Sep 08, 2022 School Board Meeting

[1. Meeting Called to Order by Chair Alderton]

[00:00:03]

ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE.

NICE ECHO THERE.

WELCOME. SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS.

WELCOME, EVERYONE IN ATTENDANCE, ESPECIALLY OUR STUDENTS.

I SEE YOU OUT THERE. WELCOME TO OUR OUR SCHOOL BOARD OR REP OR STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES.

ALL THREE ON THE DAIS TONIGHT.

WHAT A GREAT TREAT.

ALL RIGHT. AND WELCOME.

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND OUR INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT IN HER FIRST MEETING, DR.

MELANIE K WYATT.

THANK YOU. AND SUSAN, OUR SCHOOL BOARD CLERK.

SO THANK YOU, EVERYONE, FOR BEING HERE.

WE'RE GOING TO GET STARTED WITH OUR SPECIAL CALLED SCHOOL BOARD MEETING FOR SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2022.

ALL RIGHT. WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME, PLEASE INDICATE THAT YOUR PRESENT.

CHAIR, MEGAN ALDERTON.

SHE IS ABSENT TONIGHT.

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER WILLIE BAILEY.

ALL RIGHT. RIGHT ON TIME.

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER KELLY CARMICHAEL BOOS.

BOARD MEMBER L NEWBY IS ABSENT, BUT SHOULD BE ON HIS WAY.

JACINTA GREEN I'M HERE.

BOARD MEMBER HARRIS MISS TAMMY IGNACIO PRESIDENT DR.

MICHELLE RIEF HERE AND DR.

ASHLEE SIMPSON BAIRD HERE.

MAY I PLEASE ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA? MADAM CHAIR, I MOVED TO IT OFF THE AGENDA.

THANK YOU. REMEMBER HARRIS SECONDS.

DR. MICHELLE REESE. MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA.

I WILL CALL FOR THE VOTE.

FOR THE VOTE IN SB TO ADOPT THE AGENDA, PLEASE.

YES.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

WE ALL NOW OBSERVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

[3. Adopt the Agenda for the September 8, 2022 School Board Meeting]

OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

[6. Public Comments]

ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A LETTER FROM P-TECH, WHICH I WOULD ADVISE THE BOARD TO PLEASE READ THAT WAS EMAILED TO US.

WE ALSO HAVE WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM AS DEVIN WELLS, A PARENT.

AND THEN THERE'S A REMINDER, THE LAST SCHOOL BOARD MEETING FOR PROVIDING PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR.

IF YOU WISH TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK OR SUBMIT WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS, PLEASE VISIT THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS PAGE FOR A LINK.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

AT THIS MOMENT, WE WILL HAVE A REPORT BY OUR STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES, EMILY MILTON AND TO RENZO RICKS, FOLLOWED BY THE REPORT BY OUR INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE NAZAR RAHIMI.

PUBLIC COMMENTS. SO I.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

I WAS TOLD TO IGNORE THAT.

LET'S BACK UP JUST A LITTLE BIT.

ALL RIGHT. HOLD TIGHT.

OUTSIDE. IF IT WASN'T WRITTEN IN MY SCRIPT, I DON'T KNOW.

ALL RIGHT, SO WE'RE GOING TO BACK UP AND WE'RE GOING TO START WITH OUR OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS.

ALL RIGHT. AND OUR FIRST PUBLIC COMMENT IS MS..

I'M SORRY IF I PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME WRONG.

HELLO? HELLO.

PERFECT. THANK YOU.

GOOD EVENING, VICE CHAIR, GREEN BOARD MEMBERS AND DR.

KAYE. MY NAME IS ELIJAH BERHANU, AND I'M A 12TH GRADER IN HHC.

AS YOU KNOW, I DO APPRECIATE THE CONCERN AROUND LUNCH AND LEARN AND FINDING A WAY TO WORK AROUND IT IN SUCH A QUICK MANNER.

HOWEVER, I DO BELIEVE THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OUTWEIGH THE NEGATIVE ASPECTS.

THE FIRST THREE PIN POINTS THAT COME TO MIND ARE FRIENDSHIPS, ACADEMIC AND FREEDOM.

[00:05:03]

THE WAY LUNCH ALONE WAS SET UP ALLOWS STUDENTS TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR FRIENDS FOR 74 MINUTES, AND US STUDENTS ENJOYED IT TREMENDOUSLY.

I FELT HAPPY THAT I WAS ALWAYS ABLE TO SEE MY FRIENDS EVERY DAY, AND NOW THAT IT'S BEEN CUT, OUR SOCIAL INTERACTIONS HAS BEEN DECREASED.

AND ONE OF MY CLASSES WE WERE DISCUSSING OUR HIGHS AND LOWS FOR THE WEEK AND ONE STUDENT TALKED ABOUT HOW SHE WASN'T ABLE TO SEE HER FRIENDS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T SHARE THE NEW THE THE NEW LUNCH BLOCK PERIOD WITH HER.

IT'S HARDER WITH THIS POLICY TO SOCIALIZE BECAUSE MANY STUDENTS ARE SEPARATED, LEAVING THEM TO BE ALONE DURING LUNCH.

FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, IT ISN'T EASY AND DOESN'T FEEL GOOD BEING ALONE IN SUCH A PUBLIC AREA.

HOWEVER, HAVING SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO MAKES SCHOOL A POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR EVERYONE.

ALSO, LUNCH ALONE HAS HELPED MANY STUDENTS WITH THEIR ACADEMICS.

PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO COMPLETE WORK AND GO ON TO CLUBS DURING THIS TIME, WHICH REALLY HELPED US WITH TIME MANAGEMENT.

INSTEAD OF GOING AFTER SCHOOL AND STAYING UP ENDLESS NIGHTS, STUDENTS DID MAJORITY OF THEIR ASSIGNMENTS IN CLUBS DURING THE SCHOOL DAY.

I HAVE HEARD FROM MANY STUDENTS THAT THEY FELT VERY PRODUCTIVE DURING SCHOOL BECAUSE LUNCH AND LEARN WAS CANCELED.

IT HAS BEEN VERY DIFFICULT TO WORK AROUND DIFFERENT SCHEDULES.

MANY PEOPLE HAVE JOBS, CLUBS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT THEY HAVE.

AND HAVE OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT THEY HAVE, AND IT'S HARD TO PARTICIPATE IN ALL OF THEM.

FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE FLY FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS OF AMERICA AND PEER ADVOCATES ON WEDNESDAY AND BECAUSE LUNCH WAS CANCELED, I HAVE TO ONLY STICK TO ONE.

ALSO, IT JUST GIVES US FREEDOM.

I UNDERSTAND RESTRICTING SOME AREAS AND BEING AND NOT BEING ABLE TO GO TO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.

AND I TO BE ABLE TO GO TO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AND GOING OUTSIDE, IT WAS JUST A BREATH OF FRESH AIR.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO MY VOICE.

FOR LUNCH AND LEARN. I HOPE THAT YOU TAKE MY THOUGHTS INTO CONSIDERATION AND BRING BACK LUNCH, LEARN OR INCORPORATE ITS ASPECTS IN SOME WAY.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO MY STATEMENT ON LUNCH AND LEARN.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. VERY GOOD JOB.

ALL RIGHT. WELL, YES.

WE LOVE WHEN OUR STUDENTS COME TO SPEAK TO US.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT AS FELICITY.

ONCE AGAIN, FORGIVE ME IF I PRONOUNCE.

OH, WAS RIGHT. OKAY.

NO, I TRIED.

SORRY. HI.

HELLO. BOARD MEMBERS AND VICE-CHAIR GREEN.

MY NAME IS LYNNE LAGARDE AND I AM A SENIOR AT ALEXANDRIA CITY HIGH SCHOOL.

LAST YEAR WE HAD THE HONOR TO BE PRESENTED WITH LUNCH AND LEARN.

AND I WILL BE HONEST, WHEN THEY FIRST TOLD US ABOUT 73 MINUTES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY TO DO ANYTHING, I THOUGHT IT WAS A LIE.

I ACTUALLY EMAILED MR. BALAS BEFORE SCHOOL BEGAN TO ASK HIM IF IT WAS REAL, AND HE IN FACT CONFIRMED I WAS NOT DREAMING AND THAT IT WAS REAL.

SO AFTER ALL THAT EXCITEMENT AND MERRIMENT WE FELT WHEN WE HAD IT, YOU CAN IMAGINE OUR DEVASTATION, FINDING OUT WE DON'T HAVE LUNCH ALONE ANYMORE.

I WANT TO BEGIN BY SAYING IT'S NOT JUST A TIME WHEN WE JUST HANG OUT WITH OUR FRIENDS.

THAT'S NOT THE ONLY REASON WE WANT IT BACK.

LUNCH ALONE WAS BENEFICIAL IN SO MANY WAYS, AND AS A SINGER, I REALIZED HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS.

WE HAD THE CHANCE TO GO TO MANY CLUBS DURING SCHOOL.

WE COULD TALK TO ALL OF OUR TEACHERS AND NOT JUST THE ONES WE HOPED WERE FREE DURING THE LUNCH THAT WE HAD.

BECAUSE NOW THAT IT'S JUST A BLOG, SOME TEACHERS ARE STILL IN CLASS, SO WE CAN'T GO TO THEM.

AND IT'S REALLY SADDENING TO NOT BE ABLE TO GO TO YOUR TEACHER AND ASK FOR HELP.

JANE LYNCH. AND THEN WE COULD ALSO GO TO THE COLLEGE AND CAREER CENTER, WHICH WE CAN'T DO ANYMORE, BECAUSE WITH 30 MINUTES, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO GO TO THE COLLEGE AND CAREER CENTER AND GET WHAT WE NEED FROM THERE.

BECAUSE GOING DOWN FROM CLASS IS A ROAD KILL, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE IT TO LUNCH AND THEN TRYING TO GET LUNCH, WHICH MEANS I WOULD EITHER SACRIFICE LUNCH OR GOING TO THE COLLEGE AND CAREER CENTER.

I KNOW THE WHOLE ISSUE WITH LUNCH ALONE HAS BEEN STRESSFUL FOR EVERYBODY INVOLVED, AND I DON'T WANT TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE WE DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT.

BUT TODAY I ASK THAT YOU LOOK AT THE STUDENTS AND ASK THE STUDENTS WHAT DO THEY WANT? I KNOW IT'S NOT AS EASY AS JUST GIVING US WHAT WE WANT WHEN WE WANT IT, BUT MAY I SAY WE NEED LUNCH AND LEARN.

SO MANY OF US HAVE JOBS AND CAN'T DO AFTERSCHOOL CLUBS OR TALK TO TEACHERS.

I'M ASKING YOU TO RECONSIDER FOR THOSE OF US WHO CAN STAY AFTER SCHOOL EVERY DAY, FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE EXCELLED WITH LUNCH AND LEARN, ACPS IS A PLACE OF LEARNING.

AND I'VE COME FROM AFRICA WHERE STUDENTS WERE NOT THE PRIME PRIORITY IN SCHOOLS.

AND I'VE ALWAYS LOVED HOW ACPS HAS MADE STUDENTS THEIR PRIORITY.

SO ALL OF US AS STUDENTS ARE JUST ASKING FOR YOU TO LISTEN.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

AND OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS ALVES GOMES.

I'M SORRY. OKAY, CHELSEA, WE'RE WOOZY.

FOLLOWED BY. SO SHE LOST HER VOICE, SO I'M GOING TO SPEAK FOR HER.

WONDERFUL. THANK YOU.

OKAY. GOOD EVENING, VICE CHAIR, GREEN BOARD MEMBERS AND DR.

[00:10:01]

HER NAME IS CHELSEA.

WHERE IS SHE? I'M IN 12TH GRADE AT ALEXANDRIA CITY HIGH SCHOOL, AND I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT LUNCH AND LEARN.

LAST YEAR, PRINCIPAL BALLANCE INTRODUCED A NEW SCHEDULE THAT INCLUDED A 75 MINUTE PERIOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY FOR LUNCH AND OTHER SCHOOL RELATED ACTIVITIES.

THIS PROVIDED TIME DURING THE SCHOOL DAY FOR STUDENTS TO TALK TO THEIR FRIENDS, GET SOME FRESH AIR AND MEET WITH THEIR TEACHERS.

FOR ME SPECIFICALLY, I WAS ABLE TO TAKE PART IN MANY CLUBS WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE AWAY FROM MY TIME FOR MY OTHER PRIORITIES.

COMING BACK FROM QUARANTINE AND BEING A JUNIOR EAGER TO BUILD UP MY EXTRACURRICULARS.

I WAS MOST PLEASED TO KNOW I WOULD BE ABLE TO ATTEND MANY CLUBS WITHOUT THEM PUTTING ME AT A DISADVANTAGE TIME WISE.

ANOTHER THING THAT MANY OF MY PEERS AND I LOVED WAS THE LARGE SPRING BREAK IT GAVE US, SPRING BREAK IT GAVE US.

STUDENTS WERE ABLE TO TAKE THEIR TIME WITH THEIR LUNCH, CATCH UP WITH FRIENDS, AND EVEN TAKE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR.

30 MINUTES OF LUNCH IS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO GO ANYWHERE BUT THE CAFETERIA.

IT TAKES 5 MINUTES TO ACTUALLY GET TO THE CAFETERIA.

ANOTHER TEN WAITING IN THE LINE AND ANOTHER TO GETTING TO YOUR DESIRED LOCATION.

THAT IS MORE THAN HALF OF THE LUNCH TIME USED UP BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN GET TO SIT DOWN.

JUNIOR YEAR WAS STRESSFUL DUE TO ALL THE RIGOROUS COURSES, BUT SENIOR YEAR HAS THE ADDITIONAL STRESS OF COLLEGE APPLICATIONS.

HOW WILL I HAVE TIME TO FINISH MY PERSONAL STATEMENT? COMPLETE THE SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS AND TWO OTHER COMING UP QUESTIONS APPLY TO SCHOLARSHIPS AND FILL OUT MY FAST MY FAFSA PROFILE WHILE KEEPING UP WITH CLUBS OUT OF SCHOOL PRIORITIES CHALLENGING CLASSES.

IT'S SIMPLY TOO MUCH FOR ONE PERSON TO HANDLE ALONE.

LUNCH AND LEARN CAN ALLOW ME TO REACH OUT AND GET HELP.

I WOULD BE ABLE TO GO TO THE COLLEGE AND DECIDED TO GET HELP WITH COLLEGE RELATED THINGS.

I COULD GO TO MY TEACHERS FOR EXTRA HELP AND ASSIGNMENTS, OR TALK TO MY COUNSELOR ABOUT HOW OVERWHELMING BEING A SENIOR IS, ALL WHILE HAVING ENOUGH TIME AFTER SCHOOL TO MAKE SURE MY SISTER DOES HER HOMEWORK, MY BROTHER SHOWERS, DO MY ASSIGNMENTS, EAT DINNER AND GO TO SLEEP ON TIME.

LUNCH AND LEARN IS PIVOTAL TO MY SUCCESS AS A STUDENT, SO I ASK THAT YOU GET THE STATS ON HOW KIDS ARE DOING WITHOUT LUNCH AND LEARN HOW THEY ARE DOING EMOTIONALLY AND ACADEMICALLY. SO YOU CAN SEE HOW TAKING AWAY LUNCH LIMIT IS AFFECTING THEM NEGATIVELY AND THAT REINSTATING IT IS AN IMPERATIVE TO THE WELFARE OF STUDENTS.

THANK YOU. WONDERFUL.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHELSEA.

I'M SORRY YOU LOST YOUR VOICE, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THOSE COMMENTS.

ALL RIGHT. CAN I LEAVE GOMEZ, OUR NEXT SPEAKER? NET HERE. NO PROBLEM.

WE'LL MOVE ON. YANNI MARIE SINGER AND YANNI MARIE IS ALSO ONE OF THE EDITORS OF THE THE AGONY.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT, YANNI MARIE.

HI. HI.

MY NAME IS JAN STANGER.

I'M A JUNIOR. YES, I AM ON THE STUDENT LUNCH COMMITTEE, ALTHOUGH AND I'M ABOUT TO SAY IS REPRESENTATIVE OF ONLY MY VIEWS ON THE MATTER.

IT HAS BEEN MADE CLEAR ON VARIOUS LEVELS THAT THE NEED FOR LUNCH AND LEARN HAS BEEN HEARD AND RECEIVED.

HOWEVER, I FEEL THE NEED TO EMPHASIZE A SPECIFIC POINT THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP WITH THIS CONVERSATION.

LET'S DISCUSS THE CONTENTS, CONTEXT AND OPTICS BEHIND THIS DECISION, WHICH I UNDERSTAND WAS NOT MADE AT THE SCHOOL BOARD LEVEL.

I WILL POSE SEVERAL QUESTIONS WHEN WE LOOK AT SAFETY AS A SCHOOL, WHAT DOES SAFETY LOOK LIKE FOR DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS AND HOW DO WE CONSOLIDATE AND VALUE THOSE VIEWS? THE SRO CONVERSATION LAST YEAR IS A PRIMARY EXAMPLE OF THAT.

IN ADDITION, SCHOOLS ARE NOT PRISONS.

SHOULD SAFETY HAVE TO MIMIC SURVEILLANCE? HOW CAN WE BALANCE THESE CONCEPTS WHEN STUDENTS ARE ABOUT TO BE THRUST INTO A COLLEGE ENVIRONMENT? HOW CAN SCHOOLS PREPARE THEM FOR THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES? WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF AUTONOMY? AND IN REGARDS TO OPTICS, WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF A POSITIVE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL STUDENTS? WHEN WE CALL STUDENT CONFLICTS TO ESCALATE TO THE POINT OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE INCIDENTS AND WE ALLOW FOR NEWSPAPERS TO WRITE ABOUT, QUOTE UNQUOTE BRAWLS LIKE IT'S THE MMA, WHO IS THAT SYSTEMATICALLY AND INTENTIONALLY DEHUMANIZING WHICH STUDENTS ARE BEING PUT UNDER A LOOKING GLASS? AND WHY DOES IT BEGIN TO FEEL LIKE THESE STUDENTS ARE BURNING? WHEN WE DISCUSS FINDING SOLUTIONS, ARE WE LOOKING AT THE CENTRAL PROBLEM IS TAKING AWAY LUNCH AND LEARN A FUNDAMENTAL PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS OUR STUDENTS TO COME, WHO COME FROM A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, TO COME TOGETHER IN NETWORKS THAT FACILITATED THE POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT THAT WE'RE SEEKING.

TRULY, A SOLUTION THAT PRIORITIZE STUDENT NEEDS IS THE CONSTANT VILIFICATION AND OCCASIONAL DEHUMANIZATION OF STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY STUDENTS OF COLOR, ESPECIALLY BLACK STUDENTS THAT GOES UNCHECKED IN LOCAL MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS AND ONLINE FACILITATING THAT ENVIRONMENT.

ARE WE MAKING THE MOVES TO HELP THESE STUDENT NEEDS OR ONLY TRYING TO MINIMIZE EXTERNAL CONCERNS? I ADMIRE THE MOVES THAT ARE BEING MADE AT A VARIETY OF SCALES TO REINSTATE A LUNCH PROGRAM THAT BENEFITS ALL STUDENTS.

I URGE THE BOARD TO USE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS HOW DECISIONS MADE AT THIS LEVEL TO APPEASE A LOUD MINORITY ARE MADE AT THE EXPENSE OF A DISENFRANCHIZED MAJORITY.

I URGE THE BOARD TO BEGIN TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS WITHIN SCHOOLS, MEETING WITH STUDENTS RATHER THAN THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

I URGE THE COMMUNITY TO BEGIN TO THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT WHAT THEY SAY, HEAR AND READ, AND THE IMPLICATIONS, BOTH SPOKEN AND UNSPOKEN BEHIND IT.

THIS IS FAR FROM THE ONLY EXAMPLE.

I YIELD MY TIME. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

AND ONCE AGAIN, IT'S ALWAYS WONDERFUL TO HAVE OUR STUDENTS COME AND SPEAK.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR PASSION.

ALL RIGHT. AND DEBORAH MCMANN WILL BE OUR NEXT SPEAKER.

[00:15:12]

GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE.

AS AN ASIAN AMERICAN RESIDENT OF ALEXANDRIA HAS LIVED IN THE WEST END FOR 36 YEARS.

OKAY, CAN I START OVER? AS AN ASIAN AMERICAN RESIDENT OF ALEXANDRIA, WHO'S LIVED IN THE WEST END FOR 35 YEARS.

I WAS OFFENDED TO HEAR THE CHAIR USE THE WORD OFFENDED ON THE MORNING OF AUGUST 26TH AS SHE RESPONDED BY A PRESS CONFERENCE TO A LETTER THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA, JASON MORSE, HAD WRITTEN TO THE MAYOR CITY COUNCIL AND SCHOOL BOARD ON THE SUBJECT OF SAFETY IN THE ALEXANDRIA SCHOOL SYSTEM WITHIN THE SPACE OF ONE MINUTE.

THE CHAIR OF THIS BOARD MANAGED TO OFFEND ME NOT ONCE, BUT THREE TIMES.

FIRST, WHAT WAS HER PURPOSE IN IMMEDIATELY IDENTIFYING HERSELF AS BLACK? GIVEN THAT OUR ATTORNEY GENERAL IS HISPANIC AND HIMSELF A MEMBER OF THE MINORITY COMMUNITY.

WAS THIS MEANT FOR THE BENEFIT OF VIEWERS OUTSIDE OF THE STATE WHO, IGNORANT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S RACE, MIGHT INFER THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S REBUKE OF OUR SCHOOL SAFETY POLICIES WAS A RACIAL AND NOT SUBSTANCE BASED ACTION FOR SHAME.

SECOND, THE CHO'S USE OF THE WORD OFFENDED TO DESCRIBE HER FEELINGS ABOUT NOT BEING PERSONALLY ADDRESSED IN THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S LETTER WAS ALSO MEANT MORE FOR SHOW THAN FOR TRUTH. IF JASON MORRIS DID NOT ADDRESS THE CHAIR BY HER NAME, IT WAS BECAUSE SHE KNEW THAT SHE ALREADY UNDERSTOOD HOW CULPABLE SHE WAS IN THE FAILURE OF THE BOARD TO PROVIDE THE STUDENTS OF ALEXANDRIA WITH A SAFE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH TO LEARN.

AS SOMEONE WHO HAS WATCHED MOST OF THE OPEN SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS THIS YEAR, I CAN CONFIRM THAT THE CHAIR HAD BEEN PRESENT DURING MANY SPEECHES.

THE ONES THAT SPOKE TO WEAPONS, PRISON ON SCHOOL PROPERTY, SEXUAL ASSAULT AND BEATINGS.

SHE WAS CERTAINLY PRESENT AT THE JUNE 2ND MEETING WHEN ONE OF HER OWN STUDENT ADVISORS INFORMED THE BOARD THAT THE MOST USED WORD IN HER HIGH SCHOOL AFTER FELLOW STUDENT HAD BEEN KILLED A WEEK BEFORE HIS GRADUATION WAS NUMB.

THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, THE BOARD HAS BEEN MORE INTERESTED THIS YEAR IN DISMANTLING THE GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM AND NEUTERING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN POLICY DIALOG THAN IN THE SAFETY OF OUR STUDENTS.

OTHERWISE, THEY WOULD HAVE LONG AGO IMPLEMENTED THOSE SAFETY MEASURES THAT ARE NOW JUST BEING INTRODUCED IN OUR SCHOOLS.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, ATTORNEY, THE CHAIR INVITED ATTORNEY GENERAL MORRIS TO COME AND VISIT OUR SCHOOLS, IMPLYING THAT HE AND THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE ARE IGNORANT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITHIN THEM.

SHE KNOWS FULL WELL THAT THE GOVERNOR HAD HIS REPRESENTATIVES LISTENING TO AND TALKING WITH RESIDENTS OF ALEXANDRIA FOR MONTHS TO INCLUDE A MEETING ON SCHOOL SAFETY AT THE BEASLEY LIBRARY EARLIER THIS YEAR.

EARLIER THIS SUMMER.

TO QUOTE LADY GERTRUDE AND HAMLET, THE LADY DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH, METHINKS.

THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT.

ALL RIGHTY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT PUBLIC COMMENTS BY MIKE DOLE, PLEASE.

BELIEVE ME. MY NAME IS MIKE DOYLE.

I'M WITH THE NORTHERN VIRGINIA FAMILIES FOR SAFE STREETS, WHERE PEDESTRIAN FOCUS GROUP.

WE HAVE THREE CHAPTERS, ONE IN ARLINGTON, ONE IN FAIRFAX AND ONE IN ALEXANDRIA.

WE HAVE ABOUT 1200 MEMBERS, 800 OF WHICH ARE IN OUR ALEXANDRIA CHAPTER.

I'M HERE TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT TWO THINGS REGARDING SAFETY.

ONE IS SPEED LIMITS AROUND SCHOOLS.

AND THE OTHER ONE IS A SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM.

SPEED LIMITS AROUND SCHOOLS, PARTICULARLY ON THE WEST END, WE BELIEVE, SHOULD BE 15 MILES AN HOUR DURING SCHOOLS SESSIONS.

WHY IS IT ONLY THE WEST AND IT DOESN'T HAVE THIS? I ASKED THAT QUESTION BECAUSE THE EAST HAS IT.

15 MILES AN HOUR IS IMPORTANT.

IT CAN SAVE A LIFE.

A LOT OF DRIVERS DON'T DO JUST 15.

THEY GO A LITTLE BIT OVER THAT.

IN FAIRFAX, OUR CHAPTER AND FAIRFAX, THE OAKTON HIGH SCHOOL AT A FEW MONTHS AGO HAD TWO FRESHMEN, 14 YEAR OLD GIRLS.

A YOUNG NEW DRIVER COMING OUT OF THE HIGH SCHOOL, WENT VERY FAST, LOST CONTROL, RAN OVER BOTH OF THOSE GIRLS.

THEY WERE BOTH KILLED.

ONE OF THE PARENTS THAT WAS OUR ONLY CHILD.

SO WE DO WE TAKE THIS PERSONALLY.

AND WHAT HAPPENED IN FAIRFAX.

[00:20:01]

THEY DIDN'T HAVE RADAR, SPEED, RADAR.

WE WERE GOING TO DO THAT. BUT WE'RE NOT DOING IT IN ALL THE SCHOOLS, OR AT LEAST WE'RE GOING TO DO IT DO IT HOPEFULLY QUICKLY.

AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE AN EDUCATION PROGRAM.

THE OTHER THING THAT WE DO, WE'RE AN ALL VOLUNTEER GROUP.

WE DO EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS AND IN THE PUBLIC.

WE GO INTO THE SCHOOLS.

LAST YEAR, WE PRESENTED ABOUT 906TH GRADERS AND WE DID PEDESTRIAN SAFETY PROGRAMS. WE DID THAT WITH THE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PEOPLE.

THIS YEAR, THAT PROGRAM SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOLS IN JEOPARDY.

WE HAVE PLANS TO DO PRESENTATIONS ON 1200 OF THE SIXTH GRADERS, BUT WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL, FULLY STAFFED.

YOU HAVE GOOD PEOPLE ON THAT STAFF.

VERY GOOD. CAN HELP TO SAVE A LIFE.

15 MILES AN HOUR AROUND THE SCHOOL CAN HELP TO SAVE A LIFE.

WE ASK YOU TO MAKE THAT CONSIDERATION.

THANK YOU. WE GAVE YOU.

THESE ARE THE BLINKERS THAT WE GIVE AT THE SCHOOLS FOR EDUCATION WHEN KIDS GO AROUND AT NIGHT.

ALSO, WE DO THE NEAR MISS CARDS, WHICH I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'VE BEEN HANDED OUT, BUT THAT'S A DATA COLLECTION FOR NEAR MISSES TO HELP US DO ADVOCACY.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. DOYLE. OUR NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE MR. DON SLEEMAN.

GOOD EVENING. THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO CHAIR GREENE AND DR.

WYATT AND OTHER BOARD MEMBERS.

I'M A BRAND NEW RESIDENT OF ALEXANDRIA, BUT I'M A PRODUCT OF D.C.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND GRADUATE OF ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL.

AND I'D LIKE TO, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR A THANKLESS TASK THAT YOU ALL DO AND REPRESENTING OUR COMMUNITY AND ALL THE TIME THAT YOU DEVOTE TO HELPING OUR CHILDREN AND OUR FAMILIES AND BUILD A GREAT COMMUNITY.

AND I KNOW IT'S A THANKLESS TASK, AND THANK YOU FOR DOING IT.

I'M HERE TO SPEAK TONIGHT.

I REPRESENT A UNION OF ELECTRICIANS.

WE REPRESENT 11,000 MEMBERS IN THE METRO AREA.

AND I WANT TO SPEAK TONIGHT ABOUT THE ABILITY TO DO PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS ON THE SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION THAT YOU'LL BE TAKING UP AND WHAT A PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT IS. IT'S A COLLECTIVE BARGAIN FOR THE CONSTRUCTION LABOR AND ENABLES YOU TO DO COMMUNITY BENEFITS SO THAT NOT ONLY DO WE GET A NICE BUILDING FOR THE STUDENTS TO STUDY IN, BUT YOU CAN ALSO DO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH SOME REALLY GOOD GOALS FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

TARGETING STUDENTS.

TARGETING UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.

COMMUNITIES THAT FACE BARRIERS AND INSTITUTIONAL RACISM.

A JOB IN OUR ELECTRICIAN'S UNION PAYS OVER SIX FIGURES AFTER A FIVE YEAR APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING.

OUR APPRENTICESHIP IS FREE.

IT'S A DAY SCHOOL.

YOU WORK NINE DAYS IN THE FIELD.

YOU COME IN THE 10TH DAY TO TRAIN AND YOU GET PAID AS IF YOU'RE ON THE JOB.

SO YOU GET PAID TO TRAIN. IT'S EARNED.

IT'S EARNED TO LEARN.

INSTEAD OF COMING OUT WITH A OF COLLEGE DEBT.

AND IT'S IT'S A LICENSE THAT YOU CAN IS TRANSFERABLE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

AND WE'RE A GROWING UNION.

WE'VE GROWN BY 3500 MEMBERS IN THE LAST THREE YEARS.

WE HAVE WE TOOK IN 410 APPRENTICES THIS YEAR.

WE NORMALLY TOOK IN ABOUT 325 TO 350 THE LAST TWO YEARS BEFORE THAT TO 85 TO 315.

SO WE'RE GROWING.

WE HAVE 1600 APPRENTICES NOW.

WE DO THIS AGAIN. WE'LL HAVE 2000 BY THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.

IT'S IT'S LET'S SEE THE TIME.

IT'S A GREAT OCCUPATION.

THE DATA CENTER INDUSTRY IS GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S A STABLE OCCUPATION IN THIS AREA FOR YEARS TO COME.

WE ALSO DO 70% OF THE COMMERCIAL PROJECTS.

WE DO QUITE A BIT OF THE MIXED RESIDENTIAL USE.

WE DON'T DO A LOT OF SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND RESIDENTIAL, THOUGH, BUT WORKING ON A SCHOOL PROJECT GETS A PERSON INTO OUR HIRING HALL.

AND ONCE YOU'RE IN OUR HIRING HALL, THEN YOU HAVE A CAREER.

WE HAVE OVER 200 CONTRACTORS.

WE HAVE 30 WOMEN AND MINORITY OWNED CONTRACTORS.

AND WE'RE GOING TO DO AN EVENT OCTOBER 11TH HERE IN ALEXANDRIA INVITING ALL THE NONUNION MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED CONSTRUCTION, ELECTRIC CONTRACTOR ENTERPRISES TO COME. AND WE HOPE TO HAVE YOU ALL COME TO THAT EVENT AS WELL.

OCTOBER 11TH. DO YOU WANT TO PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR? AND WE'RE BRINGING IN OUR LARGE CONTRACTORS TO HELP PROVIDE JOINT VENTURING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE SMALLER COMPANIES.

BUT WE'D LIKE TO SEE IN THE FUTURE THAT SOME OF OUR LARGER COMPANIES WOULD BE WOMEN IN MINORITY OWNED THAT COULD THEN PROVIDE THOSE JOINT VENTURE OPPORTUNITIES.

AND SO THIS COMMUNITY BENEFIT AGREEMENT CAN HELP NOT ONLY GET CONTRACTORS SHE WOULD LIKE ON THE JOB, BUT IT ALSO COULD HELP GET CAREERS FOR FOLKS THAT ARE LOOKING FOR A PATH MIDDLE CLASS. AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING THE EXTRA TIME.

AND THANK YOU, MR. SIMON.

[00:25:05]

GOOD EVENING AND THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU REGARDING SAFETY AROUND OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

I'M MELVIN BAZ, AND I'M AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE ALEXANDRIA BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

WE ARE A NONPROFIT VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION THAT PROMOTES SAFE WALKING AND BIKING.

ON BEHALF OF BP, BUT ESPECIALLY ON BEHALF OF ALEXANDRIA CHILDREN IN SCHOOL COMMUNITIES, I URGE YOU TO CALL FOR SPEED LIMITS TO BE REDUCED TO 15 MILES PER HOUR IN ALL OF ALEXANDRIA SCHOOL ZONES.

WHILE THAT'S ALREADY THE CASE FOR MANY OF OUR SCHOOLS, PARTICULARLY IN EAST AND NORTH ALEXANDRIA, IT ALSO NEEDS TO BE ADAPTED FOR HIGH SCHOOLS AND WEST END SCHOOLS, SPECIFICALLY INCLUDING FRANCIS HAMMOND MIDDLE SCHOOL, THE HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUSES ON KING AND BRADDOCK, AND THOSE SEVERAL SCHOOLS ALONG NORTH BEAUREGARD.

AS THE SCHOOL BOARD.

YOUR CALL FOR THOSE SPEED LIMIT REDUCTIONS WILL BE POWERFUL.

THEREFORE, PLEASE CONSIDER AND ADOPT A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR THOSE SPECIFIC SPEED LIMIT REDUCTIONS.

I HAVE ONE MORE REQUEST.

AND THIS IS FOR ACTION WITHIN ACP AS BPH HAS WORKED WITH ACP OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS TO GROW ITS SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOLS PROGRAM.

A CRITICAL PART OF THAT GROWTH WAS ENABLED BY ESTABLISHING A SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL AS COORDINATOR POSITION, A POSITION THAT WAS SUPPORTED FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS WITH VTA FUNDING THROUGH THEIR SRT PROGRAM.

UNFORTUNATELY, VIRGINIA IS FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THIS STATE'S PROGRAM ENDED JUST AS ECB'S SRT PROGRAM WAS REACHING OUT TO LISTEN TO AND TO HELP ADDRESS PARENTS TRANSPORTATION SAFETY CONCERNS.

IN ADDITION TO PARENT OUTREACH AND SPORTS COORDINATOR, PROMOTES WALKING AND BIKING AS TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS THROUGH ACTIVITIES SUCH AS WALKING WEDNESDAYS, ENCOURAGING BIKE BUSSES AND INVOLVING SCHOOLS IN WALK AND BIKE TO SCHOOL DAYS.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, AND AS OUR COORDINATOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR EVALUATION OF SAFETY ISSUES AND ACTIONS SUCH AS COORDINATING STUDENT TRAVEL TALLIES AND CONDUCTING PARENT SURVEYS TO COLLECT ACTIONABLE FEEDBACK ON STEPS NEEDED TO ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS.

I THEREFORE URGE YOU OUR SCHOOL BOARD TO FUND A FULL TIME SR COORDINATOR POSITION.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

THANK YOU, MR. BASS.

ALL RIGHT.

WE ARE ONCE AGAIN, I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND THE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS TO PLEASE READ OUR PUBLIC WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT CAME FROM P-TECH AND MS..

DEVIN WELLS.

ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON NOW AS I TRY TO JUMP FORWARD TO IT BEFORE THE REPORTS BY OUR WONDERFUL STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES, EMILY MILTON

[7. Report from Student Representatives Emily Milton and Torenzo Ricks]

RAHIMI FROM THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY.

HELLO SCHOOL BOARD AND ALL ATTENDEES.

I WANT TO SAY WELCOME AND I'M GLAD TO BE BACK.

MY NAME IS EMILY MILTON AND I'M A CURRENT SENIOR IN ALEXANDRIA CITY HIGH SCHOOL, AND I'M SO GRATEFUL TO BEGIN MY SECOND TERM AS STUDENT REP AND WANT TO WELCOME EVERYONE TO THE FIRST OFFICIAL SCHOOL BOARD OF THE YEAR.

FIRST, I WANT TO WELCOME DR.

QUIET WYATT AS WELL ON HER FIRST OFFICIAL BOARD MEETING AS INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT.

AND I ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT PARENTS SQUARE HAS BEEN AN EXTREMELY HELPFUL ADDITION IN HELPING EASILY ACCESS INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND GUARDIANS THIS YEAR.

BUT I KNOW SOME FAMILIES MAY STILL HAVE QUESTIONS OR MAY NOT UNDERSTAND HOW TO SET UP AN ACCOUNT.

AND I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT EXPRESS AND THE ECB'S WEBSITE HAVE MANY LINKS TO HELP YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO SET UP YOUR ACCOUNT OR TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE PARENT SQUARE ACCOUNT MANGA, WHICH IS ALSO THE SYSTEM THAT APPS WILL BE USING TO CREATE VIRTUAL IDS FOR STUDENTS WHO REQUIRE THEM TO GET INTO SCHOOL.

INFORMATION IS COMING SOON AND WE ARE ALSO COMPLETING HIGH SCHOOL PHOTOS THIS WEEK.

I KNOW AXES FALL PLAY TITLES HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED INCLUDING CHICKEN AND BISCUIT BISCUITS BY DOUGLAS LYONS AND ONE SLIGHT HITCH BY LEWIS BLACK.

THE PLAYS WILL BE PRESENTED IN NOVEMBER EXECUTIVELY PRODUCED BY HOPE BARKMAN AND EXECUTIVELY DIRECTED BY LESLIE JONES.

BUT STUDENT LEADERSHIP ROLES SUCH AS KATIE BECHDEL, WHO IS A JUNIOR STAGE MANAGER, AND JOHNNY MARIE SINGER AS STUDENT DIRECTOR.

THE MIRACLE LEAGUE OF ALEXANDRIA, WHICH IS A SPORTS PROGRAM FOUNDED FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES AS ANYONE ELSE WOULD HAVE THERE.

[00:30:06]

AND I ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO CAN MAKE IT TO SHOW UP AND WATCH A REALLY SPECIAL GAME.

I ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT I UNDERSTAND THAT LUNCH AND LEARN MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE A SCHOOL BOARD DECISION, BUT I WANTED TO SHARE THAT.

THE FIRST MEETING OF THE STUDENT LUNCH AND LEARN COMMITTEE WAS HELD YESTERDAY AT PHS AND I ALSO IS IN ATTENDANCE AND I WANTED TO SHARE THAT STUDENTS ARE WORKING HARD FOR POSITIVE ADAPTATIONS THAT WE COULD MAKE TO POSSIBLY BRING BACK ALL THE BENEFICIAL THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN SHARED WITH YOU ALL BY MANY.

THANK YOU. AND I'LL PASS IT ON TO TRUNZO.

GOOD EVENING. SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND ATTENDEES.

I AM TRANS RICKS.

I'VE BEEN IN ACPS FOR NINE YEARS NOW.

DON'T QUOTE ME ON THAT. BUT NINE YEARS NOW I STARTED OFF AT JAMES POLK AND THEN I ATTENDED JEFFERSON HOUSTON, AND NOW I AM A PROUD TITAN AND JUNIOR AT HHS AND I'M VERY THANKFUL AND EXCITED TO BE HERE IN THIS POSITION.

I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL AS WELL AS THE ANSWER.

I DO ECHO EVERYTHING THAT EMILY HAS SHARED WITH YOU ALL.

AGAIN, I WELCOME DR.

KAY AND SEE HER NEW POSITION AS THE INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT.

AND I ALSO HAD THE PLEASURE OF ATTENDING THE LAST COUPLE OF MINUTES OF THE CLUB.

FAIR TO SEE THE CLUBS THAT THIS HAS TO OFFER.

JUST THE FIRST WEEK ALONE OF SCHOOL WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

WALKING INTO THE BUILDING, BEING GREETED BY OUR AMAZING ADMIN TEAM AND OUR TITAN MARCHING BAND WAS THE PERFECT WAY TO START THE SCHOOL YEAR.

MOVING INTO THE SPORTS SECTION, OUR VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM PROUDLY WON THEIR KICKOFF GAME AND FOR THE SEASON AND THEIR FOLLOWING GAME BEHIND THAT BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR HHC IS TONIGHT.

AND WHILE MIDDLE SCHOOL WAS LAST WEEK, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IS THE NEXT WEEK.

ON THURSDAY THE 15TH.

WE CANNOT EXPRESS HOW GRATEFUL WE ARE FOR A SUCCESSFUL START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.

WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF GREAT STAFF THAT HAVE BEEN PROMOTED TO NEW POSITIONS AND WE TAKE THIS TIME TO CONGRATULATE THEM.

I'VE ALSO BEEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT ONE SPECIFIC TEACHER WHO I BELIEVE IS WATCHING.

HOPEFULLY I DON'T MAKE HER CRY.

MRS. TERESA JARVIS IS AN ELECTIVE TEACHER AT HHC.

SHE TEACHES INTRO TO FASHION CAREERS AND FASHION MARKETING.

I AM IN HER FASHION MARKETING CLASS.

SHE IS ALSO A DECA COORDINATOR AS WELL AS THE DISTRICT ADVISOR FOR DECA FOR HHS.

I DO HAVE TO MAKE THIS A TAD BIT PERSONAL.

SHE IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THAT I AM ABLE TO HOLD THE RANK AS A FIRST PLACE DISTRICT WINNER FOR THE PRINCIPALS OF MARKETING CATEGORY.

BETWEEN HER CONSTANT SUPPORT AND MAKING SURE I STUDIED A WHOLE PACKET OF VOCAB WORDS, I HAVE TO SAY I DO THANK HER SO MUCH FOR THAT.

RECENTLY, SHE HAS BEEN NAMED THE VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF MARKETING EDUCATORS 2022 TEACHER OF THE YEAR, AND SHE IS THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE TO BE NAMED THIS.

SO I'M SURE I CAN SPEAK ON BEHALF OF YOU ALL I SAY TO MS..

CHAVIS TO CONTINUE TO DO WHAT YOU ARE DOING BECAUSE YOU ARE DOING ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL.

AGAIN, I ECHO A LOT OF WHAT EMILY HAS SHARED WITH YOU ALL.

I'M EXCITED TO HOLD THIS POSITION.

AS I STATED, I'M EXCITED TO WORK WITH THESE TWO AND I'M ALSO EXCITED TO WORK WITH YOU ALL AGAIN.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. GOOD EVENING, BOARD

[8. Report from International Academy Student Representative Zahra Rahimi]

I'M JEREMY, A CURRENT JUNIOR AT DHS.

I HAVE BEEN IN ACPS SYSTEM SINCE EIGHTH GRADE AT FRANCI HARMON MIDDLE SCHOOL AND THEN FINALLY AT HHS.

I FEEL INCREDIBLY BLESSED AND HONORED TO BE HERE AS A STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE, AS AN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY.

I WANT TO START WITH MANY BILINGUAL STUDENTS HAS JOINED THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY AS ACADEMIC YEAR BEGAN AND SOME OF THEM DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO GO, HOW TO GET INTO THE BUILDING IF THEY DON'T HAVE A SCHOOL ID AND HOW TO ACCESS OUR SCHOOL.

HOWEVER, FORTUNATELY, MR. ELIAS, A TEACHER AND A SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT AND SEVERAL STUDENTS, INCLUDING MYSELF, CREATED A NUMBER OF VIDEOS AND DIFFERENT LANGUAGES FOR OUR NEWCOMER STUDENTS, INCLUDING FARSI, DARI, PASHTO, SPANISH AND ENGLISH, TO GUIDE HIM THROUGH THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

PARTICIPANTS OF A ARE GROWING INTO THE CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS.

MUBARAK MEYER, AN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY STUDENT, HAS BEEN APPOINTED TO BE THE VICE PRESIDENT, SGA FOR THE CLASS OF 2024.

I LEADERSHIP AT HHS IS WORKING WITH STUDENTS AT FRANCIS SIMON MIDDLE SCHOOL.

MS.. RICE, A TEACHER AND THE ORGANIZER OF A LEADERSHIP, HELD A MEETING WITH ONE OF THE TEACHERS AT FRANCIS SIMON MIDDLE SCHOOL, ALONG WITH THE STUDENT LEADERS ON AUGUST 2022.

THEY PLANNED ABOUT MAKING LEADERSHIP AT HAMMOND TWO AT HHS, AND STUDENTS WILL HELP THEM AND SUPPORT THEM THROUGH THE FIRST YEAR.

[00:35:04]

SO INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY GEOGRAPHICS AS SEPTEMBER OFF, SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2022, DARI, FARSI AND PASHTO SPEAKERS REPRESENT TOGETHER AROUND 20% OF OUR LANGUAGE DISTRIBUTION.

AND THE CHANGE OCCURRED AND JANUARY OF 2021 WITH AN INFLUX OF AFGHAN REFUGEES.

THAT I MODEL IS BOTH BOTH TO ACCOMMODATE THE DIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AS PROPOSED TO SAY BILINGUAL PROGRAMS AND FACT GREATER LANGUAGE. DIVERSITY HELPS THE IN THE MODEL, BUT WITH BUT NOT WITHOUT CHALLENGES.

AND I A STUDENTS BY BIRTH COUNTRY AS STUDENTS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES MAY SPEAK SIMILAR LANGUAGES, BUT THEIR EXPERIENCES WILL BE VERY DIFFERENT AND REQUIRE DIFFERENT SUPPORT. LIKE WE HAVE A STUDENTS FROM GUATEMALA, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS AND BOLIVIA.

THEY SPEAK THE SIMILAR LANGUAGE, BUT THEY NEED DIFFERENT SUPPORT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

SO WE HAVE WONDERFUL STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES.

PLEASE GIVE THEM ANOTHER HAND.

WE'RE SO PROUD OF YOU, AND WE'RE ALSO THANKFUL TO EVERYONE THAT SUPPORTS THEM WITHIN THE SCHOOLS AS WELL.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WE WILL MOVE ON NOW TO OUR CONSENT OR CONSENT CALENDAR.

[Consent Calendar]

MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR SECOND.

DR. REITH.

SECOND MR. L DUBAI'S MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR.

MAY I PLEASE HAVE A VOTE IN SB AND SB TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR? IT'S NOT.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. THE VICE CHAIR WILL NOW ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR THE CLOSED MEETING.

[4. Closed Meeting]

MADAM VICE CHAIR, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD CONVENE A CLOSED MEETING PURSUANT TO VIRGINIA CODE 2.22371188 FOR CONSULTATION WITH LEGAL COUNSEL EMPLOYED OR RETAINED BY A PUBLIC BODY REGARDING SPECIFIC LEGAL MATTERS REQUIRING THE PROVISION OF LEGAL ADVICE BY SUCH COUNSEL.

ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE MR. BAILEY SECONDING SECONDING MS..

NASSIOS MOTION TO GO INTO CLOSED MEETING.

IF I COULD PLEASE HAVE A VOTE IN SB TO GO INTO CLOSED MEETING.

IT'S. MR. BAILEY. WELL.

WE WILL CONVENE INTO A CLOSED MEETING NOW AND WE WILL BE BACK SHORTLY.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

WELCOME BACK, EVERYONE.

IF I COULD NOW HAVE THE CERTIFICATION OF THE CLOSED MEETING SCENARIO, PLEASE.

[5. Certification of Closed Meeting]

I MOVE THAT THE BOARD CERTIFIED TO THE BEST OF EACH MEMBER'S KNOWLEDGE ONLY PUBLIC BUSINESS MATTERS IDENTIFIED IN THE MOTION BY WHICH THE CLOSED SESSION CONVENED.

OUR LAWFULLY EXEMPTED BY THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT WERE HEARD, DISCUSSED OR CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD AND CLOSED IN THE CLOSED MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER EIGHT, 2022.

SECOND. DR.

REESE. SECOND IS MISSING NASA'S MOTION TO CERTIFY THE CLOSE MEETING.

I WOULD PLEASE LIKE EVERYONE TO VOTE IN RSP.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WE'RE NOW MOVING ON TO OLD BUSINESS AND ACTION ITEMS.

[14. Areas of Focus SY 2022-2023]

[00:40:01]

IT IS A PLEASURE TONIGHT TO PRESENT TO YOU OUR DRAFT PROPOSED AREAS OF FOCUS FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2223.

I'M GOING TO BE JOINED THIS EVENING BY DR.

CLINT PAGE, WHO WILL BASICALLY WE'LL START WITH AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE DISCUSSED IN THE WORK SESSION.

SO HE WILL NOT HIGHLIGHT EACH SLIDE THIS EVENING, BUT HE WILL TARGET A FEW SLIDES TO JUST GIVE YOU SOME POINTS OF REFERENCE.

SO I'M NOT SURE IF HE'S THERE.

HE'S THERE. OK WONDERFUL.

SO, DR. PAGE, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO YOU ONCE HE DOES THIS FEW PAGES OF HIGHLIGHTS.

AND I WILL GO INTO MORE, A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE AREAS OF FOCUS.

GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DR.

QUIET AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

GOOD EVENING. I'M EXCITED TO BE BACK TO DISCUSS OUR AREAS OF FOCUS.

AND AS DR. KAY MENTIONED, WE WENT THROUGH THIS SLIDE DECK IN FULL IN OUR WORK SESSION WHEN WE WERE DISCUSSING THE DRAFT AREAS OF FOCUS AND BRING IT BACK TONIGHT FOR CONSIDERATION FOR ACTION.

SO OBVIOUSLY EVERYTHING WE DO WITHIN ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS GROUNDED WITHIN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN EQUITY FOR 2025.

WHEN WE SPOKE AT THE WORK SESSION, WE TOOK A IN-DEPTH LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE AND WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE NATIONAL CONTEXT THAT RESEARCHES IS SHOWING THAT WE ACROSS THE NATION IN EDUCATION CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES, INCREASES IN EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIORS, INCREASED ABSENCES, DIFFICULTIES IN STAFFING.

WE'RE SEEING INCREASES IN LOW MORALE ACROSS EDUCATIONAL STAFF AND FROM AN ACHIEVEMENT PERSPECTIVE, SEEING LOWER ACHIEVEMENT ACROSS THE NATION COMPARED TO PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, WITH SOME INITIAL SIGNS OF REBOUNDING AND READING AND MATH AND A EXPECTATION OF HIGH POVERTY SCHOOLS HAVING MORE GROUND TO GAIN AND A LONGER RECOVERY PERIOD.

WE THEN WENT INTO SOME SPECIFIC ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS DATA WITH THAT NATIONAL CONTEXT IN MIND.

AND FIRST, WE HIGHLIGHTED SOME OF THE CLIMATE AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL DATA POINTS.

HIGH LEVEL ON THAT, WE ARE STILL SEEING OVERALL STRONG PERCEPTIONS ACROSS STAKEHOLDER GROUPS IN OUR SCHOOL CLIMATE AS WELL AS OUR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT OVERALL. WE DO HAVE AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT HIGHLIGHTED WHICH REVOLVE AROUND PERCEPTIONS OF SAFETY FROM STAKEHOLDERS AND A DECLINE IN THE MOST RECENT YEAR IN THOSE PERCEPTIONS, AS WELL AS OPPORTUNITIES TO CONTINUE TO BUILD AND BRIDGE RELATIONSHIPS, BOTH FROM STUDENTS TO STAFF AND ACROSS STUDENTS THEMSELVES.

AFTER WE HAD WALKED THROUGH SOME OF THOSE DATA, WE THEN HIGHLIGHTED CONTINUING TO SEE INCREASES IN CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM ACROSS STUDENT GROUPS WITH A DISPARATE IMPACT FELT PARTICULARLY IN OUR HISPANIC OR BLACK OR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED S.W.

AND WL STUDENT BODY POPULATIONS.

WE ALSO TALKED KNOWING THE NATIONAL STORY AROUND STAFF ATTENDANCE.

WE TALKED ABOUT HIGHER STAFF ABSENTEEISM AND SOME OF THE DIFFICULTY IN FILLING THOSE ABSENCES, PARTICULARLY DURING SURGES OF THE PANDEMIC THAT WERE EXPERIENCED IN THE 2122 SCHOOL YEAR.

FROM A ACADEMIC AND PERFORMANCE INDICATOR PERSPECTIVE, WE DISCUSSED HOW WE CONTINUE TO SEE SOME OF OUR HISTORIC CHALLENGES RIGHT THAT WE HAVE WITHIN OUR EQUITY FOR ALL DASHBOARD.

SO FOR OUR BLACK AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENT GROUP, FOR OUR HISPANIC OR LATINO AS WELL, FOR OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, AND SPECIFICALLY IN KPI AREAS ACROSS SUBGROUPS, ELEVATED RATES OF DISPROPORTIONALITY FOR OUR TAG IDENTIFICATION AS WELL AS OUR STUDENTS WHO WERE SUSPENDED.

AND I'M GOING TO SKIP THROUGH THESE.

BUT A LOT OF THESE DATA, WHETHER IT BE OUR PRIMARY LITERACY DATA FOR K TO TWO PALS, WHETHER IT BE OUR MAP DATA, WHICH IS TWO THROUGH 12 READING AND MATH, OR WHETHER IT BE OUR SOL DATA.

THE STORY IS LARGELY THE SAME IN TERMS OF THE OVERALL THREAD, AND THAT IS WE CONTINUE WE BEGAN TO SEE REBOUND IN ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN THE 2122 SCHOOL YEAR.

ALTHOUGH WITH THOSE IMPROVEMENTS RATE, WE ARE STILL WE ARE NOT BACK YET TO ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS THAT WERE SEEN PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC.

AND THEN WHEN SPEAKING ABOUT THAT ACROSS STUDENT GROUPS, WE ALSO SAW INCREASES THERE.

HOWEVER, ALSO ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THERE WERE DISPARATE IMPACTS ON THE PANDEMIC WITHIN STUDENT GROUPS AND THAT THERE CONTINUE TO BE GAINS NEEDED EVEN WITH THE GAINS THAT WE SAW IN THE MOST RECENT YEAR.

SO THAT IS A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF ALL THE DATA THAT WE DISCUSSED AT THE WORK SESSION FOR THE DRAFT AREAS OF FOCUS.

AND WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO DR.

K IS GOING TO TAKE US THROUGH THE NEXT SEGMENT.

[00:45:05]

JUST FOR A QUICK MOMENT, I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THE TWO SLIDES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT THAT HAD THE AREAS OF FOCUS ON IT.

FROM THE WORK SESSION, WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION AROUND DATA AND DATA POINTS AND WE RECEIVED A LOT OF QUESTIONS.

AND AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO START BY SAYING THAT WHILE THERE ARE MANY AREAS THAT WE WILL BE ADDRESSING, THAT'S IN ADDITION TO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THESE SLIDES, THOSE ITEMS WILL COME UP IN OUR DEPARTMENT IMPROVEMENT PLANS AS WELL AS OUR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS.

AND THOSE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS WILL DRILL DOWN THAT INFORMATION TO THEIR SPECIFIC SCHOOL COMMUNITY DATA.

SO THAT'S WHY THESE ARE MORE BROADER IN A SENSE THAT IT COVERS THE ENTIRE DIVISION.

BUT PLEASE REMEMBER, WE DO HAVE DIVISION IMPROVEMENT PLANS AS WELL AS SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS.

SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, LOOKING AT SLIDE ONE, THERE ARE NO CHANGES HERE.

OF COURSE, WE DO STILL HAVE OUR PLAY BUTTONS THAT WE WILL MONITOR THE IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS ON.

SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THE SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, ACADEMIC LEARNING RECOVERY.

AND AT OUR LAST SESSION, OF COURSE, WE DID GO INTO GREAT DETAIL AROUND OUR SEAL LESSONS AS WELL AS OUR LITERACY.

KP FOR PROGRAMING, HISPANIC MALES, I'M GOING TO ADDRESS AGAIN IN A MOMENT, BUT THAT WAS ONE OF THE ONES THAT WE DISCUSSED, AS WELL AS STAFF WELLNESS AND GROWTH AND THE MIDDLE SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE.

THE NEXT SLIDE IS WHERE I REALLY WANT TO TAKE SOME TIME TO SPEND, OF COURSE, THE EARLY COLLEGES ON THE LAST SLIDE, AS WELL AS THE TALENTED AND GIFTED.

AND THEN WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE CONTINUING WORK THAT GOES ON FROM YEAR TO YEAR BECAUSE THOSE PROJECTS WERE STARTED PRIOR TO THE 2022, 23 SCHOOL YEAR.

WE'RE GOING TO REMAIN WITH A LASER FOCUS ON THOSE.

WHAT WE DID ADD ON THIS SLIDE IS THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT IN THE KPI DISPARITIES FROM THE WORK SESSION.

THERE IS A LOT OF DISCUSSION AROUND THE SUSPENSIONS OF BLACK MALES, BLACK FEMALES, HISPANIC MALE STUDENTS, CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM FOR HISPANIC AND BLACK STUDENTS.

SO WE ADDED THAT BECAUSE THAT'S ALREADY GOING TO BE HIGHLIGHTED IN THE WORK OF THE IMPROVEMENT PLANS FOR A NUMBER OF DIVISIONS AND SCHOOLS.

SO WE WILL HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL WORK THAT WE'LL BE DOING AS A SLT FOR THAT WORK AS WELL AS AT MORE SPECIFIC LEVELS.

SO WE DID WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HIGHLIGHTED THAT BECAUSE THAT DID COME OUT IN THE WORK SESSION.

SO THAT IS A CHANGE FROM THE PREVIOUS PRESENTATION.

SO THAT'S THE ONLY ADDITION WE HAVE THAT YOU WOULD CONSIDER APPROVING TONIGHT SO WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR WORK.

AND THAT'S ALL WE HAVE FOR THIS EVENING.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US, WE JUST HOPE THAT YOU WILL APPROVE AND UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE VERY DEDICATED TO THE WORK MOVING FORWARD.

GREAT. THANK YOU, DR.

PAGE. THANK YOU, DR.

KAY WYATT. WE'LL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR QUESTIONS.

I KNOW THAT WE DID TALK EXTENSIVELY, EXTENSIVELY ABOUT THIS IN THE WORK SESSION, BUT IF THERE ARE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, WE WILL TAKE THEM NOW.

DOCTOR. I KNEW SHE WOULDN'T FAIL ME.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING THAT, MR. PAGE AND DR.

KAY FOR GOING THROUGH THE AREAS OF FOCUS.

AND I THINK THE ADDITIONS THIS LOOKING AT THOSE KPI DISPARITIES IS REALLY IMPORTANT.

I'M GLAD WE'RE DOING THAT. I DID HAVE JUST KIND OF LIKE 1 TO 2 QUESTIONS.

THE FIRST WAS ABOUT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE WE HAVE ON HERE PRIORITIZING, PRIORITIZING, LOOKING AT SCHEDULING AND THE TRANSITIONS.

AND I GUESS I WAS JUST WONDERING AND MAYBE THIS WILL BE SOMETHING THAT COMES OUT THROUGH THE WORK, BUT DO WE NEED TO GET ANY MORE SPECIFIC ON WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH SCHEDULING AND TRANSITIONS BECAUSE IT'S NOT REALLY EXPLICIT WHAT WE'RE TASKING STAFF WITH WITH THIS PRIORITY.

SO I JUST WANT TO AND I DO THINK HAVING TO HAVING ONE ONE CHILD, YOU WENT THROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL AND ANOTHER ONE GOING THROUGH AGAIN, IT IS A VERY CHALLENGING TIME.

SO I'D LOVE TO HEAR HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT.

THAT'S MY FIRST QUESTION. SURE.

THANK YOU. AND I BELIEVE DR.

GONZALEZ IS ALSO ON THE CALL.

BUT I'LL BEGIN BY LETTING EVERYONE KNOW THAT WE WILL BE PROVIDING ADDITIONAL DATA AS WE DO DIG IN.

WE'RE ABOUT THREE WEEKS IN NOW, BUT WITH SCHEDULING, IT'S BIGGER THAN JUST SCHEDULING OF CLASSES AND THAT SORT OF THING.

IT'S REALLY ABOUT INSTRUCTIONAL IMPACT AND WHAT OUR SCHEDULES LOOK LIKE RIGHT NOW AND HOW WE'RE UTILIZING STAFF.

SO THAT'S A BIGGER PICTURE THAN WHAT WE THINK OF AS MASTER SCHEDULING.

BUT OUR TEAM AND WE'RE GOING TO GO IN AND DIG A LITTLE BIT DEEPER AND THEY'RE PROBABLY EXCITED THAT I'M SAYING THIS NOW PUBLICLY THAT WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT OUR SCHEDULES FOR ALL SCHOOLS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SCHEDULED AROUND MEETING THAT INDIVIDUAL NEEDS BASED OFF OF THE ACADEMIC DATA THAT WE HAVE.

YOUR OTHER QUESTION ABOUT MIDDLE SCHOOL TRANSITIONS, OF COURSE, THAT'S TIED TO SCHEDULES, BUT IT'S ALSO TIED TO SEO AND MAKING SURE THAT WE SUPPORT THOSE STUDENTS DURING THOSE TRANSITIONS, ESPECIALLY KNOWING WHAT THEY'VE EXPERIENCED OR HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED WITH THAT KIND OF ONSET OF BEGINNING SCHOOL AT THOSE TRANSITIONS, AS WE KNOW, THE DATA SHOWS, IS THAT THOSE TRANSITIONS ARE DIFFICULT ANYWAY.

IF I REMEMBER FROM MY OWN KIDS, I DON'T WANT TO RELIVE SOME OF IT, BUT I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF LESSONS LEARNED AND WHAT THEY COULD BENEFIT FROM GOING BETWEEN THOSE TWO.

[00:50:06]

GONZALEZ OR DR.

PAIGE OR ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING ADDITIONAL.

BUT IT'S REALLY ABOUT SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS AND IT'S ALSO ABOUT SUPPORTING OUR TEACHERS WITH THE MASTER'S SCHEDULE AS WELL.

DR. K I'D ACTUALLY LIKE TO DEFER TO DR.

FEENEY, WHO'S HEADING UP THIS GROUP WHO HAS BEEN WORKING ON THIS WORK, AND SHE CAN SPEAK MORE SPECIFICALLY TO IT.

DR. FEENEY. THANK YOU, DR.

GONZALEZ. GOOD AFTERNOON.

HONORABLE OF SCHOOL BOARD AND DR.

QUIET. I DO APOLOGIZE FOR NOT HAVING MY CAMERA ON.

I'M DEALING WITH SINUSES AND SWOLLEN EYES RIGHT NOW, SO I DO APOLOGIZE.

BUT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL PROJECT WORK TEAM BEGAN LAST SCHOOL YEAR UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF DR.

MANN. AND IT WILL CONTINUE AGAIN THIS YEAR UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF CARMEN SANDERS AND I ALSO SUPPORTED BY JESSE MAZER.

THERE IS A TEAM OF TEACHERS WHO ARE CURRENTLY WORKING IN FIVE DIFFERENT WORK GROUPS.

AND SO AS WE CONTINUE TO PROGRESS IN THIS WORK, WE DO PLAN TO PROVIDE THE SCHOOL BOARD WITH ADDITIONAL UPDATES ON SCHEDULING TRANSITIONS, MATHEMATICS PATHWAYS, TAG HONORS.

AND SO THERE ARE A VARIETY OF MIDDLE SCHOOL TOPICS THAT THE COMMITTEE IS ADDRESSING.

THAT'S WONDERFUL. AND IF I COULD ASK MY SECOND QUESTION.

SURE. YEAH.

I'M REALLY EXCITED TO TO SEE HOW THAT WORK EVOLVES.

AND THEN THIS IS ACTUALLY KIND OF RELATED TO THAT.

AND IT'S ABOUT WELL, ONE OF OUR AREAS OF FOCUS IS STEEL RECOVERY.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THIS THIS PROGRAM AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, THE LUNCHEON LEARN THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT I KNOW A LOT OF THOUGHT WENT INTO IT. AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST HEARING THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE BEEN HEARING FROM STUDENTS AND FAMILIES, EVEN SOME STAFF MEMBERS, ABOUT HOW HOW EFFECTIVE THAT WAS AT SUPPORTING IT, IT'S AMAZING HOW EFFECTIVE THAT ONE THING WAS AT SUPPORTING BOTH SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL BY GIVING KIDS KIND OF THE BRAIN BREAK CHANCE TO CONNECT WITH THEIR FRIENDS.

BUT ALSO IT SUPPORTED THEIR ACADEMIC RECOVERY BECAUSE THEY COULD GO GET HELP.

THEY COULD WORK ON THEIR HOMEWORK DURING THE SCHOOL DAY.

AND SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF IF THAT'S GOING TO BE A PART OF THIS CONVERSATION.

I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE REALLY ANXIOUS TO HEAR WHAT'S GOING TO BE GOING ON WITH THE LUNCH AND LEARN.

SO I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WOULD BE A TIME THAT YOU COULD SPEAK TO THAT.

DR. QUIET SO OF COURSE, WE HAVE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS, OF COURSE, ABOUT LUNCH AND LEARN AND MANY REACH OUTS THROUGH STUDENTS AS WELL AS FACULTY MEMBERS. AND BECAUSE THAT COMMITTEE IS IN PLACE, THE GOAL IS REALLY JUST TO ENHANCE WHAT CAN HAPPEN WITH A LUNCH AND LEARN PROGRAM.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS A RESET FOR US AS WE GET A NEW SCHOOL YEAR.

IT'S REALLY TO STEP BACK AND GET MORE INPUT ABOUT HOW WE CAN HELP STUDENTS AND REALLY FACILITATE THE TIME AROUND SAFETY, LEARNING AND PROVIDING SEAL ACTIVITIES.

IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE DO UNDERSTAND EVERYONE'S CONCERNS THAT THEY'VE SHARED ABOUT MAKING SURE WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO HAVE AFTER SCHOOL.

MAYBE IT'S WORK OR MAYBE JUST ANOTHER SPORTING EVENT, THAT SORT OF THING, AS WELL AS THE ACADEMIC PIECE AND INTERVENTION.

SO I THINK THAT COMMITTEE IS GOING TO REALLY COME BACK WITH SOME GREAT FEEDBACK FOR US OF HOW WE CAN MAKE ENHANCEMENTS TO WHAT THEY HAD FOR LAST YEAR.

SO WITH THAT COMMITTEE, I THINK IT'S ABOUT 15 AND YOU GUYS CAN CORRECT ME OF THE NUMBER.

I THINK IT'S 15 MEMBERS OF FACULTY AS WELL AS OUR STUDENT LEADERS WHO WILL BRING BACK THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS TO MR. BAYLIS AND SEE HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT A PROGRAM THAT'S MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT YOU GUYS HAD LAST YEAR AND REALLY HAVE AN IMPACT ON OUR STUDENTS, ALL STUDENTS.

SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, DR.

SIMPSON? THANK YOU, MADAM VICE CHAIR.

AND THANK YOU, DR.

KAY WHITE AND DR. PAIGE AND OTHERS FOR THE PRESENTATION.

I REALLY APPRECIATED THE WORK SESSION AND THE FOLLOW UP.

IT GIVES US, I THINK, MORE TIME TO KIND OF DIGEST AND THINK THROUGH ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS WE HAVE.

MY QUESTION IS AROUND WHY SCHOOL SAFETY WAS NOT INCLUDED AS A FOCUS AREA.

AND I THINK WHAT YOU SAID AT THE OUTSET MADE ME THINK THAT'S POSSIBLY THE ANSWER INSOFAR AS IT MIGHT BE INCLUDED IN SCHOOL LEVEL IMPROVEMENT PLANS.

BUT I JUST KNOW SENIOR LEADERS AND SCHOOL LEADERS HAVE SPENT SO MUCH TIME OVER THE SUMMER WORKING ON SCHOOL SAFETY AND WE HAVE THESE PLANS IN PLACE.

AND I THINK FROM A BOARD PERSPECTIVE, I'M GLAD WE'RE DOING THIS WORK.

I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT.

I THINK ELEVATING IT TO A PRIORITY OF THE DIVISION LEVEL PERHAPS ENSURES THAT WE SEE MORE DATA SPECIFIC TO SCHOOL SAFETY.

I KNOW WE WILL.

WE HAVE OTHER WAYS THAT WE MONITOR SCHOOL SAFETY AS WELL.

BUT I THINK PARTICULARLY WITH THESE NEW INITIATIVES AND VERY CURIOUS ABOUT HOW WE WILL KNOW IF THEY'RE EFFECTIVE, HOW WILL WE KNOW IF THEY NEED TO BE MODIFIED? AND SO JUST TO RECAP, WHY WAS SCHOOL, STACEY, NOT INCLUDED AS AN AREA OF FOCUS AND SHOULD IT BE? AND HOW WILL THE SCHOOL BOARD KNOW WHAT'S WORKING?

[00:55:04]

PLEASE KNOW THAT SAFETY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PRIORITY AND IT WILL ALWAYS BE A PRIORITY.

SO THEREFORE, TO MAKE IT AN AREA OF FOCUS OF SOMETHING THAT WE ALREADY GIVE A LOT OF PRIORITY TO, AND OUR WORK IS JUST WE FELT LIKE THIS WAS AROUND THE DATA AROUND STUDENTS AND IMPACT. SOMEONE ASKED ME JUST RECENTLY, LIKE, YOU'RE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT SAFETY AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

PLEASE KNOW THAT THOSE CONVERSATIONS WERE HAPPENING AT EVERY SCHOOL, PROBABLY IN THE NATION AND ESPECIALLY AROUND ALEXANDRIA ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO KEEP SCHOOL SAFE.

THAT WAS NEVER NOT A FOCUS.

SO TO NOW MAKE IT AN AREA OF FOCUS ON THERE JUST SEEMED THE RIGHT PLACE FOR IT BECAUSE WE DO THAT WORK EVERY DAY ANYWAY.

SO YES, THERE WILL BE DATA, WE WILL BE CONSTANTLY HAVING MEETINGS AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE SOME OF OUR SAFETY MEETINGS AND PRESENTATIONS THAT WILL BE SCHEDULED WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.

AND THERE'S TONS OF DATA THERE.

DR. HEARTS TEAM HAS ALREADY STARTED THAT WORK AND WE'LL BE READY TO SHARE THAT OUT.

GREAT. THANK YOU. WONDERFUL.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? MR. OMOOBA. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.

SO. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE, FOR WORKING HARD ON THIS.

I THINK THESE AREAS OF FOCUS ARE WONDERFUL AND LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING THE WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO FOR OUR KIDS.

SO THANK YOU. IT'S NOT EASY.

MY QUESTION IS AROUND CEREAL AND ITS TWO COMPONENTS.

THE FIRST ONE IS ABOUT RESTORATIVE PRACTICES.

I KNOW IT'S ONE AREA OR ONE PROGRAM NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART THAT I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH ADVOCATING FOR EVER SINCE EVEN I GOT ON THE BOARD.

AND I THE THING IS, I CONTINUE TO ASK ABOUT AND I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO START THINKING ABOUT OR MAYBE IT'S ALREADY THERE. SO I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE GOT TO BECAUSE WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT LAST YEAR WITH DR.

HUTCHINGS DURING THE BUDGET SESSION AND WE TALKED.

I TRY TO ADD AN EXTRA POSITION FOR SORT OF PRACTICES.

SO AND MY MAIN CONCERN WAS IS.

AT THE TIME AND LET ME KNOW IF THAT CHANGED.

WE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE DATA TO TELL US HOW THE PROGRAM IS DOING.

METRICS TO TELL US WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN THE SHORT TERM.

WE KNOW THE OBJECTIVE IS OBVIOUSLY TO.

REMOVE THE DISPARITY IN SUSPENSIONS, ESPECIALLY FOR THE FOUR BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS.

SO BUT HOW DO WE HOW ARE WE MEASURING OTHER THAN THE SURVEY? SURVEYS ARE GOOD, BUT THAT'S NOT REAL DATA.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE EVALUATING THE PROGRAM IN A DATA DRIVEN MANNER? OF COURSE. THANK YOU FOR THAT.

WE'VE HAD CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL MEETINGS AS EARLY AS I WANT TO SAY PROBABLY JULY, AUGUST ABOUT WHAT THE METRICS WOULD BE AROUND STEELE.

SO WE DO HAVE A PRESENTATION COMING UP PROBABLY IN A FEW MONTHS ON THAT AS WE MEET TO MAKE SURE WE HASH OUT THOSE DETAILS, THE METRICS AROUND THAT.

OF COURSE, WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF SURVEYS TO SPEAK TO EMOTIONAL LEARNING.

IT SPEAKS TO DISCIPLINE, ATTENDANCE AND THE LIKE.

BUT WE'VE ALSO MET TO TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE GOING TO BE LOOK FOR AS STAFF, MEANING CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF AS WELL AS SCHOOL LEVEL STAFF WILL COME IN TO DO LOOK FOR LIKE A WALKTHROUGH SHEET THAT TYPICALLY YOU HAVE A FOCUS AREA THAT WILL BE A FOCUS AREA.

AND WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS NOT ALWAYS SEEN TO BE AN ADD ON BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE IT EMBEDDED INTO KIND OF THE CULTURE OF THE SCHOOL, NOT JUST THE LESSONS.

WHILE WE DO HAVE THOSE 30 MINUTES OF SEAL LESSONS, IT WILL BE EMBEDDED THROUGHOUT BECAUSE THERE COULD BE A TIME IN A LESSON WHERE WE'LL HAVE TO STOP AND SAY, OH, WE'RE GOING TO DO NO, WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT. IT'S GOING TO BE EMBEDDED THAT IF A STUDENT IS IN NEED OF SOME SORT OF SUPPORT, THAT THE TEACHER HAS A TOOLKIT OR KIND OF LIKE AN OFFERING OF HOW WE CAN STEP IN AND HELP THAT PERSON.

STUDENT IN THE LANGUAGE.

MAYBE IT'S A LANGUAGE ACTIVITY OR WHATEVER IT IS WHERE IT SEEMS SEAMLESS, RIGHT? SO WE DO HAVE THOSE METRICS THAT WILL BE COMING OUT TO BE PRESENTED TO YOU.

BUT IT'S NOT JUST SURVEYS.

THERE WILL BE TOOLS THAT OUR STAFF WILL USE TO GO INTO MONITOR.

I KNOW AT THE HIGH SCHOOL WITH MS. SANDERS THEY'RE ACTUALLY CREATING MORE OF A TOOLKIT OF HOW TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF THE CIRCLES.

AND IF I'M WRONG, MS..

SANDERS, THERE WERE SO MANY IDEAS IN THIS MEETING, I WANT TO MAKE SURE I DO THEM ALL JUSTICE.

BUT THERE ARE THOSE OTHER METRICS.

THEY'RE LOOKING AT EQUITY AGENDAS, AND WE EVEN PROBABLY AS RECENT AS TWO OR THREE WEEKS AGO, RIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED, WE TALKED ABOUT MID-YEAR HOW WE'RE GOING TO ASSESS AND HAVE A MID-YEAR METRIC BECAUSE WE DO NOT WANT TO WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR TO SAY THIS IS OUR METRICS AND THIS IS HOW IT'S GOING.

SO THERE WILL BE FREQUENT CHECKS AND THIS KIND OF I DON'T WANT TO CALL IT A SUBCOMMITTEE BECAUSE IT'S REALLY OUR SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM AND CROSS DEPARTMENTAL CHIEFS AND LEADERS WHO WILL BE COMING TOGETHER TO KIND OF MONITOR WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

AND OF COURSE, WE WOULD REPORT OUT TO THE BOARD.

[01:00:03]

AND THE OTHER COMPONENT OF THAT IS I UNDERSTAND THAT PART OF THE RESEARCH PRACTICES EXERCISE IN THE SCHOOLS IS WE'RE DOING WE'RE USING LIAISONS.

AND I JUST WONDER HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT AND HOW AND IF WE ARE CONTINUOUSLY ASSESSING THE WORKLOAD, BECAUSE WE ALREADY KNOW TEACHERS ARE STRAINED AND HAVE HAD A LOT OF WORKLOADS.

AND OBVIOUSLY AFTER THE PANDEMIC, IT'S JUST THERE'S A LOT OF BURNOUT.

SO HOW ARE WE LOOKING AT HAVING LIAISONS THAT ARE JUST DOING ONE EXTRA THING, WHICH IS BEING A LIAISON VERSUS LOOKING INTO DEDICATED STAFF THAT MAY TAKE ON SOME OF THIS WORK? I THINK THAT BY HAVING THAT LIAISON THAT'S REALLY EMBEDDED IN THE WORK AND WORKING WITH STUDENTS IS VERY HELPFUL.

THEY BECOME KIND OF LIKE OUR EXPERTS, LIKE A CADRE OF THIS TEAM THAT CAN GO IN AND REALLY SUPPORT THE STUDENTS.

I'M GOING TO HAVE MS..

WOOD ON THIS EVENING.

SHE IS REALLY OUR EXPERT IN RESIDENCE ABOUT THIS.

SO, MS.. WOOD, IF YOU DON'T MIND.

WOULD YOU PLEASE SHARE OUT? YES. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE.

SO TO CLARIFY YOUR QUESTION, MR. BARNABY, YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT WHAT ARE THE LIAISONS ROLE AND THEN THEIR ROLE AS BEING EITHER A TEACHER OR A MEMBER OF THE SST.

THE LIAISON.

OUR LIAISON DOES HAVE ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.

IT'S NOT A SINGULAR ROLE, BUT THEY DO DO A LOT OF WORK AROUND THAT.

AND SO WE SPECIFICALLY, WHEN WE LOOKED AT PUTTING LIAISONS IN EACH SCHOOL, WANTED SOMEONE WHO WASN'T NECESSARILY A CLASSROOM TEACHER.

I THINK WE ONLY HAVE ONE AND I THINK WE ONLY HAVE ONE CLASSROOM TEACHER THAT IS ACTUALLY ONE OF OUR LIAISONS.

MOST OF OUR LIAISONS ARE EITHER DEANS OF STUDENTS OR A MEMBER OF OUR SST, ONE OF THE COUNSELORS, PSYCHOLOGISTS OR SOCIAL WORKERS.

AND SO THEY COLLECT THE DATA AND THEY DO IT INTO THE YEAR SURVEY, WHICH ASSESSES WHERE THEY ARE, WHAT LEVEL THEY BELIEVE THEIR SCHOOL IS AT, AND WHAT SUPPORT THEY WOULD NEED.

THEY ALSO SERVE AS THAT IMPLEMENTATION PERSON AND THAT POINT PERSON FOR IMPLEMENTATION, AND THEY MEET REGULARLY WITH THE RESTORATIVE PRACTICES COORDINATOR, MR. GREGORY BALDWIN, WHO ALSO BUILDS THEIR SKILLS AND THINGS AROUND THEIR RESTORATIVE PRACTICE KNOWLEDGE AND THEIR ABILITY TO RUN CIRCLES AT THE DIFFERENT TIERED LEVELS, WHETHER IT'S TIER ONE, WHICH OR COMMUNITY CIRCLES AND SUPPORT THAT HAPPENS THERE, OR TIER TWO OR TIER THREE, WHICH ARE MORE INTENSIVE CIRCLES WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT REPAIRING HARM AND RETURNING OUR STUDENTS OR ANYONE ELSE BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY AND BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.

AND SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, THAT IS WHY WE LOOKED AT GETTING A PERSON WHO WASN'T NECESSARILY, AGAIN, A CLASSROOM TEACHER, BUT SOMEONE WHO HAD SOME FLEXIBILITY WITHIN THE SCHOOL WITH SOME OF OUR COACHES AS WELL THAT ARE ABLE TO DO THAT.

THE RESTORATIVE PRACTICES LIAISONS ALSO COORDINATE WITH THE RULER TEAM, WHICH IS OUR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING CURRICULUM ON THE SITE AT SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS OUR PBIS AND EQUITY LIAISONS.

WE'RE WORKING TO BRING THEM ALL TOGETHER SO THAT THEY ARE HELPING TO SUPPORT OUR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING CURRICULUM THAT IS BEING ROLLED OUT IN ALL THE SCHOOLS 30 MINUTES A DAY THROUGHOUT ACPS.

THANK YOU. APPRECIATE THAT. YEAH.

SO I WILL JUST SAY AS WE GO AND LOOK AT METRICS AND DATA, JUST KEEP IN MIND, IF WE GET TO A POINT THAT MAYBE THE LIAISONS JUST HAVE ADDITIONAL TOO MUCH WORKLOAD.

AS SOMEONE WHO LOOKS AT THE BUDGET EVERY YEAR AND APPROVES THE BUDGET, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ADD POSITIONS TO TAKE SOME OF THAT LOAD OFF AND MAKE THE PROGRAM OR MAKE THE PERSON WORKING ON THIS MORE EFFECTIVE IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DO.

SO JUST INCREASE LOOKING INTO THAT.

MY OTHER QUESTION WAS REGARDING THE SST STAFFING LEVELS.

AND GIVEN THAT WE HAVE, AS WE KNOW, WE HAVE THIS MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS IN KIDS AND YOUTH AND THAT DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR HAS BEEN GOING UP, ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEDIATRICS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.

HAVE WE CHANGED AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT LOOKING AT THE BUDGET DOESN'T LOOK THAT WE HAVE CHANGED THE STAFFING LEVELS AT THE SCHOOLS WHEN IT COMES TO THE SAFETY TEAMS SINCE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.

IS THAT TRUE? HAVE WE CHANGED ANY? WE DEFINITELY HAVE CHANGED.

I THINK THE OPERATING BUDGET IN THAT REGARD HAS REMAINED CONSTANT BECAUSE WE ARE USING OUR ESSER FUNDS TO SEEK OUT THOSE POSITIONS.

WE DO KNOW THAT SOME OF THOSE MORE MENTAL HEALTH POSITIONS ARE HARDER TO RECRUIT AND FIND, BUT YOU DON'T SEE THEM IN THE OPERATING BUDGET BECAUSE THEY COME ON THE OTHER SIDE THROUGH THE ESSER FUNDING.

AND ARE THEY SCHOOL ASSIGNED OR ARE THEY IN CENTRAL OFFICE? AND SO IT'S A BIGGER PROCESS THAN THAT.

WE GO IN AND REALLY ASSESS TO SEE THE SCHOOL'S NEEDS AND TRY TO ASSIGN WHATEVER ROLE THEY MAY NEED BECAUSE THOSE SUPPORT ROLES COME IN LIKE COUNSELORS, SCHOOL, SOCIAL WORKERS, THAT SORT OF THING. SO IT IS REALLY DETERMINED BY THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SERVICES, AND THEN THOSE ASSIGNMENTS ARE MADE TO THAT INDIVIDUAL

[01:05:08]

SO IT'S A BIGGER CONVERSATION THAN JUST SAYING THEY'RE NOT IN THE OPERATING BUDGET, THEY'RE IN THE ESSER UNDER ESSER, BUT WE ARE TAILORING THAT WORK TO THAT SCHOOL COMMUNITY.

AND ARE WE LOOKING AT CASELOADS, HOW THEY CHANGE DURING THE PANDEMIC? AND IS THAT ONE FACTOR THAT WE LOOK AT AT EVERY SCHOOL? SO WHEN YOU'RE SEEING CASELOADS LIKE FOR COUNSELORS, THAT SORT OF THING, YEAH.

HOW MANY KIDS ARE STARTING TO NEED THESE SERVICES MORE OR HAVE RECENTLY STARTED TO NEED THE SERVICE MORE? I CAN JUST TELL FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WE NEED AT OUR SCHOOL.

ONE OF MY KIDS NEEDED SUPPORT FROM THE SYSTEM AND WHAT WE WERE TOLD IS THEY'RE A LITTLE OVERWHELMED.

I MEAN, EVENTUALLY THEY GOT THERE AND IT WAS LIKE CHANGE THE YEAR ROUND.

IT WAS AMAZING.

AND EVEN WHEN MY DAUGHTER SPOKE HERE IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL BOARD, THAT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF HER YEAR.

HOW THE PSD HELPED HER SHOUT OUT TO THE SYSTEMS AT THE SCHOOLS, BY THE WAY, AND EVERYONE WHO'S WORKING ON THIS EFFORT, IT'S TRULY FANTASTIC AND HELPS THE STUDENTS A LOT.

SO ARE WE LOOKING AT HOW MANY STUDENTS HAVE STARTED TO RECENTLY NEED THIS KIND OF SUPPORT VERSUS FROM BEFORE THE PANDEMIC AND FACTOR THAT INTO OUR DECISION MAKING? YES, DEFINITELY. STUDENT SERVICES DEFINITELY MONITORS ALL THAT DATA.

AND I THINK RIGHT NOW, AGAIN, WHAT I WAS THE POINT I WAS MAKING IS THAT THOSE POSITIONS ARE HARD TO RECRUIT POSITIONS WHILE WE BUILT THEM INTO ESSER AND WE CREATED THOSE ROLES.

SO IF ANYONE'S OUT THERE LISTENING, PLEASE PUT YOUR APPLICATION IN.

I'LL PUT THAT LITTLE PLUG IN FOR RECRUITMENT.

BUT I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT EVEN THOUGH WE'RE OUT THERE TRYING TO RECRUIT THOSE POSITIONS AND THE NEEDS ARE GROWING, WE ARE VERY MINDFUL ABOUT TAKING THEM OUT OF THAT.

ESSER FUNDING TO MEET THOSE SCHOOL NEEDS AND SOME NEEDS SCHOOLS HAVE GREATER NEEDS THAN OTHERS.

SO WE ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THOSE COMMUNITIES FIRST AND JUST ALSO BE MINDFUL THAT ACP DOES EXCEED THE VIRGINIA SOCKS ON MOST OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS, WHICH IS GREAT.

NOW DOES THAT MEET THE NEEDS OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY? NO. THAT'S WHY, OF COURSE, ACP GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND THOSE SOX AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO RECRUIT FOR THOSE HARD TO FILL POSITIONS.

SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU.

APPRECIATE IT. YOU'RE WELCOME.

AND I HOPE I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE YOU NEED TO ADD, BUT AS YOU'LL SEE, WE WILL DO ANOTHER UPDATE ON CIEL, I THINK OVERALL AND WE'LL GET TO THAT IN OUR FUTURE PLANNING. ALL RIGHT, WONDERFUL.

ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? ALL RIGHT, SEEING NONE.

I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AREA OF FOCUS FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2022 2023. SECOND.

ALL RIGHT. BOARD MEMBER HARRIS APPROVES BOARD MEMBER BAILEY'S MOTION TO APPROVE THE FY 22 2023 AREAS OF FOCUS. I'LL CALL FOR THE VOTE IN ESB PLACE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM.

[15. Resolution on Field Lighting at ACPS Schools]

AND THIS RESOLUTION IS PUT FORTH IN AN EFFORT TO SUPPORT THE NEED IN OUR CITY FOR LIGHTED ADDITIONAL LIGHTED ATHLETIC FIELD SPACE.

THE BOARD IS PUTTING FORTH THIS RESOLUTION, AND I WOULD LIKE FOR BOARD MEMBER BOOS IF SHE WOULD PLEASE READ THE RESOLUTION PROMPTLY.

WHEREAS THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA, THROUGH ITS DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION, PARKS AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES ARE PCA IN ORDER TO MEET CURRENT AND INCREASING SCHOLASTIC AND COMMUNITY NEEDS FOR LIGHTED ATHLETIC FIELD SPACE AND TO BETTER PROVIDE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO RECREATION.

RECREATIONAL FACILITIES TO ALL CITY RESIDENTS HAS FILED APPLICATIONS FOR A SPECIAL USE PERMIT SUP SET FORTH BELOW TO ALLOW FOR THE INSTALLATION OF ATHLETIC FIELD LIGHTING AT SEVERAL SCHOOL SITES OPERATED BY THE ALEXANDRIA CITY SCHOOL BOARD, SCHOOL BOARD.

AND. WHEREAS, THE SNOOPY APPLICATIONS AND SCHOOL SITES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING 22022000424.

FRANCES E HAMMOND MIDDLE SCHOOL 2022000434.

GEORGE WASHINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL 2022000444.

JEFFERSON HOUSTON PRE-K THROUGH EIGHTH SCHOOL 2022000454 PATRICK HENRY K EIGHT SCHOOL.

AND. WHEREAS, THE FOREGOING SCHOOL PROPERTIES ARE TITLED IN THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA, BUT UNDER SECTION 22.1125 OF THE CODE OF VIRGINIA ARE OPERATED BY AND SUBJECT TO THE OFFICIAL CARE AND AUTHORITY OF THE SCHOOL BOARD.

AND. WHEREAS, THE SCHOOL BOARD CONCURS THAT THE AFOREMENTIONED PROJECTS WILL BENEFIT BOTH THE STUDENTS AND SCHOOL COMMUNITIES AT THESE RESPECTIVE SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY

[01:10:02]

WHEREAS, THE AFOREMENTIONED PROJECTS WILL BE CONSTRUCTED ENTIRELY WITH FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE CITY.

NOW. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD HEREBY CONSENTS TO THE CEP APPLICATIONS SET FORTH ABOVE.

SECOND. ALL RIGHT.

I WILL NEED A MOTION FIRST BEFORE THAT SECOND PLACE.

THANK YOU, MR. L NEWBY, THOUGH, DID YOU JUST READ THE RESOLUTION? MADAM CHAIR, I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE RESOLUTION.

ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU, MR. NEWBY. AND THANK YOU, MR. BOOTH, FOR READING THE RESOLUTION SO ELOQUENTLY.

ALL RIGHT. CAN I GET A SECOND TO THE MOTION, PLEASE? SECOND. ALL RIGHT, MISS BOOTH.

SECONDS. MR. NEWBIES, MOTION TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION FOR A LIGHT IT FEELS ON OUR ECB'S PROPERTIES.

I WOULD LIKE TO CALL FOR THE VOTE, PLEASE.

AND ESB.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. RESOLUTION ADOPTED WITH A VOTE OF 8 TO 0.

ALL RIGHT. MOVING FORWARD.

[16. Report from Meagan L. Alderton]

IT WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST TO SEE THE SMILING FACES OF OUR TEACHERS, OUR STUDENTS, OUR STAFF, OUR FAMILIES.

JUST EVERYTHING WAS SO WELL, SO WELL DONE FOR OPENING AND MOVING SO SMOOTHLY AS WE GO FORTH HERE IN OUR THIRD WEEK.

AND THAT'S A LOT TO SAY FOR YOU, DR.

K, IN YOUR NEW POSITION AS INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT, YOU HAVE NOT MISSED A BEAT.

AND WE APPRECIATE ALL THAT'S BEEN DONE AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL FROM CENTRAL OFFICE.

SO WE GREATLY APPRECIATE AND WE'RE JUST LOOKING FORWARD TO A WONDERFUL YEAR.

AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, I WILL MOVE INTO YOUR REPORT ON THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR.

[17. Opening of Schools Report from Interim Superintendent Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt]

GETTING DOWN ON MY KNEES WITH THE LITTLE ONES AND WALKING AROUND ALL THE SCHOOLS WAS VERY EXCITING.

AND I LOVED HEARING THE EXCITEMENT FROM OUR STUDENT REP.

SO KIND OF A WELCOME BACK MESSAGE THAT WAS SENT TO ME, KIND OF SET IT ALL THAT IT SEEMS LIKE WE ARE ON THIS ONE TEAM, ONE JOURNEY TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING ALL WE CAN FOR ALL KIDS.

SO FIRST, I'D LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR BELIEVING IN ME AND THIS ROLE AND FOR ALL THE MESSAGES.

SO IF I FORGOT TO RESPOND TO A MESSAGE, THERE WERE QUITE A BIT.

I'M JUST EXCITED.

SO THANK YOU TO THE COMMUNITY AND TO ALL OF THE SCHOOLS FOR THEIR GREAT WORK.

I DO HAVE A VIDEO, MADAM VICE CHAIR, THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE.

THE VIDEO IS JUST IT'S VERY SHORT.

IT DOES NOT CAPTURE EVERYTHING THAT WE EXPERIENCE IN THOSE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS AS WE KICKED OFF.

BUT I CAN TELL YOU THE EXCITEMENT AND THE ENERGY FOR THE FIRST DAY WAS CONTAGIOUS.

SO IF YOU DON'T MIND, I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THIS VIDEO.

AND THEN AT THE END OF THE VIDEO, I DO HAVE SOME COMMENTS AS WELL.

WE LOVE VIDEOS.

ROLL THE VIDEO.

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, AND I HOPE YOU ARE AS EXCITED AS I AM.

I KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT.

GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

[01:15:19]

I FORGOT ABOUT THE POGO STICK.

SO THAT WAS LIKE THE FIFTH TRY TO ACTUALLY GET UP ON THERE.

AND THEY DID NOT SHOW MADAM CHERRY'S POGO VIDEO.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. I GOT TO I HAVE TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU ALL.

SO, YEAH. SO PLEASE KNOW THAT THAT'S WHERE MY HEART IS.

AND MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS WORK, I DID NOT STAY ON SCHEDULE.

THAT WAS THE FIRST WRONG THING THAT I THINK I'VE PROBABLY DONE.

IT'S HARD TO LEAVE CHILDREN AND GO ON TO THE NEXT CLASS, BUT IT WAS AN AMAZING FIRST DAY.

AND I WANT TO THANK ALL OF OUR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, STAFF, BUS DRIVERS, BUS MONITORS, EVERYONE, OUR SCHOOL NUTRITION STAFF.

FOR AN AMAZING FIRST DAY, I HEARD NOTHING BUT GREAT FEEDBACK FROM EVERYONE, AND IF WE COULD RELIVE THAT EVERY DAY, I THINK IT SPEAKS TO THE PASSION OF THE WORK THAT WE DO. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I DO HAVE A FEW COMMENTS.

I THINK OUR STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES HIT ON A FEW OF THEM, SO THEY KIND OF STOLE MY THUNDER.

BUT I'M GLAD THAT YOU TOOK THE TIME TO RECOGNIZE YOUR TEACHERS IN THE WORK THAT THEY DO ALL YEAR.

SO I GET ALL EMOTION ABOUT THAT, BUT THAT WAS JUST REALLY NICE TO HEAR.

SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.

THERE'S BEEN SO MANY UPGRADES THAT I'VE SPOKEN ABOUT PUBLICLY ABOUT SCHOOL SAFETY AROUND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO WITH ENHANCEMENTS.

SO I FEEL LIKE WE'VE KIND OF HARPED ON THAT ENOUGH IN A SENSE.

BUT I DO WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THOSE STAFF MEMBERS WHO HELP PUT THOSE SAFETY MEASURES IN PLACE.

ALL OF THE COMMUNICATION MEASURES I HEARD ABOUT PARENTS SQUARE AND ALL THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'RE GETTING JUST TO STEP BACK AND THINK THAT ONE TOOL REACHES ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY WHERE THEY CAN COMMUNICATE AND FEEL COMFORTABLE COMMUNICATING WITH EVEN ADMINISTRATORS IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE AND GETTING THE RESPONSE BACK.

SO THE TEAM WHO PUT THAT TOGETHER, KUDOS TO THEM AND THANK YOU FOR THEIR WORK ON THAT.

THAT'S A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT AS WE KICK OFF THE SCHOOL YEAR, OF COURSE, ALL OF THE SAFETY AROUND THE DESIGNATED DOOR ENTRANCES, THE STUDENT ID PROCESS, AND I THINK YOU ALL SPOKE TO THAT TONIGHT.

I KNOW THE FIRST DAY IT PROBABLY SEEMED A LITTLE DIFFERENT FOR OUR SECONDARY STUDENTS.

BUT IF YOU GO BY NOW, OUR OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF ARE GETTING THE HANG OF IT AND JUST THINK ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT DOES AROUND CAMPUS SECURITY.

SO THAT'S IT.

AND AROUND SOSE, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AT THE SECONDARY LEVELS.

AND JUST A REMINDER THAT OUR CAMPUSES ARE CLOSED.

THE STUDENTS DO STILL NEED PERMISSION TO ENTER AND EXIT, AND WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE THOSE EFFORTS.

THAT IS NOT A NEW CONCEPT.

I GET THAT QUESTION QUITE OFTEN.

THAT IS NOT A NEW CONCEPT.

I CANNOT SAY THAT ENOUGH.

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN IN PLACE AND I COULD NOT LEAVE HERE TONIGHT WITHOUT SAYING THANK YOU TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES FOR ALL OF THEIR RECRUITMENT EFFORTS.

WE DO STILL HAVE SOME VACANCIES IF ANYONE'S OUT THERE LISTING ALL THE WORK THEY DID TO GET IN THE HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS AND ALL OF OUR BUS DRIVERS AND BUS MONITORS. WE ARE JUST PROUD OF THAT WORK FROM WHERE WE WERE LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME.

AND WE DO JUST A REMINDER, IF YOU'RE LISTENING, HAVE THAT $3,000 INCENTIVE THAT'S BEING OFFERED TO NEWLY HIRED BUS DRIVERS.

WE DO REALIZE THE IMPORTANT WORK THAT THEY ARE THE ONES DRIVING OUR FUTURE.

SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE SUPPORT THEM IN THEIR ENDEAVOR AS WELL.

NOW IT'S SEPTEMBER.

SEPTEMBER. WHAT IS SEPTEMBER? THE QUIZ. YOU ALL ARE LOOKING HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH.

SOMETHING ELSE? SOMETHING ELSE IS LIKE A QUIZ.

I SHOULD BE GIVING YOU GUYS A QUIZ.

RIGHT? SEPTEMBER IS ATTENDANCE AWARENESS MONTH AND WE ARE WORKING CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL TO WORK WITH OUR SCHOOLS TO LET THEM KNOW AND OUR FAMILIES KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE TO SCHOOL ON TIME AND BE IN CLASS EVERY DAY AND THE SUCCESS MEASURES THAT THAT CAN HAVE FOR STUDENTS.

SO WE'LL BE SEEING SENDING OUT A LOT OF CAMPAIGN PARAPHERNALIA AROUND THAT AND WE'RE GOING TO CARRY THAT ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE SCHOOL YEAR.

WE'RE NOT JUST GOING TO HIGHLIGHT ATTENDANCE IN SEPTEMBER.

IT'LL BE IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.

WE'LL BE WORKING WITH ALL OF OUR LOCAL LIAISONS AS WELL AS OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH PARTNERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDANCE.

SOMETIMES WHEN WE SPEAK ABOUT ATTENDANCE, IT'S REALLY ABOUT YOU HERE.

OH, COME TO SCHOOL, BE IN SCHOOL.

BUT IT'S ABOUT GETTING TO SCHOOL ON TIME BECAUSE THAT'S MISSED INSTRUCTION TIME AND IT CAN BE MISSED SEAL TIME AND THAT'S IMPORTANT TO US AS WELL.

SO IF YOU START TO SEE THAT, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD AROUND THAT BECAUSE THAT IS KEY TO STUDENT SUCCESS.

AND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO HELP US PROMOTE IT BECAUSE WE ALL LOVE SOCIAL MEDIA, USE THE HASHTAG EVERY DAY COUNTS WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT POSITIVE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.

AGAIN, THAT'S HASHTAG EVERY DAY COUNTS.

SO YOU'LL SEE US PUTTING A LOT OF THAT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AS WE SEND OUT OUR MESSAGES TO SUPPORT OUR FAMILIES AROUND THAT.

[01:20:06]

SO IF YOU COULD BE SURE TO ALL OF OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES OUT THERE TO GET THAT INFORMATION IN, AND THAT IS DUE ON SEPTEMBER THE 30TH.

AND ALSO OUR FREE AND REDUCED PRICE MEAL APPLICATIONS ARE DUE FOR THE SAMUEL TUCKER COMMUNITY TODAY.

I WANT TO SAY THAT AGAIN, THAT THEY'RE DUE TODAY.

SO IF YOU'RE LISTENING, YOU STILL HAVE SOME TIME.

AND ALSO FOR THE REST OF OUR SCHOOLS, THEY'RE DUE ON OCTOBER 6TH.

WE DO HAVE SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF STAFF.

SO TO RUN TO HIGHLIGHT ONE OF HIS TEACHERS AS TO REACH TERESA.

SCUSE ME. CHAVEZ HAS BEEN HONORED WITH THE VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF MARKETING EDUCATORS 2022 TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD.

I DON'T THINK WE CAN HIGHLIGHT OUR STAFF ENOUGH FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DO AND TO RECEIVE THIS HONOR TO BE THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN TO HAVE THIS RECOGNITION.

AND SHE'S IN ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS STAFF MEMBER SO IF YOU'RE WATCHING HONOR TO RESPECT ALL OF THE WORK THAT SHE DOES AND THE IMPACT THAT SHE HAS, SO OFTEN WE HEAR ABOUT OUR TEACHERS AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON STUDENTS AND TO ACTUALLY SIT HERE AND TO HEAR YOU SPEAK SO PASSIONATELY ABOUT HER AND THE IMPACT SHE HAS ON YOU.

SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT STORY WITH US.

ALSO ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT, WE HAVE A NINTH GRADE STUDENT, JAMIKA RANDOLPH, WHO BECAME THE FIRST ACPS STUDENT CHOSEN TO SPEAK AT THE ANNUAL AVID OR THE ADVANCEMENT VIA INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATION REGIONAL CONFERENCE.

THERE WAS A REGIONAL AND THERE WAS A NATIONAL TRAINING THAT WAS HELD AND WE HAD OUR NINTH GRADE STUDENT ACTUALLY REPRESENT US THERE.

THAT'S HUGE. SO IF YOU'RE WATCHING JAMAICA, CONGRATULATIONS.

AND I UNDERSTAND SHE REPRESENTED IT VERY WELL.

SO WE'RE VERY PROUD OF HER.

SHE ATTENDED FRANCIS HAMMOND MIDDLE SCHOOL, WILLIAM RAMSEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

SO WE JUST WANT TO CONTINUE TO CONGRATULATE HER.

SO IF YOU'RE OUT AND YOU SEE HER, I WILL BE COMING TO VISIT YOU IN SCHOOL.

SO GET READY. THE STUDENT REPS KNOW I WILL TRY TO HUNT YOU DOWN WHEN I'M THERE.

IF SOMEONE INVITES ME, I WILL BE THERE TO MAKE SURE I SAY HELLO OR TO WATCH YOU ALL PRESENT AS WELL.

SO JUST PLEASE EXCUSE ME.

JOIN ME IN CONGRATULATING THE STAFF ON THESE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS WELL AS OUR STUDENTS, AND WE ARE EXCITED TO KICK OFF AN EXCITING YEAR AND I THINK THINGS HAVE GOT OFF TO A GREAT START. AND AGAIN, I'M JUST EXCITED AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE GREAT WORK AHEAD.

THANK YOU. DR.. Q HOW WONDERFUL.

AND ONE TEAM, ONE JOURNEY FOR SURE.

AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL SCHOOL YEAR WITH MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR US HERE IN ALEXANDRIA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

ALL RIGHT. MOVING FORWARD, ARE THERE ANY REPORTS FROM OUR BOARD MEMBERS IN YOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM OUR BOARD MEMBERS?

[18. Announcements]

MR. L NEWBIE. SORRY.

WE'RE GOOD, ACTUALLY.

SO I WILL BE HOLDING A COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSION FOR ANY STAKEHOLDERS.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE MY CONSTITUENT.

ALONG WITH COUNCILMAN AGUIRRE AGUIRRE ON SATURDAY AT 1030 AT WHEATLEY LIBRARY.

YOU'RE WELCOME TO SHOW UP, ASK QUESTIONS, HAVE A GOOD DISCUSSION, CONVERSATION, AND ANY ISSUES ON YOUR MIND.

SO PLEASE JOIN ME.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

AND THE VICE CHAIR WILL NOW ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN AND MOVE INTO OUR WORK SESSION.

SO MOVED DR.

REITH SECONDS.

DR. SIMPSON BAIRD'S MOTION TO ADJOURN.

I'LL CALL FOR THE VOTE, PLEASE.

IN ESB.

THANK YOU, EVERYONE. WITH A VOTE OF 8 TO 0, OUR MEETING IS ADJOURNED FOR SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2022, AT 8:26 P.M..

THANK YOU AND HAVE A GOOD EVENING.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.