONS WHILE PEOPLE WERE STANDING IN LINE STICKERS, COLORING BOOKS AND ALSO WHILE THEY WERE, OUR STUDENTS WERE DOING THEIR 30 MINUTES TO WAIT TO MAKE SURE WE HAD NO SIDE EFFECTS OR NO QUESTIONS. 
          THERE WAS A PHENOMENAL BALLOON ARTIST WHO WAS IN THERE ENTERTAINING. 
          EVERYONE REALLY JUST TRIED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR FAMILIES AND OUR STUDENTS WERE AS COMFORTABLE AS THEY COULD BE DURING THAT TIME. 
          SO WE KNOW OUR NUMBERS ARE GOING UP, BUT WE ALSO KNOW WE ARE LUCKY THAT SOME OF OUR VACCINATION NUMBERS WITH OUR ADULTS AND OUR SECONDARY STUDENTS ARE ALSO STILL HIGH. 
          NEXT SLIDE. ON THAT NOTE, THIS IS THE DATA FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK ON VACCINATIONS. SO THEY DO HAVE A DASHBOARD THAT REFLECTS WHERE AND THIS IS SPECIFIC TO THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA. 
          WE CAN SEE FOR OUR FIVE TO 11 YEAR OLD THAT THAT IS STILL GROWING, HOPEFULLY BECAUSE IT'S A THIRTY SEVEN PERCENT RIGHT NOW OF THE BAT POPULATION THAT'S RECEIVED AT LEAST ONE DOSE AND HAS SOME ROOM TO GROW TO CATCH UP TO OUR SECONDARY STUDENTS. 
          BUT WITH THE OUTREACH THAT WE'RE DOING, I TRULY BELIEVE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET THERE. NEXT SLIDE. 
          THANK YOU. THIS IS AN UPDATE ON OUR SCREENING TESTING, SO AT PRESENT, WE CONTINUE TO USE 
          [00:55:01]
CURATIVE FOR OUR WEEKLY SCREENING. 
          IT IS STILL THE RAPID TEST AT EACH OF OUR SCHOOL LOCATIONS. 
          I DO NEED TO THANK CURATIVE AND OUR SCHOOL PRINCIPALS FOR FLEXIBILITY BECAUSE TODAY IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF TEAMWORK WITH THOSE CASES, THE 30 PLUS CASES IN THE LAST THIRTY SIX HOURS. PRINCIPAL, A PRINCIPAL, EXCUSE ME, ACTUALLY REACHED OUT TO SAY, IS THERE ANY WAY I COULD HAVE TESTING DONE AT MY SCHOOL TODAY, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT MY DAY? AND SO WE WORKED WITH SOME OTHER PRINCIPALS AND CURATIVE TO MOVE A TESTING SITE FOR OUR STAFF BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE OUTREACH TO FAMILIES. 
          WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE CURATIVE TO A DIFFERENT LOCATION AND OFFER TO STAFF TO MAKE SURE THEY COULD HAVE RAPID TESTS BECAUSE WE'VE HAD SO MANY CASES IN THAT SCHOOL. 
          WE ARE CONTINUING, LIKE I SAID, WITH CURATIVE. 
          THE ONE THING I'D HIGHLIGHT FOR THE BOARD THAT'S NOT AS POSITIVE IS OUR NUMBERS ARE WANING. WITH OUR WEEKLY TESTING, THE BOARD HEARD A LOT FROM THE COMMUNITY. 
          LET'S GET THIS GOING. A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM. 
          A LOT OF SIGNATURES. 
          OUR NUMBERS ARE REALLY DWINDLING IN A NUMBER OF OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES. 
          WE'RE NOT SURE IF THAT'S BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE GETTING TESTING DONE ARE NOW VACCINATED OR APPROACHING FULL VACCINATION STATUS. 
          SO WE'RE GOING TO DO ANOTHER PUSH WITH OUR COMMUNITY TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THOSE NUMBERS BACK UP, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE SEE THE INCREASE IN CASES. 
          AND THEN COMPLEMENTING THAT, WE KNOW THAT WE ARE SIGNED UP TO PARTICIPATE IN THE VISTA PROGRAM. THAT DISCUSSION IS STILL CONTINUING ON THE OUTLINING OF RESPONSIBILITIES AND DOCUMENTING REALLY THINGS THAT WE WOULD HAVE IN AN MOU WITH THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH POTENTIALLY OR OUR VENDOR ON DIAGNOSTICS. 
          SO WE DON'T HAVE A START DATE AT THIS POINT, BUT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING ONE FOR THE BOARD, I HOPE, IN JANUARY. 
          NEXT SLIDE. AND THE DASHBOARD, I KNOWING THAT FOR SOME OF OUR WONDERFUL BOARD MEMBERS, THIS IS THE LAST MEETING THAT YOU HAD, I DID WANT TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY OR, EXCUSE ME, AN UPDATE ON THE DASHBOARD HERE. 
          THE DASHBOARD WORK HAS CONTINUED BEHIND THE SCENES. 
          WE NEEDED TO SORT OF CALL AN AUDIBLE WITH WHERE THE DASHBOARD WAS WHEN WE CHANGED THE QUARANTINE DATES AND SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS SO THAT WE HAVE HAD SOME EDITS TO THE DASHBOARD THAT HAS RESULTED IN A LITTLE BIT OF A DELAY. 
          WE'RE HOPING THAT AND WE'RE CONFIDENT I SHOULD SAY THAT REAL TIME DASHBOARD WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE MID-JANUARY, AND I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT FOR ANYONE WHO IS LISTENING AND OF COURSE, FOR THE BOARD, JUST A REMINDER THAT THAT IS GOING TO BE EFFECTIVE WITH CASE DATA STARTING DECEMBER ONE. 
          SO WE DID A LIVE PILOT, IF YOU WILL, OF THE DASHBOARD, AND WE'VE BEEN USING THAT CLOSE CONTACT SYSTEM SINCE DECEMBER ONE. 
          SO THAT WILL PULL THE CASE DATA FOR THE REAL DASHBOARD AND ANY ANY CASES PRIOR TO DECEMBER ONE WILL STILL BE SHOWN ON THE WEBSITE. 
          IT'LL JUST BE A SEPARATE PAGE BECAUSE IT WON'T BE ABLE TO BE THERE DIFFERENT DATA SETS, SO IT WON'T BE ABLE TO BE INTERACTIVE AND REAL TIME. 
          NEXT SLIDE. HERE IS OUR OUR PLEA TO OUR COMMUNITY WHO'S LISTENING, OUR STAFF AND OUR STUDENTS, KNOWING THE NUMBERS THAT WE HIGHLIGHTED ON THE FIRST TWO SLIDES. 
          JUST ASKING THAT PEOPLE BECOME FAMILIAR WITH AND FOLLOW THE CDC TRAVEL PRECAUTIONS OVER THE BREAK, IF POSSIBLE, YOU KNOW, CONSIDER MAKING AN APPOINTMENT TO GET TESTED WHEN YOU RETURN FROM TRAVEL IF YOU HAVE TO TRAVEL. 
          PLEASE CONSIDER GETTING VACCINATED IF YOU HAVE AN AD AND GET YOUR BOOSTER IF YOU'RE ELIGIBLE. WEARING YOUR MASK AND DOOR WHEN TRAVELING WITH FORCE IS A MITIGATING MEASURE THAT WE HAVE SEEN TO BE SUCCESSFUL. 
          THE SECOND BIG BULLET HERE HAVE A CARE PLAN IN PLACE FOR YOUR STUDENT TO STAY HOME FOR ANY REASON ON SHORT NOTICE. 
          SO WE KNOW THAT CHILD CARE IS ALWAYS A CHALLENGE FOR OUR FAMILIES. 
          BUT WE'RE ASKING TO START THINKING ABOUT A PLAN B IF YOUR CHILD HAS ONLY CARE AFTER SCHOOL. AND, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU THINK ABOUT, IS THERE A RELATIVE OR SOMEONE WHO IF EITHER YOUR CHILD WAS SICK OR YOUR CLASSROOM NEEDED TO QUARANTINE FOR TWO, EXCUSE ME, SEVEN TO 10 DAYS? DO YOU HAVE A CARE PLAN IN PLACE FOR YOUR CHILD? ADDITIONALLY, WE ASK THAT YOU MAKE SURE YOUR STUDENT IS BRINGING HOME THEIR DEVICE AND THEIR CHARGER AND THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS EVERY DAY. 
          THERE ARE MANY NIGHTS THAT WE DON'T LEARN ABOUT POSITIVE CASES UNTIL AFTER THE SCHOOL DAY IS OVER, AND WE'RE MAKING THOSE CLOSE CONTACT CALLS. 
          AND IF A CHILD IS NOT FULLY VACCINATED, THEN THEY WOULD NEED TO QUARANTINE FOR THAT SEVEN TO 10 DAYS, DEPENDING ON THE TESTING STATUS. 
          SO WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IN THE CASE THAT A STUDENT GETS A CALL THAT THEY NEED TO QUARANTINE, THAT THEY HAVE THE INFORMATION AND THEIR DEVICES SO THAT THEY CAN FULLY 
          [01:00:04]
PARTICIPATE IN INSTRUCTION. 
          AND I THINK I'M GOING ON 19 MONTHS OF SAYING THIS OR CLOSE TO THAT. 
          JUST A REMINDER TO PLEASE STAY HOME WHEN YOU'RE FEELING UNWELL. 
          IF YOU ARE HAVING A NEW SYMPTOM, IF SOMETHING DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET TESTED. AND PLEASE STAY HOME IF YOU ARE FEELING UNWELL. 
          NEXT SLIDE. AND WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. 
          OK, THANK YOU. 
          SO I WILL NOW TURN IT OVER TO THE BOARD FOR ANY QUESTIONS. 
          KEEP DR RIEF. THANK YOU, DR CRAWFORD, FOR THAT UPDATE AND JUST HOW HARD I KNOW YOU AND YOUR TEAM ARE WORKING TO JUST MANAGE ALL OF THIS AND THANKS FOR THE UPDATE ON THE DASHBOARD I WANTED TO ASK. 
          I GUESS TWO QUESTIONS. ONE IS ABOUT JUST KIND OF COMMUNICATIONS OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          YOU MENTIONED THE VACCINE CLINICS AND ALSO THE IMPORTANCE AROUND SOME TRAVEL CONSIDERATIONS. I JUST WAS WONDERING IF WE'RE HOW WE'RE I'M ASSUMING MAYBE THAT'S GOING ON IN THE EXPRESS TOMORROW, BUT JUST SHARING SOME OF THAT AND SOME OF THE DATA THAT CAN ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO GET BOOSTERS. 
          AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS FOR YOU OR DR. 
          HUTCHINGS IS ABOUT WHAT IS THE METRIC THAT WE'RE USING TO DECIDE IF WE WOULD NEED TO DO A RETURN TO VIRTUAL INSTRUCTION. 
          I KNOW IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO IF THE CASES ARE HIGH, IF THERE'S A HIGH LEVEL OF SPREAD IN THE SCHOOLS, THAT'S WHAT THE VIRGINIA LEGISLATION PASSED. 
          BUT COULD YOU SPEAK TO WHAT IS THE METRIC FOR HOW WE WOULD BE MAKING A DECISION LIKE THAT IF NECESSARY? SO A SIMILAR EXCUSE ME, DR. 
          HUTCHINGS, I'M SORRY. NO, PLEASE GO AHEAD. 
          I WAS JUST GOING TO START WITH THE SECOND QUESTION AND TURN IT OVER TO YOU, DR. 
          CRAWFORD. BUT WE ARE LITERALLY LOOKING USING A VERY SIMILAR APPROACH THAT THE CITY USES IN REGARDS TO HOW HIGH TRANSMISSION. 
          BUT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS AT AN INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL LEVEL, WHEREAS BEFORE WE WERE LOOKING AT IF THE CITY WAS IN HIGH TRANSMISSION, THAT WE DID THAT FOR EVERY SCHOOL. 
          AND NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL DATA. 
          THAT'S WHY THE DATABASE IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO OR THE DASHBOARD. 
          EXCUSE ME, SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IF WE'RE AT A HIGH TRANSMISSION LEVEL, AT A PARTICULAR SCHOOL. 
          AND THAT'S GOING TO VARY BECAUSE OUR SCHOOLS ARE DIFFERENT SIZES, THEN THAT IS WHEN WE'RE WORKING WITH THE ALEXANDRIA HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO DETERMINE IF WE NEED TO CANCEL OR REVERT TO A A VIRTUAL SETTING. 
          THE ADVANTAGE THAT WE DO HAVE NOW, THOUGH, AND I KNOW DR. 
          GADDY AS WELL AS DR. CRAWFORD, CAN SPEAK TO THIS BECAUSE NOW WE'RE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE HAVE STUDENTS AND STAFF WHO ARE VACCINATED. 
          IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT SITUATION THAN IT WAS IN THE PAST. 
          NOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS. 
          I DON'T HAVE THE CRYSTAL BALL, RIGHT, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER OMICRON VARIANT AFTER OMICRON. 
          I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. 
          ALPHABET, AGAIN, I'M TRYING TO THINK, I GUESS. 
          I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT'S AFTER ALL. 
          I WAS THINKING MY GREEK ALPHABET. 
          I HOPE MY FRATERNITY BROTHERS DON'T DON'T HAZE ME UP AFTER THIS, BUT I WAS. 
          WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE IS GOING TO HOLD, BUT WE DO KNOW FROM THE INFORMATION WE HAVE TODAY. 
          WE'RE IN A PLACE WHERE OUR HEALTH AND SAFETY MITIGATIONS, THE VACCINATION AND ALL OF THE PRECAUTIONS THAT WE'RE TAKING IS NOT GOING TO PUT US IN A SITUATION WHERE WE'RE DOING A FULL VIRTUAL SCHOOL. 
          WE'RE PAST THAT UNLESS SOMETHING HAPPENS IN THE FUTURE THAT WE'RE JUST NOT AWARE OF. 
          DR. CRAWFORD, YES, THANK YOU. 
          AND THAT'S RIGHT. INTERESTINGLY, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CASES LAST WEEK AND EVEN THE 30 CASES YESTERDAY, THEY WERE SPREAD OUT. 
          WE DIDN'T LOOK AND SEE, OK, WE'VE GOT A HOTSPOT HERE. 
          WE NEED TO LOOK AT AND HAVE A DISCUSSION OF DO WE NEED TO CLOSE FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS BEFORE VACATION? SO THEY WE DO TRACK THAT DR. 
          RIEF AND WE LOOK AT, ARE WE SEEING A MAJOR IMPACT? DO WE HAVE ONE CLASSROOM THAT'S QUARANTINING OR, YOU KNOW, WE VERY RARELY DO HONESTLY, THAT A WHOLE CLASS NEEDS TO QUARANTINE. 
          SO IF WE SAW THAT, IF WE SAW MULTIPLE CLASSES AND I WILL SAY GOING BACK SEVERAL MONTHS WHEN WE SAW A NUMBER OF CASES AT GW, THIS WAS A DISCUSSION THAT WE HAD WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. AND SIMILARLY, BECAUSE IT WAS SPREAD OUT AND THERE WEREN'T SPECIFIC IMPACTS OF EVEN A TEAM OR A GRADE LEVEL THAT WE SAW. 
          WE DO HANDLE IT CASE BY CASE, AND THE CLOSE CONTACTS WERE QUARANTINED AS OPPOSED TO AN ENTIRE CLASS GRADE, ET CETERA. 
          SO, DR. HUTCHINGS, YOU ARE RIGHT ON WITH ALL OF THOSE COMMENTS THERE. 
          WE CONTINUE, THOUGH, AND MY FELLOW CHIEFS AND TEAM MEMBERS WHO ARE ON THIS WAS A LONG DISCUSSION THAT WE HAD ON WEDNESDAY DURING OUR WEEKLY COVID UPDATE THAT WE HAVE AS A TEAM TO GO THROUGH AND TRY TO PROACTIVELY PLAN KNOWING THAT THESE NUMBERS MAY NOT GO DOWN FOR A WHILE. AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HEARING. 
          WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT QUESTION OF WHAT IS WHAT WOULD, HOW DO WE HANDLE IT? 
          [01:05:05]
AND REALLY, THAT'S WHERE THOSE PARENT REMINDERS CAME FROM. 
          SINCE WE AREN'T SURE WHAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ON JANUARY 3RD, LET'S JUST MAKE SURE THAT FAMILIES ARE HAVING DISCUSSION ABOUT THINGS LIKE CHILD CARE AND COVERAGE AS NEEDED. 
          SO THAT IS THAT'S SORT OF THE DISCUSSION ABOUT WHEN WOULD WE DECIDE TO CLOSE A CLASS? AS FAR AS COMMUNICATION GOES, VERY TIMELY QUESTION BECAUSE WE JUST HAD A MEETING THIS MORNING, ACTUALLY MS. BURGOS AND KATHY MOMBERG WERE ON. 
          WE MET WITH DR. ROSE AND NATALIE TALIS ABOUT VACCINATION CLINICS AND HOW TO CONTINUE OUR COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILIES. 
          WE HAVE BEEN SHARING THE INFORMATION WHEN WE GET IT FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. 
          I KNOW THE VACCINATION INFORMATION, AS WELL AS TESTING INFORMATION, HAS BEEN INCONSISTENTLY EXPRESSED AND INSIDER AND WILL BE AGAIN TOMORROW. 
          BUT WE WERE BRAINSTORMING SOME OTHER IDEAS, LIKE THE POTENTIAL OF ROBOCALLS. 
          THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS ASKING ABOUT SENDING A LETTER THROUGH THE MAIL TO OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE OF VACCINATION AGE UTILIZING SCHOOL NEWSLETTERS. 
          I KNOW ONE THING THAT MS. CRUZ MENTIONED ON SATURDAY AT THE POD WAS THAT DURING HER ANNOUNCEMENTS EVERY DAY SHE WOULD REMIND THE STUDENTS WE HAVE A VACCINATION OPPORTUNITY THIS WEEKEND. IT'S SO FUN, AS YOU KNOW, TO CHECK TO SEE IF YOU'RE SIGNED UP TO COME ON SATURDAY. SO JUST TRYING DIFFERENT AVENUES OF OUTREACH. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW MS. VERBOSE IF I MISSED ANYTHING THAT YOU WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS THERE. 
          SORRY, SORRY, MY CAMERA WAS NOT SHOWING. 
          YES, THANK YOU, I. 
          I HAVE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH MY TEAM AND WE ARE WORKING ON SEVERAL THINGS. 
          THE LETTER THAT IS GOING ON TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND ASSOCIATED WITH DR. 
          HUTCHINGS AND OLDEST FRIEND THINGS, YOU WANT IT TO BE A JOINT LETTER FROM THE CITY AS WELL AS ROBOCALLS. 
          THE NEWSLETTER, AS YOU MENTIONED, IS GOING OUT AND EXPRESS. 
          BUT I'VE ALSO SHARED WITH DR. 
          GONZALEZ TO HAVE THE PRINCIPAL SHARED IN THEIR THEIR NEWSLETTERS WITH THEIR SPECIFIC SCHOOLS, SO WILL BE SORT OF A DOUBLE MESSAGE. 
          THE ROBOCALLS AND THE TEXTS AND THE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS WILL BE FILTERED SORT OF PEPPERED IN THROUGHOUT THE WINTER BREAK. 
          YOU KNOW, THEY'RE BEING SCHEDULED SO WE'RE NOT WORKING ON, BUT THEY ARE BEING SCHEDULED IN ADVANCE SO THAT THE FAMILIES WILL GET THEM AS REMINDERS ALL THE TIME. 
          SO PLEASE MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENTS, GET YOUR KIDS VACCINATED THE BEST WAY FOR US TO CONTINUE. SO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT DID PROVIDE US WITH THOSE BLURBS AND TEXTS AND ROBOCALL SCRIPTS TODAY SO THAT WE CAN SHARE THEM WITH MY TEAM AND WE HAVE. 
          CATHY HAS ALREADY SCHEDULED THAT, SO WE'RE ALL GOOD TO GO. 
          SO THERE'LL BE SEVERAL WAYS THAT WE'RE PUMPING OUT THOSE MESSAGES EVEN OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE TO THAT. 
          WE'VE ALSO TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE GRASSROOTS APPROACHES. 
          ONE OF OUR TEAMMATES TEST BY NUMBER HAS DONE A GRASSROOTS WEBINAR WITH HEART AND HEART SPEAKING FAMILIES. THEY SAID IT REALLY WENT REALLY WELL WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. 
          THEY PARTNERED WITH HIM. 
          SO WE WANT TO LOOK TO DO SOME MORE OF THOSE TYPES OF THINGS TO REALLY ADDRESS SOME OF THE MYTHS AND SOME OF THE MISCONCEPTIONS THAT FOLKS ARE HEARING IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT VACCINES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. 
          VACCINES IN GENERAL. BUT DEFINITELY THERE'S A LOT OF HESITANCY AMONG YOUNG CHILDREN. 
          SO SEVERAL THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AS POSSIBLE CHANNELS TO REALLY GET THIS INFORMATION OUT. AND WE'LL CONTINUE, OF COURSE, TO DO MORE AS WE RETURN FROM THE BREAK. 
          THAT'S GREAT, THANK YOU. 
          YES, IT IS PIE. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I TELL EVERYBODY I WAS RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. OK. 
          SORRY, I HAD TO CHECK TO MAKE SURE I HAD TO LET MY BROTHERS KNOW THAT YOU'RE RIGHT BECAUSE I WOULD GET CALLED AFTER THIS. 
          THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DR. 
          HUTCHINGS, FOR THAT INFORMATION. 
          MR. SUAREZ. 
          ALL RIGHT. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE UPDATE, DR. 
          CRAWFORD. AND THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTION, DR. 
          RIEF. I WANTED TO ASK JUST I'M THINKING A LOT ABOUT JUST SORT OF WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON NATIONALLY AND IN PARTICULAR, SOME OF WHAT WE'VE SEEN AT SOME OF THE UNIVERSITIES, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE CORNELL UNIVERSITY, HAD AN OUTBREAK OF NINE INJURED AND 50 CASES. 
          THEY SENT EVERYONE HOME EARLY AND THAT'S HAPPENED AT OTHER UNIVERSITIES AS WELL. 
          AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT AT CORNELL, THERE'S A 99 PERCENT VACCINATION RATE. 
          SO WITH THIS OMICRON, WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF THESE BREAKTHROUGH CASES. 
          AND SO AND SORT OF LOOKING AT OUR DATA AND SEEING THAT THE NUMBERS ARE STARTING TO CREEP UP A LITTLE BIT. 
          OBVIOUSLY, IT'S IT'S REASSURING THAT THEY'RE NOT OVERLY CONCENTRATED IN ANY, ANY 
          [01:10:01]
PARTICULAR PLACE. 
          BUT I DID JUST WANT TO RAISE AND I'M WONDERING IF IT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED JUST GOING BACK TO THE SORT OF PROACTIVE COMMUNICATION OVER THE BREAK LIKE THIS IS THE FIRST EXTENDED BREAK OF THE SCHOOL YEAR AND PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE TRAVELING. 
          WE CAN'T MANDATE PEOPLE NOT TO TRAVEL. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, JUST GOING ALONG WITH THE FACT THAT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED SOME OF THIS TESTING, I'M WONDERING IF IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR US TO FIND A WAY TO EITHER ENCOURAGE ALL, YOU KNOW, FAMILIES TO TEST THEIR KIDS PRIOR TO REENTRY, WHEN WE COME BACK IN JANUARY OR EVEN ENCOURAGE OR REQUIRE THAT IF THEY CAN DO IT ON THEIR OWN AND AFFORD IT, GET BRINGING THAT TEST. 
          AND FOR OBVIOUSLY TO THE EXTENT THAT FAMILIES CANNOT AFFORD TO GET THE TESTING ON THEIR OWN, SET UP THE FACILITIES, YOU KNOW, IN THE COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE WE RETURN SO THAT WE CAN HAVE OUR FINGER ON THE PULSE VERY PROACTIVELY SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY MAJOR OUTBREAKS. BECAUSE BECAUSE AS AS YOU KNOW, WE WERE EXPRESSING SOME OPTIMISM THAT WE WON'T HAVE THAT CRITICAL MASS AND HAVE TO REVERT TO ALL VIRTUAL. 
          BUT GIVEN THAT THAT KIND OF HAS HAPPENED WITH SOME OF THESE UNIVERSITIES, I'M JUST I'M WONDERING, HAVE WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION AND IS THERE SOMETHING WE CAN MAYBE DO ON THAT FRONT? BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY I WANT TO BE HOPEFUL AS WELL, BUT THIS HAS BEEN SO UNPREDICTABLE AND NERVE WRACKING THAT NOW WE'RE SWINGING THE PENDULUM BACK ONCE AGAIN WITH THIS OMICRON THING. SO I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE. 
          SO WE HAVE NOT HAD CONVERSATIONS AROUND LIKE CLOSING SCHOOLS WHEN WE GOT BACK AFTER THIS BREAK, BUT WE ARE YOU'LL SEE IN THE ACPS EXPRESS TOMORROW THAT WE ARE ENCOURAGING OUR FAMILIES TO TO GET TESTED UPON RETURN, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE TRAVELING. 
          WE ALSO HAVE PROVIDED THEM WITH THE INFORMATION REGARDING OUR CURATIVE SITES BECAUSE WE DO HAVE FREE TESTING THAT'S RIGHT HERE IN THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA. 
          AND IT'S THAT MOST OF OUR SITES, SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE HAVE TO CREATE OR ESTABLISH. 
          WE ALREADY HAVE A VERY STRONG COLLABORATION WITH THE ALEXANDRIA HEALTH DEPARTMENT. 
          I FEEL LIKE I KNOW THEIR WHOLE TEAM. 
          I KNOW DR. CRAWFORD FEELS LIKE SHE WORKS ON THEIR TEAM BECAUSE SOMETIMES I THINK THAT SHE'S A MEDICAL DOCTOR AND SHE'S NOT. 
          SO WE HAVE BEEN WORKING IN COLLABORATION WITH THAT. 
          ONE THING THAT IS TO OUR ADVANTAGE RIGHT NOW IS JUST THE FACT THAT WE HAVE SUCH A HIGH VACCINATION OF OUR STAFF THAT WE DID NOT HAVE BEFORE, WHERE NOW WE ONLY HAVE. 
          I WANT TO SAY IT'S ABOUT ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY STAFF MEMBERS WHO MAY NOT BE VACCINATED, AND THAT IS DUE TO A RELIGIOUS OR A MEDICAL EXEMPTION, AND THEY'RE BEING TESTED ON A WEEKLY BASIS. BUT THAT'S OUT OF ALL OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS AND ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. WE DID NOT HAVE TO TERMINATE NOT ONE PERSON IN OUR CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BECAUSE WE EDUCATED THEM ON THE VACCINATION. 
          WE PROVIDED THOSE VACCINATIONS AT OUR LOCATIONS AND MADE IT EXTREMELY CONVENIENT FOR THEM. WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ENCOURAGING OUR FAMILIES THAT WHEN THEY ARE TRAVELING, THAT THEY'RE TAKING THE SAME PRECAUTIONS THAT THEY ARE DOING IN OUR SCHOOLS, FOR EXAMPLE, WEARING YOUR MASK, WASHING YOUR HANDS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE IN A SMALL LOCATION OR YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT CALLED? TIGHT. THANK YOU, ENCLOSED SPACES. 
          THANK YOU, DR. RIEF. 
          ENCLOSED SPACES THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SOCIALLY DISTANCE YOURSELF, BUT ESPECIALLY WHEN APPROPRIATE OR WHEN POSSIBLE. 
          JUST TO THAT THEY ARE NOT GOING IN AND SAYING, HEY, IT'S VACATION, LET'S GO BACK TO NORMAL. AND UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN A LOT OF HOUSEHOLDS. 
          WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE COMING IN FOR THANKSGIVING OR YOU'RE GOING TO OTHER PEOPLE'S HOMES, YOU'RE NOW MIXING FAMILIES FROM ONE STATE TO ANOTHER STATE AND EVERYBODY'S TAKING THEIR MASK OFF. RIGHT. 
          AND YOU MAY NOT KNOW THAT PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE ARE NOT VACCINATED. 
          YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S NOT REQUIRING PEOPLE TO BRING IN A VACCINATION CARD, BUT WE HAVE NOT HAD THOSE SPECIFIC DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HAVING SCHOOLS CLOSED WHEN WE RETURN. 
          BUT WE ARE ENCOURAGING TESTING PRIOR TO COMING BACK, AND WE PROVIDED ALL OF THE TESTING INFORMATION IN ACPS EXPRESS THAT'S GOING OUT TOMORROW TO ALL OF OUR FAMILIES. 
          THOSE THAT LINK WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THEM. 
          AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE TESTING AT OUR SCHOOLS AS AS WELL, WHICH THAT WILL CONTINUE. 
          DR. CRAWFORD, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING BECAUSE JUST TO PIGGYBACK ON THE LAST COMMENT YOU MADE MR. SUAREZ, I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT WHILE WE HAVEN'T REQUIRED TESTING OF OUR STUDENTS OTHER THAN OUR DAILY TESTING THAT WE DO OF OUR STUDENT ATHLETES WHO RECEIVED A RELIGIOUS OR MEDICAL EXEMPTION, WE DO HAVE THE WEEKLY TESTING SCHEDULE SET UP SO THAT OUR LARGEST 
          [01:15:02]
SCHOOLS ARE ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY. 
          SO WE DO TRY TO CATCH ANY CASES AT OUR LARGER SCHOOLS WHERE WHEN WE SET IT UP, WE THOUGHT MONDAY MORNING WE WOULD BE ABLE TO TEST EVERYONE, ALL SCHOOLS AT THE SAME TIME CATCH ANY POSITIVE CASES. AND OF COURSE, THAT'S NOT FEASIBLE. 
          SO WE HAVE OUR LARGER SCHOOLS, SO HOPEFULLY BOTH STAFF AND AGAIN, THIS IS VOLUNTARY FOR STAFF. BUT BUT IT'S AVAILABLE ON A MONDAY MORNING. 
          IF A STAFF MEMBER WAS NOT ABLE TO GET TESTED, LET'S SAY THEY RETURN SUNDAY NIGHT. 
          THEY COULD TEST AT KING STREET MONDAY MORNING WITH THAT RAPID TEST WITH CURATIVE. 
          SO JUST, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO PUSH THAT INFORMATION TO FAMILIES BOTH ABOUT OUR WEEKLY TESTING AND WHEN IT'S AT YOUR SCHOOL? AND I MEAN, I'M SOMEONE WHO USES THE THE CURATIVE TEST KIOSKS EVERY TIME AFTER I TRAVEL, AND I JUST CAN'T STATE OVERSTATE HOW EASY THEY ARE. 
          I TIMED TO MYSELF THE OTHER DAY I WENT TO A NEW PLACE AND IT WAS UNDER 30 SECONDS THAT REALLY IT TOOK IT 10 SECONDS ON EACH SIDE AND YOU DROP IT IN, YOU'RE OUT. 
          I MEAN, IT TOOK ME LONGER TO PARK THAN TO GET THE TEST, AND THE TEST RESULTS HAVE BEEN COMING BACK VERY QUICKLY ON PCR TESTING THROUGH CURATIVE. 
          SO JUST TO OUR FAMILIES, IF YOU'RE THINKING YOU DON'T WANT TO WAIT SEVERAL DAYS FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, THEY'VE BEEN COMING BACK WITHIN TWENTY FOUR HOURS ON THE PCR TESTING FROM THOSE KIOSKS. 
          SO IT'S A REAL RESOURCE. 
          IT'S FREE FOR OUR FAMILIES. 
          I WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO DO THAT IF SOMEBODY IS NOT ABLE TO. 
          WE COULD. CERTAINLY WE HAVE THE OFFERING THE WEEK THAT WE RETURN AT SCHOOL. 
          I COULD JUST ASK. THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          CAN I ASK ONE QUICK FOLLOW UP WITH REGARD TO THE NUMBERS OF CASES? WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE? AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN GIVE ME THIS BREAKDOWN FOR TODAY'S NUMBERS, BUT WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO KIND OF BREAK THAT DOWN BY VACCINATED AND UNVACCINATED, ESPECIALLY AS YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY FOR THE NEW BOARD AS THINGS START IN JANUARY, SINCE WE ARE SEEING A LOT OF BREAKTHROUGH CASES WITH THIS OMICRON. 
          I THINK IT'S JUST GOING TO BE HELPFUL FOR DECISION MAKING TO KIND OF SEE THAT WHAT THAT BREAKDOWN IS LOOKING LIKE BECAUSE I'D LOVE TO MAKE ASSUMPTIONS THAT THE VACCINE IS MITIGATING EVERYTHING. 
          AND THAT WAS THAT WAS MORE OF MY DISPOSITION BEFORE AND HOPE BEFORE. 
          BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WITH THE SELMA KAREN, WE'RE SEEING MORE OF THESE BREAKTHROUGHS. 
          SO I THINK SEEING THAT BREAKDOWN WILL BE HELPFUL. 
          I'D BE HAPPY TO GET THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU. 
          I DON'T HAVE IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I'D BE HAPPY TO GET IT FOR YOU. 
          WE'LL BE ABLE TO WORK THROUGH THAT. 
          I THINK ONE POINT THAT WE DO NEED TO ENCOURAGE IS THE VACCINATION CAN STILL SAVE YOUR LIFE. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS. 
          SO WE DO NOT WANT PEOPLE TO ASSUME, OH, WELL, YOU CAN STILL GET COVID WITH THE VACCINES. 
          I'LL NEED TO GET VACCINATED. NO, YOU NEED TO GET VACCINATED BECAUSE GUESS WHAT? YOU CAN GET COVID AND STILL BE ALIVE AND NOT ON THE VENTILATOR. 
          THAT'S RIGHT. AND WE HAVE TO KEEP ENCOURAGING THAT JUST THE MOST RECENT DATA NOW. 
          YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OUR EXPERTS ARE SAYING THIS DATA CAN CHANGE EVERY DAY AND THE INFORMATION CAN CHANGE. 
          BUT I JUST READ THIS INFORMATION YESTERDAY HOPEFULLY HASN'T CHANGED BY TODAY THAT THEY'RE SAYING IF YOU GET YOUR BOOSTER SHOTS, THAT EVEN IF YOU ARE EXPOSED TO THE OMICRON VARIANT, THAT YOU STILL WILL HAVE MINOR SYMPTOMS FROM THAT. 
          AND THEY ARE THINKING THAT THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE BOOSTER THAT THAT IS CREATING THAT AND ASKING AND ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO GET THEIR BOOSTER SHOTS BECAUSE OF THAT. 
          SO I JUST WANT TO KEEP ENCOURAGING OUR FAMILIES, ESPECIALLY OUR FIVE TO 11 YEAR OLDS, TO GET THEM VACCINATED. 
          WE HAVE MANY TESTING SITES RIGHT HERE IN ALEXANDRIA. 
          IT'S VERY SIMPLE TO GET SIGNED UP FOR IT, AND IT'S KIND OF YOU'RE IN AND OUT BECAUSE YOU HAVE THOSE TIME SLOTS. 
          YOU'RE NOT WAITING IN LONG LINES AND WAITING TO GET YOUR CHILD IN AND THE STAFF ARE REALLY GOOD WITH WITH YOUNG PEOPLE. 
          I HAPPEN TO BE IN THERE AND I GOT TO SEE ALL OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE GETTING THEIR SHOTS, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF TIMES. SO I'M JUST GOING TO KEEP ENCOURAGING FOLKS TO JUST IF WE CAN GET EVERYONE VACCINATED. 
          THAT COULD HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE QUARANTINE ISSUE THAT WE WERE HAVING FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS. 
          AND ALSO IT CAN HELP SAVE YOUR LIFE. 
          AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT FOR OUR FAMILIES TO UNDERSTAND. 
          YEAH. AND YOU JUST WANT TO SAY, EXCUSE ME, I'M SORRY, GO AHEAD. 
          NO, NO, PLEASE. I JUST I THINK DR. 
          GADDY WAS GOING TO PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION. 
          I, YEAH, I WAS JUST GOING TO SUGGEST SO FIRST OF ALL, EXACTLY WHAT DR. 
          HUTCHINGS JUST SAID WAS EXACTLY RIGHT, AND WE DO CONTINUE TO SEE THAT IN TERMS OF WHO'S GETTING COVID. IT STILL IS PREDOMINANTLY UNVACCINATED INDIVIDUALS, AND THERE'S SOME NICE VISUALS OF THAT ACTUALLY ON THE WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN LOOK AT KIND OF VACCINATED VERSUS PARTIALLY VACCINATED VERSUS FULLY VACCINATED CASE RATES. 
          AND SO IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT VACCINATED VERSUS UNVACCINATED, I THINK LOOKING AT THE 
          [01:20:08]
SCHOOL NUMBERS, THOSE ARE ACTUALLY FAIRLY SMALL NUMBERS OVERALL. 
          AND IT ALSO MAY BE HARD TO KNOW LIKE YOU MIGHT SEE FIVE VACCINATED CASES IN FIVE UNVACCINATED CASES, AND THAT MIGHT SEEM LIKE, YOU KNOW, WOW, 50 PERCENT OF THE CASES ARE VACCINATED. BUT IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE 90 PERCENT OF THE STUDENTS IN A SCHOOL WHO ARE VACCINATED, THAT ACTUALLY SHOWS THAT THE VACCINE IS WORKING PRETTY WELL. 
          SO JUST, YOU KNOW, NOT THAT IT'S MIGHT NOT BE WORTH LOOKING AT SOME OF THE SCHOOL NUMBERS, BUT YOU MIGHT GET SORT OF A FULLER PICTURE OF HOW VACCINES ARE WORKING IN GENERAL BY LOOKING AT THE LARGER DATA SET THAT'S COLLECTED BY SORT OF ACROSS THE POPULATION WHEN THINKING ABOUT ANY DECISIONS ON VACCINATED VERSUS UNVACCINATED AS WELL. 
          YEAH, AND LET ME JUST MAKE CLEAR, I THINK MOST PEOPLE KNOW THIS, BUT I'M THE LAST PERSON TO SUGGEST THAT VACCINATIONS DON'T WORK. 
          BUT, BUT BUT BUT I I THINK THAT DATA WILL BE USEFUL BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT THE VACCINATED TO ASSUME THAT THEY'RE NOT CONTRIBUTING THE SPREAD NOW THAT THERE ARE MORE OF THESE BREAKTHROUGH CASES. SO THOSE ARE JUST BOARD LEVEL DISCUSSIONS THAT I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE AND AND BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT. 
          ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MR. SUAREZ. 
          MOVING ON TO MS. GREENE. THANK YOU, CHAIR ALDERTON, AND THANK YOU, DR. 
          CRAWFORD AND TEAM. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF DR. 
          GADDY COULD GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH OMICRON RIGHT NOW AS IT RELATES TO ALEXANDRIA AND THE DC REGION AND WHEN WE HOPE TO SEE THAT PLATEAU. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE FAIRLY EARLY IN EVALUATING OMICRON SPREAD. 
          THERE HAVE ONLY BEEN A FEW CASES. 
          THE FIRST CASES IN VIRGINIA AS A WHOLE WERE JUST RECENTLY IDENTIFIED. 
          SO WE'RE NOT SURE HOW MUCH OF THIS CURRENT CASE SPIKE IS DUE TO OMICRON VERSUS JUST INCREASED TRANSMISSION OF THE THE VARIANTS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE, MAINLY DELTA, BECAUSE OF HOLIDAY THANKSGIVING TRANSMISSION. 
          SO. AND I GUESS TO SORT OF EMPHASIZE THE THE SPIKE THAT WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW, I THINK THE NUMBERS HAVE ACTUALLY ARE EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE SINCE DR CRAWFORD COLLECTED HER INFORMATION. YOU KNOW, WE WERE SEEING 35 TO 40 CASES PER DAY ON AVERAGE. 
          THEN YESTERDAY WE SAW 80 AND TODAY IT WAS 110. 
          AND WE ALREADY KNOW BY THE NUMBERS THAT ARE COMING IN THAT TOMORROW IS GOING TO BE MUCH HIGHER. SO WE'RE SEEING SORT OF AN EXPONENTIAL INCREASE. 
          WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT FOR SEQUENCING TO BE COMING BACK TO TELL US HOW MUCH OF THAT IS DUE TO OMICRON. WE DO KNOW FROM, YOU KNOW, DATA FROM THE U.S. 
          AND OTHER PLACES IN THE WORLD THAT OMICRON IS THOUGHT TO BE MORE CONTAGIOUS THAN THE DELTA VARIANT. 
          IT LIKELY IT'S LIKELY THAT IT MAY NOT BE AS RESPONSIVE TO THE VACCINE, AND IT IS STILL UNDETERMINED WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE IN TERMS OF DISEASE SEVERITY. 
          SO EVEN IF YOU IF YOU GET A CASE, YOU KNOW, IT MAY BE A MILDER CASE. 
          SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT TO SEE WHAT WHAT KIND OF IMPACT THAT BRINGS IN TERMS OF DISEASE SEVERITY. 
          SO WE'RE SORT OF AT A AT A POINT WHERE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS WE'RE GOING TO BE GATHERING MORE MORE DATA ABOUT WHAT THIS VARIANT IS DOING IN VIRGINIA AND IN A LOCAL WAY. 
          THAT FULLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. 
          IT DID THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          OK, IN THE LAST QUESTION, WE HAVE COME FROM MS. NOLAN. AND I'LL MAKE THIS VERY BRIEF, SO FORGIVE ME FOR JUST TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR MY LAST MEETING, AND I KNOW I CAN SAFELY SAY I SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD WITH THIS ONE, BUT I JUST WANT TO GIVE THE MOST SINCERE THANKS TO DR. 
          GADDY AND DR. CRAWFORD AND TO ALL THE FOLKS THAT YOU WORK WITH. 
          [01:25:03]
I MEAN, I MEAN, I CAN'T IT CAN'T EVEN BE COMMENTED ON WHAT COVID HAS BEEN LIKE AND JUST LIKE THE NAVIGATION, AND THERE'S BEEN NO PLAYBOOK THE ENTIRE TIME IN THE SCHOOL DIVISION. 
          AND SO REALLY THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE BOTH OF YOU AND IT'S NOT JUST THE BOTH OF YOU, I KNOW THAT YOU REPRESENT SO MANY, COUNTLESS PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING SO BEHALF SO HARD ON BEHALF OF THE DIVISION. 
          I THINK THIS IS JUST A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW THE CITY AND THE SCHOOL REALLY WORKED AND COLLABORATED SO WELL TOGETHER. 
          AND CANDIDLY, A FEW OF US WERE CHATTERING UP HERE AND REALLY APPRECIATED DR. 
          CRAWFORD'S COMMENTS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TESTING THAT WE'VE ALL DONE IT. 
          AND REALLY, ALEXANDER'S DONE AN EXCEPTIONAL JOB WITH BOTH THE VACCINATION AND THE TESTING AND JUST TRYING TO DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN DURING THESE CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES. 
          SO I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY THANK DR. 
          GETTING YOUR TEAM AND FOR ALL THE COLLABORATION YOU PROVIDED A SCHOOL DIVISION AND JUST SOME SERIOUS THANKS TO DR. 
          CRAWFORD FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE AND YOUR TEAM. 
          I'VE SAID THIS ONCE BEFORE, SO FORGIVE ME, DR. 
          CRAWFORD, FOR REPEATING IT. 
          BUT IT SOUNDS IT'S IT ALWAYS FEELS LIKE OVER THE LAST SIX YEARS, SOMEHOW YOU DRAW A SHORT STRAW. I DON'T KNOW WHAT GOES ON WITH YOUR TEAM MEETINGS. 
          LIKE I THOUGHT YOU WERE LEADING. 
          REDISTRICTING WAS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR MAKING REDISTRICTING LOOK EASY COMPARED TO LIKE OVERSEEING A GLOBAL HEALTH PANDEMIC. BUT JUST AGAIN WANTED TO TAKE THE MOMENT TO JUST GIVE MY MOST SINCERE THANKS TO THE BOTH OF YOU, AND IT'S REALLY PHENOMENAL ON BEHALF OF THE STUDENTS AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS NOLAN. 
          ALL RIGHT. SO IF THERE ARE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, OF COURSE, BOARD MEMBERS CAN REACH OUT TO STAFF AND WE WILL MOVE FURTHER THROUGH OUR BUSINESS. 
          AND NEXT STEP, WE NEED TO ADOPT OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2020 
          [25.	Adoption of FY 2023-2032 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget]
THREE THROUGH TWENTY THIRTY TWO. 
          SO I WILL AS ACTUALLY NEED SOMEONE TO MOVE THAT WE DO THAT. 
          I NOW HOLD ON ONE SECOND. 
          I CAN DO I GET DIFFERENT WINDOWS. 
          I CAN DO IT. I READ IT. 
          ALL RIGHT. MS. GENTRY, YOU GO AHEAD AND READ IT. 
          I'VE ALWAYS BEEN TERRIFIED OF READING THE NUMBER RAMEE, BUT IT'S MY LAST TIME TO TRY IT, SO I'LL GIVE IT A GO. 
          MADAM CHAIR. I MOVED AT THE ALEXANDRIA CITY SCHOOL BOARD, ADOPT THE FLY 20 THREE THROUGH TWENTY THIRTY TWO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM BUDGET AND THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF FOUR HUNDRED NINETY SEVEN MILLION EIGHT HUNDRED AND FOUR THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS WITH TWO HUNDRED AND FOUR MILLION SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY FIVE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS IN FY TWENTY TWENTY THREE. 
          THE SUPERINTENDENT IS GRANTED THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE THE NECESSARY MINOR CHANGES TO COMPLY WITH THE SCHOOL BOARD. 
          THE SECOND IS, NOBODY WANT A SECOND. 
          OK, I HAVE MR. SUAREZ SECONDS MS. GENTRY A MOTION. 
          YOU NEED DISCUSSION AND LET'S VOTE. 
          VERY. FOR ANY OF US. 
          NO. RIGHT. 
          OK. BUDGET HAS BEEN ADOPTED. 
          ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE A QUICK UPDATE THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET ON THE DOUGLAS MACARTHUR 
          [26.	Douglas MacArthur Project Update]
PROJECTS AND HANDED OVER TO DR. 
          HUTCHINGS. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, AND I KNOW THAT MISS GOULET IS HERE WITH US JUST TO PROVIDE US WITH THE QUICK PRESENTATIONS TO VERBAL UPDATE IN REGARDS TO DOUGLAS MACARTHUR PROJECT. SO MS. GULICK. GOOD EVENING, BOARD, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TONIGHT TO GIVE A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE DOUGLAS MACARTHUR PROJECT. 
          AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE ARE STILL I JUST WANT TO LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT WE ARE STILL IN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS SO WE CANNOT PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THAT ON THAT AT THIS TIME. 
          BUT WE DO INTEND TO IN JANUARY AS FAR AS CONSTRUCTION AT THE SITE. 
          FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY HAVE DRIVEN BY, YOU CAN SEE THERE IS A LOT GOING ON. 
          CURRENTLY, WE HAVE CONCRETE BOARD FOR THE GARAGE. 
          WE ARE WORKING ON CONTINUING THE ELEVATED DECK POOR. 
          [01:30:08]
WE'LL START SOON. 
          WE HAVE SOME OF THE WORK ON THE SIDEWALK AND THE IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY. 
          WE HAVE UTILITY INSTALLATION GOING ON. 
          ALL OF OUR GEOTHERMAL WELLS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED. 
          AND SO THERE IS A LOT OF PROGRESS BEING MADE ON THE SITE. 
          AND OTHER THAN THAT, AS WE GET INTO THE NEW YEAR, THERE WILL BE A LOT MORE CONSTRUCTION, ESPECIALLY WITH THE RELEASE OF THE FINAL GMP THREE. 
          A LOT MORE WORK GOING ON THE SITE AND YOU SHOULD START TO SEE THE BUILDING COME OUT OF THE GROUND PRETTY SOON. 
          SO THAT'S AN UPDATE I HAVE FOR TONIGHT AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS IF THERE ARE ANY. THANK YOU, MICHAEL. 
          SO THAT LEAVES IT TO US, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? OK. THANK YOU FOR THAT UPDATE. 
          AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO ADDITIONAL. 
          AND INFO WHEN WE RETURN IN THE NEW YEAR, SOME OF US. 
          [27.	Ad Hoc School Board Advisory Support Committee Recommendations]
ALL RIGHT. AND WE HAVE THE AD HOC SCHOOL BOARD ADVISORY SUPPORT COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THINK I SHOULD TURN THAT OVER TO DR. 
          RIEF. YEAH, THANK YOU, CHAIR ALDERTON. 
          AND JUST AS A REMINDER, IN MARCH, WE HAD APPOINTED AN AD HOC COMMITTEE, AD HOC SCHOOL ADVISORY SUPPORT COMMITTEE AND THE MEMBERS OF THAT WERE MYSELF MS. GREENE, MS. LORBER AND MS. THORNTON. AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMMITTEE WAS TO REALLY LOOK AT HOW THE BOARD IS OPERATING IN REGARDS TO OUR SCHOOL BOARD ADVISORY COMMITTEES, HOW WE CAN STRENGTHEN THOSE PARTNERSHIPS, AND FURTHER OUR STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE DIVISION. 
          AND SO YOU RECEIVED A MEMO WITH WITH THE AGENDA TONIGHT, AND I DON'T KNOW IF MAYBE YOU COULD PULL THAT UP. OK, THANK YOU. 
          AND SO JUST TO KIND OF SUMMARIZE WHAT WE DID AS A COMMITTEE, AS WE WE BASICALLY TOOK A LOOK AT THE THE SCHOOL BOARD POLICIES WHICH WERE GOVERNING OUR ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 
          WE LOOKED AT THE MEMBERSHIP ROSTERS FOR OUR COMMITTEES. 
          WE DECIDED TO DO A SURVEY WHERE WE WOULD GET FEEDBACK FROM FOLKS WHO WERE CURRENTLY SERVING, AS WELL AS FOLKS IN THE PAST WHO HAD SERVED. 
          AND THE RESULTS OF THAT SURVEY WERE SHARED ALREADY WITH THE BOARD, AND THEY'RE ALSO POSTED WITH THE AGENDA IF ANYBODY WANTS TO LOOK AT THAT. 
          AND THEN WE ALSO INVITED ALL OF THE CHAIRS OF THE DIFFERENT ADVISORY COMMITTEES TO JOIN DIFFERENT WORK SESSIONS THAT WE HAD SO THAT THEY COULD JUST SHARE WHAT KIND OF WORK THEIR COMMITTEES WERE DOING AND WE COULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT WITH THEM. 
          AND WE HAVE FIVE CURRENT ACTIVE SCHOOL BOARD ADVISORY COMMITTEES THE ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME, SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE, CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, THE BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE TALENTED AND GIFTED ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
          AND SO I'LL JUST JUST TRY TO QUICKLY WALK THROUGH SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME OUT OF OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH ONE ANOTHER. 
          THE FIRST WAS TO INCREASE TWO WAY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE SCHOOL BOARD AND THE ADVISORY COMMITTEES. I THINK IT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHEN WE HAD THE CHAIRS COME AND INTERACT WITH THE BOARD, AND WE I THINK THEY REALLY SEEM TO APPRECIATE THAT OPPORTUNITY AS WELL. 
          AND SO WE RECOMMEND TRYING TO INCREASE THAT TWO WAY COMMUNICATION. 
          AND ONE OF OUR SUGGESTIONS FOR HOW TO DO THAT IS TO ADD A SECTION TO OUR AGENDAS UNDER COMMUNICATIONS AND ADDRESSES TO THE BOARD TO ADD IN A SECTION CALLED REPORTS FROM ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 
          AND THIS IS REALLY GREAT BECAUSE IT FALLS RIGHT BEFORE THE CONSENT CALENDAR AND OUR COMMITTEES. TYPICALLY, EVERY YEAR, THEY BRING AN ANNUAL REPORT IN SCOPE OF WORK TO THE BOARD, SO THIS WOULD PROVIDE JUST A SEPARATE LINE ITEM ON THE AGENDA FOR THOSE COMMITTEE CHAIRS WHEN IT'S, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEIR ITEMS FALL ON THE AGENDA TO COME AND JUST MAKE A STATEMENT ABOUT THE WORK THAT THEIR COMMITTEE IS DOING. 
          AND YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR BOARD MEMBERS TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS AND ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR BOARD MEMBERS TO PROVIDE ANY UPDATES ABOUT ANY REALLY TIMELY OR PERTINENT INFORMATION THAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE ADVISORY COMMITTEES THAT THEY SERVE AS LIAISONS TO. 
          THE NEXT ITEM WAS TO IMPROVE THE ORIENTATION PROCESS FOR ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS. 
          I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THE SURVEY IS THAT COMMITTEE CHAIRS AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS SEEM TO BE LOOKING FOR SOME, JUST SOME MORE SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE. 
          YOU KNOW, THERE'S THERE WERE A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT THEY CITED IN THE SURVEY, JUST WANTING TO UNDERSTAND THE STRUCTURE OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEES, HOW TO RUN AN EFFECTIVE MEETING. I THINK NOT EVERYONE REALIZES IT DOESN'T MAYBE OPERATE LIKE A TYPICAL COMMITTEE. 
          IT'S IT'S IT'S IT'S UNDER THE VIRGINIA FOIA REQUIREMENTS. 
          THEY'RE REQUIRED TO USE ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER. 
          AND SO FOR FOLKS WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST WANTED A LITTLE BIT MORE GUIDANCE ON THAT. 
          YOU KNOW, JUST THE ROLE OF THE BOARD AND STAFF LIAISONS TO THE COMMITTEES, HOW THE 
          [01:35:04]
COMMITTEE SHOULD BEST PROVIDE POLICY INPUT TO THE BOARD. 
          SO JUST TRYING TO BEEF UP THAT ORIENTATION PROCESS, AND IT'S ALSO MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PROSPECTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS JUST TO COME AND LEARN ABOUT HOW THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WORKS AND JUST FOR THE, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER THOUGHT IS TO JUST MAYBE RECORD RECORD THAT. 
          SO IT'S ALSO AVAILABLE. 
          MAYBE IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE DONE OVER AND OVER AND OVER, BUT IT CAN BE RECORDED. 
          THE NEXT SUGGESTION HERE IS TO JUST BETTER A LITTLE BIT MORE CLEARLY DELINEATE THE ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 
          I THINK IT'S IT IS A PART. 
          IT'S A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ALL OF US, THE SCHOOL BOARD, THE BOARD CLERK, THE COMMITTEE CHAIRS, AND JUST REALLY JUST WANTING TO MAKE SURE AND CLEAR WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR VARIOUS THINGS LIKE VETTING PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS, ONBOARDING THEM, YOU KNOW, UPDATING THE ROSTERS AND THAT KIND OF THING. 
          THE NEXT SUGGESTION WAS TO JUST AND I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, BUT JUST REALLY THE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS ASSISTING IN THE RECRUITMENT OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS. 
          SOME OF OUR COMMITTEES HAVE IN SOME HAVE AN EASIER OR HARDER TIME, I THINK, RECRUITING MEMBERS, BUT I THINK SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS ARE REALLY IN A POSITION JUST BEING REALLY INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY AND MEETING MANY PEOPLE TO REALLY JUST TRY TO BE ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT SHARING OUT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT THAT OPPORTUNITY. BECAUSE USUALLY THE WAY SOMEBODY GETS INVOLVED IS BECAUSE SOMEBODY ASKED THEM. AND SO WE SHOULD JUST ALL BE TRYING TO ASK PEOPLE TO REALLY JOIN IN THIS WORK. 
          THE NEXT ONE IS TO REVIVE THE SCHOOL HEALTH ADVISORY BOARD, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR COMMITTEES THAT HASN'T BEEN ACTIVE SINCE JANUARY 20 20. 
          I THINK THE PANDEMIC HAD HAD AN IMPACT ON OUR SCHOOL HEALTH ADVISORY BOARD, BUT THE COMMITTEE DISCUSSED HOW THE AD HOC COMMITTEE DISCUSSED HOW MANY WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH. 
          OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS ISSUES IN OUR SCHOOL DIVISION, FROM THE PANDEMIC TO SAFETY ISSUES TO AIR QUALITY. 
          AND SO REALLY JUST TRYING TO BRING THAT COMMITTEE BACK, WE THINK IS REALLY WORTHWHILE. 
          AND WE DISCUSSED HOW HAVING SOME OF OUR SCHOOL NURSES INVOLVED IN THE COMMITTEE. 
          WE ALSO THINK WOULD BE WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL. 
          SO WE WOULD LIKE TO TO DO THAT IF WE CAN. 
          ANOTHER THING IS THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD SHOULD ADVOCATE AT THE STATE LEVEL FOR ADVISORY COMMITTEES TO HAVE OPTION TO MEET VIRTUALLY. 
          THAT WAS A PIECE OF FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE CHAIRS WHO CAME AND SPOKE AT THE BOARD. IT IS A PART OF OUR LEGISLATIVE POSITIONS FOR THIS YEAR THAT WE RECENTLY JUST ADOPTED GOING INTO THE NEW LEGISLATIVE SESSION. 
          AND SO WE SHOULD JUST LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES WHERE WE CAN REALLY SUPPORT AND SHARE OUR STORY OF HOW IT'S REALLY IMPACTING US. 
          BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT IS HOW SOME OF THE CHAIRS SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, DURING THE PANDEMIC, THE OPTION TO MEET VIRTUALLY INCREASED PARTICIPATION. 
          BUT WHAT'S REALLY ALSO IMPORTANT TO KNOW IS THAT SOME OF THEM SAID TRYING TO BRING PEOPLE BACK IN PERSON NOW, WHICH IS WHAT IS REQUIRED BY THE STATE, IS REALLY HARD. 
          IT'S HARDER THAN IT WAS BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, JUST LIKE MANY SECTORS ARE EXPERIENCING THIS. AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER FACTOR FOR CONSIDERATION FOR OUR FOLKS WHO ARE MAKING THOSE DECISIONS IN RICHMOND. 
          AND THEN JUST THE LAST THING IS WE THOUGHT THAT THE AD HOC SCHOOL BOARD ADVISORY SUPPORT COMMITTEE COULD CONTINUE TO BE RECONSTITUTED IN JANUARY WITH NEW MEMBERS BECAUSE WE THERE WAS SOME OTHER WORK THAT WE THOUGHT WAS STILL NEEDED, WHICH IS REALLY JUST LOOKING AT THE POLICIES AND MAYBE MAKING SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR ANY UPDATES THAT MIGHT BE NEEDED TO THE POLICIES GOVERNING THE ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 
          ALSO LOOKING AT THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HANDBOOK, WHICH IS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE AND TRYING TO SUPPORT UPDATES THAT MIGHT BE MADE, MIGHT NEED TO BE MADE TO THAT. 
          AND THEN, YOU KNOW, JUST SUPPORTING THESE, THE SCHOOL HEALTH ADVISORY BOARD COMING BACK AND THESE NEW ADVISORY COMMITTEES THAT WE'VE JUST ADOPTED TO MAKE BECAUSE I THINK THEY'LL HAVE TO HAVE BYLAWS AND I'M SURE THERE'LL BE A PROCESS. 
          SO THOSE ARE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, AND I TURN IT BACK TO MADAM CHAIR. 
          I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF THE MY FELLOW COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAD ANYTHING THEY WANTED TO ADD ABOUT OUR WORK. 
          THANK YOU, DR. RIEF. SO FIRST, DO ANY OF THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? MS. GREENE. YES, I JUST WANT TO SAY A LOT OF GOOD WORK HAS GONE INTO THIS, AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS PUTTING CHANGES IN PLACE. 
          THANK YOU. THANK YOU. 
          AND MS. LORBER. I MOSTLY WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES IN THE COMMITTEE, ESPECIALLY THE DR. RIEF, WHO PUT IN AN EXTRA AMOUNT OF TIME WHEN WHEN WE ORIGINALLY ORGANIZED THE COMMITTEE, I WASN'T REALLY SURE HOW MUCH IT WAS GOING TO ACCOMPLISH, AND I'M QUITE PLEASED WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE COME OUT. 
          AND IF WE FOLLOW THEM, WHICH I THINK WE WILL. 
          I THINK WE ARE GOING TO FIND THE COMMITTEES GIVE US AS A BOARD A LOT MORE OF WHAT WE NEED AND VICE VERSA. SO THANK YOU. 
          [01:40:02]
I JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND MY COLLEAGUES AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU ALL. ALL RIGHT. 
          SO WE DO NEED A MOTION AND THE MOTION WILL SIMPLY BE TO ACCEPT THE REPORT. 
          MADAM CHAIR. I MOVE THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD ACCEPT THE REPORT OF THE AD HOC SCHOOL BOARD ADVISORY SUPPORT COMMITTEE. 
          ID I'VE D MS. LORBER, WHO SECONDS MS. GENTRY A MOTION MEAGAN BOAT. 
          I WASN'T. THERE YOU GO. 
          IT IS UP THERE. 
          OH, OK. 
          SORRY ABOUT THAT. ALL RIGHT. 
          MOVING ON TO NEW BUSINESS. 
          [28.	Superintendent Evaluation Criteria Document Revision]
SO WE HAVE THE SUPERINTENDENT'S EVALUATION CRITERIA DOCUMENT THAT'S BEEN REVISED. 
          AND SO SHALL I TURN IT OVER TO DR. 
          QUIET FIRST AND THEN MS. NOLAN OR. WELL, MS. NOLAN, FIRST, THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHARLES, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT ONE OF THE THINGS I'M MOST PROUD OF OF THIS BOARD IS THAT IN A LEGACY, I REALLY FEEL LIKE WE'RE LEAVING BEHIND. 
          IT'S A REALLY STRONG EVALUATION, BOTH PROCESS AND DOCUMENT THAT NOT ONLY ALLOWS THE CONVERSATION OF HOW DR. 
          HUTCHINGS AND A SUPERINTENDENT IS DOING, BUT ALSO JUST THE DIVISION AS A WHOLE. 
          AND IT'S ALSO BEING ALLOWED TO BE A TOOL USED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT TO THEN WORK WITH THE STAFF. AND ALSO IT'S LIKE A JOINT COMMUNICATION OPPORTUNITY TO OUTLINE PRIORITIES. 
          AND WHAT DO WE WANT TO FOCUS ON IN AND HOW ARE WE DOING AS A DIVISION? BECAUSE REALLY, IT'S NOT JUST EVALUATING DR. 
          HUTCHINGS OR ANY SUPERINTENDENT, IT'S REALLY MORE ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE HOW THE DIVISION IS DOING AS A WHOLE. 
          AND SO I'M JUST REALLY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN PUT INTO THIS, BOTH AT THE COMMITTEE, WHICH ORIGINALLY WAS MS. ALDERTON, MR. SUAREZ AND MYSELF. 
          THAT WAS LATER THEN WITH MS. ANDERSON JOINING THE COMMITTEE AS WELL. 
          SO I JUST WANT TO THANK NOT ONLY THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, BUT ALSO JUST THE ENTIRE BOARD FOR JUST EMBRACING THE PROCESS AND THE HARD WORK THAT WAS DONE. 
          AGAIN, I CAN'T I CAN'T REITERATE HOW MUCH I THINK OF THIS BOARD AND JUST THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE, I THINK, THE LEGACY TOOLS THAT WE'RE LEAVING BEHIND. 
          SO WITH THAT STATED, THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR THAT IT CAME TO FRUITION. 
          SO ALL I'M SHARING TONIGHT IS THAT THERE IS ORIGINAL TOOL AND THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT A COMMITTEE REPRESENTING THE BOARD THEN UPDATES EVERY SINGLE YEAR IN PARTNERSHIP. AND THAT'S THE OTHER THING THAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT THIS TOOL IS IT'S A TRUE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE SCHOOL BOARD AND THE SUPERINTENDENT. 
          SO DR. HUTCHINGS WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THE CREATION OF THE TOOL AS WELL. 
          AND THEN ALSO, WE HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE OF HAVING DR. 
          QUIET AND DR. 
          PAGE ALSO PARTICIPATING IN THAT PROCESS AS WELL. 
          SO IT'S A REALLY ROBUST TOOL THAT HAS A LOT OF FEEDBACK INVOLVED IN IT, AND IT CAN BE USED, LIKE I SAID, FOR THE DIVISION. 
          SO WITH THAT SAID, THE SUPERINTENDENT IS EVALUATED ANNUALLY IN THE EVALUATION PROCESS, INCLUDES A GOAL SETTING CONFERENCE, WHICH IS WHAT I JUST DESCRIBED WITH BOTH STAFF, SCHOOL LEADERS, EXCUSE ME, STAFF LEADERSHIP, DR. 
          HUTCHINGS AND THE BOARD. 
          AND THEN WE UPDATED ACCORDING TO WHAT IS THE NEED FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR? AND THEN THE OTHER THING I WANT TO SAY AS WELL IS THAT IT'S REALLY VERY HEAVILY ALIGNED WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN, AND DATA IS USED TO CREATE THE TOOLS. 
          SO AGAIN, JUST REALLY NOT TO BORROW A PHRASE THAT WE'RE SO FORTUNATE OUR CHAIR CONSTANTLY REMINDS US, BUT THE STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE THAT OUTLINES OUR GOALS AND PRIORITIES, THE BUDGETS ALIGNED WITH THAT. 
          AND SO THIS IS JUST ANOTHER TOOL THAT'S REALLY PROVIDING US WITH THE STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT THAT HAS BEEN A HUGE PRIORITY FOR THE SCHOOL. 
          SO WITH THAT, AND YOU CAN SEE IT'S ATTACHED TO SVP, THE ACTUAL DOCUMENT ITSELF, WHICH I WILL NOT REVIEW AS EVERYONE CAN HAVE ACCESS TO IT. 
          THE LAST THING I WILL SAY IS THIS IS ALSO VERY HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON THE GUIDANCE THAT WE'RE PROVIDED BY A STATE. 
          AND SO THE SBA REALLY ALSO DICTATES LIKE WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA THAT'S NEEDED TO OVERSEE A SUPERINTENDENT? AND THEN WE GET TO LOOK AT THE DIVISION SPECIFICALLY AS TO LIKE WHAT OUR GOALS ARE AND WHAT THE FOCUS AREAS WILL BE. 
          SO WITH THAT, I'LL ALLOW FOR ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD. 
          DON'T HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD. 
          ACTUALLY, I'LL MAKE A COMMENT, THEN SORRY, I'M GOING TO MAKE A COMMENT NOW. 
          [01:45:01]
WHAT I WANT TO ADD TO JUST THIS PARTICULAR ITEM AND SHARE IS IT REALLY I'M PROUD OF IT IN THE SENSE THAT, YOU KNOW, AS A BOARD, IT PROVIDES US WITH A SENSE OF FOCUS AND IT IS A SENSE OF RELIEF. 
          I HAVE TO SAY WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR. 
          YOU KNOW, YOUR SUPERINTENDENT KNOWS WHAT TO EXPECT. 
          WE HAVE NO SURPRISES, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE HAS MADE US VERY FUNCTIONAL. 
          AND SO I JUST WANT TO SAY KUDOS TO EVERYBODY FOR THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE TO DEVELOP THIS SYSTEM, DEVELOP THIS PROCESS AND OFTENTIMES. 
          WHEN WE'RE IN THE TRENCHES AND WE'RE IN THE WORK AND THERE'S ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS HAPPENING AROUND US, WE'VE ALWAYS GOT TO PUT OUR EYE BACK ON THE PRIZE AND A TOOL LIKE THIS, A TOOL LIKE OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          ALL OF THESE THINGS HELP US TO STAY GROUNDED AND FOCUS IN THE WORK. 
          SO THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO SAY ABOUT THAT. 
          SO WITH THAT SAID, I WILL NEED A MOTION. 
          SO FOR FOR ALL THE EXCELLENT REASONS, STATED MADAME CHAIR, IT IS MY DISTINCT PLEASURE TO MOVE THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVED THE REVISED SUPERINTENDENT EVALUATION CRITERIA METRICS FOR USE DURING THE TWENTY TWENTY ONE TWENTY TWENTY TO SCHOOL YEAR. 
          I HAVE MS. LORBER WHO SECONDS MS. GENTRY A MOTION. 
          OK. AND SO THE ITEM HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY ADOPTED AND, YOU KNOW, THE WORK HAS ALREADY BEGUN AND BEEN GOING, SO THIS IS JUST OUR STAMP, OUR OFFICIAL STAMP ON IT. 
          SO THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THAT. 
          AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST AS NEW BUSINESS, WE DO HAVE OUR DRAFT TWENTY TWENTY TWO TWENTY 
          [29.	Draft 2022-2023 School Board Meeting Calendar]
TWENTY THREE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING CALENDAR. 
          THE BOARD DOES HAVE TO TAKE ACTION. 
          SO I HOPE EVERYONE HAS GOTTEN A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT, OBVIOUSLY. 
          NOT MUCH TO SAY HERE. 
          MS., DR. 
          RIEF, YEAH, YEAH, THANK YOU. 
          I JUST I WANTED TO ASK YOU A QUESTION WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT THE THE CALENDAR FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS THIS YEAR. 
          WE STARTED EARLY BEFORE LABOR DAY AND OF COURSE, WE'RE DOING THAT AGAIN NEXT YEAR. 
          AND I JUST OUR FIRST BOARD MEETING IS SEPTEMBER 8TH, WHICH IS LIKE SEVERAL WEEKS INTO THE SCHOOL YEAR. SO I'M JUST ONE. 
          I KNOW THIS PAST SCHOOL YEAR I WAS FEELING LIKE WITH THE PANDEMIC AND REOPENING THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL TO HAVE AN EARLIER MEETING. 
          SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF PUT THAT IDEA OUT THERE AND SEE WHAT OTHERS THINK IF BECAUSE THE GENERAL ACADEMIC CALENDAR YEAR IS MOVING UP, IF WE MIGHT THINK ABOUT ADDING AN EARLIER BOARD MEETING TO GET AN UPDATE ON REOPENING. 
          ALL RIGHT, SO I'LL TAKE RESPONSES FROM THE BOARD OR NOT. 
          IT'S MS. THORNTON. NO, I TOTALLY AGREE. 
          I THINK BEGINNING THIS SCHOOL YEAR, IT DEFINITELY SEEMED LIKE IT WAS JUST TOO LONG BEFORE WE MET WHEN THE SCHOOL YEAR HAD STARTED. 
          I THINK ESPECIALLY IN THE COVID RECOVERY PERIOD, WHICH WE ARE STILL IN, LET'S SAY, A RECOVERY PERIOD. 
          I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT MEETING PRETTY MUCH AS CLOSELY ALIGNED TO WHEN SCHOOL STARTS AS POSSIBLE. 
          SO I KNOW THIS WILL REQUIRE LIKE A LOT OF MANEUVERING JUST TO MOVE ONE DATE. 
          BUT TO THE DEGREE THAT WE CAN DO THAT, I THINK WE SHOULD. 
          ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, MS. GREENE, NOT THAT I WANT TO ADD ANY MORE MEETINGS, BUT IT'S IT'S GOING TO BE NECESSARY. 
          I THINK THAT WE DO SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO THE START OF SCHOOL, SO I WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF THAT. MS. LORBER MR.. 
          IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME RIGHT, WE DID. 
          WE HAD A MEETING AUGUST 10TH. 
          WE DID HAVE A SUMMER MEETING WELL BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED, AND I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT SPECIAL CALLED. 
          I SEE. OKAY, BECAUSE I AND ALL PREVIOUS YEARS, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT I HAD TO GET BACK BY A CERTAIN TIME. YOU KNOW, EARLY IN AUGUST, I WOULD SAY TO MY HUSBAND, I GOT TO BE BACK BECAUSE I KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE. 
          WE'RE GOING TO BE MEETING. SO PERHAPS MAKING IT OFFICIAL AS OPPOSED TO SPECIAL CALL. 
          I MEAN, I AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUES. 
          IT FELT RIGHT TO BE HAVING THOSE MEETINGS EARLY IN AUGUST. 
          MS. GENTRY. I'LL JUST ADD THAT, YOU KNOW, WE THIS IS A DISTINCTION THAT THAT IS NOT ALWAYS 
          [01:50:06]
SUPER CLEAR FOR FOR THE LARGER COMMUNITY, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MEETINGS THAT HAVE SOME VERY SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS AROUND THEM THAT THERE HAS TO BE A, YOU KNOW, A POSTING BY A CERTAIN DATE AND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. 
          YOU KNOW, THERE'S A CERTAIN STRUCTURE THAT HAS TO HAPPEN. 
          BUT WHAT I THINK I'M HEARING FROM MY COLLEAGUES IS IS IT'S MORE KIND OF A BIG INFO DUMP KIND OF MOMENT. 
          AND A LOT OF TIMES WHAT WE'RE USING FOR THOSE, THAT'S WHAT WE WORK. 
          SESSIONS ARE SO, SO MAYBE IT'S NOT THAT THIS PARTICULAR DOCUMENT ACTUALLY NEEDS A NEW OR DIFFERENT DATE, BUT IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT OUR CONTINUOUS BODY THAT YOU GUYS NEXT YEAR WILL HAVE TO COLLECTIVELY COMMIT TO THE IDEA OF A, YOU KNOW, SOME KIND OF, YOU KNOW, RETURN TO SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WORK SESSION KIND OF THING. 
          THAT'S REALLY, I THINK WHEN I THINK WHAT'S WHAT'S WHAT WILL BE MOST HELPFUL IS, AGAIN, THEIR REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS, THEY HAVE CONSENT CALENDAR, THEY HAVE THESE OTHER THINGS. BUT BUT I THINK WHAT I'M HEARING THE HUNGER FOR IS SOMETHING VERY, VERY SPECIFIC, TARGETED KIND OF PIECE OF INFORMATION. 
          SO I JUST THROW THAT OUT THAT THAT'S MAYBE MAYBE THE WORK SESSION IDEAS. 
          ONE THING FOR FOR YOU ALL TO CONSIDER TALKING ABOUT WITH THE NEW MEMBERS. 
          DR. HUTCHINGS, I WAS ALSO JUST GOING TO ADD THAT I THINK IT MAY BE IMPORTANT FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER DOING BECAUSE I KNOW THE RETREATS ARE ALSO ANOTHER WAY FOR US TO PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION. 
          AND TYPICALLY THAT'S IN AUGUST WITH OUR BOARD FACILITATOR, OR WE SAID WE WERE GOING TO SCHEDULE IT LAST YEAR AND ALL THIS. 
          BUT I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER TIME AS WELL, WHERE WE COULD NOT ONLY KIND OF LIKE KIND OF DO A RESET FOR THE YEAR WITH THE BOARD FACILITATOR, BUT ALSO IT COULD MAYBE BE A RETREAT SLASH WORK SESSION WHERE WE'RE ALSO INTRODUCING INFORMATION TO THE BOARD THAT RELATES TO KIND OF OUR TWENTY TWENTY ONE TWENTY TWENTY TWO DATA BECAUSE TYPICALLY WE HAVE THAT DATA. 
          IT'S NOT UNTIL THE END OF AUGUST, THOUGH, SO THE DIFFICULT PIECE IS IT REALLY JUST DEPENDS ON WHEN SOME OF THE DATA COMES IN FROM THE STATE. 
          AND YOU KNOW, THINGS HAVE JUST BEEN CHOPPY BECAUSE OF COVID OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, AND HOPEFULLY IT'LL GET BETTER NEXT YEAR. 
          WE'LL HAVE, YOU KNOW, SPECIFIC AND DEFINITIVE DATES, BUT I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE. 
          SO IT'S NOT SO EARLY THAT WE'RE JUST TALKING LIKE I'M TALKING RIGHT NOW AND SAYING THERE MAY BE DATA ON X, Y AND Z, RIGHT? SO THAT THE BOARD CAN ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING TO DIGEST PRIOR TO THE FIRST MEETING IN SEPTEMBER. SO THAT'S JUST MY TIDBITS, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE DATES ARE QUITE YET, BUT WE TYPICALLY HAVE A TIME. 
          WE HAVE A LOT OF OUR DATA BY THE END OF AUGUST, TYPICALLY ENOUGH DATA TO SHARE TO HAVE AN ACTUAL WORK SESSION OR A DISCUSSION OF ROBUST DISCUSSION AND A REACTION FROM THE BOARD. 
          DR RIEF, YEAH, THANKS FOR SHARING THAT, DR HUTCHINGS, AND I GUESS WHAT I WAS THINKING, I KNOW GOING INTO THIS YEAR AND THIS YEAR WAS OBVIOUSLY VERY UNIQUE BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, BUT JUST WANTING TO UNDERSTAND LIKE HOW WE WERE COMMUNICATING WITH FAMILIES GOING INTO THE NEW YEAR, LIKE WHAT TO EXPECT ABOUT SOME OF THE PROTOCOLS THAT MIGHT BE CHANGING. ANOTHER THING THAT I KNOW HAS COME UP IS LIKE SKYPE PROJECTS AND BUILDINGS, AND ARE THEY READY FOR THE SCHOOLS TO REOPEN? SO JUST KIND OF AN UPDATE ON HOW THE THE THE PLANNING FOR REOPENING IS GOING AND THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO FLAG OR DISCUSS ANY ISSUES THAT MIGHT BE COMING UP. 
          THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I WAS THINKING. 
          I THINK THE BOARD BRIEFS ARE HELPFUL WITH THAT. 
          AND THE REASON WHY I'M SAYING THIS IS BECAUSE JULY AND AUGUST IS THE BUSY TIME FOR STAFF, SO IT IS GOING TO BE, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO OPEN SCHOOLS, ESPECIALLY THIS PAST YEAR WHEN WE WERE GOING INTO THE FIVE DAYS. 
          AND I THINK IT IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND BECAUSE WE DO HAVE SPECIFIC DATA SESSIONS THAT WE'RE DOING TO PREPARE FOR THE UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR AS WELL. I ALSO THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO CONSIDER IT FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER WHEN WE DO OUR LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE. 
          THIS PAST YEAR, WE DID INVITE BOARD MEMBERS THANK YOU ALL FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS WHO WERE ABLE TO JOIN US. I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD WEAR. 
          BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD ATTEND BECAUSE THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR BOARD MEMBERS TO REALLY BE ENGAGED AND TO DIG A LITTLE DEEPER IN REGARDS TO OUR DATA AND TO ACTUALLY SEE OUR INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERS, AS WELL AS OUR CENTRAL OFFICE ADMINISTRATORS WORKING COLLABORATIVELY TO SET THE STAGE FOR THE YEAR AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IN REGARDS TO THE AREAS OF FOCUS. 
          AND IF WE CAN DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO INCORPORATE THAT, WE'VE NOW STRUCTURED IT. 
          SO IT'S JUST ONE DAY. 
          IT USED TO BE THREE DAYS IN THE PAST, BUT NOW WE'VE GOTTEN IT DOWN TO ONE DAY AND THEN WE DO SOME OTHER BREAKOUT THINGS ON THE OTHER DAYS BACK IN THEIR SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
          [01:55:03]
I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF BOARD MEMBERS COULD ATTEND THAT BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO GET THE BEST. I BELIEVE THE BEST INFORMATION BECAUSE IT IS ROBUST AND YOU ACTUALLY CAN BE ENGAGED IN THESE DISCUSSIONS. 
          IT IS A FULL DAY, HOWEVER, AND I KNOW ALL BOARD MEMBERS CANNOT DO A FULL DAY. 
          BUT I THINK EVEN IF THEY JUST CAME TO THE DATA COMPONENT IN PRESENTATION, IT WOULD BE BEYOND WHAT WE DO AT AT A BOARD MEETING BECAUSE WE JUST DON'T HAVE ALL OF OUR INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF, YOU KNOW, A PART OF OUR BOARD MEETINGS, JUST THE LEADS ARE THERE. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT MAYBE THE BOARD COULD CONSIDER. 
          WE HAVE THOSE DATES ALWAYS SET. 
          I BELIEVE WE'RE WORKING ON A DATE RIGHT NOW. 
          SO WE TYPICALLY KNOW AT LEAST SIX MONTHS IN ADVANCE OF WHAT THOSE DATES ARE THAT WE CAN SHARE WITH BOARD MEMBERS. 
          SO IT'S NOT A LAST MINUTE ASK SO THAT IF THEY AREN'T ABLE TO MAKE, AT LEAST WE'LL KNOW IN ADVANCE AND WE CAN PROVIDE THEM WITH SOME TYPE OF MINUTES OR SOMETHING FROM THE MEETING. 
          OK, SO I'M GOING TO CHIME IN IN THINKING ABOUT AUGUST. 
          ONE OF MY CONCERNS ABOUT ALL THIS IS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF MEETINGS HAPPENING IN ALL THIS. THERE ARE A LOT OF THE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE. 
          THERE'S THE BACK TO SCHOOL TRAININGS THAT ARE HAPPENING FOR NEW TEACHERS. 
          YOU KNOW, THEN THERE'S OBVIOUSLY REGULAR TEACHERS COMING BACK AND THEN ALL OF THAT, THEIR STAFF ARE PARTICIPATING IN ALL THOSE MEETINGS. 
          AND I ALSO WANT TO CONSIDER MAYBE I FEEL LIKE, ESPECIALLY LAST AUGUST, WE ENDED UP HAVING TO HAVE SPECIAL CALLED MEETINGS BECAUSE THINGS WERE JUST POPPING UP. 
          BECAUSE IN A LOT OF WAYS, AUGUST WAS JUST UNPREDICTABLE. 
          YOU KNOW, WE WERE DEALING WITH VACCINES AND WE WERE DEALING WITH. 
          I DON'T KNOW ALL THINGS COVID, BUT. 
          I'M WONDERING IF, YOU KNOW, THE COMPROMISE COULD BE THAT IF WE SET THIS CALENDAR, OUR CALENDAR WE SET AT SCHOOL BOARD MEETING CALENDAR WITH OUR CALENDAR IS NEVER REALLY SET IN TERMS OF LIKE IF WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER FOR SOMETHING, WE CAN ALWAYS CALL THAT SPECIAL CALL MEETING. I THINK WE NEED TO USE THE RETREAT WISELY BECAUSE WE WILL RETREAT AND. 
          THE RETREATS ARE LIKE WORK SESSIONS, WE COULD ALWAYS GET IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT WORK SESSIONS THAT THE PUBLIC CAN. 
          AND TUNE IN TO. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, I PERSONALLY WOULD PROPOSE THAT WE ADOPT THIS CALENDAR KNOWING THAT WE'RE GOING TO KEEP OUR HAVE OUR EYES OPEN IN AUGUST FOR ADDITIONAL THINGS AND BEING VERY CLEAR AND CONCISE ABOUT WHAT WE PUT INTO THOSE MEETINGS THAT WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SO THAT WE GET THE INFORMATION THAT DR. 
          RIEF IS IS TALKING ABOUT INTO THOSE MEETINGS. 
          MR. SUAREZ. I LIKE THE IDEA ABOUT THE RETREAT, I THINK THE RETREATS ARE A VERY VALUABLE TOOL IN AUGUST. AND I UNDERSTAND THE CONCERNS ABOUT IMPINGING TOO MUCH ON STAFF DURING AUGUST, SO THAT ALL MAKES SENSE FROM MY PERSPECTIVE. 
          I DID JUST WANT TO NOTE THIS IS MOSTLY FOR THE CLERK THAT ON THE LIST, THE DOCUMENT THAT LISTS THE DATES JUNE ONE AND JUNE 15TH, THE VERY BOTTOM SAY TWENTY TWENTY TWO. 
          THEY SHOULD SAY TWENTY TWENTY THREE. 
          SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS CORRECTED ON THE ON THE DOCUMENT. 
          IT. 
          SEASONALLY, SO IF YOU MAKE THOSE CORRECTIONS, WE'RE GOING TO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE A A MOTION. OH, IT'S JUST INFO. 
          I'M SORRY. YES, IT IS. 
          SO WE CAN FIX THAT BY THE ORG MEETING. 
          OK. AND OBVIOUSLY, YEAH. 
          OK, SO WE'LL JUST FIX THAT BY THE BOARD MEETING AND IF ANYTHING COMES UP BETWEEN NOW AND THEN. ARE YOU SMILING, DR HUTCHINGS? YEAH, HE'S LUCKY. 
          I'M ALMOST DONE. 
          OK. ALL RIGHT. 
          [02:00:04]
I'M GOING OVER THERE AS WELL. 
          OK, SO THANK YOU. 
          I DO APPRECIATE THAT INPUT, THOUGH. 
          I REALLY DO. THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          SO THAT SAID, IT IS TIME FOR THE CHAIR'S REPORT. 
          [30.	Report from Meagan L. Alderton]
SO WE HAVE A BOARD INDUCTION. 
          JANUARY 4TH AT 6:30 P.M.. 
          HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE IN THE AUDIENCE. 
          WE WILL SEE ONE OF THEM THERE. 
          YOU BET. MR. CHRISTOPHER HARRIS. 
          AND YOU BETTER BE ON TIME. 
          WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE SOME OUTGOING BOARD MEMBERS. 
          THIS IS PROBABLY THE NOT SO HAPPY PART IN THE MEETING. 
          AND ONE OF WHOM COULD NOT BE WITH US, BUT I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE MS. CINDY ANDERSON, WHO SERVED ON THIS BOARD FOR SIX GLORIOUS YEARS FROM TWENTY SIXTEEN TO TWENTY TWENTY TWO. 
          SHE WILL BE MISSED AND I WILL PUBLICLY JUST THANK CINDY FOR HER SERVICE. 
          SHE CHAIRED THE BOARD DURING SOME VERY DIFFICULT, DIFFICULT TIMES AND SHE DID IT WITH GRACE. AND CALMNESS. 
          AND IT WAS MUCH APPRECIATED ON THIS BOARD, SO THANK YOU, MISS ANDERSON. 
          WE HAVE HERE NEXT TO ME, I HAVE MS. RAMEE GENTRY. 
          YOU'LL SEE IT ON MS. GENTRY NOW STAND UP MR. GENTRY. ALL RIGHT. 
          YEAH. MS. GENTRY. 
          RAMEE ALSO HAD THE PLEASURE OF SERVING ON THIS BOARD FOR SIX GLORIOUS YEARS, AND WE'D ALWAYS USE THE WORD GLORIOUS. 
          AND SHE ALSO CHAIRED THIS BOARD, SO THANK YOU RAMEE FOR YOUR SERVICE. 
          I'M GOING TO MISS HER DESIRE FOR PROCESS. 
          MAYBE RAMEE IS ALL ABOUT THE PROCESS. 
          YOU CANNOT GO OFF PROCESS WITH MS. GENTRY. SO THANK YOU. 
          MS. GENTRY. DID YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING? MS. GENTRY. I HAVE WEIRDLY THOUGHT ABOUT THIS MOMENT FOR A LONG TIME, AND NOW I FIND MYSELF. BUT WHAT I ULTIMATELY CAME DOWN TO IS, IS IT'S JUST SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO ACTUALLY SAY ANYTHING THAT CAN REALLY ENCAPSULATE WHAT WHAT THE LAST SIX YEARS HAVE MEANT TO ME. AND I REALLY JUST THINK THE PARTING THING THAT I WANT TO EXPRESS IS MY REAL, REAL THANKS TO THE PEOPLE THAT I'M LOOKING AT IN THIS ROOM THAT I HAVE GOTTEN TO KNOW TO THE MANY PEOPLE THAT THEY DON'T GET TO BE HERE LIKE YOU GUYS, YOU GET TO NOW, DON'T HAVE TO BE AT THESE MEETINGS. BUT MY GOODNESS, THE STAFF, YOU ARE SUCH AN INSPIRATION FOR ME. 
          I TRULY FEEL LIKE IT HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE HONOR TO TO GET TO KNOW, TO GET TO KNOW ALL OF YOU. IT HITS THE VERY, VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE THAT I HAVE GOTTEN TO MEET THAT I WOULDN'T HAVE OTHERWISE. 
          THE STAFF, THE PARENTS, THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, THE KIDS, IT'S IT'S JUST REALLY INCREDIBLE. 
          I DON'T THINK IT'S REALLY HIT ME YET, WHICH IS PROBABLY GOOD BECAUSE I'D PROBABLY BE A BIG MESS RIGHT NOW. SO THANK YOU ALL. 
          SO, SO, SO MUCH. 
          YOU'VE GIVEN ME MORE THAN I COULD EVER GIVE TO YOU. 
          SO THANK YOU. OUR NEXT PERSON TO BE RECOGNIZED IS MS. MARGARET LORBER, WHO WAS ALSO ELECTED IN 2016. 
          AND I'M GOING TO TELL EVERYONE THAT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, I SECRETLY LOVE TO CALL HER MAGGIE, BUT I LIKE TO BE CALLED MAGGIE, AND SHE LIKES TO BE BECAUSE SHE DOES LIKE TO BE CALLED MAGGIE BY ME, BY ME OVER, YOU KNOW, SO WELL AS THE OLDEST MEMBER OF THE SCHOOL BOARD. NOT, OH YEAH, I DID THAT. 
          NOT ONLY DID I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF SERVING SIX YEARS ON THE SCHOOL BOARD, I ALSO HAD THE PLEASURE OF SERVING NINE YEARS AS A STAFF PERSON IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
          [02:05:01]
AND I STILL REMEMBER THAT FIRST, THOSE FIRST MONTHS OF BEING AN EMPLOYEE, I WOULD WEAR MY BADGE. I REMEMBER DISTINCTLY WALKING THE HALLS OF GIANT GROCERY STORE WITH MY ACPS BADGE. 
          I WAS SO PROUD TO BE AN EMPLOYEE IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, AND I HAVE TO SAY DURING THOSE NINE YEARS, MY PRIDE WENT DOWN BECAUSE THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE COMPLICATED PLACES, AND SOME YEARS I FELT MORE PROUD THAN OTHER YEARS AND SOME YEARS I WAS MORE WORRIED. 
          SO AT THE END, WHEN I DECIDED THE NEXT, THE PERFECT SEGWAY TO RETIREMENT FROM NINE YEARS OF HARD WORK IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WOULD BE TO JOIN THE SCHOOL BOARD. 
          AND ONCE AGAIN, I FELT REALLY PROUD AND LUCKY TO GET THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY, AND MOST OF ALL, I AGREE WITH. 
          I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE, THE STAFF FOR PUTTING UP WITH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR CRAZY IDEAS AND THE PARENTS WHO, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYBODY ALL THE TIME, BUT IT TRULY IS A LABOR OF LOVE. 
          I MEAN, NOT ONLY THAT, I WORK HERE SINCE 2006. 
          IN 1988, I BEGAN MY RELATIONSHIP WITH ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS A PARENT AND AS AN INVOLVED PARENT. 
          AND SO IT'S REALLY BEEN AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY. 
          AND WHILE I MAY HAVE SOUNDED THE OTHER NIGHT, WE HAD TO GET TOGETHER WITH INCOMING BOARD MEMBERS, AND I THINK I MAY HAVE SOUNDED LESS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH ON THE BOARD AND WHAT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH AS THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
          I THINK WHEN YOU'VE GOT PASSION AND SPIRIT AND WHEN YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT THE KIDS IN THE COMMUNITY, THE THINGS HAPPEN. 
          AND I THINK WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF THINGS HAPPEN. 
          AND I KNOW THIS NEXT BOARD IS I'M ENVIOUS, THOUGH, READY TO TAKE SOME TIME OFF, BUT I AM ENVIOUS BECAUSE I THINK WE HAVE SOME WONDERFUL NEW VISIONS IN FRONT OF US. 
          AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE SOME VERY POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS IN TERMS OF STRENGTHENING ALL OF OUR CURRICULUM ARE LOOKING AT SYSTEMIC RACISM. 
          I JUST THINK IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY EXCITING TIME AND WE WILL GET THROUGH WITH COVID. 
          AND AND I REMAIN VERY HAPPY AND AVAILABLE TO MY COLLEAGUES WHO WILL BE STAYING ON THE BOARD ANY TIME SOON. 
          I WOULD LOVE TO. 
          HAVE MY BRAIN PICKED JUST ANY OLD TIME? AND MY CLOSING WORDS WOULD BE WHEN MY DAUGHTER WON THE LOTTERY FOR KINDERGARTEN FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN AT MOREE, WHEN THAT WAS A REAL PRECIOUS THING. 
          I FELT OBLIGED TO DO SOMETHING AND I DECIDED, OKAY, WELL, I'LL DO THE GIFT WRAP FUNDRAISER, OK? AND THE REAL REASON I DID IT WAS BECAUSE THE PERSON BEFORE ME HAD GOTTEN THIS BIG BOUQUET OF FLOWERS AT THE END, SO I WAS WAITING FOR THAT. 
          AND IT NEVER HAPPENED. 
          THIS IS THE FIRST FLOWERS I HAVE GOTTEN, SO I WANT TO SAY IT TOOK 15 YEARS, BUT THAT YOU NAILED IT. 
          SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          YOU GUYS NAILED IT. 
          THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OK? AND THAT'S IT. THANK YOU, MARGARET. 
          I'M GLAD YOU GOT YOUR FLOWERS. 
          ALL RIGHT. NEXT UP, WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE MS. VERONICA NOLAN, THE CRAZIEST BOARD MEMBER OF US ALL. 
          BUT SHE IS SMART AS A WHIP. 
          SHE IS FIERY. 
          SHE IS FEISTY AND SHE DOESN'T PLAY. 
          SO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS. 
          MS. NOLAN. USUALLY I'M SO DEMURE. 
          HOW COULD I POSSIBLY HAVE ANY WORDS? THANK YOU FOR THAT KIND WORDS. 
          ACTUALLY, I REALLY APPRECIATE. THAT'S A VERY FAIR DESCRIPTION. 
          SO YEAH, I JUST WENT, I'M NOT GOING TO PULL ON THE BOARD MEETING. 
          I KNOW WE ALL HAVE THINGS TO BE DOING, BUT I JUST THERE'S JUST A RARE MOMENT IN LIFE WHEN YOU GET TO REFLECT RIGHT AND HAVE LIKE, THIS IS A LIFE MOMENT FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US, RIGHT? AND JUST LIKE IT'S BEEN A LONG THREE YEARS TOGETHER, AND FOR THOSE OF US THAT HAVE BEEN SIX YEARS. SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST A SINCERE THANKS AND JUST TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO SHARE SOME GRATITUDE AND THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN IT'S IT'S A HARD POSITION SOMETIMES TO BE IN AS A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, RIGHT? IT'S JUST LIKE YOU'RE FIGURING OUT THE ROLE. 
          SOMETIMES THERE'S A LACK OF AWARENESS ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN OVERSEE AND DO, AND YOU WANT TO MAKE THE CHANGE AND YOU SEE WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AND YOU WANT TO MAKE IT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. SO I JUST WANT TO APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, THE HARD WORK THAT THIS BOARD DID AND THE CHALLENGING TIMES WE DID IT IN. 
          AND I ALSO JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT A SPECIAL COMMUNITY WE LIVE IN AND A SPECIAL SCHOOL DIVISION. SO IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'D LOVE TO JUST TAKE A FEW MOMENTS JUST TO SHARE SOME GRATITUDE. AND I WANT TO BEGIN WITH. 
          FIRST, BY THANKING DR. 
          HUTCHINGS, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOUR TIRELESS COMMITMENT AND HOW YOU KNOW WHAT A TRUE PARTNER YOU'VE BEEN TO THIS BOARD. 
          AND JUST LIKE ALLOWING US TO SERVE YOU AND WORK ALONGSIDE YOU HAS BEEN JUST A TRUE GIFT. 
          [02:10:03]
AND I JUST ESPECIALLY NOTE THAT YOU'VE WORKED SO HARD AND THERE'S SO MANY THINGS THAT YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED, BUT ESPECIALLY WANT TO JUST NOTE THAT FOCUS AND EMPHASIS ON RACIAL EQUITY WITHIN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND JUST HOW I THOUGHT THAT WAS MUCH NEEDED AND APPRECIATED AND JUST SOMETHING THAT REALLY IS LIKE THE NORTH STAR OF OUR SCHOOL DIVISION. 
          AND I JUST WANT TO SAY IT WAS A REAL HONOR TO BE A PART OF THAT AND A SMALL PART OF IT. 
          BUT JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR COMMITMENT AND TIRELESS COMMITMENT TO ACPS DURING A PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING TIME. 
          I ALSO JUST WANT TO NOTE THAT FOR THOSE OF US WHO'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD FOR SIX YEARS, THAT WE ALSO HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE OF WORKING WITH DR. 
          BERLIN AND DR. CROWLEY SAID, I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AS WELL. 
          AND I JUST WANT TO REALLY TALK FOR A MOMENT ABOUT THIS BOARD AND JUST HOW GRATEFUL I AM AND A TRUE HONOR IT WAS TO SERVE WITH THIS BOARD. 
          YOU KNOW, WE I FEEL LIKE THIS BOARD IN PARTICULAR REALLY SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE EFFICIENCY. THE TRANSPARENCY OF OUR OPERATIONS REALLY FOCUSED ON HAVING A STRONG, POSITIVE CULTURE THAT I THINK PERSONALLY TRICKLES DOWN THROUGHOUT ACPS. 
          AND THEN THERE WAS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT FOCUS AND INCREASE ON THE USE OF DATA AND ALIGNMENT IN TERMS OF BOTH THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE BUDGET. 
          AND I THINK THAT REALLY WHAT I ALSO JUST APPRECIATE ABOUT SERVING WITH THIS BOARD AND DR. 
          HUTCHINGS AS WELL IS THE FOCUS IS ALWAYS ON THE STUDENTS AND THAT THAT'S WHERE THE REASON WE'RE HERE AND THAT THERE'S JUST SINCERITY ABOUT IT, RIGHT? AND THAT'S JUST SUCH A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH. 
          AND I ALSO JUST THINK IT HAS TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH COVID AS A SCHOOL BOARD. IT'S I MEAN, IT WAS LIKE IT WAS SCARY AT TIMES. 
          IT WAS EXHAUSTING AT ALL TIMES AND THERE WAS NO PLAYBOOK. 
          AND BUT THE FOCUS WAS ALWAYS ON THE STUDENTS AND THE STAFF. 
          AND SO I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY ABOUT IT. 
          YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT IS WHAT IT IS, AND I FELT REALLY FORTUNATE TO WORK WITH THIS BOARD DURING THAT TIME AND AND HOW WE JUST KEPT OURSELVES IN A SITUATION WHERE FOCUSED ON THE WORK, THE TRUST AND THE STAFF AND BEING DOING THE BEST THAT WE COULD. I ALSO JUST WANT TO GIVE A SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO CINDY RAMEE AND MEAGAN FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP AS BOARD CHAIRS AND JUST SHARE ESPECIALLY HOW THANKFUL I AM TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR THE THREE OF YOU. 
          STILES WAS ALL TRANSPARENT AND IT WAS ALL STUDENT FOCUSED, AND IT WAS ALL ABOUT BEING EFFICIENT. AND JUST ALSO YOU LET US EACH OF YOU THROUGH SOME REALLY TOUGH TIMES AS A BOARD, AND YOU DID SO WITH JUST INTEGRITY AND STUDENT FOCUSED. 
          AND I JUST THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED BECAUSE THE BOARD CHAIR REALLY HELPED SET. 
          A TONE AND HELPS SHEPHERD US THROUGH SOME REALLY TOUGH TIMES. 
          I ALSO JUST WANT TO THANK THOSE THAT DIRECTLY SUPPORTED THE BOARD, ESPECIALLY OUR BOARD CLERKS AND OUR DIRECTOR OF POLICY, AND ALSO JUST WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO A RETREAT FACILITATOR WHO I THINK REALLY HELPED CONTRIBUTE TO OUR EFFICIENCY. 
          AND I JUST WANT TO THANK THE COMMUNITY. 
          WE HAVE JUST, I THINK, A REALLY SPECIAL COMMUNITY. 
          AND THERE'S THIS. WE AS A SCHOOL BOARD ARE A PART OF IT, BUT THERE'S JUST SO MANY PARENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT WORK TIRELESSLY ON BEHALF OF OUR STUDENTS THAT IT WAS A REAL TEAM EFFORT. AND SO I JUST WANT TO THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM FOR ALL OF THEIR HARD WORK. AND I ESPECIALLY WANT TO THANK THE STAFF. 
          I THINK RAMEE SAID IT BEST AND THAT IT WAS EXCEPTIONALLY HUMBLING TO WORK ALONGSIDE SUCH AN EXCEPTIONAL STAFF. AND I DO MEAN EVERYONE LIKE EVERY SINGLE. 
          I DON'T EVEN WANT TO GO THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT ROLES AS AN ACPS BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY, BUT EACH ONE IS CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF OUR STUDENTS. 
          AND I ALSO WANT TO SAY A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO. 
          THERE'S ALSO JUST RETIRED ACPS STAFF THAT STILL REMAIN ENGAGED AND EAA AND JUST THERE'S JUST SO MANY SPECIAL FACETS OF THE STAFF, AND I JUST THINK THEY'RE THE ONES DOING THE DAY TO DAY WORK. AND AS A BOARD, OUR GOAL SHOULD ALWAYS BE TO SUPPORT THEM AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN GET THEIR JOBS DONE. 
          SO JUST A SPECIAL SPECIAL THANKS TO STAFF AND INCLUDING STAFF. 
          I JUST ALSO WANT TO THANK CITY STAFF AND NONPROFIT PARTNERS THAT WE HAVE HERE. 
          WE WERE SO FORTUNATE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD JUST AN OPPORTUNITY LIKE DR. 
          CRAWFORD AND DR. GADDY REALLY SHEPHERDING US THROUGH AND SHOWING THAT PARTNERSHIP. 
          AND THERE'S SO MANY CITY STAFF AND NONPROFIT PARTNERS THAT SUPPORT OUR WORK TO SERVE THE STUDENTS AND A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT. 
          I'D LIKE TO SAY TO CITY MANAGER MARK JENKS AND MAYOR JUSTIN WILSON BECAUSE I FELT ALL SIX YEARS THAT THEY REALLY HAD STUDENTS AT THE FOREFRONT WHEN MAKING SOME TOUGH DECISIONS. 
          SPECIAL SHOUT, I HAVE TO SAY TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT WERE REALLY SUPPORTIVE, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, TO ALL OF US. 
          SEE RAMEE SHAKING HER HEAD. YES, AND I WILL JUST SAY DITTO TO LIKE, YOU KNOW, THOSE THAT SPOKE. BUT YOU KNOW, WE HAD ALL OF US HAD THE CAMPAIGN AND THERE WERE SOME A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT STOOD BY US DURING THOSE TOUGH TIMES AS WELL AS FAMILY I'LL NEVER FORGET. 
          GOD BLESS MY MOTHER DID A LOT OF BABYSITTING, AND I'LL NEVER FORGET THE FIRST TIME I CAME HOME LATE FROM A SCHOOL BOARD MEETING. 
          AND SHE'S LIKE, MOTHER MARY, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY LIKE, LIKE IT HAS BEEN OVER, YOU KNOW? AND THAT'S, BY THE WAY, WITH A REALLY THICK NEW YORK CITY ACCENT, IS WHAT SHE'S SAYING. 
          YOU KNOW, SO. AND THEN ALSO, I THINK I JUST WANT TO THANK MY HUSBAND AND SON, AND I THINK MY SON NOW HAS AN AVERSION TO THE PHRASE, OH, DO YOU HAVE A MINUTE? 
          [02:15:02]
I THINK I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES YOU SPENT THE POOR KIDS BEEN IN PUBLIC. 
          AND AND IT'S ALWAYS THE PHRASE, OH OH, BECAUSE THAT YOU DO HAVE A MINUTE. 
          AND MY SON HAD TO PATIENTLY BE LIKE, AND HERE IT GOES, YOU KNOW? BUT I WILL SAY, IF I THINK, YOU KNOW, I'M SITTING NEXT TO ONE OF MY TEACHING COLLEAGUES TO MS. ALDERTON, I THINK YOU WOULD AGREE THAT AND SO MANY OF US EDUCATORS, IT'S LIKE THERE'S SO MANY THINGS KIDS SOAK IN BY WHAT THEY SEE VERSUS WHAT THEY HEAR. 
          AND SO I'M SO PROUD THAT MY SON UNDERSTANDS THAT SERVICE TO YOUR COMMUNITY IS IMPORTANT AND ASK ABOUT HOW SPECIAL ALEXANDRIA IS. 
          I DEFINITELY KNEW HE WAS ABSORBING ALL OF THESE LESSONS LEARNED WHEN IN THE FIRST GRADE, HE STARTED DEMANDING OF ME. 
          WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THE SWING SPACE FOR DOUGLAS MACARTHUR? AND SO I WAS LIKE, WOW, SOMEONE IS REALLY I'M HAVING TO ANSWER TO A FIRST GRADE CHILD RIGHT NOW ABOUT WHAT IS GOING TO GO ON WITH THAT. 
          YOU KNOW, AND SO HE DEFINITELY ABSORBED A LOT OF LESSONS LEARNED. 
          SO I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND THEN MOST OF ALL, OBVIOUSLY, I JUST WANT TO THANK THE STUDENTS. 
          YOU KNOW, IT IS NOT JUST A TAGLINE, BUT TRULY THE DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH OF THIS SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND YOU PERSONALLY, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THE STUDENTS ARE THE REASON I DID IT AND YOU REALLY MADE EVERYTHING WORTHWHILE. 
          AND HONESTLY, YOU TAUGHT ME SO, SO MUCH THAT I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO DOVE INTO ALL THE LESSONS I'VE LEARNED. 
          BUT I JUST WILL, LEAVING HERE TONIGHT WITH A FOREVER APPRECIATION OF ACPS OUR COMMUNITY AND MOST OF ALL, OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF FOR ALL THEIR HARD WORK AND JUST KNOW IT WAS A GENUINE HONOR TO SERVE YOU IN SUCH A UNIQUE WAY. 
          AND I JUST THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY. 
          SO JUST WANTED TO LEAVE WITH THAT. 
          THANK YOU, MISS NOLAN. 
          OK, WE'VE GOT TWO MORE TO RECOGNIZE, AND WE'RE GOING TO START WITH MS. HEATHER THORNTON, WHO WAS ELECTED IN 2019, AND SHE IS THE QUIET FORCE SHE WENT. SHE DOESN'T HAVE MUCH TO SAY, BUT WHEN SHE SAID SOMETHING, IT IS MEANINGFUL AND IT NEEDS TO BE DONE. SO THANK YOU, MISS THORNTON, AND YOU HAVE ANY WORDS YOU WANT TO SAY, WOW, THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          AND YES, YOU'RE RIGHT. IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE SAW ME KIND OF COME OUT OF NOWHERE WHEN I DECIDED TO RUN FOR SCHOOL BOARD AND WAS SAYING, HEY, I WANT TO SERVE MY COMMUNITY IN SOME WAY, AND I THINK EDUCATION IS WHERE IT STARTS. 
          AND I JUST WANT TO THANK THE COMMUNITY, A LOT OF THE PEOPLE SAY. 
          IN THIS AUDIENCE WHO MET WITH ME AT THE VERY BEGINNING AND OF COURSE, DR. 
          HUTCHINGS AND MY FELLOW SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND ALL THE STAFF WHO REALLY JUST GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN HOW I COULD BEST CONTRIBUTE TO ACPS. 
          AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S A HUGE LEARNING CURVE FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN IN EDUCATION FOR FOREVER. 
          BEING ON THE SCHOOL BOARD IS DIFFERENT AND FIGURING OUT YOUR PLACE ON THE SCHOOL BOARD AND HOW YOU CAN BEST CONTRIBUTE IS SOMETHING THAT TAKES TIME. 
          AND I JUST REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYONE FOR LETTING ME LEARN FROM YOUR STRENGTHS, REALLY, BECAUSE I CAN DEFINITELY SAY ON THIS BOARD, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US BRINGS SOMETHING DIFFERENT. AND, YOU KNOW, VERONICA LIKES TO JOKE SOMETIMES THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU ELECT A SCHOOL BOARD, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO GET. 
          AND NONE OF US NECESSARILY COME IN WITH SPECIFIC SKILL SETS THAT WE'RE SELECTED FOR. 
          BUT I REALLY CAN SAY THAT WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE ON THIS BOARD WHERE EACH OF US BRINGS SOMETHING VERY, VERY DIFFERENT. 
          AND WE ALL RELIED ON EACH OTHER AT DIFFERENT TIMES. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE SOME ROUGH MOMENTS, BUT I CAN DEFINITELY SAY THAT WE PUT IN THE WORK TO BE A FUNCTIONING DYNAMIC SCHOOL BOARD. 
          AND WHETHER OR NOT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES PEOPLE RECOGNIZE THAT IN THE PUBLIC, WE BEHIND THE SCENES REALLY MADE IT A POINT TO TO RESPECT EACH OTHER AND REALLY WORK THROUGH SOME REALLY TOUGH ISSUES. 
          AND THERE WERE A LOT OF TOUGH ISSUES ON THIS TERM, BUT WE GOT THROUGH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM INTACT. 
          AND ONCE WE MADE A DECISION, WE, YOU KNOW, UNITED BEHIND THAT DECISION AND MOVE FORWARD. 
          AND I THINK THAT IS JUST SUCH AN IMPORTANT MODEL OF GOVERNANCE THAT I KNOW THIS BOARD WILL CARRY ON MOVING FORWARD. 
          AND I'M REALLY PROUD THAT THAT IS THE PANDEMIC BOARD'S LEGACY. 
          SO JUST THANK YOU FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY. 
          AND YOU KNOW, THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD HAVE MADE THIS NIGHT MORE SPECIAL IS IF WE HAD SOME STUDENTS WITH SOME RECORDERS AND VIOLINS BECAUSE I MISSED SEEING THE STUDENTS. 
          AND I THINK THAT WAS JUST SUCH A GREAT REMINDER OF WHY WE DO THE WORK THAT WE DO. 
          BUT YOU KNOW, I'M DEFINITELY GOING TO MISS THIS WORK MS. THE SCHOOL BOARD, BUT I WILL DEFINITELY JUST FOREVER THINK OF THIS AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST HONORS OF MY LIFE. 
          SO I JUST AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT'S NEXT FOR ACPS BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE ALL GREAT THINGS. 
          SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. THORNTON. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE HAVE CHRISTOPHER SUAREZ, AND HE IS A MAN OF MANY WORDS. HIS 
          [02:20:02]
QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT THREE OR FOUR PRONG. 
          BUT WE YOU KNOW, CHRIS, WHEN HE WHEN HE FIRST CAME ON, IT WAS VERY CLEAR THAT HIS ROLE WAS HE WAS THE SYNTHESIZER. 
          RIGHT? SO EVERYBODY WOULD SPEAK OR HAVE INPUT. 
          AND THEN CHRIS WOULD TAKE ALL OF IT AND HE'D WRAP IT ALL IN ONE BIG, NICE BOW. 
          AND IT WAS THE SUM OF EVERYBODY'S THOUGHTS. 
          AND THAT'S A PRETTY PHENOMENAL SKILL. 
          SO, CHRIS, WISH YOU COULD STAY. 
          HEATHER, WISH YOU COULD WISH EVERYBODY COULD STAY, REALLY? BUT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING? SURE. OF COURSE. 
          YEAH, I ONLY HAVE AN HOUR OF WORK, SO. 
          NO, WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT, MADAM CHAIR, AND AND I JUST I DID WANT TO SAY A FEW THINGS AND, YOU KNOW, TO GIVE SOME THANKS AS MY COLLEAGUES HAVE FIRST TO THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, I'M EXTREMELY GRATEFUL TO THE COMMUNITY FOR JUST GIVING ME THE PRIVILEGE TO SERVE OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS. 
          AND SO I'D LIKE TO JUST THANK THE COMMUNITY FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY. 
          I'VE BEEN TRULY GRATEFUL FOR IT, AND I HOPE THAT YOU HAVE FELT THAT I'VE SERVED YOU WELL AND HAVE CARRIED THROUGH SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I CAMPAIGNED ON, AND I JUST GREATLY APPRECIATE THE COMMUNITY FOR FOR ALL OF THAT. 
          AND I ALSO JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I APPRECIATE THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OF THIS BOARD THROUGH THREE YEARS. YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN A VERY TUMULTUOUS TIME FOR SCHOOL BOARDS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, YOU KNOW, AND A LOT OF THAT IS PRETTY CLOSE TO HERE GOING ON. 
          AND YOU KNOW, AND WITH SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS BEING RECALLED AND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS FACING A LOT OF CRITICISM AND AND LOOK, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY IS TOUGH AND OUR COMMUNITY ASKS TOUGH QUESTIONS AND IS WILLING TO RAISE CONCERNS. 
          THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT, BUT I DO FEEL LIKE OUR COMMUNITY PUT A VERY SOLID TRUST IN US THROUGH OUR THREE YEARS AND REALLY ALLOWED US TO LEAD ALLOWED US TO GOVERN AGAIN, NOT WITHOUT CRITICISM AT TIMES, BUT I FELT LIKE OUR COMMUNITY WAS RESPECTFUL AND ALLOWED US TO DO OUR WORK AND GET THINGS DONE, WHICH THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY. 
          I THINK DURING THIS MOMENT IN TIME IN THE WORLD. 
          SO I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT PEACE, BECAUSE NOT ALL COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN CIVIL EVEN OR RESPECTFUL IN THE SAME WAY OF OF SCHOOL BOARDS. 
          AND TO BE CLEAR, I BELIEVE IN FREE SPEECH. 
          I BELIEVE IN, YOU KNOW, RIGOROUS DISSENT AND PROTEST AND THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          BUT I JUST I JUST FEEL LIKE OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN TOUGH WHEN THEY NEED TO BE, BUT ALSO CIVIL. AND I THINK THAT IS IMPORTANT AND IN ANYTHING SO. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE COMMUNITY. 
          I'D LIKE TO THANK THE STAFF FOR INDULGING MY 20 QUESTIONS. 
          AND AND AND I KNOW SOMETIMES I ASKED TOUGH QUESTIONS ON THE DAIS, BUT PLEASE KNOW THAT THE STAFF. I DO TRULY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU DO. 
          HAVING BEEN IN EDUCATION MYSELF TO LIKE WORKING IN THE TRENCHES IN EDUCATION IS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT. 
          IT'S OFTEN THANKLESS AND SO, SO GRATEFUL TO ALL THE WORK YOU DO TO KEEP THE TRAINS RUNNING IN THE DIVISION. 
          AND OBVIOUSLY THAT INCLUDES YOU, DR. 
          HUTCHINGS, ALL THE LEADERSHIP YOU'VE PROVIDED OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS. 
          AND THIS HAS BEEN A TUMULTUOUS TIME. 
          BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT YOUR VISION AND THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR, I THINK REALLY ARE GOING TO LAY A TREMENDOUS FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE. THE DIVISION AND I THINK COVID CERTAINLY HAD IMPACTS ON THAT AT TIMES IN TERMS OF OUR ABILITY TO REALLY DRIVE THAT VISION THE WAY WE WANT IT TO OVER THESE THREE YEARS. 
          BUT WITH THINGS LIKE THE SUPERINTENDENT EVALUATION TOOL, WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WITH THINGS LIKE THE EQUITY POLICY AUDIT, WITH THE SORT OF NORMS WE'VE ESTABLISHED THROUGH BOARD FACILITATIONS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT OTHER BOARD MEMBERS HAVE MENTIONED. 
          I REALLY DO FEEL LIKE WE HAVE LAID GROUNDWORK FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE WITH THIS BOARD AND AND THAT I THINK IS REALLY EXCITING. 
          YOU KNOW, GOVERNANCE IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S SEXY TO ALWAYS TALK ABOUT, BUT I THINK IT IS A FUNDAMENTAL LEGACY OF THIS BOARD THAT I HOPE WILL CONTINUE ON WITH THE FOLLOWING BOARD. 
          BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THESE GOOD GOVERNANCE TAKES TIME AND LAYING THAT FOUNDATION ISN'T GOING TO GET MEDIA COVERAGE OR, YOU KNOW, ATTENTION, BUT IT IS SO FUNDAMENTAL TO THE LONG TERM TRAJECTORY AND SUCCESS OF THE VISION FOR THOSE THINGS TO BE DONE WITH FIDELITY. 
          [02:25:03]
AND SO I'M REALLY PROUD OF ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES FOR BEING ALIGNED ON THAT. 
          NO ONE EVER SAID LIKE, OH, NOW WE SHOULDN'T HAVE HAVE THESE SORTS OF GOVERNANCE, OR NO, WE SHOULDN'T HAVE A FACILITATION. 
          LIKE, EVERYONE ALWAYS STAYED THE COURSE AND WE NEED TO GOVERN EFFECTIVELY. 
          AND WE NEED TO BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES, DO SELF EVALUATIONS AND CRITIQUE OURSELVES AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE AREN'T PERFECT AND THERE ARE THINGS THAT ALWAYS NEED TO IMPROVE. SO I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT REFLECTIVE NATURE OF THE SPORT, YOU KNOW, OF MY OF MY COLLEAGUES. I'D BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T THINK MY FAMILY, ESPECIALLY MY WIFE, SOPHIA, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF LATE NIGHTS ON THIS BOARD A LOT OF TIME AWAY FROM FAMILY. 
          AND SO I'M JUST GRATEFUL. 
          TONIGHT, FAMILY FOR ITS SUPPORT, INCLUDING MY PARENTS, YOU KNOW, AND AND IN-LAWS AND EVERYONE, BECAUSE IT REALLY DOES. 
          ANYONE WHO SERVED IN THIS BOARD AND DR. 
          HUTCHINGS WOULD ALSO ATTEST SITTING AT THESE BOARD MEETINGS, IT REALLY IS A FAMILY AFFAIR. WHEN YOU SIT UP ON THIS DAIS, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF THE TIME AND DEDICATION IT TAKES, SO I TRULY AM GRATEFUL TO THEM FOR ALLOWING ME TO HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO TO SERVE THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. 
          AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO THANK ALL MY COLLEAGUES, ALL OF YOU, AS MISS THORNTON SAID, ALL OF YOU HAVE SOMETHING VALUABLE THAT YOU'VE BROUGHT TO THIS BOARD PERSPECTIVES THAT YOU'VE ADDED THAT ARE USEFUL AND INSIGHTFUL FOR ALL OF US. 
          AND THAT'S A REFLECTION OF THIS DIVISION. 
          THE DIVERSITY IS THE DIVISION STRENGTH AND AND TO THE EXTENT WE CAN MODEL THE VALUE OF THAT DIVERSITY, BOTH THROUGH THIS BOARD AND SUBSEQUENT BOARD DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT, DIVERSITY OF BACKGROUND, PERSPECTIVE AND SO FORTH. 
          I THINK THAT'S THAT'S A VALUABLE ASSET FOR THE BOARD. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT THE FUTURE BRINGS FOR ACPS. 
          I HOPE I AM PRIVILEGED AND I'M GRATEFUL TO HAVE PLAYED A SMALL PART IN THAT. 
          IN TERMS OF MY SERVICE ON THIS BOARD, AND JUST THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE IN ACPS AND IN THE COMMUNITY FOR THE PRIVILEGE TO SERVE. 
          THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHRIS. 
          AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE OTHER NAIL IN THE COFFIN. 
          MS. JENNIFER Z.Z, CAN YOU PLEASE COME ON THE SCREEN? OH, SHE IN THE BACK? WHERE ARE YOU? JENNIFER, YOU'RE HERE. JENNIFER, COME UP HERE. 
          COME UP HERE RIGHT NOW. 
          JENNIFER, SHE'S CONFUSED BECAUSE IT'S ONLY 9:00 TO 5:00, AND SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHY WE'RE CALLING HER UP THIS EARLY IN THE EVENING, JENNIFER. 
          SO MS. AZAZI, SO I GUESS TECHNICALLY THE BOARD HAS THREE EMPLOYEES AND MS. ABRUZZI IS ONE OF THEM, AND SHE IS. 
          I MEAN, I CAN'T EVEN. 
          TELL YOU HOW MUCH SHE DOES. 
          THE LEVEL OF WORK THAT SHE DOES, THE LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT SHE HAS WITH ALL OF THE STAFF, THE PRINCIPALS, DR HUTCHINGS OR CLERKS. 
          HE HOLDS IT DOWN AND SHE HOLDS A LOT DOWN. 
          THIS IS A REALLY BIG LOSS FOR US. 
          I'M NOT SURE THAT YOUR LOSS THAT I CAN'T SAY, OH, YOU KNOW, WE'LL FIND SOMEONE ELSE BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WILL HAVE TO. 
          BUT YOUR INVOLVEMENT, YOUR COMMITMENT, YOUR EXCITEMENT ABOUT WHAT WE DO AND WHAT WE'RE DOING, I'M NOT SURE THERE'S A GUARANTEE THAT THAT'LL BE REPLICATED. 
          SO I JUST REALLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOU. 
          I REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU. 
          I WANT YOU TO KNOW WE'RE GOING TO MISS YOU. 
          WE MIGHT BE CALLING YOU. 
          YEAH. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY ABOUT THIS ONE, BUT. 
          BUT MS. GENTRY SEYMOUR, I'M SURE IF MS. ANDERSON WAS HERE, SHE WOULD ALSO FEEL COMPELLED TO SPEAK. 
          IT IS. I MEAN, EVERYONE ON THE BOARD, I THINK REALIZES YOU KNOW HOW HOW CRUCIAL MS. 
          [02:30:02]
ABRUZZI HAS BEEN TO OUR SUCCESS. 
          BUT IF YOU WERE IN THE TIER POSITION AND PARTICULARLY IF MAYBE YOU'RE NEWLY ON THE BOARD, NEWLY IN THE CHAIR POSITION AND ARE NOW GOING TO DO REDISTRICTING FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE DIVISION HAS DONE IT IN. 
          TOO LONG, IT BECOMES A UNIQUE BONDING OPPORTUNITY. 
          HUDDLED ON THE FLOOR WITH A LOT OF ROLLED UP PAPERS IN YOUR OFFICE, SO BUT I WOULDN'T, I WOULDN'T I WOULDN'T TRADE A MINUTE OF IT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH, JENNIFER. 
          AND I'M GOING TO MISS YOU REMINDED ME ALWAYS TO DO YOUR TIME. 
          SHE'S ALWAYS SAID, I PUT IN MY I PUT IN MY EXECUTIVE, I'M NOT GOING TO PROVE SO. 
          YEAH, SUSAN, SUSAN'S GOT GOING TO HAND YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT. SO WE GOT A LOT OF CHANGE COMING. 
          DR. HUTCHINGS GOING TO GO AHEAD AND LET YOU DO YOUR REPORT. 
          [31.	Report from Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr.]
WELL, I'M GOING TO JUST SECOND, EVERYTHING THAT YOU ALL SAID AND I'VE SAID IT TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO YOU ALL PERSONALLY AS WELL AS AS A GROUP AT OUR RETREAT. 
          JUST LAST WEEK THAT IT IS TRULY BEEN AN HONOR FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH THIS BOARD. 
          I TRULY BELIEVE THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HIGH FUNCTIONING TEAMS, THIS IS THE EXAMPLE. 
          IT TRULY IS THE EXAMPLE. 
          AND IT WASN'T LIKE IT STARTED THAT WAY, RIGHT? IT DIDN'T START OFF THAT WAY. 
          BUT IT SHOWS THAT WITH HARD WORK, EFFORT, DEDICATION, COLLABORATION, RESPECT, PROFESSIONALISM THAT YOU ACTUALLY CAN BECOME HIGH FUNCTIONING WITH 10 PEOPLE. 
          I LOVE THE FACT THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS SAY WE'RE A TEAM, INCLUDING THE SUPERINTENDENT, RIGHT? AND I THINK THAT IS AN EXEMPLAR, I BELIEVE, FOR SCHOOL DIVISIONS ACROSS THIS COUNTRY. THIS IS HOW YOU GET WORK DONE BY FUNCTIONING THIS WAY. 
          SO JUST THANK YOU ALL AND I HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY. 
          THIS IS MY NINTH YEAR AS A SUPERINTENDENT. 
          I'VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT OF DIFFERENT BOARDS. 
          I HAVE TO SAY, AND I KNOW SOME OTHER BOARDS ARE GOING TO GET UPSET WITH ME. 
          THIS WAS THE BEST BOARD THAT I'VE WORKED WITH. 
          NOT NO OTHER BOARD CAN SAY THAT THEY'VE GONE THROUGH A PANDEMIC WITH ME, RIGHT? SO THIS WAS PROBABLY THE MOST CHALLENGING TIME THAT ANY OF US HAVE EVER IMAGINED. 
          AND WE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO STAY AFLOAT IF WE WERE TO SINK THE WHOLE ENTIRE SCHOOL DIVISION WOULD HAVE SUNK WITH US. 
          AND THAT MEANS WE WOULD HAVE FAILED OUR KIDS. 
          AND I JUST APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT THE ENTIRE TIME I HAVE HAD THE SUPPORT, THE PUSH, YOU KNOW, AS WELL AS THE GUIDANCE FROM THE BOARD. 
          I HAVE NEVER FELT ALONE. 
          NEVER. AND I CANNOT SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERY SUPERINTENDENT HAS FELT LIKE THAT OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS. THAT'S WHY THERE'S NO SUPERINTENDENTS OUT HERE LOOKING FOR A JOB, RIGHT? THEY DON'T WANT TO GO INTO THIS PROFESSION. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, IF EVERYBODY GOT THE EXPERIENCES THAT I HAVE HAD OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, I THINK THEY WOULD CONSIDER STAYING AROUND FOR A LITTLE LONGER. 
          RIGHT. BECAUSE I HAVE HAD THE SUPPORT. 
          SO I JUST PERSONALLY WANTED TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR DEDICATION, OUR STAFF. 
          THEY ALSO APPRECIATE YOU. 
          THEY KNOW EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. 
          THEY KNOW ALL YOUR QUIRKS. 
          YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, AND ALL THE THINGS YOU LIKE DAY TO DAY TO DAY TO DOWN THERE. 
          I SEE YOU. CHRIS MR. SUAREZ AND MS. THORNTON. 
          YOU KNOW, AND EVERYBODY'S, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT. 
          JUST ISMS, RIGHT? WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT, AND WE VALUE THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE ALL HAVE AS A TEAM. 
          SO JUST THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT. 
          I'M GOING TO MISS YOU. 
          BUT I KNOW THAT YOU'RE A PHONE CALL AWAY AND I KNOW EVERYBODY'S ADDRESS, SO I WILL COME AND KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR IF YOU DON'T ANSWER. 
          I WILL DO THAT. SO I'VE DONE IT ALREADY BEFORE ONE TIME COME TO ALL YOUR HOMES. 
          SO I WILL DO THAT IF I NEED TO. 
          BUT I JUST WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY SAY, THANK YOU. 
          I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF ANNOUNCEMENTS TO. 
          ONE IS IN REGARDS TO I MEAN, RIGHT NOW WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH A LOT WITH OUR SAFETY AND SECURITY, RIGHT? I MEAN, JUST I DID A VIDEO JUST RECENTLY TO OUR STUDENTS. 
          IT'S GOING TO BE POSTED TOMORROW SO FAMILIES CAN ACTUALLY VIEW THE VIDEO AS WELL. 
          AND WE DID A VIDEO LAST WEEK. 
          WE'VE BEEN DOING NEWSLETTERS AND INFORMATION, AND WE ALL HAVE TO REALIZE THAT WHAT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE AS WELL AS ADULTS ARE GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW, IT IS TRAUMA. 
          IT IS EVERYBODY IS IN A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE. 
          THIS IS NOTHING WE CAN PREPARE FOR, RIGHT? AND IT KIND OF. 
          I GUESS THE ONLY WORD THAT COMES TO MIND, IT IRRITATES ME WHEN I HEAR PEOPLE SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE AN EDUCATOR, SO YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO JUST DEAL WITH IT AND SUCK IT UP AND GET IT DONE RIGHT. AND I'M THINKING, YEAH, WE'RE EDUCATORS AND WE CAN'T DEAL WITH IT. 
          [02:35:01]
SUCK IT UP, PIVOT AND ALL THOSE THINGS. 
          BUT WE'RE ALSO IN THE PANDEMIC, TOO. 
          AND OUR STAFF HAVE BEEN THROUGH. 
          I CAN'T EVEN USE THE TERM RIGHT NOW, BUT THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS. AND THEN YOU ADD OUR STUDENTS TO THAT. 
          THAT'S WHY WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THESE BEHAVIORS MANIFEST IN OUR CLASSROOMS. THE THE RESOLUTION FOR SOME OF THE INFRACTIONS AND THINGS THAT ARE OCCURRING RIGHT NOW WAS NOT TO PUNISH KIDS AND TO PUT THEM IN JAIL AND TO HANDCUFF THEM AND ALL THESE OTHER THINGS. THAT'S NOT THE SOLUTION. 
          AND SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT'S WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING. 
          SOME PEOPLE REALLY THINK WE SHOULD BE THREATENING OUR KIDS, RIGHT? AND I SAY, WELL, HAVE WE LOOKED AT SOME OF THESE ADULTS IN THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW? BECAUSE THIS WAY THEY'RE ACTING IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, TOO, AND THEY'RE OLD ENOUGH AND NO BETTER AND SHOULD KNOW BETTER. 
          RIGHT. BUT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH TRAUMA, TOO. 
          I WENT ON A TANGENT RIGHT THERE. I JUST WANT TO GET THAT LITTLE JAB IN THERE. 
          BUT WHAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, FOR US IN REGARDS TO OUR SAFETY AND SECURITY IS TO JUST TALK THROUGH KIND OF WHAT WE ARE DOING, AND WE DIDN'T WAIT FOR ALL THESE THINGS TO HAPPEN TO START COMING UP WITH SOLUTIONS. 
          I WANTED TO KIND OF GIVE THE BOARD JUST A QUICK RUN THROUGH AND ALSO GIVE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING AS WE MOVE FORWARD. 
          ONE, I WANT TO JUST BRING US BACK TO THREE YEARS AGO WHEN WE WERE HAVING THE CONVERSATION AROUND MAKING SURE WE HAVE PROTOCOLS IN PLACE FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY. 
          WE NEEDED TO HAVE A CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN IN PLACE. 
          WE WERE HAVING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT DRILLS AND HOW THEY NEEDED TO HAPPEN ROUTINELY WITHIN OUR SCHOOLS. WE HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SROS, WE HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ESSOS, THE SECURITY IN OUR BUILDING AND HOW DO WE PROVIDE THE APPROPRIATE CHAIN. 
          AND SO WE ENHANCED OUR TRAINING PRACTICES WITH THAT. 
          WE ALSO BEGAN TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS AROUND WHAT IS OUR CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. 
          WE DIDN'T JUST ALL OF A SUDDEN COME UP WITH THAT, BUT WE HAVE MADE IT MORE ROBUST AND WE CONTINUE TO REFINE IT AS WE ARE MATRICULATING THROUGH THROUGH THE YEARS. 
          AND THEN RIGHT NOW, WE THIS YEAR WE HAVE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF SECURITY OFFICERS THAT WE DO HAVE IN OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 
          WE HAVE PROPOSED THAT TO THE BOARD BACK IN JUNE. 
          THOSE POSITIONS NOW ARE FILLED. 
          THANKFULLY, YOU KNOW, SO WE DO HAVE ADDITIONAL SECURITY OFFICERS WITHIN WITHIN OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS. DO WE STILL HAVE WORK TO DO? ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. 
          AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO REALIZE THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE A QUICK FIX FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE OCCURRING TODAY, RIGHT? BUT WE CAN HAVE CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT AND WE CAN IMPLEMENT NEW INITIATIVES AND WE CAN PROVIDE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TRAINING TO TRY TO, YOU KNOW, PUT SOME MITIGATIONS IN PLACE FOR WHAT'S HAPPENING. 
          BUT THERE IS NO SOLUTION, NO ONE SOLUTION THAT'S GOING TO SOLVE ALL OF OUR ISSUES. 
          ONE THING THAT WE ARE GOING TO TO BEGIN TO DO AND I WANT TO SHARE KIND OF LIKE WHERE WE'RE GOING IN THE FUTURE, WE'RE LOOKING AT STARTING A SCHOOL. 
          LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERSHIP TASK FORCE ALSO IS THE ACRONYM. 
          I KNOW EVERYBODY'S SICK OF ACRONYMS. I'M SORRY. SLEEP RIGHT? I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SAY IT. 
          SLEEP OK, SO SLEEP AND SLEEP. 
          I KNOW I SLEPT JUST SOUNDED. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW. 
          I DIDN'T LIKE IT. BUT SLEEP RIGHT, WHICH IS THE SCHOOL LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERSHIP TASK FORCE, AND IT'S BEING FORMED TO HELP US TO REALLY REIMAGINE WHAT OUR COLLABORATION LOOKS LIKE WITH THE ALEXANDRIA POLICE DEPARTMENT AND ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, RIGHT? WE INTENTIONALLY DIDN'T SAY SROS, RIGHT? IT CAN LOOK AT A VERY DIFFERENT WAY. 
          LET'S REIMAGINE WHAT WE'RE DOING. 
          LET'S TAKE THE LESSONS THAT WE'VE LEARNED JUST OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, AS WELL AS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, AND BEGIN TO RETHINK. 
          WELL, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS? THE PURPOSE OF THIS TASK FORCE IS TO REALLY PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO HOW TO BETTER UTILIZE THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ACPS AND APD TO BEST SERVE OUR STUDENTS ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS. 
          IT WILL BE COMPRISED OF 10 MEMBERS, AND THE THOSE MEMBERS WILL INCLUDE, OF COURSE, A BOARD MEMBER AS WELL AS THE BOARD CHAIR. 
          IT WILL INCLUDE THE SUPERINTENDENT. 
          IT WILL INCLUDE A PARENT REPRESENTATIVE BECAUSE WE NEED TO HAVE A PARENT, REPRESENTATIVE, CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE ON THIS, AS WELL AS A CLASSROOM TEACHER, REPRESENTATIVE AND A LAW ENFORCEMENT REPRESENTATIVE AND A SECURITY OFFICER REPRESENTATIVE. 
          SO WE ARE LOOKING FOR INDIVIDUALS ARE MAKING SURE THAT THIS TASK FORCE HAVE PEOPLE WITH THE EXPERTIZE AND THE BACKGROUND TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A VERY ROBUST THANK YOU CONFERENCE. 
          [02:40:02]
I WAS THINKING IN MY HEAD ROBUST DISCUSSION IN REGARDS TO SAFETY AND SECURITY AND ACPS. 
          THIS ALSO. IS A SUPERINTENDENTS TASK FORCE, BUT WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENTS AND COMMUNITY INPUT IN REGARDS TO THESE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD. WE'RE LOOKING TO ESTABLISH THIS AND WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE IT UP AND RUNNING IN JANUARY IN REGARDS TO THE IDENTIFIED INDIVIDUALS FOR THIS TASK FORCE SO THAT WE CAN HAVE OUR FIRST MEETING PRIOR TO FEBRUARY, FEBRUARY 1ST. 
          IT'S REALLY OUR GOAL RIGHT NOW, BUT THIS IS JUST GIVING YOU ALL AN IDEA. 
          WE FIRST MENTIONED THIS A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO WHEN WE WERE TALKING OR HAVING THE SRO DISCUSSION AND SAYING THAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE SOME FORM OF TASK FORCE JUST TO HELP GUIDE OUR WORK. AND THIS IS A LONG TERM PLAN. 
          THIS ISN'T LIKE A QUICK FIX, ISN'T A SHORT TERM THING. 
          WE BELIEVE THAT THE TASK FORCE SHOULD CONTINUE, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT OUR PROCESS AND NOT JUST AT THE END OF THIS YEAR THAT IT'S OVER. 
          BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO REVISIT EACH YEAR AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE THEY'RE ALWAYS NEW THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN REGARDS TO SAFETY AND SECURITY IN OUR SCHOOLS AS WELL AS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. 
          SO I WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE. 
          ANOTHER UPDATE THAT I JUST WANTED TO TO MENTION IS AND I SAID THIS EARLIER, BUT I THINK WE SHOULD REITERATE IT. 
          WE ARE ABOUT TO GO INTO A TWO WEEK WINTER BREAK. 
          WE CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILIES WHO ARE TRAVELING TO ONE, ENSURE THAT YOUR KIDS ARE VACCINATED. 
          RIGHT, THAT'S THAT'S A KEY TO WEAR YOUR MASK. 
          I KNOW IT'S UNCOMFORTABLE, BUT NOW IT'S JUST LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THEM. 
          YOU'RE LIKE, WHERE'S YOUR, YOU KNOW, LIKE, IT SEEMS LIKE JUST A NORMAL THING NOW TO ALWAYS HAVE YOUR MASK ON. 
          WASH YOUR HANDS. 
          USE THE ANTIBACTERIAL GEL. 
          A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE THE KEYCHAINS AND IN THEIR BACKPACKS AND PURSES AND EVERYTHING ELSE. 
          MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE USING THAT ANTIBACTERIAL GEL. 
          AND IF YOU ARE SICK, STAY HOME AND AWAY FROM PEOPLE. 
          RIGHT. A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE JUST SAY, OH WELL, I HAD, I FELT MY I HAD A LITTLE COLD. 
          BUT WHY SHOW UP AT WORK IF YOU HAVE A LITTLE COLD? BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE HAVE ENDED UP TESTING POSITIVE WHO HAD A LITTLE COLD EARLIER THAT WEEK, RIGHT? OR TOLD PEOPLE I FELT A LITTLE SICK. 
          RIGHT. AND THERE IN THE SCHOOL OR IN THE WORKPLACE. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE JUST HAVE TO MONITOR. 
          AND THEN WHEN YOU RETURN, AS MR. SUAREZ SAID EARLIER TODAY, WE REALLY NEED PEOPLE TO GET TESTED RIGHT IF YOU'RE TRAVELING. 
          IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SAY I'M GOING TO GET TESTED. 
          EVEN IF YOU'RE VACCINATED, YOU SHOULD GET TESTED WHEN YOU RETURN FROM ANY TRIP BECAUSE NOW YOU'RE IN A VERY DIFFERENT ROUTINE. 
          YOU'RE NOT IN YOUR HOME, YOU'RE NOT IN YOUR SPACE, YOU'RE GOING TO A WHOLE DIFFERENT AREA THAT HAS A DIFFERENT HEALTH AND SAFETY MITIGATIONS IN PLACE AND KNOCK ON WOOD. 
          I THINK ALEXANDRIA HAS DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB WITH OUR HEALTH AND SAFETY MITIGATIONS, BUT EVERYBODY'S NOT ALEXANDRIA, SO YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE GETTING TESTED WHEN YOU RETURN. BUT I CAN'T EXPRESS THAT ENOUGH JUST FOR EVERYBODY BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE GOING ON A TWO WEEK BREAK AND THE EVIDENCE FROM OUR THANKSGIVING BREAK. 
          IT SHOWS THERE IS A SPIKE AFTER A BREAK AND OUR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS HAVE BEEN SAYING IT FROM THE BEGINNING. SO IT'S REAL. 
          IT IS NOT A JOKE. 
          BUT I'M GOING TO STOP, I'M GOING TO STOP THERE. 
          I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT I KNOW EARLIER TODAY WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SUPERINTENDENT'S EVALUATION. I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE ACKNOWLEDGE JULIA BURGOS BECAUSE SHE WAS RECENTLY ADDED TO THE TEAM. SHE WASN'T ON IT BEFORE, BUT SHE WAS JUST RECENTLY ADDED CHIEF OF SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS TO REALLY ASSIST WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS COMPONENT AND THE INTERNAL COLLECTION OF THIS DATA. 
          HAVING A PROCESS FOR THAT, AND I JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE HER BECAUSE I KNOW SHE WAS LIKE, YOU DIDN'T MENTION ME, DR. 
          HUTCHINGS. SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I REACHED OUT OR AT LEAST MENTIONED MENTION HER NAME, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER THINGS. 
          I JUST I'M SAD THIS IS OUR LAST MEETING, REALLY, AND I'M GLAD THAT IT'S RECORDED BECAUSE I CAN GO BACK AND LOOK AT IT WHEN I HAVE MY MOMENTS AND BE LIKE, OH, I WISH, I WISH I WAS STILL WORKING WITH THEM. YOU KNOW, ONE DAY WHEN I'M OLD AND GRAY, RIGHT? IT'S NOT GOING TO BE NEXT MONTH. 
          IT'S GOING TO BE ONE DAY WHEN I'M OLD AND GRAY. 
          I'M GREAT, BUT OLD, OLD AND GRAY, NOT JUST GRAY. 
          BUT I AM GOING TO MISS YOU ALL, AND I JUST APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE FOR OUR STUDENTS AND ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE FOR ME IN REGARDS TO SUPPORT. 
          SO THAT CONCLUDES MY UPDATE. 
          THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, DO WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS, MS. 
          [32.	Announcements]
LORBER HAS A QUESTION SINCE. 
          I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE ALLOWED TO ASK THE QUESTION ABOUT THIS NEW TASK YOU'RE PROPOSING. 
          I HAVE A COMMENT. THIS WAY, YOU WON'T MISS ME SO MUCH. 
          ALL RIGHT. I THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE. 
          I WOULD HOPE THERE MIGHT BE MORE THAN 10 PEOPLE ON IT AND MAYBE TWO PARENTS. 
          YOU'VE GOT TO MENTION THAT THERE WILL BE A STUDENT. 
          WE GOT A FLIER ON IT, A COUPLE OF STUDENTS. 
          [02:45:03]
I THINK THE TASK FORCE IS NEEDED. 
          IT'S A GREAT IDEA. I'M GLAD YOU'RE DOING IT, BUT I HOPE, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU WERE SAYING IT'S GOING TO BE AN ONGOING THING BECAUSE WE'RE SUCH A DIVERSE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
          I THINK WE MIGHT EVEN NEED THREE OR FOUR PARENTS. 
          I MEAN, I THINK WE HAVE TO THINK A LOT ABOUT THE COMPOSITION AND MAYBE IT'LL HAVE SUBCOMMITTEES. I KNOW IT'S STILL ON THE DRAWING BOARD, BUT SINCE I'M GOING TO BE OFF THE BOARD AND I'M NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO COMMENT, I WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT THERE. 
          I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THAT WE'RE STILL DOING THE THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER WITH THE BOARD, WHICH ARE FOCUS GROUPS, SURVEYS, ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE STILL GOING TO HAPPEN. IN ADDITION TO THE TASK FORCE. 
          WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT WHEN AND THIS IS THE THIS IS THE ISSUE THAT I HAVE WHEN WE MAKE REALLY LARGE TASK FORCE FORCES IN ACPS WORK DOESN'T GET DONE BECAUSE IT'S TOO MANY PEOPLE. IT'S TOO MANY HANDS, TOO MANY CHEFS IN THE KITCHEN. 
          I AGREE, RIGHT? HOWEVER, WITH THE FOCUS GROUPS, THE PUBLIC COMMENTS, THE SURVEYS THAT ALLOWS FOR US TO EVEN REACH A LARGER GROUP, BUT NOW THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO REACT TO. 
          SO THEY'RE NOT JUST SAYING, I JUST HAVE THIS IDEA AND I WANT YOU TO DO X, THEY'RE NOW REACTING TO THE TASK FORCE'S RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          AND THIS IS HOW YOU CAN MAKE IT LOOK BETTER OR THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT, RIGHT? AND THAT IS GOING TO GIVE US, I BELIEVE, A MORE CONCRETE PLAN ON HOW WE MOVE FORWARD AND STILL ALLOW EVERYBODY TO HAVE THEIR HANDS IN IT, YOU KNOW, IN THE SENSE AND SOME INPUT BECAUSE IT'S HARD TO GIVE EVERYBODY A SEAT AT THE TABLE, BUT IT IS EASIER TO ALLOW EVERYBODY TO HAVE A VOICE, WHICH I THINK IS GOING TO BE KEY. 
          AND THAT IS A KEY POINT THAT I JUST DIDN'T MENTION. 
          SO I'M GLAD YOU DID BRING THAT UP. 
          SO I COULD REMIND EVERYBODY ABOUT THAT MS. LORBER OR MAGGIE, WHICHEVER ONE YOU LIKE. 
          ONLY I CAN CALL HER MAGGIE. 
          ALL RIGHT. WELL, WITH THAT, I WILL NEED A MOTION TO ADJOURN. 
          MADAM CHAIR. I WILL I WILL. 
          SO IN THE PREVIOUS BOARD, SOME PEOPLE JUST VOTED NO BECAUSE THEY JUST DIDN'T WANT IT TO END, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT, MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT WE ADJOURN. 
          ALL RIGHT. I HAVE MS. LORBER WHO SECONDS MS. GENTRY A MOTION. 
          WELL, OK, THAT'S A WRAP. 
          THANK YOU, EVERYONE. WE GIVE.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.