Coraggio Consulting
Henrico County School Board Work Session, Thursday, October 23, 2025

Date: Thursday, October 23, 2025
Place: Henrico County School Board, Virginia
Length: 2h 32m (video)
Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4N7lz0Zxb0
Official meeting portal (Henrico County Public Schools, Diligent Community): https://henricoschools.community.diligentoneplatform.com/Portal/MeetingTypeList.aspx

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 2026-10-25. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:00:15] afternoon and welcome to the october 23rd 2025 work session of the hemrico county school board we will begin our work session with the pledge of allegiance and moment of silence stand for the pledge i pledge allegiance to black united states and to the republic for which it please remain standing for a moment.

[00:00:55] Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Grant.

[00:01:12] The next item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda. Colleagues, is there a motion? I move the school board approve the agenda for today's meeting. Thank you, Ms. Kinsella. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Mr. Young. All those in favor say aye. Aye.

[00:01:28] Any opposed? The ayes have it. The agenda has been approved. The next item on the agenda is closed session. Colleagues, is there a motion to go into closed session? - I move that the school board go into closed session for the discussion of matters covered under item A1 of section 2.2-3711 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended pertaining to the assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, OR RESIGNATION OF SPECIFIC SCHOOL BOARD EMPLOYEES.

[00:02:06] MOVED BY MS. ATKINS, IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. SECONDED BY MR. YOUNG. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? AYES HAVE IT. WE'RE NOW IN CLOSED SESSION. WE WILL RESUME AN OPEN MEETING AT ITS CONCLUSION.

[00:21:37] Good afternoon and welcome back to the October 23, 2025 work session of the Henrico County

[00:25:19] School Board. The next item on the agenda is certification of so closed session. I move that the school board certify by a recorded vote that to the best of each school board member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and identified in the motion authorizing THE CLOSED MEETING WERE HEARD DISCUSSED OR CONSIDERED IN THE CLOSED MEETING MOVED BY MS KINSELLAS THEY'RE SECOND SECOND SECONDED BY MS ATKINS ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE ANY OPPOSED THE AYES HAVE IT

[00:25:56] CLOSED SESSION HAS BEEN CERTIFIED FOR THE NEXT ITEMS I WILL TURN IT OVER TO OUR SUPERINTENDENT THANK YOU CHAIR SHEA MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND TO OUR AUDIENCE GOOD AFTERNOON THE FIRST PRESENTATION FOR THE BOARD IS AN OVERVIEW OF SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACCREDITATION I would note that while we're going to see some highlights related to our academic performance to include standard of learning or SOL data, as well as some other academic data points, the state has yet to release the accountability rankings for schools.

[00:26:29] So we'll certainly take a look at the new accountability framework as it stands, but we don't have ratings specific to our school division, nor do other divisions across the state so we'll provide that once it's available but again we'll look at some data points we'll take a look at that accreditation framework and really talk about the school quality process and how that guides us and has been guiding us in our efforts to ensure we're meeting the needs of the students in all of our schools so Dr. Hinton and Dr. Grant are going to begin the presentation we're joined by a number of other staff who will both present and be here to answer questions you may

[00:27:05] begin thank you dr cashwell good afternoon madam chair members of the school board and dr cashwell this afternoon staff will provide an update on the virginia department of education's new school performance and support framework hcps's academic area of focus and trends and student outcomes in hcps and information about school quality process used by schools to use data to inform instruction and improvement at this time i would turn the podium over to dr tiffany hinton director of

[00:27:42] assessment research and evaluation to provide an overview of the state's new accountability framework thank you dr grant good afternoon madam chair members of the board and dr cashwell our strategic plan journey to 2030 outlines our shared commitment to academic achievement in our work we define academic achievement comprehensively looking beyond a single metric our goal ensures all students demonstrate content mastery we work on cultivating the six c's

[00:28:17] outlined in our henrico runner profile and preparing students for success in college the workforce or military service the virginia school performance and support framework provides a set of state-defined metrics that align with these priorities. It will serve as an external measure that complements our own internal data and helps us identify areas where we can provide more targeted support to our schools. The new framework is a significant change to how our schools are evaluated. Accountability and accreditation ratings haven't been released

[00:28:54] publicly yet because, as you might expect with a new system, data and ratings are being looked at closely to ensure that it is being accurately represented in the framework but that information will be shared once made available i will start with an overview of the previous state accreditation ratings which resulted in each school being given one of three performance levels accredited accredited with conditions or accreditation denied these determinations were based on multiple indicators including academic achievement and chronic absenteeism for all schools along with

[00:29:33] college career and civic readiness graduation and dropout rates for our high schools a primary goal in the creation of the new framework was to separate school accountability from accreditation the previous system blended academic performance with operational compliance which often made it difficult for stakeholders to get a clear picture of a school's strengths and weaknesses the new framework's purpose is to provide a comprehensive and transparent view of the school's performance

[00:30:05] by separating these two systems the framework now uses three distinct components to assess schools accountability which focuses on student learning outcomes and performance federal identification which addresses federal reporting requirements and student group performance and accreditation which is based on the division submission of the standards of accreditation compliance report and focuses on meeting professional standards of practice let's dive deeper into the performance

[00:30:40] categories schools will earn points for each component and the total scores fall into four performance categories a school that earns 90 points or above is considered distinguished meaning it's exceeding state expectations and serving as a model for others a score between 80 and 89 points puts the school in the on track category meaning it's meeting state expectations if a school scores between 65 and 79 points it is categorized as off track and will receive

[00:31:16] additional support from the videoe finally a score below 65 points means the school is in the needs intensive support category and will receive more comprehensive support from the state one important detail to note is that if the school is also identified for federal support with either a targeted or comprehensive support and improvement designation its performance category will be lowered by one level the overall framework score is based on several components

[00:31:51] and these vary by school level the components for elementary and middle schools are mastery growth and readiness for high schools mastery and readiness are included and there's also a graduation component the weighting of these components shifts to reflect the different priorities and student pathways at each level for example at the elementary level mastery accounts for the majority of the score at 65 while growth is 25 and readiness is 10 the weighting changes

[00:32:25] for middle schools where mastery is 60 growth is 20 and readiness is also 20 at the high school level mastery is weighted at 50 percent readiness is 35 percent and graduation accounts for the remaining 15 of the score this table breaks down the specific indicators within each component for elementary middle and high schools a guiding principle in the creation of the new framework was to develop a system that prioritized every student achieving proficiency which is evident in

[00:33:02] the higher weight given to reading and math mastery across all levels mastery includes a student's performance on sol and vap test in reading math and science and schools earn more points as students achieve higher proficiency levels english learner progress is also included in mastery and it's measured by two consecutive scores on the weta access test the growth indicator measures how close students get to meeting or exceeding their individual expected achievement

[00:33:37] scores in reading and math on sol and vap test to determine these scores the vdoe partnered with sas an analytic software company to model a student's individual expected growth based on their past testing history and the state's rate of progress for the readiness component chronic absenteeism remains a key indicator for all levels for middle schools advanced math coursework is also included this indicator measures the sol pass rate for middle school students enrolled in high school

[00:34:13] level math courses and also considers any grade 8 student who scored pass advanced on the grade 7 math test the prior year this ensures that we are actively providing challenging coursework for our highest performing math students for high schools the 3e readiness framework is included which comprehensively measures preparedness for college careers or military service enrollment measures a student's readiness for higher education through achievements like earning college level credit on ap and ip exams employment measures preparedness for the

[00:34:50] workforce with points awarded for earning an industry recognized credential in a high demand field and completing a high quality work-based learning experience enlistment measures readiness for military service with points awarded for passing the asfab test readiness for high schools also includes the six-year graduation rate with applied studies which recognizes that not all students graduate in four years and some may pursue an applied studies diploma finally the The graduation component is specific to high schools and is based on the four-year federal

[00:35:28] graduation indicator, which includes both advanced and standard diplomas. In addition to the performance categories, schools may also be identified for federal support based on their performance as a whole or for specific student groups.

[00:35:46] These federal identifications fall into three main categories. First, a school may be identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement, or CSI. This applies to the lowest performing 5% of Title I schools across the state, high schools with a graduation rate lower than 67%, or any Title I school that has been identified as a TSI and has not exited after three consecutive years.

[00:36:15] CSI schools are identified every three years. Second, a school may be identified for targeted support and improvement, or TSI. happens when one or more student groups within a school are performing lower than the highest performing csi school tsi schools are identified annually finally we have the additional targeted support and improvement or atsi designation this applies to schools that were identified as a tsi school the previous year and still have at least one student group scoring lower than the highest

[00:36:50] performing CSI school. ATSI schools are identified every three years, so new schools will be identified again in the fall of 2028. At this time, I'll pass the presentation over to Taylor Snow to share additional context by school level and areas of focus. All right, thank you. The next few slides will provide an overview of the students we serve and how the manner in which we serve them has evolved. One important trend is the continued growth in the number of students receiving special

[00:37:26] education services and English language services. As our student population becomes more diverse in language and learning needs, we are adapting instruction and supports accordingly. These students are mastering the same essential content and in some cases may require additional time or different pathways to demonstrate proficiency than are typically assumed in the state accreditation system. Elementary student membership has increased by 3.7 percent from the 2021 school year to the 24-25 school year. This chart only illustrates the trends in certain student groups. As you can see,

[00:38:02] the number of students identified to receive special education services has increased by 21 percent and students receiving English learner services has increased by 66 percent. Again, this is at the elementary level. Middle school student membership has decreased 3.7 percent over the same time period. That's 2021 to 24-25. The number of students identified to receive special education services has decreased slightly during the same time frame by 2.3 percent and students receiving esl services on the other hand has increased by 89.9 percent high school membership

[00:38:41] has increased less than one percent from school year 2020-2021 to 24-25 and students identified to receive special education services has increased slightly during the same time frame by one percent it is important to note that students receiving esl services in high school has increased by by 106% during the same timeframe.

[00:39:05] Now that you've seen who we serve, we want to show how recent state policy and testing changes shape the work happening in our schools. Across Virginia, math and reading standards changed last year at the same time. And RICO, like other divisions, had to put these new standards in place while also rolling out the new reading curriculum required by the Virginia Literacy Act.

[00:39:26] When standards change, there's always a learning curve for teachers and students. And it's common to see a small dip in scores first year before they rise again as everyone adjusts. Our division provides job-embedded professional learning and support so teachers can navigate these shifts in stride. As I noted, for the first time since the inception of the Virginia Standards of Learning last school year, the state launched both new math and reading standards at the same time without a crosswalk year as had been previously provided. Like many other districts across the state, Henrico balanced the implementation of these new standards alongside new aligned curriculum required under the Virginia

[00:40:04] literacy act the state also changed the eligibility rules for the virginia alternative assessment program or vap which is used for some students with disabilities fewer students now qualify for vap meaning many students who previously took an alternative assessment instead of the sol are now in general education classrooms taking the regular standards of learning tests for the first time in addition the state is moving toward a single accountability system that meets both state and federal requirements. One example, under the old rules, English learner test scores could be excluded from school ratings for up to 11 semesters if the student was new to Virginia

[00:40:41] schools. Under the new rules, that window is now fewer than three semesters, meaning EL scores will count much sooner and may affect school rating results. Finally, the Virginia Literacy Act has led to major statewide changes to how reading is taught to align with the science of reading.

[00:40:58] HCPS was incorporating the science of reading in our instruction well before the law, but this has accelerated that approach. HCPS has adopted new reading materials, added literacy training for teachers, hired more reading specialists, and created individualized plans for students at risk. The related statewide literacy screener, or VALS, once used only in grades pre-k through three, is now used in grades pre-k through eight to identify students who may need early reading support. It is important for the board and the public to understand these policy changes because they significantly affect classroom instruction, student performance data,

[00:41:35] and how schools are evaluated. The next section of our presentation will provide a high-level overview of our elementary and secondary instructional priorities and student outcomes in reading, math, and science. We'll begin our discussion of our instructional focus areas and students and student outcomes by discussing our focal points around what we believe is the most durable skills literacy at the elementary level the curriculum has been aligned to meet the new state standards and also the requirements of the virginia literacy act professional learning both job embedded and teacher choice are carefully planned and provided to ensure teachers and

[00:42:14] administrators have the skills and knowledge necessary to meet students needs as the board heard earlier in the presentation more targeted supports are necessary to meet the growing educational needs of our student population in elementary digital resources for special education students, ESL students, and newcomers complement instruction to ensure students have access to resources on the appropriate level of rigor and content knowledge. With the support of the board, in recent years we have added additional reading specialists, ESL teachers, and exceptional ed instructional assistants to assist in modeling and meeting the needs of students while also

[00:42:49] collaborating with classroom teachers. In middle school the focus is much the same. Curriculum has been updated to align with the new state standards and a new literacy foundation intervention course has been added to all middle schools. Quarterly performance tasks have been designed to balance reading assessment and ensure that students are being asked to write in response to their reading.

[00:43:11] Additionally, we are happy to announce that our middle schools have just completed the first administration at that level of the VALS assessment. This has created invaluable data on the underlying components of student reading ability that we're already acting upon by building student reading plans to map out interventions for our students with reading needs.

[00:43:29] To ensure that our faculty has the support that they need to implement these initiatives with fidelity, we have leveraged multiple approaches for ongoing professional learning via monthly secondary instructional leader meetings with our content specialists, the leveraging of division literacy coaches to provide support at our schools with the most significant needs, and the development of the HCPS content literacy toolkit to provide turnkey strategies to support student reading and writing across all content areas. With the implementation of the VLA, reading specialists were added to all middle schools in addition division coaches assist

[00:44:04] with school schools as well you'll see many of the same approaches across our high schools curriculum has been updated to align with the new state standards and approaches for integrated reading and writing are reflected across the high school curriculum and our plan for balanced assessment additionally four newcomer sites have been added to high schools to assist with our english learners that enroll in high school and are still acquiring the english language tucker Hermitage, Freeman, and Highland Springs. These programs are designed to meet the specific needs of our high school age students new to the U.S. with limited literacy and/or English skills.

[00:44:41] The programs provide English courses, counseling support, and access to ACE Center programming. Now let's take a moment to examine some student outcomes for reading. Overall, the HCPS SOL pass rates in reading increased by one percent and the state average increased by one percent. And as a reminder, that is just pass rates that does not include growth that's factored into the accountability system. While elementary SOL pass rates remain relatively flat with one to two percent fluctuations despite rapid demographic shifts, we're seeing gains in early literacy through other assessments. For example, when looking

[00:45:17] at the iReady Diagnostic Assessment, the number of students reading significantly below grade level is shrinking across multiple elementary grades and our work with at-risk kindergartners is outperforming the statewide trend line on the VALS screener. At the same time, our secondary results show good momentum, with pass rates improving across all middle school grades. These gains are notable as they reflect the progress being made by students who were in elementary school during COVID, which impacted their literacy foundations. These overall gains are being mirrored or exceeded by notable progress for specific student groups. This

[00:45:55] performance signals that our instructional focus areas are yielding results and we need to maintain this focus to accelerate these trends further. The K-12 math instructional focus follows much the same path as ELA. Elementary curriculum has been aligned to the new standards while math intervention resources were embedded to support students needing additional numeracy support.

[00:46:17] Multiple professional learning opportunities for classroom teachers have occurred and continue to ensure teachers have the necessary knowledge to utilize data to drive instruction. Targeted supports for all learners have been carefully curated. Supports for English learners and students identified to receive special education services assist teachers in meeting individual needs. Teacher leader ambassadors and division coaches collaborate with schools to assist in instructional design and delivery. Additionally, secondary professional learning continues at monthly departmental meetings with department leaders, math administrators, and division coaches at the middle school level and in-depth quarterly half-day workshops at the

[00:46:55] high school level. Coaching support at our schools with the most significant needs ensures that this professional learning is supported in practice, while targeted student supports include a new multi-sensory math course for exceptional learners in middle school and updated secondary math course pathways to create more access for students and diversified options in calculus statistics and data science in math we're seeing a mix of stability and growth across tests in the last three years overall hcps math sol pass rates remain constant and the state average is increased

[00:47:31] by three percent at the elementary level math sol pass rates held consistent in grades three and four with a positive three percent gain in grade five. We are seeing some evidence that supports are working, particularly for black students and English learners. Secondary results reflect similar patterns. We saw progress in grade six, seven, and geometry, and a slight decline in grade eight. Most significant progress is seen within student groups, particularly for grade seven math and geometry. These results confirm that our instructional approaches are proving effective, but they also underscore that our priority must remain on ensuring high academic achievement for

[00:48:10] all students. In science, elementary curriculum has been updated to ensure hands-on experiences and increase student discourse. This work is supported at the school level by the newly created teacher leader ambassador position. This is a stipend-based role that allows for each elementary school to identify a teacher to work directly with our content specialists and division science coaches to ensure ongoing professional learning for science best practices makes its way from the division level to the classroom at the secondary level curriculum updates to better reflect the comprehensive eighth grade science sol tests have provided a more

[00:48:48] connected learning experience for students and exist on a continuum for sixth through eighth grade while setting students up for success as they move into high school credit bearing courses these updates include the creation of core labs for each quarter that ensure hands-on learning experiences for all students that also support the acquisition of content knowledge while teaching our students to be scientists focused professional learning occurs at both levels and again is targeted to meet teachers where they are and ensure capacity with standards and policy changes at the middle school level a division science science coach works with our schools that have

[00:49:25] the most significant needs and similar support is provided at the high school level via a paid consultant finally it's important to highlight that a focus on explicit vocabulary instruction rooted in exceptional ed best practices has been delivered and its impact has been evident during school site visits across the first quarter of this year in the last three years overall hcps science sol pass rates increased by three percent and are now aligned to the state average and finally in science student outcomes are demonstrating consistent and encouraging improvement

[00:49:59] across multiple levels at the elementary level we saw a modest one percent overall gain in grade five science sol pass rates with student group performance generally tracking with that division trend the most significant gains are evident at the secondary level where we saw improvements in grade eight, earth science, biology, and chemistry. This positive trajectory is being driven by progress among student groups in our high school level courses, which confirm that our efforts in the secondary science curriculum are having a positive impact. At this time, I will turn the

[00:50:33] presentation over to Director of School Quality Ann Marie Seeley. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Thank you, Taylor. Of course, continuous improvement is our goal for all students and schools. today i'm here to share with you how henrico county public schools uses the comprehensive school improvement process to help schools build a manageable research-based plan to meet their improvement goals the hcps school quality team continues to use the virginia continuous improvement process to guide schools through the school needs assessment and support plan processes

[00:51:12] these processes are rooted rooted in improvement science and the best practices of planning for change the school quality team began training school and division leaders in improvement science in 2023 in february of 2024 the videoe department of school quality released the virginia support framework as the new structure for school support plans this approach asks schools to consider how areas such as staffing and professional learning along with school climate support their academic

[00:51:46] goals when done efficiently it aligns the systems and processes necessary to accomplish change the school quality approach is built around five key supports the focused needs assessment development of the school support plan coaching in one-to-one meetings quarterly site visits and compliance management the focus needs assessment serves as the foundation for each school's improvement journey our team collaborates with principals and leadership teams to review performance data stakeholder feedback and instructional practices the goal is to pinpoint

[00:52:21] a small number of high leverage priorities the areas that will make the greatest difference in student outcomes and directly connect to the new accreditation indicators this process began in july and is ongoing as we receive updated data from the state as well as from the schools once those priorities are identified schools develop a school support plan this plan translates the needs assessment into specific measurable actions with timelines success success metrics and aligned professional learning the school quality team works collaboratively with the

[00:52:56] school team on each plan to ensure it's both strategic and actionable and that it aligns with division and state accountability expectations each month we hold meeting one-to-one meetings with school teams these sessions give instructional leaders dedicated time to reflect on progress review data and troubleshoot barriers they also allow our team to provide targeted coaching and technical assistance that's personalized to each school's context in in addition our team partners with division of learning and the school level directors to conduct site visits these are on the

[00:53:32] ground opportunities to observe instruction meet with staff and review evidence of improvement each visit concludes with a debrief and action step summary so schools have clear next steps tied directly to accountability standards and continuous improvement goals the site visit concludes with the quarterly school quality meeting finally our team supports schools with technical compliance ensuring that all documentation reporting and required submissions are accurate timely and aligned with state and federal accountability guidelines this includes monitoring timelines maintaining clear communication with both schools and the state

[00:54:08] and managing all aspects of the school improvement grant funding process by managing these technical elements the school quality team allows school leaders to stay focused on instruction instructional improvement while maintaining full compliance with accountability requirements the school quality team's role is to guide support and empower schools through a cohesive process that connects needs plans actions and compliance in alignment with the state's new model through these supports we're helping schools not merely meet requirements but more importantly more importantly build sustainable systems for continuous improvement today we've had the opportunity to share with

[00:54:45] you an overview of the new accountability framework as well as the supports already in place from the department's directly supporting schools as more data become available we will continue to analyze trends in order to hone those supports we will also share additional data and accountability ratings with you as they become available at this time we are happy to answer any questions you may have and members of the board if i might before we move on to questions just offer a few summarizing statements because I know you heard a whole lot of information today we have an incredible team of professionals across Enrico County Public Schools who work

[00:55:22] so hard each and every day to make sure that we are meeting the needs of the staff in our schools who are directly working with students and have a strong understanding of where they are academically and what we can do to best serve them so all that said I hope a few things perhaps stood out in this presentation today, one is that there are tremendous bright spots.

[00:55:44] When we look at our academic achievement, when we look at overall SOL performance by content area and reading and math and science, you can see we're holding steady and growing. When you begin to unpack that by grade level and by content area, you can see even stronger areas of growth and some areas of challenge too. When you look beyond the SOL at early literacy, you see us even exceeding the state with those early learners and those reading interventions.

[00:56:13] So certainly some bright spots there. You also saw the new accountability framework, which will now be applied to these SOL results along with other data pieces. And I just want to note that while it was shared here in the presentation, I want to make sure it's not lost.

[00:56:33] It is an entirely different framework that will be applied than the previous accreditation framework. So while we're going to see that as a school system, we've made steady progress and even some gains. When you unpack that by school level, you may see a school who has performed equally as well, or perhaps even moved the needle that may have been fully accredited on the other lens or system that was applied with the new lens of accountability applied may find themselves in an off-track category and that may be really puzzling and so I just want to open the conversation here that

[00:57:12] while we don't have that data available we expect to get it soon and we want to make sure we're not doing apples to apples comparison with the previous framework because it's an entirely different lens. So we want to first take a look at how's the school performing overall, unpack that by grade level. We have those data points. There are many bright spots there and lots to celebrate in our schools. As usual, we're drilling down by content, by grade level, by student and making sure we're meeting their needs. Our school quality plans are aligned to helping them grow. But the new

[00:57:45] accountability system is a much different lens than we've used at all as a state and certainly as a system to look at the way schools are performing and analyze that. So I just want to caution us as we go ahead in the coming weeks and that data is released that we recognize it's a new lens and an entirely different one and it provides us a different look at how schools are performing along with their SOL performance and we saw the number of indicators they are and that varies elementary, middle to high. And I know that our schools will be equipped as well as members of our team to help answer questions for our families and our staff as they're unpacking that data and

[00:58:24] these new ratings for the very first time and helping them make sense of that. So certainly wanted to underscore that while we don't have that data available, I wanted to sort of preview how that goes hand in hand with what had been used previously. And lastly, I hope it was incredibly evident that despite significant changes in the students we serve in relation to exceptional education, English language learning, new standards in at least two content areas, new Virginia Literacy Act requirements, all things that can really cause systems to

[00:59:03] have a dip, we had steady growth and even grew in many areas and we saw that in English, math and science. So I want to take a moment to celebrate our incredible educators, students, and of course, our staff and families who've wrapped around our students to help them succeed.

[00:59:19] So we're happy to answer questions on a lot of information that we shared and would offer that. All right. Thank you so much, Dr. Peshwell. Ms. Atkins, I'll start to the left with you.

[00:59:35] So thank you so much for the presentation. Again, just want to note again that the Virginia Department of Education has not yet released the final reports so we don't have the complete picture of how schools will be rated and just want to be very clear but once the results are available I'm confident that our division is fully prepared to analyze them thoroughly and regardless of the outcomes our division has been and will continue implementing action plans including targeting reading

[01:00:10] math and science interventions and the supports that align with that. I also want to take a moment to recognize our human resources team. Retainment and recruitment of employees is tough. However, our HR team, led by Ms. Bolden here, really understood that it's more than just filling positions. It's about finding the right people who align with our values, who are committed to student growth and bring both skill and heart to the classroom and this intentional focus strengthens

[01:00:45] the quality of education it impacts everything from daily learning to the sol results as well and so quality educators truly make a difference and i'm very grateful miss bolden to you and your team for helping us give our students quality education we still have work to do but we certainly have come a very long way. So thank you. So I want to talk about SOLs just a bit.

[01:01:14] So while SOLs provide one measure of achievement, I believe that over-reliance on high-stakes testing can actually narrow curriculum. It can sometimes increase stress. It also can limit creativity and critical thinking. And this is from my perspective. This is Alicia's perspective. And And unfortunately, I also believe that this emphasis has shaped instruction to focus on pacing and teaching to the test, rather than meeting the diverse needs of all learners.

[01:01:49] And I also believe that true educational quality comes from skilled, passionate educators who inspire curiosity, nurture growth, and meet students where they are. Because learning is not just a test score, it's developing potential that lasts a lifetime.

[01:02:06] So for me, SOLs is just one piece of a very big puzzle that comes together with the student, the staff, families, and school communities that support them. So with that in mind, I really do have some questions.

[01:02:22] I want to know how do we feel and how have we planned for these new measurements to impact teacher evaluations and workload? Yes, I'll take that question.

[01:02:42] WE DO IN THE LAST TWO OR THREE YEARS WE HAVE REVAMPED OUR EVALUATION SYSTEM SO IT'S VERY TARGETED WHERE TEACHERS HAVE SPECIFIC MEASURES THAT THEY SET AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WITH THEIR PRINCIPALS AND IF THEY'RE DEPENDING UPON IF THEY'RE ON CYCLE OR OFF CYCLE AND WE WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH OUR SPECIALISTS IN DEVELOPING WHAT THOSE MEASURES ARE AND THE FOCUS AREAS FOR THE TEACHERS I MIGHT ADD IF I MAY JUST FOR A POINT OF clarity, and that's absolutely correct, that there isn't a direct impact or correlation

[01:03:19] between SOL accreditation and specific teacher evaluations. One component of the teacher evaluation in Virginia is a student growth component, but there are lots of growth measures that can be used outside of SOL, specific student scores for students who may be served in that classroom or by that teacher, and depending on content AREA THAT VARIES BECAUSE YOU KNOW THE SOLS ARE ONLY GIVEN IN THREE, FIVE, EIGHT CERTAIN COURSES AFTER THAT AND ONLY IN CERTAIN CONTENT AREAS SO ALL OF OUR TEACHERS HAVE ACCESS TO VARIOUS POINTS THEY CAN USE FOR GROWTH MEASURES FOR STUDENTS AND AS FAR AS TEACHER

[01:03:55] WORKLOAD I MEAN I THINK THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION CERTAINLY SOME OF THE RECENT POLICY CHANGES RELATED TO SOL BUT NOT NECESSARILY OVERALL ACCOUNTABILITY RATINGS IMPACTING A TEACHER'S daily life new standards were adopted in english and math that's a lot of work on a teacher right so you're uh you have a new set of standards you're teaching to and students are going to be assessed on um so you know certainly the change in our curriculum that's in play in english language arts with benchmark being added as part of the virginia literacy act i mean i think all of those

[01:04:29] things do impact um teacher workload and um you know pointed to that here not to say that that's a reason we might not do well we did incredibly well considering those factors but do acknowledge that that's extra effort on our educators our leaders supporting them and so certainly those those types of things related to this topic do impact teacher workload I appreciate the response I would like to learn more about what a plan looks like you know so certainly not at this time but at some point what does the plan look like so that we help our educators manage this is a lot of

[01:05:09] new and we're still working on old yes and I think you know I would add to that the school quality plan I think is what you're speaking to so depending on what designation a school might have or if they're and we didn't speak as much about this in the presentation but it was noted that there are federal monitoring indicators so depending on which indicators may apply to your SCHOOL, THERE MAY BE DIFFERENT DATA POINTS YOU'RE HAVING TO MONITOR AND REPORT ON THAT WOULD LOOK DIFFERENT SCHOOL TO SCHOOL DEPENDING ON WHAT THAT DATA SET IS.

[01:05:39] AND YOU KNOW, WE CERTAINLY ENDEAVOR TO WRAP OUR ARMS AROUND SCHOOLS ENGAGED IN THIS PROCESS AND ASSIST THEM THROUGH THAT AND SUPPORT THEM THROUGH THAT. BUT WOULDN'T WANT TO INSINUATE THAT ISN'T ADDED WORK OR DIFFERENT WORK FOR EACH SCHOOL TO DO.

[01:05:54] WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. SO. THANK YOU FOR THAT. next question is how do the measures let me rephrase it how do these accountability measures consider diverse learning needs so if it's the accountability ratings the way the accountability ratings which again we don't have and are different than the previous accredited accredited with conditions or denied accreditation those those ratings are made up of different components

[01:06:31] or a different calculation for elementary, middle, and high to determine a school's overall rating. And so, for example, at the high school level, there's consideration for the three E's, so enrolled, enlisted, employed, advanced coursework, graduation rates, along with overall performance in the core academic areas.

[01:06:56] And there is a specific indicator or a factor or related to English language learner performance. So I think that may speak to the diverse learner piece, but you know, certainly while there are lots of components considered here, including growth, I think that's one of the challenges our educators face is making sure that students who have diverse learning needs or learn differently who may not perform well in the SOL framework, while there's some accounting for things like absenteeism and, like I said, advanced coursework and career readiness,

[01:07:35] it may not be apparent from a school's overall rating how those diverse learners are doing. - So I'm gonna summarize it with we don't know. - Well, you know, I think it's not the best. This particular rating wouldn't give the best picture of how our diverse learners are doing.

[01:07:52] It's a picture, it's one picture, but certainly may not be the best one, depending on the learner. - I'll move to the next question. If you could share what type of support will be provided from the VDOE for schools labeled as off-track or needs intensive support?

[01:08:14] We have not been given any information at this time related to support frameworks or what requirements would be for that matter related to how you might be designated. So we'll stay tuned for that. So we don't know what we don't know.

[01:08:31] going to sum that one up as well and I will yield the floor back to Mrs. Shea. Thank you so much, Ms. Kinsella. Thank you so much, Chair Shea. Thank you for this report and I think my first question is specifically to Dr. Cashwell because I would like to hear her say it on the record that I'm sure I will hear when I'm out and about why did we not specifically go deeper into schools today as far as SOL scores, which schools this on scores, which schools that on scores.

[01:09:08] And I think you've said it, but I'd like for you to repeat that the team has unpacked all of their scores at the schools, that this presentation today is a higher level, if you don't mind. Absolutely. So as SOL scores become available, those score reports down to individual student reports are made available families to schools to teachers overall school performance is something that we begin looking at as soon as we get it our school quality team and our other leaders are helping our schools shape plans as the school year is underway to make sure that they're adjusting

[01:09:47] supports if they're needing that they're adding supports that there's something a different approach that's needed that we're really looking student by student content level by content level and school by school um and so you know we're sharing information now because this would have been the time we expected to get the the overall accountability ratings to go to couple with that but we didn't want to delay in talking about our overall sol performance and what we expect will be coming with the accountability measures because this is something our schools have been actively

[01:10:21] engaged on since uh really before the first day of school so um yes i hope that answers your question yes it does and i appreciate it because um the teams are always looking at the data no matter what data it is just because it's not presented and highlighted um on a more granular level today does not mean that the work is not being done or that the board is not aware so i just wanted to to tee that up, like we're well aware of a lot of the SOL results at different schools

[01:10:54] in our districts. So we've implemented the school quality teams, the intervention teams, provided additional resources, which I really appreciate the highlight in the presentation, because we really have been ahead in providing resources, whether it's our special education for our increase, dramatic increase in English learner enrollment.

[01:11:23] And then we've also partnered with tutoring services, I believe. My specific question is, are our intervention teams fully staffed at all of our schools?

[01:11:39] We can certainly take a look if we don't have that on hand. I know staffing has been a bright spot this year, and I appreciate Mrs. Atkins, shout out to our HR team and our school leaders. So I know our schools were in really good shape starting out the school year, but we can get you an up-to-date tally on that. Specifically intervention teams, whether it's push in or push out, I know some educators have reached out specifically to want to know more about that. So I'd appreciate follow-up there. Research shows that additional supports, right, whether they're mental health, family engagement, community partnerships, make a

[01:12:13] difference in the academic outcomes. Are we measuring the impact, if you will, of the additional supports here? I mean, I know it's not captured in the state, certainly isn't measuring it, but are we? Because we certainly do a lot.

[01:12:29] I would say anecdotally we are. It might be hard to parse out if one factor's driving success or another, but that's certainly something we can work on with our D.A.R.E. team. But I would say that, you know, you might see some of the things you saw on the slides with, you know, significant increases, almost doubling, or in some case tripling ELL populations, a number of ex-ed students being identified at the elementary level, new rules for how soon your scores count when you're a newcomer, you know, three semesters versus 11, new standards, and those kinds of things,

[01:13:09] as reasons we might have seen some dips where we really didn't. And so, you know, perhaps we do attribute that to the really strong wraparound supports And, you know, certainly want to applaud the board as our presenters did for being, you know, really proactive in this at the last few budget cycles, the intentionality of this board to make sure that readings, additional reading specialists, additional ELL teachers, those support positions are in place so that our teams are well equipped to have a well-rounded support system for students, you know, is likely a reason we're tracking study.

[01:13:45] And then on slide 16, I mean, I still can't get over how much and how well our division has implemented all of these changes. I mean, standards with the math and English.

[01:14:03] I think it's where it goes. Yeah, all the new things. I mean, I'm just going to say it again. New standards, math and English. The VAP standards. Changes to the, you know, semesters for English learners.

[01:14:19] The Virginia Literacy Act. I mean all that on top of trying to still improve what the pandemic you know the outcomes you know we're still struggling with in some cases from the pandemic with our learners so we really are fortunate to be in Henrico where we have been ahead in providing supports and I my next question is with the you know there are more changes coming like we still don't know how we're going to come out with our rankings um but with the board of education's plans to raise the cut scores

[01:14:57] um on sols starting in 26 right next year i'm not sure they've adopted an implementation timeline but that has been discussed as a potential implementation we know the new cut score is not the timeline right at this point so um with that being said do we have a plan for that and what that looks like because you know of course we're entering budget season so are we making lists you know as to how to support our students and our staff on this I mean certainly you know one of the things I've been impressed with with

[01:15:34] our team supporting our schools is their ability to stay the course and stay focused on what we know is making an impact and we began that work a few years ago before the new ranking system was adopted uh we began that work and we're seeing results before the new cut scores were adopted so i think uh for us it's it's staying the core staying tuned into our schools and our students and and making sure we're adjusting to needs there and not letting maybe perhaps those score ranges and frameworks dictate how we know we can do business with kids

[01:16:14] TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, BLIND TO THE FACT THAT IT MAY BRING SOME CHANGES, RIGHT? SO IF WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, STUDENTS WHO THIS YEAR HAVE PASSED THE TEST BUT NEXT YEAR THE BAR IS DIFFERENT AND WE HAVE MORE STUDENTS NOT PASSING, YOU KNOW, WHAT WILL THE IMPLICATIONS BE, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS WHO ARE LOOKING AT END OF COURSE TESTS TO GRADUATE ON TIME? WHAT WILL THE IMPLICATIONS BE FOR REMEDIATION AND TUTORING requirements and how will we be staffed appropriately for that, so I mean certainly I think our

[01:16:48] core plan is solid and one we're going to continue to lean into, but we recognize we may have to be adaptable if there are some different you know changes we'll need to make to make sure we're leaning in to help students graduate on time and get remediation in an on-time fashion. And then since you meet regularly and you've improved so many of the mechanisms that we receive staff feedback through how is how is our staff how are teachers and staff doing um for example with the sol results with this impending framework coming um how are they doing

[01:17:28] i would certainly say uh i would be remiss if i didn't note there's tension out there you know i think our educators are a bit overwhelmed by all of the changes the the number of changes we just spoke about many on the screen here along with this and the pending cut score changes so you know I think our goal and certainly my goal is to help study the course for our educators help them stay focused on what they know regarding teaching learning and assessment in the classroom and not let this deter their work or cause any sense of panic we certainly are committed to

[01:18:07] helping our students grow we're going to monitor that we're going to provide support when they're not um but you know i do think it is unnerving for some educators there is concern at schools you know and i'm i use this example previously a school who's seen steady growth uh and perhaps similar sol performance to last year and they may have been noted as accredited may find themselves in an off-track category that can be unnerving they're concerned about what stakeholders might think about the school or their performance or the quality of teaching there. So I think, you know, going back to reminding them and as we'll remind our

[01:18:46] stakeholders that this is one piece of the puzzle. It's a new way of looking at performance, and we certainly are going to dig into it. And if there are any implications for change and growth, we're going to take them. But we don't want this to jade our educators, our leaders, and our stakeholders in any way about the quality of our schools. Thank you so much for speaking to our teachers and staff because they are the ones, you know, each and every day with our with our students. So I appreciate you speaking to that. And then on slide 21, my last question is I'm noticing the gains in eighth grade and the

[01:19:24] high school writing assessment. Can anyone speak to that? Because that is impressive. Yeah, thank Thank you. I mean, I think it comes from a lot of areas, most particularly, and obviously our English language arts teachers are doing a great job.

[01:19:41] Writing in response to reading is part of what they do every day. Students should be writing in those ELA classes, obviously, every day. But I think a lot of schools have been really proactive in focusing on the fact that literacy happens everywhere.

[01:19:58] English language arts is a course, but literacy transcends all of our courses. So across science, math, social studies, career and technical education courses, students are reading as readers in that discipline, you know, reading as scientists, reading as historians, and then communicating that understanding and that learning and writing, writing like historians, writing like scientists, writing like technical experts in our CTE courses.

[01:20:24] So it's a lot of it is anchored in our English language arts courses, but it's across the curriculum that that writing is happening i appreciate that dr snow because we have focused the division has focused a lot on cross-curricular writing no matter what class you're in that writing is important so it's nice to see that um we're now outperforming the state in that category because we really have focused on that so thank you so much that's all i have at this point chair shea and some nice middle school gains i can't not highlight those on this slide as well really strong gains there.

[01:20:59] Thanks so much, Mr. Young. Thank you. It's almost difficult to go third after all of my colleagues have sort of asked questions. So if some questions get redundant, it's because I didn't follow my colleagues quite as good as I should. But I will stay on slide 21, and I think I asked this previously. Students can fall into more than one student group, correct?

[01:21:21] Correct. And how does that affect when we're looking at percentages? Are we looking at economically disadvantaged, raised 6%, 3% increase, which is phenomenal. Could students with disabilities also fall into that same framework where we started to see positives across multiple groups?

[01:21:37] And does it unintentionally hurt us as well if the opposite happens? If they could, yes. Okay. So I had that written down because I wanted to learn a little bit more about how our kids and students can fall into multiple categories, and sometimes percentages don't quite add up in our favor um and then sometimes in these instances three percent five percent seven percent i mean it's phenomenal um so i wanted to start there can someone speak to i wasn't on the board then but a lot of our kindergartens are the children born during covet a lot of our fifth

[01:22:14] graders because i have one did kindergarten virtually can can someone speak to how our approach has changed from pre-covered to post-covered on on what we do as a division now Well, certainly maybe not all of this is driven specifically by COVID or the time period we were in a virtual setting, but it was mentioned the implementation of the Virginia Literacy Act and our approach towards the science of reading and really making sure that our literacy approach is

[01:22:49] one that's backed in science and meets the needs of students. That's a significant change kind of coupled with the same return from COVID you know but I would say in listening to our educators and leaders at the elementary level you know they noticed that developmentally students were sort of all over the place for a lot of reasons and the good news is our early educators are really good at that because on any given year in a kindergarten classroom you have uh you know the a broad range students who have been in a formal preschool setting those who have not those have been in a home daycare setting with a few kids versus those who have been a larger

[01:23:25] setting and knowing that the comfort level and the ability to adapt for our our youngest learners can be vastly different and so maybe some of those lessons were applied all the way across the elementary school setting um and understanding how to differentiate so um i i don't know that i could point to one thing beyond the english language arts curriculum and other changes but BEING REALLY TUNED INTO MORE DIFFERENTIATION, MORE SMALL GROUP IN THE CLASSROOM, AND REALLY DRILLING DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENT NEEDS. YOU SEE A LOT OF THAT MORE OFTEN NOW IN CLASSROOMS.

[01:23:58] IT'S A BEST PRACTICE CERTAINLY, BUT I SEE THAT MORE NOW THAN I EVER DID PRE-COVID, THAT ATTENTION TO INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN SMALL GROUP. THANK YOU, DR. CASHWELL. A COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS HERE REGARDING HOW MANY FEDERALLY IDENTIFIED SCHOOLS DO WE HAVE RIGHT NOW? WE CURRENTLY HAVE 20. 12 AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL AND EIGHT AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND YOU SAID 12 AT THE ELEMENTARY AND?

[01:24:27] EIGHT. EIGHT AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY HIGH SCHOOLS THAT ARE FEDERALLY IDENTIFIED. OKAY. AND BASED ON THE NEW ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK, WHEREVER THEY ARE, BECAUSE OF THIS, THEY AUTOMATICALLY DROP US? THAT IS OUR UNDERSTANDING. THEIR STATE PERFORMANCE LEVEL WOULD DROP if they are federally identified has there been any indication why it's so punitive they made an effort to align the ESSA requirements which are the federal requirements to the state performance levels the state performance levels used to account for student

[01:25:04] groups and now they don't and so the only way that we're accounting for student groups is through the federal identification process gotcha thank you seems to be a little uh biased and unfair but it's on the cards we've been dealt um and your group has done a phenomenal job addressing those concerns can um i don't know what slide it was on but i wanted to talk about growth um and the difference between how it was accounted for before and how it's accounted for now and someone so i know how it differs now from previous years where growth especially in my district mattered the most

[01:25:40] because we were seeing gaps being closed and now it feels like you know things have changed for us so under the previous model what they what they looked at when they looked at achievement was what they called a combined rate and that included your students who passed as well as students who failed but showed growth according to progress tables the difference with this new system is that they're looking at achievement for all students and they're looking at growth for all students so they've really separated that out to get a clearer picture so it wasn't kind of all jumbled in there together and we couldn't really see what growth looked like for our individual schools thank you

[01:26:19] for that um and as far as measurement is concerned how does that differ now so under the old system they use what they call progress tables so they would look to see how did the student do the year prior how did they do this year and then they would use this table to see if they moved up a level under the new system how they've done it this year is they have worked with sas to do some statistical modeling so they've taken all the data from all the students across the state and historically looked at how those students have performed so they're looking at the student's

[01:26:55] current score how they have historically performed in comparison to other students like them as well as the state rate of progress and then they have identified the expected achievement score of a student based on that statistical modeling thank you um thank you for explaining it to me. I know that's sort of a difficult thing to explain, but thank you for that, because I know growth has been really important to a lot of my principals, teachers, administrators in my schools, and we have seen growth in all of our fair fair district schools, and just speaking district specific for a little bit. Madam Chair, I don't know if I have anything else, but hold on,

[01:27:35] hold on, don't hold me to that. Oh, I did want to talk about one thing. The quarterly site visits, the one-on-one school meetings. I want to know how, you know, that's feeding into division-level decision-making, particularly around resource allocation and staff development. I've been on this for a little while, but I don't think we, I know we don't take a one-size-fits-all approach, but are we looking at some of our schools, like maybe three reading specialists or more IAs or more coaches, and are we finding that our better coaches aren't, maybe won't be at the school that

[01:28:10] the most need is at so just want to dabble in the net real quick to see if we can have some discussion around sure so so we bring the quarterly site visit data to our director teams and we discuss the trends that we're seeing from the site visits and then have a conversation with all the directors regarding the resources because one of the things that we're asking at the site visits is how are the resources that you have going and that could be anything from coaching to supplemental tutoring THAT'S BEEN PROVIDED WE'RE WE'RE CAPTURING DATA ON ALL OF THOSE THINGS AND THEN WE'RE

[01:28:45] TALKING AS A DIRECTOR TEAM HOW IS IT GOING ARE THERE SCHOOLS WHERE WE NEED TO PROVIDE MORE SUPPORT WHERE WE NEED TO REFINE THE SUPPORT WHERE MORE COACHING NEEDS TO GO IN SO WE ARE DOING THAT AS A DIRECTOR AND CHIEF TEAM AS THE QUARTERLY SITE VISITS CONCLUDE AT THE END OF EACH QUARTER PERFECT THANK YOU FOR THAT AND DR. CASHWELL YOU KNOW I KNOW WE GET THESE REPORTS MAYBE once a year, but if I could ask you or anybody from your team, if I could get some sort of monthly report on how our schools are doing, and what that looks like, and the improvement, that way I can better serve my community, as opposed to this once a year presentation

[01:29:25] that can kind of help throughout the year. Is that possible? Well, certainly. It wouldn't be SOL data, because those are point in time data, but we did say that there are many other data points that we're using to monitor student PROGRESS. SO WE'RE CERTAINLY HAPPY TO PROVIDE THE BOARD WITH SOME MORE FREQUENCY, A LOOK AT THOSE DATA POINTS THAT ARE BEING MONITORED ALL THE WHILE.

[01:29:44] PERFECT. THANK YOU, DR. KASHRO. THANK YOU, TEAM. I APPRECIATE IT. THANKS SO MUCH. TEAM, THANKS FOR ALL THE INFORMATION. I HAVE A COUPLE THINGS. SO FOR ME, THEY KIND OF FALL INTO TWO DIFFERENT BUCKETS OF BOTH WHAT THE FRAMEWORK IS AND THEN HOW WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THINGS FROM THE STATE. BECAUSE LET'S BE REAL, A LOT OF THIS THAT we're talking about, like Mr. Young said, we don't have control. This is the hand that we've been dealt. And so we're trying to figure out how to navigate it in such a way that is best for our

[01:30:16] students and also sustainable for our staff, right? And so my first kind of big level question, and Ms. Atkins and Dr. Cashwell and some others already hit on it. Well, it was going to be, how do we support the classroom teachers with all this? But then you kept going and showed us all way you're supporting the classroom teachers but it's a lot i just the more that comes down it's just a you know math and english standards changing in the same year without a crosswalk here um you know how the assessments change you know all of these things what we're looking at um students

[01:30:52] coming into the general classroom from self-contained we're looking at um our english learners being counted I mean it's just it's like an avalanche I feel like for our classroom teachers and I appreciate the investments that have been made in um both uh personal capital to support our teachers and also instructional materials um but you know when the rubber meets the road how is the reception and the buy-in at the teacher level and what can we do as a board to help support

[01:31:25] that i'll speak to the buy-in for the school quality process our focus over the last three years has been to include the stakeholders who are impacted by the changes and so each time we meet with the schools we're asking where are your teachers where are your students where are your community members because what we don't want to happen is the school to be making decisions about strategies that they're putting in place without the folks at the table who then have to implement those and we have seen a great increase this year in folks participating in the strategic planning

[01:31:59] process that we've put in place through school quality at the classroom level we've had a lot of schools who've had students on their teams this year and parents and other community members so that there is the voice where the impact is the biggest and those schools who have truly embraced that part of the process I think they they're they're feeling supported around the changes and feeling heard that the strategies put in place are a team decision they're rooted in best practice they're rooted in research the instructional strategies are rooted in the instructional model and the curriculum that's in place but we are really allowing the schools to have the conversation

[01:32:38] about what can they manage and then providing the professional learning and the coaching that goes with implementing those changes that's one way that I think the teacher voice is best heard is if there's a strategic plan going in place for the school then those folks should be part of that team excellent that's excellent to hear I know myself and my other we want our teachers to feel supported we want them this is hard work it is sometimes made harder by those outside of Hamrico and we want them to feel supported we want them to have what they need to do their job

[01:33:14] and do their job well and we we want them to know that we're their cheerleader and we're here from them and we appreciate what they do and we're trying to figure out how to help them do that best so i appreciate that context of having those stakeholders at the table i think that's really important i'm getting a little bit more granular um dr hinton uh with the middle school readiness um particularly the math part um could you tell me a little more slowly i couldn't write so fast about the advanced coursework in math how that's being assessed so they're looking at students um

[01:33:52] any student in grade six through eight who is in and into course math of course and they're looking at that student's performance so that's your numerator and then your denominator would be any student grade six through eight who was in those courses as well as any student who they say are ready so ready is being defined as any student who is a current grade eight student who scored past advanced on the grade seven math so if those students were not enrolled in and of course math you know this current year then they would be considered ready and included in the denominator

[01:34:30] so this is not necessarily directly tied to algebra by eighth grade good i i mean i know that's not our decision that would be a state-level decision but i have real concern if that's a metric being used um to grade our schools when we look at what's developmentally appropriate for all students and in terms of having an appropriate math foundation that's going to set them up for success in high school and beyond there are some students in eighth grade that algebra is a good fit and there's some that are not and as a as a science math educator of of upper level science

[01:35:08] i always want to be an advocate for students to especially in math especially for algebra really get the solid foundation before they're pushed on because otherwise we're not setting them up for success and so i know that's not a you decision but that just really that was like a red flag um when i looked at that and so i am i'm i'm happy to hear that's not the metric currently being used i hope the state doesn't you know start to push it that way and i hope if it does you will let us know and that we can advocate as needed to make sure all of our students have access to the

[01:35:46] coursework that they need to to be successful um and I think like that algebra one piece about when it happens and how it happens for students is so pivotal for the rest of their um high school high school path so appreciate you articulating that thank you um and then when um we were talking a little bit about the federal guidelines and the cis it said compared to the highest is that the highest in our division the highest in this state the highest performing CSI school in the state

[01:36:22] in the state okay that's helpful um and then um again on the science um I'm so glad we've made strides I know there's been a lot of targeted effort is there any hope for better assessments for science um I know like for example the middle school science SOL is cumulative over three years a lot of those students have not been in our school or maybe even our country for three years and not only is it cumulative it focuses a lot on science facts and not really like authentic scientific investigation do we have hope for a performance task or something that better

[01:37:01] reflects scientific thinking uh i mean at the middle school level that certainly that would require some legislative action um action by the virginia board of ed i will say legislation passed during the last general assembly session did seem to imply that at the high school level courses that were that were end of course high school courses that typically had an end of course test but were not included in federal testing requirements so really anything besides biology at the high school level would be able to give what's called a permissive local alternative

[01:37:39] assessment similar to what we do with world history with the and Virginia U.S. history with inquiry design model tasks we have not heard anything from VDOE about when those may be coming what those may look like but it was our interpretation of that legislation that chemistry potentially earth science may have those opportunities going forward no updates as of now thank you and again my frustration on the science um assessment is not with you Dr. Snow I know that you did not make it um and then just to end on on a high note I'm really excited about the writing

[01:38:18] like I'm really excited about the writing um I think that when we really look at core literacy competence that is going to project our students onward writing is such an essential part of that i know benchmark has a lot of more in the elementary school a lot more intentional um writing parts i was actually i got to be with the fourth grade class today miss roberts class they um presented their persuasive essays um to me about benchmark about why they want a water bottle filler in their school and so i was their like authentic audience um to hear those persuasive

[01:38:56] essays um as a as a middle school parent um particularly this year i have been positively floored by the writing that's been required particularly with that world history um assessment you were talking about dr snow and a shout out to mr heaton um really teaching these middle schoolers research-based writing like in middle school to prepare for things like dbqs and um i mean so far beyond what I could have imagined doing you know in middle school and so to see the progress that we as a division has made in writing um in the last couple years but then to

[01:39:36] see also these really quality like outputs from elementary school and middle school as we're on this journey has been really encouraging and so you know just keep up the great work team I like Dr. Cashwell said there are a lot of bright spots there's a lot of fuzziness as we are waiting for things from the state but there's a lot of bright spots really great learning happening in our classrooms every single day with teachers that are highly skilled professionals and deeply care about their kids so thank you all right all right I think that

[01:40:12] concludes questions thank you members of the board for your excellent questions and for enduring a very long and detailed presentation I know that was a lot to cover in a short amount of time the next presentation is a first look at the recommended fiscal year 2627 capital improvement plan as you know this is the time of year we begin to project what our needs will be in the capital plan plan arena for the next fiscal year and the team works to analyze current needs

[01:40:49] current allocations for funding in each of the areas roofing mechanical transportation technology and so on and forecast our needs and budgetary asks for the upcoming fiscal year lenny richard will present thank you good afternoon madam chair members of the board and dr cashwell today i will share our capital improvement plan for fy 26 27. each year the board reviews and

[01:41:24] improves a capital improvement plan that outlines the anticipated funding need for the maintenance and enhancement of our facilities as well as allocations for transportation and technology infrastructure. While the CIP is funded annually, internally we take a comprehensive approach to its development. This includes reviewing our long-term plan that spans the next 10 years.

[01:41:47] This strategic outlook allows us to maintain and prioritize a list of upgrades, renovations, and improvements scheduling in them as funding allows and exploring the potential use of bonds to meet these needs. Although our plans and requirements may evolve annually with new CIPs this long-term vision helps ensure we stay focused on keeping our buildings in optimal condition for effective teaching and learning. Today we will be providing a brief summary of the division's enrollment then our meals tax projects and a summary of how those funds have been allocated in

[01:42:22] recent history. After that, I will touch on the impacts of inflation and how those impacts have influenced our allocation requests this year. As has been shared previously with the board, the division's preliminary enrollment shows a total student count of 49,008 students.

[01:42:42] This is a nearly 400 student decrease from school year 24-25. All of the high schools are under 100% functional capacity after ACE Center programming is accounted for on both day one and day two. More detailed information about the preliminary enrollment is available on board docs under the October 9th meeting and final enrollment reports will be available next month.

[01:43:06] The meals tax has been a vital source of funding supporting Henrico County Public Schools since its inception, providing an additional revenue stream for facility improvements, renovations, and major capital projects across the division. We remain grateful to both the school board and and Board of Supervisors for this funding to help maintain our facilities.

[01:43:31] To date, we have completed 462 critical infrastructure projects across all schools using about $96.7 million dollars. Without meals tax funding, these state upgrades and other facility improvements would not be possible. The funding has been used for projects such as vestibule entry installations, camera system replacements, gym floor replacements, bathroom upgrades, carpet replacements, lighting upgrades, parking lot improvements. Meals tax funding is also covering a portion of the Tuckahoe auditorium addition. Another aspect of the meals tax projects are additional safety upgrades.

[01:44:10] While we do not disclose safety and security plans, there are additional upgrades for our schools that will require an estimated $10 million in funding over the course of three years. As we'll get into our next slide, the current allocation of meals tax funds will not be available to cover these additional safety upgrades along with deferred maintenance projects. This chart provides a comprehensive summary of the years ACPS has received meals tax funding. As shown over the past seven years, the full $9 million allocation was received only three

[01:44:47] of those years. In the three years with zero dollar balance in the amount column FY20, 21, and 25, Funds were redirected to support major capital projects, including the New Tucker High School, the New Highland Springs High School, and the New Davis and Longin Elementary.

[01:45:06] During those years, no deferred maintenance projects were completed, resulting in project delays of approximately two or three years. In the current FY26, about $3.7 million of the funds from the meals tax were redirected to assist with the Virginia Randolph project, resulting in only 5.3 being available for deferred maintenance projects. As we evaluate current and future capital needs, I would like to take this opportunity to look at how inflation continues to affect the cost of our projects over time.

[01:45:44] This chart illustrates how inflation has impacted the previously allocated funds for key initiatives. For example, the $9 million school meals tax reserves established in 2014 would be equivalent to $12.3 million in 2025, a 37.5% increase due to inflation. Playground replacement costs have risen from $250,000 to $305,000 per site since 2024, reflecting a 22% increase. School bus replacement costs have grown significantly with the price per diesel bus increasing from $132,000

[01:46:24] in 2022 to 171,000 in 2025, a 29.1 increase. Our schools operate more than 500 HVAC systems containing over 8,000 mechanical components.

[01:46:41] For 24 years, the facilities teams manage all HVAC plumbing, electrical, and roofing repairs with an annual budget of just $2.5 million. Each year, we partner with Mosley Architects and their mechanical engineering team through our annual contract to evaluate the condition of our HVAC systems. Together, we develop a prioritized list of mechanical projects based on system age and repair frequency, ensuring both immediate and long-term needs are addressed. While age and performance issues are both considered, our top priority remains resolving the most critical

[01:47:17] concerns first, even when they occur before age-based replacements are due. This fiscal year, FY26, saw a significant and much appreciated increase in a mechanical-only allocation. This has enabled HCPS to complete critical infrastructure projects over the last year. This year, we are requesting an increase to reflect the long list of critical needs as well as adjusting for inflation. Our previous mechanical list identified 72 projects at approximately $57 million. However, we are

[01:47:54] currently working with Mosley to conduct a revised assessment of critical mechanical needs across all of our schools. This CIP request includes $15 million to begin addressing these identified mechanical projects and to complete necessary repairs. I would also like to mention in addition to CIP funding, HCPS has invested $28.7 million to help close prior funding gaps for mechanical improvements across the division. These efforts have been supported through ESSER funds, COVID

[01:48:27] recovery funds and meals tax revenue to tackle the most urgent needs replacing aging school roofs is essential to maintaining safety structurally integrity energy efficiency and health standards aesthetics and compliance we are grateful for the substantive increase in funding for roofing projects this past year for the coming fiscal year we are requesting roofing allocations be maintained at the same level this six million dollar request enables us to proactively address roof concerns ensuring our schools remain safe functional and supportive learning environments

[01:49:07] for years to come adopted a few years ago last year's two million dollar technology commitment in the capital improvement plan allowed us to continue our large-scale technology initiative equipping acps classrooms with innovative next generation display technologies particularly in those that were previously lacked them or had outdated systems over the past five years we've successfully added 2,876 new Promethean panels to classrooms in Henrico schools. At that transformational project nears completion, steady funding will permit us to continue replacing

[01:49:47] and enhancing our critical instructional technology infrastructure. Last year's CIP included essential funding for bus replacements. We have utilized CIP and ESSER funds over the past five years to purchase 318 new buses equipped with seat belts and climate control these investments have helped lower the average age of our bus fleet and reduce both fuel and repair costs additionally the improved driver workspaces in the new buses featuring climate control and technology upgrades will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of our transportation

[01:50:25] department from the slide you can see that we have added 40 alternative fuel buses to our fleet 20 new propane buses, and 20 electric buses that will be arriving soon. A small amount of the CIP funding has supported those large grant projects. Vehicle replacement funding in the CIP is essential to addressing the needs of HCPS's aging working vehicle fleet, which is separate from our buses. Currently, the average age of our 460 vehicles is 15 years old. Just as our need for

[01:51:00] reliable student transportation, maintaining a dependable fleet of ACPS vehicles is vital to supporting daily operations and ensuring continued service to our schools. In previous years, the CIP request was not approved, as the transportation line item historically included both buses and fleet vehicles. To improve clarity and record keeping, last year we established a separate $1.5 million CIP request dedicated solely to vehicle replacement. As we continue

[01:51:31] to review our fleet inventory it underscores the continued need for a replacement plan to continue addressing the aging playgrounds across our elementary schools the cfp includes a request for 1.6 million dollars when acps first began the playground replacement program the annual 1 million dollars covered replacements at four elementary schools at approximately 250 000 per school however due to inflation and rising material in an installation cost the same amount now covers

[01:52:07] only three schools, with each playground replacement averaging $305,000. An investment of $1.6 million would allow HCPS to replace playgrounds at five elementary schools each year, keeping the division on schedule with the established 12-year replacement cycle for all 46 elementary schools.

[01:52:28] As a reminder, per the DOE guidelines, each elementary school has two playgrounds, one One designed for students in grades K-2 and another for grades 3-5.

[01:52:43] For a comprehensive view of the funding and allocation requests, this chart shows each line item we just discussed and the total request is $33.1 million. This is an $8.1 million increase from the funds allocated through the CIP from FY26.

[01:53:04] this increase comes from a focus on addressing critical hvac needs along with the impacts of inflation this is an overview of the physical requests related to the upcoming physical years cip as a reminder we keep long-range planning in the mind and leverage third party a third party to assist us in prioritizing projects you can see that here again there's no funding being considered at this time for any of these projects and this concludes our my presentation we will be seeking

[01:53:42] the board's approval for our preliminary cip at the november monthly board meeting after that we will provide our proposal to the board of supervisors so it may be considered during their budget deliberations and once approved by the supervisors it will return to this board for your final approval and i would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to this board and the board of supervisors for your continued support and consideration of our cip requests and at this time I will be glad to answer any questions you may have thank you Mr. Pritchard and to reiterate what Mr. Pritchard said that as a reminder uh board we will um at a later meet take

[01:54:20] meeting take action on this year's CIP which would be um the spending items for FY 26 27. um the long range planning is is for kind of our information but it's not something that we take action on. Yeah. So Ms. Kinsella. Thank you so much for this presentation and I echo the sentiments of gratitude to my board colleagues Dr. Cashwell and our counterparts on the board of supervisors and the manager. I'm just going to start even though the capital plan is only one

[01:54:54] year in time. I'm going to start with the last slide. So let's go to slide 15. Last year this board was unanimous and its support for the Hermitage High School actually was moved in this plan right to current year and I realize there is not a current funding source but in this analysis are we not trying to identify potential projects for potentially the next bond referendum and then

[01:55:30] I'd like to highlight the the projects with one asterisk right have had independent assessments Yes, ma'am. Right? But Syntec and Moseley Architects, and they've looked at what?

[01:55:45] Like mechanical systems, layout flexibility, structural integrity. That's why these projects are here. Am I right? Yes, ma'am. So I would just like to thank my colleagues for understanding why projects are on this slide.

[01:56:08] That it's a lot of analysis has gone into it. Let me just say independent analysis. this. Would that be correct, Mr. Pritchard? Yes, ma'am. Thank you so much. And then I'd also like to highlight, we will have renovated or rebuilt all of our schools that were built prior to 1990 if we stay on track, right? Yes, ma'am. We'll do that by what? 2034, maybe? 32, 33 is the year that Gaten would come up. And then, you know, stretching it out over time of when construction

[01:56:44] will actually begin yes ma'am okay and then i would just like to um i'm glad to see hermitage high school on this list and it has been studied and it's there for a reason um as well as all of the other projects and the projects that are up to be studied um i'm very excited by the progress we've made um as a team and then i'm going to go to slide five just to highlight what happens um

[01:57:19] what are the what's the potential impact again mr pritchard to our schools students and staff when best practice process isn't followed with the cip deferred maintenance projects are not done what kinds of projects are those and those would be any kind anything from painting parking lot improvements bathroom improvements carpet improvements i mean just run-of-the-mill things that happen that we would do hopefully on a year-to-year basis across our 73 schools thank you for highlighting this um and then i'll just go back to slide 14 and just say thank you

[01:57:54] so much and um and thank the board of supervisors and uh and this entire team for um my golly can you imagine that we used to do mechanical and roofing two and a half million dollars a year for 24 years that that's all we invested and i can tell you how much i've heard in my district and I'm sure my colleagues might could speak the same as to mechanical which includes HVAC and their schools so thank you so much for putting together a 21 million dollar request

[01:58:31] versus two and a half million for roofing a mechanical the Brooklyn I mean my schools my students teachers in my buildings families everyone in the Brooklyn district honestly thanks you for this. That's all I have right now, Chair Shea.

[01:58:49] Thanks, Ms. Kinsella. Mr. Young? Thank you, Lenny, for the presentation. I know you probably don't like the word HVAC, but I'm going to use it a couple times here today. Can you just briefly, with the $15 million that we're looking at for mechanical now, can you just let us know exactly what this would do for us?

[01:59:10] As far as, I guess, HVAC issues, mechanical, preventative maintenance. Can you just elaborate a little bit more on you know i'm loving the 15 million i think you need more but can you at least let us know what this 15 million will accomplish first i'd like to go back and say thank you again for this board of the board of supervisors for the increase that we got this past year it does make a difference it makes a huge difference um the amount of repairs that you can make the the proactiveness of looking at your your systems and making the replacements that need to be replaced based off of age wear and tear and things like that that are going to happen so it has a lot um

[01:59:45] it has a lot of weight to make changes and make a difference within the schools and this is needed and this is necessary at this point and does this 15 million potentially cover purchasing some hvac units just to have in storage for when hvac units go bad that becomes very difficult um if you look there was a reason why and i'm glad you asked that question because these these pictures were strategically placed this year um it is very difficult if you go back to some of the mechanical slides please um all right so the the top picture is a compressor which is about three it could be

[02:00:25] anywhere between three and a half to four and a half feet tall weighs anywhere between six and 600 to 800 pounds um i would literally have a difficulty wrapping my hands around it um what you see at the bottom is a chiller this is this is a very common thing that everybody all of our board members and everybody gets to hear about is the chiller chiller chiller this is a chiller this would be very difficult to store they are also very difficult to get and when you look at our schools each school is different so when we when we do this we have to go out and seek another party to work with the design of creating a chiller that's going to maximize the

[02:01:03] airflow within the building but that would be very difficult to store i'm just being honest and if i might mr young getting back to i think your original question i do want to acknowledge susan moore is with us and uh she also loves the eight words hvac so and the the work the team has done in this and what would the 15 million do so they have already and and always do prioritize and you may want to add to this um susan but a list of proactive maintenance or ongoing maintenance if you will the kinds of things you already know you need to do to keep pace and then there are things

[02:01:39] THAT ARE UNEXPECTED REPAIRS AS MR. PRITCHET MENTIONED THAT HAPPENED THAT CAN CAUSE YOU TO NEED TO EXPEND FUNDS SO IF IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THIS 15 MILLION TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS THAT DO BOTH OF THOSE THINGS BUT PERHAPS YOU COULD PROVIDE SOME INSIGHT THERE.

[02:01:56] YES MA'AM AND THANK YOU. SUSAN I DON'T WANT TO INTERRUPT YOU BUT ALSO TELL US WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON'T GET THIS 15. I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL AS WELL. So the 15 million would go towards significant mechanical replacements, cooling towers, chillers, aging chillers. Chillers is a bad word these days as well. It would also cover rooftop units. Rooftop units can range anywhere from a $7,500 to $10,000 replacement all the way up to

[02:02:31] tens of thousands, 50, $60,000. Your chillers and cooling towers are going to cost us anywhere between $400,000 to $600,000 a unit to replace. We would also cover some of our smaller indoor equipment, water source heat pumps, various pumps that send the chilled water through the building or the hot water through the building. So there's a lot of components that this $15 million will go towards in keeping our hva systems healthy and functional without the money we start having

[02:03:08] breakdowns that become very difficult for us to replace due to funding thank you for that um and and i just wanted people who was listening to kind of you know get a chance to hear from you all because we hear it all the time why can't we just snap our fingers and it's a process to this and it's money that's allocated for these projects so i'm i'm excited about this um lenny thank you you so much, Susan, as well. Speaking of strategically placed photos, we can go to slide 12. Tiffany, I see that van up there, Lenny, as well. That $1.5 million, is that going to cover some of our

[02:03:44] driver ed vehicles with this new? Yes, it would. It would. And the age of our driver's ed vehicles are, do we know that? They're included in this figure of the non-bus fleet, so you can see the age of this fleet. Yes. Okay. So it's included the driver's aid vehicles included in it. I believe so. Awesome. And then, um, I think I have one more question. Um, do we know how many middle schools we have in RICO? Middle schools? 12. 12. Um, out of those 12, it's only two schools that don't have an auditorium, Brooklyn Middle School, Fairfield Middle School.

[02:04:22] I would, uh, love to see a plan, um, presented at some point in time on how we can take care of the needs, um, of those students that go to Brooklyn and go to Fairfield. And with I yield back to you, Madam Chair. Thank you so much. Ms. Atkins?

[02:04:38] Yeah, I'm going to echo the same sentiments to your team for all that you do to my colleagues as well as the Board of Supervisors. I also appreciate the discussion on HVAC. I also wonder if 15 million is enough, and not for a response, but I just want to say is it enough?

[02:05:00] I'm not saying we're going to be able to achieve getting more, but I also think that it's important that if it's not enough, to state that so that we are aware. I also have a question around, do we know if, well, has environmental impacts or hazard assessments been done in the past year or so, and how do those shape our CIP priorities?

[02:05:28] with equipment the environment can impact how well run the equipment is not talking about normal weather but there are environmental factors that may impact the equipment itself and I'm wondering how we've done assessments on how the environment in different districts impact equipment so we work with our engineers our annual contract engineers to design just about all of our replacements and And part of that design takes into account the environmental factors, the SEER ratings on the units,

[02:06:05] their efficiency, how well they work. Are we looking at electric? Are we looking at gas? A good example of that would be generators. Many times we do like to have gas power on our generators because if we lose electrical power in the building, the generators can run without having be refueled very quickly with a diesel or gas engine and of course the electric is not a possibility with the generators but with all of our mechanical equipment we do look at what are

[02:06:44] those best approaches and we designed to a lead silver minimum standard and as you know with our high schools as well as our elementary school we achieved LEED gold so part of that LEED rating is to look at those environmental factors carbon footprint as well as what kind of fuels we are using to power equipment do we have an understanding of what it will take to get our middle schools with that same type of approach for certification as we continue to renovate buildings we have

[02:07:19] actually started working with the lead process in renovations which was not something we had done previously so that lead process does help us look at the environmental standards we would look at our middle schools under the renovation in order to take a full and holistic report approach on that process with our mechanical equipment replacements we do it in situ of the mechanical equipment but we do look at those efficiency ratings and how well the equipment can perform

[02:07:57] individually holistically that would be part of a renovation hopefully I've answered your question I think you've tapped into it it's an interesting discussion because different buildings that same equipment can function different in different buildings depending upon the environment that they are sitting in and so environmental factors can impact or may impact performance and that's leading me to another question so when I think about power outages or unfortunate recent water issues I'm wondering do we

[02:08:33] take into consideration what equipment funding or plans in place so that it can minimize closing our schools we we always look at what our best options are we look at where we can include redundancies in our designs in order to minimize effects the compressor that lenny showed you some of our units have as many as four or six compressors on them and that is so that they can continue to run if they lose one to two compressors sometimes even more i have seen that as well

[02:09:09] so as we continue to design and work with the engineers on these systems the redundancies are what really help us be preventative in emergency situations and not having to close school systems in the process and sometimes we have to close schools it's the right thing to do for safety reasons however i do wonder you know how do we approach being futuristic when it comes we know power outages are going to happen we hope that there's not a water main break but it does happen

[02:09:44] and if our approach is looking at our equipment and how do we keep our buildings open i'd love to learn more and you did tap into it so i want to give you kudos to that but i do know it takes a lot more discussion to really talk about that particular topic also i want to ask now this is specifically for um marina high school but any outdoor campuses when we have weathering such as rain or snow sometimes rain guards are just not working i wonder if we've done an assessment on

[02:10:18] rain guards for our outdoor campuses rain guards in the sense so when it is raining is it that may not be the right word or to describe what i'm talking about but when it rains i'm going to say it falls in the gutters and sometimes the rain just are falling on kids so i've seen that and that could be when i saw it there was a tremendous amount of rain but it leads me to the question of how often are we assessing them and secondly do we feel like that needs to be a part of this plan

[02:10:54] for replacement or repair does that make sense i hope it does yes and we can certainly look uh take a harder look at what options we have for environmental protection or weather protection is probably a better term in our campus style schools the issues that we battle are durability of products how well they can withstand and that's from both a weather standpoint as well as a user standpoint particularly at our high school sometimes our kids love to test their vertical

[02:11:34] jump ability on some of the things that hang about our uh school campuses i see a few not so i think i i'm you all know what i'm talking about um but definitely something we can look at i can tell you lee davis high school did not used to be an enclosed campus style school they actually enclosed that down the road if you remember that becomes very problematic with the layout of the campus style schools as well as the mechanical systems but it's certainly something we can look at but

[02:12:06] we would look at that in relation to is it more efficient and economical to just rebuild the school than to try and take a campus style school and turn it into a non-campus style school i'm very interested in that um i'm so glad you said that it tees up a couple other things that that I'll address at another time, but I do want to see the results of the assessment, understanding what the costs are and how much time it takes to repair, replace, or if it is as significant as what I'm thinking, it may entertain a whole different type of conversation.

[02:12:44] So I am interested in that feedback. And I don't know, colleagues, if any of you have, I know you have some outdoor campuses, but have you experienced that? and is it isolated just to Marina High School, that particular outdoor campus?

[02:13:00] - I can tell you from my experience, certainly, and what students and staff report, the awning design, the covered walkways, all are a little bit different at the different open campuses.

[02:13:16] And certainly, anything related to leaks, repairs, I know our team is attending to on a regular basis and the upkeep of those generally, but for any, I don't know structurally if they're all, I'm sure they're all different in age.

[02:13:33] They may be different in material type and all of those things. So it would be hard to generalize an answer, but I think that's something we can certainly provide you some additional information on. - Thank you. - If I may add, oh, I'm sorry. - Oh, sure, go ahead. - I was gonna say, it's pretty much across the boards that you're gonna run into that.

[02:13:49] It also depends on how the school is oriented. some areas of the school are going to get different situations based on prevailing winds and what those winds are doing with the rain. I can tell you I'm a product of Chamberlain Elementary, Brooklyn Middle, and Henrico High School, and I experienced having to battle the weather in all three of those campus style facilities. I will tell you I wouldn't trade the experience i loved going to campus style schools um but it really is it's a pretty common

[02:14:23] situation among all of our campus schools just depends on the location i just want to make sure no one else had any other comments did you have comments i didn't really have yeah i guess i will have a comment um i know henrico experiences the same thing as varana because it's the stack system where the water drips down in the middle of each stack as you go down the walkway i too am a product OF OUTDOOR CAMPUSES. SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT MS. ATKINS IS ALLUDING TO IS MAYBE THAT DOES NEED TO BE LOOKED INTO SLIGHTLY, RIGHT? I MEAN, I CAN'T PUT IT ON HER PRIORITY LIST, BUT I KNOW STUDENTS ARE GETTING WET, SNOWED ON, RAINED ON THROUGHOUT THE DAY AS THEY TRANSITIONED FROM

[02:15:00] CLASSES. DUE TO HOW IT'S STACKED. I DON'T THINK CHAMBERLAND AND BROOKLYN HAVE THE SAME ISSUE. I THINK I FEEL LIKE IT'S A DIFFERENT DESIGN THERE, BUT I DO THINK THAT ALICIA IS ON TO SOMETHING WHEN IT COMES TO THAT. WE'LL BE GLAD TO TAKE A WALK. And Alicia, can I take, can I take another second? You can.

[02:15:16] Because while we're on the outdoor campuses and it dawned on me with the new, I think I spoke about this last time, we are doing our checks, security checks outside. So our staff is now getting wet outside. They're freezing outside in the winter. If there is something we can do to, you know, help them out a little bit, because they're not an indoor campus.

[02:15:35] Everybody else gets to kind of run their system indoors, out of the elements, whereas our outdoor campuses, which Chamberlain and RICO and Brooklyn, Fairfield Middle School, I have lot of my district, they're asking for some sort of heaters or something that we can provide on and maybe that they aren't getting rained on and in the elements as well. So that's something that we can include somewhere in here. Thank you. But if it's something that we need to look at outside of the CIP, I just wanted to bring that up while it was on my mind. Thank you.

[02:16:02] I'll work with Mr. Consuller to see what we can do in the meantime, what's in the budget, what we can do to help those staff members there at those campus-style schools. and then i just have two more one is a question one is just a statement probably for discussion at another time but i would like to better understand air quality monitors for specific schools in the verina district specifically because of environmental factors and potential construction the question that i have and this is the last one is do we expect any other

[02:16:38] anticipated increases for davis long and quiakason and the living building as inflation may continue to rise i am wondering are we thinking that we need a buffer for those projects we have in place right now or no we have a small buffer a four million dollar buffer that dr cashwell worked with the board of supervisors to prepare that is in our cip planning um and we certainly are keeping a close watch on this those schools long and davis both encountered some bad dirt as we like to call

[02:17:17] it in facilities that had to be taken out and replaced with good dirt who knew good dirt bad dirt but that is something we do run into on these projects as we continue to monitor the projects and see where we are with various components that we know can could contribute to a possible unknown We keep a close watch on that.

[02:17:40] I think right now we're doing pretty good on where with our contingencies that we had built into those projects. That's why those construction contingencies are very important to our projects. So right now I'm going to cross my fingers and I'm going to say that I think we're in pretty good shape, but we will continue to watch that process as our construction continues and gets closer to the building being fully enclosed.

[02:18:09] Site work is where a big portion of those unknowns can happen. And once you get past that and get the building enclosed, you don't generally run into those more major impacting unknown conditions. So again, we'll continue to watch that all three of the projects, living building as well, and knowing we have a little bit of that money in reserve.

[02:18:33] One thing we also do is money that we have not spent on did not need to spend is probably a better way for me to say that on our meals tax project that money goes back into our reserve account for potential reuse on other capital projects we work with the county budget department to address any of that addition not additional but money that was unspent in those projects as well how much money is that i will have to get that number for you i can't tell you that number off the top of my head and that number is in addition to the four million and

[02:19:10] yes ma'am in the buffer yes ma'am at what point if you have to dip into one or the other what comes first is it the meals tax or is it the money that's buffered the four million um we would look to that reserve that four million dollar reserve account to begin with um the meals tax is a very fluid process as we continue to finish projects close them out that's when we'll start to pull money out of what remaining money out of those accounts so for these big major projects we have going on

[02:19:48] right now I would say we would look to our four million dollar reserve account first and then look to our what might be remaining in our meals tax meals tax accounts thank you for that if you get close to tapping into that 4 million i think that myself and board would want to know you know how we're doing and better understand when to tap into the 4 million and when to tap into that meal tax which is a much more difficult process i believe if i'm accurate i just think that you

[02:20:25] know us getting notification when you get close to that mark is going to be key and also you know when you have an opportunity to share what that dollar amount is is also important. Thank you again. Chair Shea, that's all I have. Thank you so much. Looking at this year's CIP, I wholeheartedly support the increase to $15 million. I think it's much needed.

[02:20:50] Not only was it smaller than it needed to be for many decades, so that has deferred issues. covid had a significant impact on our hvac systems we needed to get the kids back in the building we did it was the right thing to do but continuing to flush the systems and put higher filters in has wear and tear on our systems and we're we're seeing that on the back end we're paying that price on the back end and we need to be able to support it with funding in order to not only do repairs but hopefully be able to get proactively ahead of things so 15 million you

[02:21:25] need 15 million to me sounds great uh simple simple as that I think um it's a it's a critical issue um for our school division um I do want to look a little bit at the long-range planning um I know quite a few years ago we had this um and it would be helpful maybe when we do the next iteration um with the CIP uh just to have a list um a chart of all 74 of our buildings as to the school when they were built and when they were renovated i think it's helpful for us as board members and the public to see what has been done and when and what hasn't been done i think reality

[02:22:03] and perception don't always align there and so having that all in one place a handful of years ago maybe five or so years ago we had that and i think an updated um spreadsheet of that would be super helpful. And then colleagues, I would like to ask, not in terms of currently bumping anything on the long-range plan, but looking at adding to the capital facility study, I would like to ask that Freeman be part of the capital facility study that is coming up. I can do a hard sell

[02:22:39] with lots of reasons, if you would like me to, or y'all can just say that sounds great, Ms. Shea. But, you know, Freeman was built in 1954, and yes, it did have work done on it in 2009 as part of the 2000 bond. That was a $26 million renovation for the entire school. As inflation increased, the scope did not make it across the entire school by the time it was completed. When we We talked in the spring with our, with our counterparts of the board of supervisors brought

[02:23:15] this up and they were pushing for it to be the next school. Our county manager who had been in the budget office at the time mentioned it really was a maintenance project that $26 million. And again, so I was fortunate to be teaching at Freeman during the time and saw that the scope of the project really, it didn't make it to all parts of the building.

[02:23:36] And so I'm not asking that Freeman make it currently on the long range plan or bump any other buildings. I'm asking that it be part of the independent study, as Ms. Kinsella brought up, by a third party so they really can be evaluated amongst the other buildings to, you know, see where it falls in terms of priorities and what needs to be done to make sure we have safe, adequate, healthy learning environments for our students.

[02:24:05] would you be amenable to considering it for the study? - For me, I would need additional information. What time period are you thinking? Because we would love to have many have this independent study, but we have a priority and we also have a process.

[02:24:28] And I want to better understand what timeframe were you thinking? - I agree with what Ms. Atkins just said. unless the team is aware of, or has the building, has Freeman been studied prior?

[02:24:52] Is there a prior study on which to rely? Or are we aware of any safety factors at Freeman? - There aren't any factors that would cause us to study. It has not recently been studied because you can see we were going by schools that have yet to be renovated and needed our attention.

[02:25:13] And then, you know, certainly as you can see, the way the priority list is played out is not certainly just by age, but by overall condition, as you mentioned. And this batch of schools that has yet to be studied was identified for the next round.

[02:25:28] You know, certainly there are a number of schools that have not been studied beyond that because they would have been more recently renovated. - And we just started doing those studies as part of the 2016, the latter part of the 2016 bond referendum.

[02:25:45] newer addition to kind of help and it's a difficult process as you're all pointing out there are schools that have needs and we have a large number of facilities and you know you can't just line them up by age of facility and say this is the order we're going to go in there are lots of other factors to be considered so that was really the beginning of looking at that and certainly the team prioritized them based on generally age and whether or not they'd had any renovations it certainly wouldn't preclude us from adding something to the study if that was IT WAS THE WILL OF THE BOARD, BUT THAT'S HOW WE ARRIVED HERE.

[02:26:17] GREAT. WELL, COLLEAGUES, I'D LOVE TO CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION IN THE COMING WEEKS AS WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THE CIP. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

[02:26:33] THAT CONCLUDES ITEMS FROM ME. THANK YOU, DR. CASHWELL. ALL RIGHT. THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS UNFINISHED BUSINESS. COLLEAGUES, I HAVE ONE UNFINISHED BUSINESS ITEM, LOOPING BACK TO OUR ONGOING DISCUSSION ABOUT BOUNDARIES.

[02:26:50] I've been digging into the membership numbers that we got at the LACS work session, as well as the impacts of the, of our adjustments to proposals. I'd like us to consider Section 2, which was formerly Section 3 of the middle school map. It's the piece that would move from Kwiatkason Middle School to Pocahontas Middle School.

[02:27:08] It's the same community as Section 3 on the Tucker map that is proposed to move from Tucker to Godwin High School. It's the crossings at Short Pump and the trails at Short Pump. SECTION CURRENTLY GOES FROM COLONIAL TRAIL TO COYOCASON TO TUCKER. AS I LOOK AT THE OTHER CHANGES IN THE PROPOSALS AND FALL MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS, IT WOULD BE MOVING SECTIONS FOR SECONDARY FROM LOWER TO HIGHER CAPACITY, WHICH GIVES ME PAUSE. IT IS A WONKY FEEDER PATTERN. IT IS

[02:27:41] KIND OF ISOLATED FROM THE REST OF THE COLONIAL TRAIL COMMUNITY BY A LOT OF THE SHOPPING AREA. I think perhaps in a future boundaries discussion, we could perhaps better resolve that feeder pattern looking at elementary pieces.

[02:28:02] And so whenever we tackle that, which is not right now, I think that could be a more sustainable solution for that community and a more sustainable solution in terms of capacities of those schools. So I would suggest removing section two, formerly section three of the middle school map and section three from the Tucker map.

[02:28:28] Any questions or concerns with that? I have a question just because I don't have it in front of me. How many students are we talking about that would not be leaving Tucker now if you pull this middle school scenario?

[02:28:47] Great question. me pull that up right this moment. I believe it's around 49 off the top of my head, but I want to confirm that. Give me just a moment. Other questions while I pull that up?

[02:29:09] Mrs. Shea, I believe that number is 29. 29. Thank you. All right. So 29. That's all I have right now. Mrs. Shea, I would want to see this collectively.

[02:29:41] - Okay. - So if you could provide what you're requesting in an updated map or concise, something that I could visually look at, that would be helpful. The other thing is I'd like to know when you speak to future time, did you have something in mind already?

[02:29:59] Or are you speaking future time for whenever the boundary discussion come up again? - The latter there. I don't have a specific time. I just, I wanna be respectful of our December 18th date. I think that's really important for our secondary students for them to have a decision then.

[02:30:19] And I wouldn't want to make any change, additional changes to add consideration, additional consideration in, in this short timeline before then. So that's why I was saying, if we removed it until whenever in the future, elementary school boundaries were considered.

[02:30:40] Thank you. I just want to make sure that we are clear with the public on what we're requesting and what future really means. So I appreciate that. All right. So do I hear not to remove it at this time? I'm not inclined without additional information and maps to Ms. Atkins point.

[02:31:00] Right. I agree. All right. That's fine. Mr. Young. I would support the removal, but I would like to see the maps as well before WE MOVE FORWARD WITH IT, WHICH I THINK I SAW, BUT WHILE WE'RE UP HERE, I NEEDED A LITTLE FRESH RUNNER.

[02:31:17] POTENTIALLY, BRING IT BACK FOR THE NIGHTLY MEETING. SOUNDS GOOD. ANY NEW BUSINESS? ALL RIGHT. HEARING NONE. THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BEGIN IN ABOUT 30 MINUTES AT 6:30. RIGHT HERE.

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