Coraggio Consulting Loudoun County School Board, 4th Tuesday School Board Mtg & Public Hearing on Lansdowne Blvd Elementary School Attendance Zone, Tuesday, May 28, 2024 Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2024 Place: Loudoun County Public Schools / School Board meeting (see BoardDocs / LCPS-TV) Length: 5h 20m (video) Official meeting video (Vimeo / LCPS-TV): https://player.vimeo.com/video/951218551?rel=0 BoardDocs (School Board): https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/loudoun/Board.nsf/Public 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 2026-10-19. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [00:00:00] And I will start. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employee. [00:00:21] Specifically, as a school board member, I'm eligible to receive health insurance and related business benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees, well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. [00:00:39] I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Ms. Chandler. Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and/or health insurance and related benefits and other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. [00:01:08] Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected of which i am included i can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest this disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years thank you thank you ms chandler mrs griffiths thank you madam chair as a member of the loudon county school board i make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or [00:01:46] health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically a school board member as a school board member I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits however affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may not be affected of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly and objectively and in the public's interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you. [00:02:21] Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. Vice Chair Streffi. Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. [00:02:39] Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest. [00:02:56] This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Vice Chair Streffi. And I think that will conclude our disclosures when Ms. Donahue, Ms. LaBelle, and Ms. Chernoff come attend. [00:03:13] We will have them do their disclosures. We will be moving on to Agenda Item 3, Approval of the Consent Agenda. Board members, are there any changes to be made to the consent agenda? Seeing none, before we vote, there are two proclamations to be read. [00:03:32] The first proclamation, Caribbean American Heritage Month, will be read by Dr. Rasheed. Dr. Rasheed? Thank you, Madam Chair. This is for proclaiming the celebration of Caribbean American Heritage Month, June 2024, whereas in June 2006, President George W. [00:03:46] Bush made a presidential proclamation that June would be designated Caribbean American Heritage Month, and whereas the Caribbean diaspora is vast, encompassing numerous ethnicities, languages, and cultures that have given shape to the quintessential idea of the American dream, and whereas the composition of cultures, languages, and religions across the United States and Caribbean islands highlights our shared racial diversity and history that connects all to the ideals of liberty and equality. [00:04:25] Whereas today, more than 8 million Caribbean immigrants live in the US, and whereas we acknowledge and highlight the many achievements and sacrifices made by Caribbean Americans and celebrate their cultural and historic legacy. And whereas Caribbean immigrants of all racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, have contributed to every aspect of our society, including the arts, business, sports, politics, military, science, and other parts of American society. And whereas Loudoun County Public Schools has a commitment to equity where all members of the community are [00:05:02] afforded a safe, supportive, inclusive, affirming, and respectful environment. And whereas our school division is stronger when we reflect and respect the full diversity of our school community that enables 97.6 percent of all students in Loudoun County Public Schools to graduate in 2023 and whereas Loudoun County Public Schools has always recognized that one of our strengths lies within our diversity and inclusive practices. Be it further resolved that the Loudoun County School Board strongly encourages our staff and community to observe, recognize, and celebrate the culture [00:05:40] heritage and contributions of caribbean americans to our country the commonwealth of virginia our diverse county and our schools during caribbean american heritage month and throughout the school year in witness whereof the loudon county school board issues this proclamation to honor and recognize the contributions of caribbean americans the aforementioned impact is evidenced both nationally and globally now therefore we the loudon county school board do hereby recognize June 1st through June 30th of 2024 to be Caribbean American Heritage Month in Loudoun County Public [00:06:15] Schools. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Rasheed. And I'll read the next proclamation celebrating June as Pride Month in Loudoun County Public Schools. Whereas in June 1969, a courageous group of Americans protested the mistreatment and marginalization they faced, which later became known as the Stonewall Uprising, and whereas a civil rights movement ensued which called for awareness and information for members of the LGBTQI plus community to live authentically, [00:06:48] and whereas members of the LGBTQI plus community have the right to the assurances of equality, freedom, and open expression, and whereas Loudoun County Public Schools has a commitment to equity where all members of the community are afforded a safe, supportive, inclusive, affirming, and respectful environment, and whereas Loudoun County Public Schools rejects and condemns the use of hate speech and any action that discriminates based on race, ethnicity, national origin, socioeconomic status, [00:07:25] religion, ability, gender identity, sexual orientation, gender expression, or other cultural identities or expression. Such non-inclusive speech, behavior, and actions do not reflect who we are as a learning community. And whereas we acknowledge and highlight the many achievements and profound contributions made by members of the LGBTQI plus community to the economic, cultural, educational, and political development of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the entire United [00:08:00] States, and whereas our school division is stronger when we reflect and respect the full diversity of our school community that enables 97.6 percent of all students in Loudoun County public schools to graduate in 2023, and whereas the school division continues to collaborate and partner with various community-based individuals and organizations to further its efforts of forming strong relationships in a culturally sensitive, responsive, and appropriate way. [00:08:32] And whereas during Pride Month, we focus on the critical role of social-emotional education in the lives of all students so that empathy and critical thinking skills allow for the support of all students to feel valued as they learn in safe spaces. [00:08:49] And be it further resolved that the Loudoun County School Board strongly encourages our staff and community to observe recognize and celebrate the culture heritage and contributions of the lgbtqi plus community to our country the commonwealth of virginia our beautifully diverse county and our schools during pride month and throughout the year in witness thereof whereof the loudon county school board issues this proclamation to honor and recognize the contributions of members of the lgbtqi plus community the aforementioned impact is evidenced both nationally [00:09:27] and globally now therefore we the loudon county school board dear to hereby recognize june 1st through june 30th 2024 to be pride month in loudon county public schools i will now entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda yes miss donahue thank you madam chair i move to approve the consent agenda. We have a motion by Ms. Donahue to approve the consent agenda. Is there a second? [00:09:57] Second. I'll second that motion. We have a second by Ms. Chandler. It's been properly moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda. At this time, we'll take an electronic vote. Clerk, would you please open the vote? Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote? That motion passes. With six yes, Mrs. Griffiths abstaining and Lauren Chernoff [00:10:31] and Ms. LaBelle absent for the vote. Yes, ma'am. Before you move on, I just wanted to thank Dr. Leticia Ellis-Williams and cabinet members for helping to put the proclamations together. Thank you. Ms. Donahue, would you like to read your disclosure, please? [00:10:54] Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding employee salaries, the budget, and or health insurance, and any other discussion that may include or affect salary and benefits for LCPS employees. [00:11:12] Specifically, my spouse, my minor children, and I are enrolled in LCPS health insurance that may be affected by any potential changes to employee salaries, the budget, and or health insurance. Additionally, my sister-in-law is an LCPS employee who does not reside with me and is not dependent on me. [00:11:28] These subjects include thousands of employees, well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may be affected, of which my spouse, my minor children, my sister-in-law, and I am included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. [00:11:44] This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Ms. Donahue. You want to go ahead and do your disclosure? Please, Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Madam Chair. [00:12:05] As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. [00:12:26] These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. [00:12:43] Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. Okay, we will move on to item 4.01, starting with our work sessions with Department of Communications and Community Engagement, NSPRA Communications Audit, and with Ms. Natalie Allen, Chief Communications and Communication Engagement Officer. [00:13:10] Good afternoon, Chair Mansfield, Vice Chair Estreffi, members of the board, and Dr. Spence. I am happy to welcome Naomi Hunter of the National School Public Relations Association to present the findings of our communications audit. She is the INSPRA Communications Surveys Manager and was the lead auditor for LCPS. [00:13:31] Naomi, thank you for being here. Thank you so much, Natalie, Dr. Spence, and the board. It's a pleasure to be here. It's been a pleasure working on the communications audit for your division. First, I want to tell you just what we're going to do tonight. You all have a copy of the report, so this is going to be a high-level presentation. [00:13:48] We'll summarize the points, and then I'll take questions at the end. I'm going to give you the overall goal of an audit, what the audit process involved. We'll review top-line key findings, including the strengths and opportunities for your division, and I'll also just highlight some of the recommendations and action steps that we are recommending and considerations for the division as you begin to implement. [00:14:19] So I was the lead auditor, as Natalie said. However, there was a whole team behind me, and I just want to take a minute and give them credit, especially my co-auditor, Steve Mulvannon, who was here with me in December and co-wrote the report with me. [00:14:40] We also had two audit assistants who came and were participating in all the focus groups, listening, taking notes. And then we have an editing team back at the office, including Susan Downing and Melissa Bram, who is the associate director of the National School of Public Relations Association. [00:15:01] The goal of the audit was threefold. One, we wanted to seek data, opinion, and perceptions and assess the effectiveness and management of public relations and marketing in your district. [00:15:19] We also provide customized recommendations on strategies and best practices to help you go to the next level in your communication. One thing I always like to say when I'm presenting an audit to a board is that this audit really represents a snapshot in time. [00:15:37] It's going to somewhat reflect whatever was going on in the division at the time that we did the focus groups and the survey. But we also have found over years of doing many, many of these audits that whatever conditions were present at that time, the audit does reflect a general, it's going to give you a really good general read of the situation in relation to communication in your division. [00:16:01] We start the audit process with a review of your materials, and I will compliment Natalie and Joan and the team for providing us with a really comprehensive set of materials. [00:16:18] We look at your publications, your policies, campaigns you've done, media coverage. Then we do the scope survey, which I'll talk about in the next slide. And then we come in and do the focus groups. So by the time we get here, we already know quite a lot about the division. [00:16:36] And in this particular case, we really had a lot of material to work with. We conducted what we call the SCOPE Survey, which is the School Communications Performance Evaluation. [00:16:52] It was conducted from November 28th to December 15th of 2023. We set goals when we do a SCOPE Survey. We set target goals that we know tell us that the survey is going to be reliable. [00:17:09] And the goal is to get a margin of error of 5%. And that is all calculated based on formulas. And I want you to know that LCPS had the lowest margin of error, the highest participation of any scope survey I've conducted. [00:17:28] And I've conducted 35 of them in the last year and a half. So rest assured that you had really very high participation and the results are reliable. We conducted, I believe it was 20 focus groups and interviews during the week that we were here. [00:17:51] We talked to parents, we talked to students, we talked to teachers, department leaders, professional staff. We went to your transportation department and interviewed your transportation team, as well as doing interviews with Dr. Spence, with Natalie, with Joan, and with several of you on the board. [00:18:10] And those were really helpful in providing qualitative information. So whereas the scope survey provides us with the quantitative data, the focus groups help us to dig deep and probe and see what might be behind some of the numbers. [00:18:28] I will not be going over every finding. As I said, you do have an extensive report, but I do want to highlight just a couple of them. We always ask overall perception of a division or district when we're doing the scope survey and part of the reason for this is to get a read on it relates to branding and marketing what is the perception out there in the community of your division and lcps was just about at the national average pretty close 60 of parents and employees rate the division as excellent or above [00:19:03] average but i do want to point out that when compared to a set of large districts of 50 000 Students enrolled or more you actually exceeded the national average on this measure and then an overall satisfaction with communication 50% of your parents and 40% of employees rated satisfaction with communication as excellent or above average and again You were pretty close to the national average and at the national average for a subset of large school districts [00:19:36] Some of the key findings and I really I'm going to skate over highlights here there's much more detail in the report, but you are very fortunate to have a highly competent communications staff. We were very impressed in the interviews we did at the professional backgrounds, expertise of the staff. When I talked to several of you on the board, it was evident to me that you strongly value communication. I really appreciate that. And the same with Dr. Spence. We had an in-depth conversation with him about the importance [00:20:16] of communication. We consider that a strength when leadership is willing to invest in an audit like this. And we know that you're committed to transparency and trust. One thing I definitely want to point out here is even when we were here in December, we could see that changes were already underway. [00:20:36] And as I've spoken with Natalie over the last few months, I know that some of the things that are in this report are already in motion, and that is a strength. And last I'll just say that you have so much to work with. We heard a prevailing theme throughout the audit of people wanting to hear more good news stories. [00:20:54] And the great thing is you have a lot of good stories to tell. So we consider that a strength. As far as areas of challenge, because of your location near Washington, D.C., you do get heightened media attention. [00:21:11] We noted with some focus groups and in the scope data a perceived lack of transparency. And some of that we believe comes from the rapid growth of the division from being a relatively smaller division 20 or 30 years ago to the size that you are today and things haven't necessarily kept up and that sometimes gets in the way of releasing information in the most effective way. [00:21:35] We also noted that there's a lot of amazing family engagement efforts going on throughout the division but they're not centralized. So one group might be doing one thing, another group might be doing another thing. We found also internally some lack of clarity around communicating messages, not so much from the communications office out but, you know, from department to department. [00:22:00] And so when we go through the recommendations, I'll talk about some of our recommendations for that. And the last area of challenge that I'll highlight is just that the community at large doesn't necessarily have all the information they need to know the great things going on. [00:22:16] And one thing we learned is that your division has a higher than normal percentage of employees, community members who are affiliated, either because their children are enrolled or they work here. But still, there is a group out there that is more disconnected. [00:22:38] Just some top-level observations before I dive into our recommendations. The high-profile media coverage, as we listened to employees and even parents talk, it seems to have created, it's eroded trust and confidence out in the community, but it's also created a bit of an atmosphere of caution among staff, among people being fearful that something they say might be misinterpreted, and we'll talk about that as we go in, and also just fear of violating privacy and where are those lines. [00:23:16] There are many social and cultural divides right now that are amplifying some of this and that, I want to be clear, is not just LCPS. This is, I think, the eighth audit I've conducted in the last two years and in every single one this has come up. [00:23:33] So it's not only you but it is something that's affecting you. As I alluded to in the last slide, we do see opportunities for the infrastructure to change and adapt to the current size of your division. And we also note that as the division has grown, that has widened the array of perspectives and points of view, and that is both a challenge and an opportunity. [00:23:59] You do have that opportunity to listen and bring in new ideas and innovation. And last and most importantly, we really noted that you are at a turning point in your communication efforts. And that's something that we also heard over and over again in the focus groups. [00:24:16] Many people noted with the new board, new superintendent, there's really an opportunity to take things to the next level. I'm going to devote one slide to each of these recommendations. And I won't talk in great detail on each slide. [00:24:33] I'm going to highlight one or two things that I think would be important for you to know because I want to make sure that I leave some time at the end for your questions. One is to expand the current strategic communications plan into a more comprehensive plan. [00:24:52] This is something that would have been difficult to do prior to having the results of the Scope Survey. We were very impressed that your team has a detailed plan with many tactics already spelled out. So they're ahead of many districts that you are ahead of many divisions that we audit. [00:25:15] But what we are recommending now is to take that existing plan and compare it against the findings of the audit and make it more strategic so that it can support your overall division goals. [00:25:34] Recommendation two. I will also just say, as I said, I'm not going to talk about every point, but in the report we do put in a lot of links to work being done by other districts and divisions around the country that have tackled similar things. [00:25:50] So there's a whole wealth of resources for Natalie and the team to draw on. As I mentioned just a minute ago, many people said to us, we have an opportunity to rebuild trust and confidence after a difficult time. [00:26:07] And we believe that's true. And so our recommendation here is we really laud Dr. Spence for doing that extensive listening tour throughout the school year. I know that's a big investment of time for a superintendent. and we encourage continuing that in whatever way works. [00:26:25] You know, maybe it's doing some things off-site at a public setting or doing some virtual engagement opportunities, but keep that up because we think it's going to make a big difference. We're also recommending forming a community trust-building committee, and Natalie and I were chatting about this just the other day, and that's something you can use your existing committees to leverage, your superintendent advisory groups and Natalie will be working with you as a board to determine the best way to do this but the idea of that group is to help you understand how things are being perceived out in the community so that [00:27:04] there's not there aren't things that are being talked about that you're not aware of it's just a way to keep a pulse on the community another point that I I want to make, that's actually not in the slide here, but it's often missed that trust and confidence are really closely connected to student performance, and the reason I want to highlight that a little bit is when you have the trust of your community, which is going to happen through the tactics that are recommended here, you're going to get more [00:27:42] support for those strategies and things that you want to do to help students and not be distracted by things that are outside of a focus on students and academics so I just wanted to make sure that I made that connection for you recommendation three is to improve the communication infrastructure I will say it's important to me to say that everybody here was already aware of the need to do that so it's not like when I came back and said that to Natalie or Dr. Spence that they were surprised but what I hope that our report does is provide some practical [00:28:22] tangible ways for that to happen. And a lot of it is just around clarifying roles, making sure that you're following the same processes, and also streamlining the number of tools. It seemed to us that there was confusion around that. [00:28:38] And so there are some specific ideas for doing some streamlining. Recommendation four is to combat misinformation and disinformation. Well that's a really big one and it's really hard to do. [00:28:54] But our recommendation is that you have a very deliberate effort to monitor emerging issues and we have some ideas in the report for how that might occur. To make sure that any time the Board is considering something that might be a hot button or might be misunderstood that there's always fact sheets that help frame that conversation and make sure that people have accurate information. [00:29:20] And education to the community so that your stakeholders understand that sometimes information gets out that's not true. And sometimes merely telling someone that facts that are released by non-district sources might be true. [00:29:36] It may just be a mistake, but when people know, then they're more careful and more considered about what they believe. [00:29:55] Recommendation five has to do with a more proactive media relations plan. One thing that you may not be aware of is that media is a higher valued source in LCPS than in most of the other divisions or districts that I have audited. [00:30:17] In fact, in the report I include a data point on that, that 32% of your stakeholders use local media as a source to learn about your district. But I would say of the last five districts that I audited prior to LCPS, that ranged from 13 to 22 percent. [00:30:37] So it's more important here than in other school systems for you to ensure that you're really in close contact with the media and providing them with a steady stream of information. One of the things that we're recommending is media relations training and that is primarily to build confidence because there's a real link between hesitancy. [00:31:01] Sometimes hesitancy can get in the way of transparency. So we know that you all want to tell the truth and get it out there. And we are recommending that everybody has some practice and some training so they can do that with confidence. Oops, sorry. [00:31:29] Recommendation six is strengthening the two-way communications culture. I talked a little bit earlier about family engagement and the decentralized nature of what we saw here. And that's the main thing that I want to emphasize in this slide. [00:31:47] There are many things you can do to strengthen two-way communications, but having a very deliberate effort of family engagement is probably one of the most important ones. And we learned about the face group and what great work they're doing. [00:32:03] And so one of our recommendations is to really use a lot of their work as a model, but to centralize all those efforts to map out all of the different groups in the division that are addressing family engagement and make sure that they're coordinated and leveraged with each other so that you're maximizing your efforts. [00:32:23] The other thing is transparency around the release of this report. And I know that's already planned, but, you know, we always hear, and again, this is not only LCPS. I hear this from other school systems as well, but people sometimes feel like they take surveys and they never hear the results of them. [00:32:39] So it's really important to let your constituents know that you've made this effort and you're investing in improving communication and that they can see the work and the recommendations that were done. And last but not least, we're recommending tactics to engage those local residents who aren't directly affiliated with your district already. [00:33:02] And I know that, for example, Natalie told me that she already is planning some inserts in the local papers. So this is some of the work that's already underway, which is a great segue for you to talk about some of what you're doing. [00:33:18] But before that, I just want to say that there are, in implementing a plan like this, this is a lot. going to all happen in one year. So I want to make sure that I explain that we recommend spacing this out over two or three years and that it's a team effort. [00:33:34] Natalie has a great team. You have a great comms department. But in the end, everybody who has contact with any member of the public is a communicator. And so a lot of the report, the details of the report are designed to increase the sense of ambassadorship among your employees that they know their role in providing information and forming that image and reputation of the district. [00:34:03] Okay, Natalie, all yours. Thank you, Naomi. We appreciate the recommendations in the audit and want to report that implementing many of, want to report that we're already implementing many of the resulting recommendations. The school division agrees with the findings and will be implementing recommendations with a focus on the bullets you see up here on the slide for 24-25. We plan to tackle elements across all the recommendations, but we'll do so with a focus on what will best address the gaps and needed improvements or streamlining our community uncovered in the audit. As you can see, in year one, we will streamline and modernize the tools through which families, staff, and students receive [00:34:38] information. We'll also be working with departments across the division to ensure that information about how, when, and what to communicate is clear, and that we are all working together to make it easy for families to understand what we communicate, how to respond when needed, and of course make sure we close that feedback loop with the community when we ask for input or feedback on initiatives. [00:34:58] We will also be working across departments on how best to streamline the family and community engagement function to ensure our families know how to access resources, workshops, and division news. Lastly, we have heard loud and clear that individual family and employee experiences do not often match what they read online about the school division. As recommended, we plan to launch a campaign to combat misinformation and disinformation about LCPS. [00:35:23] We agree with INSPRA that this implementation goes beyond just one year and goes beyond just the communications department. That said, we'll be developing a comprehensive plan across the next three years to address improvements and implementation. And now we'll take your questions. [00:35:40] Thank you very much for that thorough report. Board members, do you have any questions? Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. clarify for me you've given awards to lcps employees can you clarify that for me have you given awards to lcps employees given awards to yeah like inspra awards we've gotten like gold medallions and those kinds of things as a department oh yes yes okay i wanted to clarify it wasn't specific to one person or it was several employees i would have to look into that i actually [00:36:17] Actually, I can get that information to you, but I don't have the specific list of what awards LCPS has won. My understanding is we're paying you over $27,000 for this research, so I find it a little bit of a conflict of interest that you would give awards to employees here. [00:36:37] Also, I was curious to know why the 82-page document was dropped at around 3 o'clock today. It wasn't dropped at 3 o'clock today. It was dropped last night. I didn't see it until about 3 today. Okay, I'm sorry to hear that. [00:36:53] Okay, and also your research says 3% of the community, does that represent 80,000 students? Are you talking about the margin of error, the participation? We did not interview students in the scope survey. [00:37:12] Thank you. I have to say that I did see and read it all 80 pages yesterday. So any other questions? Yes, Ms. Chernoff. [00:37:27] mostly just a couple of comments i want to thank you for the thoroughness of the 82 pages i was able to read through it and and i particularly found the direct quotes from your focus groups to be extremely enlightening and valuable um and and you said some really some things today that i think just really resonate with a lot of us hesitancy hindering transparency and for us to be the source of you know of the truth telling and the information i think i read that in one of the things that said don't be afraid to tell us the truth you know and someone said that and I think [00:38:03] that we need to be the source of truth the board the superintendent the division so I really value that I just wanted to clarify one thing on slide 10 when you said a perceived lack of transparency can you as I read through the report it seemed pretty obvious that there was a lack of transparency I know we're working away from that, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a part of that. [00:38:29] But why did you list it as perceived? Just curious. Because there was a range of beliefs that we heard and that we read in the scope survey. So some of it was based on information that was accurate and eroded transparency, and some of it was based in the area of misinformation and disinformation. [00:38:52] and so yeah you know and then sort of a follow-up to that is you know sometimes we have had media express that they can't get things that they need or clarifications in time for deadlines or for different things and so sometimes things do get reported more vaguely and then specifics do come from the district later do you think that that also leads to that sort of distrust is sort of like lcps was holding out because it's sort of how it read to me in the recommendations but i just wanted to clarify. Yes. I mean, again, this is a very common thing that happens in all school [00:39:26] districts. You know, we live in a time of warp speed where events happen and it takes time to write something. It takes time to fact check it and get it out. And sometimes things get out of sequence. And so some of the processes that we're recommending in the report are designed to at least minimize that effect. Yeah. I appreciate you highlighting that. And I also really thought it was a really valid point it really something i hadn't thought about from the report was that you talked about this group of people that aren't necessarily directly tied to the schools so they may be an employee or have kids but then there's a whole nother group based off of just our local [00:40:04] culture that's very engaged with what's happening with our schools and i was thinking back to when we were hearing from our distance learning parents because they unenrolled a lot when that program shut down they unenrolled their students and many of them homeschool or are using private options but they're not getting the LCPS newsletters and things anymore. [00:40:23] And even that community, we have seen, you know, as enrollment has decreased, that some of those families might really like to see the great things that we're doing because maybe they'd want to come back. So keeping that list of community members was something that, you know, I hadn't really thought of or just the general public that do pay taxes to support the school and probably want to know what we're up to. [00:40:43] So I really appreciate you highlighting that. That was something that I hadn't thought about. Yeah, it's very important. And I have the sense, I mean, you have passed measures, so I know your community is supportive, but you want to keep it that way. Yeah. And I wonder what percentage of them reading the local media are those people who are trying to tap into what's happening because they don't necessarily get the newsletters. [00:41:06] And then the last thing is just we've talked about this, Chair Mansfield and I have, about how do we not only help streamline communication to parents, but how do we educate them on how to use that communication and what it's there for, how they're, I mean, there's we have parent view we have oh my gosh school links all the different things but it's not even that they can't read or access that it's what do i do with this why is this important to me and how do i prioritize that and how do i even digest half the information that's in these applications so that's something i'm hopeful we as a board can maybe also be more forward facing on is sort of not just communicating but educating about the communication if that makes sense yeah [00:41:45] i was just going to mention i agree with that completely and it's something that cross departmentally we're working on because we know there are so many different um technology tools and sometimes you don't know what to look for where and so there's also duplicating of efforts you know across departments and so that's something that as a result of this audit and just in our communication plan moving forward and even with our new website i think we're going to tackle a lot of that this summer and into next year so i'm excited about that that's awesome i'm looking forward to that because i think that getting the different bits and pieces from different places clearly was you know highlighted here and we can do a better job of [00:42:20] streamlining and appropriating that so yeah one thing that I always find interesting there is a data point in the scope survey that asks parents are you getting too much information not enough information or the right amount of information and the percent of people who want less information is tiny very very tiny so it's not that people feel like they're getting too much it feels like they're getting it maybe in too many places or they don't know how to find it. Yeah and maybe it's not always cohesive right like I know our school counselor for my daughter's middle school uses only school links but then there's no counseling piece in the regular outgoing newsletter because of [00:42:58] school links but if you didn't know that you might not know what's going on with counseling in your kids school so just little things but just really thorough enjoyed reading it very much and found it incredibly enlightening thank you for your work. Any other questions? Yes Mr. Estreffi. Thank you - Madam Chair, thank you very much for presenting the findings. [00:43:19] I think even beyond the recommendations, there's just so much to take from this report, and I've only just begun looking at all the tidbits, but from my perspective, I think the decentralized family engagement efforts spread across divisions, I think that's spot on. I think that's a, in talking to some of the staff also prior to this, just seeing the potential for that is huge. [00:43:42] For me, what was interesting was what was noted the report as a disparity between how the division and parents define transparency and i think that's really been uh the the struggle or the the growth opportunity is really trying to bridge that gap so is it coming across as transparency to regular parents or community members in the different buckets that you have kind of identified and how do we begin to think about that and there are some complex issues there right in your communications do you prioritize [00:44:15] students right or do you is it student privacy or and so I think that we're still learning and there was some things that I think were highlighted again that were really interesting for me in how the staff looked at communications and just for them that be for a lot of the respondents that being the volume of of communications for the staff, duplicative messages or feeling inundated by all the different messaging. [00:44:46] And there's also a note, I think, that I just wanna mention, something that I was thinking about in the slides and in the full report, this kind of thought around the relationship between psychological safety, you mentioned this, is people feeling kind of just not knowing if their words or their actions are gonna be misinterpreted. [00:45:06] The psychological safety and the relationship between that and innovation and driving towards student outcomes and pushing people to feel that they can make mistakes and push the envelope so that we can push the division forward. I think that that is something that is not easily accomplished. [00:45:23] I'm really happy with a lot of the efforts that have gone on to kind of achieve that. But knowing that without psychological safety and people feeling supported, they won't really innovate to the extent that we want them to. [00:45:40] And that affects our ability to hold leadership and the rest of the division accountable, right? We need them to be able to innovate and push the boundaries. So I appreciate some of the thoughts in the report around that. And then the only question I have at the moment is there was a point in the report that one of the recommendations or the bullets in the recommendation was strengthening the two-way communications culture in LCPS. [00:46:10] And I was trying to see where you were coming from with that. I don't know if you can recall it, but the statement was strengthen the two-way communications culture in LCPS. I was curious about that. Yeah, that's a great question. What I'm getting at there is Natalie and probably everybody who works in the communications office is thinking about this all the time. [00:46:34] They're thinking about not only the information that they're pushing out, but they're thinking about how it's going to be received, what questions people are going to have, what input might need to be gathered. And what we're getting at there is to say we want to push that way past the communications office so that when you think about communication, you're not just thinking about throwing something out there. [00:46:57] You're thinking about listening, responding, putting information out, hearing the reaction, listening, responding, putting information out, so that it's a back and forth and it's not only the professional communicators that are doing it, but it's just part of the DNA of your division does that make sense yes thank you so much okay I'm gonna give two or three more minutes and yes mrs. Griffiths just to clarify an 82 page document whether you dropped it last night or at three o'clock is still a lot to read and cover I did have two more questions [00:47:32] community trust building committee the community trust building committee will parents be allowed to join? And also, how are we going to combat misinformation and disinformation? We haven't built this out yet. We just received these recommendations. That said, I think absolutely parents would be a part of that trust building committee. And then as far as combating mis- and disinformation, we'll have more information on that in the future. We have to create a plan based on the results of the audit. Any other questions? Seeing none. Thank you so much for [00:48:11] report i look forward to chewing more on it because it is a lot but i mean it's a three-year plan right so it's going to be a lot it's a three-year plan and we're happy to answer if you have any further questions you can direct them to natalie and our team is happy to provide further clarification later thank you i really appreciate the strategies as well as the other uh districts that were going through the same thing and what they were doing and what you recommended thanks thank you thank you [00:48:41] Okay, moving on, we will move to the last item in the work session is item 4.02, the Department of Teaching and Learning Instructional Framework Update. It will be introduced by, I think, Mr. Neal Slevin or Jeff, Mr. Rousley. [00:49:01] Ronsley? Rounsley. Rounsley. Rounsley. Good afternoon, Chair Mansfield, Dr. Spence, members of the board. [00:49:23] I'm Jeff Rounsley, Director of Teaching and Learning K-12, and I'm thrilled to be joined here tonight by this great group of educators. who have all been part of the development of our instructional framework and are going to give you an update on where we are in that project. So seated next to me is Juliet Kenney, who at the time of all of our work and framework was an assistant principal at Riverbend Middle School. [00:49:44] We're now thrilled to have her in our Department of Teaching and Learning as our math specialist. Joan Lewis Osborne, who is a social studies and global science teacher at Freedom High School. And at the end, Jennifer Reeder, who is a math teacher and math salt at Willard Middle School. [00:50:00] So we are all going to take, I also want to acknowledge actually two other people who are in the room, Amanda Kim, who is our supervisor of professional learning in the back, and also Lori Sink. All of them have been instrumental in the work that we're going to present to you here tonight. So the first part is what is an instructional framework to make sure we're all operating on the same page here. [00:50:21] And I would say just to kind of summarize what we just heard in the communications report, I think the same thing is true here. We hear a lot about the need to streamline, to develop an effective and really valuable vision for what good instruction looks like across all LCPS schools. [00:50:38] I want to point out that one of the key things that we continue to emphasize about this project is that it's meant to apply to all content levels and all grade levels. So this is not necessarily an exhaustive list of everything that a teacher might do. but those common things that we know from K to 12 in a kindergarten classroom or an AP physics classroom the things teachers are doing that make a difference and truly impact the learning that's happening in their classroom it's also true that this is what teachers are doing so this is not what students are doing in the classroom but the actions that our teachers and our educators are taking to make an impact and finally it's about a shared understanding and a commitment to the [00:51:14] educational goals and principles that guide instruction and LCPS like a sort of common language that they're all speaking to make sure that we are supporting teachers and helping students make progress and grow throughout their time in LCPS. So why do we need an instructional framework? If I could summarize everything that's on this slide, it's about consistency. [00:51:36] It's about having consistent teaching practices. It's about having a common language and approaches. It's about transparency in terms of what's happening in our classrooms. It's about making sure that as we support professional learning for teachers to help them grow, that we have a common set of principles that we're building from and helping to implement in all of our classrooms. [00:51:56] There's a picture of a piano on here because throughout this entire process I've been talking about this as trying to write a hit song. We're trying to write a hit song here. We're trying to have something that's timeless and meaningful that our teachers return to over and over and over again and we know that to do that it takes a lot of people. It's not just the musicians or the singer but there's a marketing team. There's producers. There's all kinds of people who are contributing to make that hit and we know that it's something you have to return to over and over and over again a hit song gets played multiple times so we want it to be something that our teachers are coming back to over and over and over again and we also know one of the things that I've heard about this [00:52:33] as we've gone through is is teachers questioning does this going to constrain my ability to do the things that I do in my classroom that's creative and we know that's not true either right you can take a song and if we had more time I would play you a short video of of the musician the piano player, John Baptiste, who is playing Beethoven, but he plays it in a gospel genre and he plays it in a jazz genre, that we can have this kind of basic melody that we're all playing and there's plenty of room for us to put our own spin on it. That's what this is. It is speaking across all of those content levels to have that basic melody that we all play and know that there's room for us to put our individual style and spin on what comes out of that and still be playing the same [00:53:10] song. I just kind of situate where the instructional framework is. That graphic on the left is our profile of a graduate, and the profile of a graduate is our why. So it is the definition of the competencies, the skills, the knowledge that we want every student who graduates from LCPS to have as they are able to thrive in the world that they'll enter, okay? So that's what we're trying to equip all of our students with. The instructional framework is our how. It's those set of teaching practices. It's how our teachers are going to equip students with those skills, and along with that is an aligned curriculum, aligned to the framework, aligned to the profile of a graduate. That's the [00:53:46] what. So those are the resources, the tools, the strategies that our Department of Teaching and Learning will equip teachers with to make sure that they have what they need in order to implement that. And kind of a separate but aligned part of this project is a curriculum audit to make sure that we have that in place, that we have resources and tools that speak to the instructional framework and that really are supportive of the work that our teachers are doing in their classrooms every day. This is briefly just to talk a little bit about the components of the instructional framework And at the top, you'll see the vision. [00:54:21] The vision is rooted in the vision, the mission, the core values of the 1LCPS strategic plan. In my song analogy, this is the rhythm. It sets the tone for everything else. You can't go faster than the rhythm. You've got to keep with the rhythm. And so in all the other pieces that we have, the work that this board and that our school system has done to define our mission, our vision, our core values, that's what drives everything else that we put in place here in the instructional framework. [00:54:47] The key components are about the actions that teachers take to create an effective teaching and learning environment. So this is the big ideas of what our teachers do, and they are verbs. They're actions that teachers consistently and intentionally take in their classrooms to set that tone. So this is the melody. This is the part that you can sing in the shower. [00:55:04] Every teacher, there's no surprises here, every teacher kind of has an idea of what those are, and I'll talk about that a little bit later as we go along. And then the indicators are areas that we want to add some specific additional information or draw people's attention to that fit into those key components. And I'll show you some examples of those later on as well. [00:55:22] But this is the harmony, right? They're the areas where we want to kind of focus people or like bring some emphasis to this is what we mean when we say that. Those last two things, descriptions and progressions, that is kind of phase two of this project. And I'll share the timeline as we go through the end of this. But those descriptions and progressions are meant to be, you know, what does this look like, feel like in a classroom? [00:55:41] And progressions are meant to equip both teachers and administrators with kind of a rubric or a spectrum of what this might look like in a classroom and how we help teachers take one next step in the full implementation of the instructional framework. So we're gonna focus really today on these first three things, the vision, the key components, and the indicators, and know that there's plenty of room for additional details and building out some of those specific things that might happen in the classroom and those other sections that we'll be working on in the 24-25 school year. [00:56:13] So just a little insight into how this was created. So since January, we've had four design team meetings. I'll talk about that a little bit more in a second. And very consistently trying to collect feedback from educators, from parents, from students into what great instruction looks like in our schools. [00:56:30] There's been very deliberate stakeholder engagement with our partner community groups. And also there is ongoing work. So this is in no way a finished product at this point. And we're going to talk about a draft that is in board docs tonight that is not a finished product. It's continually updated, continually changed based on the input that we're hearing, and so we continue to have teams, our advisory team, our project management team, who are looking at the feedback that we're receiving and making adjustments, and that will continue for the foreseeable future as well. [00:56:58] So the draft that you have tonight is really a snapshot in time. It's version 7, so there's been a lot of versions of this that have gone out, and will continue to go out as we make adjustments. These are some scenes from our design team and some of the people who are seated at the table here tonight you'll see up on the screen. But key to the design team is that we really deliberately tried to seek a variety of representation and perspectives across LCPS. So the majority of the design team was meant to be school based staff. We know that the success for this is really predicated on the idea that our teachers see themselves and see their work in this. So there's a heavy [00:57:34] teacher representation across all content levels, across all grade levels including special education and English language learners and from our central support team there are representatives from teaching and learning from the Department of Student Services from the Department of School Leadership from the Department of Diversity Equity Inclusion and Accessibility all of them bringing their unique perspectives to try and capture something whole about the work that's happening in LCPS on a daily basis in addition to that design team you'll also see some of the the groups that we've reached out to and have provided feedback on this so we have worked with the superintendent's [00:58:09] Principal advisory committee, teacher advisory committee, student advisory committee, multiple principal meetings, also out in our community through curriculum instruction, who has heard this before, LEAF, SEAC, School Business Partnership, MSAC, CTE groups, and also Gifted Advisory. [00:58:26] All of those groups have provided feedback and had opportunities to really give their perspective, their really helpful perspective in what they want for teaching and learning in LCPS. So, here are the recommendations, and remember the first part I talked about was key components. [00:58:43] So, these are key actions, and the three key actions, so these are the things that teachers are doing every day, is the idea of design, engage, and assess. Those three words resonated across the board with our team. Design, as a way of saying to plan, but really to be intentional about that and think about the individual learner and what that student needs in front of you. [00:59:03] Engage, about making that learning something that is valuable and authentic and rigorous for students. supportive of their goals and assess how are we continually to monitor, not just, Mr. Reeder's going to talk about this in a second, but not just give students tests, but how teachers are constantly collecting data and information on what students need and making adjustments to their work. [00:59:22] One final piece that's part of that is reflect and respond, and that came up across the board. Those two words linked together from teachers as really a key part that they wanted to express about this instructional framework is that that's the constant work of teachers is to reflect on what's happening, not just at specific points, but throughout, and to be able to respond to that in meaningful ways based on student learning. So we start with that as our basis, and then we're going to build out some further indicators to really explain what we mean by those three big terms. So this is the draft version seven of the instructional framework [00:59:57] that's uploaded in BoardDocs. You'll see each of those areas design, engage, and assess along with the definition of what that means. You'll also see a really, this came out as part of their design team and our ongoing feedback the the really significant importance of student-centered you'll notice that it's the bottom because it really is the foundation of everything else that we do there's really no way to design engage and assess students in meaningful ways if we haven't built a culture in a community in our classrooms that support that you also note on the right hand side there are some reflect and respond questions those are meant to be and I'll talk about that a little bit later but those run throughout the entire process and those are questions that teachers may ask themselves or may ask in CLTs [01:00:37] or other groups to assess how things are going in their lesson and to think about what changes they may make to make it even more effective for student learning. So we're going to have an opportunity for each of these three educators to share what this looks like in a daily practice in their classrooms. [01:00:52] We're going to start with Juliet Kenney, who's going to talk about the idea of designing for student learning. Good evening. The design portion of the instructional framework is when a teacher is planning out their lesson or unit or a learning experience that they want their students in their classroom to have. [01:01:11] We specifically went with the word design over a word like plan because of the importance of being intentional and thoughtful during this stage as teachers ground their work in the standards of learning and as they figure out what it is that students need to learn and how they will get students there. [01:01:27] The design stage must be student-centered as we consider the individual needs and backgrounds of students to create something that is meaningful and authentic to them. As a math specialist, this is the starting point of our curriculum development work. [01:01:43] As you know, math and reading have new standards that have been adopted by VDOE and will be implemented this coming school year. So as a math department, we're currently in this design stage. We're bringing together teachers from across the county to form curriculum teams. [01:01:58] And we also regularly gather feedback from math leaders at all levels to ensure that our curriculum resources are aligned with classroom and student needs. So thinking about that bigger picture slide that was shared, that aligned curriculum, that's also a part of our design work. [01:02:15] To give you an example of what design looks like, one thing our math department is focusing on right now is designing common learning experiences that all students should experience throughout a school year. These are model lessons where we're being very intentional about centering the experience around a driving question that makes the learning authentic to students so that students know why they are learning this. [01:02:39] We're also making sure the experience aligns to the new math standards and considering how the five C's are addressed within the experience. We're clearly outlining the learning objectives and what students are going to learn, identifying how we might need to scaffold the learning or embed extension opportunities to meet the needs of all students, and we're being purposeful in selecting math instructional practices that would best support students. [01:03:04] So those are all things that we need to consider in this design process. Our work and our process of designing these model learning experiences will then hopefully support our teachers in their daily design work that they do every single day as they prepare learning experiences that lead to deeper learning for their students. [01:03:25] Thank you, Ms. Kenny. Next, Joan Lewis-Osborne is going to talk about the way she engages students in her classroom. So for the engage component, they want us to talk about how we engage students in learning experiences that focus on rigorous, authentic, student-centered learning. [01:03:44] I teach Honors African American History and AP U.S. Government Politics, mostly to seniors. I use my subject matter to find opportunities to engage students in interesting projects. For instance, in my African American History class, while a great majority of my students are African American, there are a good number that are not, but all of my students are local to Loudoun County, and they're interested in Loudoun County history, partially because they really haven't had a chance up until their junior or senior year to really learn much about it. [01:04:17] So I've leveraged their interest into action by teaming up with local Loudoun County groups like the Loudoun County Freedom Center to work on local history projects throughout the year. Those projects culminate in a final capstone project at the end of the school year. [01:04:33] We are working on those final capstone projects right now. Last week, my students got together, about 20 of my capstone seniors got together with Pastor Michelle Thomas, who leads the Loudoun County Freedom Center, and they met with her and toured Katone Plantation and also the Belmont Enslaved Burial Ground, and they're working on interpretive signs as well as Virginia Department of Historical Resources markers to put up in those locations. And so this will be the first [01:05:12] time that signs like that have brought the history of local Loudoun County people, African-American people, to the public. I also have a number of students who were able to take their learning from a DE GIS class that they took through Freedom High School and JMU and use that in their capstone project with the Loudoun Freedom Center to make interactive maps of certain African American history sites in Loudoun County. [01:05:43] And they hope to also develop an app. And they're working on a website as well that shows people how they can get to these sites, you know, either on their phone or through a website. So it's really easy when you have projects like this in the community to engage students. [01:06:06] They get to research. They get to write. And they get to really do groundbreaking work in history. and this is something that you normally don't get to do until you're at the college level. So my students especially are really excited about these opportunities. [01:06:25] Thank you, Ms. Lewis-Osborne. And finally, Jennifer Reeder will speak a little bit about what assess means in our instructional framework. Good evening. So as Mr. Roundsley said earlier, assessment goes, I think a lot of us hear assessment and we think, oh, it's the test at the end of the unit. [01:06:41] And I think Joan just did an awesome job of really showing you that it's so much more than that. Like, it could be a project. Yes, it might be a test. It could be a performance. But there's so much assessment that's happening in our classroom on a daily basis that's throughout the unit that's really captured here. [01:07:01] So one of those is students are actually given opportunities and are really empowered to do some self-assessment throughout their learning. They are given, for example, students in my class just took a formal formative assessment last class. [01:07:17] And then they use that today to make some decisions about what review they would like to do for their upcoming geometry test based on their own self-assessed needs. How did I do? What concepts did I struggle with? And that allowed them to pick from a variety of different activities to decide what they personally needed. [01:07:36] So we're really trying to help them also do some assessment. As a teacher, I use that formative data to also look and say, hey, I have this one or two particular students that during that review time today I need to really hone in on because they scored a little bit lower than what I was expecting. [01:07:53] In that same way, I'm also looking to say, oh, there was one question that a lot of students really, really didn't understand. So that threw me back, actually, to the design process and looking at how am I going to address that? [01:08:10] How am I going to, prior to this assessment that I'm giving, when I have that many students who are struggling with that concept, what am I going to do to engage with them next time to make sure that they're understanding that? And then finally, we're giving, I think, a big part of assessment is that feedback and immediate feedback. [01:08:31] And so the activities that we are designing and we are engaging with our students are often there to give that immediate feedback on a daily basis. And whether it's them checking in a self-checking activity, it's me giving feedback as my students are at collaborative whiteboards. [01:08:49] And that feedback is also driving and that kind of throws us into our reflect and respond in a minute. But that feedback is also when I see the feedback, when I overhear the conversation students are having, that's also helping me to kind of gather some data and make decisions about how I'm going to proceed beyond this current day. Thank you, Ms. Reeder. And again, these indicators and these key components, this is at a very high level. And remember that there is also those components around descriptors, around what this looks like, feels like, sounds like. So [01:09:28] just imagine if you could hear, if all teachers in LCPS could hear from these exceptional educators like these three, but also others, that that's hosted on a website, that that could be something that's shown in schools or teachers could access to learn more about what this looks like or the practical implications of this in a classroom. [01:09:44] I think it's a really powerful tool to help teachers grow together and to think about what instruction really can look like in our schools with the proper support and resources provided to them. So those were the three key components that our design team came up with, but there's also this really central part, and this also came up repeatedly from our design team around the idea of being student centered. These ideas are drawn heavily from our MTSS and cultural responsive framework to really kind of share with teachers how you can build a community that is cohesive and is accessible, affirming, welcoming, inclusive [01:10:19] to all learners regardless of who comes into your classroom. So that's meant to help teachers build out that kind of really special learning space that we know allows all of those great things that you just heard about to happen. And finally, these are our questions that center around reflect and respond. They're meant, they're broken up in the document by each of those components, but they do cross a lot of boundaries and pull in other sections in the way that Jen Reeder was just talking about. But it's also meant for teachers to use this as a self-assessment, for their CLTs to use it, and for administrators and other school leaders, coaches, our IFTs, [01:10:59] our division instructional facilitators to use this as part of a coaching conversation and a coaching cycle to help teachers think about how they could grow in each of these areas how we can highlight specific areas that we want to improve and grow in and really highlight how we can celebrate the good things that are happening in our classrooms as well so the work that continues is continuing to synthesize feedback from all of these different groups including our board tonight and also to think about how we're going to finalize all aspects of this because the plan is to share this with principals on at Lee Loudon in July and also to continue to plan out for [01:11:36] building all those resources that we know are going to be important to make this really effective for teachers so the timeline for moving forward we are still in this number one building the foundation phase next year is a is a year of building a lot of things the way I've spoken about this is that for our teachers we know there's a heavy lift next year we know there's new standards and trainings and so this is a year of awareness for them before the end of this year they'll watch a video that kind of lays out some of this and talks about why the framework is important but we want them to be aware of what's in it and that's about it for our principals we want to draw their attention to it we want to make sure that in our opportunities with principals that [01:12:14] we are pulling them into this conversation that we're unpacking this with them that we're helping them understand and bring a lot of clarity to what this means and for those of us who are working here in the department of teaching and learning and all these other groups it's a year of accountabilities we have a lot to build and a lot to make in order to make this accessible so lots of aligning our resources lots of developing professional learning to support all these different groups lots of communication to make sure everybody understands with clarity what we're trying to do here so that in the 25 26 school year we are ready to fully implement the instructional framework so we have an instructional framework project page this is on our website it [01:12:51] has all of this information is a great resource for our employees and parents and families who are wondering about this and there's also at the bottom of that page a let's talk button where we have gathered a lot of feedback throughout this whole process from teachers and other community groups around what they value around teaching and learning in Loudoun County and so that is our update on the instructional framework and are happy to take any questions that you may have. Thank you, Mr. Rousley, and I see you with the music metaphors. On slide two, I see that the instructional framework is a shared vision of effective instruction, and so let me take your [01:13:28] music example. Before we have a melody, we need to learn notes. Quarter, whole, eighth notes, rests. We put those together for rhythm, and then we'd say, okay, where are those notes on the staff? Then we get to key signatures. Learning music has to be sequential, direct, explicit, and cumulative teaching. And so when I look at this, I see that I don't see any mention of sequential, direct, explicit, and cumulative teaching. I may have missed it, but I don't see any evidence-based approach instruction or science-based research or any mention of cognitive science or high-quality [01:14:06] materials. For me, voice and choice are fine, but my feedback today would be that I'd also like to name the concepts of evidence-based instructions and strategies aligned with research. And I realized that this is a instructional framework is more of a philosophy. But for me, classroom instruction and beliefs philosophies around students learning that are evidence-based and aligned with science and cognitive psychology are more likely to succeed. And as we all know, part of my work as a literacy advocate was making sure our literacy legislation was clear that we needed good foundational instruction that was sequential, direct, explicit, and cumulative, [01:14:46] and evidence-based literacy instruction and founded in science-based reading research. Because literacy instruction at that time was founded on a philosophy of reading. That reading was natural. And we all know that's not true. We don't learn to read by reading. We don't learn to write by writing. We have to have that direct instruction. And so I guess what I would like to see is to be, and my feedback would be a little careful with only philosophies of education in the instructional framework, because in my eyes, we're missing a big part of what the [01:15:21] instructional framework should look like if we only focus on philosophies and we don't give the same importance to evidence-based approaches, research, and cognitive psychology. So I guess, you know, part of what would be pretty cool for me to see would be I would love to see the research behind some of these key components and indicators for the instructional framework and you know as usual I'm always happy to talk and brainstorm and I don't want to take anybody else's time because I know we only have 15 minutes but I do appreciate your presentation and the capstone projects were [01:15:57] very cool I think that's really that's where that voice and choice comes into play but I think we need more direct instruction so just uh i mentioned this is version 7 and i would say that phrase that you're talking about around evidence-based learning that has shown up in various versions and been taken out and not taken out so it's not to say that that will not show up again but i'll just a little bit around the the thought behind that is that i do think that's a very kind of clear term for our our english teachers maybe especially our our elementary school teachers and as you the reason why that's not in there right now and maybe that's something that we're thinking [01:16:34] about saving for further down with more detail and opportunities for that is if you asked social studies teachers what's an evidence-based strategy, I think you would hear inquiry. If you asked our science teachers, they might know that term, might not know that term, but they would talk about the 5E model. If you asked our PE teachers that they would talk about sports ed models. So the idea is, again, it's across all content levels and all grade levels. And so not to say that those things are really key and important we want to make sure we reflect that somewhere I think right now where the team was was thinking that we don't know that we have a clear consistent definition of that and it's [01:17:13] not to say that's not something we need to build and create as part of it but that's why you don't see it in there right now and again that's not to say that it might not show up again I guess I'd like to see more how we learn you know more cognitive psychology I think that there are evidence-based practices for all areas um so anyway okay so i know thank you thank you dr dr rasheed all right thank you for that awesome presentation and i love the analogy of the music you know that's that i love that stuff um i was just curious if if you think there's adequate resources currently to support [01:17:49] the framework um and if you don't think they there are what do you think some of the challenges are so i'm going to let miss reader talk about that in just a second uh be as a classroom teacher but i would say what we have heard more than anything is that there are too many resources so there is an abundance of resources and perhaps too many for teachers to know where to start or where to begin so i'm going to let miss reader talk about that as her experience as a classroom teacher yes i would echo that we have we have plenty of resources we are um very lucky um i am a math teacher and i can say from the math office we have they do a fantastic job of providing we have [01:18:26] Schoology page with a ton of resources that go everywhere from you know book studies to actual like here is a website with an activity that you can use and I think the eventual plan is that those will all live in this document but and that's what's going to take the time is to align what we've got here with all of the resources that we do have and just making sure that it's instead of it being overwhelming and too much information that you don't know where to begin that it's an actual [01:19:00] useful tool that really brings all this information together. Ms. Chernoff. Thank you for this and thank you for I won't steal the mic because we get a lot of time in CNI but there was just one thing I wanted to draw out from the talks that we've had in curriculum instruction for everyone here and if you could just speak to how this is not one more thing from Loudoun County Public schools for our teachers because that is a big fear with the icons and the graphics we do that really well but sometimes it just adds more and also if you could just speak a little bit to what [01:19:39] awareness of of this in terms of professional learning I think it's a hot topic right now in terms of all the things that are going on and the feedback that we've been getting so I want this to have its place and its priority because I think it is the tie that binds but I also do fear that it could get lost in the shuffle as being one more thing so if you could just summarize that for us that would be great. Thank you those are great points to bring out and I think that's kind of the opposite of what we want to create so we want to talk about this as the foundational piece that drives our instruction each day for teachers so I think one of the ways [01:20:13] that we do that is in making sure that what's in this document is reflective of what teachers are telling us. So I talked about the song being timeless and meaningful. You'll notice as you go through this document, there's no acronyms, there's no specific programs. None of that is included in here because what we were trying to capture is what a teacher's experience looks like on a daily basis as they design lessons, as they engage students in the learning, as they assess it, that it is, and programs may come and go, but what's in this document is meant to be, I think, a timeless and meaningful expression of what teaching looks like, teaching from K through 12. [01:20:48] So I hope when teachers see this, they don't see it as one more thing, they see it as a reflection of what I do on a daily basis now. And knowing that what's coming of this is resources to support that work that is happening in their classrooms every day. Around awareness, I think really we know that teachers have a lot on their plate next year, probably too much on their plate next year. [01:21:07] We're gonna talk about that more here tonight. And so by awareness, I mean I really just want teachers to know that this document exists. I want them to have some exposure to it and to read it, but we don't envision this being a deep dive for teachers next year because we know there are other priorities. [01:21:23] We want to build the resources and build the tools that are necessary to make this really impactful for teachers, and that will take some time to do that. So the intention is to make that more of a focus and a heavy lift for the people who work in this building and for our teacher leaders and principals to make sure we're clear and understanding of what this document calls for. [01:21:44] Thank you, and thank you to our educators who are here. We love hearing from you. Any other questions? Yes, Ms. Chandler. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you very much for this presentation. I will say you had me at John Batiste. And as a former Riverbend parent, I'm so happy to see you, Ms. Kinney. [01:22:02] And I have to say, being in African-American history has been one of the most meaningful experiences my child has had at LCPS. So I'm so happy. And Ms. Reeder, I'm glad you're here too. Just not to hit every note again with the music. [01:22:23] One of the things I will say, I feel hopeful about this. And I really appreciate and hear often from teachers how overwhelming it can be. We're asking more from our teachers at this time in society than we have maybe ever. [01:22:39] And I love the idea of putting resources all together in one place, of making information clear and accessible. Anything that we can do, I think, to take the load off of our teachers and to reinforce, really, of course, evidence-based learning, I think is something that will be a gift to not only our educators, but also especially to our students. [01:23:05] So thank you, and I'll look forward to hearing more about this as we go through the experience. Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just had one question. Lee Loudon, in case I missed it, can you give more details? [01:23:20] What is Lead Loudon? So that's our formerly known as ALT, or Administrative Leadership Team. So that is when, at the end of the summer, our principals, assistant principals, supervisors, administrators come together in one location to kind of kick off the year and kind of set the stage for the main topics and focus for the year. [01:23:41] Dr. Deans. I love it. Being a former curriculum writer, I love it. It's a natural fit for all subjects. I taught science, and when you gave the examples of sports versus, I mean, PE teachers versus, it's natural. [01:24:03] So thank you, and roll it out. Any other questions? No. Thank you so much for your presentation, and I look forward to seeing more versions. [01:24:20] Thank you. And with that, we will continue with item 5.01 and recess for dinner. [01:24:40] The board will reconvene at 6.30 p.m. The board is now in recess. [01:55:43] They talk about how much money people get or how many questions we've had. [01:59:14] They have a meeting before this that's not open to the public because they have to get their stuff in order. Then they have like a dinner and then they come back and they talk. And this might be a long meeting, like they might be here for like 11, 12 of them. I'm very upset. [01:59:32] Good evening. [02:00:24] The board is coming out of recess at this time. We will start with item 7.01, the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. The Arcola Elementary School Chorus is an award-winning two-part vocal ensemble comprised of 175 singers in 4th and 5th grades. [02:00:45] We perform unison two-part and three-part vocal literature from various styles, genres, eras, and languages for treble voices. Besides our school concerts, the Arcola Chorus has sung at the National Christmas Tree, the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Washington Wizard Games, the National Baseball Game, Zoo Lights, Dulles Honor Flights, and various community events and retirement centers. [02:01:11] The Arcola Elementary School Chorus strives to instill a love of singing and foster the talents we were given to make beautiful music together. They're under the direction of Ms. Jennifer O'Reilly and Mr. Michael Williams. At this time, I ask everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. [02:01:36] Public, which I stand, one nation, under God, indivisible, for liberty and justice for all. O say again. [02:03:35] The next item on the agenda is student staff recognitions, and we will start with item 8. 01, Department of Human Resources and Talent Development, LCPS Stack Recognition, presented by Ms. Lisa Bolin, Chief Human Resources Officer. Thank you, Chair Mansfield. Each year, LCPS takes a moment to honor the incredible dedication and achievements of our amazing employees. [02:03:54] Tonight, we're celebrating those who provide essential services to our students and staff. These outstanding individuals step in seamlessly when staff are absent, offer exceptional student supervision, address the social and emotional needs of our students, keep our daily schedules and operations running smoothly, lead curriculum development, and provide invaluable instructional feedback to our teachers. [02:04:22] They create a nurturing and productive environment where our students can truly thrive, both academically and personally. And now it is with great excitement that I introduce Carrie Sims, our supervisor for employee recognition, who will present this year's winners of the instructional awards. [02:04:39] Good evening, Chair Mansfield, school board members, Dr. Spence, and guests. In the instructional awards group, recognition is given in the following categories. Substitute, Instructional Support, Administrative Support, Student Services Support, and Professional Employee of the Year. [02:05:00] Four of these categories are newly created, demonstrating the Division's commitment to ensuring all employees feel valued, respected, and appreciated. Nominations can be submitted by employees, parents, students, or community members. This year, over 150 nominations were received for these five categories. [02:05:19] At this time, I'd like to invite our award recipients to join me. [02:05:31] Our first award for tonight is Substitute of the Year. [02:05:52] Substitutes play a vital role in ensuring that the instruction continues in a teacher's absence. Subs serve in a variety of roles, sometimes multiple roles in the same day, and are expected to implement lesson plans, maintain classroom management, and develop positive relationships with students and staff. [02:06:08] LCPS currently maintains a substitute workforce of over 4,000 employees, and we are thrilled the select two elementary substitutes and two secondary substitutes to recognize for the dedication to their schools. Bendu Jackson could not be here this evening as she has begun a prestigious program in Iowa to fulfill her dream of becoming a physician's assistant. [02:06:30] So her mother, Dolly Gildersleeve, is here to accept the award on her behalf. Thank you, Dolly. Bendu has been a substitute with LCPS since 2021 and serves Sterling Elementary School. The following was said about her and her nomination packet. [02:06:48] Bendu understands and values the importance of family communication. She sends a weekly newsletter to families to inform them of the learning of the week, as well as about any class, school, and district events. She often includes pictures of the class participating in learning experiences. Bendu regularly conferences with families in person, on the phone, and virtually to communicate the progress of their students. [02:07:11] Bendu is a model substitute teacher at Sterling Elementary and for LCPS. Congratulations, Bendu. Can you move it to the next slide for me, please? [02:07:29] Thank you. Amy Dunn was hired by LCPS. Amy is going to come on over next to me now. Amy Dunn was hired by LCPS in 2018 and serves Sully Elementary School. She was nominated by her principal with supporting statements from additional staff members. [02:07:47] On the day we surprised her, she confirmed that she was a great choice for this award as she was out helping the principal push a broken-down car in the kiss-and-ride lane. The following was said about her. Amy worked with her co-teacher as well as the county EL facilitator to adapt lesson plans to include authentic experiences for oral language and student discourse. [02:08:08] In her classroom, she does not let students hide, but rather she works to help them build the confidence to share their thoughts and unique perspectives. During the year, she has worked closely with our IFT and STEM teacher to develop exemplary 5E lesson plans that include hands-on experiences for students. [02:08:25] Congratulations, Amy. Sahari Anderson. Sahari Anderson was nominated by the Substitute Coordinator at Heritage High School and has been employed by LCPS since 2022. [02:08:48] On the day we shared the news of her award with her, we had to call her back into the building over the radio to take pictures as she had raced out of the faculty meeting to help her students get off the bus the following was said about her sahari just gets the job done with a smile she will be in our intensive program classroom one day working one-on-one with a student and then in for the job coach the next day keeping students on schedule while working through their job skills she works well with the sped dean and teachers to make sure students are cared for protocol is followed and the most critical positions are covered. We love that she inquired about getting training, so she is prepared [02:09:25] for the classrooms in which she is substituting. Congratulations, Sarahi. Joseph Chinchotti is in his first year substituting and serves River Bend Middle School. Middle School is familiar for the family, as Joseph's mother is a dean at Smarts Mill Middle School. I'm also thrilled to share that he has accepted a licensed position as math teacher at River Bend for next year. He was nominated by an assistant principal and the following was said about him: Mr. Chinchotti genuinely wants to learn more and grow professionally. He takes the time to reflect on his [02:10:05] learning and implement new ideas. He connects with students so well because they feel respected by Mr. Chinchotti and in turn they respect him back. He has the ability to balance his role as someone who teaches the content and hold students accountable while also being down-to-earth, grounded, and relatable. [02:10:22] Kids view him as someone who is fair and someone who truly cares about them. Congratulations, Joseph. Our next award is for Instructional Support Employee of the Year. Our teacher assistants, study hall monitors, behavioral assistants, library assistants, and ISR teachers provide services and resources to support instruction. [02:10:47] In classrooms bustling with diverse learners and ever-changing needs, this group of individuals are instrumental in ensuring every student receives the attention and guidance they deserve. They play a crucial role in nurturing a positive and inclusive school culture, creating a sense of belonging and empowerment that is essential for academic success and well-being. Joshua Mallory, Behavioral Assistant at River Bend Middle School, is the Instructional Support Employee of the Year. Joshua is the latest family member to work for LCPS as both of his parents, who are here tonight are fellow employees. Mom is a registrar and dad works with support services. [02:11:24] He was nominated by an assistant principal and was hired by LCPS in 2013. The following was said about him: Recently, there was a former program student who started at a high school this past year. This student presented significant behavioral challenges and had many crisis situations while at Riverbend. Josh patiently and tirelessly worked with this student amidst the student's high-stress moments. At the start of this school year, That student sent an email personally thanking Josh for believing in him and letting him know how much he missed him. [02:11:54] The students that Josh has worked with have some of the highest needs in our county. And yet, because of Josh's unending patience, repeated forgiveness, and genuine care for them, you see glimpses of success and growth as they move forward. Congratulations, Joshua. [02:12:15] Our next award is for Administrative Support Employee of the Year. Eligible job titles in this category include financial technicians, registrars, administrative assistants, and career center assistants. [02:12:31] They are responsible for a myriad of tasks, including managing schedules, organizing meetings, maintaining records, and coordinating events. They often serve as the first point of contact for parents, students, and visitors, providing assistance and information with professionalism and courtesy. [02:12:47] Their versatility and ability to multitask make them indispensable members of the school community contributing to its overall success. Kristen Seaman works in the main office of Heritage High School and is the Administrative Support Employee of the Year. She was nominated by a teacher with several supporting statements from administrators and fellow staff members. [02:13:06] When we surprised her at Heritage with the announcement of the award, she shared that she loves her job so much that if she won the lottery, she would still show up for work the next day. So we will hold you to that, Kristen. She has been with LCPS since 2017, and the following was said about her. [02:13:22] Kristen Seaman has the assigned task of being the coordinator of substitutes, but in reality, she does so much more. With the substitute situation, there has never been a single time when a staff member has been asked to cover a class. So why does that not happen here? Kristen is a master at forging relationships both with staff and subs. [02:13:41] She's personable, and she always remembers people's names, families, and special occasions. She always takes into consideration which subs work well with which teachers, and she does her best to accommodate both parties. In addition, she knows how everything in the building is run, making her a valuable asset that helps staff, administration, and subs. [02:14:00] Congratulations, Kristen. Our next award is for Student Services Support Employee of the Year. School psychologists, social workers, counselors, speech therapists, and diagnosticians are just a few of the eligible job titles in this category. [02:14:21] These employees possess the unique ability to understand the complexities of the human mind and heart, offering invaluable assistance to the students navigating the challenges of academic, emotional, and social growth. They collaborate with parents, teachers, administrators, and community resources to ensure a holistic approach to student wellness. [02:14:40] Nicole Winfrey, counselor at Dominion High School, is the Student Services Support Employee of the Year. Nicole has served LCPS since 2019. She was nominated by the school counseling director with supporting statements from students and administrators. It was only fitting that we revealed her award to her in front of her campus students, pictured here, who demanded a speech from her and could not wait to gather around in a picture to congratulate her. [02:15:06] The following was said about her. She also holds me to a high standard, sometimes even higher than I set for myself, to push me and make me take the classes that are rigorous for me. She always has time for me, helping me with easy one-second response questions, but also staying down with me for an hour to go over my classes for next year and what I should take. [02:15:27] Congratulations, Nicole. Our final award of the evening is for Professional Employee of the Year. This award category recognizes the dedication of those who work in schools in leadership capacities, athletic directors, assistant principals, instructional facilitators, deans, testing coordinators. [02:15:51] These incredible individuals oversee student activities, curriculum development, foster community spirit, and provide feedback and support to teachers and coaches. Their work is essential in the daily operations of a school building. Mike Fitzgerald, assistant principal at Rockridge High School, is the professional employee of the year. [02:16:09] This is Mike's 26th year in LCPS, and he was nominated by his principal with supporting statements provided by fellow admin and teachers. The announcement of Mike's award at Rockridge was truly unique. [02:16:24] The house band created a special song about him to a tune from his all-time favorite band, Van Halen, with shirts to match. This is what was said about him. Mike has also supported involvement of our special education population in all aspects of Rockridge High School, including Adaptive PE Field Day, United Sound, and other inclusive music classes. [02:16:47] Moreover, Mike's commitment to ongoing evaluation and refinement of programs and initiatives has been pivotal in driving continuous improvement within our school community. His data-driven approach to decision-making ensures that programs are effective and responsive to the evolving needs of our students and staff. [02:17:04] Congratulations, Mike. Please help me congratulate and honor all of our distinguished employees as well as their guests in attendance tonight, many of whom are family members. [02:17:21] Thank you for your support of your loved one as they fulfill a vital and pivotal role in LCPS. We invite the chair and vice chair of the board and Dr. Spence to come down from the [02:17:30] dais and members of the school board to stand for pictures with our honorees. All right we will move [02:19:20] on to item 9.01 which is our student school board representative's comments. We have two students in attendance this evening. Our first student is Hope Drake from Briar Woods High School. Hope is a senior at Briar Woods High School. She is one of the Student Council Association presidents, serving the student body along with senior Andrew Char. Hope has been a team captain for the girls varsity basketball team for the past two years and has coached multiple teams in the AYBL. [02:19:55] She is also involved in the teacher cadet program and an active member, competing member in Educators Rising. Ms. Drake, you have the floor. Good evening everyone. My name is Hope Drake and I'm a senior at Briarwoods High School. This year, I've had the honor of representing my senior class as one of the student council co-executive presidents, playing a part with the varsity girls basketball team, and being part of the teacher cadet program. I would first like to thank the school board, my principal, and the Briarwoods administration for giving me the opportunity to speak tonight. I would like to spend a few minutes highlighting all the incredible [02:20:35] experiences, SDA works hard to bring the students and community members of Briarwoods High School. Briarwoods has exceeded the expectations of enriching, engaging, and providing academic opportunities for its students. While all Falcons strive for academic excellence, we have not forgotten about other fun and exciting aspects of the high school experience. The faculty has been quite spirited this year and participated in all of our spirit days and school events such as basketball games, pep rallies, judging talent shows, to bring school spirit and engagement to [02:21:10] students. All of our faculty and staff also compete for our spirit stick, which is awarded to the individual who showcases the most school spirit. Our latest winner being a math teacher, Ms. Susan Fitzgerald. Through faculty participation, more welcoming relationships are built between students and staff that ultimately encourage student engagement. Our student council constantly gives students the student body and event to look forward to whether it's spirit days pep rallies dances or advisory events we began hosting traditional events our school was founded upon [02:21:45] such as falcon madness powder puff powder buff falcon's pageant and so much more although my time as a falcon is almost up i'm proud of the briarwoods traditions values and legacy our senior class has left one way our sca administrators can connect with each other is through advisory During advisory, we host some of our most popular events, such as Falcon Feud, Falcon Scott Talent, and Powder Buff. [02:22:12] In addition, these events are a great way for students to get outside their comfort zone, meet new people, and make memories. Our annual Falcon Scott Talent Show was a huge success and showcased a wide variety of student talent, such as dancing, singing, and even martial arts, which took first place this year. [02:22:30] As always, our prep rallies have brought energy and elevated student excitement for future events. For example, our prom queen reveal at our spring prep rally the day before prom or celebrating our student-athletes as they walk out to represent their team. Speaking about our wonderful student-athletes, a huge shout-out to our cheer team, who won states this year, and to Carson Moore, who received State Cheerleader of the Year. [02:22:53] Our fall sports as a whole were on the rise this year with our football team improving their overall performance, multiple athletes reaching district playing cross-country, and our volleyball team holding a winning record. And how can I forget, Ben Baker won the state championship in golf. [02:23:09] Transitioning into winter sports, another huge shout out to the girls basketball team, which won their first ever district and regional championship in school history. Lastly, our spring sports have been excelling on the field with our girls soccer team reaching the district championship and competing in regionals. [02:23:26] I believe our fine arts program at Briar Woods is exceptional. Our theater program performed the musical Freaky Friday while having live orchestrated music. In addition, our band, choir, and orchestra receive superior ratings on their performances and earn Briarwoods the Blue Ribbon Award. [02:23:44] One thing that distinguishes Briarwoods from other Loudoun County schools is the involvement in the school community. We provide the opportunity for our students to reach their full potential and establish new chances for students to express themselves. Within the community, Briarwoods is actively engaged in Loudoun County by volunteering at local races, food drives, and local stores. [02:24:06] This year, members of the National Honor Society volunteered for the Loudoun Serenity House 5K Run for Recovery to offer people an outlet as they start their journey to building a new life, drug and alcohol free. [02:24:22] In addition, our FBLA works alongside comfort cases as our school helps to create backpacks for foster children across the area. Finally, for our second year in a row, our administration has offered capstone projects for seniors to job shadow, intern, or volunteer in an area of interest for their future. [02:24:41] On behalf of Briar Woods, I want to congratulate Sharia Singh on winning the prestigious Jefferson Scholarship to attend the University of Virginia in the fall, Carter Pauley and Kirsten Massey for placing seventh in the world at DECA for SBE and Briar Woods for being among just a few hundred high schools across the U.S. to be recognized as a 2023-2024 project lead the way. These are just a few of the many highlights of Briar Woods. [02:25:07] Through the school year is not over yet we are looking forward to the remaining events such as freshman expo and especially graduation. Once again thank you for allowing me to showcase the excellence, that is Ryder Woods. Thank you, Ms. Schofield. Thank you, Ms. Drake. Our next student is Brooke Schofield from Independence High School. Brooke's bio was read at the May 14th school board meeting. Ms. Schofield, you have the floor. Thank you. Good evening. I'm Brooke Schofield, and I'm currently serving as this year's SCA president at Independence High School. As I near the conclusion [02:25:44] of my third year in SCA and fourth year at Independence, I'm compelled to express my gratitude to all of those who have supported me along this remarkable journey in Loudoun. With the academic year drawing to a close, I'd like to take this opportunity to advocate on behalf of upcoming generations of Loudoun students and Independence Tigers. Beginning at 9 30 a.m. poses no threat until the last bell to leave rings at 4 18, ending the school day and starting the evening. [02:26:11] The late high school time is putting a toll on our students' efficiency. Students are released into the parking lot or onto our buses at the same time, causing more traffic, which results in an even later return home. For most students, getting home means 4:45 p.m. or later. [02:26:27] This also poses a problem for when high school students are seeking job opportunities. First, it is difficult to find a job that allows hours beginning at 5:00 p.m., let alone commute and arrive on time to set job. This difficulty creates a chaotic and unsafe environment in our parking lots as students rush to be on time. [02:26:48] In addition to work conflicts, there are also many students that are required to travel for sports. While this does include our afterschool sports practices that end at 6:30, this also pertains to the students that need to miss school in order to travel away for games and meets. While games may begin at 6:00 to 7:00 PM, accounting for both junior varsity and varsity teams, as well as commuting set up and practice, athletes are often eschews from their last block in order to attend. [02:27:11] This model makes it difficult for student athletes to reach their full potential due to the late end of school days. On behalf of future Tigers and Loudoun County students, I ask that you take this in consideration for the future years. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Ms. Schofield, and thank you both for being here with us tonight for your remarks. [02:27:36] And we will now move on to Agenda Item 10.01, the Superintendent Report, presented by Dr. Aaron Spence. Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the board. I appreciate the opportunity this evening to share some good news from around the school division. [02:27:52] I'll begin with first just acknowledging it's my pleasure to share the coming together of vision, skill, and learning. Earlier this school year, Loudoun Valley High School seniors Graham Balderson, Charlie Roby, and Sam Welsh supported the adoption of LCPS's new logo by creating wooden representations of the logo for their senior capstone project. [02:28:13] With the guidance of their teachers, Donnie Mitchell and Adam Wilburn, the students created one-of-a-kind handcrafted wood and resin art pieces. Let's take a few moments to watch a video that documents the creation of these beautifully crafted plaques. In September 2023, Loudoun County Public Schools unveiled and adopted a new logo for the school system based on timeless values and extensive research. [02:28:45] LCPS elevated the development of this new logo by inviting students to participate in a design challenge. Student voice and engagement informed the final logo. In January 2024, a group of seniors at Loudoun Valley High School supported the adoption of the logo for their senior capstone project, creating wooden representations of the emblem. [02:29:07] Without hesitation and with support of their dedicated and talented teachers, the students accepted the challenging experience and its impressive learning curve. The meaningful final product supported Capstone's mission to demonstrate a student's mastery of a particular subject or field of study. [02:29:26] In this case, working through the Career and Technical Education Program's Technology and Engineering class and Material and Processes class. The handcrafted LCPS logos will hang proudly throughout the division for years to come. Thanks to the Loudoun Valley Class of 2024. [02:29:45] So I am honored to thank Charlie and Graham and Sam for their dedication, time, and creativity, and also Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Wilburn for all they do for the students at Loudoun Valley. [02:30:00] Board members, I also happen to have an example of this for you all to look at. So I will pass that down for you all to look at. And I should note again, these emblems that they created will be proudly displayed on podiums during key events and elsewhere throughout the division for years to come. [02:30:22] They are here this evening, and so I would ask for our students and their teachers, along with Dr. Susan Ross, principal at Loudoun Valley High School, to please stand up so that we can recognize all of you for your great work. Thank you. All right. Next, last week, more than 3,100 first grade students at 37 elementary schools participated in the first ever Together in Remembrance event. For this activity, which was [02:30:59] the brainchild of the Department of Teaching and Learning and Renee Dawson and the School Business Partnership Council, students built wooden American flags from kits distributed by veteran-owned flags of valor. Fifth graders, along with veterans, active service members, community members, staff helped the first graders assemble flags that were later displayed in the schools were given to veterans through various community organizations. This curriculum focused event helped deepen students understanding of Memorial Day and brought together students from different grades, teachers, community, and business partners to reflect on the importance of this holiday. I had the [02:31:36] opportunity to attend this event at Cedar Lane and it was just awesome and we want to say thank you to everyone involved in coordinating that incredible event. Next, we're pleased to recognize that the Advancement via Individual Determination or AVID program celebrated their 30 seniors on Friday, May 17th at Tuscarora High School. This was the largest number of AVID seniors to come through the LCPS program. In total this year, 91 students were enrolled in AVID, with 45 of those students enrolled in advanced or dual enrollment courses. [02:32:08] The goal of the AVID program is to ensure students engage meaningfully in academic and extracurricular activities throughout the school year by supporting the development of communication organization and inquiry skills. Congratulations to our avid seniors and all the best as they advance to their post high school endeavors. And speaking of those advancing to post high school endeavors, LCPS celebrated 233 teacher cadets at a ceremony held at John Champ High School on May 22nd. The teacher cadet program is a grow our own initiative offered to students in grades 11 and 12 who may be interested in pursuing a career in education. [02:32:44] These CTE courses are dual enrolled with Shenandoah University and all teacher cadet students complete an internship with a current LCPS teacher and interact with elementary and middle school students during observations. Teacher cadet students who successfully complete the program receive a letter of intent from the Department of Human Resources and Talent Development. [02:33:04] So congratulations to these teacher cadets on their commitment to work towards educating tomorrow's students. Next, the Purcellan Gang, a group of 10 Heritage High School students who, under the direction of Heritage High Biology teacher Amy Goodyear, participated in the NASA-supported Plant the Moon Challenge, has been awarded Best in Show for Overall Experimental Design for the state of Virginia and the international title for Best Experimental Design. [02:33:32] This team undertook the challenge of growing Purcellan, which is a succulent rich in nutrients, in lunar regolith, or moon dirt. This substance lacks the essential elements that can sustain plant life, so these students, through teamwork and problem solving, had to devise a plan to grow their plants in this soil. [02:33:52] This is the second year that Ms. Goodyear has incorporated this experiment into her biology class. The winning team will be presenting their research and be recognized for their accomplishments at an awards ceremony on June the 1st. Congratulations to all of the students who participated in this challenge, and especially to this team, for their success. [02:34:11] Congratulations also to Briarwoods, Freedom, Heritage, Loudoun Valley, and Woodgrove High Schools, who are all recognized as 2023-24 Project Lead the Way Distinguished Schools. The honor highlights these schools' transformative learning experiences in computer science, biomedical science, and engineering, and their commitment to increasing student access, engagement, and achievement in their Project Lead the Way programs. [02:34:37] Also, the Department of Support Services is hosting three community meetings to share information on funded, planned, and proposed school capital projects. While these meetings are scheduled for three different dates, the presentations will be identical. The dates and locations of each meeting are shown on this slide, and I want to encourage our community to attend one of these sessions to learn more about school construction, renovation, and maintenance plans. [02:35:02] And then finally, four videos produced by the Department of Communications and Community Engagement have won six Telly Awards. The four winning videos highlight a Dominion High School Senior, who is also a BMX Olympic contender, the renovation of the historic Douglas High School, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Workforce Development Expo, and Unified Activities. [02:35:25] The Telly Awards annually showcase the best work created for all screens. Receiving over 12,000 entries globally from six continents in all 50 states, Telly Award winners represent some work from some of the best production companies and publishers from around the world, so congratulations to the videographers behind these videos and the Department of Communications and Community Engagement. And Madam Chair, that concludes my report. Thank you, Dr. Spence. I would like it. [02:35:53] I would, hold on. Is there any way that I could get a picture with the kids and the, um, and the plaque together? I think we can. Yes, that's exactly what I was going to suggest. Thank you. Great [02:36:07] minds. All right, before we move on to public comment, I would like to go back up to remote [02:37:32] participation the very very beginning um and i have been notified that miss labelle would like to remotely participate in tonight's school board meeting miss labelle please state your location and whether this is a medical or personal matter hold on miss labelle we can't hear you at home i'm at home in my house in lovetsville virginia and this is a medical matter is anyone present [02:38:11] with you at this location if so please state their names it's my husband michael and he's in his Woodshop. I would like to thank you. I will entertain a motion that Ms. LaBelle's request to participate remotely be granted. So moved. We have a motion by Ms. Donahue. Is there a second? [02:38:38] Second. We have a second by Ms. Chandler. It's been properly moved and seconded to approve Ms. LaBelle's remote participation. At this time we'll take an electronic vote. Clerk please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. [02:39:00] Clerk, please close and display the vote. And that motion passes with Ms. Chernoff absent for the vote and Ms. LaBelle absent for the vote. [02:39:18] Welcome to the meeting, Ms. LaBelle. Would you mind stating your disclosure for us? Let me pull it up. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits in any other discussion that may include or affect the benefits for LCPS [02:39:54] employees. Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statuatory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. [02:40:17] I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. We will now move on to item 11, public hearing. [02:40:36] the public comment for the public hearing on Lansdowne Boulevard Elementary School attendance zone but I have been told we have no public comment for the public hearing so therefore we'll move on to item 12 our regular public comment thank you for engaging with the school board through the public comment process the school board welcomes comments from the Loudoun County residents and believes that strong community engagement and outreach are important components of a successful school system speakers must limit comments to the time allotted based on [02:41:12] the number of speakers in the agenda this evening all speakers have been allotted two minutes each for public comment please be advised that speakers who miss their time slot will not be called at a later time all audience members shall maintain civility decorum and respect for the functioning and dignity of the school board at all times please remain seated until unless arriving departing speaking at the podium or during a break violations of civility decorum and respect include shouting heckling jeering applause or other noise which disrupts or delays the meeting obstructing speakers from being able to see the school board and vice versa interrupting speakers attempting to speak when not called to do so by the chair [02:41:50] and approaching a speaker otherwise attempting to intimidate disparage or distract a speaker staff member or other meeting attendees speakers should refrain from vulgarity obscenities defamation profanity or other like breaches of respect nor may speakers target criticize or attack individual students and or individual division employees during public comment. Speakers should communicate those concerns to their school principal or an appropriate school official. The school board requests that comments on an individual student or employee related matter not be shared at public meetings where the disclosure could violate [02:42:24] applicable confidentiality requirements. Speakers should face the dais and direct their comments to the school board. Per LCPS policy 2520, members of the school board will not answer questions or respond directly to the public during public comment period. Violations of decorum or civility by any meeting attendee may result in the chair directing staff to remove the attendee from the remainder of the meeting. Repeated or persistent violations of decorum or civility by the audience may result in on the decision of the chair, public comment being tabled until a later point in the meeting's agenda, limiting the number of attendees in the meeting room during public comment for [02:43:03] safety reasons, or the public comment period ending for the evening. Copies of materials for board members should be given to the public information officer in the media box at the back of the boardroom before the start of the meeting. Please provide 12 copies of the materials. Under no circumstances may a speaker approach the dais. The public is reminded that access to school board meetings is available through LCPS-TV on Comcast Channel 18 and Verizon Fios Channel 43. The live stream of the meeting may be viewed on the website. We look forward to hearing your comments, and we will start first with virtual public comment. Our first public [02:43:41] comment is from Jennifer DiDonato, followed by Dana Lauka. Thank you. Can you hear me? Yes, we can. [02:43:59] Great. I'm a parent at Hillside Elementary and on the Hillside PTO board, as well as SEAC. Before I get started, I wanted to thank you. The majority of this board has done a wonderful job of listening to your constituents and representing our viewpoints. I hope this continues, and I look forward to Dr. Deans representing Hillside Elementary parents and students. I have three separate items to discuss today. One, the board should support fencing for playgrounds. This is a simple and cost-efficient way to make an immediate difference for our younger students and those with disabilities. Two, Hillside Elementary needs a new playground. Research [02:44:38] I've been doing has been eye-opening. What we've found is a significant number of the new schools getting playgrounds have a less diverse student population and are more economically advantaged than our school. There are schools on the list where LCPS has supplied not one, but two large, beautiful playgrounds. But since one piece of one of them had to be removed, they're getting a new one. Things that should be considered, like age of the playground and number of students attending, are not in the criteria. At the rate LCPS is going, Hillside wouldn't get a playground for another 13 years. My kids would have graduated by then. Graduated college. At the last meeting, [02:45:15] you heard from a school official who contradicted themselves more than once stating the playground was compliant with ADA and then walking it back. These noncompliances have been there for years and never identified on one of the annual playground reviews. It wasn't until our PTO raised the issue that LCPS acknowledged it. Support Hillside with an inclusive playground so all of our students can play. Third is on capacity. Hillside is one of the four elementary schools that is currently over building capacity. In addition, there are new developments that are being built that are currently slated to go to Hillside, which would further exacerbate the issue. There are two other schools, both feeding into Eagle Ridge, like Hillside, that are under capacity. Mill Run at [02:45:54] 79% and Waxful at 69%, both larger and newer schools. Thank you. The next public speaker is Dana Laukoff, followed by Amy Diaz-Paz. My name is Dana. Can you guys hear me? Yes, we can hear you. [02:46:18] Okay, sorry. Hello, my name is Dana, and I have three children in LCPS. In the last few months, I've also started to sub for our schools, specifically for special ed, because I know fewer people choose to sub those classes. I have absolutely loved and enjoyed working closely with the teachers and the students. To my surprise, I've been completely unaware that schools have courtyards for self-contained settings. I would have never believed that not every child at LCPS has equal access to playground equipment. Most schools keep the self-contained classrooms [02:46:54] in a small courtyard and do not give them access to the larger playgrounds. Furthermore, the courtyards I've seen have been void of anything remotely engaging. Some have a slide that you would have given a toddler, but that's it. Most of the teachers are forced to use their funds to get bubbles, balls, and other engaging games. The inequity of recess is not a fight I ever imagined addressing. But here we are in 2024 asking that children of all level and all need [02:47:29] and all ability get equal access to playground equipment. Please support all of our children. I also strongly encourage the board to visit their schools and specifically ask them to see ask them to see the courtyards look see what they look like and then ask them point blank who has access to your playgrounds. Do all children have access? Can all children play on the playground? [02:47:53] I can guarantee you that you will be alarmed and very dismayed. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Amy Diaz-Paz, followed by Meredith Ray. I currently have Amy. We do not currently [02:48:31] have Amy. Thank you. We will move on with Meredith Ray, followed by Craig Metz. We do not have Meredith or Craig? Hey, wait, hold on. I'm here. Okay. It sounds like Mr. Metz is there. Like many special ed parents, this year, two of my children's special permission requests were denied. [02:48:59] In preparing for the appeals, I made two FOIA requests for educational records related to my special permission requests. The response I received only contained a few emails between myself and LCPS. I emailed your FOIA officer my concern that I was not provided all the records, such as records from the request website or from the process of considering the requests. [02:49:19] He responded that all responsive records have been provided. I am concerned that that is not the case. I made two additional FOIA requests, expanding the date range. I was asked and immediately clarified that these were new separate requests. The law requires one of three responses within five working days. [02:49:37] After six, I emailed your FOIA officer telling him, I have not received any response. I didn't get a response to that either. My understanding is that LCPS has already lost two FOIA lawsuits in 2024. In a well-run organization, that would cause your superintendent to make whatever changes were needed to prevent a third. [02:49:56] Instead, I am concerned that your staff are unable or unwilling to follow the law. Chair Mansfield and the board, I am asking you to investigate your staff's non-compliance with Virginia's FOIA and fix this transparency problem. Thank you. Thank you. [02:50:14] Next speaker is Brenda Bankston, followed by Paul Lott. Teaching isn't a hard science that follows unwavering rules. It's a new experiment each and every day, say Rhodes and Melville. [02:50:35] ASCD's May 2024 issue of Educational Leadership has superb articles on the power of teacher agency. France suggests that when teachers can be inspired by their colleagues, they hone their decision-making to continuously grow their own practice. [02:50:56] Teachers and students are more willing to try complex strategies and to take risks in thinking when they feel safe to make mistakes. I had the fortune to work with some of Loudoun's best and enjoyed myriad rewards of teaching and learning. [02:51:13] Not only are teachers masters of quality instructional materials, they meet the growing social-emotional needs of students while focusing on the critical work of teaching and learning, all despite the highly politicized noise about public education. Standardized testing often limits teacher agency, and new instructional mandates leave student needs unmet. Mandates feel like something done to teachers, not something done with them. But connections and [02:51:50] creativity strengthen teacher voices. Meaning, motivation, and innovation get results while mandates come and go. Effective teaching and learning survive and students thrive far beyond mandates. Please support and promote teacher agency. Thank you. I was wondering if since Mr. Metz was there, is there a way that we had passed Mrs. Diaz-Paz, or is she not there at [02:52:27] all? No, she is not there. Okay. Okay, next person is Paul Lott. Paul Lott is not on. Okay, we'll move [02:52:50] on to our in-person speakers, Valerie Hughes, followed by Sandy Sullivan. Can you hear me? [02:53:07] My name is Valerie Hughes, and I'm a subject matter expert with approximately 20 years of experience in public health. I have a PhD in molecular medicine and have been working as a scientist for the federal government for approximately 10 years. I want to quickly go over results of some studies on cell tower proximity and facts, and then touch upon why federal agencies minimize health concerns. A 2004 study in Germany found the risk of breast cancer [02:53:44] was 3.4 times greater and the average age of diagnosis was 19 years earlier in people living within 400 meters of a cell tower. A 2004 study in Israel found that women living within 350 meters of a cell tower have over 10 times greater risk of developing cancer than the community as a whole. [02:54:10] A 2008 study in Austria found that people residing near a cell tower had breast cancer risk that was 23 times higher and brain tumor risk that was 121 times higher than the rest of the population. [02:54:27] So why are federal agencies minimizing health concerns? Number one, there are conflicts of interest between the FCC and the telecommunications company as the FCC charges companies for licenses. [02:54:42] The industry spends about $100 million a year lobbying Congress and meeting with the FCC approximately 500 times a year. And also, the president has supervision of the executive branch agency role-making and nominates political appointees and that includes to DHS, NIH, CDC, FDA, and the FCC. Thank you. [02:55:08] Thank you. Please hold your applause. The next person is Sandy Sullivan followed by Zach Orshant. I just want to remind everyone because this may be the first time you're here but there's no shouting, heckling, jeering, applause, or other noise which disrupts or delays the meeting. [02:55:30] just a reminder i'm sorry miss sullivan good evening my name is sandy sullivan i'm the president of the louden education association seeking feedback seeking stakeholder feedback seeking stakeholder feedback examining the results providing additional options making decisions this is the process being used to directly address the heavy lift of ensuring educators get the professional development needed the training required by the state in order for our educators to be prepared to support and instruct our students. This is an excellent way, [02:56:05] an excellent part of decision making, creating a plan and making improvements. So providing stakeholders an avenue for input, input of their expertise and experience in order to determine what is best for our students, our educators, our families, our community. Hmm, now let's think about this. How about creating a process that codifies how to allow for input and utilize that input, about how providing for more informed decision making, about how making meaningful improvements. Does that sound like something you've heard of? That is what collective bargaining does. [02:56:40] Yes, it's a simplified and limited comparison, but collective bargaining does just that, and it does it publicly and thoughtfully. We look forward to the L.A. and P. Committee work Thursday, the resolution moving on to the full board as an information item and then an action item in June. [02:56:57] School board, wrap up this critical piece of the process to engage in collective bargaining with your employees in June. Delays cannot continue. If you support collective bargaining, make it a reality for our community. Thank you. Zach Orchant, followed by Miriam Asparjani. [02:57:24] Miriam Asparjani, followed by Melissa Waugh. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. We appreciate it. [02:57:49] My name is Miriam Asparjani. I'm the mother of a rising ninth grader at Dominion. I'm also an electrical engineer and a biomedical engineer. I have spent years in the wireless industry designing, building, optimizing wireless systems. [02:58:05] I have also testified in court as expert witness on multiple occasions regarding electromagnetic radiation. I am here representing a number of concerned parents and ask that you not renew policy 6350 until more recent and relevant studies are completed that investigate the health effects of electromagnetic fields on our children. [02:58:33] In my expert judgment, FCC radiofrequency regulations are old. Much has changed in our environment within the past 28 years with the emergence of new technologies, 4G, 5G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Internet of Things, wearable devices, millimeter wave, and more. [02:58:51] All of these need to be further investigated. In fact, there is a judgment against FCC. Environmental Health Trust won a lawsuit against FCC and asked FCC to explain why in its policy it ignored scientific evidence showing them that there is harm from wireless communications. [02:59:12] Poorly covered schools and residents can be adequately covered by wireless sites that are nearby. The reason cell towers choose to use our schools is because our lease terms are favorable, the rent is comparatively low, and LCPS is a stable landlord. [02:59:30] However, if you still choose to go forward with the policy, I urge you to tighten the language on 8.3. Add to it, looking at latest peer-reviewed research, available recommendations, and reputable, relevant health organizations. [02:59:50] The next speaker is Melissa Waugh, followed by Ben Spain. Good evening. My name is Melissa Waugh. [03:00:07] I'm the parent of a broad-run graduate and a broad-run graduating senior. I am also a member of SEAC and a special education attorney representing families of children with disabilities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. I'm speaking today to request, humbly request, please, that the board would consider using at least some of any leftover funding there may be this year to fence in our students' playgrounds so that our children with disabilities are not denied equal access to these playgrounds. [03:00:43] As I'll remind, the board is actually required by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Our students with disabilities should be provided equal access to these playgrounds. Unfortunately, they're not. They're being relegated to courtyards with donated equipment that isn't always necessarily safe and certainly not age appropriate. That's unacceptable. In a school district like Loudoun County with the resources we have, we should be able to afford to fence these playgrounds to help prevent elopement, which is when a [03:01:21] student with disabilities may wander off or run off because of their disability. This is a real safety concern and no one disputes that. But by putting attractive and aesthetically pleasing fencing around these playgrounds, we can not only protect the safety of our students with disabilities, but we can ensure that they have equal access to play, to be able to socialize with their peers, to improve their integration with their same-aged peers in these play spaces. [03:01:55] So please, again, I humbly ask you, if there's money available, please use it to do what's right, to make these playgrounds equally accessible to our students with disabilities. Thank you. Ben Spain, followed by Aaron Kunkel. [03:02:14] Hello. I'm back. I was here two weeks ago talking about playgrounds. And our joke at our school is we call it the blue area where we keep the kindergartners and people like that the prison yard because that's what it looks like. [03:02:31] Since last time, I've been able to do some research, and I'd like to share some of that research with you. But first, I want to talk about why do I care so much about the playground because it seems like kind of a, you know, like really, like playgrounds, like come on. It's because the kids spend so much time out there. I mean, it's something like 600 hours over the course of their time at an elementary school. It's a lot of time. Plus, they're used as community centers where kids go to play. So that's why I care so much. I was able to figure out the scoring system. We had lots of questions about why mill run was so low. And I think this is what happened. In 2015, we started providing playgrounds. LCPS did. Before that, PTOs bought playgrounds. When those playgrounds were [03:03:09] bought, say in early 2000 by PTOs, if you bought a dangerous playground, you are now getting a new one. If you bought a safe playground, you are being relegated to the bottom. Hillside is still at the bottom because we bought a relatively safe playground. If you look at the lists, I have the list over there of the scoring system that they use to judge playgrounds. The top 20 have head entrapment and neck entrapment issues. These are playgrounds that were bought after ours. So they were bought dangerous and now they're being replaced earlier because they were dangerous. [03:03:45] I'd also like to bring up, as you're coming on the vote, I know the vote's coming next for the surplus, please remember your priorities. We have 12 remaining schools that had a safety score of five. That's the highest for their playgrounds. Why are they not on the surplus budget? We can get $5 million with the solar panels on the surplus budget. These scores were done in February. There should have been preparation done. They should have had plans ready so when there was inevitable surplus money, they could put playgrounds on the list. You've heard it tonight from three different people. Clearly, it's a priority. Please make it that. Thank you. Thank you. Aaron Kunkel, followed [03:04:21] by Clara Nesbaum. Good evening. As our nation continues to grapple with its complex history, it is essential that we critically examine the symbols and names that shape our educational institutions. Schools play a crucial role in shaping young minds, and the names they bear can carry significant weight. Renaming schools that honor Confederate leaders is not an erasure of history. Rather, it is a correction of revisionist narratives. Renaming schools is [03:04:57] more than symbolic. It reflects LCPS's commitment to truth and inclusivity. Students, parents, and communities deserve schools that honor figures who promote unity, justice, progress, and equity. As a black woman, as a parent, I do not want confederate names on my children's high school diplomas. These schools should be renamed after individuals who embody values we can all be proud of, the values that LCPS stands for. Examples include leaders from diverse backgrounds, civil rights activists, scientists, artists, and community builders. [03:05:31] Renaming schools is an opportunity to correct the historical record, foster inclusivity, and create learning environments that inspire pride and unity. Let us choose names that reflect our shared values and aspirations for a better future. Thank you. Thank you. [03:05:48] Clara Nussbaum, followed by Nalini Tandon. [03:06:01] Nalini Tandon, followed by Kikori Brune. Hello, thank you so much for giving me a chance to speak today. [03:06:18] My name is Nalini Tandon, and I have actually no credentials in this subject. I am not an engineer. I'm not a scientist. I am simply a mom who is concerned about a cell tower going in on our kids' school property. I know the Dominion Seneca and Riverbend Towers are currently tabled in review for policy 6350. [03:06:40] Given the trajectory of previous approvals, I just wanted to have a chance to speak to you today to say, hey, let's slow down the process a little bit and give our community a chance to educate themselves and provide all of you with thoughtful and considered feedback. [03:06:57] I ask that the board consider extending the communication about these cell towers to all of the cluster schools that feed into both of these locations, along with the HOAs, the students, and the staff, and especially the walk zones that go to those communities. [03:07:15] I think it's important, if LCPS wants to hear from everybody, that we include everybody in the communication. Second, as part of Dominion High School, I would request a second meeting for that high school. We had our meeting on a very, just an awful day for the school, so many of our community members were not present and did not have an opportunity to hear from Milestone or LCPS on this proposal, and I think that's very important. [03:07:44] Lastly, I would request all of you to consider delaying any votes, public hearings, or the like until the fall, preferably October, November timeframe, to give all of us, including yourselves, an opportunity to educate yourselves on these towers and what the potential impacts are. I'm trying to educate myself, and I ask that you do the same. Thank you. Thank you. Corey Brunet, followed by Susan Cox. [03:08:13] Good evening. My name is Corey Brunet, and I'm an English learner teacher at Broad Run High School. Several years ago, there was a growth mindset approach that LCPS employees were encouraged to use called two glows and a grow. The idea was that when teachers gave feedback to students, they would give two glows or two positive comments and one grow or a comment on something the student could improve with a little practice and attention. Some would even write the glows on light bulb images and the grow on the image of a leaf. Supervisors use this approach with staff [03:08:48] as well. And while I think it's changed a little, it's still in use today. I'm going to do the same for you tonight first glow i don't want to speak for anyone but myself but was i impressed with how quickly you pivoted when you started getting feedback from school-based staff members about the late arrival idea proposed at the last school board meeting you have taken these great ideas proposed from school-based staff and we already have seen the proposed calendar which looks so much better than the first one and while i personally would have preferred a couple of [03:09:22] different days for the professional development. This calendar I can definitely live with. Thank you. Second glow. Nothing is coming to mind. And now for the grow. Remember, this is something that could be improved with a little practice and attention. Listen to us, school-based staff. [03:09:44] Respect us, school-based staff. We want collective bargaining and deserve a collective bargaining resolution that respects employees. This Thursday could be the day that your grow turns into a glow at the legislative audit and policy committee meeting. If you're on that committee, keep listening to school-based staff. Keep paying attention to what we deserve. LCPS will never outperform its educators. Thank you. Susan Cox, followed by Ann Miller. Hello. I don't agree with [03:10:23] renaming of the schools learn from history don't erase it money and resources spent on this slippery slope of an ideology is not sound it leads to division and confusion it will cost millions upon millions upon millions we have inflation fentanyl overdoses learning loss this focus on renaming is problematic and unnecessary i implore you focus on literacy the true equalizer yes to rereading 1984, no to renaming. Change people's hearts, not historic names. I have seen communities burdened with a negative fallout after such renamings. Everything from calling names to death [03:11:01] threats. Take Scott Taylor's word for it, if you won't take mine. He did an interview on Channel 9 with Peggy Fox, and he was for keeping the name of a model school for tolerance. It was one of the first high schools to integrate in 1959. Quoting Peggy Fox, he is a black leader in Arlington. He is against the changing of names. He runs the Black Heritage Museum in Arlington. And then he says, quoting Taylor, I think we are tearing down history and we don't think you should tear down history. [03:11:34] You build history up. You have conversations about things you don't want to talk about. You don't just get rid of it. That's not how you calm, quell, or fix things, said Taylor. My phone was running or I would play it so you could see his face, his expressions, and his heritage. [03:11:53] He went to a segregated school, but he's for keeping history and he values that. I also think that you should focus on corresponding to your constituents. I wrote my district Sterling School Board representative in the beginning of the March. [03:12:09] It's near the end of May. That's nearly three months. Did you fall victim to someone who lied about me and said I wasn't in your constituent stop these intimidation tactics. Stop cyberbullying. And you know who I'm talking about and I don't think it's fair. Thank you. Ann Miller followed by Armin Mozahebi. Good evening. Yesterday as a nation we paused to honor and remember our fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice [03:12:49] laying down their lives to defend and protect our constitutional republic. Whatever party affiliation, whatever your preconceived agendas were before you stepped into your role as board member. You have a duty and a responsibility to protect and defend the Constitution and the children of the school system. I am a former Loudoun County Public School Head Start teacher. [03:13:11] I bought in 100% to transformative social-emotional learning and culturally responsive teaching until I had a red flag and started digging. Here's what no one is telling teachers, administrators, parents, and you, the school board. CASEL SEL program and culturally responsive teaching are both based on transformative humanizing Marxist methods of Paulo Frese, who developed Marxist educational theory. Nobody's telling anybody this. This is absolutely unacceptable that Marxist educational theory is embedded in our school system. If you think this is outlandish, tonight [03:13:51] you are discussing spending millions of education dollars to change school names. That is a cultural Marxist revolutionary tool. Lennon did it. Miss Van Fleet wrote in her recently published book that Mao changed names of schools, buildings, and streets during the cultural Marxist revolution she grew up in. Tonight you are signing Pride Month proclamation. Are you aware that Pride Month has its roots in queer theory? Did you even know about queer theory, that it exists? Well, it does, and you're indoctrinating the children of the school system with this proclamation. [03:14:23] Queer theory is actually Marxist critical queer theory, meant to transform the consciousness of students. That crosses the line of state-mandated cult ideology, which is a violation of our Constitution. Please I urge you to dig into the Marxist ideology that is embedded in our school system. [03:14:39] Our fallen heroes did not sacrifice their lives for students in our school system to be indoctrinated with cultural Marxism. Thank you. Armin Mosahabi, followed by Andrea Weiskopf. Good evening, Madam Chair. [03:14:59] members of the board. Thank you for the opportunity. I'm a parent of a rising ninth grader in Dominion High School. And of course, I'm a wireless engineer too, sorry. And I have more than 25 years of experience backing the wireless and, you know, building sites and, you know, helping from the commercial side to the government to all around. I have done so many work in the wireless companies and, you know, building the cell site. I would [03:15:31] like to offer my expert opinion about policy 6350. And I respectfully ask that you do not renew this policy until more recent studies are completed. As you know, FCC is not a health agency, and they do only auctioning the spectrum and just selling it for billions of billions of dollars. They have never done any kind of health study to just make sure that this spectrum and the way the power is and everything is not [03:16:09] going to hurt the health of the population. there is enough question of, as you know, the FCC even though they did some studies is very old. It's like close to 30 years old and it's not Valid it because we have gone through so many new technologies and new spectrum that they came in and they are not safe They are definitely not safe. There is a lot of a study has done, you know back in the Europe Australia, you know all around the world, you know other than the u.s [03:16:45] That we don't have enough a study that show us you know what we can do and how we can take care of this issue I Just want you know, please, you know, just you know, let this to be postponed it until we get a little more you know, I studied on. [03:17:07] Thank you. Andrea Weiskopf. I was told to pivot, and so I pivoted. I was told to give grace, and so I gave grace. I also connected before content. I glowed and I growed. I helped with heavy lifts. I created data-driven lessons after deep dives to unpack standards with my PLC and CLT. I remembered my why. In return, I don't want a luncheon during [03:17:47] teacher appreciation week. I want collective bargaining. I want respect. And here, I will pivot because I've become quite good at it since 2020. Try to keep up. For in addition to pivoting and giving grace, I show up. I will continue to show up to remind you of your why, that each and every child in Loudoun County must receive a high-quality education in a school system that [03:18:20] sees, affirms, and protects every child, including our LGBTQ students. Thank you. Black Lives Matter. thank you thank you all for coming out today and providing your public comment board members at this time will take a little short recess and we will reconvene at around eight o'clock thanks [03:18:51] all right the board is coming back from recess and we will now move on to our action items [03:30:45] starting with 13.01 from the department of business and financial services uses a projected FY24 school operating fund year-end fund balance presented by miss Sharon Willoughby chief financial officer miss Willoughby Thank you. I just have a brief update regarding the fund balance projection and also staff's recommended List of items to use the fund balance all this information was included in the board docs agenda item So the fund balance we started with was based off of the third quarter financial report that was presented to the school board in April [03:31:21] which at that time projected a fund balance of $20.6 million and I'm just going to round that up to $21 million to make this conversation a little bit easier to follow. Since that third quarter projection we have received additional information that allows us to further refine the FY24 projected allocated and unencumbered year in balance to $26 million. So we're recognizing an additional $5 million falling to the fund balance. This increase is from $2 million of a revised state revenue projection that was included in the state caboose bill that was passed recently, and also $3 million [03:31:56] coming from revised spending updates as we continue to work with departments. Staff recommends using $13.6 million of this projected year-end fund balance to purchase the items outlined in the table that was included in board docs. Since the last school board meeting, item 10, which was $1 million dollars related to textbooks has been removed after after a further review determined that it was an ineligible expense due to it being a digital subscription that would begin on july 1st further based on the improved projected fund balance the installation of solar panels on four [03:32:35] schools have been added costing 4.9 million dollars those four schools were identified based from the capital asset preservation program and that they already had designs ready Those schools are going to be Potomac Elementary School, Lowe's Island Elementary School, Waxpole Elementary School, and the North Star School. [03:32:57] Also, by installing these solar panels, we anticipate recouping $230,000 per year in utility savings as well. So from the $26 million revised fund balance and subtracting the $13.6 million of the staff's recommended uses, that would bring the projected fund balance to $12.4 million should the school board approve staff's recommended list, and the $12.4 is what would be returned to the county. [03:33:30] Thank you, Ms. Willoughby. So now I will entertain a motion. Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board authorizes Loudoun County Public Schools to use $13,627,143 of FY24 projected allocated in an unencumbered year-end fund balance for one-time purchases as recommended by staff. [03:34:07] Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Chandler. It's been properly moved and seconded that the school board authorizes Loudoun County Public Schools to use $13,627,143 of FY24 projected allocated and unaccumbered year-end fund balance for one-time purchases as recommended by staff. [03:34:34] And I'll start with my discussion. It won't surprise any of you that I'd like to use the year-end funds to put fencing around current elementary school playgrounds. This would include the use, this would increase the use of K-5 playgrounds because kindergartners could actually use them and help our self-contained classes and adaptive PE. [03:34:54] So I would like to move to amend the base motion to add the allocation of $2,970,000 for elementary school playground fencing. Do I have a second? Second. I second. Oh, I got lots of seconds. [03:35:12] All right. I think I heard Ms. Donahue first. have a second by Ms. Donahue. So it's more properly moved and seconded to amend the base motion to add the allocation of $2,970,000 for elementary playground fencing. Now, is there any discussion? Yes, Ms. Chernoff. What would the return be to the Board of Supervisors with that added in? Do we have that number? It'd be approximately $9 million using round numbers. [03:35:47] So the goal was to give back 10, correct? I wouldn't say that's a goal, but yeah, I mean, And I think there's an expectation that there's close to $10 million. But I think that if we go a little under, it's probably not going to be looked down upon. [03:36:11] Can I make an amendment on your amendment? That will be the third, yes. To help close that gap, because I do think it's important to honor that, I would like to make a motion to remove item number three, the procurement disparity study. [03:36:28] I would get us a little bit closer. That's $450,000 just based off of different conversations about priorities. We have a lot of studies and consulting things going on, as I mentioned last meeting. And Dr. Spence mentioned that that would maybe be something we could look at at another time. And so I would like to move that we remove that to get closer to the $10 million mark. [03:36:51] Okay, do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Donahue. It's been properly moved that there's an amend to the amendment. of the to take off the $450,000 for the procurement disparity study from the original base motion um is there any discussion no we have three on the table right now we have to move back up [03:37:23] okay so um with that in mind we will vote for Ms. Chernoff's motion to amend the amendment um since there is no more discussion and so the motion on the floor is to amend the amendment with to take out the procurement disparity study uh clerk please open the vote board members please [03:37:54] record your vote clerk oh miss labelle would you please state your vote um i think you're muted i vote yes okay um clerk please close and display the vote and that motion passes seven yeses with [03:38:33] one no Dr. Deans and one abstaining from Mrs. Griffiths. Moving on we will move on to that second amendment to amend the base motion to add the allocation of $2,970,000 for elementary playground fencing. Is there any discussion? Okay so clerk would you please open [03:39:08] the vote board members please record your vote board members please record your vote i think ah that's not working okay miss labelle would you please state your vote i can't hear you again [03:39:39] yes thank you miss labelle clerk would you please close and display the vote and that motion passes eight yeses with one abstention from mrs griffiths all right let's move on to the to the base motion that has been amended and amended right is that right mr allen yes that's right okay all right [03:40:17] is there any discussion can we just get the final numbers just so we know what we're voting on so the revised um total uses would be 16 million five hundred ninety seven thousand one hundred and forty three dollars and if approved it would yield a projected fund balance return to the county of 9.8 million all right so let's go ahead um and clerk would you please open the vote for the base [03:40:55] motion board members please record your vote clerk please close and oh oh sorry miss labelle so this is voting for the base motion as amended um miss labelle would you please yes okay miss labelle would you please state that since i talked over you so the clerk can hear you yes there seems [03:41:29] to be a time delay and that's what's causing the trouble okay all right clerk would you please close and display the vote all right so that it passes unanimously all right any other amendments we are moving on okay the next item we are moving on is to item 13.02 fan the finance and operations [03:42:04] committee notification notification of contract between lcps and thomas jefferson high school for science and technology presented by vice chair istreffi chair of finance and operations vice chair istreffi sure thank you madam chair i move that the loudon county school board approve loudon county public schools cooperative agreement with fairfax county public schools to send students to thomas jefferson high school for science and technology for the 2025 to 2026 school year i have a motion by Mr. Streffy. Do I have a second? I second the motion. I have a second by Ms. Chernoff. [03:42:42] It's been properly moved and seconded to approve the continuing, that the Loudoun County School Board approved continuing the Loudoun County Public Schools Cooperative Agreement with Fairfax County Public Schools for the 2025-2026 school year. Is there any discussion? Seeing none. Oh, there is discussion. Yes, Mrs. LaBelle. I'm concerned that we don't have enough buses to take our children back and forth to schools here in Loudoun County and yet we are spending money [03:43:18] on buses to take them to Thomas Jefferson. Is there any way that we can charge for that or do something that would allow our students to have priority over the buses to TJ? Yes Dr. Spence would you like to answer and Ms. LaBelle? Yes ma'am and thank you Ms. LaBelle appreciate the question and certainly understand where it's coming from um we um we're always concerned about transportation as you know although we're really pleased with the the way we've caught up on bus drivers and that's because of the good work that our hr team and our transportation team have done [03:43:56] that said the major concern with your particular question would be an equity issue i think there would be some families who would not be able to afford transportation or provide transportation for their child who otherwise would be their child would be allowed to would be qualified to attend Thomas Jefferson and so for financial reasons we would essentially be disqualifying students who who actually merit being in attendance at TJ so administration wouldn't [03:44:25] recommend that okay is there any other discussion okay so we will be voting on approving the continuing Loudoun County Public Schools cooperative agreement with Fairfax County public schools for the 2025-2026 school year clerk would you please open the vote board members [03:44:56] please record your vote miss labelle would you please state your vote yes clerk please close and display the vote and that motion passes unanimously moving on to item 13.03 from human resources and talent development committee revisions to policy 70 7712 sick leave and [03:45:29] deletion of policy 7714 personally presented by mrs. Dina Griffiths chair of the HRTD committee this is madness thank you madam chair I move to approve 7712 and then the sick leave policy deletion of 7714 personally for both information items at the March 21st 2024 HRTD committee meeting after reviewing the committee voted to bring both policies back as an action item on April 25th, 2024 from the previous HRTD committee meeting. [03:46:04] The policies were made available to public feedback via Loudoun County Public Schools website. Policy 7712 and Policy 7714 feedback was included. The committee voted 3-0 to send the revised Policies 7712 and the deletion of Policy 7714 to the full school board as an information item. [03:46:26] And that's just some information on that. So I move to approve. Thank you. So you move that the Loudoun County School Board accept the revisions to policy 7712, sick leave, and the deletion policy of 7714, personal leave. [03:46:41] Thank you. Okay, I have a motion by Mrs. Griffiths. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Donahue. It's been properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board accept the revisions to policy 7712, sick leave, and the deletion of policy 7714, personal leave. [03:46:58] Is there any discussion? Seeing no discussion, we will go ahead and take the vote. Clerk, will you please open the vote? Board members, please record your vote. Ms. LaBelle, would you please state your vote? [03:47:17] Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote. And that motion passes unanimously. We're moving on to item 13.04, the last action item, the Department of Support Services Abbreviated Elementary School Attendance Zone Change Process Lansdown Boulevard Rezoning, presented by Mr. Kevin Luvis. [03:47:44] our chief operations officer. Mr. Lewis. Thank you, Chair Mansfield. So tonight we're coming back to you from the last meeting where we had the information item and also recall that we had a public hearing earlier this evening and we had no speakers to come and address the board. So what we're proposing to do is to move a brand new subdivision that's being developed from the Weller's attendance zone to the Selden's Landing attendance zones prior to any homes being built. [03:48:13] So these two attendance zones are side by side. And so this would be a way to move those students, approximately 22 future students in there before anyone is moving in. And so no one will be moved and it'll help stabilize the two attendance zones. [03:48:35] Thank you, Mr. Lewis. So I will now entertain a motion for agenda item 13.04. Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board adopts the recommended attendance zone change to assign the Lansdowne Boulevard development to Seldon's Landing Elementary School. [03:48:51] The change will take effect immediately. I have a motion by Vice Chair Streffi. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Chernoff. It's been properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board adopts the recommended attendance zone change to assign the Lansdowne Boulevard development to Seldon's Landing Elementary School, and the change will take effect immediately. [03:49:16] Is there any discussion? No discussion. Clerk, will you please open the vote? Board members, please record your vote. Ms. LaBelle, would you please state your vote? [03:49:34] Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote. And that motion passes unanimously. Okay, now we're moving on to our information items. [03:49:50] Starting with item 14.01, Department of Academics, Ensuring Adequate Professional Development Time for Teachers in 2024-25, presented by Dr. Ashley Ellis, Chief Academic Officer in Lisa Boland. [03:50:05] Chief Human Resources Officer. Dr. Ellis. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good evening, school board members. This evening, we are coming back to you with some additional information as a follow-up to our previous proposal to addressing finding adequate PD time for staff in the 24-25 school [03:50:36] year. This evening, I will review the current state of required professional development in LCPS and how the new requirements coming from VDOE impact our overall professional development plan for the coming school year. [03:50:56] I'll also share with you the extensive feedback that we received regarding our first proposal to add 16 adjusted arrival days to the calendar for next year and end with our new recommendation based on all of that feedback. I'll start with a reminder of the information I shared at the last meeting. [03:51:15] The Virginia Department of Education has announced several significant changes and new initiatives for the 24-25 school year. These changes and new initiatives will take a significant amount of staff time to learn and implement. This will require a significant amount of additional professional learning for most of our teachers. [03:51:33] In addition to these new requirements coming from BDOE, educators have consistently shared that there is already not enough time in the teacher calendar devoted to the required and recommended professional learning teachers participate in to continue to strengthen their practice. So we continue to look at ways to mitigate these concerns. [03:51:53] As I mentioned last time, we categorized all of the professional learning required into the four buckets you see here. And a couple of board members asked to see the Virginia Literacy Act or VLA requirements specifically broken out by teacher groups. [03:52:11] So this slide lists the teacher groups required to participate in the VLA modules. As you can see at the bottom of the chart, a good deal of this training will not be available until September of 2024. I will also note that the capstone course in the green column is for any teacher who has completed letters training or Orton-Gillingham training or OG training previously. [03:52:36] Staff was glad to see this capstone course published by VDOE and the guidance that it can be used in place of the full modules for those teachers who have participated in letters or OG. Because we have invested a lot of time and money and teachers have also invested a lot of time in this important training, we're glad that this is being recognized. [03:52:58] That being said, you can see that there's still significant amount of time needed for many teacher groups. In addition to the required training related to the VLA, teachers have many hours of required training already on their plates. [03:53:15] We have also been asked to provide some specific examples of what this would look like for different teacher groups. So the following slides provide some examples of unique teacher groups and their required professional development for the coming school year. Our first example is for a new third grade teacher. [03:53:34] All new staff have about 9 hours or 8.8 hours of required training when they join LCPS. New teachers have an additional 2.5 hours. Additionally, next year, teachers in grades K through 3 will be administering the VALS assessment as we transition away from the PALS assessment. [03:53:58] Many of our K-2 teachers have already received this VALS training as we were fortunate enough to be a VALS pilot school division this year. However, new K-2 teachers and all third grade teachers will be required to take this VALS training before administering the required assessment. [03:54:17] Additionally, the VLA modules that we already talked about between 18 and 27 hours. Additionally, we are adopting a new core curriculum for English Language Arts, and all K-5 teachers will be required to participate in that training to ensure fidelity of implementation of the new core curriculum. [03:54:38] Finally, as I mentioned previously, VDOE is implementing both math and ELA standards next year, and LCPS will be providing professional development for those new standards as well. All of these things are aligned and connected and important, but as you can see, it is a lot of training. [03:54:57] I hope you will agree that we need to figure out a way to make more time for our teachers to not just complete this training, but to do so in a way that positively impacts their practice and student outcomes. Here's another example of a teacher with a different licensure. [03:55:13] As you can see here, special education teachers have much of the same requirements classroom teachers have with additional training specifically for special education teachers. For example, the search seizure restraint seclusion training at 3.25 hours. Here's another example, this one of a returning grade 5 teacher. [03:55:34] They do have significantly less training requirements than new teachers or third grade teachers, but they still have a significant amount of training that's required of them each year in addition to the new requirements next year. I have two more examples. This one is a returning English learner teacher. [03:55:55] They also have specialized training in addition to the VLA modules and the new ELA standards. And then the final example I have is a returning middle school teacher. As you can see, the training differs by teacher group and based on licensure, but the theme is that there is a significant amount of training required across the board. [03:56:19] So I appreciate the opportunity to provide a little bit more detail about the problem that we're trying to solve. And now we'll shift to discuss what we first suggested as a potential solution, the feedback that we received, and other possible solutions. Staff had previously internally discussed several possible options and originally brought you an option we, to be quite honest, thought made sense in terms of minimizing the number of lost instructional days and spreading out professional development across the school year. [03:56:52] We do know based on research on high-quality professional development and adult learning that it is best when professional development is sustained and job-embedded and ongoing throughout the year as opposed to one-time training, say, at the beginning or end of the school year. That being said, we appreciate all the feedback that we got and the potential use of adjusted arrival days, around the potential use of adjusted arrival days. [03:57:17] And we thought it would be helpful to show you some of the other options that we heard about, both in the feedback we received and in the conversations we've been having internally. So I'll start with our first proposal. I'll just go through the benefits and challenges of each. It was proposed for a few key reasons. [03:57:33] We do have an existing bell schedule for these types of days because of being prepared for inclement weather. We do know that lunch services can carry on without disruption on adjusted arrival days. We also knew that it would maintain the total number of instructional days in the school year and that it would spread out the professional development evenly over the course of the year to allow staff to learn, process, and practice what they've learned. [03:57:59] While we knew child care would be an issue for staff and families, we heard loud and clear from families as well as many staff members that it was much more than that and it also included significant disruption to learning on these days and the weeks in which those days fell and that it was very difficult to plan for child care for a random two hours in the middle of the week and that it would be much better and easier to plan for to have full days than partial days to think about. [03:58:30] Interestingly, we received feedback that early release days would be easier for families than adjusted arrival days. Some additional benefits would be that it also maintains the number of instructional days and keeps the PD spread throughout the year. However, on the operational side of the house, this solution causes significant challenges that staff was concerned about. [03:58:51] In addition to child care still being an issue, there are additional challenges such as transportation. We currently have many midday runs for preschool and special education programs that are routed daily and would be disrupted. And some transportation staff have other commitments in the middle of the day that would make this a challenge. [03:59:12] Additionally, we would run into challenges completing lunch services prior to early dismissal and would have challenges with after-school activities and athletics. Some of the responses we received suggested we add contractual days to teachers' calendars. [03:59:29] While this does maintain the number of instructional days total for students, it is a significant budget impact in the millions of dollars and would be impossible to spread out over the course of the existing school year for students. Another suggestion we heard pretty frequently and definitely enough times to warrant a discussion and bring to your attention was to consider a post-Labor Day start for students, using those days at the end of August for professional development. [03:59:59] While this does eliminate the challenge of partial daycare for families, many would have to find full-day daycare for the additional days in August. It would also be lost instructional days, and it would front-load all of the PD at the start of the year, which I've already mentioned is not best practice. [04:00:17] Additionally, as I mentioned in an earlier slide, many of the VLA modules will not be ready until September, which would defeat the purpose of using those days for the purpose of the VLA training. And then the last option I will mention is the standalone school days that I'll talk about in more detail. [04:00:40] We heard this probably the most out of any piece of feedback from the many, many pieces of feedback that we received. The benefits that we heard of, again, as I mentioned, were that full-day daycare was easier to plan for than partial day day care. Professional development would be spread throughout the year, not as evenly as twice a month early release, or adjusted arrival rather, but definitely better than front loading it all at once. There would also be no impact on bell schedule, meal service, or transportation. And another possible positive outcome of this choice, it would [04:01:19] mitigate existing concerns about high absentee rate for students and for staff on standalone school days. And I'll talk a little bit about what I mean by standalone school days in a minute. Some of the challenges that we do still have to be aware of is lost instructional days and some families would find challenging to find full day child care for LCP, both for staff and for families. So after we shared our first proposal of adjusted arrival days at the May 14th school board meeting, we sent a letter to families and staff, making them aware of the proposal and [04:01:57] asking them to submit feedback through a Let's Talk platform. Included in that message was a link to the Let's Talk as well as a link to an FAQ page. I wanted to share some of the feedback that we received. We received a lot of feedback, and we greatly appreciate everyone's concerns and comments. We received a total of 2,335 responses, and as you can see on the screen, we heard mostly from parents and families. We heard from many employees, many that were both parents and employees, and other community members or combinations. There was no quantitative survey [04:02:34] question. It was just a feedback form, so people wrote narrative responses. So all 2,335 responses were free responses, and we do appreciate the time that people took to provide those responses. There was, as you know, an overwhelming negative response to the adjusted arrival days from all groups, and we needed to address that. As I mentioned, child care and disruption to learning were the biggest examples of the potential negative impact on families. Just for reference, the word child care appeared in 414 separate dialogues. Additionally, as I mentioned, the most [04:03:11] common recommended solution or other option to consider was the use of whole days that are already attached to weekends, holidays, or teacher work days. We're calling those standalone school days, but it appeared in many different terms in all of the feedback. The phrase full day appeared in 234 separate responses. Phrases like October 4th and November 4th appeared in many of the dialogues. Those are two examples of standalone days. And additionally, the solution also presented itself in more subtle ways, referencing, for example, a Monday or a Friday connected to a [04:03:51] weekend, connected to a holiday, when there's a Tuesday or a Thursday off, just as an example. These next two slides offer a couple of illustrative quotations that represent what we most commonly heard from families. These are two examples from families who submitted feedback. This next slide [04:04:22] shows a couple of samples from staff feedback. So again, we greatly appreciate all the feedback we heard and we hope that our new recommendation will both be responsive to that feedback we heard and also allow us to address our challenge of professional development at hand. This next slide is also a separate document in board docs. I do want to emphasize that what is being proposed is a one-time solution for the 24-25 school year to specifically address the spike in requirements [04:05:02] from BDOE. Staff is not recommending a permanent change in future calendars. So our new proposal is that the board vote to change four standalone school days to full-day professional development days. Those days are October 4th. You'll see that as a Friday between a holiday and a weekend. [04:05:25] November 4th, which is a Monday between a weekend and an existing staff development day. January 28th, which is a Tuesday between a Monday teacher work day and a Wednesday holiday. and June 16th, which is a Monday that was recently adjusted to be our last day of school for the 24-25 school year. [04:05:48] So as you can see, I will reiterate that we also had existing concerns about these days being high-volume substitute days for teachers as well as high-volume absenteeism days for students. If the board were to vote on this change, I would work with the team to map out the professional development across all of the professional development days both the existing days and these four new days so that we could spread out the professional development as much as we could over the course of the year and provide specific guidance to schools on what this would look like and with [04:06:25] that I will turn it back to you Ms. Mansfield and Ms. Boland is also here to answer any questions specifically about the calendar. Thank you Dr. Ellis. We've been announcing the need for increased professional development for at least a couple of months during committee meetings and board meetings. And I was really appreciative of the staff and their efforts to use implementation science to thoughtfully come up with initial model. And at the same time, community feedback is an important part of that process. And wow, did we receive feedback. And I'm happy that people [04:07:01] took part in the process. There were some strong feelings and y'all were heard. We are asking for broad systemic change that shifts the minds of educators, many of whom who have strong beliefs about their methods. And for teachers to make the necessary shifts, they need time to wrestle with and apply new concepts. And they need to see results in their students before they'll commit to sustaining new practices. This takes time and lots of practice, coaching and support, and hence the VDOE recommendation of one module per month. We cannot risk that people do the bare minimum to [04:07:39] meet requirements because that's not how this works and will not lead to lasting change. We want all students to learn how to read, write, and spell proficiently. And to make that happen, we need to support our teachers in their learning. We cannot help with learning loss if teachers are not using evidence-based literacy instruction grounded in science-based reading research. [04:07:59] The needle won't move, period. While the community was providing extensive feedback, I requested a meeting between Dr. Ellis, the Virginia Literacy Project Professional Development lead and myself and I felt it was important that we learned how UVA designed the modules so that we could work towards best implementation and I think it was a helpful meeting and we learned that some of the training modules for Capstone and K-5 teachers were to be released earlier than September and registration would start soon. That will help us with our goal. While this current plan does not incorporate the once a month recommendation, I would like to commend staff [04:08:39] who listened and went back and pivoted to make something more palatable for the community. However, before the next school board meeting, I would really like to see a mock up of that map out model that you were talking about and what would happen during those PD days for the capstone group, the K through five and six through eight ELE teachers and specifically that's going to help me make my decision for the June 11th meeting. [04:09:03] And as a side note, I just want you guys to know that the modules that the VDOE put out for reading specialists, they said that they were going to be anywhere between, what, three to five hours, and they ended up sometimes even being seven to eight. [04:09:21] So we just don't really know how long these modules are going to take. And I think that while staff, I think they really came up with a model that we thought would be best. And community feedback said no. [04:09:40] But I really, this is important. So does anybody else have any more questions for, yes, Ms. Chandler? Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Dr. Ellis. I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks from our community for really listening and assessing the feedback. [04:10:04] We've spent a lot of time talking about transparency and trust, and I think there's a lot of value in accepting that feedback and pivoting and making a change in a reasonable way. I think it will go a long way in rebuilding trust. [04:10:21] I do have some logistical questions. that have been given to me from constituents if that's okay I think it would be helpful in terms of coming up with a decision to move forward I heard from a teacher this question directly and want to clarify that I am not suggesting that teachers should work but if they would choose to do trainings over the summer will the trainings not necessarily just the new trainings but [04:10:52] the standard trainings would they be available before the contracted time yes i will say that the academics team and the hrtd team have been working very closely on all of our existing required trainings there are many trainings that have not previously been available until teachers started their contract and we're working hard to make them available july 1st So teachers would have that flexibility to complete them prior to starting the school year. [04:11:25] If they so chose. If they so chose, yes. Thank you so much for that. I also want to clarify who would be included in the trainings and who would be excluded in the trainings. I've gotten questions from TAs and from site-based subs. So I'm curious if there's any, I mean, because we are adding these days, I would not anticipate that there would be any change to contracts or pay for people in those roles, but I just wanted to clarify. [04:11:53] That's correct. There would be no changes to contracts or pay. Okay. So TAs and site-based subs would not be expected to work on those days, but there would not be a tangible loss of pay because they would not have been expected to under the old calendar. You know, I just want to – I know that I made a – really quick. [04:12:14] I, um, when talking with staff, I wanted to, because this is a, needs to be a division-wide implementation, I was asking them to also look at TAs and also PALS tutors and subs so that they can help implement, um, instruction, literacy instruction as well. So I just want to put that out there. I don't know if they agreed, but that was my, that was my ask. So I do, I have not [04:12:48] forgotten about that ask. And I will, um, and I also heard your ask for a mock-up of what the professional development days would look like. And I would appreciate the opportunity to go back to staff, um, including principals and teachers who will be participating in the training, um, to get their feedback and input on what that will look like. Um, and then I would just like to ask Ms. [04:13:11] Boland if she has anything to add about the contracts or pay. So at this point, there would be no change to contracts and pay. It's more of a swap in the use of days versus the addition of contract days. If employees were not currently scheduled to work and we were asking them to come in, if it was a scheduled holiday or a scheduled non-work day, that's when we would have to discuss extending their contract days or additional pay. Thank you both for those clarifications, [04:13:50] and I'll look forward to hearing more about how we include more of our educators in the plan. Thank you. Any other discussions? Ms. LaBelle, do you have anything? I can't, she's talking, I can't hear. I know I did it again. [04:14:17] I think it's a very fair way to do this. I know that a lot of the teachers, particularly those that have to teach and have children, young children, are, we're very, very much impacted by the um, late start for their children when they had to go in early. So that's probably a very good exchange for them to do a full day. I think that this is a good option for everybody. As a former teacher, I think it really is. Yes, Ms. Chernoff. I want to echo what my colleagues have said in [04:14:55] terms of what will for now be known, I think, as the pivot, our first real pivot. And, um, I, I was blown away by the feedback. I mean, we sat down and talked about this and I'll own it. I thought it was a good idea I thought teachers would love it and we did need to pivot so I want to first and foremost thank the community for trusting us with their feedback because I think that there was a lot that needed to be said that I certainly didn't see and I'm an educator who's been through this training so or not the new training but the all the other training so I was I was surprised but I was also also very grateful it was a it was a full team effort the next [04:15:34] morning we were all like we can't do this right so we um i'm really grateful to dr spence and and chair mansfield and dr ellis for for pulling that together for getting the communication out within a timely manner to um let you know what's going on and i also want to thank staff and the community as well for allowing us to still support teachers and to do it in a way that is staggered because we could go into the research on how to do professional development. [04:16:03] It's far and wide, but cramming it all in together at the beginning was something that was discussed by a lot of the community, and I want to, you know, as far as fidelity goes and for implementation, I echo what Chair Mansfield said. This is crucial to get right, and we need to give teachers the time and space to process, to practice, and to learn from one another and to learn from the children that are sitting in front of them, which is the most valuable tool that they have. [04:16:28] So this will hopefully ease the burden of child care, but also accomplish that. And I just have one question for Ms. Boland, and that is about snow days. I warned her ahead of time. There are a lot of people talking about baked in snow days. [04:16:48] That came up a lot in my 500 Facebook comments. So I would like to understand what they are understanding is baked in snow days. Are there baked in snow days? Can you just give us a brief summary of what the snow day situation is here in Loudoun County Public Schools? [04:17:05] Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Happy to do so. We do not have baked in snow days. So according to Virginia Code, all Virginia school divisions are required to provide 180 days or 990 hours of instruction each year. [04:17:25] LCPS students currently receive six hours and 15 minutes of instructional time daily, thereby exceeding the state requirement by 45 minutes per day, if attending 180 days. This has been a practice for over 30 years. [04:17:44] LCPS has adhered to what is known as a fixed calendar approach, which has greatly benefited families and staff by allowing them to plan for school days, work days, and breaks. The fixed calendar, also known as the banked time concept, eliminates the need for built-in or baked-in snow days. [04:18:06] As any excess instructional time naturally accommodates the unforeseen closures and snow days, becoming a natural byproduct of the schedule selected. Student days would be reduced in this calendar by four for a total of 175 instructional days. [04:18:27] However, because of those additional minutes per day, LCPS would still meet and exceed the 990 hours requirement. I hope that helps. Thank you. That is very helpful because I think that there was a little bit of misunderstanding about snow days. [04:18:46] So, again, thank you to all of you, my colleagues, Dr. Spence, everyone, the community. Hopefully we can move forward in the future. Any other discussion? Thank you again, Dr. Ellis. [04:19:07] I think that it will come to action, I guess, our June 11th meeting. Thank you. Okay, we'll move to item 14.02, Finance and Operations Committee, [04:19:23] school name review presented by Mr. Kevin Lewis and Dr. Ellis Williams. [04:19:50] Williams, I'm sorry. Chair Mansfield. So tonight I wanted to step back and give some history to the board. [04:20:08] this is a journey that was being started by the previous board and so there's quite a bit of information here to go over and it's you can find it in the board in the board docs but I just wanted to go through that so we can get a full understanding of of where we started this project and where we are now so in June of 2020 the school board initiated the action plan to combat systemic racism and to review all of our school names and our mascots within the county and so in effort to that we we contract with a company called history matters and they did a comprehensive school name [04:20:43] review of all of our schools you know with exception of ones that had already been or just been recently named and we'd already done some history research on those particular names so in that process we established some criteria by which these schools names and mascots would be evaluated and they are listed there but essentially in summary they are any schools that were named for Confederate leaders or for the Confederate cause. Secondly, any schools named for individuals who would have lived in the 17th, 18th, or 19th century during a period when slavery [04:21:20] was a fundamental part of the economic and cultural political systems of Virginia and Northern Virginia. And then the last criteria was any schools named for individuals or movements that promoted and implemented racial segregation laws, including Jim Crow and the Massive resistance. And so those are the criteria we established that history matters went through and looked through each of the schools and did their research on. We did find that we don't have any schools named after Confederate leaders or the Confederate cause. And so we continue to do, the rest of the schools were looked at in three phases. Phase one was any schools that had [04:21:59] potential association with the criteria that I just reviewed. Phase two was any schools named after a person. We went through and looked at all persons' names. And then phase three was all the rest of the school. So we wanted to make sure we touched on each school and we didn't have anything left unreviewed. So the school board then engaged with the Black History Committee, the Friends of the Thomas Bosch Library, to take those findings from the History Matters Company and help us through the evaluation of those processes. And so they went through each of those and came up with [04:22:36] a table that you see in BoardDocs that recommended you take those phases that History Matters did and provided those into four subgroups, and those were groups A, B, C, and D. And in the chart, you'll see there that they decided that there were 10 schools of all those they looked at of the 19 in the first two phases that really needed to be looked at more closely. And so you'll see those listed there in each of those schools with a little bit of information provided, and all these histories are provided in board docs for each of the different schools and including the the summary [04:23:13] from history matters that we've tried to abbreviate here in this item so in october of 2022 we had a work session with school board and the folks from the history black history committee and history matters both attended that work session and presented this information and findings to the school board and then after that in october of 22 we also revised the school board or the school naming policy to include a section to rename a school so that we had policy that would govern [04:23:45] any actions that were taken. And so we went through that and then applied the chart and the sections A, B, C, and D from the Black History Committee and started the process for the two schools in Group A, which were Francis Hazel Reed Elementary School and Mercer Middle school and so the school board started that process by and the policy requires the first step to have a town hall meeting and so they had two town hall meetings in december of 2022 and then [04:24:21] to get feedback from the community on the potential of that and i think it's really important to remember that this is a process that you could consider the names of the school and not a mandate to rename a school um and so in february of 2023 um the board looked at that and took that information and decided to postpone that action until september of 2023 and then then did not get through that before the end of their term and so in comes the new board [04:24:55] you are now picking up that that cause where where they left off and so we are here as staff to present the information as best we can answer any of your questions um and try to um you know facilitate the next steps that you from the board would like to take place i will say we started our process uh last in may may 7th with the finance and operations committee um had a conversation there and that committee decided to bring it forth to the full board and we did provide some information in the in the board item from we had a number of questions mrs griffith you provided [04:25:31] some questions to us in there and we were able to assemble those and added those today um and so those are here um several questions seven down through there about the different processes and places we or processes and procedures we've taken place to go through that um and so i'm happy to to review any of those types of things and i will say that right now based on the conversations at the finance and operations committee that the the committee moved it forward with um the idea that the Loudoun County School Board with two different recommendations or potential recommendations. [04:26:05] One, that the Loudoun County School Board provide guidance on reviewing all school names in relation to the June 2020 initiated school board action, or the other that you would proceed with the recommendation that was with the previous board to begin the process with the nine schools identified. [04:26:24] So at this point, Dr. Ellis Williams and I are here to take any questions. Mrs. Tate is also here available with us, who manages all of our school naming processes and committees. And so I'll leave that with the not-so-brief overview, but I ask that any questions or comments you may have, we're happy to address. [04:26:46] Thank you, Mr. Lewis. I want to make sure I have the history correct, but first I'd like to start with a quote from the LCPS Apology to the Black Community, dated September 25, 2020, just four years ago. There was significant resistance by the school board and superintendent to integrate our schools during the area of massive resistance, and several other inequities persisted as a result, such as school names and a school mascot named after or potentially named after Confederate figures and plantations. [04:27:18] I found the actual video online, and something that stuck with me that was a theme was that while an apology is nice, behaviors and not words carry the most weight. And so far, the only action that's really happened is renaming the Loudoun County High School's mascot in 2022. [04:27:37] And then the previous board postponed implementing the two recommended school name changes in February 2023 and said they would revisit in September 2023. And the reality is, is they were never able to return to the item before their terms expired. [04:27:55] And so therefore, in my eyes, it's up to us to demonstrate that the LCPS and Board of supervisor's apology just wasn't empty words. I think it's essential to show the students what we honor and what we value and slavery is not my value. Something that's been brought up is the cost and we have other things like literacy curriculum to pay for and I don't believe this is an either or situation. The financial cost of changing names shouldn't be the barrier to righting a wrong deliberately put into place to resist school integration and equality. It's not going to happen [04:28:29] all at once. And I think making a plan, putting it into motion, and putting it into the budget and starting the work is important. Furthermore, evaluating and changing a school name does not erase history. It puts a big old bright spotlight on it by working through it with difficult conversations. And I would like to see our board work to foster an inclusive, welcoming, and an educational environment for all of our students. I think we have to remember this isn't all going to be done all in one one fail sloop it's going to be a learning process for all of us any other [04:29:07] discussion yes miss Chandler thank you madam chair and thank you dr. Ellis Williams and thank you mr. Lewis for bringing this forward I have two questions and then I'm going to make some comments in or could you please clarify for for all of us what the cost for the entire project If we choose to move forward with the nine schools, what is the actual cost? [04:29:37] So if I understand the way you phrased the question about what's the actual cost to do the entire thing, it would depend on the board's direction on which schools and how many schools to do. So what we've done is provide estimates per level of school, because the elementaries we've estimated between $125,000 and $135,000 per school, and the middle school is $130,000 to $140,000, and then the high school is between $640,000 and $650,000. [04:30:02] And that's just based on the different levels of change that would happen in a school. One thing I will say that's difficult to factor into that at this point in time is a lot of those costs at the high school level would be for uniform changes. [04:30:19] So remember that athletic uniforms are changed every four years and band uniforms every 11 years. So depending on when the naming was done, it may not be any additional costs associated with the renaming if it's on that cycle for that. So we wouldn't know that until we got to that cycle. [04:30:35] So we provide those by individual things. If you were to embark on all nine of the ten, and I'll explain why I separated that, we've estimated that as $1.1 to $1.2 million to do those nine. And we kept John Champ separate because if you read back through the summary from the Black History Committee, There really isn't enough information on Mr. Champ's history for them to make a recommendation. [04:31:05] So there's still more work to do. So we've just separated that one out for the purpose of this exercise. Thank you. Yes. And then I don't necessarily have any context for how the community meetings that occurred already worked. But I was curious if any of the actual history was discussed in the meeting. [04:31:25] where any of the actual perceived problematic occurrences were discussed in the meeting. I actually listened to the Mercer meeting last night. Thank you to staff for sending me the recording, so I was able to listen to the whole thing, and I'm sure they'd be happy to share with you as well. [04:31:46] Yes, the history was discussed. The individuals were discussed. There were also some misconceptions that were cleared up. Mr. Morse, former school board member Jeff Morse, was facilitating the meeting, and there was a lot of discussion around the people, and actually, at Mercer, a lot of people in the room thought it was named after Margaret Mercer, and they realized that it wasn't, so I, you know, think that a history lesson was definitely had in a small setting. It was hard to tell how many were there, but I would say six to eight people spoke directly to it, and I can [04:32:23] elaborate on that further, but to answer your question, yes, the history was most definitely mentioned. And I also spoke to my predecessor, Ms. Ogadegbe, this morning about the FHR town hall. There were four people in attendance. One was the principal of FHR, and one was someone who worked directly with Frances Hazel Reed, was a colleague of hers at the paper. And so, again, a lot of history was discussed as well as sort of his relationship with hers. My understanding is what Ms. Ogadegbe expressed to me. So just a little bit of context there. I did my homework. [04:32:56] Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. I appreciate that. One of the things that I have been, in general, when I'm trying to better understand an issue, researching and reading is very important to me. So I've been trying to read as much on this issue as I possibly can. [04:33:15] To be honest, there's not a lot. But one thing has stood out to me, and that is that studies have shown that symbols and images have a direct impact on students' self-esteem and their motivation. So when an underrepresented group can be more likely to succeed and feel affirmed in their identities in public institutions when they are surrounded by positive representation. [04:33:43] That leads me to ask, what's the impact on students when the representative is not positive? And to take that a step further, and what's the impact on students when it's hurtful? One study that I found from 2019, which is the perceptions and effects on school names on black professional educators and their students. [04:34:04] The author notes that there are disproportionate effects that exist for black students and educators forced to confront painful contradictions at schools. Educational systems that disregard these concerns risk creating inequitable professional experiences for their employees who are particularly black educators and inequitable educational experiences for all students. [04:34:28] I also found a study from 2020 on the psychosocial effects of Native American mascots, a comprehensive review of empirical research findings, race, ethnicity, and education. Although we are not necessarily talking about mascots now, I think the relevant information is that when you reinforce stereotypes or involve inappropriate appropriation or mimicry, it causes harm. [04:34:57] In many of the articles that I read, students and teachers speak directly about the stress and the painful impact of having to live and work in environments that are tied to ideas, even old ideas, that devalue their humanity. [04:35:15] For me, it always should come back to the students. I hope it does for all of us. We know the makeup of our schools. It's very different than it was when some of these schools were named in 2003 and 2004. [04:35:31] As of right now, 59.8% of our students identify as a culture other than white. We have to understand who's in our schools and what they need to be successful. And to that end, we have an obligation to do better for them, To improve our students' outcomes, we need to challenge, overcome, and eliminate any systemic barriers that exist. [04:35:57] I love history. I love to study all of this stuff. But I believe that the purpose of history is not to honor the past. It's to understand how we got to where we are in our society and to imagine how we can build a better future together. [04:36:16] And I really feel that there is a reason to honor the Black History Committee and the friends of Thomas Balch Library and their recommendations. This was a huge milestone when it happened, because it's important for us to remember that not everyone's always been welcome at the table. [04:36:33] And this was really one of the first times in our community where we've asked and where we've included new people in the decision-making process. And that definitely wasn't the case 20 years ago. and 56 years ago our policy 6510 asserts that facility names may reflect general aspirations or the school's instructional focus that can be named after physical landmarks or but they should consider the diverse community of the school and the students the school will serve we are here to [04:37:13] serve the students in circumstances where the names do not reflect our general aspirations the school's instructional focus, or the diverse community that the school will serve. For me, the question is not if, but how. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Chandler. Are there any, is there any other discussion? Yes, Ms. Donahue. Yes. Okay, I'll get Ms. Donahue, and then I'll get you Ms. LaBelle, okay? Okay. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Dr. Alice Williams and Mr. [04:37:49] Lewis, for your presentation. I just had a question about, obviously this is not on for action tonight but presumably it will be in the near future when it does come to us for action what are you going to be asking us to vote on are you going to be asking for us to vote on the whole package are you going to be asking us to vote on one group at a time or on individual schools at a time what is the request going to be so right now the the item is suggesting there's a couple of preliminary recommendations for the board to consider and one of those would be to just [04:38:28] provide us with your feelings about how we should start that the other and we've given an option where we can pick up where we left off with the nine that we'd already started so if the board has some preferences of how you'd like to do that how many you'd like to do at a time but you do one at a time or two you know it is it is something I'll you know based on the policy each school that is done will be a committee appointed so that is quite a few members of the community that would be engaged in that process and so we'll just ask the board to think about that but we are looking for guidance from the board on how you would like to proceed. So we will not be asked to approve [04:39:07] all 10 of these or even all nine of them the next time this comes before us? It would be up to a board member to make a motion as to how we proceed and so and we will do our best to respond to that and provide any support or concerns we may have with how that's done but you know right now the previous board had decided to work on the first two that was in group a and from a workload perspective we felt that that was manageable if this board has a different plan that we'll be happy to look that as well and I'm happy to have conversations between now and then so we can try to formulate that so it's not done here at the at the board meeting as well thank you and if you're looking for [04:39:45] guidance from the board I would like to throw out there that and I know it won't I guess it'll be ultimately up to us but when we start looking for new names if If we do decide to go through with renaming any or all of these schools, there is a shockingly small number of schools in LCPS who are named for either women or people of color. [04:40:07] And that's something that I would like to see change as we go forward. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. LaBelle. First of all, I would like to help Mr. Lewis out on John Champ. [04:40:22] Like Ms. Chandler, I am a history buff, particularly of the Revolutionary War. John Champ was a small farmer in the village of Aldi when the Revolutionary War started. He signed up with the Loudoun volunteers at first, and Loudoun did have the largest number of volunteers, largest militia in the war, in the American Revolution, the entire Revolutionary time period. [04:40:50] So he signed up, and eventually, because he was a very good rider, good with horses, he became a dragoon. Later in the war, when Benedict Arnold tried to turn West Point over to the British and then escaped, Washington was furious, and he wanted to know if there was someone who would volunteer to go into the British lines and capture and bring back Benedict Arnold to be punished by the American army and the American people. [04:41:23] And it was John Champ who volunteered. He had to cross the line secretly, convince the British that he was deserting the American army. He managed to get a plot together and was just about to capture Benedict Arnold when the troops that he was assigned to were moved out the night before this plot was to take place. [04:41:48] At that point, he had to try to desert the British army and get back to the Americans. Now, the Americans were shooting at him because he was a British deserter, and they also saw him as an American deserter, and the British were doing the same thing. [04:42:03] He did finally manage to get back, get to Washington, and he was given a post of honor by the United States Congress. He was their very first sergeant-at-arms. Later, when the rest of the revolutionary soldiers got their portion or their pensions from Congress. It was a plot of land over on the far side of the Alleghenies in the land of Kentucky, which at the time was a very, very undeveloped area, still very frontier. He and [04:42:38] his son went out there to try to plot out his land, survey it, measure it, and get it back to register it. So on the way back, he was planning to bring his family out. And on the way back, he actually died at Pickett's Fort from disease. So this man didn't have anything to do with slaves. He lived in a community that may have had slaves, but he himself was too poor to own slaves. If you want the documentation on this, I'll be happy to provide it to anybody who wants [04:43:13] it. Another thing that I want to mention is that Margaret Mercer started the first school for girls in Loudoun County. That goes along with what Mrs. Donaghy was saying about women in Loudoun County and what they did. She went against the grain. She operated her own school. [04:43:34] It was not something that anybody else was even thinking about at the time. So if you look at Belmont, the last thing it really was, was a girls' school until it became a golf club. So those are some things I think we need to keep in mind, that when you look at history, you have to look at it from more than one direction. [04:43:57] The other problem I have is the amount of money spent on it to do it. This would have to come from multiple budgets before I would vote for it, because we have so many needs in this county right now. And that's just the way I feel about it. Thank you. [04:44:16] Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. I think Ms. LaBelle brings up a good point in how we can incorporate learning more history during this process. Dr. Ellis Williams, do you have any, like, brainstorms, little thoughts about how we could bring in that learning while we are doing, during this process? [04:44:38] I think that learning is always a great opportunity. So when we have resident historians as well as our paid historians that are coming to help us, I think that bringing together all of those thoughts will help us make informed decisions. [04:44:55] And again, to Ms. LaBelle's point, we do have various renditions of history, so we do have to take into consideration a conversation that I've had recently was around how historical wrongs and a commitment for a more equitable future should really be our focus as opposed to debating who was good and who was bad, and in an effort which has been a criticism of such acts of renaming, that we're trying to erase a history, but we're actually trying to use that information to grow and ensure that our students have equitable outcomes in their environments, to the point that was made earlier tonight. [04:45:34] Many students have had to live with the names of confederate sympathizers, architects of slavery or on their degrees or their college level as well as high schools and to the point of even uniforms there are students that have to wear rebel flag uniforms there is just it's not okay and the social emotional impact is huge and let's not forget despite whether it was named after person a or person b this was architected by persons who were participating in a massive [04:46:13] resistance to integration of schools and Loudoun was a huge participant in the southern states in the state of Virginia so I personally don't think we could put a price tag on not harming students we certainly don't think about price tags when we're advocating for what we want to give to students we have to be equitable about who we're given what to and ensuring that every student gets what they need because that's what our mission is as a division and our strategic goal outlines that i was smiling when she was talking about the the the rebel flag because [04:46:53] that's actually was one of when i was a cheerleader in junior high at that point we were the rebels and we had one african-american um cheerleader who literally did have to wear that on her back and looking back now i can't even imagine and i'm still in contact with her and and she and it's a whole new understanding now that we are over 50 years old and understand what that really means and i think it's important for our kids to know what it really means um so any other [04:47:29] discussion yes dr rasheed um as you know i have kids kids of color so for me this is more of a sentimental value um i i i think the situation would be very different um if a lot of us here were, I guess, I guess shared in that history also. We always talk about bullying. We always talk about things that make our kids feel like they're really, they feel really small. [04:48:00] In situations like this, like where they're going to a school that kind of, I'm not saying glorifies, but has the title of certain history that's not exactly positive, with the exception of the few that are on the list that we've been talking about. I think that it's important that we consider that, that it's also a sentimental issue. A lot of parents that are parents of color, this is really important. Granted, it's really expensive, very expensive, but it's long overdue. [04:48:32] And that's something I don't want to ignore just because it's expensive. I don't want it to keep going. I mean, we are where we are today because of the fact that it's been pushed along, not intentionally but it's just been um kind of beyond the point of where it should have been done a long time ago and I just wanted to share that and thank you for the awesome uh data that you guys presented in the presentation thank you any other discussion yes Ms. Chernoff um I really appreciate the clarification on the motion and the question from Ms. Donahue because that was [04:49:07] something I was wondering as well as I I listened to the FNO meetings and I was a little bit confused about the direction so if you're looking for direction from the board the way that I make decisions is with information and you said it at the beginning there's a lot of information here and I I echo some of the things that we're saying here tonight I think we do need a history lesson here I think one of the things that really was eye-opening about the town hall that I listened to from Mercer was was that people just didn't even know and I think we need to look at that and [04:49:42] I do think we have to have those tough conversations about the good and the bad and I think it is hard and Mr. Morse talks about it at length to superimpose our minds of today onto those people and what their intentions were and what you know what they were involved in and why and we they're not they're not here to talk to them so that can be slippery so I think we need to define where we are now and what the impact is, I would not be able to vote to just do it all. [04:50:13] I think that that, I would prefer that this be a community conversation. I think that this involves each individual conversation. It was very personal to, there were students at the Mercer Middle Town Hall. It was, it seemed very personal to that community, whether they were for or against the renaming and so for me I would like us to have those meetings and go school by school and really evaluate and learn from this and figure out how we can honor history but also learn from history and I think that is a balancing act and so that's kind of where my my thinking is and then [04:50:53] another thing I learned from listening was just framing the conversation around what when we're learning from history what would those criteria what are those absolutes that would be so important moving forward in the discussion about renaming so for me I would really I would really like to dig into the list learn more myself as Ms. Chandler has spoken about tonight I've done a high level overview of a lot of these people but I think we need to hear more about how this would impact the community and we need to understand how this is impacting children [04:51:27] and families and we need to hear those stories because I think that that will elevate what is going on with the impact of a building that is named after someone or some place that that might impact them so that that would be an important piece of the conversation for me to have I think we've seen what happens when we don't include the community and make decisions and I would really like to learn from that myself and see that those conversations happen so for what it's worth I would like us to proceed in a systematic way to make sure that we can accommodate each individual [04:52:02] community thank you so it looks like there's two recommendation options here um one is hosting a series of listening sessions we can continue to work on this to to come down but one of them is to host a series of listening sessions like we can continue the process of previously identified phase 1 and phase 2 review and a potential renaming starting with listening sessions. [04:52:30] I don't, it's just, I'm still thinking. So, yes, Vice Chair Struffy. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you all very much for all of the efforts that have been put into this process for a long time, it seems. [04:52:46] Ms. Tate as well had her in a bunch of the conversations as well and discussed this in committee. Just a few points of clarification for myself and my fellow board members. So one is that should the renaming review move forward, it is a review. [04:53:04] And so that review would take place, and please correct me if I'm misstating anything, that if we would approve all, what is it, nine schools here, then each school would have its own review committee. [04:53:20] And then we would have to kind of give guidance on what, if that were the path forward, hypothetically speaking, we would have to give guidance on what that timeline would be. And you had referenced that in the past, what worked with, in terms of workload for the team, was one to two schools in a given period of time. [04:53:39] And so I'm thinking about those things. But one of the things I just want to be clear about is that if we choose to move forward with a review process, it is very much a review process. And so it's not deciding that we are renaming a school. It's going through what the policy sets out and assigning members of the community into that committee. [04:54:03] And again, please correct anything I might be misstating. And having those conversations and creating that discourse, getting the public engagement and allowing community input into those processes. And so for me, as I'm thinking about this and I've seen this in committee as well, there has been a lot of work done and a lot of research through the vendor and some town halls or some limited community input. [04:54:34] I don't see how we could shortcut, you know, how I as a board member could shortcut that conversation and say, well, we're not, you know, we're just going to indefinitely delay this. Or there's enough work there for me that has been done to say, well, this is a worthwhile endeavor to then go out through this policy and get the community input. [04:54:55] That's kind of where I'm standing on this. I'll allow you to clarify. So for me, the work has already been done to warrant these continued conversations and the review process. Now, I would think the questions that I'll be thinking about are, you know, how many of the schools, timeline, how much work is involved. [04:55:18] Some questions that were brought up already is how will we engage the community? How will we bring more history into the conversation and create a better learning opportunity for the entire community as we go through this? And so looking for additional clarity there. [04:55:35] But I think that through this process, we also have an opportunity to really understand the aspirations of the community. It's not my version of history. It's not my individual interpretations. It's how do we use this process as a way to understand the aspirations of the community? [04:55:53] Because I do believe that school names should reflect the current values and historical understanding that we have in our communities. and they should reflect the values and diversity of the communities that we have and that we live with. [04:56:10] So I just wanted to get some clarification on the process. - Thank you, Mr. Streffing, you're exactly right. It is a review process and the policy sets out the procedures for selecting the committee and board members who will have the opportunity to appoint members to the naming committee. [04:56:28] Each school name would be a separate committee, but you are exactly correct that it is a review process and not a definite vote to change the name. And so the policy specifically states that the committee will be charged with bringing back a recommended name for the school and two alternates and that the current name could be in any of those positions. [04:56:50] So the current name could be the recommendation or one of the alternates. So it does allow for that, for the name to stay. And so it is really starting a review process and not an automatic trigger that you must rename it once you start the process. So you do have that flexibility throughout the entire process. [04:57:07] Thank you. Madam Chair. Yes, ma'am. Dr. Deans. Thank you, Madam Chair. A couple of things. Renaming the schools without education would be just perfunctory. We need to rename, or if we rename, we need to rename them with full educational clarity to that full community and to the entire Loudoun. [04:57:37] The other thing is we are looking to improve students' lives, and we already know that the SOL scores and the standardized scores are lower for children or students of color. [04:57:54] So how much impact would the name have on their lower test scores? That's a question. We don't know the answer at this point. But a survey would definitely give us some indication. [04:58:12] So there are some things we know. It would not be good to rename them without education. Number two, we know that the SOL scores are already lower. And number three, opportunities such as the capstones for those seniors at the different high schools, that could be a project for them for the 24-25 school year. [04:58:44] There are just so many possibilities that we cannot ignore at least exploring those possibilities. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Deans. Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. [04:59:00] Thank you, Madam Chair. This is very unpopular. Costs should be a barrier. I would like to hear from the public. If we had to go through three phases of research on renaming, that should tell you this is highly unpopular. I do have a question. [04:59:17] have plaques been considered at the schools? Instead of a full renaming, maybe putting a plaque instead as a compromise. That suggestion has come up, I think, and it may have even been in one of the conversations with the prior board. [04:59:36] That would be a board's decision as to how to address the history of the school, whether or not you rename the school. And so I think there are many opportunities for this whole process and, you know, what a plaque would involve or contain or how it would commemorate either the history or the old name of the school. [04:59:59] That's something that the board could help us with as we go through this process. I would just like to mention having a plaque could have the history on there. This is a heavy lift, an expensive heavy lift. I ask the board, where does it stop? [05:00:16] This will continue. If we decide to do this, this would continue. Street names will be changed Building the names of buildings will be changed. It just doesn't stop So as far as the previous board, they always voted nine to zero I had a hard time getting a lot of the estimates So did you originally? [05:00:38] Give the previous board all the estimates on what this would cost? Hold on. I want to echo Miss Dean's as far Dr. Dean's excuse me as far as scores are falling so how does renaming schools help in achievement? How does this retain teachers or help in literacy? [05:01:00] There is no data to support achievement by doing this. May I also remind everyone that Fairfax already conducted this study, I believe it was on Sully, and decided not to move forward. Shenandoah reversed their renaming of schools just two weeks ago. I ask that we stop wasting resources and go to you know that go and the money should go to our teachers and students we have good and bad in our history I disagree this would be trying to erase history when we should be teaching it and I know that's been said several times we can compromise on plaques that [05:01:38] share history on the names of our schools the real question is does everything need a purity test We are always going to have good and bad in our history. How is renaming schools, well, the total for 10 is over 1.1 million. [05:01:57] We spent 1.5 million to change a mascot. How did that help in achievement? I do move to send this back to committee for further discussion. It does need to go to the public, and I echo my colleagues here that it's a review, and it really needs to get community participation. [05:02:17] for each school. I just do not agree with erasing history and spending this kind of money to change school names when it's highly unpopular. Thank you. [05:02:36] - Are there any other discussion? Seeing no more discussion, I want to thank you. Oh, she made a motion. [05:02:57] Okay, so is there a second to that motion? Miss, okay. Okay, Ms. Griffiths made a motion to send it back to committee for further discussion. [05:03:17] Do I have a second? Second. We have a second by Ms. Donahue. The motion to send it back to committee for further discussion has been properly moved and seconded. [05:03:38] We will now take a vote. Yes, and is there any discussion? If it doesn't go back to committee, it would come back to the board to get voted on as an action item? Is that? Okay, thank you. It would be coming back to the board for an action item. Can I ask a question? [05:03:56] Yes, Ms. Chernoff. And if it were to come back for action, would we discuss with you and with staff what we would want that action to be? Because if we're still unclear, the only reason I would want it to go back to committee is if we're unclear as a board of how we want to move forward. [05:04:14] So between now and the next meeting, not whether or not we're moving forward with the process or not. Are we voting to go systematically? Are we voting to just review them all? I guess that that's my question. [05:04:29] That would be my only take would be if we want to get more clarity on what that motion would be between us, would that be better served in committee or not? My understanding is that if you want input not to go through committee, then we do it here. [05:04:47] Okay. I've given my input then. So we do have a motion. We do have a second. And we are discussing. Does anybody want any more discussion? discussion and this is to go back to me any discussion okay clerk will you please open the [05:05:11] vote board members please record your vote mrs labelle are you still with us okay clerk please close and display the vote that motion does not pass six to two with mrs griffiths and ms shirnoff [05:05:50] in affirmation but dr deans ms chandler mr vice chair straffi myself ms donahue and mrs and Dr. Rasheed no and Carrie LaBelle is absent for the vote okay so this will now proceed to action for the next board meeting okay moving on I am wondering given the lateness of the hour [05:06:24] I'd like to skip info item 14.03 this is an information item only and not scheduled to come back to action and their presentation slides and there's a detailed appendix in the board docs for board members reference um so can i get a thumbs up to skip it yes okay um dr tyler and dr blakelock [05:06:56] thank you for sticking it out tonight appreciate you and thank you mr lewis and thank you dr ellis williams okay we will now move on to item 15 board members comments and committee reports Ms. LaBelle is not here. Dr. Rashid, would you like your three minutes? [05:07:28] I have no updates. Thank you. [05:07:41] Mrs. Chernoff, would you like your three minutes? I don't think I'll need all three tonight, but I will take my time. Yes. We had our last LEAF meeting on Monday, May 20th, and we had a couple of collaborative discussions around technology. [05:07:59] So Mr. Aaron Smith was with us and three major themes emerged from the discussion with the parents So one was talking about cell phones and personal devices Another and the majority of both groups agreed that this policy that we're reviewing is going to be very helpful YouTube the platform tends to be a distraction and there was a lot of inquiry in looking at blocking the site or certain parts of the site And then the third theme was talking about screen time, the amount spent on devices and how that impacts students, particularly our most youngest students, and how do we balance classroom use and home use and what the research says. [05:08:37] We also talked about, we had a policy update and review. We had discussion on the proposed PD plan and calendar changes and were able to submit feedback on the spot as well as the personal device policy 8655. [05:08:54] and we are there are many schools that do not have representation for next year so we would I would just ask that you look into it and consider representing your school if you feel so led and then between the last meeting and this meeting I had a little vacation but I did have one school visit to Heritage High School for food truck wars I'm very much enjoying getting invited to judge all the eating things so if anyone else wants to invite me I'm in but it was amazing each team through the gourmet foods class got to prepare not only a design for their food truck but also [05:09:32] a business plan a marketing plan and then also we tasted a lot of food and it was delicious and it was very culturally responsive I was really encouraged to see how they integrated their culture and taught one another about their cultures and the foods that they eat so it was awesome and again happy to to be of assistance so thank you Heritage. Ms. Donoghue would you like your three minutes? Probably not the whole three minutes Madam Chair. Thank you. I had to cancel my office hours that were scheduled for May 18th because I was home with a stomach bug so I extend [05:10:10] my apologies to the people who had signed up to meet with me. We are going to be rescheduling that for some time later in June. I do have office hours scheduled for this coming Saturday, June 1st, although I believe those slots are already full. But I look forward to sitting down to meet with the people who have signed up to come talk with me then. [05:10:31] I haven't been to any committee meetings since our last full board meeting. But looking at my calendar, I realized that graduation season is upon us. And I am very excited to have the opportunity to attend, as I know all of us are, several graduation ceremonies and would like to also extend a heartfelt congratulations to all of our graduating seniors throughout the entire division. [05:11:01] It's a huge accomplishment to get to this point of your lives, and you should be very proud of yourselves, and your families should all be very proud of you. And I'm looking forward to getting to observe some of those ceremonies. That's all I have. Thank you. [05:11:18] Thank you, Ms. Donoghue. Vice Chair Streffi. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll be brief as well. I was told by one or two of our staff members that May is a crazy month for LCPS and for a lot of families. May-cember, right? [05:11:36] So, and it has been a crazy month. Just two brief updates. One is I had the opportunity to attend another school business partnerships executive council meeting, and it is always a delight. And we came out of that meeting after the annual breakfast of the school business partnerships executive council. [05:11:58] So there was a lot of really good energy, and it is amazing to see people giving their time and efforts towards all of the community and business partnerships to support LCPS and our students in our schools. and just seeing all of the energy that our the businesses in our community put into our schools has been really inspiring so just want to say that and also remind the community that on June 6th at 6 p.m. we will have another community meeting at Parkview High School to talk through the next [05:12:34] phases and to receive feedback on the Parkview design and reconstruction efforts so we'll see you there thank you thank you vice chair strappy okay so since our virtual went down i actually called miss labelle to see if she wanted to make some comments and i'm just going to hold up her the phone to the mic and old schooled it all right miss labelle you there yes i am i'm beginning to think that this is an automatic thing where it turns off at a certain time on virtual anyway um [05:13:11] The Student Behavior and Accountability Committee met the last time in April. We discussed the two policies that we were going to be sending. One about sex offenders. [05:13:27] And, oh, my, I lost the other one. The other one was. Telephone use. Oh, we were looking at. Cell phone. I'm sorry. I lost that, too. Now it's gone off my computer. When I was trying to get back on the other part, the other thing I wanted to do was to reach out to the community and say that I really appreciated all the letters and all the questions that we get all the time suggestions. [05:13:57] we are going to be meeting uh this friday april may 30th at four o'clock and we're going to be discussing um once again the policy for cell phones and other electronic devices i would love to hear from you but even better i would love if you would come and make public comment because that the public comment at committee level is really where all of our work begins and so it really behooves you to come to the committee meetings and give us ideas and give us your [05:14:33] feelings so that we know when we when we send things up to the full board that you know we've done our due diligence so please if you have anything you'd like to say anything you'd like to tell us please come thank you that's about it miss mansfield mansfield thank you miss labelle It's been a long night, and it's been a painful day, so I will talk to you all again. [05:15:00] Okay, I'll talk to you later. Bye. Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to add to the renaming of schools conversation. I want to make the public aware of the type of information and advice that LCPS is receiving from the Black History Committee, Friends of Thomas Bouch Library. [05:15:23] In case the public missed it, this quote was information that my colleague regurgitated at a finance and operations committee. And I quote, going forward, would you name a high school after a place like Auschwitz camp? This is a stark comparison, but the answer is no, we would not. [05:15:41] Not only should there be no comparison, why was this not mentioned as a concentration camp, just a camp? That tells me whoever wrote the statement does not know history, and I know a lot of people on this dais are really into history. [05:15:58] So I ask you, and I challenge you, to give me three names of concentration camps without looking it up on Google. I will voice here and now that there is no comparison to millions of Jews being slaughtered in Auschwitz concentration camp to the naming of Sully Elementary School or Sully Plantation. [05:16:19] Anyone who makes that comparison does not know their history and insults Jews everywhere. While slavery was a horrible point in American history, there's no comparison. We must teach history, not erase it. I have no committee updates. Thank you. [05:16:37] Would you like me to answer that question? Dachau, Buchenwald, and Auschwitz. Those are three that you just asked. You regurgitated Auschwitz again. Okay, we'll move on. [05:16:55] Go ahead, Ms. Chandler. Thank you, Madam Chair. I wanted to share today, I had a wonderful opportunity to join the Sugar Land Elementary School community. They have been working with Equinix, and Equinix has given Sugar Land, which is the first school in the United States, three pollinator stations, and they will be using the pollinator stations to analyze data in fourth and fifth grade, which is so cool, hands-on learning experience, [05:17:31] to learn more about what plants bees are more likely to frequent and to explore especially why bees seem to be in decline. And I'm just so excited that my district in Algol... [05:17:48] One of my district schools has the opportunity, especially considering the economic perspective of the community. I'm just so excited that they have this wonderful opportunity. And it was really just so nice to be with the fourth graders today and to appreciate how much they love learning in the Sugar Land's beautiful garden. [05:18:12] So thanks to the community for including me in that. Thank you, Ms. Chandler. Dr. Deans. Yes, the Equity Committee is having its last meeting on Thursday of next week. And we invite anyone to come who, because it is a public meeting, and I appreciate the board voting to allow the Equity Committee to remain committee members for two years. [05:18:43] And that's setting aside the charter in terms of equity committee members serving for one calendar year from January to December. Because when we took our office in January, it took two months to get the members of the committee to self-nominate to become members of the committee. [05:19:09] So now with them having two academic years on the committee, then they can see a result of their work. So thank you. Thank you, Dr. Deans. Okay. So new business. [05:19:26] We'll move on to agenda item 16, new business. Is there any new business for tonight? I'm seeing none. We'll move on to item 17. And the May 28th, 2024 meeting of the LCPS school board is now adjourned. [05:19:43] Thank you for your work and drive home safely. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coraggio Consulting · aguyonx.com