Coraggio Consulting
Fairfax County School Board Meeting, Thursday, April 11, 2024

Date: Thursday, April 11, 2024
Place: Fairfax County School Board, Virginia
Length: 2h 46m (video)
Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCFplj8Ni18
Official School Board page (FCPS): https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/leadership/school-board

Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting.
Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-11-01. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:01:02] This April 11th 2024 regular meeting of the Fairfax County School Board will now come to order please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence and a performance of the National Anthem by the Annandale High School singers under the direction of Pat Vaughn. I pledge allegiance to the flag.

[00:02:28] For another round of applause for our student performers

[00:03:37] there Annandale High School just going to take a moment while they clear the stage of the risers it's just going to be a moment and then we'll get started with the meeting.

[00:05:32] All right. Thanks everybody agenda item 2.02 certification of a closed meeting compliance in order to comply with section 2.2-3712d of the

[00:06:10] code of virginia it is necessary for the board to certify that since the fairfax county school board convened a closed meeting on april 11 2024 to the best of each member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard discussed or considered by the Board during the closed meeting. Do I have a motion? Mr.

[00:06:39] McElveen, is there a second? Mr. Moon. All those in favor? Mr. McElveen, Miss Lady, Miss St. John Cunning, Miss Marin, Dr. Anderson, Miss Anderson, Miss Dixit, Mr. Moon, and myself. That's unanimous. Agenda Item 2.03, Confirmation of Action Taken and Closed. I call on Miss Anderson for a motion. I move to deny the appeal of an employee that was considered on the written record in in closed session and to adopt the recommendation of the school board's hearing officer.

[00:07:12] - Is there a second? - Second. - Ms. Lady. All those in favor, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Marin, Dr. Anderson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Moon and myself. That's unanimous for all board members present.

[00:07:28] I call on Ms. St. John Cunning for a motion. - I move to deny the school reassignment appeal of a student who assaulted another student at a school and to confirm the disciplinary decision of the division superintendent. - Is there a second?

[00:07:43] - I second. - Ms. Anderson, all those in favor? Mr. McIveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Marin, Dr. Anderson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Moon and myself, that's unanimous for all members present. I call on Ms. Lady for a motion.

[00:07:59] - I move to deny the school reassignment appeal of a student who made a threat of gun violence towards other students and caused a substantial disruption to school operations and to confirm the disciplinary decision of the division superintendent. - Is there a second? Ms. St. John Cunning, all those in favor?

[00:08:14] Mr. McIveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Marin, Dr. Anderson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Moon, and myself. That's unanimous for all members present. I call on Ms. Lady for a motion. I move that the board authorize legal counsel to enter into a settlement of claims made by the family of a student according to the terms and conditions discussed in closed session.

[00:08:34] Is there a second? Mr. Moon. All those in favor? Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Moon, and myself. All those opposed? Ms. Marin and Dr. Anderson, any abstentions? Will the clerk please read the vote?

[00:08:52] That's 7-2. The motion passes. Thank you. Agenda item 2.04, Announcements. If you would like to review a copy of the agenda and any agenda item that is being discussed tonight, that information may be found at the back of the auditorium or on the website fcps.edu slash school board slash board docs.

[00:09:09] Tonight's meeting is being broadcast on Channel 99 and live streamed on the website at fcps.edu slash tv slash ch99. This is a reminder that school board members will no longer make remarks about proclamations when it is presented at the board for a vote.

[00:09:26] They may choose to make remarks during their board matters comments. Agenda item 2.05, Arab American Heritage Proclamation. I call on Ms. St. John Cunning for a proclamation. Whereas April is a time to celebrate Arab American heritage and culture, pay tribute to the contributions of Arab Americans and Arab-speaking Americans, And the 2024 theme is celebrating Arab American resilience and diversity.

[00:09:54] And whereas nearly 4 million Americans trace their roots to an Arab country, Arab Americans hail from 22 Arab nations and are a diverse ethnically, religiously, politically, and artistically group. And whereas for centuries, Arab Americans have made valuable contributions to every aspect of American society

[00:10:14] In medicine, law, business, education, technology, government, military service, culture, and invented many groundbreaking innovations to include television transmission and LCD screens, the waffle cone, emotion recognition technology, the iPod and the iPhone, surgical developments including the concept behind coronary bypass surgery and the internet security advances such as the digital signature standard, DSS. And whereas, since migrating to America, people of Arab descent have shared their rich

[00:10:51] cultural and traditions with neighbors and friends, while also setting fine examples, model citizens, and public servants. And Arab Americans have also enriched our society by sharing in the entrepreneurial American spirit that makes our nation free and prosperous.

[00:11:08] And whereas, two notable Arab Americans have influenced millions of people around the globe. Kahil Gibran was a writer and a poet and a visual artist. He immigrated to the United States in 1895 from Ottoman-ruled Mount Lebanon, Mata Resifda, now Lebanon.

[00:11:28] His best-known work is his 1923 book, The Prophet. It has become one of the best-selling books of all time and has been translated into more than 100 languages. Fairfax County Public Schools alumna, Hoda Kopt, is of Egypt descent.

[00:11:43] She is a successful broadcast journalist and TV host of Datelight, NBC, and The Today Show. She attended our own Fort Hunt Middle School, then Stephen Foster, then graduated from Fort Hunt High School before graduating from Virginia Tech.

[00:12:00] And whereas the celebration of Arab American ancestry and cultural heritage educates our fellow Americans, encounters bias, misconceptions, harmful stereotyping, and shared abuses by other ethnic groups. And Arab American Heritage Month is an opportunity to celebrate the great pride and vibrancy of over 100,000 Arab Americans in Virginia, whose abilities and contributions strengthen Virginia's economy, diverse culture, and communities.

[00:12:29] And, whereas Fairfax County Public Schools believes in fostering an inclusive community that empowers all students and families, Arab American Heritage Month presents an opportunity to explore and appreciate the diversity that strengthens our community.

[00:12:47] Through educational programs, cultural events, and classroom activities, we aim to enrich our students' understanding and appreciation of Arab American heritage. Now therefore be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board hereby proclaim April as Arab American Heritage Month and officially recognizes the contributions of Arab Americans that they have made to our society.

[00:13:13] We encourage the celebration of the collective ingenuity, creativity, cultures and traditions of Arab Americans and encourage participation in educational events honoring the contribution of Arab Americans. Is there a second?

[00:13:29] I second. I will call for a vote. All those in favor, Mr. McIveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Marin, Dr. Anderson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Moon, and myself. That's unanimous for all board members present. Agenda Item 2.06, Month of the Military Child Proclamation. I call on Dr. Anderson for a proclamation.

[00:13:58] Whereas April is the month of the military child, this designation was established by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Kasper Weinberger in 1986 to acknowledge and honor our youngest military heroes and the significant role they play in our communities.

[00:14:17] And whereas, Virginia is home to over 77,000 military-connected school-age students, more than any other state in the nation. Fairfax County Public Schools proudly supports 13,500 military-connected youth and their families.

[00:14:38] And whereas, our military-connected students bring a sense of community and wealth of life experiences to our schools. Military families relocate every two to three years on average, causing their children to change schools and support networks with each move.

[00:14:57] These students know firsthand what it feels like to be the new kid, and so often they are the first to welcome the new students to our schools. And whereas military-connected children overcome many challenges and have unique experiences as a result of their parents' assignments at duty stations around the world, these children demonstrate resourcefulness, adaptability, and resilience in dealing with numerous challenges presented by frequent relocations, parent deployments, and a host of life transitions.

[00:15:32] And whereas FCPS is honored to participate in the Purple Star designation program, currently 69 FCPS Purple Star schools have been recognized by the Virginia Department of Education and Virginia Council on Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children for demonstrating their commitment to meeting the needs of and actively supporting military-connected students and their families.

[00:16:02] And whereas April 17th is Purple Up Day. Purple symbolizes all branches of the military as a combination of Army Green, Marine Corps Red, and Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force Blue.

[00:16:20] We encourage everyone to wear purple to celebrate our military-connected students next Wednesday and today. Therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board celebrates April as the Month of the Military Child in recognition of military-connected students for their heroism, character, sacrifices, and continued resilience.

[00:16:47] This month provides a powerful opportunity to raise awareness and to build support for these children. We also have a number of people in the audience who are connected to this work, and I'd like to just call their names at this point. Marie Bailey, Military Connected Youth; Aisha Mahaffey, Military Connected Youth Process Team and School Liaison for Fort Belvoir; Chris Pulley, Veterans Coordinator of Fairfax County Government, along with a couple of students.

[00:17:19] Thank you so much. Is there a second? Ms. St. John Cunning, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Marin, Dr. Anderson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Moon, and myself.

[00:17:40] that's unanimous for all members present. Agenda Item 2.07, National Volunteer and Mentor Week Proclamation. I call on Ms. Anderson for a proclamation. - Whereas School Volunteer Week is observed during the third full week of April to encourage parents and community members to volunteer in their neighborhood schools, and Fairfax County Public Schools has the good fortune to have many people willing to volunteer their time and services in our schools and at school-sponsored activities, and whereas every school, whether through formal or informal partnerships, counts among its volunteers, those who give generously of their time to improve the academic, cultural,

[00:18:20] and athletic environment of the school, especially through tutoring and mentoring programs and programs that sustain parent involvement in school activities. And whereas National Mentoring Month is an annual campaign to focus attention on the need for mentors, as well as how each of us can work together to increase the number of mentors to ensure positive outcomes for our students.

[00:18:44] And Fairfax County Public Schools honors volunteer mentors and staff who support students by showing up for them every day and demonstrating their commitment to help them thrive. And whereas by sharing their own stories and offering guidance and advice, mentors instill a sense of infinite possibility in the hearts and minds of their mentees, demonstrating that with hard work and passion, Nothing is beyond their potential.

[00:19:11] Whether simply offering a compassionate ear or actively teaching and inspiring curiosity, mentors can play a pivotal role, can play pivotal roles in young people's lives. Now therefore be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board hereby proclaims April 15th through 19th, 2024 as Volunteer and Mentor Appreciation Week to honor our committed school volunteers and mentors and encourage all students and employees to recognize and applaud the services and contributions volunteers provide to our school communities.

[00:19:47] And therefore it be further resolved that the Fairfax County School Board honors all of those who continuously strive to provide young people with the resources and support they need and deserve. And we recommit to building a society in which all mentors and mentees can thrive in a mutual learning relationships.

[00:20:06] - Is there a second? Mr. Moon. All those in favor, Mr. McElvain, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Marin, Dr. Anderson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Moon, and myself, that's unanimous for all members present.

[00:20:25] I would like to invite all those in support of the National Volunteer and Mentor Week proclamation to please join the board for a photo at the front of the dais.

[00:20:35] I would like to invite all those in support of the Month of the Military Child Proclamation, including FCPS Military Connected Students, Amelia Smith and Jude Brimage,

[00:21:25] Family Partnerships Specialist for Military Connected Youth Process Action

[00:21:31] Team Meredith Ayala. I would like to invite all those here in support of the

[00:23:10] Arab American Heritage Proclamation to please join the board for a photo at the

[00:23:14] front of the dais. Agenda item 3.01 community participation. The next order

[00:25:01] of business is community participation. We welcome all community members who are here and those who signed up to speak this evening. Additional information about signing up to provide comments at school board regular business meetings and public hearings can be found on the school board website.

[00:25:16] During the signup process, community members acknowledge that they were informed of the school board's expectations for proper decorum when providing comments. These expectations are also available online and with the printed agenda and meeting materials in the back of the room. We ask audience members to be respectful of one another.

[00:25:34] Shouting and outbursts will not be tolerated. Please hold your applause until the conclusion of a speaker's remarks. Audience members may not join speakers at the podium and should remain at their seats, including while video recording or taking photos. We are grateful to those who have come to speak to us this evening, and thank you for your cooperation.

[00:25:52] School board members will be listening but not responding. Madam Clerk, please call the first speaker. Amelia Smith. Good evening.

[00:26:09] My name is Amelia Smith, and I'm a junior at Langley High School and an officer of the military club there. We live in a diverse area where military and government families with children going to FCPS schools frequently transfer in and out and I'm here to highlight several ways in which FCPS can more effectively support these families and students to better show our appreciation for them.

[00:26:29] I believe that with a little attention and support we can make significant improvements in integrating these warrior transplants into our school communities and grow together to live up to the excellence that FCPS represents. By the time military kids at high school more often than not if CPS is their fourth or fifth school in their lifetime. On behalf of the student body compromised military students I can confidently say that what we need most is a heartfelt greeting to tell us that we are welcomed and appreciated here. Nothing can make or break a child's experience in school more than people or teachers there, especially that of a military service member's child. Another opportunity is to embrace the military families and to adopt them into the school community

[00:27:08] so that they can adapt to a CPS with ease and to help their children grow in their uniquely challenging lifestyle. We're also showing what is behind the patriotism, bravery, sacrifice of active and retired service members of their families. Some suggestions the voices of students and parents that I have heard include one having a personalized welcome from staff and show the students the ropes of the school so they can more quickly adjust to student life and effectively learn and study without the stress of an unknown environment. Just as important as reaching out to the student, thoroughly communicating with parents is essential to understanding the needs of the child.

[00:27:44] Because every military child coming to FCPS is under different circumstances and needs. Through this, outreach to military families and students creates a united and truly integrated community supporting the needs and learning of all students. Also, as a large part of being a military family is coping with the deployment of a family member. The school can provide a lot of relief to the family through giving support to the student. And then finally, creating welcoming an open space for military teens to bond among themselves.

[00:28:24] Jude Brimage. Hi, my name is Jude, and I'm a fourth grader at Centerville Elementary.

[00:28:41] I am here to talk to you tonight about the Purple Eagles Club. Being a military child has its pros and its cons. The pros are making new friends and exploring new places. The cons are leaving your old friends and leaving communities you have grown to love.

[00:29:00] Sometimes the difficult parts of being a military child, like leaving awesome communities, can have a good outcome. For example, my family moving from Germany brought us to Centerville Elementary, where I've become a Purple Eagle. Being a Purple Eagle is great because it allows me to connect with other students that have similar experiences.

[00:29:22] While sharing experiences with other Purple Eagles, we do activities that help us understand why our parents choose to serve our country. At CES, we have 11 Purple Eagles and this is the first year.

[00:29:38] I am proud to be a Purple Eagle and I am proud to be a military child. If you are in the military, thank you for your service. Thank you for inviting me here to speak tonight.

[00:29:59] Michael Parker. Good evening. C-8630 correctly lists exemptions in Virginia law that allow for the legal possession of firearms on school property.

[00:30:16] Federal law echoes these exemptions. These exemptions allowed my son, then a student at West Potomac, as well as visitors, to possess firearms on school grounds. It's important that all stakeholders, including students, understand the limits and responsibility of their 2A rights while on school grounds.

[00:30:32] The SRR document fails to properly discuss these rights. The SRR has a blanket statement that students cannot possess weapons on school property. However, the definition of weapons buried in the SRR states for the purpose of the Gun Free School Zone Act, nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit possession of a weapon under circumstances that are expressly permitted under the Code of Virginia.

[00:30:54] Unlike Policy 8630, the SRR does not list the exemptions in Virginia Code. It should. Appendix C of the SRR has Virginia Code that applies to the SRR but does not include the exemptions that allow for firearms positions on school property.

[00:31:12] Please ensure that Virginia Code 18.2-308.1 is included in Appendix C of the SRR. This will help students understand their 2A rights and responsibilities while on school property. Two weeks ago, given the language of the policy 8630 in the SRR, I asked the Office of Safety and Security if students and staff can have an unloaded firearm in their vehicle property secured.

[00:31:35] They continue to research this question. Thank you. Brittany Hahn.

[00:31:53] Hi, I'm here to speak about the need for an outdoor immersion program that aims at providing a unique and engaging learning experience for K-3rd students at Saratoga, where two core subjects a day would be taught outdoors. The goal is to take advantage of the benefits of learning in nature while ensuring a safe and structured environment. Interested parents would register their child for this program. The plan is to expand this initiative to other schools and grades within FCPS. The program would be led by a teacher with the support of an aide. Students participating in outdoor education in the United States and other countries have shown increased and overall child well-being and academic performance. Their programs yielded considerable benefits to

[00:32:31] students' emotional, cognitive, social, and physical health. These benefits were noted in programs that had at least four hours a week of outdoor education. Outdoor education provides students with opportunities to learn in a hands-on environment, which increased interest and engagement. The combination of stress reduction, self-discipline, and physical activity greatly contributed to students' success. Students who received outdoor learning showed greater improvements in emotional well-being. Students experienced greater self-regulation, engagement, attendance resiliency and personal ownership of their learning improve self-concept reduce stress and mental fatigue increased independence confidence self-discipline and initiative all were seen with outdoor learning the benefits of outdoor learning on cognitive development were

[00:33:10] significant the hands-on learning enhanced students critical thinking reasoning and communication abilities positive impact on creativity decision making and problem solving were noticeable students improved their science testing scores by 27 percent and increased standardized test scores were seen in all subjects including reading additionally outdoor learning provided opportunities for students to practice real problem solving skills in real life situations fostering a sense of responsibility empathy and interdependence with increases in collaboration conflict resolution and less aggression students develop pro-social skills their improved physical development was evident students fine and gross motor skills ability to cross the midline nutrition pro-deception and core strength showed

[00:33:48] significant progress children with special needs like ADHD benefited greatly from outdoor programs outdoor learning reduced symptoms and negativity impacting education and different learning styles were better utilized robba latiri my name is raba latiri and i am the co-leader for core for foundation i'm the co-leader because i have a 12th committee

[00:34:25] chair i am the co-leader for arab america foundation team virginia on behalf of the arab america foundation and the arab america community in virginia we extend our gratitude to you. Your support is invaluable as we strive to raise awareness of Arab heritage, a goal exemplified by initiatives like the National Arab American Heritage Month launched in 2017.

[00:34:56] Our mission is to increase public understanding about the rich history and complex identity of arab and arab american which are often misunderstood due to stereotypical portrayal in the media by addressing this misconception we aim to foster a more accurate and inclusion representation of arab america culture and achievement again on behalf of arab america

[00:35:30] foundation and all arab american in virginia we thank you for this recognition thank you please play the video testimony of gunnar greenlee hi my name is gunnar greenlee and i'm a junior at woodson high school thank you for listening to this so i'd like to talk about our dugouts our dugouts are really bad they're really small everybody's cramped we have to put our gear on the outside because it doesn't fit in the dugout um i have teammates on my summer ball teams who

[00:36:10] We always talk about how our field's like trash and like the dugouts are bad. Every other field's good. We went to Fairfax. They got like new renovated dugouts and we still have the bad ones from the 60s or whatever. So it's kind of unfair. It's hurting our program.

[00:36:28] It's demoralizing to the kids. Please play the video testimony of Stephanie Lundquist-Aurora. Good evening.

[00:36:44] I have a few questions with regard to your principals and some of the actions that the school board have taken. First of all I know that a lot of lip service is paid to racial diversity. The education at Thomas Jefferson has been pretty much dismantled in the sense that equity has replaced merit in the admissions process and the last merit-based class is graduating this year. But I have noticed

[00:37:18] in your leadership the chair and the co-chair currently are white melanie marin and carl frisch and the their predecessors also uh rajna seismorheiser is south asian but as you pointed out um that doesn't count as diversity for tj admissions um and then stella pokarski was before her also white so a lot of um white and south asian leadership for the school board while so so much lip service is paid to diversity. Also, the superintendent, Michelle Reed, is white. The

[00:37:55] previous superintendent, Scott Brabrand, also white. Lots of white leadership for such a DEI religion-focused school board. Secondly, all of the equity talk doesn't seem to equate to pay equity for administrators and teachers. If you look at their salaries, I know there's going to We have 6% increase across the board, but Michelle Reed makes $380,000 a year.

[00:38:22] And while teachers, probably not even six figures. So some equity issues there. And the emphasis on geographic diversity is interesting given that the governing board for TJ is in Fairfax County only, not in Prince William, not in Loudoun, not in Arlington.

[00:38:40] Thank you. Chair Frisch, that's our last public speaker. Thank you. Agenda item 4.01, student representative matters. I call on Ms. Corinne. Thank you, Mr. Frisch. Good evening, everybody. Earlier this week, during our SEALS meeting, we talked about neurodiversity. It's a term that highlights various ways people's brains function.

[00:39:06] The key takeaway is that there isn't a single right way for our brains to operate. Instead, everyone experiences and interacts with the world differently, and it's important that we recognize and celebrate these differences. It was enlightening to hear different students share their thoughts on how their schools embrace neurodiversity.

[00:39:24] Whether through offering a range of classes like honors, AP, or IB, or through various clubs that cater to different interests, the students highlighted that the basic structure of our schools should inherently support neurodiversity. They pointed out that here in Fairfax County, there are opportunities that can cater to anyone's interests, meaning you don't have to change what you're interested in.

[00:39:44] However, the discussion also covered ways in which schools might be falling short in neurodiversity. Students expressed concern about how special education classes are often isolated in a single hallway, commonly referred to as the special education hallway. The segregation not only labels these students, but also detracts them from a sense of unity and inclusiveness.

[00:40:05] We think it's crucial that we should start emphasizing and recognizing that these students are just as much a part of our school community as anyone else. We shouldn't categorize them in any way that separates or diminishes their presence. Another issue raised was the limited availability of safe spaces for students.

[00:40:22] Currently, only Mount Vernon High School and Hayfield Secondary offer designated areas where students can sit quietly, relax, and reflect without any distractions. While counseling services are available, not every student feels comfortable or has a close relationship with their counselor, which can make these spaces less accessible.

[00:40:40] During our SEALS meeting, we discussed how crucial it is to begin taking small steps to establish more of these safe spaces in schools. Providing such environments supports neurodiversity by recognizing that different students need different types of support to thrive. As a county, we should view neurodiversity not just as a buzzword, but as a critical lens through which we continuously evaluate and improve the student experience.

[00:41:03] It's essential to ask ourselves how we can adapt and enhance our educational practices to cater to the diverse needs of all students. Moving on, I want to emphasize the importance of recognizing that college isn't the only pathway after high school. There's a common misconception in our society that this is the case, and it's crucial we work to break down the stigma and support all post-secondary options available to students.

[00:41:26] For instance, those interested in the automotive sector gain real-world experiences through CTE classes, which can lead to job offerings at dealerships and other substantial benefits. This morning, I visited Fairfax High School along with a few school board members with the Career Technical Education Committee and observed the wide range of classes they offer from automotive to fashion, all taught by industry experts.

[00:41:48] One teacher shared a story about a student who initially pursued a job in the industry and later returned to college to earn an engineering degree. The teacher emphasized that if he could change one thing, it would be the recognition that college isn't the only path and it's not necessary to go right away after high school as you have multiple options.

[00:42:05] These courses provide fantastic opportunities as they are led by people who are passionate about their fields to teach despite having the option to work directly in their industry. This dedication shows in the quality of the teaching and offers a unique perspective compared to traditional academic classes, which are often more aligned with a set curriculum.

[00:42:25] This aspect of CTE programs is something truly special, providing a different kind of learning environment that is both practical and inspiring. Unfortunately, the biggest inequity concerning these opportunities is that such classes are only available to students who have access to them, like those in the specific school or those who can manage a travel period in their schedules.

[00:42:43] One of the facilitators at the meeting pointed out that students often can't take these classes because they need to meet requirements for an advanced diploma. This leads to a significant lack of awareness that it's not commonly known among students, parents, and families that colleges do not look at whether you have an advanced diploma.

[00:43:03] They review the classes listed on your transcript. This misunderstanding can limit students' educational choices unnecessarily. We do offer many academy opportunities across several high schools like Edison, Falls Church, Chantilly, and Fairfax. While it's beneficial that these schools are spread out geographically, a significant issue remains.

[00:43:21] Certain specialized classes are only available to students who attend these specific schools, and this creates a huge inequity as access essentially depends on a student's zip code and the high school they are zoned to attend. In essence, a zip code is just a number and shouldn't be a barrier to educational opportunities.

[00:43:38] aware that some of our neighboring school districts have adopted a different model where one building is dedicated to academy classes and the core classes are centralized at the high schools. This approach helps mitigate educational inequities by ensuring all students have equal access to specialized courses regardless of the residential areas. It's important to draw from this and see how we can ensure equal educational opportunities for all of our students. These specialized classes have wait lists because the demand and interest are so high. However, various factors like logistics, transportation, and adequate staffing present challenges. It's clear we need to examine our budget allocations to ensure sufficient funding for these unique

[00:44:16] educational opportunities. Today all seven students at the meeting who shared their experience at the meeting noted that they are pursuing these classes because of their interest in future career paths. But what about the kids who are still on the wait list? By providing hands-on experiences and developing skills that will be used in the real world, we are equipping our students for the future. If we fail to offer every interested student a spot in these classes we risk shortchanging their potential one of the teachers in the fashion class mentioned that many of these students being taught I mean many of the skills that are being taught are ones she didn't encounter until college we are delivering a world-class education with these opportunities

[00:44:53] preparing them for many steps ahead it's crucial that we make this accessible to everyone ensuring that no student is left behind due to logistical constraints thank you thank you miss Kareem agenda item 5.01 action item strategic goal 5 baseline report. I call on Dr. Reed to make a presentation.

[00:45:28] Well, good evening, Chairman Frisch, and it's my pleasure this evening to present the goal 5 baseline report. I want to remind the board and those community members that watch that on March 19th, the board had a public work session to discuss this goal report in quite some detail.

[00:45:46] I want to remind the board and the community that these reports this year are a starting point uh because this is year one of our strategic plan which uh will be uh began last year in 2023 and will be complete uh in 2030. so the purpose of tonight's presentation is simply to provide a high level review of what we've already discussed before presenting the information this evening i want to take a moment to share a couple updates based on the two work sessions actually in which we've discussed this. Posted to board docs this evening is an addendum that actually provides information about the approach that we

[00:46:26] used at the start of the year and I want to make clear to the board and the public that our goal for each of these metrics is to reach a hundred percent for each and every one of our students no later than 2030. Our annual growth targets will be continued to be set with this understanding in mind. While we monitor the trajectory of the growth of each year we remain on track we want to make sure that we check the slope of that line each year to make sure that we make adjustments when we find ourselves potentially off course which might result in larger resources or supports being provided at different sites to

[00:47:04] make sure that we stay on course with the trajectory of our progress by setting these final targets at a hundred percent we set an expectation of excellence equity and opportunity for each and every student in Fairfax County so I'm going to stay on the slide for a minute sorry we added that little bit of a piece I also want to indicate that we did in the work session talk about a 4% variability and really we're looking at making that 5% growth without that level of variability year over year so I want to clarify that as a reminder the board

[00:47:43] did adopt this a seven-year plan last June which again has five goals and four pillars and this evening it's leading for tomorrow's innovation that I'm giving the high-level report on the specific measurement that we're focused on this year is graduation equity and we want to make sure that each and every student graduates on time based on the program they've selected and participates along the way in the most rigorous coursework that's meaningful and engaging to that student and that our students have a plan for after graduation. The areas of equity areas of focus you can read on the screen and we're going to look at key

[00:48:22] data from each of those areas this evening. We're beginning to look at the graduation rate and the dropout rate and particularly in our on-time graduation rate we are doing better than the Commonwealth by two percent which is significant. At 94 percent we're actually quite proud of that time and we continue to look at this data for each four-year cohort.

[00:48:49] One of the things that I want to make sure that we take a look at as well is kind of how the students in terms of graduating on time and how important the data is around ninth grade. If you can go back to that ninth grade slide please, thank you.

[00:49:05] We know that students who are on track at the end of ninth grade are 94% likely to graduate on time. And so and when they're not on track at the end of ninth grade it's very challenging to graduate on time. So one of the data points we're beginning to track very intentionally across all of our high schools is that ninth grade success rate. One of the things that's key to this work is having what we call leading indicators and not lagging indicators. If we can tell what's going on at the end of ninth grade we can intervene with our students and make sure that we get them back

[00:49:42] ON TRACK BECAUSE WE KNOW THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO GRADUATE ON TIME IF WE CAN GET THEM THROUGH THAT 9TH GRADE CREDIT READY. SO NOW GRADUATION OUTCOMES. LET'S TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF A LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE. AND AGAIN, I THINK THIS IS A VERY STRONG SLIDE THAT WE COULD SAY 97% OF OUR HIGH SCHOOLS MET THE VDOE LEVEL 1 ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS AND WE ARE VERY PROUD OF THAT.

[00:50:08] However, we also note that we have a 21-point gap between students who have our highest graduation rates and student demographics with less than our highest graduation rates. This is a chart that our team put together, and I do want to thank our team led by Assistant Superintendent Marcy Neal, Executive Director, Dr. Dustin Wright, with our ORSI department, our ISD, and just a whole team effort.

[00:50:35] But as you look at this, and we discussed at some length at our work session, we do have work to do in particular with our multilingual learners. And I think that's something that we're working right now on structures and supports for our multilingual learners.

[00:50:51] The on-time graduation rates. We know that the multilingual language level, level four being the highest level, our students are very likely to graduate on time and our former multilingual students, those who have been exited through the WIDA assessment, actually are 98% likely to graduate on time.

[00:51:14] So the importance of that language acquisition cannot be overstated. The types of diplomas has been a topic that we've had with the board since I've been here and taking a look at the on-time graduation rate by diplomas, the standard versus advanced diploma rates again is something that we want to continue to work on that one of the data points is that the on-time graduation rate for students earning the standard or advanced studies diploma only excluding any applied changes the overall division on-time rate to 93 percent.

[00:51:53] And so our students with an IEP again their graduation rate is 84 percent. So we have work to do in that area and will continue to provide supports that will help our students be successful in attaining the diploma they've chosen.

[00:52:10] This is one where we've got the percent of schools meeting or exceeding the VDO graduation completion index requirements. And this is a key accountability measure which looks at the percent of schools that meet or exceed this. And we're at 97% for our cumulative baseline.

[00:52:29] It's used by VDOE for school accreditation and is calculated by assigning points to the students in a graduation cohort based on their completion of a diploma, the GED certificate of completion, remaining in school or dropping out.

[00:52:44] And we had 97% of our schools who met or exceeded this level one requirement for graduation. Next, I want to take a look at dropout rates. Again, we were at the state or the commonwealth average of 5%, 88% of our schools met this level one data and again we had a 20 point difference in student demographic groups when we look at our dropout rates by student group as you can see again our multilingual students in particular are more are more likely to drop out than our other student demographics so we have work to do again in language

[00:53:24] acquisition the intersectionality rate which is something the board has asked which is multiple factors again while the dropout rate for all economically disadvantaged students is 7% if you're economically disadvantaged and multilingual it really abruptly increases to 21% so language acquisition continues to be extraordinarily important also our Hispanic students who current multilingual learners again have a higher likelihood of dropouts so

[00:54:01] we're continuing to work on how we structure language support at the same time we support success in academic coursework so our areas for opportunity I think are very clear here looking at the baseline of 739 students this is the data point of the raw numbers and percentage of that 739 who or who were those young people and as we take closer and closer look at those we continue to partner with community partners as well as creating structures within our

[00:54:36] secondary schools to support our students what we can also say is a final accountability metric for dropouts looks at the percent of schools that are meeting that video dropout requirement for level one accreditation and we must have a dropout rate less than or equal to 6% to meet this and again our cumulative baseline total is 88% 22 out of our 25 schools meet this criteria so looking at the diploma options earned by Fairfax County Public School students

[00:55:09] this is the breakdown for all diplomas based on the baseline data for this past year and I think the board has an interest in increasing the number of advanced studies diplomas and we have to take a look at this data I know that we're working on I don't know if dare I say another dashboard to look at this region by region as well as division-wide the post-secondary plans and college enrollment chart again the number of students reported having a

[00:55:47] college plan and percent enrolling. If you look again, our multilingual students continue to have perhaps fewer college plans and enroll at a lower percentage rate, which underscores, I think if there's a theme to tonight's presentation, it's our really clear focus on language acquisition for our learners.

[00:56:15] Improving graduation equity, just want to share some of the strategies the team has been putting into place. We've created a number of flexible options to earn or recover high school credit. The Twilight program has been something that actually has been, Twilight has been highlighted with our VSBA team recently.

[00:56:38] Second we're providing schools with some data tools, our dashboard and our chronic absenteeism dashboard. We know that absenteeism is connected to graduation, or a different way of saying that is being present is more likely to support graduation on time.

[00:56:54] If we can go back a slide, please. Thank you. One of the other things we're doing for our schools that have higher chronic absenteeism or dropout rates is we've provided additional targeted supports for schools, an additional counselor is staffed at schools with higher percentages of multilingual learners and to help our newcomer students and families we have nine centrally funded on-time graduation resource teachers which are helping in our schools with the highest needs for those supports and we've implemented a school improvement goal and strategies again at schools that

[00:57:31] have high needs in this area the last strategy is focused on the work we're doing to prepare students for programs who need additional support um and avid the avid program is an example of this that we're in the process of expanding to all of our title one schools so the strategies under consideration we want to consider expanding our flexibility for pathways towards a diploma and we're looking at different models to support in particular language acquisition and our

[00:58:05] multilingual students with language specific core coursework and we're looking also at examining the possibility of different types of certificates of completion for students our CTE courses currently are not accessible really to all students at all schools based on their location the time for travel the at times courses they have to give up to do the travel so we think we need to really think about how do we make sure we have CTE and specialized courses that students find relevant in their neighborhood or able to be accessed from

[00:58:42] each school so some of the examples of strategies under consideration or development are listed on the slide again I've shared several of those we're looking at micro credentialing particularly in the ESOL range because Because we've determined that our teachers here in Fairfax County, 89% of our teachers in the classroom have multilingual students that they're working with.

[00:59:09] And so it's really best for all of our educators to have skills, the ESOL instructional skills. So one of the things we're looking for as well this summer is looking at our universal design for learning and the team in our instructional services department has already begun that.

[00:59:28] Soon as well we're looking for a very strong literacy foundation as our elementary schools will be rolling out a new basal literacy curriculum and we're looking forward to the benefits of that again the fidelity of academic and career planning across all post-secondary schools is going to be important consistently sharing information.

[00:59:52] All of these we know are best practices, making sure families understand all their diploma options and choices continue to be important. So we look at our implications here. For us to prepare all students to lead for innovation, which is what our goal is.

[01:00:10] It's 100% of our students. We need to make sure that we accelerate those students who find themselves behind. We need to make sure our ninth grade students are on track and don't get behind. Which means our K-8 experience has to be solid so our students arrive in high school ready to be confident learners.

[01:00:30] We want to make sure we have flexibility and flexible credit and learning that happens in real time that our students find real relevant. So this concludes the baseline report Chairman Frisch and I'm happy to take any questions as are the team with me this evening.

[01:00:49] Thank you Dr. Reed. TIME, I NOW INVITE BOARD MEMBERS TO ASK ANY CLARIFYING QUESTIONS OR PROVIDE COMMENTS. DR. ANDERSON. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION. WHEN WE HAD THE DISCUSSION ON THE 19TH, ONE OF THE NEXT STEPS THAT THE BOARD LANDED ON WAS THE BASELINE DATA FOR CTE AND DO AN ENROLLMENT PARTICIPATION. CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT?

[01:01:18] SURE. MS. NEAL. WE DID PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION in the Friday letter to the board most recently. I don't know if there's some specific questions, Dr. Anderson. If you could just give us an overall kind of view in terms of who are the students who are participating?

[01:01:35] Where do they come from? Where do we have those gaps? And most importantly, how do we see those? Do we see any alignment or interaction between our schools where we have lower graduation rates? And CTE participation in particular?

[01:01:54] And due enrollment, both. Sure. So I the information we provided to the board doesn't get at some of those questions that you're asking. But our goal for report is specifically looking at equitable access and course taking patterns. So some of that information will be provided in the goal for report.

[01:02:11] Can you just give us a highlight of what you provided in the Friday letter? Because the public doesn't get to see that. Sure. Let's just start there with the CTE and dual enrollment. What is what is the participation look like? Sure. So for our dual enrollment participation, 21% of our students participated in dual enrollment before they graduated, and 90% of our students participated in CTE.

[01:02:36] 9D or 1-9? 9-0, 9-0. And do you have any particular data in terms of the regions or the high school pyramids where this participation is more robust or-- Sure. We don't have that information this evening.

[01:02:52] We are going to be providing the board with some information on that on ethical baseline report. I think that's really an important piece of data. I know I've raised it here before you've come to expect it whenever we have the data that is provided and a lot of it is robust. It's just much more difficult to pinpoint where some of the challenges are when we don't have it disaggregated by our schools because we know there are differences and we will it would really help in terms of at least I'll speak for me as one board member and my advocacy for various supports.

[01:03:23] So that would be important to have. One of the things that I would love for you to talk about as you went through this, we know that we're putting forth a lot of effort. There are a lot of strategies that are in play. There are strategies that are being considered for future implementation.

[01:03:40] But we also know that we're just one side of this die. We cannot do it alone. What is the parent outreach that we are engaging in to increase those graduation rates, to increase knowledge of what is taking place and available in our schools.

[01:04:01] I would like for you to dig into that a little bit because I think that's one piece that's been missing in the discussion. Sure. I what I would say is that and thank you for that question. What I would say is one of the things we're doing a full redesign of our website and working toward a Fairfax County Public Schools app where we can push information out, which I I THINK WILL REALLY INCREASE AND ENHANCE OUR COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILIES.

[01:04:25] I KNOW THAT OUR FAMILY LIAISONS AS WELL HAVE BEEN TAKING ON SOME OF THIS WORK. WE HAVE OUR FIRST ANNUAL FAMILY SUMMIT COMING UP VERY SHORTLY. MS. HALL, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THE ANNUAL SUMMIT AND SOME OF THE FAMILY LIAISON WORK THAT'S HAPPENING.

[01:04:44] WANT TO TURN ON YOUR MIC, PLEASE. HOW ABOUT -- YES, IT IS WORKING. THANK YOU. summit is on April 20th and it's a collaboration with across multiple offices the CEO office CXO as well as others and it's open to all families to come and learn certain skills for partnering with the division in terms of their students education with regards to in that information has already gone out

[01:05:21] and there will be more coming in the next in the next few days in terms of the family liaisons they are in the schools in all of the schools there to work with the families and with the students to help them understand what opportunities are available to them there's constant communication between many offices the family liaisons and the schools and families so it is a partnership and we'll BE PROVIDING MORE INFORMATION ON THE FAMILY ACADEMY WHICH IS AN ONLINE RESOURCE AS WELL

[01:05:57] AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TAKE INFORMATION OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY ON A REGULAR BASIS. THAT'S GREAT. I APPRECIATE ALL OF THESE PROVISIONS. CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THE OUTREACH TO OUR MOST AT-RISK STUDENTS?

[01:06:13] WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? BECAUSE WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE. YOU ALL HAVE DONE THE WORK TO IDENTIFY THOSE STUDENTS. How are our family liaisons given a list saying, hey, Carl is struggling. He's got high levels of absenteeism.

[01:06:29] How are we engaging with Carl's parents at that school level? What is the expectation? So as I mentioned in the report, we've added on-time graduation counselors to schools that have the highest graduation needs. We've also partnered with EduTutor and other grant involved and EduTutor to provide supports for students.

[01:06:54] And I know that our on-time graduation staff, our school leadership staff, our counselors, they're visiting homes, they're calling phone numbers, visiting workplaces, really doing, I think, everything we can think to reach families as well as students who may actually be living on their own as well Dr. Reed if you wouldn't mind I have something else I was just visiting drainsville elementary this week and the work that they are doing there is work that we are actually planning to to share across the

[01:07:31] division I'm sure it's happening in other schools too they're starting their phone calls earlier in the day if a student is absent and they will hear from the parent whether the child is sick or whether they just missed the bus and then they figure out a way to get the child to school they're doing they're engaging the students as they walk into the school they have the names the list of the names of students that are approaching being chronically absent and they are specifically and intentionally targeting engaging with those students

[01:08:08] to make sure they are there the next day they're sharing information with families they did it at the beginning of the year to say you know we need to work together if you're planning to take vacations in the middle of the school year whatever it might be let's work together on what that could look like but our approach is really that the student is in the classroom during instructional time so multiple levels they're working at that school and we actually just emailed today one of the things that we're working on is sort of of a repository of best practices so that it can be shared

[01:08:44] across the division in terms of even schools with similar enrollment populations so that they can find the strategies that best meet their needs. - Thank you very much for that. I do apologize, Dr. Presidio is usually Little Sloan.

[01:09:03] So I should have used you as my example. EduFuturo, are they working in all of our high schools? I know we talked about this briefly at the Goal 2 report, can't remember are we have we selected specific high schools in which they will be deployed we do have a list that I could look up for you but I believe it's about 15 high schools and middle schools right and I was just hoping to know what those 15 high schools are so I would be very much interested in that and the last thing that I want to share and I don't want to take too much thunder from miss Marin who I'm hoping can speak about this in a little bit as you were

[01:09:40] talk about students phone calls being made earlier to identify those students who are not home I'm sorry who are not at school I'm really hoping we'll get to a space where we can collaborate a little bit more closely with the Board of Supervisors to use existing resources and please expound on this to use the connector buses to perhaps aid us in this effort because it's not everywhere that we have the opportunity to have second-chance buses and so this THIS IS A RESOURCE THAT ALREADY EXISTS AND THE POSSIBILITIES, I THINK, ARE AVAILABLE IF WE CAN MAKE IT WORK.

[01:10:14] BUT I WILL LEAVE IT TO MS. MARIN TO SPEAK ON A LITTLE BIT MORE. I KNOW SHE'S BEEN WORKING ON THAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THE LAST THING THAT I DO WANT TO SHARE IS THE CONSIDERATION FOR PROVEN STRATEGIES, WHICH WE TALKED ABOUT, AVID IS A PROVEN STRATEGY, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF STUDENTS FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.

[01:10:33] able to access the intensive AVID, not just the application of the AVID strategies throughout their classes, which is very helpful as well. But we have some students with significant need that would most benefit from the AVID class because there's such intentionality regarding being prepared, organization, executive functioning, college visits, some opportunities that some kids would not otherwise have access

[01:11:01] But we have a lot of students that are locked out of that opportunity because they have to take other courses, such as language development or maybe even, you know, strategy success classes. Thinking about an O period or a ninth period for those students to get that intensive support has been something that I know the faculty at Justice High School has been very interested in.

[01:11:26] And I can't wait for the day that we can make that a reality. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Ms. Dixit. Thank you, Dr. Reid. There was a lot of information, a lot of numbers. I like the data point that so many students, you're tracking the ninth grade.

[01:11:45] At the end of ninth grade, how many high school credits they have. I'm curious to know how many students come in ninth grade with high school credits. And is it changing? Is it getting, as our students came out of the pandemic, is it improving now?

[01:12:06] Yeah, that's a great question. I don't know, Dr. Presidio, any sense of how many of our incoming ninth graders are coming with high school earned credit already? Yeah, I don't know the precise percentages, but we could get those to you. But just for a point of reference, many of our students do because any student who's earning an algebra one credit or geometry credit or a world language credit in middle school, those are high school credits that they're taking with them when they enroll at the high school level.

[01:12:36] SO MANY OF OUR STUDENTS DO AND WE COULD GET THE PRECISE DATA ON THAT. AND I KNOW THERE ARE SOME RESTRICTIONS ON TAKING TO ENROLLMENT CLASS EARLY THAT YOU CANNOT DO THEM, I GUESS, BEFORE BEING A SOPHOMORE.

[01:12:51] SO YOU HAVE TO BE AT A CERTAIN GRADE TO START DOING THE DUE ENROLLMENT CLASSES. SO I'M JUST LOOKING AT THOSE EQUITIES AND I GUESS MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO STUDENTS. And the language skills seems to be a common issue with student dropping out, and I know all the strategies you provided under consideration, they're excellent, they all will help, but anything that can be done in short term, which can be done to save some of those dropouts

[01:13:28] this year, would be our interest to see if that we can, because if they have a high school graduation, I mean, diploma, they can either go to college or do one of those CTE, like a career training courses, but our pathway.

[01:13:46] So what can be done in the interim? Well, I think we have a number of those strategies in place right now. The on-time graduation counselors that we've added in particular, I know Mr. Greenfelter before he retired said we would see the full impact of those ads this graduation season so some of the strategies are in place right now and i know schools are monitoring the college and career readiness index we're actually looking at that weekly and last year that was something that was brand new in terms of being required by the state so we're working on strategies to actually

[01:14:25] GET THAT ACCOMPLISHED EARLIER IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CAREER SO I FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOT AND TWILIGHT RIGHT NOW HAS EXPANDED TO MORE SCHOOLS THIS SPRING SO I FEEL LIKE IF THERE'S A SENIOR OUT THERE AND IF YOU'RE WATCHING THE BOARD MEETING TONIGHT OR A FRIEND OF A SENIOR WHO MAYBE IS CONCERNED ABOUT GRADUATING PLEASE SEE YOUR COUNSELOR OR YOU KNOW TALK WITH A COUNSELOR AT YOUR SCHOOL BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY MANY OPTIONS STILL AVAILABLE TO GET TO GRADUATION EVEN THOUGH IT'S APRIL

[01:14:55] Okay. My last point would be, again, for the students who may not be very academically gifted or interested in what's the point of this education or why do I have to complete my diploma. Then pulling into some career like CTE courses, like there's a lot of need of construction management and contracting, plumbing, electrical, carpentry.

[01:15:23] so I can we open those options for them at least maybe that might you know garner their interest in completing the education so just my thought yeah no I those are great thoughts and I think one of our challenges is I believe those programs are generally fully enrolled and we're gonna have to look at how and where do we open more of those programs because I believe many of them have wait lists and some students they're not they're not situated how do I say efficiently for students at every single high school to be able to travel to a

[01:16:00] CTE course without missing maybe another course at their school and some students can't afford to miss any courses because of their credit so I think it's I think that's one of our goal pieces we're going to talk about in goal 4 which is how are we making sure that these relevant programs are accessible to students in every high school. Yeah thank you. Thank you Ms. Dixit.

[01:16:25] Ms. Kareem. So I know for my question similar to Ms. Dixit's so I know for one of the strategies for improving graduation equities is to ensure that ninth graders are on track by that end of their school year so are we doing anything with pre-academic planning and like their middle school years like when I was in seventh grade I need to take Spanish in eighth grade but only because I had like an older sibling to tell me that. And then even when I was doing course selection for ninth grade I knew to take an art class to get my art credit early on in high school but that was only because I had an older sibling and some students don't have that guidance. So do you

[01:17:04] know if we're doing anything for like pre-academic planning before ninth grade in like those early years? Well I know we are I just don't know how consistent it is Ms. Kareem. So Dr. Presidio do Do you want to share a little about our academic advising pre-9th grade, please?

[01:17:20] No, absolutely, and that's a great question. And I mean, you had a lot of comments in your student school board representative matters tonight, too, I think, that kind of paralleled this conversation with the access to academies and the like. So we do have our academic and career plan that actually starts in elementary.

[01:17:38] And it's something that students and families work on and complete together. And it's updated at least once a year as students make their new course selections, but it's really meant to be accessed multiple times a year. So that's something that we have. We think that that's really a best practice.

[01:17:53] But as Dr. Reed said, we've got a lot of work to do to make sure that we're implementing that consistently in every school for every student. Are you finished, Ms. Kareem? Thank you.

[01:18:10] Ms. Lady. Timing of that is nice, since I supervise academic advising for 15 years at Chantilly. So here's what I want to say, and I've talked about this before. The job of a school counselor just continues as the job of a teacher, as the job of an administrator, as a job of a special education teacher, just gets harder and harder and harder.

[01:18:32] But I will say that certainly I-- and my feeder schools also fed to Fairfax and Centerville and Westfield and other places. So we went into the middle schools. We met with our rising students.

[01:18:49] We presented them a PowerPoint. We also created a Google site where lots of the things that we shared were posted, that students needed to use their FCPS ID to get to. But we went through requirements.

[01:19:06] We talked about the finer practical art. We do these things. I think there's also an overwhelming sense of when we go into these spaces, just the readiness of eighth graders. There's a lot of excitement because we're also handing out swags and check bags and pencils, and we're trying to get you excited about the school you're coming to.

[01:19:25] But I think that the point needs to be made that there is excitement there, and so things are missed and things are not heard. But I also believe that we probably should engage in a little bit more K-12, or certainly 6 through 12, understandings of our diploma types, of our pathways when it comes to mathematics or science or English or history.

[01:19:46] and also our robust arts programs in performing and fine, and also our business courses and other electives. I always wanted anybody from my middle school-- because I also held a meeting and brought my middle school counselors over-- I wanted anyone who was going to sit with an eighth grader to come to my meeting.

[01:20:07] And I never got full attendance, because there was so much going on at the school. But I do think we need to think about that 6 through 12 and people understanding curriculum. I also want to comment on what you shared earlier about, you know, for some students, their college-bound curriculum will not include an applied studies diploma.

[01:20:29] And while I know my fellow board members want to increase that number, I think that we're seeing more and more situations where kids maybe are not fitting into that box. For example, someone might want to go into auto engineering, they might want to take auto tech and auto body, and they're not going to get the fourth world social studies or our third year of a world language.

[01:20:48] So I want to address that. And also the fact that we are a skills-based society in addition to a college-going society. So we're trying to uplift both. I was very honored this morning to be at Marshall High School's Junior Focus Day. I always envy them because they were much smaller than Chantilly, so they had the space within their building to do this Junior Focus Day where they could offer a keynote and then sessions where students can choose from apprenticeships, from military, from trades to out-of-state panels, in-state panels and things like that.

[01:21:18] So we're doing hard work, but we always have room to improve. - Thank you, Miss Lady. Mr. Moon. - Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. V, thank you so much for providing the addendum and clarifying our long-term targets.

[01:21:34] I think that really clarifies a lot about the initially presented, the report. So appreciate that. What intrigued me involved in others this evening was what I saw at the bottom of page 27.

[01:21:49] It talks about flexibility, personalizing the learning experiences. Would you be able to elaborate a little more about that? What sort of flexibility did you have on your mind? I think that-- and thank you for the question.

[01:22:07] I think we're looking at how we utilize learning spaces. I think we're looking at flexibility in time because our Twilight program runs actually after school. flexibility over the summer, our flexibility about whether it has to be in a classroom or an externship perhaps in industry or with a community partner. So I think it's flexibility in time and place and also perhaps flexibility in types of assessment and how we represent our work when we

[01:22:40] leave here. So another area of flexibility I would like to explore more here in Virginia in the state data came from, we were able to more flexibly count what we called cross-credit courses. So if we had a computer science course, for example, it could be cross-credited with mathematics if there was a certain amount of mathematics.

[01:23:04] CTE courses could be cross-credited with other courses. Business often was with English and journalistic writing. So I think just flexibility and how we do those things, those are the things I'm looking at in the short term.

[01:23:19] I am really looking forward to seeing those come to fruition. And if there is anything that we need to do to work with the General Assembly, please let us know. And having said that, when you mentioned the flexibility in time, and also some of the board members discussing about CTE programs, some academic programs.

[01:23:42] When our students have to travel to academies, they lose a period, generally lose a class. So I was thinking, what about for those students, provide an option to take that lost class all in the morning or later in the afternoon?

[01:24:02] I think that's an option that I'm hoping that we could explore. Yes, sir. It goes to Dr. Anderson's point, too, about a zero hour or an after-school hour. can happen at different times during the day, right? So we have to build in incentives to overcome what some students see as barriers to coursework that might be more relevant.

[01:24:24] Okay, thank you so much. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Moon. Ms. Marin. I'm thinking about last week when I went to the state's, the Department of Education's listening session that they held over in Manassas where there was a review of the proposed accountability measures and there was talk about graduation and a lot of talk about attendance, which I know is not embedded in this but there are things happening at the state level that will impact how we measure success and get students through and as I listen to the conversation I would really love to see our board focus on the high leverage ways that we can make a difference

[01:24:59] here so the standard diploma the advanced diploma you know what does that mean for a student what you just mentioned about the cross credits Dr. Reed if there's legislation that we can help with YOU KNOW NOW IS THE TIME TO BE DEVELOPING THAT WORK SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE US DO THAT AS WELL AS GRADING HONESTLY YOU KNOW HOW OUR STUDENTS GET WHERE THEY WANT TO GO DEPENDS A LOT ON GRADING AND AS YOU KNOW DR. REED THAT'S A REALLY BIG PRIORITY RIGHT NOW FOR A LOT OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND I REALLY ALSO WOULD LOVE TO SEE OUR BOARD TACKLE THAT SO THESE YOU KNOW HIGH LEVERAGE THINGS THAT I'D REALLY LOVE TO SEE US DO I THINK COULD REALLY

[01:25:33] HELP US MOVE THIS FROM THIS BASELINE TO SOMEWHERE FAR HIGHER YES MA'AM THANK YOU MS MARIN I I call on mystics it for a motion I move that the school board approved the goal five baseline report as a division starting point for the work towards achieving the goals in our strategic plan 2023 to 30. Is there a second second Miss Anderson mystics it would you like to speak to your motion now we just said it.

[01:26:06] Miss Anderson would you like to speak to your second thing. Thank you. I will call for a vote on the motion which is on the screen. All those in favor, Mr. McIlveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Marin, Dr. Anderson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Moon, and myself. That's unanimous for all board members present. Agenda item 6.01, performance review, financial administration, EL6, monitoring report.

[01:26:33] I call on Dr. Reed. Thank you, Chairman Frisch. This evening, it's my pleasure to share executive implementation number six financial administration and what a timely evening report this is as we're in the middle of budget season i want to acknowledge the hard work of our chief finance officer lee burton and her team matthew norton and alice whittington and they are um just uh they've just done a fabulous job uh with a variety of team members making sure that we stay um that we

[01:27:09] administer our finances in the most efficient way possible so I just want to remind the board that at the time of this report to the best of my knowledge information and belief the information presented this evening is indeed in compliance with the board's executive limitation like to share some of the highlights and at this point again I want to remind the board and the community observing that there are actually 12 areas of executive limitation six the first seven are on the screen and then we will go to the remaining five.

[01:27:46] This is attached online for those watching at home and for those here of course you have it in front of you. I'll only be sharing selected indicators this evening I'd like to remind the board and the public that the entire monitoring report is attached for your review.

[01:28:02] So looking at the high level again of this executive limitation just want to share that that we have implemented as a division robust systems to establish clear parameters so that spending is within the allotted program budgets.

[01:28:19] We've actually made sure that our financial management system assures budgets are loaded and programs can only spend against appropriated amounts. And that's not just programs and departments, but also schools. New budgets are not loaded until July 1, which is the beginning of the fiscal year, preventing premature spending against the following year's fiscal budget.

[01:28:42] This is a sound management process and one that's monitored closely by our team. The second highlight that I'd like to share is about administering all purchases in accordance with the Fairfax County Purchasing Resolution, our board procurement policies, and state and federal law.

[01:29:02] I want to remind the board and community that all of our procurement policies comply with the Virginia Public Procurement Act, which outlines public policies pertaining to governmental procurement from non-governmental sources. The report includes contract activity over $200,000.

[01:29:23] So the third area I want to review is preventing the organization from creating long-term obligations. This is an area that really is important that we track our revenues and expenditures and monitor the fiscal year and type of revenue that we receive.

[01:29:41] As part of this process, we are providing quarterly budget reviews to the board and community that assures that the division addresses revenue and expenditure adjustments in a timely manner. Additionally, year-end procedures have been put into place that ensure that funds that are eligible for carryover are budgeted for the coming year.

[01:30:01] Payroll and debts are paid promptly, all legitimate debts. The division processes both a monthly and a bi-weekly payroll with pay schedules being published annually. Regulation 5610 requires that all Fairfax County personnel are paid on time and outlines those procedures.

[01:30:22] The office of the controller ensures payments are timely including the daily payment of system-wide obligations such as procurement cards. I do want to share that there's been a lot of discussion recently about paying weekly or excuse me bi-weekly or only monthly I know we're gonna have questions I want answered ahead of time and the staff have put together a survey which will be going out to all staff here by the end of the month asking basically giving scenarios and we'll see the data and bring that back to you as a board and kind of get a feel for what do people want because otherwise it's anecdotal right we hear from a few people but so this will go out to all staff and mr.

[01:31:01] Smith is heading that work up with our CFO and our HR department so really excited you know I think when there's a topic that comes up we want to work with our staff and make sure we address it the number five indicator we do make all reasonable efforts to collect any funds due to the division from any source revenues monitored monthly and collection efforts are initiated if needed the office of the controller also ensures timely and accurate filing of reimbursements and account receivables are tracked for any funds owed to the division.

[01:31:38] Number six, the division does seek all state and federal funds to which we as a division are entitled. Monthly reconciliations, reporting includes state and federal revenue based on received versus planned. And again, the Comptroller's Office performs grant monitoring, assures reimbursements for grants, federal and state. And those are done on a monthly and quarterly basis.

[01:32:02] Additionally, in alignment with the board's legislative program of priorities, our government relations team and staff actively monitors unfunded mandates and funding shortfalls at the federal and the state level. So the advocacy efforts can be in alignment with our resource needs.

[01:32:21] Number seven, it looks at how we complete accurate records. Again, we have financial statements that are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles or the GAP principles. And we have had an independent external audit performed on an annual basis, which confirms the accuracy of financial records.

[01:32:44] I also believe we've earned awards. Ah, here we go. Comes next. we do keep complete and accurate financial records again following gap procedures and our fund accounting is used to ensure and demonstrate compliance with finance related legal requirements so a lot of excitement here in the financial management world here on item number seven it talks about the GFOA review and awards and this is actually really exciting we've received awards from both the Association of School Business Officials which is ASBO and the government Finance Officers Association and these awards have

[01:33:24] included meritorious budget the distinguished budget presentation as both certificate of excellence in financial reporting certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting in general our budget process and team has been repeatedly awarded for their stellar work we're very proud of of the work of our finance team.

[01:33:47] Number eight, we effectively and efficiently develop systems of internal control which provides reasonable assurance that we're achieving our objectives with regard to the reliability of financial reporting.

[01:34:03] And again, this includes the separation of duties, so we have checks and balances within our financial management, monthly reconciliations, and a chart of account control and financial policies and procedures. We also monitor our internal controls annually through an external audit of policies, procedures and financial controls.

[01:34:24] Number nine refers to obtaining, generating, regulating or using relevant quality information to support the functioning of the organization. Again, we look at our fiscal forecast presentation approximately eight months prior to the start of the fiscal year.

[01:34:40] We also have Friday letter reports and updates as a means of time-sensitive financial information. Number 10, we provide guidance on carrying forward unspent funds and reallocation plan. We accomplish this in several ways.

[01:34:56] First principles and program managers receive their budget guidance for year end and carryover prior to the end of the financial year. Then the division practices align again with the generally accepted accounting principles, the GAP principles. Finally, FCPS has a separate online platform called CARY, Critical Needs Accrual Request for Year End.

[01:35:20] This assures that unspent funds undergo a strict comprehensive review process for both schools and departments. Number 11, we publish a public and transparent annual report on our financial health. And this report is actually quite popular.

[01:35:38] popular annual financial report and a companion document to other financial records which is the annual comprehensive financial report which notes the financial health of the organization and provides transparency to our community so number 12 and we're getting close to the end here so well it actually looks like this is our last measure that we took a look at and this is This is focused on filing required financial reports accurately and on time.

[01:36:10] So to do this, we do perform end of year audits. The focus system closes monthly for reporting to assure proper and timely recording of transactions. Monthly reconciliations are required, and we prioritize the timely and accurate filing of all federal and state grant reports.

[01:36:29] So there's a lot of timely and accurate management of our finances. at this time Mr. Chairman this concludes the summary of the monitoring report for executive limitation number six financial administration. Thank you Dr. Reed at this time I would like to invite board members to ask any clarifying questions or provide comments Dr. Anderson.

[01:36:50] Excuse me thank you for this very robust report and yes there's a lot of timely management and filing of reports. So I think there's a lot here. Thank you. I just kind of want to hone in on a couple of points and one of them you've already hit. So I'll just kind of circle back to the back end of this. I think there's a lot of great work that happens here. I think overall I would invite you to consider how transparent are these processes to our public because we know they're

[01:37:27] interested in the dollars. I can't think of one person in the community who knows that there is a an annual audit and that they're posted on the website because we know how easy the website is to navigate but that's important because I think there's continuously the need and we heard from our funders are we being fiscally responsible that's a piece that shows that and I'm not sure how we get that out in a in the public space I know it's posted it may very well be emailed to

[01:38:00] US, BUT HOW ARE THOSE REPORTS TYPICALLY DISSEMINATED, PARTICULARLY THE EXTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS? YES, MA'AM. I THINK THAT WITH OUR WEBSITE UPGRADE, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS MAKE THE NAVIGATION OF OUR WEBSITE MUCH EASIER BECAUSE I THINK THAT THE INFORMATION IS THERE. IT JUST FEELS OPAQUE IF IT'S NOT MORE OBVIOUSLY THERE. MS. BURDEN, THOUGHTS ON HOW WE COULD MAKE OUR EXTERNAL AUDITS MORE accessible on our website well I mean I think they're pretty accessible they're

[01:38:36] in with the if you go to the finance section then you can see I think we have 10 years of the annual comprehensive financial report displayed there for people's review the annual financial report is done jointly with the county and once they present that to the board of supervisors which includes us we're a component of their audit we send a notification to the school board with the link as to where they can access that document and it's usually January

[01:39:13] time frame for the previous June 30 because the actual audit doesn't begin until late fall and then it's not come it takes two or three months to complete it thank you I guess what I also wanted to push it's not just having it available on the website because if you don't know to look for it you don't know to look for it. Can we communicate this out to our public the way that we communicate many of the things that take place in FCPS? We have a very robust FCPS news you choose because I know I get many, many messages on a weekly basis. I think there's some space for this to be considered.

[01:39:49] My other question is regarding the first question where you talked about ensuring that we are expending funds for which we have allocated for this year. Can you speak a little bit to Enhance understanding how our multi-year contracts treated because we've signed a contract for funds We don't yet have yes, ma'am. I think they're listed in the encumbered part of the budget But I'll ask miss burden to speak to the technical way in which we document multi-year contracts I believe that most of our that all of our contracts say subject to annual appropriation

[01:40:28] They include that language because we we are subject to annual appropriation we we we don't do multi-year budgeting and that of course the budget is what we manage to and but you know if we if we don't get funding in the next year then we certainly you know could look at the contracts and decide that we wanted to do something different and that's something that is fully communicated to vendors so it's not a surprise if plans were to change if the budget landscape changes correct okay thank you the other thing and this is kind of a small thing

[01:41:04] but it just still eggs at me we talked about um various quarterly reports particularly unspent funds um that's not necessarily quarterly that's three times a year we get it at mid-year third quarter and end of year that's i i'm assuming we're all working with the definition of quarterly being four times a year so i i just if we could correct that that's fine because i know we don't have a lot of data when we begin the school year because actually at that time we're still talking about end year and approving that but quarterly I think leaves the expectation that it will be four times a year in lieu of three yeah

[01:41:44] I mean the other divisions I've worked in as well do quarterly reports and everybody does three of them mid-year third quarter and then the final budget review purely because as you indicated that we just don't have enough data the first quarter ends on September 30th you know the bulk of our workforce of course our teachers and they've only had gotten you know a little over a month's work at that point so we just don't have enough data to be able to do a first quarter report and that's again true of all divisions because the teachers come back you know August and September 30th is too soon thank you I would just appreciate a cleanup of the language because this is not just a document for

[01:42:24] us it's also for the public because they're most interested in our and how our dollars are spent going back to section four there are two things and you definitely hit the first one which is a 12 month pay I know that's been a point of contention so I'm glad to see it to hear rather that their movement there's movement in that area and just finish this last piece of the question the other piece to that is leave I know that providing the upfront leave has been helpful but we are still stuck with the fact that if once that is exhausted if I

[01:42:57] take leave in a short month versus leave in a longer month with more days of work it costs me more that is a point that i think is a huge disservice to our um to our employees so i'd love for you to speak to that in any efforts to remedy that yes ma'am i think we've heard that loud and clear so part of the impetus of our new hcm our human capital management system is to enable us to correct that because it shouldn't matter what month you need to take

[01:43:31] your leave without pay so to your point we're on that and that scenario is also modeled as part of the survey so we'll get feedback from employees not only on the payroll but also on the leveling of pay throughout a 12-month cycle which would take care of that leave issue thank you mr moon thank - Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[01:43:55] Thank you for the presentation. I just have one quick question, maybe possibly with a follow-up on something that I saw on page 15 of the slide, a fiscal forecast presentation, which has been traditionally done eight months prior to the start of the fiscal year, which is usually a November time.

[01:44:20] And I think in one of the meetings, think last month or so that I think we all heard that's before even before we do actually do count the number of students we have so is there any any any is there any requirement for us to do that a month prior rather than nine seven months prior with enrollment approach enrollment number a count it

[01:44:55] and they would be able to give us a little more accurate projections so it's a great question and I recall the conversation because everyone was discussing why we had such disparate thoughts and in fact our enrollment this week Mr. Sethi is up to 182 657 so we continue to grow which is fabulous right because I think people want to be in Fairfax County but we wouldn't normally continue to see growth in the out months in April for example but I I know we've had a discussion about whether or not the demographics need to come in

[01:45:34] before miss burden thoughts on whether we would be contemplating the move of our fiscal forecast from eight months for example to seven months after having better or having enrollment demographic information I don't really think that's possible this is a joint endeavor with the County Board of Supervisors OMB staff over at the county and they pretty much drive the calendar and the timeline on that we I mean we obviously we don't want to usurp the superintendent's

[01:46:09] proposed budget too so if we waited six months prior to the start of the school year then that would be January it would be a couple of weeks before the superintendent would present her budget and so you know it's it's it's too early for us to know anything but to move it later is going to usurp the superintendent's proposed budget you know perhaps they may require a conversation with the board of supervisors whether it would be helpful to move that up to maybe a seven months prior as opposed to eight or just if if

[01:46:45] there is a particular reason for them to you know maintain it as a month prior Well, I think that their timeline also is aligned with their budget proposal, which comes out in February, and they, I think, would have the same issue, that they don't have a lot of data earlier, because they're, of course, waiting on the Department of Taxation to provide information about assessments and those kinds of things that they use for their projections, but they wouldn't want to, you know, butt up against the county executive's proposal either.

[01:47:25] It's the same problem. They don't have a lot of data earlier and then the closer you get, then you're basically presenting what the superintendent or the county executive would be presenting shortly thereafter. I will say, I think, Mr. Moon, to your question, I think that I will go to our HR work. Because of the changes in workforce, we are having to make adjustments in our HR practices and honestly think about hiring differently than we've traditionally done.

[01:47:57] And I think, to your point, as we look at different data to provide the best possible budget moving forward for all involved, it may be that we want to collectively have a conversation and maybe adjust some of our traditional timelines, if it's possible to do that.

[01:48:14] And I'm certainly, I know the staff and I would be open to any kind of collaboration around that topic. Thank you, Dr. Ray. Thank you, Mr. Moon. I'll take a turn. I want to mention a few of these items here.

[01:48:30] Number four around payroll, I think that there is some items to be proud of here that shows foresight. The HCM, which got passing reference here tonight, is a down payment on our reliability around payroll at a macro sense.

[01:48:48] So I appreciate the work that's been done to bring that online for the school division to ensure that we're never caught in a tough position where payroll is not being met on time because of a technological issue so I appreciate that. Number six it is Earth Day this month and so I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the great work that's been done to get federal grants to help our our environmental initiatives especially around our buses. We'll be celebrating some of that next week with the Environmental Protection Agency and then number eight to

[01:49:26] EFFICIENTLY DEVELOP SYSTEMS AND INTERNAL CONTROLS THAT SPAN OPERATING ENVIRONMENTS, MITIGATE RISKS TO ACCEPTABLE LEVELS AND ADDRESS RISKS RELATED TO FINANCIAL REPORTING, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE TO ONBOARD US WITH THE BALDRIDGE PROCESS AROUND OUR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY I THINK ALSO DESERVES KUDOS SO I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE ON THIS VERY MUCH.

[01:49:53] All right. We will go ahead and I will call on Miss Marin for a motion. I move that school board finds that the superintendent has made adequate progress towards compliance with E L six. Is there a second. Miss Dixit. Miss Marin. I second.

[01:50:11] Thank you. Miss Marin would you like to speak to your motion. I will since I didn't speak to the last one I can't recall. But what I want to relay is that the very provision of this report is evidence that this information is being monitored and transparent using the expect the executive expectations is a notable practice and difference which had not had existed prior to Dr. Reed's employment making wise financial investments per trends in employment procurement and technology needs and instructions is is much clearer now and they're exemplified by being centered on the proposed budget including the superintendent's knowledge of

[01:50:50] the dire hiring market the procurement systems that we need have in place and investing in technology whether that is indeed with our human resource management system or having our students have new chromebooks or even having access to instruction in stem that will allow that technology in our community in our society to grow i think that the contracts and procurement have been clearer with the executive expectations mindset i think that we WE ARE ENACTING WELL RESEARCHED CONTRACTS TO SYSTEMS BEFORE OUR SYSTEMS KEELE OVER SUCH AS AGAIN THE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT.

[01:51:28] I ALSO THINK THAT HAVING -- DOING THIS WORK AS A BOARD, THIS IS REALLY THE HEART OF WHAT I THINK THE BOARD SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON AND THIS IS HOW WE HOLD THE SUPERINTENDENT ACCOUNTABLE. SO I FULLY SUPPORT THE MOTION. THANK YOU, MS. MAYOR.

[01:51:43] MS. DIXIT, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR SECOND? THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WE WILL GO TO A VOTE. let me find the language of the motion on the screen all those in favor raise your hand mr mckelveen miss lady miss st john cunning miss marron dr anderson miss anderson miss dixit mr moon and myself that is unanimous for board members present all right at this time the board will take a few moments to document their individual feedback on this report school board

[01:52:20] members may complete the hard copy found at your dais uh seating this evening or the online form linked in the meeting script if you have any issues accessing the online form please contact

[01:52:32] the clerk we will now take a 10-minute recess all right board members please take your seats

[02:02:37] agenda item 7.01 policy review financial administration el6 the next order of business is the policy review for executive limitation 6 financial administration el6 following the During the board's vote in September 2023 and our vote in February 8, 2024, a regular meeting, each year the board will review each of the 13 executive limitations at the time of the monitoring report is provided to determine if any revisions are needed before moving forward.

[02:03:07] The board may also review any of the executive limitations at any time a change is needed. This time board members may provide comments on executive limitation six financial administration to determine if any revisions are needed. Of course, they can make those suggestions at any time.

[02:03:25] All right. There are no comments. I will call on Miss St. John Cunning for a motion. I move that the school board maintains executive limitation six financial administration as it is currently detailed in the strategic governance manual.

[02:03:42] Is there a second second Dr. Anderson Miss St. John Cunning, would you like to speak to your motion? No, I think we already did. Dr. Anderson, would you like to speak to your second? All right. I will call for a vote on the motion, which is on the screen. All those in favor, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Marin, Dr. Anderson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Moon, and myself. That's unanimous for all board members present. Agenda Item 8.01, Academic Matters. I call on Dr. Reed.

[02:04:12] Thank you, Chairman Frisch. And this evening, I want to, along with you as a board, celebrate the 10th anniversary of Portrait of a Graduate. And we have a long history a portrait of a graduate here in Fairfax County where I think much of the national work around this topic began. And I'm just really proud to be able to stand on the shoulders of those that put this into place in 2014. Ten years later we're here to celebrate how far we've come as our students learn each and

[02:04:49] every day and prepare for this future yet to be imagined. So it took me a while after coming to Fairfax County to understand PogPol. If we probably need to move to the next slide, which perhaps we're trying to do.

[02:05:07] But our portrait of a graduate was developed. FCPS had heard loud and clear really from, thank you, from our community members, business partnerships, and so forth, that there were certain characteristics of our graduates that were very important to develop.

[02:05:24] And these are listed on the screen here, the communicator, collaborator, ethical and global citizen, creative and critical thinker, as well as goal-directed and a resilient individual. And I think it's really thoughtful that a recent national study of over 80 million U.S. job postings affirmed that these qualities remain important and vital for our country's economic and civic prosperity.

[02:05:49] You see some statistics on this slide and these durable skills, they're critically important right now. So I think as we think about coupling this report with our graduation goal five report, it's timely to think about there are many things important for our young people to have when they leave us in addition to a diploma.

[02:06:15] So as we celebrate the past, again, I want to mention that this work began in 2014. And despite all the things that have happened in that time, including a global pandemic, as well as different learning models, which were actualized and developed in 2016.

[02:06:38] The portrait of a graduate remains center to the work we continue to do here in Fairfax County this work ensures rigorous learning while being culturally responsive student-centered and future focused and really designed to bring joy or to retain joy I guess in our teaching and learning so let's take a minute and celebrate the last 10 years with this short video about student perspective please portrait of a graduate it's just a bunch of different life skills like

[02:07:15] being a collaborator, being able to work with someone, have the ability to be able to talk to someone, and being an ethical and global citizen, being kind and knowing about our environment and the rest of the world, and being a creative and critical thinker, like use it in your bubblegum brain, like Ms. Kelleher likes to say, and being goal-directed and resilient, always working hard and persevering.

[02:07:37] So portrait graduate skills are really important, and they're like life skills. - I feel like it's like a life skill, like things that you use regularly in life that'll help you become a better person and be able to interact with other people in a way that makes you feel comfortable and it makes them feel comfortable, which I feel like is very important.

[02:07:59] - For 10 years, FCPS has had a focus on Portrait Overgraduate. Teachers truly had to make a shift in their instruction in order to make these skills really a part of their instruction and a part of their everyday. If we think about what our teachers are doing with their students, they had to start to really provide kids opportunities to practice these skills?

[02:08:17] What does that look like? - In our classroom, we do like a lot of activities with groups of people. So we can use our PLG collaborator and communicator skills to work together and make something awesome. - It's fun to have ideas from different perspectives of different people.

[02:08:35] - And then when you have an idea, maybe people will like adjust it to make it better, there's a big shift going from portrait of a graduate now to portrait of a graduate presentations of learning right we're no longer just teaching the kids the skills and making sure they're using them we're giving them an opportunity to reflect on these skills to be able to say i grew i can prove it this is why it matters we wanted to make sure that we these pog skills become not just teacher known but student owned so yes teachers know sure i'm giving my kids chance to be creative and critical thinkers or sure I'm giving them chances to collaborate and communicate, right, but do the students know it?

[02:09:14] And that's where the power is. It's important for me to reflect on getting better because if you don't reflect then you're not going to go anywhere and you're just going to keep doing it and doing it but you'll never find out where you are and like where you stand and how you can improve.

[02:09:29] We're like honing in on like how are we growing with these skills, like what's changing over the years how did we start as a communicator and now towards the end of high school like how have we grown and done stuff with that skill that we couldn't have done like at the beginning of high school it's really important for students to talk about their growth because this helps them kind of be able to see how they grew as a person in general instead of just how they grew as a student if i hadn't learned about portrait of a graduate i probably would have grown up still pretty quiet like i was when i was younger like i wouldn't have shared my opinions if there's an unfair law

[02:10:08] you could speak up with portrait of graduate skills and say what you can improve about that law and it could change as we go to college i think having these skills is like so important because we'll be on our own and these skills have taught us how to like hold ourselves accountable and get through work on our own because we won't have the same kind of relationship that we have with teachers with them helping us and guiding us through it in the future and so being able to have all these skills under our belts it's really just going to help open so many more doors that

[02:10:47] could have been closed had we not been doing this for so many years yeah um i have to say it brings a smile to my face when I see our elementary students talking about when they were young.

[02:11:08] It's kind of priceless. I guess it's all perspective, right? But I really think, I don't know that we intended it to be this way team, but to have this tonight with the goal five is really timely. So as you heard, I think the portrait of a graduate skills help to empower our young people and I think that advocacy skill set really will do them well as they leave us and move forward into the world. In terms of elevating the present I think it's really important again as we think about the teacher known to student owned kind of how we

[02:11:47] make that bridge. These portrait of a graduate skills provide real learning experiences not just what am I learning but what can I do with what I learn so this intentional focus has really led to increased student engagement belonging confidence and academic success and lastly as we think about innovating for our future and think about the commitment that we're making to all of our students by 25 26 which is coming up very shortly we really want to ensure that all students have access and opportunity to share their growth through these

[02:12:23] portrait of graduate presentations and again we'll be celebrating the 10th anniversary tonight and throughout the month of April within our schools central offices and across our school communities and that chairman Frisch is academic matters this evening thank you dr. Reed at this time I now invite any board members who would like to ask questions or make comments all right we

[02:12:50] WE WILL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM 8.02 SUPERINTENDENT MATTERS I CALL ON DR. REED.

[02:13:06] THANK YOU CHAIRMAN FRISH THIS MORNING I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL OUR ADAM NATION AND PRINCIPAL DE ROSE AND I WE WERE WE HAVE A VISITOR HERE FROM THE WEST COAST BERNEDETTE BASKUM WHO IS A GRAMMY AWARD WINNING PERFORMER WHO ALSO IS WORKING Microsoft on an app called speech to support students that have difficulty with speaking by using music as a medium. So we visited Annie Ray's classroom and had a chance to listen in on the orchestra there and just really a

[02:13:45] fabulous time this morning at Annandale High School. Also enjoyed this past weekend time at NSBA where I think we had an opportunity to learn a lot from colleagues around the country and about sort of the kind of new ideas that are occurring around the country. Just prior to spring break I had an opportunity to attend and be a panelist at the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development at their national conference here in DC. We've also completed three of four employee conversations in our spring cycle and want to

[02:14:18] thank all our employees who showed up and shared voice with me and with other staff. A lot of ideas advice and a lot of excitement. I also had a chance over spring break to visit our spring sprouts and we talked a little bit about our sprout program and attendance makeup and it was really exciting to be a part of that work.

[02:14:42] I want to remind our community, if you haven't heard yet, that Fairfax County Public Schools has been named the best community for music education by the National Association of Music Merchants. It's the 11th time we've received that award, and it's chosen from communities all across the country.

[02:15:03] Also I'd like to congratulate Justice High School ESOL environmental science and biology teacher Kirsten Salonga, who was chosen for the 2024 Robert E. Yeager Exemplary Teaching Award. Kirsten is one of six science educators to receive this recognition from the National Science Teaching Association and Go Wolves.

[02:15:24] So that would be, I do want to also just share my thanks to Dr. Agnew Scott, who has served us in an extraordinary fashion as our Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources as she moves on to take a chief HR position in another division in Virginia.

[02:15:49] I just want to thank her for her grace and work and just being an incredible teammate. SO THANK YOU, DR. ARGNEW-SCOTT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, DR. REED. AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 9, CONSENT AGENDA. FOR ADOPTED RULES OF PARLIAMENT PROCEDURE, ROBERTS' RULES PROVIDE FOR A CONSENT AGENDA LISTING SEVERAL ITEMS FOR APPROVAL OF THE BOARD BY A SINGLE MOTION.

[02:16:11] MANY ITEMS LISTED HAVE GONE THROUGH BOARD REVIEW AND DOCUMENTATION HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO ALL BOARD MEMBERS AND THE PUBLIC IN ADVANCE. ITEMS MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AT THE REQUEST OF ANY BOARD MEMBER PRIOR TO THE MEETING. The consent agenda items are on the screen. Is there any objection to approving the consent agenda?

[02:16:28] Hearing and seeing no objection, the consent agenda is approved. Agenda item 10, new business. The following are new business agenda items. There will not be a vote on these items this evening, but action is scheduled for a future meeting. Agenda item 11, board matters.

[02:16:45] Next on the agenda is board matters. I will call on each school board member to speak. Up first, Ms. Lady. - Thank you, Mr. Frisch. you to all of our military-connected families and staff. I wear purple tonight to honor you and our military-connected students. The sacrifices of our active duty and reserve members are not unnoticed. We thank our staff, students, and families for their support of their active duty reserve members and the breadth of experience you bring to our schools and community.

[02:17:11] Also, I'd like to share my appreciation of the junior ROTC programs in Fairfax County Public Schools and their commanders and instructors. I am proud of the Purple Star schools within drainsville and fairfax county as they show our military families that they are seen and welcomed i look forward to when fcps is a purple star district extending that welcome and support across all schools a little announcement senator mark warner has invited high school and middle school students their parents guardians and school counselors to military academy day 2024 you can explore the five academies their admissions process rotc opportunities and other

[02:17:46] military avenues to college this will take place on saturday april april 20th from 9 30 to 1 30 at randolph macon college center for the performing arts in the blackwell auditorium in ashland virginia i want to share i had a great visit with principal uh uh bestekes and coats at coates elementary school they recently attained title one designation and and let me tell you uh wow i mean that school has literally uh exploded they added two kindergarten classes just this year since school has started despite the large number of students the building is

[02:18:22] thriving alive with learning it was certainly a buzz with interaction and it's just great to see kids engaged in that way our facilities department is working with them on ways to maximize space and hopefully some other next steps to relieve really they are overcrowding we've got to do some things there so on to some student and school nudes if you're a lover of musicals as i am i want to give a shout out to my schools langley high school will be performing guys and dolls april 12th to 15th mclean high school will be doing pippin april 18 to 21 tj

[02:18:58] too much light makes the baby go blind and that's april 19 20 marshall high school is doing legally blonde over two weekends april 25 to 27 and may 3 to 4. westfield high school freaky friday may Second to fourth and Herndon High School is doing fiddling on the roof May 3rd to 5th So please take some time in your schedule and go see our students on the stage Congratulations to the Herndon Middle School Orchestra under the direction of Josephine Kofi Arrington They were the first performers at the new Gatehouse student performance concerts earlier this week Their two performances were actually really really special. It was nice to see all the people from Gatehouse come down and enjoy seeing our students in action

[02:19:38] Also, D.C. Metro Region for the National Scholastic's Art and Writing Awards. This year, there were 2,351 writing works submitted. Many Ferris County students won awards, including students from Cooper, Longfellow Middle Schools, Herndon High School, Langley, Marshall, McLean, Westfield, and TJ.

[02:19:56] And congratulations to everyone, but a special shout-out to McLean High School's Eileen Zhao, who has the distinction of receiving not one, but two of our region's five American Voices nominations for her works, "Robot Girl: Science, Fiction, and Fantasy, "and Everyone You've Ever Kissed Up to Now," which was poetry.

[02:20:15] And finally, as I shared earlier, I was honored to be the keynote speaker at George C. Marshall's Junior Focus Day, and a shout out to their director of student services, Cindy Blakely, their career center specialist, Gardner Humphreys, and all their counselors are putting on a great event. - Thank you, Miss Lady.

[02:20:30] Mr. McIveen. - Just to briefly reflect on the 10 years of POG, since we didn't have a chance to earlier. It's really incredible to think back that it's been 10 years since we undertook that as an entire community.

[02:20:52] And again, just very briefly, I think it just reflects on how Fairfax County is so much more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. We put a lot of thought into that document. I'm most proud of the pillar of Global Citizen, but every pillar in that document is to be remembered and cherished.

[02:21:14] and so I'm glad it lives on today. Secondly, I just want to offer my deepest thanks and gratitude to our departing Deputy Clerk Tara. We're so thankful to you over the past year as I've shared with many of my colleagues coming back into the board. It was amazing how smooth and every uh how how well everything went um with our you know um various events in december the swearing and and the orientations and everything else uh with with a very new clerk

[02:21:53] team and so um thanks not only to tara but the whole clerk team for uh really making that as smooth a transition as possible and i'm sorry um you're leaving so soon um after we've arrived uh and on that note i'll say i don't recall a board meeting ever getting out this early so congratulations to everyone thank you mr mckelbeam fingers crossed uh mr moon thank you mr chairman first of all as a board liaison to hrac which is human resources advisory committee i i want to

[02:22:30] extend again a my individual thanks and also a on behalf of the entire board appreciation for your service your dedication for our school system i wanted to convey to my my colleagues on the board and superintendent that many members of hrac extended their appreciation and their well wishes and their compliments for a dr agnes god's tenure with fcps and thank you uh since my

[02:23:05] colleague mr market mentioned the portugal graduate you see those five symbols uh communicator and collaborator uh 10 years ago we didn't have much trouble and agreeing to those two terms the other three we spent really a lot of time to come up with those the other three of them because you know both members wanted to have put so many other things around but but but we also didn't want to Clutter the a title to each one of those assemblers and you know when I see this ethical and global citizen

[02:23:45] Together in one chamber that probably we spend probably good Six to eight hours to come up with just that alone. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Moon. Mystics it. Thank you, Mr. Chair Good evening everyone. I just wanted to give some shout outs first First is a shout-out to Chantilly High School team for winning the 2024 VHSL Class Six States Championship.

[02:24:19] This is team's sixth title. Great job by everyone. Congratulations, Chantilly's Arun Bangalore, for being one of the 150 high school students across the country to receive a Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation scholarship worth $20,000.

[02:24:36] Congrats to all the 2024 FCPS Student Peace Award winners that recognize young students who are peacemakers. Level the field team from Centerville High School for their work to empower under undeserved students with encouragement, tutoring, and mentoring.

[02:24:55] Rhea Jakate from Shentley High School for her work on animal welfare advocacy for adopting animals from local shelters, as well as raising money for the FFS County Animal Shelter. Mountain View Mirror, school's newspaper team from Mountain View High School for their online newspaper.

[02:25:17] In 10 years, it has published near 3,000 articles. The paper's motto is, Real People, Real Story, Real Life. The article covers a wide range of topics including immigration, teen parenting, mental health, and community gardening.

[02:25:34] And I just wanted to acknowledge the TJ Namaste Club sponsors organized international i-Night. It was an event where it involves 500 to 700 students. And for the past four years, Namaste has donated $4,000 to $5,000 from the i-Night ticket sales with charity, such as ActionAid, International Rescue Committee, other global peace and justice-promoting nonprofit.

[02:26:00] Westfield High School Ambassadors. The program provides avenue for peace and friendship amongst the diverse population who might otherwise find it difficult to connect and feel included. Their efforts have been effective helping new students, often immigrant, integrate into the school effort.

[02:26:18] Next week, I'm looking forward to attending Bull Run Elementary School Heritage Night and the EPA FCPS Clean Bus event in Lorton. Thank you, good night. - Thank you, Ms. Anderson.

[02:26:36] - We had two proclamations tonight that are near and dear to my heart. First is the mother of two of my own military children. I would like to say thank you to all of our military family members, but particularly our youngest members for their service to our country. Further, I wouldn't be sitting here if I hadn't dedicated so much time supporting my children's school as a volunteer.

[02:26:55] For those people who spend countless and sometimes thankless hours supporting every aspect of our school buildings, You have our thanks. The last few weeks have been busy. I attended the Fairfax High School Marketing Students Spring Fashion Show.

[02:27:10] This career development project allowed students to practice their marketing skills by presenting a major promotional event. There were over 120 students that worked on the event, with 13 local vendors to provide merchandise to showcase. And this year's theme was a fashion music awards, and the students interpreted this theme in various styled outfits.

[02:27:31] was really cool to watch. I've been able to visit several schools with my colleague and at-large member Kyle McDaniel including Hunt Valley and Rolling Valley Middle Elementary Schools and Chantilly High School recently. On Monday evening I joined Dr. Reed at her employee conversation to hear staff concerns and learn how we as a board can best support our staff. I'm excited about the work we have the opportunity to do there and I also enjoyed meeting with West Springfield High school student, Catherine King, to learn about her Girl Scout Gold Award proposal to build an

[02:28:04] outdoor classroom learning space at Hunt Valley or at Orange Hunt Elementary School. I have a few congratulations and announcements to make. Congratulations to the Chantilly High School Forensics Team for winning the VHSL State Championship and a shout out to Chantilly's Camila Kanellis Soto for taking first place in the Extemporaneous Speaking and Lake Braddock's Ella Ridgeway for taking first place in Impromptu.

[02:28:33] Kudos also to Chantilly's Technology Student Association regional first place finishers Rohit Paka for Dragster Design and Devagoda for Flight Endurance. Cheers to Mrs. Chudonovan and Mr. Pichoni of Chantilly Academy, whose STEM program was recognized by the International Technology and Engineers Educator Association as one of the 26 outstanding STEM programs worldwide.

[02:29:07] Congratulations also to Lake Braddock's Math Honor Society and their sponsor, Ms. Suja for being recognized as an official chapter of the Mu Alpha Theta, the National High School Mathematics Honor Society.

[02:29:27] I'd also like to recognize South County High School's STEM design teacher, Mr. Dan Velasquez, who has been chosen as the Onshape champion. This designation recognizes his innovative approach to teaching future engineers. Thank you, Ms. Anderson.

[02:29:44] Dr. Anderson. Firstly, I'd like to say thank you to the Annandale High School singers that were here with us earlier under the direction of Mr. Pat Vaughn for the beautiful rendition of the National Anthem. That was lovely.

[02:30:02] I also have news regarding state forensics. Two Justice High School students earned first place awards at the 2024 VHSL State Forensics Meet, Elias Kassah in the Serious Dramatic Interpretation Category, and Valeria Peterson in the Storytelling Category.

[02:30:25] THE JUSTICE TEAM ALSO EARNED THIRD PLACE OVERALL IN THE STATE COMPETITION. CONGRATULATIONS, WOLVES, GREAT JOB. ALSO CONTINUING WITH THE WOLVES, BUT DR. REED MENTIONED EARLIER, MS. KRISTEN SOLONGO, OUR ESOL TEACHER WHO EARNED THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND BIOLOGY TEACHER AT JUSTICE WHO EARNED ONE OF THE SIX WINNERS OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHING ASSOCIATION.

[02:30:49] THAT WAS A VERY EXCITING OCCURRENCE FOR THE FOLKS OVER AT JUSTICE HIGH SCHOOL. The Science and Engineering Fair, very pleased to share that 42 students in the Mason District placed in the Regional Science and Engineering Fair. And I'm going to list each and every one of their names starting right now.

[02:31:10] You're welcome. I do want to say, though, that every single one of the Mason District high schools were represented. So congratulations to those 42 names that will be listed in my newsletter. Other things that I want to share is I know that the justice community is particularly concerned regarding the principal selection process.

[02:31:31] And I was invited last week to meet with the entirety of the leadership team, department chairs, all of the heads of the departments, where they really had a chance to put on the table their concerns and also highlight the criteria that they're looking for because they are so committed to the school.

[02:31:48] Many of them have been there decades. So clearly, they are wanting that school to succeed, and I was very pleased to have been invited to have that conversation. And honestly, it has informed me in such a way that as we continue to have more principal selections, hopefully not that many, I think that's going to be part of my practice because I think the typical selection presentation that we have is really more geared towards the parents, and it should be, and this one was just really focusing on the staff.

[02:32:19] So that will be one of the things that's one of my takeaways for future selections for Mason District Principals. I also want to highlight that just yesterday, two days ago, Mr. Frisch and I were right here at Luther Jackson doing a walkthrough.

[02:32:35] And speaking of volunteers, Ms. Kelly Gould, who is a volunteer at Luther Jackson, has picked up the mantle to ensure that she's elevating the concerns of Luther Jackson when it comes to the needs of the facility. and Ms. Szyminski was also here with us as well as Justin Moss and so thank you we hear you and we do know we have work to do in order to make this building a welcoming space for all of our students and the last thing that I wanted to share is tomorrow I have been invited back to Edison High School for the

[02:33:13] Edison Global STEM Challenge about a month or so ago I was invited to engage with the with the 11th grade students with the juniors and tomorrow it will be with the sophomores so I'm very much looking forward to that opportunity oh and I did lie one last thing I want to remind the Mason district that the middle school start times conversations the first one is at Glasgow middle school on April 29th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. so please be sure to attend because I know that there's a lot of interest in the in the Mason district because where

[02:33:49] We're the only area in which our students spend three years at the middle school level. So please come out. There will be child care provided. Good night all. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Miss St. John Cunning. Thank you.

[02:34:04] I won't be able to attend the Edison STEM, so please represent for me. I already had a conflict. I want to start out by throwing out a shout out to students from Edison High School. They won recognition in the 2024 Scholastic Arts Writing Contest.

[02:34:22] Kately Brinkley got an honorable mention, Justin Olson got a silver key, Maggie Chen got a gold key and will go on to be considered for the National Portfolio Scholarship Award. This contest is highly prestigious and it looks at the work of students from 7th through 12th grade offering scholarships and recognition to those who exemplify exceptional originality, skill, and personal voice.

[02:34:47] Diligently scored more than 2300 submissions good luck Maggie when you go on to the nationals I also want to say that yesterday Mount Eagle school students. Oh, I'm sorry today 5th and 6th grade students from Mount Eagle Elementary School experience the stem education at the Virginia Tech's DC metro area think lab They got to explore robotics automation sensors Accutators and data collection analysis the lab prepares our future stem workforce and our increasingly diverse technology-driven community for jobs that may yet not exist.

[02:35:21] And this is particularly heartfelt for me because the principal, Gene Consola, and Kathy Kirkland, the assistant principal, both taught my children. And I want to thank Supervisor Lusk. Together, we have made a commitment to visit every school. Sometimes we can -- in our district, sometimes we can do it as a pair, sometimes we can.

[02:35:42] We can't. He went to Walt Whitman and Mark Twain Middle Schools to speak about the importance of public service. I think this kind of partnership is really valuable for our board of supervisors and our school board members to really get to work with our students and for our students to get to know us.

[02:36:00] I want to say that I really enjoyed the National School Board Association conference that we went to. And my takeaway from that conference is, first of all, we had fantastic keynote speakers, including Ruby Bridges and Dr. Timothy Rieschiever.

[02:36:19] At the end, I'll talk about the one that impressed me the most. But what I came away with the most and what I really want to talk about is that I have, as a parent and as an employee, always thought and believed that Fairfax County schools were fantastic.

[02:36:36] When I went to this national conference and I attended several sessions on special education and they talked about everything that was going on in their districts or how they were struggling, I was like, we're doing that.

[02:36:52] We're like light years ahead on student achievement and data transparency. You guys saw that tonight. They were saying, like, when do you present this? Like, should you present this? And I was like, wait, I just had a work session about that. Food injustice.

[02:37:09] We do that within our school and within our community programs. Elevating your leadership practices with national standards for family-school partnership. Schools that are struggling to do this, we have an entire department that does this. Hidden gems in school achievement, career and technical education.

[02:37:29] Some of you went to that programming this morning. I know I have that programming in my district. Connecting with your Spanish-speaking families. And although there was a lot of good strategies I walked away with, The most important thing I walked away with is we're doing this and we're doing it well.

[02:37:47] And I just came out of that conference with such a sense of pride, not saying that, you know, we still don't have work to do because we do, but the fact that we're light years ahead, that we're doing the work, that we're innovators, that we are modeling that global citizen that we are modeling the portrait of a graduate and I really want to thank everyone because this is not board work even though that was I mean it is part of board work even though it was the National School Board Association conference this is teacher work this is custodial

[02:38:25] work this is cafeteria work this is staff work and all the support that you give us and so I really just want to say wow and thank you to everybody because it's an honor for me to be here. And it was an honor for me to say that I was a school board member from Fairfax County. I will finally end with the keynote speaker that touched me the most and I think represents a lot of what we're struggling with now but that we know can be successful. The final keynote speaker on Monday morning was Richard Montanez who was the former vice president and multicultural sales and

[02:39:00] community activation person at Pepsi Cola company. He came from a migrant community. He got his job because his wife helped him write his resume because he couldn't do it. The company was failing.

[02:39:17] He was a custodian and he took to heart a video that the CEO said, I want all of you to think about how you have ownership in this company. And he took that to heart and his dedication and work to develop a product that lifted Pepsi, Pepsi, Pepsi, Pepsi, Pepsi Cola company up and out of the slump they were in was Flaming Cheetos, okay.

[02:39:45] From a custodian who had the courage to call the CEO and say, I have a product. And from the CEO that listened, that did not look at him as a custodian.

[02:40:02] And what I really came up, and this was from somebody that was a migrant worker. We have that here. I know that we listen to our custodians because of their great ideas. I know we don't look at the title.

[02:40:18] We look at the innovation. We look at the talent. And I'm proud to say that we have board members and we have a superintendent and we have staff that listens. And I think that's what's going to make the difference. And so I just want to leave you with that.

[02:40:34] MR. MS. Thank you. I want to start by informing my colleagues that for the May 9th regular meeting when we approve the SR&R, the Student Rights and Regulation, I will be offering a follow-on motion to send our policy 2601 about SR&R to the Governance Committee so that we can begin reviewing that policy at a scheduled time.

[02:40:57] So please keep your eyes peeled for that, and I look forward to discussing that as needed and hope to have your support. I am very pleased that we got to celebrate our military children and families, and I was recently learned about a new friend of mine who came from a very very tough childhood was homeless and now is in this really top-level program with the military learning all sorts of leadership and management and traveling abroad and it's just such a reminder that it does play a role in in our communities and I'm glad that our schools can support those precious kiddos who so

[02:41:33] eloquently one of them spoke tonight. I have been out in the schools. I know Ramadan ended but I did attend an iftar dinner at Forest Edge with the Sudanese American community there and it was just lovely and such an example of how our schools are places for everyone. The cafeteria was filled with people and amazing food that everyone made. So thank you to Suda is the acronym for that group and I checked out a girls lacrosse game. I've never seen lacrosse well not since my high school days. And it's incredible. It is fast paced and it's nothing like, you know, soccer and basketball

[02:42:07] that I watch my kids play. But wow, it was amazing. I also attended the South Lakes IB Art Show, which had just stunning artwork. I've been to it several years, but it was the most precise and complex that I'd ever seen. And just incredible work by our IB and our art teachers at South Lakes. And a real highlight of my week was that I went to see the Madison crew team down at Sandy Spring Park at the edge of the county we're in the Lorton Workhouse Art Center 75 students are rowing on crew it's a club sport and they are tremendous athletes and tremendous teammates and

[02:42:42] then the coach invited me to get into a boat and row I used to row a long time ago in college and it was a real treat to get in the boat and I didn't crash the boat and the girls were really generous with that so I'm very interested in seeing how we can grow that program because it is a tremendous program being outside and being healthy like that. So speaking of pog polls Dr. Reed I'm going tomorrow to Thoreau for the French pog poll I don't speak a word of French so I hope I can understand but I hope maybe they'll be a little bit of English in there. Wolf Trap Elementary also is having the walk in my shoes program which we've heard about which helped and we have one of our students who spoke

[02:43:20] during the neurodiversity proclamation it's a way for students to see what it would like to be with someone who has a different ability. So that's happening tomorrow. West Breyer Fun Run-- oh, and the School Environmental Action Showcase is happening. Nova Annandale, April 18. I hope school board members, you can make it.

[02:43:36] It's an amazing presentation of what our schools and our students are doing to promote environmental education sustainability. I'll be at my own kiddo's middle school, not in her class, but in her school for their career day that Dr. Herman Mizell has put together, and Marshall Road International Night.

[02:43:52] And then we have our school board retreat in another week and a half that I'm very eager to get together and talk more about the road ahead. So that's all for tonight. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Marin. All right, a couple of things really quick.

[02:44:08] Since our last meeting, I had our budget town hall meeting in Providence District with Supervisor Palczyk. So very much appreciate her time on that. and also enjoyed attending nsba with my colleagues particularly enjoyed hearing from ruby bridges which seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of opportunity to hear somebody's perspective about what a central figure she was in the civil rights movement at such a young age

[02:44:41] and how that impacts somebody's life moving forward and really instills in someone the THE BELIEF THAT EVERY CHILD IS OF VALUE. SO IT'S VERY INSPIRING. NEXT WEEK, ON TUESDAY, I WILL BE TESTIFYING AT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE BUDGET ON TUESDAY AND THEN ON WEDNESDAY I LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY TO FAIRFAX COUNTY AS WE CELEBRATE MORE GRANT MONEY FOR OUR ELECTRIC BUS CONVERSION PROGRAM HERE IN FAIRFAX COUNTY.

[02:45:15] VERY EXCITING. AND FINALLY I WANT TO ALSO THANK OUR DEPUTY CLERK TARA PETROVIC FOR HER AMAZING SERVICE TO OUR BOARD AND CONGRATULATE HER ON HER PROMOTION WITHIN SPECIAL SERVICES AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING ALL YOU DO IN THE YEARS AHEAD THERE.

[02:45:32] VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. AND AT THAT IT IS 9:45 AND THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.

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