Coraggio Consulting Fairfax County School Board Meeting, Thursday, June 12, 2025 Date: Thursday, June 12, 2025 Place: Fairfax County School Board, Virginia Length: 4h 1m (video) Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agn0QYbLQJ8 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 2026-10-29. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [00:02:10] - Board members, please take your seats. [00:03:04] - Time is 7:02 PM and this June 12th, 2025, 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 Tristan Farmer, a Fairfax High School student. [00:03:20] - I pledge allegiance. [00:03:52] - See dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming. Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming [00:04:28] And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof to the night that our flag was still there. [00:04:48] Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave for the land of the free and the home of the brave. [00:05:13] One more round of applause for that incredibly talented student. [00:05:32] Agenda item 2.02, announcements. If you would like to review a copy of the meeting agenda, please see the back of the auditorium. To obtain copies of any items or supporting materials being discussed tonight, please reference the QR code on the agenda or visit fcps.edu slash board docs. [00:05:48] Tonight's meeting is being broadcast on Channel 99 and live streamed on YouTube and our website at fcps.edu slash live stream. Tonight's meeting is also being broadcast in Spanish on YouTube at youtube.com slash at fcps and Espanol. [00:06:04] The Fairfax County School Board would like to take a moment to welcome the following individuals who have joined us for tonight's meeting. Virginia Senator Saddam Salim. And I'm not sure if everybody's here, but I have a list. [00:06:23] So, Virginia Delegates Karen Keys-Gamara, a former school board member. Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer. Virginia Delegate Holly Seabold. [00:06:48] Virginia Delegate Paul Krizak. Kate Hanley, the former Providence District School Board member, supervisor, and chair of the Board of Supervisors. Jeff McKay, chairman of the Board of Supervisors. [00:07:06] James Walkenshaw Braddock District Supervisor Rodney Lusk Franconia District Supervisor Carolyn Pitches City of Fairfax School Board Chair Amit Hickman City of Fairfax School Board [00:07:39] Vice Chair Billy Bates Fairfax City Council Member Sandra Allen Town of Vienna Council Member Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District Board Members Dana Barakat and Rhonda [00:08:06] Bitterly Mark Emery former School Board Member at Large Stu Gibson former School Board Member Hunter Mill District, Phil Najalski-Eichner, former school board member Providence District, and Matt [00:08:36] Mullen, Mantua Citizens Association President. Agenda Item 2.03, honoring Megan Sawant, the 54th student representative to the school board. I call on Mr. Frisch for proclamation. Thank you. Whereas Megan Sawant has enthusiastically served as the 54th student representative to the Fairfax County School Board, Ms. Sawant's tenure for the 2024-25 school year included the beginning of important [00:09:15] countywide initiatives like the comprehensive boundary review, cell phone policy revisions and commitment to ensure excellence, equity and opportunity for every student. And whereas Miss Sawant has never wavered in her commitment to the students of Fairfax County Public Schools and her duties as the student representative, she's excelled at seeking student engagement and feedback, attended meetings and special functions all around the county and across the Commonwealth, and helping to support the reinvigorated student leadership development program and whereas Ms. Sawant has been a powerful advocate for deepening student engagement with the school board, uplifting student voice and policy [00:09:50] conversations on school safety, academic recovery, increasing equity in mental health resources and access to career and technical education courses and organizations. She created the Secondary Voices Advisory Committee, a student-led forum to seek feedback and improvements in portrait of a graduate implementation in classrooms, and has contributed instructive and insightful observations from the student perspective to discussions on issues before the board. [00:10:19] And whereas at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Ms. Sawant has maintained academic excellence while enrolled in rigorous advanced placement classes and completing her senior research through TJ's mentorship program, conducting research at Lombardy Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University focused on how muscle tissue adapts to spaceflight conditions and whereas during her time in FCPS Ms. Sawant has served as Virginia Technology Student Association State Vice President, Girl Scout Ambassador on the National Capital Board of Directors, intern for NASA and the National Institute of Health, explainer [00:10:59] at the Air and Space Museum, Civil Air Patrol Captain, member of the Spanish Honor Society, Hack TJ, TJ Textravaganza, and student member of the American Society for Space and Gravitational Research, among others. [00:11:15] Megan is also the recipient of the Virginia School Board Association's Exhibitors Scholarship, the Virginia Technology Student Association George R. Wilcox Scholarship, and an Air Force ROTC Full Tuition Scholarship. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board extends its highest commendation with deepest gratitude for the service of student representative to the school board Megan Sawant during the 2024-25 school year, expresses its sincere appreciation for her contributions and leadership, and extends its best wishes for her in her studies at [00:11:50] Harvard University next year. [00:12:12] Is there a second? I second. Ms. Anderson, I will call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your hands. [00:12:21] Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Mr. Moon, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Frisch, Ms. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McElveen, Ms. Dixit, Ms. Marin and myself. That is unanimous. Madam Clerk, will you please read the vote? I already did it for you, but it is unanimous. The motion carries. Congratulations. Congratulations. Agenda item. Ah, Ms. Sawant, you have an opportunity to make some remarks. I apologize. [00:12:54] Good evening everyone. Thank you is not enough to express the gratitude that I have for you all. [00:13:21] Just a year ago when I was elected to this board, I was excited, but I have to admit, very scared. To say that this role comes with a big responsibility would be an understatement. What I didn't expect, though, was how blown away I would be by the students I met, by the relationships that I built with all of you, and the growth that I'd experienced along the way. [00:13:40] From meeting with the regional superintendents and talking with the student leaders in the superintendents advisory council, Council, to attending the General Assembly's delegations pre-hearing, to sitting in on budget discussions with the Board of Supervisors, to experiencing the Food Show and the Student Leadership Development Program, and panels with the IT Department, and magic of the CAPES program, I could go on about how incredible the opportunities we have here in FCPSR, reflecting on the decisions that we've made with grading, and cell phones, and portrait of a graduate, school safety, boundaries, the list goes on. [00:14:12] The work that we do in this county, the work that you make all possible, is truly transformative. But if I had to choose one word to describe the skill that it takes to serve on this board, it would be resilience. This past year, I learned what it meant to sit on the other side of the dais. I saw the time, the thought, and the heart that went into every proclamation, every discussion, and every vote. [00:14:33] It reshaped the way that I approached decisions, helping me consider perspectives I hadn't before, timelines I hadn't accounted for, and ripple effects I hadn't imagined. I'm inspired by each and every one of you and what we did when we had a setback, how we got up, and how we moved forward. [00:14:48] We are living in an historic time, and how we show up, how we lead, matters more than ever. You've shown me that when we elevate student voice, center community voice, and lead with transparency, no matter how bad the situation may be, we build something even more important than policy. [00:15:05] We build belonging. That changes systems, and it changed me. To Dr. Reed, the leadership team, and all of the central office staff, thank you. Your support, the conversations we'd have, all the small questions I asked when everyone else knew the answer to them, that meant more to me than you know. [00:15:23] To Ms. Setlow, Mr. Jackson, Ms. Brown, and Ms. Wunderlin, and everyone in the clerk's office, thank you for onboarding me and supporting me with such kindness and care. To the familiar faces in the audience who show up each and every meeting, thank you. Thank you for your advocacy in FCPS and always being a familiar face I could look at. [00:15:46] To my family, especially my parents, thank you for tuning into every late night meeting, even when I said I would be home at a certain time, and supporting every wild schedule I proposed. And to this board, thank you not just for the support, but the trust that you had in me, and the trust that you had in me to support the voice of the students. [00:16:06] Walking across that graduation stage yesterday, shaking each of your hands, and even taking a selfie on stage, this board has become my second family. I am so proud to have served as the student member on this board, and to have had the privilege to learn from each of you and share so many student experiences. [00:16:24] Like many families, when I joined FCPS as a kindergartner, we were told that FCPS was the place to be. And now, as an FCPS graduate, I truly can say that FCPS is the place to be. Thank you so much for letting me be a small part of that. [00:16:48] - Thank you, Ms. Sawant. Agenda Item 2.04, honoring James Butlin, the 2025 Laura Ashley Piper Scholarship Recipient Proclamation. I call on Ms. Marin for a proclamation. Okay, I gotta regain my composure. Okay. [00:17:05] Whereas, James Butlin has remained consistently committed to excellence in academics, community service, athletics, and student leadership responsibilities throughout his years at Southlake High School. And whereas James has shown great potential for continued academic success by maintaining a 4.393 grade point average and sustaining the honor roll throughout his high school career and working towards his international baccalaureate diploma. [00:17:30] And whereas during his time at Southlakes High School, he has demonstrated maturity, responsibility, and determination, and has supported and advocated for improving the quality of life, increasing awareness, and ensuring access to resources for persons with amputations and limb differences. [00:17:46] And whereas James has contributed to his community by being an engaged member of the Young Men's Service League, facilitating friendships, building leaderships, and promoting outreach, understanding and support for those who are in need. And whereas through his overall excellence in academics and activities, including athletic success in basketball, baseball and golf, and enthusiasm for STEM, writing and skiing, he in every way personifies the characteristics and ideals to which Laura Ashley Piper adhered. [00:18:13] Now therefore be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board awards the Laura Ashley Piper Scholarship to James Butlin in memory of Lieutenant Piper and in recognition of both their drive, determination, and dedication to excellence. Now therefore be it further resolved that the Fairfax County School Board expresses its gratitude to educate Fairfax and Apple Apple Federal Credit Union for their continued partnership and part and contributions to our student awards. [00:18:41] Is there a second second all those in favor Miss Marin Miss Dixon Mr. McElveen Dr. Anderson Mr. McDaniel Miss Anderson besides more hyzer Mr. Dunn Mr. Moon Miss Lady Miss St. John Cunning and myself that is unanimous. Congratulations. I'm going to make a deal with everybody. [00:19:03] Let's applaud after each proclamation and not in between every comment that's made. It'll make things move a little bit more quickly. Agenda item 2.05. Mr. Frisch. We have to vote? No, Mr. Butlin. Where is he? There he is. [00:19:18] All right, Mr. Butlin, please take the podium and offer your remarks. Thank you, Ms. Marin. First off, I'd like to thank the school board for your constant support and for this honor. It's clear that Laura Ashley Piper was a clear community leader, athletic competitor, and she served our community and gave the ultimate sacrifice to our community. [00:19:53] It's an honor to accept the Laura Ashley Piper scholarship in her memory, and thank you for everything. Thank you, sir. Agenda Item 2.05, honoring Sonia Faizi, the 2025 School Board Character Award recipient proclamation. [00:20:14] I call on Ms. St. John Cunningham for a proclamation. Whereas the school board character award established in 2001 by student representatives to the school board, Chris Giovalli recognizes one FCPS 11th or 12th grade student who demonstrates a continuous record of high morals, strong integrity, and good character. [00:20:33] Award recipients exhibit characteristics such as respect, responsibility, honesty, compassion, justice, and generosity. And whereas Sonia Faizzi, a rising 12th grade student at Hayfield Secondary School, is a resilient student who has overcome personal hardships, is known as a compassionate leader, and is a source of inspiration for her fellow students. [00:20:57] And whereas Sonia works hard to balance work and school in order to pursue her goal of being the first in her family to attend college in the United States. And she demonstrates an unwavering sense of gratitude and purpose, which drives her to support her family and her fellow students. [00:21:16] And where Sonia is a mentor with a focus on supporting other first-generation students from refugee and immigrant backgrounds through the National Young Adult Leadership Council. She also volunteers her time as a math tutor and a front desk assistant at the Franconia Recreation Center which she credits as helping her engage further in her community. [00:21:37] And where Sonia brings a unique perspective to the classroom and her peers and she's a fierce advocate who stands up for equal rights supporting both her own personal goal of bringing her family to the United States and speaking out about her experience as a young woman in Afghanistan. [00:21:54] And with Sonia's overall excellence in academics, activities, and her community, she in every way personifies the characteristics and ideals to which the School Board Character Award embodies. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board awards the 2025 School Board Character Award to Sonia Faizi, who demonstrates a continuous record of high morals, integrity and good character so as to be a role model for students in Fairfax County Public Schools. [00:22:27] Now, therefore, be it further resolved that the Fairfax County School Board expresses its gratitude to educate Fairfax and Apple Federal Credit Union for their continued partnership and contributions to our student awards. [00:22:42] Is there a second? Second. Mr. McElveen. All those in favor, Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McElveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Ms. Anderson, Ms. Seismar-Hyser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunningham, and myself. That is unanimous. The proclamation carries. Congratulations. [00:23:02] Fool me once. Shame on me. Fool me twice. Can't be fooled again. I would like to call Ms. Faizi to the podium to make remarks before the board. Hello, everyone. [00:23:21] Good evening. Thank you for you all, school board members. I'm honored to be there as a school board award tonight. For me, character means being myself, being doing writing and respecting everyone, also staying positive in the hardest situation. [00:23:48] And also I learned from my, my journey wasn't easy, it has not been easy. I learned that kindness, respect, honesty and staying positive can open any door for everyone. [00:24:04] And also I learned that I cannot help only myself, it can help everyone, my family, my community and where I'm going to be in future. For this, I want to thank you, my aunt. [00:24:20] She always has been helping me since I moved here from Afghanistan without my parents. She was the one helping me, and only she asked me three things. She asked me, work hard, have A's, and be a good character for my kids. She has two kids, I have two cousins, and she only asked me that. [00:24:39] She never asked me to pay anything any expensive, and she wanted to be a good character for them. And logically, I thought, if I work hard, I can have A's. How am I going to be a good character for the kid? Just I was myself. [00:24:55] And then today, tonight, in front of all of you, I'm receiving the Good Character Award tonight. And I want to say thank you for people who helped me through this journey. Maggie, my friend, my mentor, Zara, they are here, especially my aunt. [00:25:13] Thank you, Amma, for everything you have done for me. - Thank you, you're welcome. - We are also joined this evening by former school board member from Braddock, Megan McLaughlin, welcome. [00:25:33] Agenda item 2.07, Immigrant Heritage Month Proclamation. I call on Ms. Marin for a proclamation. - Whereas the United States promises to be a land in which all are created and treated fairly with equal access to opportunity, and America has long been a safe haven for those seeking refuge from economic and humanitarian crises, a better life, and a peaceful future. [00:25:52] And whereas generations of immigrants from every corner of the globe built our country's economy and helped mold the unique character of our nation and county the courage and entrepreneurial innovation of immigrants has generated millions of jobs across virginia and led societal achievements across every major industry including education health care public service law engineering construction caregiving manufacturing service agriculture and countless others and whereas immigrants have provided the united states with varied and unique social and cultural influences fundamentally enriching the extraordinary fabric of our nation. And whereas despite these countless contributions, the role of immigrants in building [00:26:28] and developing our nation has frequently been overlooked and undervalued throughout our history and continuing to the present day, it is important to shed light on the valuable role generations of immigrants have had across our county and our country. And whereas immigrants have been tireless leaders not only in securing their own rights and access to equal opportunity, but have also campaigned to create a fairer and more just society for all Americans. And whereas Fairfax County Public Schools commemorates World Refugee Day on June 20th, 2025, and recognizes the courage and humanity of the millions forced to flee violence, persecution, and war. [00:27:03] We honor the generosity of our communities in welcoming refugees and the bravery and dedication of humanitarian workers who provide life-saving assistance, often in challenging and dangerous conditions. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board does hereby proclaim June 2025 as Immigrant Heritage Month and encourages all community members to embrace the significant contributions of our immigrant population. [00:27:25] Is there a second? As an immigrant myself, I am proud to second this. And Sonia, in Fairfax County, everything is possible. And that's why we are proud to be in Fairfax County. Thank you, Ms. Dixit. All those in favor? Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McElveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Seismarheiser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunningham, and myself. [00:27:50] That is unanimous. The proclamation carries. Congratulations. Agenda item 2.07 Caribbean Heritage Month proclamation. I call on Ms. St. John Cunning for a proclamation. Whereas June was designated as National Caribbean American Heritage Month in 2006 to promote the rich culture and heritage of the Caribbean American people and their contribution to the history and culture of the United States. [00:28:21] And whereas National Caribbean American Heritage Month spearheaded and championed by Dr. Claire Nelson, the first Jamaican woman to earn a doctorate degree in an engineering discipline and a founding member of the Institute of Caribbean Studies, has been celebrated across the nation since 2000. [00:28:39] And whereas Caribbean individuals are some of the most ethnically diverse in the world and are a fusion of indigenous African, European, and Asian descent, and the Caribbean, also called the West Indies, is made up of more than 700 islands, reefs, and caves which are organized into 30 territories including 13 sovereign nations, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Granada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and Neves, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. [00:29:13] And whereas the Caribbean diaspora in the United States is compromised of over 8.5 million individuals either born in the Caribbean or of Caribbean ancestry with the majority of Caribbean immigrants in the United States migrating primarily from five countries, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago, and whereas the Caribbean had been at the center of a heinous crime against humanity induced by the transatlantic slave trade as approximately 40 percent of enslaved Africans were shipped to the Caribbean islands, which in the 17th century surpassed Brazil as the principal market for enslaved labor. [00:29:53] And whereas Fairfax County Public Schools celebrates the rich diversity and honors the many contributions of immigrants of Caribbean heritage to our nation. From Jean-Baptiste and Haiti who established what would become Chicago to U.S. Senator to U.S. Secretary of State General Colin Powell from Jamaica and the Honorable Charlie Shislam of Guyanese and Baja descent. [00:30:19] the first black woman to run as candidate for the president of the United States of America and former Vice President Kamala Harris of Jamaican descent among many others. Now therefore be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board does hereby proclaim June 2025 as Caribbean Heritage Month in the celebration and recognition of the many contributions of Caribbean Americans who have made our society. [00:30:44] Is there a second? As a proud Caribbean American I second. Thank you. Dr. Anderson, all those in favor, Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McIlveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Sizemoreheiser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. Lady, Ms. A. Jung Cunningham, and myself, that is unanimous, the proclamation carries. Congratulations. [00:31:03] Agenda Item 2.08, Juneteenth Proclamation. I call on Mr. Moon for a proclamation. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Whereas the month of June is the time that our nation recognizes Juneteenth as the holiday that celebrates Emancipation Day, the day in history when the last slaves in the Union were freed, and whereas the day marks the time period where African Americans of Texas received notice from President Lincoln that slavery had been abolished, a declaration that was codified in the 13th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, [00:31:42] And June 19th also marks the day that African Americans in the southern states exercise independence from those who benefited from their labors in the founding of this nation. And whereas the journey of African Americans represents both great achievements and great hardship. [00:32:02] Our county realized the injustices of the African-American journey, who historically and in the present day have not been treated equally under the law, and the pain and anguish developed from generations of systemic racism that impacts our students, families, staff, and communities, and whereas the educational institutions of this nation, including Fairfax County Public Schools, has a particular responsibility to recognize the painful realities of the our history and to make sure that our curriculum reflects these realities. [00:32:41] And whereas, by working with the community as one Fairfax, the school board is committed to implementing actionable items to improve policies and procedures to improve access to opportunities to ensure that students, families, and staff do not experience inequities in Fairfax County public schools. And whereas, we value diversity and are united in our opposition to racism and hate we stand in solidarity with our african-american students educators staff and their [00:33:13] families now therefore be resolved that felfast county school board hereby proclaims june 19 20 25 as a juneteenth a day to commemorate and emphasize a collective call to action against injustices of any kind is there a second i second all right all those in favor Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McElveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Sizemoreheiser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. Lady, Ms. Agent Cunning, and myself. That is unanimous. The proclamation [00:33:45] passes. Congratulations. 2.09, honoring Congressman Gerald E. Jerry Connolly proclamation. I call on Mr. Frisch for a proclamation. Thank you. Before I begin, I'd like to recognize Smitty Connolly, the congressman's wife, and Caitlin Connolly, his daughter, who have joined us this evening whereas congressman gerald e jerry connelly served our community for more than three decades [00:34:23] from his time as mantua citizen association president providence district supervisor and chairman of the fairfax county board of supervisors to his distinguished tenure in the united states house of representatives representing virginia's 11th congressional district with distinction since 2009 and whereas congressman connelly was a steadfast champion for fairfax county public schools throughout his career recognizing that investing in students educators and schools is essential to building a stronger future for our community and whereas congressman connelly was a tireless advocate for increased federal education funding school renovation projects and providing services for students most in need including full-day kindergarten help for at-risk [00:35:01] youth and historic federal aid to address pandemic related student learning loss and whereas congressman connelly's legacy is visible daily in fairfax county in classrooms where opportunity is alive and well, in programs that uplift children and families, and in the green spaces and affordable housing he helped establish. [00:35:19] And whereas, during his time in county government, Congressman Connolly led initiatives to expand after-school programs to all Fairfax County middle schools, reduce gang violence, promote renewable energy, and advance infrastructure investments that supported school communities, efforts that helped earn Fairfax County recognition as a best-managed county. [00:35:37] And whereas, Congressman Connolly became an early defender of students' rights to access diverse and inclusive educational materials when he opposed efforts to ban books from school libraries nearly a quarter of a century ago, particularly those depicting the lived experiences of marginalized communities. [00:35:53] And whereas during his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Connolly secured critical federal funding for Northern Virginia transportation infrastructure, including the Fairfax County Parkway, rail to Dulles, and metro system, improving daily life for educators, students, and families alike. [00:36:08] And whereas Congressman Connolly also distinguished himself nationally and internationally, serving as ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where he defended public education and the pillars of American democracy from attacks from within. He also was a leading voice for democratic values and international cooperation as president of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, Parliamentary Assembly. [00:36:32] And whereas Congressman Connolly authored and passed major legislation to modernize government and support civil servants, including the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act and the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act and the Telework Enhancement Act, reforms that have strengthened federal operations. [00:36:49] And whereas Congressman Connolly's signature wit, wisdom, and laughter taught those of us who work in public service that leadership must be grounded in purpose and carried out with joy, and as counsel, friendship, and example have shaped generations of civic leaders in Fairfax County and beyond. [00:37:06] Now therefore be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board honors the legacy of Congressman Gerald E. Jerry Connolly and celebrates his enduring dedication to the nation he served so faithfully and his unwavering commitment to Fairfax County Public Schools and our community which defined his work, his life's work. [00:37:25] Is there a second? Second. Ms. Sizemoreheiser. I'll call for the vote. All in favor? Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McElveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Mr. Frisch, Ms. Sizemoreheiser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. Lady, and Ms. St. John Cunning and myself, that's unanimous for all present. [00:37:44] Thank you. And we're nearing the end of proclamations and then photos. I promise. [00:38:18] 2.0, 2.10. Wow. Honoring Jane Strauss' proclamation, I call on Ms. Lady for a proclamation. Thank you, Chairman Frisch. I also would like to recognize Victoria Hayes, who's in the audience, daughter of Janie, and I believe maybe Jeremy, her husband, and Maddie, her daughter, is here, who just graduated from Fairfax High School. [00:38:41] and Becky Melanie sorry and Melanie thank you whereas we celebrate the life and service of Janie of Jane Janie Strauss her devotion including 26 years on the Fairfax County School Board was tireless as an advocate of our public school system to provide all children with a world-class education building a solid foundation and the skills for a successful future and whereas mrs. [00:39:06] Strauss was the first appointed a school board at-large member 1991 to 1993 and served as the elected Drainsville board member from 96 to 2019. She was the board chair three times and vice chair twice. In 2018, she received the Virginia School Boards Association's Advocate for Education Award for her leadership, commitment, and contribution to public education impacting the Commonwealth of Virginia and our region. And whereas during her time on the school board, she welcomed two new Drainsville schools, Colvin Run Elementary School and Coates Elementary School, implemented full-day kindergarten, later start times for high schools, extended advanced academic programs including the AAP Center [00:39:45] at Cooper Middle School, developed one-on-one technology programs, and made critical difficult budget decisions during recessions. And whereas Mrs. Strauss, with a Master of Arts in Teaching from Harvard Graduate School of Education, spent over 35 years in education as a former elementary and preschool teacher, and president of the Franklin Sherman PTA and the Fairfax County Council of PTAs. [00:40:07] And whereas Mrs. Strauss, countless hours of loving dedication and work on the CAPIs, a student-driven program for high school theater and journalism students, brought benefits to all of our schools, students across the country, and the community. She led the CAPIs after her husband, Bill Strauss, passed away in 2007. [00:40:26] And the program now has 12 active chapters in seven states and two cities in Canada. And whereas her dedication included a deep community involvement with the McLean Project for the Arts, Healthy Families Fairfax, and numerous education and youth affairs committees. [00:40:42] In 2021, she was named the Drainville District's Lady Fairfax, and McLean High School's theater program named their dressing rooms, Janie Strauss Dressing Rooms, in her honor. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board and our community mourn the loss of Janie Strauss as a youth and community champion, benefiting our students, staff, families in Fairfax County by expanding opportunities for every student, especially through her tireless work as Drainesville school board member and her love of student theater and journalism. Is there a second? Second. Mr. Moon. All those in favor? Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McElveen, [00:41:18] Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Sizemore-Hyser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. Dunn, Cunningham, and myself. That is unanimous. The motion carries. Congratulations. Agenda item 2.11, Gun Violence Awareness Wear Orange Day. I call on Mr. Moon for a proclamation. [00:41:56] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Well at June 6th, 2025 was National Gun Violence Awareness Day, also known as Well Orange Day. And June 6th through 8th, 2025 was Well Orange Weekend. [00:42:11] And well as students first organized National Gun Violence Awareness Day to memorialize the 2013 death of their friend and gun violence victim, 15-year-old Hadiyah Pendleton. and to commemorate her death they ask us to stand up speak out and wear orange the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others and whereas firearms are leading cause of death for children and teens in united states and every year nearly 3 500 children and teens die in gun related [00:42:47] incidents and approximately 3 million are exposed to gun violence and exposure to gun violence has long-lasting impacts on the safety and well-being of our youth. Whereas in 2024 there were 219 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 59 deaths and 163 injuries nationally. [00:43:12] And every student and STEM member deserves a safe educational environment. And sadly, the threat of gun violence for them has grown across the country. And whereas an estimated one in three american children live in a home with access to firearms and improperly stored weapons have contributed to school shootings suicides and the death of family members and nearly 40 percent of parents with a firearm in the home wrongly believe their children don't know where their gun is stored and the fairfax county public schools is committed to preventing gun violence [00:43:48] by providing resources and reminding families of secure firearm store storage practices now therefore be reserved that fairfax county school board recognizes june 6 2025 as a national gun violence awareness day to raise awareness of these issues and the importance of preventing and eliminating gun violence in our schools and communities is there a second mr dunn mr [00:44:19] All those in favor, Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McIlveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Sizemore-Heisner, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunningham, and myself. The motion carries that as unanimous. Section 2.12, LGBTQIA plus pride month proclamation. [00:44:50] I call in Ms. Lady for a proclamation. Whereas June marks the anniversary of the first LGBTQIA+ pride parade over 50 years ago, which served as a call to collective action just one year after the Stonewall riots, where LGBTQIA+ people, especially queer youth and transgender women, resisted pervasive police harassment and violence during early morning bar raid in New York City. [00:45:15] And whereas the decades since have been one of struggle and triumph for the LGBTQIA+ community. Despite increased understanding and legal protections, LGBTQIA+ youth still face many challenges, including the threat of their legal rights and protections being revoked across the country. Without accepting families, schools, and communities, they are far more likely to attempt suicide or experience homelessness. And whereas recent studies show most LGBTQIA+ middle and high school students in Virginia say they have been verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation and often heard negative remarks about transgender people in school. [00:45:49] Additionally, middle and high school students of Virginia report experiencing physical assaults because of their LGBTQIA+ status. Students of color are disproportionately impacted by anti-LGBTQIA+ hostility, with large percentages of Latinx and Black LGBTQIA+ middle and high school students experiencing bullying. [00:46:08] And whereas now more than ever with LGBTQIA+ people, especially transgender and gender expansive youth are being attacked verbally and in lawmaking, the Ferris County Board stands with and celebrates its LGBTQIA+ students, families and staff. The school board recognizes the urgency of its charge to foster a responsive, caring and inclusive culture where LGBTQIA+ students are affirmed and see their identities reflected in instructional curriculum, school programs and school library offerings. It further commits to advancing policies that protect LGBTQIA+ students and staff and enhance their experience in Fairfax [00:46:46] County Public Schools. And whereas the Fairfax County School Board appreciates the many contributions made by its LGBTQIA+ students, families, and staff to the vibrancy of the broader school community, Fairfax County has a richly diverse LGBTQIA+ population that includes people from all walks of life who should be able to live without fear of prejudice, discrimination, harassment, violence, physical or political. Now therefore be it resolved, the Fairfax County School Board on behalf of the students, families, and the staff of Fairfax County Public Schools proclaims that June, June 2025 is LGBTQIA+ Pride [00:47:22] Month. In the spirit of one Fairfax, the Fairfax County School Board urges all to respect and honor our diverse LGBTQIA+ community and to build a culture of inclusivity and equity not only during LGBTQIA+ Pride Month but every day throughout the entire year as well. Is there a second? Second. I will, Mr. Frisch, I will call for the vote. [00:47:45] Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McElveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Mr. Frisch, Ms. St. John, Ms. Seismar-Hyser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. Lady, and Ms. St. John Cunning, and myself. That's unanimous for all present. All right. We're going to move on to photos. I would like to welcome our student representative, Megan Swant, and her family, and all those who are here to support her for a photo at the front of the dais. If you are a student who is also here for a photo for your scholarship, please [00:48:21] make your way to the clerk's desk so that you are ready to come in and take a photo. [00:48:25] And then we will move on to the other proclamations starting with Congressman Connolly. [00:50:08] I would like to welcome James Butlin, his family and his friends who are here in support of the Honoring James Butlin, the 2025 Laura Ashley Piper Scholarship Recipient Proclamation [00:50:19] to please join the board for a photo. I would like to welcome Sonia Faizzi, her family and [00:50:55] And all those here in support of the honoring Sonia Faizzi, the 2025 School Board Character Award recipient proclamation to please join the board for a photo. The next photo after that will be for Congressman Connolly. [00:51:08] I would like to welcome the family of Jerry Connolly and all those here in support of the [00:51:49] honoring Congressman Gerald E. Jerry Connolly proclamation to please join the board for a photo at the front of the dais. [00:51:56] And the photo after that will be the photo honoring Janie Strauss. [00:53:01] I would like to welcome the family of Janie Strauss and all those here in support of the honoring Jane Strauss proclamation to please join the board for a photo. [00:53:15] The next photo after that will be the Immigrant Heritage Month proclamation photo. [00:53:58] I would like to welcome all those here in support of the Immigrant Heritage Month proclamation to please join the board for a photo and the next photo after that will be for Juneteenth. [00:54:36] I would like to welcome all those here in support of the Immigrant Heritage Month proclamation [00:54:49] to please join the board for a photo at the front of the dais. [00:55:39] I would like to welcome all those here in support of the Juneteenth Proclamation to [00:55:48] please join the board for a photo at the front of the dais. [00:56:31] I would like to welcome all those here in support of the Caribbean Heritage Month Proclamation [00:56:39] to please join the board for a photo at the front of the dais. [00:57:37] I would like to welcome all those here in support of the LGBTQIA+ Pride Month Proclamation [00:57:43] to please join the board for a photo at the front of the dais. [00:59:19] And then I would like to welcome all those here in support of the Gun Violence Awareness [00:59:23] proclamation to please join the board for the front of the dais board members [01:01:04] please return to your seats they're coming all right now we move to our very patient athletes agenda item 2.13 virginia high school league and team spring 2025 recognitions the school board is very pleased to recognize the recipients of the spring 2025 fcps vhsl state and regional championships tonight please stand when your team is recognized after all recognitions are completed individual teams will be invited to have a photo with the board [01:01:43] at the dais. The board would like to recognize the Chantilly High School debate team for being awarded the VHSL Class 6 Debate State Championship. The board would also like to recognize Principal Amy Goodloe, Director of Student Activities, Brendan Shapiro, and debate coach Barbara Clowardy for their contributions to the team. The board would like to recognize the Chantilly [01:02:22] High School eSport League of Legends team for winning the VHSL Spring eSport League for Legend Tournament Championship. The board would also like to recognize Principal Amy Goodloe, Director of Student Service Brendan Shapiro, and Coach James Cotula for their contribution to the team. [01:02:48] The board would like to recognize the Frost Middle School Girls Track Team for winning the Fairfax County Public Schools Middle School Girls Track Championship. The board would also like to recognize Principal Anthony Harris, After School Specialist Debra Metzger, head coach Craig Davis and coaches Greg Winslow, Caitlin Lott, Meredith Marquis for their contributions to the team. The board would like to recognize the Robinson Secondary School Boys Crew Team for winning the [01:03:26] VASRA Division 2 Boys Trophy Points Championship. The board would also like to recognize Principal Tracy Phillips, Director of Student Activities, Andy Jimmo, Coach Matthew Petty for their contributions to the team. The board would like to recognize the Robinson Secondary Schools Girls Crew Team for winning the VASRA Division II Girls Trophy Points Championship. The board would also like to recognize Principal Tracy Phillips, Director of Student Activities Andy Jimmo, and Coach Phil Vargas for their contributions to the [01:04:04] team. Congratulations. The board would like to recognize the Robinson Secondary School Rifle Team for winning the Potomac High School Rifle League Regional championship the board would also like to recognize principal Tracy Phillips director of student activities and Andy Jimmo and coach James Miller for their contributions to the team the board would like to recognize Robinson secondary school boys middle school track team for winning Fairfax County [01:04:43] Public Schools middle school boys track championship the board would also like to recognize principal Tracy Phillips after school specialist Courtney Morley head coach Kelly Kevanoff and coaches Mark Brown, Isabel Sprake, and Talita Lopez for their contributions to the team. [01:05:09] The board would like to recognize the South County High School Girls Outdoor Track Team for winning the VHSL Class 6 Girls Outdoor Track and Field State Championship. The board would also like to recognize Principal Samuel Keshoba, Director of Student Activities Martin Wooten, head coach Maurice Hutton, and assistant coach Joshua Robinson for their contributions to the team. [01:05:35] The board would like to recognize the Woodson High School Esports Rocket League team for winning the VHSL Spring Esports Rocket League Tournament Championship. [01:05:55] The board would also like to recognize Principal Kevin Greta, Director of Student Activities Blair Smith, and coaches Jimmy Hsu and Michael Kukendahl for their contributions to the team. Before we continue, I gave the Frost Middle School girls track team a fake coach. [01:06:17] So there is no Greg Winslow, George Winslow, I apologize. Wherever Greg is, I'm sure he's fantastic. The board would like to invite the members of the Chantilly High School debate team, school staff, and supporters to join the board for a photo at the dais. [01:06:37] And I ask my colleagues to remain in front while we work through all the photos. [01:06:41] The board would like to invite the Frost Middle School girls track team, [01:07:54] school staff, and supporters to please join the board for a photo. [01:08:18] The board would like to invite the members of the Chantilly High School Esports League of Legends team, school staff and supporters, [01:08:45] to please join the board for a photo. [01:09:18] The board would like to invite the Robinson Secondary School Boys Crew Team, [01:09:54] school staff and supporters, to please join the board for a photo. The board would like to invite the Robinson Secondary School Girls Crew Team, [01:10:32] school staff and supporters, to please join the board for a photo. [01:11:03] The board would like to invite the Robinson Secondary School Rifle Team, school staff and supporters, to please join the board for a photo. [01:11:58] The board would like to invite the Robinson Secondary School Middle School Boys Track Team school staff and supporters to please join the board for a photo. [01:12:25] The board would like to invite the South County High School Girls Track Team school staff and supporters to please join the board for a photo. [01:13:49] The board would like to invite the Woodson High School Esports Rocket League Team school staff and supporters to please join the board for a photo. [01:14:32] That is, Mr. Chair, that's our last photo. [01:14:45] On behalf of the board, I would like to thank all of our students, coaches, principals, and parents and caregivers who joined us this evening for the recognition of these amazing achievements and [01:15:18] student athletes. We're so proud of our FCPS students. Agenda item 3.01, Community Participation. The next order 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'S WEBSITE AT FCPS.EDU/SCHOOL BOARD. [01:15:43] DURING THE SIGN-UP PROCESS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THEY WERE INFORMED OF THE SCHOOL BOARD'S EXPECTATIONS FOR PROPER DECORUM WHEN PROVIDING COMMENTS. THESE EXPECTATIONS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AND WITH THE PRINTED AGENDA AND MEETING MATERIALS IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM. WE ASKED THE AUDIENCE MEMBERS TO BE RESPECTFUL OF ONE ANOTHER. SHOUTING AND OUTBURSTS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. [01:16:01] PLEASE HOLD YOUR APLAUS UNTIL THE CONCLUSION OF A SPEAKER'S REMARKS. audience members may not join speakers at the podium and should remain at their seats including when recording video or taking photos we're grateful for those who have come to speak to us today and thank you for your cooperation school board members will be listening but not responding madam clerk please call the [01:16:19] first speaker Shreya Gubi hello everyone my name is Shreya Gubi and I'm I'm a rising junior at Langley High School a critical issue in the school district today is moving for more sustainability in terms of electricity. [01:16:53] I appreciate all the efforts the school board and leaders of the community have pushed for in the past few years. The recent solar panel contracts within more than 20 schools is a great step forward for more climate resiliency. Still, we need more efforts to electrify schools. [01:17:09] These efforts alone aren't enough to achieve the goals that FCPS have ambitiously envisioned for the next few years. There are a few reasons for this. For one, FCPS continues to consume large amounts of fossil fuels. For example, in 2023, FCPS school buses use more than 2 million gallons of diesel fuel. [01:17:30] Diesel-fueled vehicles are major sources of harmful pollutants and emissions and account for 21% of overall emissions. Secondly, implementing solar panels and more sustainable electrification efforts can have significant cost savings. [01:17:47] For example, recently, FCPS achieved $100 million in savings. If we continue in this climate-conscious track, we will see more money saved. Lastly, electrifying schools helps FCPS do its part for climate change efforts. [01:18:02] These actions significantly reduce the carbon footprint of schools, as the more we replace things such as appliances and buses with electricity, the fewer carbon emissions will exist. As FCPS continues to grow in terms of student population and schools, the electrification efforts we make today can have an immense impact on climate change and cost savings. [01:18:25] When we strip out fossil fuel powered infrastructure and replace it with sustainable electrification efforts, we can make a clean energy future for FCPS students. Thank you. [01:18:41] - Nadia Shutov. [01:18:58] - Good evening. My name is Nadia Shutov and I'm a rising junior at Falls Church High School. I'm here today to urge you to take further steps to electrify FCPS for the sake of the climate and our health. I greatly appreciate the steps taken to approve the solar contract for many schools, and this is a vital accomplishment, but we need to keep going. [01:19:21] In light of the recent threats to the Inflation Reduction Act, federal leaders cannot be relied on to take initiative for the climate. We need local leaders like each of you to step up and take more action for the health of our students and staff and communities, the long-term savings that this will bring to the school district and for our planet. Funding cannot be the reason we don't make progress with this issue. When the school board adopted the goals of the joint environmental task force, the IRA did not yet exist. So while losing it would complicate the electrification process, it is not a reason to abandon these goals. Funding options include [01:19:57] passing municipal bonds and securing grants and utility rebates. We can also follow Loudoun County's example of using money invested from private companies that get paid back over time with the money saved. All of the funding options aside, we don't need to pay for this all at once. [01:20:14] We can phase in electric equipment and buildings as the old ones need to be replaced. I noticed on your agenda tonight items about the replacement of boilers at a couple of schools. I'm not sure what kind of equipment you're replacing them with, but it would be great if you installed efficient electric heat pumps instead of new boilers that also run on fossil fuels. [01:20:34] Schools are supposed to prepare students for the future, and climate change is one of the most critical issues affecting my future. So please continue to be examples for school districts across the country in school electrification. Thank you. Bart Stewart. Good evening, everybody. My name is Bart Stewart. While I'm on F-PAC, I am not here today to speak on [01:21:12] behalf of F-PAC, just as a Glasgow parent. I got two things I'll try and speak fast. So sorry about that. As I hope you guys remember Glasgow is in the middle of a boundary review process because without the modulars it is at 117 percent program capacity. So you can imagine my surprise when I went to the boundary review meeting and learned that none of the scenarios resulted in a reduction of students at Glasgow and two resulted in more students at Glasgow. That's because the consultants are using the with modular program capacity in their analysis. Not only does this ignore [01:21:52] MANY OF THE EXISTING CAPACITY ISSUES AND CYCLE OF BUILDING EXPENSIVE BUILDING ADDITIONS THAT SAP OUR RENOVATION BUDGETS. TO SOLVE THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST THE BOARD PASS A FORMAL MOTION DIRECTING FCPS STAFF TO USE THE WITHOUT MODULARS PROGRAM CAPACITY IN THEIR ANALYSIS. NUMBER TWO WAS ON LIMITING DISRUPTION. [01:22:17] LIMITING DISRUPTION IN THE PROCESS IS VERY IMPORTANT. THE JULY 18, 2024 MEETING HAD A MOTION TO DIRECT THAT IT BE A PHASED APPROACH BASED ON HOW THE PROCESS IS GOING I THINK THAT MOTION NEEDS TO BE REVISITED. RIGHT NOW THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO LIMIT DISRUPTION BY MAKING MINIMAL BOUNDARY CHANGES. THIS WILL LEAD TO MORE BANDAIDS ON TOP OF THE DOZENS THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS. BY ALLOWING A PHASED IMPLEMENTATION WE CAN MINIMIZE DISRUPTION TO CURRENT STUDENTS WHILE GIVING THE CONSULTANTS MORE FLEXIBILITY to actually make a real comprehensive study. [01:23:00] Amanda Campbell. Good evening. I am speaking tonight for the last time as president of Fairfax County SEPTA, though I'll still be involved. [01:23:16] Dr. Reed was hired around the same time that I took office, and from the first time we met, she made her support of SEPTA clear. Dr. Reed, thank you for your support and your partnership. School board members, thank you also, especially those with whom I've had the opportunity to collaborate for a few years now. [01:23:33] Special education families are rarely the loudest families in the room and that requires that our elected officials be willing to learn from and engage with our community. Thank you. One of our advocacy wins is the inclusion of disability disaggregation in the most recent Fairfax County Youth Survey. [01:23:49] The data from this report, however, is incredibly alarming. 46.7% of students with disabilities reported feeling persistent hopelessness or sadness compared to 13.8% of their non-disabled peers, 21.2% of students with disabilities reported considering suicide compared to 2.9% of their non-disabled peers, and 8.2% reported attempting suicide compared to 1.1% of their non-disabled peers. [01:24:19] Our students with disabilities are in crisis. How will FCPS use this data to better support them? I also ask you to review the literacy data from screeners this year. Only 22.8 percent of students with disabilities that participated in the middle school iReady screeners this year met the winter screening benchmarks. [01:24:38] Breaking it down by service level, 48.7 percent of students receiving special education services for less than half their day met the winter screening benchmark, while only 11 percent of students receiving services for more than half of their day met the benchmark, both social emotionally and academically our students with disabilities need more support the unprecedented attacks on the US Department of Education Medicaid and the ongoing concern for how IDEA will be funded and enforced leave our families [01:25:08] with disabilities filled with anxiety we need our local Christina McCormick hello again good evening my name is Chris McCormick I am still a co-chair of FCPS Pride, a board member of the Transgender Education Association, and most importantly a parent of two FCPS students. We wanted to share with you [01:25:44] tonight FCPS Pride spent all weekend at World Pride and it was amazing. And I wanted tonight to share our experiences with you because you need to hear the things that we were told and the the joy that was in our booth. Our booth was never empty we probably spoke with hundreds of current and former students families staff as well as a lot of folks from neighboring school districts that wondered why their school districts weren't there so we were told repeatedly thank you for being here over and over thank you for being [01:26:22] here and thank you fcps for advocating for your lgbtqia students we were the only organization at world pride advocating for and with a school district the only one so we're incredibly proud of that that says something about the work that we're doing together with you all it's something to be very proud of i can't adequately express to you how it felt to see students and families enter our booth and light up and they shared with us their stories their successes and told us how very important that affirming school environment has been in their lives it was a wonderful beautiful [01:27:01] weekend and we want you to all know that and to never doubt that continuing to fight for the rights of our students and staff is not only vital but joyous so thank you for your support of lgbtq plus students this year in the face of tremendous pressure we know that pressure is probably going to worsen but as bayard rustin once said we need in every community a group of angelic troublemakers [01:27:25] that's us so we look forward to continuing our work with you thank you vanessa hall so i am the other co-leader of FCPS Pride and it turns out Chris just took my speech so I'll do my best. [01:27:52] I wanted to say that I wanted to say thank you that students were supported, educated, and graduated this year. I'm talking about all of our students. That is a testimony to all of the hard work that you all do and that all of FCPS does from gatehouse to each individual school. [01:28:14] I've heard some critics say that proclamations are done just for the sake of appearances, but we know that's not true, especially when it feels like the world's on fire, democracy is threatened, and civil rights are being denied. To be honest, right now pride proclamations feel very personal when the governor, the president, and VHSL deny trans students the right to play sports or use the bathroom, or when one's very existence as a trans or immigrant student is denied so we really need this your pride proclamation reminds us that we all deserve to be [01:28:48] welcomed and safe in our schools like you we at fcps pride work to ensure that students staff and families feel safe supported and welcomed in our community at pride celebrations this weekend we did meet hundreds of fairfax county students families and staff who have seriously appreciated how you are fighting for their rights. At World Pride, students told me that they feel welcome and ready to learn at FCPS. They're free from the daily harassment that older alumni experienced, especially older alumni from my era, when gay slurs were common and misgendering was actually [01:29:26] a bully's tool of choice. Parents especially expressed thanks for your hard work to improve the climate and even appreciated protections by the srnr and i'm about to go over my time so happy pride month y'all and by y'all we appreciate that you do mean you all thank you sorry taylor good evening my name is sari taylor i'm a product of fairfax county public schools a parent of students [01:30:06] in fairfax county and for 15 years i've been a special education teacher with fairfax county For the past eight years, I've been the lead special education teacher at Mountain View ALC in AIM. Two weeks ago, we were notified that ALCs were being shut down and AIM would no longer exist in the manner it has for almost 20 years. [01:30:23] The ALC and AIM program serves some of the neediest children in our county. We teach, mentor, and love children who have been told they can no longer attend other schools due to unfortunate choices they've made. Two weeks ago, we were told that ALCs were being absorbed by the alternative high schools and staff was changing in the AIM program. [01:30:39] Our lead teacher's role was being eliminated. Later, myself and eight of my coworkers were de-staffed. Although we are one campus, the staffing of Mountain View High School was never considered when de-staffs were made. The alignment with Bryan AIM was also not considered when de-staffs were made to our program. [01:30:57] The timing of this left us with six work days to find a job or to be placed without choice. Due to budgeting and staffing concerns, there are no similar jobs available in the county. I don't teach at Mountain View ALC and AIM because I'm forced to. I teach there because my passion is working with the kids that everyone else has turned their back on. [01:31:15] I will be clear, I fear for the safety and security of remaining staff and students based on changes being made. I fear that making this last minute hasty decision does not allow enough planning time to effectively meet the needs of our students like we have in the past. Recently, we watched six students from AIM graduate. [01:31:32] Most of those students were over the age of 18. Most of them had spent time in various alternative school environments, including Mountain View High School and the Juvenile Detention Center. Those children came to us having never passed SOL. The team at AEM were able to work with them and reach those kids in ways that have never been done. AEM takes students who have committed the most egregious offenses. We put in place measures to make a safe environment for both students and staff. Due to that work we've seen success that should be blasted all over this county. Without the support of our staff these students would be less likely to go on to become productive. [01:32:03] Stacy Wickline. I'm a retired teacher from the AEM program. FCPS senior leadership is operating under erroneous information regarding the Mountain View AIM2 program and I'd like to set that record straight. First, AIM is not just for grades 11 and 12. It has always served grades 7 through 12. It's not a detail, it's a defining feature. Second, we are not monitors, we are educators. The [01:32:43] statement that AIM students are monitored by a lead teacher, IAs, and security attendants is simply wrong. Every classroom has a certified teacher. We teach English, math, social studies, science. We have special ed and ELL support. IAAs assist staff and students and ensure their two teachers in each classroom for the safety and security of all. We work to heal broken children. We model compassion, respect, and offer the promise of redemption and success for every student who comes through our doors. We do not need security guards and we are not money pits. Third, our work extends far beyond AIM. Over the years [01:33:21] AIM staff were called on to help both the high school and the ALC programs. We We stepped in when others couldn't get students to pass their coursework, SOLs, work keys, or the WISE test. We did the work of two other programs while serving our own students. [01:33:38] And now, leadership says that, quote, "AIMD staffs will only occur where high school staff can serve in the same capacity." I disagree vehemently. We are not interchangeable. This work takes experience, flexibility, and complete commitment to each other and our students. [01:33:56] Claim that students will receive the same or better services with fewer staff is not just unrealistic, it is disingenuous. Cutting staff while promising no loss or even improvement in quality? Logic doesn't hold anywhere, not in hospitals, nursing homes, military, and most certainly not in schools. Before these cuts, Mountain View had something exceptionally rare. An exceptional staff who showed up every day to work with the children no one else in [01:34:21] this county could handle. They did it with love. Please play the video testimony submitted by Robert Rigby. Good evening, friends. This is Robert Rigby, a veteran teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools. I've been going to the LGBTQ Pride Festival in DC since these whiskers, since before [01:34:57] these whiskers were gray and this row was unfurred. This year was among the most joyful for me with reunions with former students all grown up and parents and staff and teachers who came by our FCPS pride booth. But it was also the festival with the most security I've ever seen. Metal detectors, fences, private security, three police departments. It was so secure because our community is under threat of violence. As are many other communities, communities being snatched [01:35:34] stopped from the streets and deported and family separated. It's terrible. Tonight, you are honoring many of those communities, not only LGBTQIA plus folk, but Caribbean people and Arab Americans, religious minorities, and immigrants. And I thank you for that. It's important for those communities under duress to be unified. And you help us with that, with your proclamation and Dr. Reed and the school board. I would ask that those who disagree with us so vehemently, who even would take away [01:36:11] our rights, that you not dehumanize and demonize people. Because that leads only to hate. And that's not good for us. And it's not good for you. I heard immigrant people and protesters called animals by our leader on the TV this morning. That's terrible. Don't do that, folks. And we won't do it. We must stay united as a community if this nation and our school system are to survive. [01:36:41] Thank you. Chair Fresh, that's our last public speaker. Thank you. I just have to get to the right part. Agenda item 4.01, student representative matters. I call on Ms. Salon. First, I just wanted to say thank you. My heart is so full, so thank you so much. And this is my second to last meeting, so I'm going to get straight to business. So speaking of student voice, over the past couple weeks I've received letters from students at Hayfield Secondary School as part of [01:37:18] their senior government projects and these letters are addressing real issues that students are facing every day and ones that I wanted to bring to the board's attention as well so I'm just going to highlight three but I would love to share the rest of them with you as well because they're all important they all highlight different experience that they faced so one student wrote about the need for clearer and more accessible policies around excused absences for mental health days she cited CDC's 2023 youth risk behavior survey which reported that 40% of high school students felt persistent sadness or hopelessness. We've also seen similar trends in FCPS's own youth survey data especially the spike in sixth grade that Dr. Reed has previously shared. And yes [01:37:56] while these numbers might show slight improvement over the years and while we do have several mental health resources students still navigate high-pressure environments where their mental health often comes second to their attendance record. Yes Virginia law does allow excused absences for mental health but But implementation is up to each county district. [01:38:14] And while we do have Return to Learn, an FCPS program designed to support students who are out for extended periods of time due to mental health challenges, that doesn't necessarily help students who need just a day. So what about mental health days? What are the guidelines in FCPS? [01:38:29] The messaging across our schools is inconsistent and the awareness that students have about whether they can take this is limited. As this student put it in her letter, "Students should not be forced to choose between their mental health and their attendance record. We need to ensure that students and families clearly understand what support exists and how to access it. [01:38:47] Another letter came from a first generation senior focused on how FCPS can better prepare students for life after graduation, especially those who may be first in their family to attend college or join the workforce. She was discussing the senior experience or the senior internship program that happens at some high schools during fourth quarter once AP exams are over. [01:39:06] And she also referenced Arlington County as well as some schools in FCPS that can use that time to volunteer intern or work part-time and we've actually had FCPS students to do also shadow and central office and help support local businesses while getting that work experience but the thing is that access isn't consistent at Hayfield and other high schools students are still required to attend school full-time through the last day even when most of their graduation requirements are complete the student who wrote this letter shared that she had found a volunteer opportunity at a local dental clinic but she turned it down because her school didn't offer that internship program offering a senior experience opportunity universally to all our high [01:39:44] schools regardless of the schedule or resources it's a chance to explore future pathways in a meaningful way and so I wonder how we can further expand that to other high schools the last letter that I wanted to highlight was written by a student involved in robotics and he went on and on about how first robotics impacted him and the other elementary schools in his area he talked about how some schools like the resources to start or maintain first robotics teams and this extends to other activities as well as we've seen the school year debate chess crew etc due to the high costs for equipment travel and registration and so when I was thinking about his letter while we really do not have the flexibility to fully fund any more after-school [01:40:22] programs right now there are existing high schools like Herndon Chantilly and Oakton who've stepped in to mentor those younger students so last year in the summertime actually Herndon High School hosted a robotics camp for Clearview Elementary which expanded access in a title one community and so I'm wondering if that's the kind of model that we can build on, if we can find a way to lean into our high school volunteers, our community volunteers, in ways that they can organize camps or other activities and close that opportunity gap without having to rely on extra funding. [01:40:52] And we already have so many passionate students and alumni ready to give back, from STEM initiatives to TechStrav to all of the events that we have in all of our newsletters that promote ways that students want to give back. So that's something that I wanted to put out there. And then with that, student representative applications to a community advisory committee for the next school year, which our new student rep, Faith, is leading are now open. [01:41:17] So if there is an issue, if you're a student and you're interested in getting involved with one of these committees, rising 9th through 12th graders can apply, and information can be found with your school's college and career specialist and on board docs after this meeting. And then lastly, I got to attend the Cappies Gala a couple of weeks ago, which was super duper cool. [01:41:35] I also got to give an award to one of my friends who won the award, so that was awesome, and watched so many of my friends' graduations. It's just been such an amazing time to see all of the excellence in FCPS and to graduate, so I'm just so, so grateful. All right. [01:42:01] Agenda item 5.01, action item, certification of closed meeting compliance. Since we need to return to the closed meeting, we will return to this agenda item after the conclusion of the closed meeting. item 5.02 action item confirmation of action taken in closed meeting I call Miss Anderson for a motion I move to deny the school reassignment appeal of a student who participated in a group assault on another student at school and to confirm the disciplinary disciplinary decision of the division superintendent is there a second second Miss Lady all those in favor Miss Marin [01:42:35] Mr. McElveen Dr. Anderson Miss Anderson Mr. Dunn Mr. Moon Miss Lady Miss St. Cunning and myself all those opposed abstentions miss Dixit mr. McDaniel miss Sizemore Heiser will the clerk read the vote that's nine zero three the motion carries thank you I call on miss lady for a motion I move to the probationary employee number one identified in closed session be dismissed at the conclusion of the 24/25 school year and their contracts and her and the contract will not be renewed for the 25/26 school year thank you is [01:43:14] there a second I second all those in favor miss Marin miss Dixit mr. McIlvene, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Sizemore-Heiser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunningham, myself. Opposed? Abstentions? Dr. Anderson. The motion carries. [01:43:35] Excuse me. I call on Ms. Lady for a motion. I move that the probationary employee number two identified in closed session be dismissed at the conclusion of the 24-25 school year and their contract will not be renewed for the 25-26 school year. Is there a second? I second. [01:43:51] Ms. Dixit all those in favor Ms. Marin Ms. Dixit Mr. McDaniel Ms. Sizemore Heiser Mr. Dunn Ms. Lady Ms. St. John Cunning and myself all those opposed abstentions Mr. McElveen Dr. Anderson Ms. Anderson Mr. Moon the motion carries I call on Ms. Lady for a motion. [01:44:19] I move the parishionary employees number three and number four identified in closed session be dismissed at the conclusion of the 24-25 school year and their contracts will not be renewed for the 25-26 school year. [01:44:29] Is there a second I second thank you all those in favor Miss Maron Miss Dixit Mr. McElveen Dr. Anderson Mr. McDaniel Miss Anderson Miss Sizemore Heiser Mr. Dunn Mr. Moon Miss Lady Miss St. John Cunningham myself that is unanimous the motion carries I call on Miss Anderson for a motion I move that the chair of the school board be authorized to execute on behalf of the board the contract for assistant superintendent instructional services department is there a second second all those in favor Miss Maron Miss Dixit Mr. McDaniel Miss Anderson Miss Sizemore Heiser [01:45:05] Heizer, Mr. Dunn, Miss Lady, Miss St. John Cunning, and myself. All those opposed. Dr. Anderson, abstentions. Mr. McElveen, Mr. Moon. The motion carries. All right. Agenda item 5.01, action item, financial year 2025, revised budget. I call on Ms. Sizemore Heizer for a motion. [01:45:26] I move that the school board approve a one-time bonus to eligible employees as detailed an agenda item on board docs totaling $31.4 million of which $19.7 million is provided by the state government and $11.7 million is provided by FCPS's available fiscal year 2025 year-end savings. [01:45:44] Is there a second? I second. Ms. Anderson. Ms. Eismerheiser, would you like to speak to your motion? Yes, just briefly. We were very grateful that the state was able to give us nearly $20 million to give a one-time bonus to our employees. And as we were not able to do the 7% raise that was initially in the FEU initial collective bargaining agreement, hopefully this will help provide a little bit to our really hardworking employees. [01:46:10] And since it's a one-time cost, we were able to use our year-end savings, which is a one-time bucket of funds, to help fill the gap between what the state provides us and what we need additionally because of the SOQs and the way the funding formulas from the state work. [01:46:25] So these are not able to be used for recurring funds or recurring costs year after year. They're just a one time bucket. But I am really glad that we're able to dip into our one time bucket along with the state to give $1,000 bonus to all of our hardworking staff. So thank you. Thank you, Ms. Sizemore Heiser. [01:46:41] Ms. Anderson, would you like to speak to your second? I won't reiterate anything that's already been said. But I just really want to say thank you to Dr. Reed and the staff that were able to figure out how to make this possible so that we didn't leave any funding from the state on the table and that we can do everything possible to support our staff. [01:46:56] So thank you. Thank you, Miss Anderson. Miss Marin. Yes, so I support this. I just think that it's really crucial that the motion be a lot more detailed. And I know amidst the many graduations and year and celebrations, I was able to speak with some of you and you expressed support for being more focused or more detailed on this motion. [01:47:17] And thank you, Chair, for trying to work that out. But I think we just ran out of time. So I'd like to propose an alternate motion. But, Chairman, if you have suggestions on how to go about doing that because we didn't get to finish that conversation. I welcome that, but I do have the proposed language, which is what I shared previously. [01:47:33] So I suppose I'll pause and see if you could clarify. - I hesitate, but we're gonna take a five minute recess. [01:47:41] Stay close. [01:48:48] All right, recess is over. Come back to your seats. Board members, please return to your seats. Ms. Marin, I'll restore all your time. [01:49:04] I can put you after the next speaker if you'd like. - No, I just would like to, the language is up on the board. So again, Chair, if the motion, just to clarify, We had a different motion earlier, so am I correct that per Robert's Rules I can swap out this motion and I don't need to actually ask for a substitute motion? [01:49:24] That's already been done. Well, I see that now, but that had been my question. So your question is, as long as it's done before the meeting begins, which it was, then it's within Robert's Rules, so it's already been done. And it's already been made by Ms. Sizemore-Heiser. Okay, that's great, but it's clear that not all of the board members know that. [01:49:42] So let me go ahead and speak to it more fully. Go for it. IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO KNOW TWO THINGS. ONE IS THAT WHEN THE STATE SAYS IT GIVES US MONEY FOR A BONUS, IT IS NOT THE AMOUNT THAT WE NEED. IT'S NOT EVEN HALF. [01:49:57] AND WE HAVE TO PUT IN OVER HALF TO OBTAIN THAT MONEY ON THE TABLE FROM THE STATE. AND THE SECOND THING IS OUR MOTION SHOULD BE MORE CLEAR THAN JUST THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING AS STATED IN THE AGENDA, ESPECIALLY FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS WHEN IT'S IMPORTANT to reiterate and educate that we are paying a lot to be able to draw down this money and this is exactly what we are allocating. You know for a budget for an amendment we really need to be as clear as possible and I hope that we as a board can talk further about how our motions get prepared because I couldn't quite recall and I want to know who's making [01:50:32] motions so that we can be as articulate as possible. So I will support this motion and Thanks for making it, Ms. Seisnerheiser. Thank you, Ms. Marin. Dr. Anderson? Thank you. I think Ms. Marin started to speak about one of the points that I wanted to make, which is the fact that the part of this $1,000 to employees, what it costs this division, that has to really be articulated and upfront. [01:51:00] Because whenever the state makes claims that they will be providing a raised percentage to teachers or this kind of bonus, it gets really lost that the cost to FCPS is significant and that has to be handled with local dollars. [01:51:16] So that's the first thing. And I think the more we can articulate that, the clearer it is because I think sometimes there's not a lot of understanding in the public. Secondly, Dr. Reed, this is more of a question to you. This does say one-time bonus to eligible employees. [01:51:31] I want to be sure that we're being clear to folks who may be watching because we need to make sure that they understand who this would not be applicable to so thank you Dr. Anderson we I know our finance team went through a thorough review of staff to mirror prior one-time bonus practices and I believe we have Matthew Norton Ellis Widginton here would one of you clarify please how we're defining eligible employees for the purposes of this bonus sure so for the thousand [01:52:07] A $1,000 bonus, it would be full-time contracted, and what we refer to as hourly contracted employees, which includes bus drivers, family liaisons, as well as our food service workers, so it's not our temporary hourly workers would get a $1,000 bonus. We are prorating it for part-time employees, so if you're less than a 1.0, it's going to be prorated by your FTE, so if you're 0.5, it would be 0.5 times, you know, $1,000, which is $500. [01:52:36] Thank you. That is very helpful. Just one additional clarification. The temporary employees, would that mean substitutes? Is that the only group that falls into that category? I'm sorry. I'm having a hard time seeing you. Sorry. [01:52:51] Yeah. It's not the only, but substitutes are temporary employees. There's about 12,000 temporary employees that this would fall under. But I also wanted to kind of point out to you that of the 12,000, about half of them only work about five hours on average per week, so 50%, about 4,100 work between five and 17 hours, so, you know, that's 84% of our employees who are temporary, hourly employees that are working less than 17 hours on average per week. [01:53:24] Thank you. That's very helpful. And these employees fall across obviously many, many different employee groups. That's correct. Okay. Thank you so much. I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE ACCOMMODATION FOR OUR PART-TIME EMPLOYEES TO HAVE THAT BE COMMENSORATE WITH THEIR HOURS. [01:53:41] THANK YOU, DR. ANDERSON. I'LL TAKE A TURN REALLY QUICKLY. JUST TO PUT A FINER POINT, EVEN FINER ON THE POINT THAT MS. MARIN MADE THAT DR. ANDERSON CLARIFIED, I'LL FURTHER CLARIFY. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HAVING TO CONTRIBUTE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF THE MONEY TO ACCESS THE MONEY FROM THE STATE, IT'S MORE THAN 80 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR THAT WE HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE AS TAXPAYERS IN County to get less than 20 cents on the dollar back for the pay raises that are typically, you know, announced by the General Assembly. [01:54:10] So we very much appreciate that money, but it's very difficult for us to access. And at times the legislature has made it so that you can access the funds without having to put money forward, which has been very helpful for school divisions like Fairfax County where we have to make a significant outlay in order to access it. [01:54:28] So I'll be voting for this bonus and appreciate all the staff's work on it. I know it wasn't the easiest thing to figure out. So thank you. Mr. Dunn. I can't say enough how much I oppose this motion. [01:54:45] I have stood with our employees from the very beginning advocating for the union to get the full 7% that was promised them in the fall. But two weeks ago, I stood before the school board and I asked for $5.2 million. So kids are safe in our middle schools and high schools. [01:55:00] And I was told by the sponsors of this motion and many of my colleagues on the school board that we didn't have the money. We didn't have the money. But now we found more than twice that. In fact, some of the people on the school board who want to spend this money on a one-time bonus wanted to indefinitely postpone my budget amendments to make sure our kids are safe. [01:55:26] I find that reprehensible. I find that unacceptable. I find I can't even begin to fathom how morally you can justify this motion compared to my motions. You don't have to pass my motions. You can do it any which way. [01:55:42] Anyone can bring any motion, and I'll vote for it. But I'm going to focus on safety and security because that's got to come first. That's got to come first. If we have money for this, we have money for that. Thank you, Mr. Dunn. Ms. Dixit. I'm going to support this motion because teachers did not get what they were promised due to shortfall, budget shortfall. [01:56:09] This will be some relief for them, but I also want to find money for our next year. We definitely want to support our safety and security in our schools, so that's something I would like to continue on that path. [01:56:25] But at this point, I'll support this motion. Thank you, Ms. Dixit. Ms. Marin? Just a question. Are operational staff included in this as eligible? Dr. Reed? Yes, ma'am. As long as they meet the eligible hourly and contracted levels. Absolutely. [01:56:48] Okay. Thank you. And my understanding is because this is year-end, it's one-time money, and we wouldn't want to create salary increases with one-time money, which is why this is an appropriate way to use the funds versus encumbering an expectation that it would recur. So I do think that is the difference, and I hope we can pass this. Thank you, Ms. Marin. Mr. Moon? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don't want to re-debate what we should have debated at the budget adoption, but Dr. Reid, if we do not give this bonus, then basically we're not getting the benefit of what [01:57:27] state is providing to us to the tune of $20 million. We have to return the money. Yes, sir, That's correct. $19.7 million of the dollars that we're utilizing here would go back to the state if we don't match it to provide the bonuses. [01:57:44] So in as much as I understand, I understand indignation on the part of board member representing Mount Vernon District on the point he was making. I don't want to return $20 million to Richmond. So I'm supporting the motion. [01:58:02] Thank you, Mr. Moon. I'll remind board members to direct their comments to the chair. Ms. Anderson. The only thing that I want to say here is that this is one opportunity that we have to actually get outside of the fact that we're restricted by how much we receive back from the state. [01:58:18] This is 63% that's coming from the state directly. So I see this is an opportunity for us to be able to provide a bonus that we would not otherwise be able to provide because of the fact that the state funding comes back at such a low percentage. So I don't, and I fully understand the fact that this is end of year money that would be a one-time use. [01:58:39] So I fully support this in every way, shape, or shape possible, and I hope that it will be able to provide some spark of joy for our staff at the end of the year. So I absolutely support this. Thank you, Ms. Anderson. Ms. Seizmoorheiser. [01:58:55] Yeah, thank you. I just wanted to say, you know, I think we talk a lot about the need for funding. we've talked a lot about jlark and there's still a lot of work to be done at the state level i know they're they're working on it but when we're getting nearly 20 million dollars specifically for teacher funding it's really hard to walk away and say no never mind because there's lots of other very important things that we want to do um and and i i think we all agree that we want to make sure our students are well educated and safe and supported and there's many many programs that we could do but in this particular case we have a one-time funding from the state that if we don't use specifically for this we lose it and [01:59:35] that's 20 million dollars and I personally don't want to tell I say to teachers hey I wasn't willing to do this because there's other things you want to do I think they're all important and it's difficult when you don't have the budgets that you and we're all dealing with this with shortfalls and issues with budgets and you have to make tough decisions but I I personally can't leave $20 million on the table when that could be used along with year-end one-time bucket fundings to support our teachers and give them hopefully a nice bonus at the end of the year. [02:00:06] So I'm supportive. Thank you, Ms. Seismarheiser. Ms. St. John Cunning. So I also want to say that there's a lot of issues in programs that we would want to use year-end money for. [02:00:22] But when we're offered $20 million and it's a use it or lose it, I don't think we can afford to lose it. And the other thing I would like to add and reiterate that I've said before, we need to keep our excellent staff here. [02:00:39] And we weren't able to provide them the raise that we wanted. And any other thing that we can use money for would never replace the importance of having qualified staff in our buildings. [02:00:55] including safety and security. The best safety and security measure we have are our staff and our personnel that deal with our kids, that help them with their mental health issues, that are sure that we don't get to a point where we have violence. [02:01:12] So I fully support this as a small way to compensate our staff. Thank you, Ms. Seismar-Hyser. Ms. Sawant? Yes, very quick. Ms. Seismar-Cunning, I'm sorry. Ms. Sawant, go ahead. [02:01:29] Yes very quick especially in the high school level our teachers have been through a lot this year from having to adjust to the new grading scales to all of the uncertainty that we've had around funding to the raises that we were going to get them and then when we had that hearing all of the teachers that came out in support of their programs so I think that this is a very very easy yes if I could vote. [02:01:49] Thank you Ms. Sawant. Dr. Anderson. Thank you just a couple of quick things one and I can't believe I missed this but the fact that the bulk of this is coming from the state, that seems to be unusual and not typical of what we normally get. [02:02:08] Can you speak to that a little bit? Because our portion tends to be as Mr. Frisch described, which is close to 80%. This seems to be a little bit heavier on the state side. Thank you. That seems to be it is. Yeah, thank you, Dr. Anderson. Ms. Widginton? [02:02:26] So what the state did was they just based the cost of a $1,000 payment on the number of SOQ funded positions that the state says that we have so that's a little more than about 18,000 funded positions so that's not at all to mean that that's what we are required to have but it's just the minimum number based on their estimates and their formulas and so since they did a thousand dollar per SOQ funded positions it's a thousand times 18,000 if you will and then they also include [02:03:01] FICA portion as part of the allocation so that's why in this case it comes up to a little bit more than 63 percent. Mr. Fish is absolutely right that we on average usually only get about 20 percent of the state when it comes to their other compensation supplements that they give us so when the state says even in this year they funded like three percent of the compensation supplement that usually works out to be about 20 percent of our costs. Okay thank you so this means THAT ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS. [02:03:35] THE OPERATIONAL STAFF, AS MS. MARIN ASKED, ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO BENEFIT, AS WELL AS CENTRAL OFFICE AND LEADERSHIP STAFF. I DEFINITELY UNDERSTAND THE QUANDARY, I DEFINITELY UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES AND I WISH THAT THESE WERE UNTETHERED DOLLARS, BUT WE HAVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE DOLLARS AND I WILL BE SUPPORTING THE MOTION FOR THAT REASON. [02:04:04] And my last question, Dr. Reed, this is 11 point something, I can't remember the million. What is it that you were anticipating we might recoup with year end dollars? Because I know we've had some years and these were the years where we were not able to secure substitutes and we had a lot of vacancies where we've had upwards of a hundred million dollars in year end funds. [02:04:28] Those days are over. What number are we circling around potentially that we'll be hearing about next month? So we're definitely not around the 100 million mark because we have filled many more positions this past year. [02:04:47] I know we've run some estimates, and I don't know that I want to speculate on what it is at this time, but I can certainly provide you something in the Friday letter. Right. I just want to make sure we'll be covered. we will be covered there's no question we'll be covered okay thank you thank you dr. Anderson we'll go to a vote for the motion on the screen all those in favor miss Marin miss Dixit mr. McIlvain dr. Anderson mr. McDaniel miss Anderson miss Sizemore hyzer mr. moon miss lady miss st. John Cunningham [02:05:20] myself all those opposed mr. Dunn the motion carries agenda item 5.04 award of contract baseball and multi-purpose stadium lighting replacement at Herndon Middle School. I call on Ms. Dixit for a motion. I move that the school board avoid the contract of the baseball and multipurpose stadium sports lighting replacement at Herndon Middle School to Moscow Sports Lighting LLC in the total amount of five hundred nine thousand four hundred fifty three dollars and zero cents and authorize the division superintendent or the chief operating officer to execute deliver administer the contract on behalf of the school [02:06:00] board. Is there a second? I second. Ms. St. John Cunning. Would you like to speak to your motion, Ms. Dixit? No. Thank you. Ms. St. John Cunning, would you like to speak to your second? No. Thank you. Mr. Dunn? Thank you. I'd like to understand how this contract came about. [02:06:19] The information I received states that it was established as a rider to a cooperative source well contract. But when it comes to lighting, we have many lighting projects across the county and we only have one company that appears to be performing these projects but when we look at construction or innovation projects and we get multiple bids we see that there's high variation in bids sometimes as much as 150 percent from the lowest bid to the highest sometimes the disparity is greater and so um i'm trying to figure out why we only have one one entity uh performing all these projects rather than you know receiving competitive bids on a [02:06:58] project-by-project basis so thank you mr. Don it looks like at this point the response to this was the original 7.04 that's correct so the must go is the sole vendor on the contract and the source well contract was competitively solicited and where and when possible the competitive bids are sought depending on the project we also know that competitive bids elongate the [02:07:32] process it creates a much longer runway to getting to the project and I will share that the award is utilizing a contract that was competitively solicited Fairfax County which I think is our county not necessarily Fairfax County Public Schools established this agreement as a rider to a cooperative source well contract which was competitively solicited the agreement was awarded on September 13th 2023 with an additional term through June 16 16th, 2027, which includes three optional one-year renewal periods. [02:08:10] So that would be the answer to the questions you've provided. So my understanding from my Google search is that Sourcewell contract is not an FCPS contract. It's an independent contract that we can leverage as we've leveraged for other efforts that we have underway. [02:08:33] BUT WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS WHY WOULD MUSCO, THIS COMPANY, BE THE SOUL COMPANY WE'RE UTILIZING FOR ALL STADIUM LIGHTING PROJECTS? YOU KNOW, WHILE SOURCEWELL MAY CERTAINLY EXIST, HAVE WE DONE ANY ANALYSIS AT ALL TO SAY THEY ARE THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE? [02:08:53] THEY WILL PERFORM THIS AT THE HIGHEST, BEST LEVEL FOR THE LOWEST PRICE. And when we engage in cooperative procurement efforts like this, we don't really get that data. And so I'm trying to see, has there been any market research? [02:09:09] Have we talked to neighboring school systems to see how they do it? Because the amounts involved here, you know, add up to millions of dollars over time. And if we got lower bids, that would potentially free up money to do more lighting projects Rather than just one at a time, one per year, which is the current, you know, funding allocation. [02:09:30] Yes, sir. I understand. My understanding is we are getting the most cost-effective, but Ms. Pratt, do you have a response maybe more specific? I will try to assist, although these procurements do not come through my office. [02:09:46] They are handled by the Chief of Facilities and Capital Programs. But generally speaking, we use SourceWell contracts in my office as well. I'm sure that there was some type of pricing analysis based on prior projects that sort of lent the office to decide that this was in our best interest to move forward with this competitively awarded cooperative contract. [02:10:12] If I may just follow up. For when your office has used SourceWell, and I understand this is not your office's contract, what pricing analysis do you, what are the data sets you use to compare the services through SourceWell compared to services through a competitive open competition? [02:10:32] I think I think you were touching on them earlier. We look at prior projects prior spend prior year spend We look at what our surrounding jurisdictions are doing. We look at the national cooperatives to see Generally, they have pretty high volume pricing that many school districts use were a large district So sometimes we feel like we can garner a better price depending on what the commodity is I THINK TIME IS ALSO A FACTOR, BUT YES, WE DO A PRICING ANALYSIS, AMONG OTHER THINGS. [02:11:05] THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU, MR. DUNN. MS. DIXIT. I WANTED TO BRING IT TO EVERYBODY ATTENTION, JUST LIKE MR. DUNN SAID, THIS IS A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT. [02:11:21] FEDERAL GOVERNMENT USES THIS ALL THE TIME, SIMILAR AGREEMENTS LIKE GSA AND OTHER STATES HAVE THIS, I BELIEVE IS A STATE CONTRACT GOING TO THE WEBSITE. They do a lot of rigorous pricing, competitive, and then the vendors are selected in a particular contract. [02:11:42] And then you work it to sound like a schedule. So I believe this is a cooperative agreement is used. My only question is that, is it like a commercial off the shelf type of pricing which we're using, or is it a per project pricing? [02:11:58] So I'm going to defer to Mr. Muick. And technically, the procurement for these projects comes through Mr. Mewick's office, the office of the chief operating officer. Mr. Mewick? Yes, ma'am. I'll have to get back to Ms. Dixit on that if it's per project or a set price on that. [02:12:17] And what I would say to Mr. Dunn as well is that the procurement team uses a combination of, you know, Sometimes they use the cooperative contracts like this to ride on them, knowing that that organization has done a competitive bid. [02:12:33] And sometimes we do our own competitive sealed bids. It's just a matter of managing workload in the workforce, right? And so we have other entities that are riding on our contracts as well. And they trust us that we did the competitive bid up front, getting the best price. So I think it's kind of how we help each other out to manage, you know, big workload. [02:12:53] Thank you. Yes, sir. Yeah, and I just think this is from the Minnesota government. So it's a state contract. So it's not a commercial contract. Thanks. Thank you, Ms. Tixit. Dr. Anderson. Yes, thank you. [02:13:10] You said the writer, Dr. Reid, was which year? The writer was you just pull it back up here again. The writer, which was competitively solicited, the agreement was awarded on September 13th, 2023, with an additional term that runs through June 16th. [02:13:31] 2027 and includes three optional one-year renewals following that thank you the reason why I ask again this is not my world I'm getting quite an education from the conversation here but if we are kind of piggybacking on a writer that exists and it occurred and that was in place a few years ago which would probably include some of the rigorous evaluations that was just that was just discussed how do we uh account for any changes that have happened in the market between the initial um installation of that writer to now how do we capture that the best deal is still being had [02:14:11] yes ma'am it's a great question mr muick your team um must have a process for that yes ma'am but i'll have to get back on answer on that one as well sorry do you know that that was MY ONLY QUESTION BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD GIVE SOME CONFIDENCE TO THE FACT THAT WE ARE THIS IS STILL GOOD AND CURRENT AND THE MOST BANK FOR OUR BUCK SO THAT WOULD BE AN IMPORTANT THING TO PERHAPS INCLUDE MOVING FORWARD THANK YOU DR. ANDERSON I'M GOING TO TAKE A TURN [02:14:51] I'M JUST GOING TO HUNCH TO TRY AND ANSWER DR. ANDERSON'S QUESTION BASED ON EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE SEEN IN CONTRACTING FOR OUR FACILITIES OVER THE YEARS THAT WE'RE PROBABLY SAVING MONEY by using a writer from 23 than using one that's done again in 25 at current rates. [02:15:08] I mean, would that be a safe assumption to make? I don't want to speculate this evening. I want to make sure when I agree that I have my facts in front of me. So I want to, I think it's certainly intuitive, but I want to make sure we've got the facts for you. [02:15:28] Thank you so much. Ms. Lady. Yeah, I appreciate the conversation and perhaps in a work session we can get trained a little bit more on procurement and writers and things like that. But this is my community in Herndon, and we need these lights. And we need to vote on this because we have a long agenda. [02:15:44] We have to go back to close. I appreciate the questions. I want to make sure we exercise our fiduciary responsibility here. But at the same time, we need to vote this through because this is Herndon, and they need the lights. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Lady. Mr. Dunn? [02:16:02] Sorry, I lost my train of thought with my colleagues. So I just wanted to say, if we could get some analysis in a Friday letter, just comparing, you know, more pricing analysis, more information on how these determinations are made and the type of pricing analysis that's done to use cooperative rather than full and open run by FCPS, that would be very useful just for recent procurements, whether it's lighting or other chillers or other, you know, infrastructure that we address. [02:16:32] Yes, sir. I am trying to -- an analysis between what we're planning to spend for the Herndon project No, not necessarily for Herndon, but just in the past, it was mentioned that there has been pricing analysis comparing cooperative procurement vehicles versus doing a full and open and looking at, you know, the type of data that's available from neighboring counties. [02:16:56] Just a little bit more fulsome written explanation would be helpful so that we can have insight into how these procurement decisions are made and have some confidence that they are, you know, most cost effective from an operating budget perspective. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Dunn. [02:17:13] We will go to a vote for the motion that is on the screen. All those in favor, Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McElveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Sizemore-Hyser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunningham, and myself. [02:17:30] That is unanimous. The motion carries. Herndon has lights. I don't think they're that fast. All right. Agenda item 5.05, action item sole source amendment, Levi Ray and Shoup, Inc., ERFC, retirement benefit and payroll system. I call on Mr. McDaniel for a motion. [02:17:50] Move that the school board approve the amendment for the ERFC retirement benefit and payroll system and authorize the division superintendent or the director of the office of procurement services to execute, deliver, and administer the contract on behalf of the school board. Is there a second? Second. Mr. Moon, would you like to speak to your motion, Mr. McDaniel? No. [02:18:07] Thank you. Mr. Moon, would you like to speak to your second? No, sir. Thank you. Mr. Dunn. Yes, so this contract was originally competed in 2006, and with this extension, it will be 20 years since it was competed. [02:18:23] So I just -- if I have it right -- actually, let me correct that. It was originally competed in 2013, and with this extension, it will be 13 years since it was competed. So can you provide a little context for why this contract has not been competed or won't be competed 13 years since its inception? [02:18:44] Yes, sir. THIS EVENING, WE HAVE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ERFC, MISS C. O'NEAL, THAT CAME TO THE MEETING, THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR -- WELCOME AND CONGRATULATIONS. YES. [02:19:00] SO SHE WILL BE ABLE TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS, MR. DUNN. SO, MISS. O'NEAL? SURE. THANKS FOR THE WELCOME. HAPPY TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. I'M OVER HERE. SORRY. I CAN STAND UP, BUT I'M REALLY TALL. YOU DON'T WANT ME TO STAND UP. [02:19:16] I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. I have been on staff with the RFC for five years in many capacities. And I can tell you that the platform that we use, we lovingly call LRS, that vendor that we're speaking of, we are ending our first year of our strategic plan. [02:19:36] And so as part of that strategic plan, we are looking at that vendor. And so that's why we asked for a year extension at this time. I CAN TELL YOU THAT IT IS A VERY COMPLICATED DECISION, A LOT OF IT IS BASED UPON THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE BUILT OUT COMPLEXITY-WISE WE WOULD LOSE IF WE WENT TO ANOTHER VENDOR WOULD BE ONE OF THE BIG THINGS. [02:20:01] AND SO JUST IN THE PAST YEAR WE BUILT OUT AN ONLINE RETIREMENT, THE DROP PROGRAM, A LOT OF OTHER, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT WE WOULD LOSE COMPLEXITY-WISE IF WE WENT TO ANOTHER vendor but we are aware of the the cost involved in this and I have again been a part of ERC for five years and I've been very aware that we have not gone out for RFP and it again is in our current strategic plan to look at that. Just in my experience when you have government purpose-built software you know you get version 1.0 but then you have to fully fund the development of version 2.0 and [02:20:38] version 3.0, whereas if you use commercial off-the-shelf technology, COTS software, you know, Microsoft products or any number of vendors, then they're continuing to add features over time, and you just have to pay for a license, right? [02:20:54] So you might lose some functionality that's particularized, but you might get other functionalities that actually result in a more diverse array of services or features that you don't have IN YOUR CURRENT PRODUCT SO I APPRECIATE THE CONTEXT THAT THIS 20-YEAR-OLD PRODUCT MIGHT NOT BE, YOU KNOW, BE APPROVED FOR ANOTHER 20 YEARS AND YOU'LL BE DOING THAT ANALYSIS SO I APPRECIATE THAT AND THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. DUNN. [02:21:24] MS. MARIN. SO I WAS AWARE THAT THIS, THE PREVIOUS AND ANOTHER MAYBE FIVE ITEMS WERE PULLED FROM CONSENT ON VERY LAST NOTICE. IN THE PAST WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE ARE THERE SOME THAT HAVE TO BE DETERMINED TONIGHT OR CAN WE WAIT BECAUSE IT'S BEEN A LONG -- THE TIME IT'S TOUGH TO HAVE THESE DISCUSSIONS LIKE WAS JUST MENTIONED ABOUT THE HERNDIN LIGHTS TO HAVE THESE DEEP DISCUSSIONS ABOUT PROCUREMENT IF THERE'S A COMMON THREAD PERHAPS THAT CAN BE TALKED TO BUT I JUST REALLY FIND IT IT'S TOUGH TO WORK LIKE THIS WHEN THINGS GET PULLED UP AT THE VERY LAST [02:22:02] MINUTE AND I LOVE THE DISCUSSION. LET'S SCHEDULE A WORK SESSION BUT IT'S REALLY NOT I think the best use of everyone's time to do all of this hours before and then do it here. So we have asked in the past Dr. Reed, are there contracts that could be further done the next meeting? [02:22:23] Do we have to approve all these because we still have four or five more to go? And it's 9:20 and we're returning to closed and all of us have been to many fun graduations and it's been a long time, a long week. I have not checked with staff if they all need to be done tonight. [02:22:40] I didn't know they were going to be pulled until this morning so I was trying to find answers to provide answers to the questions today so that we could be responsive this evening. I appreciate that and as always you are so responsive Dr. Reed but I don't think it's reasonable to expect you and your staff to turn around in a matter of hours to respond to questions. We have to do things in a more timely formatted matter because this is not productive and we're wasting a lot of resources just doing this whole thing. [02:23:13] So perhaps we can schedule a work session about procurement. But, yeah, thank you for answering. I'll take a turn. This feels like a very similar conversation that we were having with procurement about the school division's payroll process and the complicated way that we had to unwind the system that we'd been using for eons in FCPS. [02:23:39] And now we're on our path towards implementing the new system. IT'S GOING TO TAKE A WHILE, BUT I THINK IT WAS WORTH THE EFFORT. AND IT'S GOOD TO HEAR THAT THIS IS PART OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND THAT THIS IS ACTIVELY BEING LOOKED AT AND THAT'S WHY THERE'S JUST A ONE-YEAR EXTENSION. [02:24:00] YOU KNOW, I'M CERTAIN WHEN WE LOOKED AT OUR PAYROLL SYSTEM PREVIOUSLY, BEFORE WE MADE THE WISE DECISION TO TRANSITION SYSTEMS FOR THE SCHOOL DIVISION, WE WERE APPROVING EXTENSIONS THAT HAD LONG OUTLIVED THEIR USE BECAUSE OF THE NECESSITY TO HAVE ALL THE THINGS THAT WERE IN PLACE AND THAT WERE PUT IN PLACE TO DECREASE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT MANY MORE STAFF MEMBERS MIGHT HAVE TO BE DOING SOMETHING THAT COULD BE AUTOMATED. [02:24:25] SO I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT HERE. MS. MARIN. MS. SORRY. I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A MOTION TO SUSPEND THE RULES SO THAT WE CAN COMBINE AGENDA ITEMS 5.0 THROUGH 5.9 INTO ONE MOTION. [02:24:47] that can be spoken to all right that is not a debatable motion but I will explain that that requires a two-thirds vote and then board members would be able to speak to all of the motions at once and have one vote as opposed to doing them individually it's not debatable is there a second second Mr. McDaniel all those in favor Miss Marin Miss Dixit Mr. McDaniel Miss Anderson Miss Sizemarheiser, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunningham, all those opposed, Mr. McElvain, Dr. Anderson, [02:25:23] Mr. Moon, Mr. Dunn, the motion carries if I'm not mistaken. Yes, that was a two-thirds vote. Yes, thank you. All right, so we are picking this up as one motion for all of them and people can speak to them. Everybody gets two turns if they'd like. Mr. Dunn. Yes, sir. Dr. Reed, So we see in some of these contracts that there are only one bidder received for some of them. [02:26:02] And this is a common refrain we've seen in multiple contracts over time over the past year and a half. Why is that? I mean, we're one of the largest school systems in the country. The federal government has no problem getting many, many bids for their contracts. It seems to suggest that there is some problem in the way we bid out goods and services. [02:26:24] And when there is a lack of competition, it means we're likely overpaying. It means we're paying more than we should. And while we may want to consolidate these contracts into one, every dollar counts. Because every dollar spent on this, that's more than we should, means there's less money for teacher pay or other priorities of the school system. [02:26:47] So can you explain if there's been any analysis or ongoing initiative to examine potential defects in our procurement system so that we can maximize competition and receive more offers, more bids for goods and services that we're seeking to support our teachers and our students? [02:27:06] So a number of these are unique programmatic contracts because they're often a continuation of contracts that we've previously been working with. [02:27:22] For example, I think Sinova is one of the examples in explanation in terms of 7.09, and it's the most comprehensive and universally compatible ecosystem in educational settings. [02:27:39] It's a proprietary wireless system that works across hearing aid brands, integrated cochlear implant solutions in a single ecosystem covering mild to profound hearing loss. loss. So it's something we're proposing specifically for assistive technology support. And I think that we have done a great deal of research. That's one small example. We're looking at touchscreens. We're looking at visitor management system. Our visitor management and school [02:28:10] alert systems are all part of these pieces. And it's often because of our size, there our vendors who are not able to bid or choose not to bid and sometimes also our program requirements may limit responsive vendors due to the compatibility with our existing systems because sometimes if you know if it has to if systems have to bridge into systems we have because of our again size it's sometimes difficult to go with a program that won't [02:28:45] integrate with something we currently already have or our infrastructure. I would also like Ms. Pratt to just comment on our procurement practices because I know they've recently been reviewed. MS. Thank you for the question. [02:29:00] I think, you know, to provide maybe a little bit of additional context, the contracts that the Board sees are very nuanced. The Board sees consultant contracts over $200,000 for approval at a regular meeting. [02:29:16] well as sole source contracts for over two hundred thousand dollars and so if you think about those services and the fact and the nature of a sole source the complexity and nuance of those is is unique kind of adding to that sometimes and in our efforts to reduce the number of sole source contracts we have competed things that were historically sole sources and therefore the number of of vendors who are responding to those solicitations is low or maybe none you [02:29:52] know we as written in in the response earlier today we do reach out to vendors who we know through our e-procurement portal have downloaded a copy of the solicitation to find out why they didn't they opted not to respond to our solicitation we also because we had some time this afternoon and your questions came in early today which was really helpful for us we ran a report to look at the data in the last five years we've done about 260 solicitations and two percent have yielded zero proposals and one yielded 37 so we've got you know we [02:30:31] do have data we do look at it I think it's a great question and and I frankly I'm glad that I was able to get the data do you have an average I can get you one. I have the spreadsheet but I don't know what it is right now. Do you feel that based on your review of the spreadsheet that most receive more than one proposal that you're at least getting two or three proposals per solicitation? So of the 255 actually, 24 had one submission, 24 had two submissions, 42 had three, and I kind of started grouping [02:31:11] them because they became cumbersome uh 20 or 52 solicitations had six to ten submissions and how does it compare to surrounding school divisions have you shared data with arlington with alexander with loudon with prince william with montgomery county we have not but we will is that formally underway or just that we're talking about it we touch base once or twice a year the the purchasing agents or directors of procurement in the school districts i have a recurring call with prince William used to be monthly but we haven't been able to connect lately but [02:31:50] but yes we we will make a concerted effort to kind of look at this data specifically as well as like we did when we were looking at our sole source numbers several years ago that that'd be super because we have a wavy guide for teacher salaries and lots of things I mean to the extent we can you know benefit from best practices lessons learned well mr. and I also want to say we've cut back on our number of sole source contracts significantly if I I don't know, it's one of the ELs where we actually graph that, but do you have that off the top of your head? [02:32:20] I know we've really worked hard on that. We have. We're in single-digit new sole source contracts each year. And that's just over the last year and a half? Oh, dating back to 2014, I believe, where we had 50 or 60 new sole sources in a year. [02:32:37] And what does the trend look like over the last year and a half? I think it's pretty static, but we can certainly get you that data in a Friday letter. That would be great. And Dr. Reed, how does the procurement at FCPS compare to your previous school divisions that you led? I would say that the Virginia expectations for procurement are quite different and perhaps more time intensive. [02:33:06] Can you elaborate? I think that in elaborating, the processes were much less cumbersome in my prior state. Now, is that cumbersomeness required by law, or is that cumbersomeness just bureaucracy or bureaucratic protocols established over time? [02:33:30] I think it's a mixed bag. I think some things are statutory here. Some are policy. So is there an effort to streamline the non-legally mandated bureaucratic process? I believe that the policies were recently reviewed by the board and adjusted probably Ms. Pratt in 2022. [02:33:53] TO I THINK SO SO SOME OF THE BUREAUCRACY COMES FROM SCHOOL BOARD POLICIES RATHER THAN JUST PRACTICES AND REGULATIONS AT THE SUPERINTENDENT OPERATIONAL LEVEL I WOULD PREFER TO DRAFT A MEMO TO YOU ON A FRIDAY LETTER ON THAT TOPIC I'D BE HAPPY TO RECEIVE THAT THANK YOU THANK YOU MR. DUNN I'LL TAKE A TURN IN 2022 WE A PAINSTAKING REVIEW OF THE CONTRACTING POLICIES OF THE SCHOOL DIVISION BECAUSE WE WANTED TO ADDRESS THE SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS and at what level is the board approving contracts. [02:34:29] We increased many, we created new thresholds of types of contracts that we would review that previous boards had never reviewed. We also, in many cases, lowered the threshold for the board's consideration of contracts. So something that used to be at $1 figure and wouldn't have been reviewed, would be reviewed in the future. [02:34:48] So there's a lot more board oversight over contracts than there previous was. And I know Dr. Reed won't say it, but I will. There have been efforts in past years by board members who wanted to review every contract, every single toilet paper, et cetera. [02:35:07] And so I think the hardest part of getting that policy right was finding the place where it was a suitable place to say, and beneath that, we're going to have to trust that the person we are entrusting the school division with and then oversees all the people in procurement CONTRACTING DIVISION COUNCIL'S OFFICE ARE DOING RIGHT BY THE BOARD'S POLICY AND THEN WHEN THEY'RE NOT WE HAVE THE EXECUTIVE LIMITATIONS AND THE ANNUAL EVALUATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS COURSE CORRECTED BUT WE'VE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE NUMBER OF CONTRACTS THAT WE'RE APPROVING AS A BOARD AND SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED THE NUMBER OF SOLE [02:35:47] SOURCE CONTRACTS THAT ARE BEING INITIATED IN THIS SCHOOL DIVISION AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY GREAT progress so thank you everybody for being a part of that seeing no others we will go to a vote for the remaining consent items that were pulled off for action mr frisch we've highlighted what the motion is that they'll be voting on to make sure since that language is different the motion for combined items that the school board approve agenda items 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 and 5.09 as AS THEY ARE DETAILED ON BOARD DUCTS. [02:36:20] ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. MS. MARIN. MS. DIXET. MR. MCELVANE. DR. ANDERSON. MR. DANIEL. MS. ANDERSON. MS. SEISMOURHEISER. MR. MOON. MS. LADY. MS. ST. JOHN CUNNING AND MYSELF. ALL THOSE OPPOSED. ABSTENTIONS. MR. DUNN. [02:36:35] THE MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. AGENDA ITEM 5.10 ACTION ITEM. ACQUISITION OF WESTERN HIGH SCHOOL PROPERTY. I CALL ON MS. ANDERSON FOR A MOTION. I move that the school board approve the acquisition of the Western High School property and authorize the division superintendent or her designee to execute and deliver the purchase agreement to the property owner, McLaren Road Property Owner LLC, make all payments when due under the purchase agreement to complete the acquisition of the Western High School property, including payments of the amount required to be deposited into escrow, and execute such other documents [02:37:12] AS MAY BE NECESSARY AND ADVISABLE AND AS APPROVED BY COUNCIL TO COMPLETE THE ACQUISITION DESCRIBED ABOVE. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? MR. DUNN. MS. ANDERSON, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR MOTION? I AM VERY GRATEFUL THAT WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD ON THIS BECAUSE I THINK THAT IT IS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE A SCHOOL PROPERTY THAT IS ALMOST COMPLETE. AND SO I THINK that it offers a elegant solution to a problem that we have been grappling with for a very long time trying to figure out a location for a Western High School. [02:37:49] So I am thrilled to be able to move this. Thank you, Ms. Anderson. Mr. Dunn, would you like to speak to your second? Yes. Thank you. Go ahead. I'm honored to join with my colleagues tonight to approve the historic purchase of a private high school, which will achieve a longstanding objective to establish a Western High School and ensure sufficient capacity to meet the needs of our growing population in western Fairfax County. [02:38:13] This purchase represents a smart and strategic investment in the future of our school system. It also represents a fiscally responsible investment from a taxpayer perspective. FCPS estimates that it would cost approximately $450 million to acquire sufficient land for a new high school campus and to construct a new high school from scratch. [02:38:34] By contrast, with this purchase, FCPS is acquiring for $150 million, 35 acres of property in a region where land is in scarce supply and a modern, award-winning school campus with three gymnasiums and indoorโ€” Mr. Dunn, I'm sorry to interrupt. We're going to have to take a five-minute recess. We'll be right back. [02:39:56] Board members, please return to your seats. Board members, please return to your seats. [02:40:40] Sorry about that. Mr. Dunn, we'll restore 30 seconds of your time so that you can begin again. Thank you. By contrast, with this purchase, FCPS is acquiring for $150 million 35 acres of property in a region where land is in scarce supply and a modern award-winning school campus with three gymnasiums, an indoor Olympic swimming pool, and state-of-the-art athletic and performing arts [02:41:15] facilities. This represents a total savings of $300 million. Let me say that again, $300 million, which can be allocated to accelerate necessary renovation projects across the county, including in the Mount Vernon District. [02:41:31] Through this strategic investment, we can liberate hundreds of millions of dollars to address the 42-year renovation queue and address our infrastructure and maintenance backlogs. I'm very proud to have originated and advocated for this initiative over the past few months. [02:41:47] When I read in February 2025 that the private high school was closing, I recognized it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to acquire a premier property for a cost effective price. I'm extremely grateful and humbled to be part of a school board that embraces change and supports strategic initiatives like this one. I'm also extremely grateful for the extraordinary leadership of Dr. Michelle Reed who together with Chief of Facilities Services and Capital Programs Janice Szymanski and Division Counsel John Foster and their teams made this happen. As the kids say she understood the assignment and she delivered for our [02:42:21] school system in a way that will have generational impacts. In this initiative we have acted with the unity of purpose and vision that is characteristic of the best-run organizations in the world. I'm excited by the promise of this new high school. It's a blank slate upon which we can meet the demands of our globalized economy and the current demands of our school system. Together with my colleagues we have achieved a transformational investment that will be felt for generations of students. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Dunn. Miss Dixit. I'm very excited about this [02:42:58] offer and this new acquisition we are planning to do. This school definitely solves the problem in a lot of my district and my colleague, Ms. Anderson and Ms. Marin, and I believe others too. And once I got an email from a constituent about this school being available and the closing of THE SCHOOL, I IMMEDIATELY ACTED UPON IT AND GOT IN TOUCH WITH DR. REED AND HER STAFF. [02:43:27] IT WAS AN AMAZING TEAMWORK AND I WOULD SAY THAT I APPRECIATE ALL THE SUPPORT FROM MY COLLEAGUES TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN AND THE SCHOOL WILL BE IN THE DISTRICT WHERE IT NEEDS THE MOST AND ALSO BEING SUPPORTED BY ALL OF YOU. [02:43:43] IT MEANS A LOT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU, MS. DR. ANDERSON. a couple of things I I know from I know from being on the board with miss Bukarski the discussions regarding the overcrowding and needing a western high school has been long-standing and probably before her and so this was a great opportunity to be able to have this literally fall in our lap and I do want to give quite a good amount of kudos to both mr. Dunn and miss Dixit [02:44:19] because they were watching and they were able to bring this information to the rest of us on the board in order to get us to this point I just want to highlight some of the things that are listed here just for the public who are not watching board docs in terms of this property having amenities that include two amphitheaters style outdoor classrooms robotics and ceramics laboratories state of the art performing arts and athletic facilities multiple cafeteria and dining areas and two [02:44:55] administrative buildings of 15 000 square feet each so it's not only just the school building but there are also some out buildings that will be utilized in very creative ways to support our students this was a great opportunity and i'm glad that we were able to exercise the flexibility to [02:45:16] achieve this. So thank you again Mr. Dunn. I know you also did a lot of legwork in order to get us to this point and thank you to all of the staff who really moved exponentially. I do want to also share some kudos to Mr. Minsky in terms of all of the work that required to be done in a very very very tight period in order to actualize that. I know she's not here but I'm looking over there just kind of symbolically for just to thank her for her efforts. So I'm glad to be able to support this effort and really looking forward to the relief to the western part of the division so [02:45:52] that we can start to take off some of the other overcrowding issues we have elsewhere. Thank you Dr. Anderson. Mr. McDaniel. I was reading a board action item earlier today from June or July of 2010 and there was discussion at that board meeting about the western adjustment and the need for a western high school site. Sometimes in government it can be painful and things can take a long time, [02:46:26] but if this vote tonight and this site, you know, if there's ever any proof and ever any evidence that you really do need to take your time and make very careful, thoughtful decisions, this opportunity falling into our lap, I think, goes a long way to proving that. And I know it's been a long time coming for the western part of Fairfax County, but what I want to emphasize is adding capacity to the west or adding capacity to the east or the north or the south, adding any capacity into our system will have positive benefits for kids across the entire division, [02:47:02] no matter physically where the school sits. So Ms. Dixit, thank you for playing host to this site in the Sully District, but as a countywide member, I'm looking forward to seeing the ripple effects of positivity throughout the entire division. Thank you, Mr. McDaniel. I'll take a turn. [02:47:19] SO A LITTLE CONTEXT, THE LAST SCHOOL BOARD, I THINK WE VOTED IN TWO CIPs, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT DR. ANDERSON MENTIONED, TWO CIPs TO, YOU KNOW, SUPERCHARGE OUR EFFORT TO GO FIND PROPERTY, GO FIND A SUITABLE SPACE FOR A WESTERN HIGH SCHOOL, AND THE DIFFICULTY OF FINDING THAT SPACE CANNOT BE UNDERSTATED. [02:47:42] IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT. WE'D SEE SOMETHING, WE'D DO SOME ANALYSIS, AND THEN IT WOULDN'T WORK OUT. alone the cost of buying property and then building on property and so I'm grateful that staff worked very very diligently and very quietly behind the scenes to get this done you know making sure that this once-in-a-generation opportunity was not squandered and just to show you how much of an impact this can have on our school division in addition to hosting great programming on the western side of the the county the western high school has always [02:48:18] been envisioned as an opportunity to relieve crowding in very interesting ways so you know i have students all the way from sully district attending oakton high school for example um and um you know this the western high school has always been seen as a relief valve for some of that interesting uh interplay between uh the high schools and attendance zones so i'm excited there's a lot left to be done i i thought about asking dr reid about some of that but i i think WE HAVE A LONG NIGHT AHEAD OF US. LOTS OF DECISIONS HAVE TO BE MADE. BUT THIS IS A GREAT [02:48:57] FIRST STEP IN ENSURING THAT THIS WESTERN HIGH SCHOOL COMES TO FRUITION AND I'M EXCITED TO BE THERE WHEN WE CUT THE RIBBON. MS. SIZEMORE HEISER. JUST BRIEFLY I WANTED TO THANK STAFF FOR ALL THEIR HARD WORK IN FINDING AND THE WORK THEY'VE DONE AND THANK YOU MS. DIXIT FOR ALL YOUR WORK AS WELL [02:49:19] I know you're hosting senior just to thank you to everybody for all the work they've done. So thank you. Thank you, Miss Sizemoreheiser. Mr. Moon. Mr. Chairman, I wish I could support this motion. Unfortunately, from my perspective, there are a lot of unanswered questions. And so tonight, I'll be abstaining. Thank you, Mr. Moon. Miss Lady. Yeah, I just want to uplift this opportunity. It's I'm over the moon as someone who worked at Chantilly High School for 15 years. [02:49:54] And we turned everything possible into a classroom. We took out locker bays and built classrooms. We took out any type of teacher workroom to make a classroom. We added trailers in addition to having a modular. And so this is going to bring relief to that. [02:50:11] Very grateful for information brought to us when this property was coming available. And grateful to my colleagues on the board for their leadership. especially Mr. Dunn and Miss Dixit for their leadership and working with facilities to bring this to fruition. [02:50:31] So I'm very excited and absolutely will be supporting this motion. - Thank you, Miss Lady. Miss St. John Cunning for a go back. - I'd also like to thank the leadership team that did a lot of work with this. [02:50:50] And Miss Dixit is very humble in terms of the work that she put into this. And so I just wanted to thank her for a lot of the work that she also put in. And I'm very excited about the possibility what this can mean in terms of reducing overcrowding throughout our entire district because once you move and shift it affects the entire district. So thank you very much Mr. said for all the work you did and for your humility. Thank you Miss St. John Cunning all those in favor of the emotion on the screen. Miss Dixit Mr. [02:51:22] McElveen Dr. Anderson Mr. McDaniel Miss Anderson Mr. Dunn Miss Lady Miss St. John Cunning and myself all those opposed abstentions Miss Marin Miss Sizemore Heiser Mr. Moon. The motion carries. Congratulations. All right. Agenda item 6.01, academic matters. I call [02:51:45] on Dr. Reed for academic matters. So good evening board. This evening I am thrilled to have an opportunity to share information about our AP courses, International Baccalaureate courses, AP being advanced placement, and our dual enrollment courses. So let's go ahead and go to the next slide [02:52:23] please again a reminder that this is today's presentation is work that is particularly connected to goals three and four academic growth and excellence and equitable access and opportunity additionally one of the reasons we're bringing this to you this evening is that performance and advanced coursework is heavily weighted in the high school readiness portion of the new video e school performance and support framework for school accreditation so I want to just take a moment and remind the board and those watching what the benefits are for participation [02:53:00] in advanced coursework. It does help students develop college-level skills and academic confidence and really post-secondary skills and academic confidence, whether it's college, trade school, or other types of training or going right into the workplace. It really supports those skills that will be necessary for success. And these benefits are true across all student groups tying together our commitment again to equity and excellence in FCPS. [02:53:31] So let's take a look at some of the data. And when we think about this, in response to our commitments in the strategic plan, which as you can see we began this work in earnest in the spring, we're actually looking at 2022, 2023, 2024, and are estimated because those are what students signed up for to take this year. You can see that we've added in the last several years of our work with the strategic [02:54:04] plan, we've added 10,000 more AP exams in 2025 than were completed in 2022. That is a huge data point. And what I'm really proud to say is even though we've added 10,000 exams, our passing rate consistently remains high. So what we're looking at is that access and opportunity is really what's necessary and that our students are performing very well as they have access and opportunity to these courses. In addition to the AP and IB coursework, enrollment and [02:54:41] dual enrollment continues to expand and again that's been a goal and you can take a look at from 2022 through the enrollment projections the number of dual enrollment classes taken in 2022 were close to 5 000 4 977 and those registered for dual enrollment as of may 29th this year we have 12,120 which is really almost three times the amount of dual [02:55:16] enrollment courses in the last several years and students as we continue to raise the numbers the grades continue to be solid as well we don't we want to make sure we always calibrate increased numbers and making sure that our performance remains traditionally high as they do here in Fairfax County Public Schools. All dual enrollment classes also just as a reminder have a 1.0 GPA bump just as our AP and IB courses do and our primary college partner in these [02:55:53] dual enrollment courses is Northern Virginia Community College however we also have courses available through James Madison and other college partners And I will add that dual enrollment coursework taken through NOVA has no tuition costs for students or families, whereas courses from JMU and other colleges do have a tuition rate, but it is discounted. [02:56:17] So if we look at the next slide, there are a number of strategies that Fairfax County Public Schools has partnered with on projects to actually expand access to these course offerings. What you can see on this chart is for example we've added opportunities for AP Human Geography to be taken at both 9th and 10th grade. AP Pre-Calculus is a brand new course that's been offered for a year now and we were thrilled. It was first offered at McLean High School where you can see 96% of the students [02:56:54] scored a three or higher in the first year that course was offered which is amazing the IP IB career related program as three more high schools participating Marshall Edison and Lewis which add up to a total of five including Mount Vernon and South Lakes so the dual enrollment continues to expand we have a new partnership with Marymount University for the coming year and you can see the continuing partnerships on the screen there is also an incentive for teachers to earn their credentials by taking graduate-level courses with support [02:57:33] from the VDOE Dual Enrollment Tuition Reimbursement Grant. Finally, as you know, we had a work session this spring with the ABL staff. And this was Dr. Howard Bell and Dr. Steven Gehring, which was part of our Goal 4 report, where we looked at patterns of academically intense course taking patterns, knowing that the intensity of a student's course was the highest predictor of success in post-secondary education so when we think of all the topics we talk about for particular high schools it's [02:58:07] the academic press of that course schedule that's so critical and a reminder of the partnership as we move forward we're going to be expanding that partnership to our middle schools because what we want to do is look at that arc of course taking patterns from 7th through 12th grade because we know students don't just wake up in ninth grade with solid plans those have to be put into place prior to arriving in high school so we're excited about this partnership in the future and as they say this is academic matters mr. chair so [02:58:43] I'm happy to answer any questions about our AP IB and dual enrollment topic areas thank you so much we'll start with miss lady thank you I love this report It's very exciting knowing the transition we went through years ago to open enrollment into our advanced coursework and then eventually moving that down to our middle school. [02:59:06] So I'm hoping, I'm not sure, I appreciate the committee report for advanced academics and some of the things they highlighted. Most importantly, when we start doing 7 through 12 planning and, of course, preparation with kids, creating six-year plans and not waiting to high school is a big determinant of whether they're taking advanced coursework. The things I mostly want to touch on is I'm curious to know, because the credentialing issue that we have with Northern Virginia Community College, it's my understanding that the Virginia Community College system does not have the rigid credentialing that Nova has, [02:59:44] that perhaps in other parts of our state that they were not, there was, you didn't have to have the 18 hours at the graduate level work in the subject matter. Is that, is that true? going to defer to Dr. Presidio so the question is does NOVA have a different threshold in Tidewater or Piedmont or Richard thank you miss lady that's an excellent question I appreciate it I don't have the exact answer for that but depending on the accrediting institution that's the group that would set the requirements for teacher licensure so I do know for example in surrounding states like West Virginia I believe in Maryland they're not subject to the same [03:00:23] master's degree or master's degree plus 18 credits in the content area I think all of the Virginia State community colleges are subject to the same standards through the same accrediting agency but I'll double check on that and get an update for the board okay because I thought I had heard that perhaps our counterpart the superintendent in Loudoun County had come from Virginia Beach and Virginia Beach had a different credentialing than Nova but maybe I'm making that up but if we can check on that that would be great just because it is it is one of the best community colleges in the country but the barrier to access it is the credentialing so the work that we're [03:01:01] doing to help teachers access that is fantastic but we actually are behind many other states it's your previous state Washington Ohio West Virginia in that a lot of students who are especially who come from economically disadvantaged situations who are actually finishing associate's degree in their high school course accruement so that's the big thing and as you as you showed in the chart you know we've gone from around 5,000 students taking a DE class in 2022 to over 12,000 next year I don't know where we are and I know we're in a tight budget but I don't know what [03:01:38] we're doing in staff support for that I just you don't need to answer the question but I hope that We're paying attention to the fact that we're not waterboarding one or two people who've been managing this for years when we've tripled the work. So that's just the point I want to uplift, but this is fantastic work. [03:01:57] And it is our goal to help ensure all of our kids access at least one AP IB or dual enrolled class before they graduate from high school, because they're capable and we can get them through that. And it'll certainly prepare them for future work. So thank you for this. [03:02:14] Thank you Miss Lady Dr. Anderson thank you so much this is also very exciting work and I appreciate outlining the strategies that kind of led to the successes and the increase of the assessments of both AP IB and of course the dual enrollment participation can you speak a little bit I think this is slide six the IB related programs that that have just been expanded to Marshall Edison and Lewis. [03:02:48] Do those lead to IB assessments, or is that a little bit of a different provision? So the IB schools that have added the career-related program as an option, it's a CP, which actually combines the course from the IB diploma program with more specific coursework through which students combine their career interests with academic and practical skills. [03:03:17] So, they've had, IB's had this option for a while, and I think these schools have just chosen to add it. It's like a, they used to call it the career-related, the capstone career. But, Dr. Presidio, do you want to clarify what that maybe means more specifically here in Fairfax County, given that they've now just come on to that? [03:03:38] Yeah, no, thank you. I mean, I think you actually summarized it quite well. I don't have a lot to add, but it is integrated into the IB core content. you can think about like economics, IB courses, business management courses. When students add this component or when the school offers this, then they get those career-related learning standards, those workplace readiness skills, and they can graduate with the IB diploma and the career-related certificate, which is helpful to them. But they're still subject to the same internal and external assessment requirements. Okay, thank you. Just so I could get a better understanding because this is a little bit not in my wheelhouse those CP [03:04:16] classes while are enriching not are not necessarily standalone it would not add to the number of assessments that students are taking that are outlined in previous slides so is that correct yeah it doesn't add to the number of assessments that a student needs to take for the diploma thank you and also the AP human geography course that you talked about here that were added to three high schools are these these same high schools Marshall Lewis and Edison or these other high schools I believe those are added to all high schools it's not just three right the AP human geography is being made available I [03:04:55] think they were piloted at three schools but they're going to be available at any high school is my understanding moving forward no you're 100% correct because that's the second bullet because in the 25 26 school year it should be expanded all AP schools that is that accurate or is it yes ma'am it is accurate thank you so I know there's always the dance and I've listened to miss lady talk about this quite a bit when we're introducing new courses what falls off because we only have so many kids that can be slotted in so many places where there are just courses that we've retired or we will just let fall by the wayside by [03:05:35] attrition based on student interests at these sites well I think that AP human Geography across the United States is generally, I mean, it was designed as a ninth grade course. And so having the opportunity to offer it to ninth graders is really what's, I think, new about that. [03:05:52] And it's the same as AP, Environmental Science. It's generally, in many parts of the country, taken as a ninth grade course. But I would, Dr. Presidio, is there a course that this is going to replace at ninth or tenth grade that you're aware of? [03:06:08] given the content of this course basically competing with other social studies courses i don't see that it would eliminate other courses entirely from schools it might reduce the number of sections of particular courses that that might be offered at other schools but i don't think it's going to eliminate other courses okay thank you um given that we were i think at least three of us were at the college day that the naacp put together just this last weekend and i made my kid go to every table because that's the thing to do he was very excited but what came up as we were having conversation and of course they knew who [03:06:45] you know I was some schools were were asking how do we partner with FCPS in order to help with teacher accreditation in order to to do some of the things that have been outlined here we're doing enrollment if you could share that process at some point just so we can articulate with some of the folks who are in that room I think that would be appreciated whoever the contact person is for that and my last comment is the partnership with ABL here you're discussing what the partnership will assist FCPS to do but we've already begun can you speak to current impact of that partnership [03:07:24] yes ma'am we did already begin that work this year and that we had a work session this spring That really has already begun to map our course taking patterns across the school division and That's the data. We looked at in the work session our high school principals have really I'm just really proud of the work and the energy and passion that they've applied to this because really that's a significant piece of gold for is our risk or our HIGH RIGOR COURSE TAKING PATTERNS FOR HIGH SCHOOL. [03:08:01] OUR HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS ARE WORKING WITH MISS NEAL'S OFFICE IN PARTICULAR TO MAKE SURE THAT REGISTRATIONS THIS YEAR, I THINK THAT GOES TO THE REGISTRATION DATA I SHARED WITH YOU THIS EVENING, THAT STUDENTS ARE BEING COUNSELLED TO THINK ABOUT TAKING THAT NEXT MOST RIGOROUS COURSE AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT SOME DUPLICATION WHERE WE HAVE SOME courses that seem to maybe cycle in ways that could be amended so that students have an opportunity to accelerate some of their course taking patterns as well. [03:08:37] So I think that next year we're going to evaluate each high school this year for this fall has had goals that they've set around this work and perhaps Dr. Ponce could talk a little bit about that what our high school principals have done setting goals with the ABL work and this year our plan is to bring middle school staff on board because there are some areas where it really requires that planning to begin in middle school and for middle school staff to see the arc of academic progress through content areas math and then science and literature and so forth is [03:09:14] really a powerful tool so Dr. Ponson you want to talk a minute about what high school principals are planning this year with that work so we have been looking at the master schedule which this is what at this point what we have been looking at looking at every single student and how we going to support them to make sure that they are right on track with the classes that they supposed to be taken when you take a look at the ABL the analytical part you see gaps [03:09:49] that we could have in the past that we didn't have the data present having that right now this is going to help us for us to put the students on advanced classes which will mean that some students will end by having their advanced diploma as well. I think one thing Dr. Anderson that's not directly ABL related but I shared recently with the board is our light bulb student data dashboards where we're looking at students' academic data, their SOL scores, their achievement [03:10:25] on internal assessments, common assessments, because we know what the predictive data points are, what we call leading indicators, and making sure we're having personal contact with each of those students and their families to say, based on your data, your student achievement data, we know you can be successful in this next most rigorous course, and just making THAT VERY DELIBERATE AND FOCUSED EFFORT I THINK IS GOING TO BE -- IT'S GOING TO YIELD A VERY DIFFERENT LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR OUR STUDENTS ACROSS THE BOARD. [03:10:59] THANK YOU. I HAVE ONE FOLLOW-UP QUESTION, BUT I THOUGHT I HEARD THE RINGER, SO I'LL TAKE A GO BACK, PLEASE. THANK YOU, DR. ANDERSON. MR. MACKLEVEEN. THANK YOU. AND I TOO WANT TO COMMEND THE EXPANSION OF ACCESS TO THESE MANY NEW PROGRAMS FROM DUAL ENROLLMENT TO HUMAN GEOGRAPHY AND PRECALCULUS. [03:11:19] A question on the career-related program. So I've always known this is the career certificate, but based on your and Dr. Presidio's description, it sounds like this new program is not separate to the diploma, but it's an add-on. [03:11:38] Is that correct? So it is confusing, and I think you're making an important distinction. A student could earn the career-related certificate and not earn the full diploma because maybe they didn't complete all of the required higher level, standard level courses or maybe they didn't achieve the assessment scores that they needed to achieve. [03:11:58] But it's intended to be integrated into the coursework that students are doing in the diploma program. But it's possible that you could achieve one or the other or both. Okay, got it. Thanks, that's helpful. So going to back to the pass rates, the 72.5% figure, It would be nice to see a disaggregation between AP and IB pass rates as opposed to lumping them together. [03:12:24] And the other thing that I'd be interested in seeing is how that compares to national and global pass rates. I just don't know. I have no comparison, so I don't know what 72.5% means. [03:12:39] And I assume you don't have that data now. The last thing I would say is that, you know, several of us through graduation season have been discussing the unfortunate lack of expansion of our primary years program and I think you know we're currently currently sit at two schools but if we want to see our test taking and course taking expand at higher levels we're going to have to increase that vertical articulation. [03:13:09] I know it's expensive but I think this is a priority for at least some of us and maybe more so we'd like to look to see how we can expand that in the future yes sir and what's interesting and you know this is that the expansion of MYP and IVY is can be driven from a division but the expansion or the development of the PYP has to come from the school it's the ground up right versus top-down so I [03:13:45] think that that's going to require some thoughtful work too in terms of particularly those pyramids that have Ivy high schools having conversations in those elementary schools about the benefits so that they would come to the space where they say this is what we would like to do because that process is a little different PYP versus NYP and Ivy but I think you're right I mean once Once you begin that sequence it's much more powerful and I think you would have probably more IB diplomas as well. [03:14:20] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. McIlvain. Ms. Sizemoreheiser. Thank you. Thank you for this great presentation. I'm really excited about this work and I agree that this is some very seminal work. We've talked about the importance of helping our students access advanced academics and AP and IB for future success. [03:14:39] So I love this work. I love the ABL work that you talked about in slide seven and some of the course taking pattern works. talked about it, and you've mentioned it in work sessions as well. A couple of questions. On that slide, it says that they're going to monitor access to these classes. [03:14:55] And I'm wondering if you could elaborate a little bit what that monitoring looks like. What are they looking for? We're pulling actual master schedule data, like how many students are enrolled in courses. We pull that this spring for the registrations, because too often we set goals. [03:15:13] and then we wait 'til the next year to measure those goals. And by that time, students are registered and they're in classes, right? It's too late to do that work. So both in our algebra and eighth grade work, as well as this work, what we're really trying to do is back up and use leading indicators, which are things we could still do something about in terms of monitoring registrations. [03:15:37] But Ms. Neal might be able to add a little bit to what that monitoring might look like once the school year starts? - Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head, Dr. Reed. It's the ability for us to see in real time as students are registering, where are there opportunities? Where do we need to encourage more students? [03:15:54] As new students are registering, making sure that we're not leaving students out of the conversation of where they can take that rigor and take that stretch. One of the shifts we are making in our school improvement planning, which is monitored on a quarterly basis, is to shift that high school focus to look at those rigorous course taking patterns and to align with some of the changes are happening at the state. So just really making sure we're positioning our schools that this is a part of their ongoing monitoring work that they do. Thank you. And is that monitoring work happening at the middle schools in terms of accessing honors classes? Because it's sometimes by the time they get to high school, right? Like they may not have the foundations to be ready for some of that [03:16:32] coursework. So, and I know this is new, so it may be that may be down the road, but that was a question I had. Yeah, so certainly as Dr. Reed shared, we're already looking at that for our algebra one in the middle school and then we'll be expanding that work this coming year with ABL at the middle school level also great and then when you look at those patterns are you going to be disaggregating by school by demographic groups to get a sense of beyond just you know in a region geographically but you know if there's some gaps in different groups access in these classes yeah so each of our schools gets their own individualized report that disaggregates by student groups so that when they are setting [03:17:09] their own plan for themselves it's very tailored and specific to that school site and their specific needs great thing and I think this is really important work I would just put out to you that I think there are some access issues that happen earlier on in elementary school and I'm thinking particularly of our multilingual students and our twice exceptional students where they may be put on a path that is more focused on the deficits and on the strengths and then it's very hard by the time they get to even middle school in high school to get off that path right and I think there may also be some access issues in terms of you know who we think should be in these classes right and so I may be down the road I know this is really looking [03:17:47] at data and that's and we need to be data driven and start there but down the road it might be good look at some of these other access barriers you know I don't want language or ability or other things to be barriers to something that somebody can do and I also make sure that we identify the students early and have them in the classes where they can achieve academically at their potential at an early age so then they have the foundational skills to be able to do this in high school because the barriers sometimes get created very early on. [03:18:15] I'll just leave one thing. When you start looking at that access point, I think a really important point down the road to look at is third grade because in third grade is when the students first take the SOLs. And sometimes there are shifts in where students are placed, and I'm thinking specifically multilingual and twice exceptional students based on those SOLs in third grade because at that point it doesn't count against the student, right? [03:18:38] it only impacts the schools. So just as you're looking down the road, take a look at that shift and what happens from second to third grade. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Sizemore-Hyser. Ms. Dixit. Thank you, Dr. Reed. [03:18:54] I'm just going to keep it very short, my comments, because I know we are going to have a long meeting. I'm really excited with the presentation and the increase in the IB and AB. I have students, my kids did all of these. And I can save this much. How much money can you save in college by doing DE courses. [03:19:13] It's amazing, and I'm seeing that in my own household. So I would encourage this to be more expanded and given to as many students possible, especially those who cannot afford four years of college because of the tuition high prices. [03:19:30] So kudos to that, and I wish all our high schoolers graduate with associate degree at least. that should be kind of the goal where we should go to, and hopefully the one data point I would probably reach out to you later about was how many of these IB enrollments have been students from different backgrounds, or Hispanic students, or other socioeconomic groups, and that we can see that what more work we have to do there. [03:20:01] Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Dixit. Mr. Dunn? I'd like to ask a little bit more about your comments about the primary years, that it has to come from the school, like the ground up versus top down for the middle school and high school. [03:20:18] Can you elaborate on that? I didn't quite follow. Yes, sir. A division, for example, could say we're going to take a middle school and we want to convert it or re-imagine it as an NYP school. [03:20:34] We wouldn't necessarily you would still want to have everybody who is in the middle school faculty and Leadership would want to do that. I mean, of course you would want them to want to do that regardless, but the International baccalaureate the program requires the elementary Elementary the primary years program to actually be a ground up like a request from the school to be considered to then the division would come around at the school's request, which is different than [03:21:09] NYP and IB that the division can request it and the school can join it. So I think I'm saying that correctly, but Dr. Presidio, do you want to amplify that at all? Or I don't at least that's the pure standpoint in other divisions. I've been in maybe FCPS is different in that way, but I don't think so. I think that's what IB requires. Yeah, I think you know the probably the distinction between the elementary and the middle school and high school secondary that the doctor is getting at is at the secondary schools you could implement something that might not be school-wide but in the elementary [03:21:47] school the program is school-wide so everybody has to be on board all of the staff have to be trained where is it the secondary level you could start with a particular grade level you could start with a particular subset of teachers to get the training and it eases the implementation burdens but at the elementary level you really do need to move school-wide which takes that that school level commitment have you given any thought to encouraging or I guess educating elementary school principals and IV pyramids about the opportunity and seeing if there is potential interest there is a significant budget [03:22:25] impact to doing a PYP program because you need a coordinator at the school all teachers have to be trained in IB it's a significant financial outlay since I've been here I have not been part of that conversation I don't know if that's preceded my being here that would be something that would come out of your office I think well because of the budgetary implications obviously you know the board would obviously need to be involved in those conversations we've talked about it at different times in my tenure here and there has been interest on the part of different schools and different you know community members have [03:23:04] advocated for the program but to dr. Reed's point you really do need to budget for it proactively because of the staffing costs and then the ongoing professional development costs so you know we can implement the program it's whether or not we can budget for the program I think there we've talked in the past about that there's a lot of misunderstanding or lack of information that parents may have about IB I mean certainly in the international domain, it's very well known, but it seems in Fairfax County there's often a dearth of [03:23:37] understanding about what IB is and the benefit it offers, and even the opportunities to have higher chances of getting into desirable universities. Is there any discussion about a communications initiative to kind of market the IB program and explain it to parents in IB pyramids so that they understand the value? [03:24:02] my understanding is that IB schools do you know talk about their IB programs I don't know what the systemic approach is perhaps Dr. Presidio the I don't know is there a systemic I think that's more what you're more so what you're asking is is there a systemic yeah I mean our schools do you know the the typical kinds of you know family infant information nights about the programs obviously schools that have the programs have a lot of you know activities where students are presenting their work and that's true at the different levels whether it's elementary middle or high but that's predominantly you know communicating [03:24:39] with the families that are enrolled in those particular boundary areas what we've not done is more of an information campaign division-wide to promote the programs and build understanding for communities that are not boundary for a particular IB school so that could be a potential growth area for us I do know TO THE DIFFERENT STATES INCENTIVIZE IB AROUND THE COUNTRY TRY TO REMEMBER A NUMBER OF STATES DO PROVIDE AN AUTOMATIC ADMISSION INTO UNIVERSITIES IF YOU HAVE AN IB DIPLOMA FROM THEIR STATE [03:25:17] I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER I KNOW TEXAS DID AT ONE TIME I WANT TO SAY MAYBE ONE OF THE CAROLINAS AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S STILL CURRENT BUT THERE WERE AND MAYBE IN THE CURRENT BUDGET TIMES Sometimes people are not doing that as much, but traditionally some states have incentivized IV diplomas by providing direct admission. [03:25:36] On slide 4 you have data about AP and IV. I was wondering if you might in a Friday letter kind of break out AP versus IV just so we can see the growth rate of IV compared to AP and also provide the breakdown by high HIGH SCHOOL PYRAMIDS SO THAT WE CAN JUST DO A COMPARISON GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATIONS. [03:26:00] SOME HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF IP DIPLOMAS. OTHERS HAVE LESS. AND I'D LOVE TO JUST KIND OF SEE THAT DATA FOR TRANSPARENCY. BUT HAVE YOU ALSO THOUGHT OF -- OR HAS THERE BEEN ANY DISCUSSION OF TRYING TO ENSURE GREATER CONSISTENCY OF IV OUTCOMES ACROSS THE SYSTEM GIVEN THE VARIATION THAT EXISTS BETWEEN HIGH SCHOOL PYRAMIDS? [03:26:21] IV -- CONSISTENCY OF IV OUTCOMES AT THE IV SCHOOLS? Making diplomas or pursuing coursework. It seems like some high schools have a high number of IP diplomas. Others have a low number of IP diplomas, for example. [03:26:38] I don't know what kind of data that's being collected about that right now. So you're talking about an IB school and their number of diplomas. Because some of our IB schools are larger schools and smaller schools. So that's really the percentage of the graduates that have the IB diploma that you're likely requesting. [03:26:55] We could certainly present that in a Friday letter upcoming. Yes, sir, we could do that. That would be great. And can you talk a little bit about the IB career program that you have described on slide six? Sure, we can amplify that a bit. That program has been around for a while. [03:27:12] I think what I was sharing is that we've got three high schools that are now adding it. But it's been around, I think, since 2000, maybe 15, maybe even. It's been around quite a little while, at least within the last decade. So do you want to describe it a little bit more in detail, Dr. Presidio? [03:27:31] I think we covered it a little bit, but I think could amplify it. Yeah, again, the idea with that particular program is to take a look at, you know, the coursework that students are already enrolling in. Again, I'll give the example of IB Business or IB Business Management or IB Econ, for example, and try to build in career-related learning skills aligned and associated with those particular courses to give students the opportunity to have some real-world application and understanding of how they could use that particular disciplinary knowledge for future careers, and if they complete the required coursework, then they're [03:28:10] able to earn actually a certificate demonstrating their career-related learning competence in that particular field, and that helps them obviously, along with the IB diploma, be more competitive in the college admissions process, and more importantly, it gives them exposure TO WHAT FUTURE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND HELPS TO MAKE DETERMINATIONS IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN PURSUING MORE IN COLLEGE OR NOT. [03:28:33] THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. DUNN. MR. MOON. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. A LOT OF MY QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS HAVE ALREADY ASKED BY MY FELLOW FELLOW BOTH MEMBERS. JUST ADDING TO ONE MR. [03:28:50] DUNN HAS ALREADY ASKED TO INCLUDE IN THE FRIDAY LETTER. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE RIGHT AWAY, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO COME TOMORROW MORNING, BUT HOPEFULLY I wanted to see how we are fairing compared to nationwide data, because I've read articles about, at least for the AP test-wise, there has been a growth nationwide, it's not just us. [03:29:17] So I just want to see whether we are doing even better than, you know, national growth. And also, in the same article, I read that there's been a recalibration of the scores as well, that, you know, just like our grades might have inflated, that there's inflation of scores of AP test as well. [03:29:48] So if we could, you know, provide such information, that would be helpful. So provide information on whether we think there's been inflation on the scores? Just want to see, you know, nationwide data on AP test, a number of AP exams taken nationwide, and also a passing personage. [03:30:08] - Sure, yes, sir. - Since 2022, since you are, we'll be computing 22 to 24 data. - Thank you, Mr. Moon. Ms. Leidy. [03:30:28] - I appreciate my colleagues' interest in comparing us nationally and internationally. I just wanna make sure people understand how rare it is to have open enrollment. In my years working as a director, and even still when I present at the National Association for college admissions counseling conferences. [03:30:49] The second I talk about open enrollment, when my session is done, people chase me down around the entire conference center to find out how we got this policy passed. And I just want to uplift that, 'cause if you're gonna compare us, you're not comparing apples to apples. Because the majority of schools in this country, especially paying customer private schools, make a determination about whether or not you can take an AP class or an IB class. [03:31:14] And we have open enrollment. And so I did a quick Google search, And although it only comes up for 2020, the national average for AP exams was 71%. We're at 72. Or we were around 72 in the same year. [03:31:29] We want to be better. We're significantly better when you take into account the fact that it's the majority of schools who do not have open enrollment, and it's the minority of schools that do. I just want people to make sure they keep that in mind. This is not common practice around the country to have open enrollment. [03:31:46] So while I want to look at comparisons, because we want to be the best. I believe we are the best in the work that we're doing. So I just don't want to lose sight of data points and how we have to how we interpret data points. Thank you. - Thank you, Miss Lady. [03:32:03] Miss St. John Cunning. - That is why I love having you on the board because you always bring us new information and open our eyes to what the reality is down in the ground. And I appreciate the experience you've had and that you continue to have with high school students. [03:32:20] I also don't want to belabor the point, But I do want to just talk about the fact that I have spoken with people at Lewis and Edison, and they are extremely excited about the IB career related program. And when I walk into a school and I talk to staff and they're excited about it, I know the kids are going to be excited about it. [03:32:38] The other thing I want to say is that also at both of those schools, students that have been very excited about dual enrollment and one particular young lady that graduated last year, but graduated and had already finished her associate's degree through dual enrollment and some of her own taking extra courses. [03:32:59] And that is significantly important for our socioeconomically disadvantaged population. So for me, when I go in and I see that and we sit here and we talk about data points and we talk about all this. But when you're down on the ground in the schools talking to students and teachers and you see the excitement, that's what it's all about. [03:33:20] So thank you for this. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. St. John Cunning. Ms. Sawant. Yes, thank you for this presentation. I've seen this through my four years of high school. Like we didn't-- like the new course offerings this year. But one thing that I did want to mention was also online campus and being able to promote the DE and the AP courses through online campus as well. [03:33:42] I was part of online campus my past two years. I got an AP credit. I got a DE credit. The teachers there are awesome. They're accredited. They're amazing. But I don't think that students know enough about it that if an AP course isn't offered at their school or they don't have a DE course or there's a specific course that they don't have that they can do online campus so I'd say adding to those strategies maybe one of them can be just promoting online campus more at the beginning of the school year it is a tough load there is more work that students have to take along with their classes at school but I think it's also of course definitely a path worth considering yeah thanks [03:34:14] I just wanted to point out, you know, the superintendent, you send us a Friday letter and that's like a catch-all, but I'm concerned that we're asking for things and then all these things go into this letter and that's time that you're spending away from other full board directives. [03:34:35] And we have a process for this in the work session where we do next steps and we agree or don't. And I'm just getting concerned that every time somebody asks a question, it's time that you're spending and we just don't have that kind of time to be asking and so I would love for us to consider how we either do that kind of collection in a regular meeting because with so many things going on if we ask the superintendent to respond you know all the time it's something's gonna give so um you know it's clear we need to talk more about IB and do enrollment all these things but we also have a work session about the strategic goal plan or [03:35:11] THOSE THINGS. FOR CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU, MS. MARIN. DR. ANDERSON FOR A GO BACK. YES. THANK YOU VERY QUICKLY. I'M GLAD THAT YOU RAISED THE ISSUE OF THE LIGHTBULK DATA BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S REALLY EXCITING INFORMATION AND JUST BEING ABLE TO INFUSE THAT DURING THESE PRESENTATIONS WOULD BE A VERY HELPFUL THING AND IT WILL JUST I THINK REALLY SHOW THE COMMUNITY THAT WE ARE REALLY LOOKING AT DATA IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN WE HAVEN'T BEFORE. ONE OF THE THINGS that you talked about before when we're talking about what is happening what are we seeing with [03:35:47] the able work you discussed the principles are setting goals and Dr. Ponce thank you for offering that for me that is a short leap to what I've talked about during goal four I believe or five regarding a setting a division goal for the advanced work because all of this IB all of of these assessments that we're tracking that are increasing the number of assessments that kids are taking and IB and AP, you know, all of the things that are here lead to the advanced coursework. And if principals are setting goals and targets, I think it's, again, a very short [03:36:25] leap to having a division-wide target. I'd love to kind of hear your thoughts on that. Well, I think we do have a division-wide target to increase access to advanced coursework at high school and we're working very hard towards that target and we're clearly making progress on that target but we didn't have a target in the we have the overall target we just don't have the annual goals of any shape and this is what I've talked about probably three times now because if we have principals that are studying this in their SIPP the SIPP follows what we want to have [03:36:59] accomplished in the larger picture and I just didn't see that happening and I I think that's it that I want to share. I mean, this is really good information and we know what gets monitored gets done. And if principals are monitoring division wide, we should be doing the same. [03:37:17] Yes, ma'am. And we are monitoring high school course taking patterns to increase advanced course taking. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Mr. Dunn for a go back. Ms. St. John Cunningham for a go back. [03:37:36] All these lights just went off across the dais. But our lights went on from that presentation. So thank you very much, Dr. Reed. Yes, sir. We'll move on to agenda item 6.02, strategic plan update. Dr. Reed. [03:37:51] Thank you, Chairman Frisch. This evening, it's my pleasure to talk a little bit about goal two. And this, of course, is our safe, supported, included, and empowered goal. And we're looking at positive school climates and how our schools are fostering a sense of inclusion and belonging for our students. [03:38:13] So when we think about the quote on the screen, it really highlights the profound impact a sense of belonging can have on our students, and I think we talked about that tonight with a couple of the proclamations that you shared with our community. [03:38:29] And that sense of belonging has tangible positive results: improved attendance, enhanced academic success, a greater self-belief, and a higher graduation rate. So when we think about fostering a sense of belonging as part of our division-wide expectations, elementary schools currently have morning meeting and closing circles, and middle and high school have responsive advisory meetings. [03:38:58] So we're really trying to make sure that we're fostering that sense of belonging across the entire division. Some of the things I'd like to showcase this evening, Stenwood Elementary School has hive families which kind of mirror the language around beehives and tonight we're going to take a look at some of these examples Herndon Middle School cultivates connections with belonging project mentoring program that pairs adult mentors with students and finally our Annandale High School promotes inclusivity through its peer-to-peer best buddies mentoring program so at this [03:39:35] This time, Madam Clerk, if you could please play the video. [03:39:52] Goal two of our strategic plan centers on the belief that every child deserves to feel a true sense of belonging at school. By fostering inclusive, supportive environments, schools help students thrive both academically and emotionally through efforts like mentoring programs that build strong peer and adult connections. [03:40:14] To promote a strong sense of belonging, Stenwood Elementary, home of the Stingers, has created - Hive families that bring together students from multiple grade levels. - We know that students are available to learn when they feel safe and supported at school and the people at school know them. [03:40:33] So we wanted to put this together so that every single student at school has access to a trusted adult. - Toward the beginning of the year, it was more about getting to know each other and we've played different cooperative games together. So lots of different activities where those older students can take a leadership role. [03:40:49] Today we're doing an activity where we come together and share how we learn best and fill out a collective piece of art. I'm in sixth grade and there's kindergartners there and see what they're learning and what they're doing during the day. I think the staff, like the teachers that are doing the High Family with us are pretty awesome. [03:41:08] They're so nice and kind. Herndon Middle School has grown its mentoring program to include more than 100 active mentor mentee peers. a mentor helps students feel like they belong because it's a person that they can talk to whether that's for problem solving or goal setting so i decided to become a mentor because i have four children and they've grown up and i felt like i could give back to a different generation it helps you open up much more also in communicating skills get better the sense of belonging as a student especially when you come from another background which i see majority of the students [03:41:46] here is I feel like connection myself. It feels really nice to have someone like that that cares about me and gives me the best advice that they can for me so I can grow and be a better person. Through its Best Buddies program Annandale High School has created inclusive opportunities for students of all abilities. I just really like seeing the impact of how like our kids are known and get to make those peer relationships with others. Our kids with special needs, they have a place of belonging and they get to build these friendships. [03:42:21] I think it brings us together and shows the diversity and how many different people there are and many different backgrounds and everyone who is a part of and has a different culture. Being buddies is helping out and working together. [03:42:38] I think Annandale High School is a really diverse community and we're always trying to get all the different perspectives and all the different lives people live at Annandale and just being able to kind of like join everything together and work with two different groups is really fun. - That sense of belonging piece is critical for our students. [03:42:55] They feel seen. My school cares about me. Suddenly it's not just school, it's home. - That place is beautiful. - The two different house. [03:43:10] - Yeah, that was really cool, yeah. - Go Adams! - Yes, go Adams! - Excellence, equity, and opportunity. SO I'LL BE PRESENTING OUR FINAL 24/25 UPDATE TO THE BOARD ON OUR JULY 17TH SCHOOL BOARD MEETING AND THAT IS OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING UPDATE, MR. CHAIR. [03:43:34] THANK YOU, DR. REED. MS. SEIZEMORE-HEISER. YOU HAVE THAT LOOK BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT'S COMING AND I'M GOING TO BE KIND. THANK YOU. IT'S LATE. I LOVE THE PROGRAMS. [03:43:49] I'M GOING TO SAY INCLUSION IS NOT JUST BEST BUDDIES. I REALLY WISH WE WOULD STOP SAYING HELPING OUT. that in itself is patronizing, just is. I appreciate all of the together conversations, but if we're gonna truly be inclusive, we have to watch how we say and talk about inclusion. [03:44:15] And so I'm just gonna put it out there that I'm gonna say this again, the Best Buddies program is not open to the Cat A students and they are also segregated. They can join as buddies, but as the peers, I think we need to recognize the continuum And I think we need to recognize the other spaces. [03:44:40] We can include inclusion and belonging. I will say in my school visits and I've talked to Dr. Ponce and I've talked to others. There's good work being done. And I'm sure there's great work being done. [03:44:57] And I've seen some of that. But there is a lot of work around our mindsets. And you know I have had conversation after conversation with you about that. And Dr. Ponce and I've talked about that as well. And I do not want to see another video about helping out unless they're doing something together to help out somebody, something else. [03:45:17] And I've talked about it would be great to have as if you want to do this, if you want to have a Best Buddies, there's nothing wrong with doing social activities together. Absolutely. Right. But it's doing social activities together. And if we're going to do that, perhaps we could do like a key club Best Buddies. [03:45:39] And I've we've talked about this before where we pick a community organization to support a nonprofit right and do something good do a community service project together. We cannot have inclusion if we talk about helping out one group of students that way when they're supposed to be peers unless they truly and I think you understand what I'm saying. [03:46:06] It's not that students shouldn't help each other out but when you presume a best buddies programs by helping somebody else there's a presumption there. - Correct. - I will stop. Thank you. - All right. - Thank you, Ms. Sizemore-Heiser, and thank you, Dr. Reed. [03:46:23] - Okay, thank you. - Agenda item seven, consent agenda. Our adopted rules of parliamentary procedure Roberts rules provide for a consent agenda listing several items for approval by the board by a single motion. [03:46:43] 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 is on the screen. - Hold on one second, Mr. Frisch. [03:47:00] Sorry, Mr. Jackson stepped away and his computer is locked, so I need like two minutes to get it up. [03:47:07] - Technically it's on a screen. [03:48:06] All right. - Now we're ready. - The consent agenda items are on the screen. Is there any objection to approving the consent agenda? Hearing and seeing no objection, the consent agenda is approved. [03:48:21] Agenda item eight, new business. Following our new business agenda items, THERE WILL NOT BE A VOTE ON THESE ITEMS THIS EVENING, BUT ACTION IS SCHEDULED AT A FUTURE MEETING. AGENDA ITEM 9, BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS, I CALL ON MS. LADY FOR A REPORT FROM GOVERNANCE. [03:48:38] IT'S A QUICK REPORT. WE HAVE OUR NEXT MEETING ON MONDAY AT 10 A.M. I'M GRATEFUL TO MY COLLEAGUE, MS. MARIN, WHO'S GOING TO CHAIR IT IN MY ABSENCE, SINCE I WILL BE TAKING CARE OF, CARETAKING FOR SOMEONE WITH MENTAL DISABILITY. BUT I WILL BE PRESENT IN THE MEETING FOR QUORUM. [03:48:56] and we're gonna cover some of the policies we haven't gotten to and the agenda's already posted. So tune in, it'll be exciting, thanks. - Thank you, Ms. Lady. Agenda item 10, Superintendent Matters. [03:49:14] - Thank you, Chairman Frisch. I think that I will limit my comments this evening to just wishing all of our graduates a big hearty congratulations and also all of the staff Across the entire division and all of your neat unique roles for your part in launching these young people It's been a tremendous graduation season. I want to thank those board members Who also attended and community members? It was an incredible season last night also with our Honors evening honoring some of our best [03:49:54] staff members was an incredible event big props to our HR department and Community and office of communications and tech support to bring just a wonderful evening to life And then lastly just again a big congratulations to all our Cappies nominees Those that were nominated those that won our Cappies critics who spent countless hours It just was another amazing evening which showed the Really just the amazing young people and staff in this community. So thank you chairman Frisch [03:50:30] Thank you at this time. We will recess to return to closed session and we will return when we are complete We will have audio when we return. All right. We were going to un-recess And we will go to miss st. John Cunning for board matters Thank you as we celebrate immigrant heritage month let us remember that unless we are or can claim an indigenous heritage we are all immigrants or [03:51:05] descendants of immigrants. We are what makes the fabric of America. Each of us is an individual thread woven into that fabric. The result is a tapestry that is equally as strong as it is beautiful precisely because each of thread is unique. In my 26 year career as a family liaison I have worked with thousands of immigrant families. I have and continue to witness the resilience and dedication of students and families who have overcome challenges to build better lives for themselves and their children always with a steadfast commitment to education. I could speak about the countless famous immigrants who have contributed to our country but instead I'll speak [03:51:43] about the critical contributions made every day in our schools by our own immigrant community and although I'll mention some names know they represent countless others from custodian Jessica Cruz who keeps our school sparkling to Winifred Mensah who feeds our students to Miss Abbott an instructional assistant and Desiree de Silva sixth grade teacher who instruct our students to Paula Cespedes a school office manager and finally to Meg Turkson a family liaison who works with our families all immigrants from countries all over our globe Dr. Michelle Reed emigrated from Germany and chief of schools Dr. Ponce emigrated from Honduras. [03:52:19] My school board colleagues Seema Dixit Rajna Sizemore Heiser, Dr. Riccardi Anderson, Il-Yong Moon who immigrated from India, Haiti, and Korea respectively. I myself am the daughter of the American Southwest who can trace my indigenous and European roots back 17 generations before this land was part of the United States. [03:52:38] I grew up on the U.S.-Mexico border with my feet firmly planted in two cultures and that is the beauty of being an immigrant or from an immigrant family. One of our arms can extend to embrace where we came from while the other can extend to embrace where we are and come together to hold both in our hearts we are equally as proud of the culture traditions and languages we came from as we are from the one we belong to now our children go up eating hot dogs on the fourth of july while our tables are also set with salsa tacos sriracha kimchi samosas hummus and german potato salad the united states has and always [03:53:16] will be a country of immigrants where threads continue to be woven into a strong vibrant and and beautiful tapestry. As we continue to build an inclusive and welcoming environment in FCPS, we must remember that diversity is not only something to be celebrated, it is our greatest strength. [03:53:36] - Thank you, Ms. St. John Cunning. Mr. Dunn. - Congratulations to Mount Vernon District's class of 2025 graduates. It was truly an honor to attend your graduations and celebrate the culmination of your hard work and perseverance. Congratulations also to Dr. Lachelle Williams, who was recently named the new principal Woodley Hills Elementary School. I would like to thank Principal Sharon Aldridge for her 20 years of service at Woodley and I look forward to working with Dr. Williams in this new role. [03:54:02] Special congratulations to South County Middle School Principal Justin Simmons for being named the 2025 Outstanding New Principal of the Year and a big shout out to Quandah Road Sped Chair Raquel Joyner for earning the 2025 Outstanding School-Based Professional Employee Award last night. We're so proud of the difference you both make. Congratulations to West Potomac high school student Nora Wild who was selected to the prestigious University of Virginia Sorenson Institute's high school leader program. [03:54:30] Several Mount Vernon district teams and student-athletes have recently won district and regional championships as well as state titles. Please check out my newsletter and social media for more information. But we're looking forward to watching the West Potomac boys lacrosse who are playing in the state finals tomorrow in Richmond. Thank you to Gunston Soccer Club and the U.S. Soccer FOUNDATION FOR SPONSORING SOCCER MINI PITCHES AT RIVERSIDE ELEMENTARY AND WOODLEY HILLS ELEMENTARY AND THANK YOU TO ALL THE CONSTITUENTS WHO ARE ACTIVELY SUPPORTING THEIR STUDENTS OR PEOPLE [03:55:04] IN THEIR COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE A STRONG PATHWAY TO COLLEGE TO A CAREER OR TO OTHER PURSUITS. HAVE A GREAT NIGHT. THANK YOU, MR. DUNN. MS. SEISMOUR-HEISER. just very briefly um i appreciate mr chair i appreciate my colleagues words about immigrant heritage month and i wanted just to say a very personal story um my parents immigrated from india as far as part of the first um group after the restrictions on immigration were loosened and i remember being a child in preschool and not speaking any english and being very scared and [03:55:42] alone and isolated i remember growing up as a child and trying to bridge two cultures and helping my parents understand what the American school culture is and trying to also understand my heritage growing up in a country different than where they did. But the thing I'm going to tell you about immigrants that are so amazing to this country is how much immigrants bring. When I got married for the first time in 1995 and had an Indian wedding, I had henna the mandi on my hands that a lot of people know what it is now. And you see henna at the beaches and things. Well, when I got married, a week later walking to a coffee shop or a grocery store, people asked me [03:56:20] why my hands were diseased. My young cousins who were in elementary school were not allowed to go on their field trip because their teachers thought their hands were diseased and they thought they had some communicable disease they'd never heard of because they were those people. But now, now we all celebrate Bollywood dances. Now we get henna tattoos and think they're beautiful. Now neighborhoods celebrate holy which is such a fun holiday of the festival of colors my heritage like the heritage of all of our immigrants and all of us made this [03:56:59] country brighter not just from the colors of holy not just from the beautiful henna but just from the enrichment that it brought and this country made my family better my dad loved this country so much he became a 49er fan a San Francisco Giants fan and the 4th of July was his favorite holiday that's what immigration does for this country and that's what this country should do in embracing immigrants so happy Immigration Heritage Month. Thank you Ms. Sizemore Heiser the board will recess to closed session. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coraggio Consulting ยท aguyonx.com