Coraggio Consulting
Loudoun County School Board, 2nd Tuesday School Board Meeting and Public Hearing on Abbreviated Elementary School Attendance Zone, Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Date: Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Place: Loudoun County Public Schools / School Board meeting (see BoardDocs / LCPS-TV)
Length: 8h 7m (video)
Official meeting video (Vimeo / LCPS-TV): https://player.vimeo.com/video/998742842?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 2026-10-18. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:00:00] call to order this August 13, 2024 Loudoun County School Board meeting. We will move on to agenda item two, approval of the consent agenda. Board members, are there any changes to be made to the consent agenda? Seeing none, before we vote on the consent agenda, there are two proclamations to be read. The first proclamation recognizes September 2024 is attendance awareness month and will be

[00:00:33] read by Ms. LaBelle. So on board docs, there should be on there. No, no, no, it's fine.

[00:01:05] More essential item. Whereas good attendance is essential to student achievement and graduation, and we are committed to dedicating our resources and attention to reducing chronic absenteeism rates with a focus starting as early as pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. Whereas chronic absence, missing 2% or more of school for any reason, including excused and

[00:01:40] unexcused absences, or just two or three days a month is a proven predictor of academic trouble and dropout rates, whereas compulsory attendance requirements are set forth in the Code of Virginia 22.1-254, and we are committed to proactively engage students, provide support, and track attendance during the school year, whereas improving attendance and reducing chronic absence takes commitment, collaboration, and tailored approaches to particular challenges and strengths in

[00:02:16] each community, whereas chronic absence predicts lower third-grade reading proficiency, course failure, and eventual dropout, it weakens our communities and our local economy, whereas attendance gaps among groups of students often turn into opportunity gaps that undermines student success. Chronic absence particularly exacerbates the differences in achievement that separates students in low-income communities from their peers, since students from low-income communities are both more likely to be chronically absent and more likely to be affected academically by

[00:02:54] missing school, whereas absenteeism also undermines efforts to improve struggling schools, since it's hard to measure improvement if students are not present in class or during vital virtual learning to benefit from instruction, whereas schools and community partners can reach out more frequently to absent students to determine what barriers they face for attending school and what would help them attend more regularly, whereas health care providers can share the importance of school attendance with families and can offer proactive preventative care to reduce absences, whereas chronic absence can be

[00:03:34] significantly reduced when schools, families, and communities work together to monitor and promote good attendance and address hurdles that keep children from accessing learning. Now, therefore, be it resolved that, as the Loudoun County School Board, we proclaim our school division will stand with the nation in recognizing September as Attendance Awareness Month. We hereby commit to reducing chronic absenteeism to give all children an equitable opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive academically, emotionally, and socially.

[00:04:13] Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. The second proclamation recognizing September 2024 Suicide Awareness Month will be read by Ms. Donahue. Ms. Donahue. Thank you, Madam Chair. September 2024 Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, whereas youth suicide is a major public health concern whereas across the country and in Virginia suicide was the second leading cause of death among adolescents between the ages of 10 and 18 and emergency department visits for self harm among 9 to 18 year olds has more than doubled whereas in Loudoun County

[00:04:51] our community has been impacted by teen suicide whereas youth suicide warning signs include talking about or making plans for suicide expressing hopelessness about the future, displaying severe, overwhelming emotional pain or distress, showing worrisome behavioral cues or marked changes in behavior that include significant withdrawal from or changing in social connections situations, changes in sleep increased or decreased, anger or hostility that seems out of character or out of context, or recent increased agitation or irritability. Whereas many people who have died by suicide never received effective behavioral

[00:05:29] health services for various reasons, including the difficulty of accepting services by health care providers trained in best practices to reduce suicide risk, the stigma of using behavioral health treatment, and the stigma associated with losing a loved one to suicide. Whereas LCPS supports and implements comprehensive suicide prevention and partners with others in our community to raise awareness, provide education and resources, and connect individuals to effective treatment whereas Loudoun County Public Schools unceasingly addresses youth suicide prevention through one services provided by the unified mental health teams in each elementary middle and high school to support our youth and refer

[00:06:09] students who need behavioral health treatment to the implementation of evidence-based suicide prevention programs such as the SOS signs of suicide prevention program so students and staff learn the signs of depression and suicide and respond in ways to keep students safe three efforts to develop resiliency, protective factors, and other social-emotional competencies in our youth through upstream prevention programs such as sources of strength, positive experiences in educational relationships, and social-emotional learning. Four, ongoing professional learning for teachers to identify and effectively respond to at-risk students. Five, training for school mental health

[00:06:48] professionals to conduct evidence-based suicide screenings and make appropriate community-based referrals. Six, partnerships with professional organizations, community agencies, and universities, such as A Place to Be, the Ryan Bartell Foundation, Prevention Alliance of Loudoun, Suicide Prevention Alliance of Northern Virginia, Loudoun County Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Developmental Services, and George Mason University, and seven, strategies to engage parents as partners in effective prevention through the sharing of resources and providing education through the Mental Health and Wellness Parent Seminar Series and Annual Conference.

[00:07:23] Whereas, we believe that one suicide is one too many, and that many of these deaths are preventable. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board designate September 2024 as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in Loudoun County and promote greater awareness and effective suicide prevention strategies to address this serious public health problem.

[00:07:45] Thank you, Ms. Donoghue. I will now entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. Yes, Ms. Donoghue. I move to approve the consent agenda. We have a motion by Ms. Donahue to approve the consent agenda. Is there a second? I have a second by Ms. Chandler. It's been properly moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda. At this time, we will take a vote to approve the consent agenda. Clerk, will you please open the vote? Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote.

[00:08:21] We have, sorry, the motion passes with eight yes and Mrs. Griffiths abstaining. We are now going to be moving on to the work session.

[00:08:40] Item 3.01, Department of Academics, all in Virginia, presented by Dr. Ashley Ellis, Chief Academic Officer.

[00:09:07] And Dr. Ellis, would you mind introducing everybody else? Thank you. Good afternoon. We are here this afternoon to talk to you about the all-in Virginia tutoring that took place last year, and I will briefly introduce my colleagues who are with me this afternoon.

[00:09:36] We have Dr. Michelle Compiglia, principal of Willard Middle School, Paula Williams, principal of Moorfield Station Elementary School, and from the RASI team, we have Dr. Ryan Tyler, Dr. Dave Blakelock, and Scott Meisensal. And these individuals were all very important and influential in getting all-in tutoring off the ground and analyzing the data. So I appreciate their support. So in September of 2023, the governor and VDOE published the all-in Virginia

[00:10:14] plan that was intended to focus on improving three key areas, attendance, literacy, and learning. This afternoon, we'd like to provide you a very brief update on the work we did to implement high-dosage tutoring to address the learning portion of the All-In-Virginia plan. This slide shows the actions that we took in the fall from the time we learned of the bill to implementation in the second semester of the 23-24 school year.

[00:10:44] Tutors came from three different sources. First, we partnered with university instructors to provide full-time tutors in schools that requested it. We also partnered through support from BDOE with Varsity Tutors, an online tutoring platform to provide online tutoring in reading and math, as well as free on-demand tutoring for any student in grades K-12.

[00:11:08] And finally, part-time hourly tutors before, during, and after school. So each school principal and their team provided tutoring in a way that best fit with their school schedule and students' needs. No two schools took the exact same approach, and you'll hear from two principals this afternoon.

[00:11:29] In board docs, I've shared more detailed information from university instructors and varsity tutors. In the interest of time, I'd like to share just a couple of highlights about each of these programs. At the end of implementation, we had 67 tutors in place across 47 elementary and middle schools through university instructors.

[00:11:49] University instructors, or UI, logged tutoring sessions with 3,243 students across those schools. And while we did have some hiccups in hiring those tutors on such short notice, we knew that would happen, once they were in place, the schools really appreciated their support.

[00:12:09] So much so that many schools have requested to retain their university instructor for the coming school year. And I will add that administrators from university instructors visited each of the 47 schools on more than one occasion throughout the semester to check in with the principal, observe the UI tutors, and offer their support. The schools appreciated the flexibility to have this person embedded in their school and adapt to their schedules. Some truly became a part of the school community. Varsity Tutors provided two tiers of support, free on-demand services that

[00:12:48] were available in LCPS Go to all students and schools, as well as school-assigned virtual tutoring sessions. While this program was not as widely used as university instructors in terms of the number of students who were assigned, the feedback we did receive from parents was overwhelmingly positive. In fact, I heard directly from families about how they appreciated their varsity tutor experience. Additionally, we were able to continue varsity tutor sessions over the summer, and a few schools provided that resource to students who, for example, may have been eligible

[00:13:22] for summer school but were not able to attend for some reason. This next slide just has some information. It's a screenshot of the additional document in board docs related to varsity tutors with some specific numbers. Before I turn it over to the principals to talk a little bit about their experiences, I did want to briefly show you some of the growth and achievement data as we begin to think about how to best provide high dosage tutoring in the future. I do want to preface this

[00:13:56] by saying that data collection and determining causation has been difficult. I am sure that some of you, as would I, love to drill down and slice and dice this data a bit more. It was extremely difficult to capture what we did because of the different ways each school implemented and the way we gathered data from the beginning. So I will say that one of our next steps is to look at gathering data differently so we can report out in meaningful ways in the future.

[00:14:26] And I'll also remind you that we did essentially only implement tutoring from late January through May. That being said, we did see some positive results that I'm excited to share. So this table shows the map winter to spring conditional growth percentile or CGP in reading for students who receive tutoring and reading or both reading and math compared to the total student group who is considered eligible for tutoring. So the total group of eligible students was

[00:14:56] 20,363 and had a CGP of 49.7, which is just under the 50th percentile considered average growth. The students who received tutoring services in reading had an average conditional growth percentile of 53.6, and you'll see a slight increase in CGP for students with disabilities and English learners as well. So students who received all in tutoring services did make greater gains than the overall group that was identified for tutoring and reading. That growth was not significant enough to close readiness gaps. We typically identify that as the 55th percentile

[00:15:36] or higher to truly close those gaps, but it definitely was positive growth. This slide has the same information for students who were eligible for math tutoring and received math tutoring. And as you can see, the positive results are similar to reading. So there was definitely growth for the students who receive tutoring, and I also don't want to paint tutoring as a magic bullet for this, right? So positive and not the only solution. The next two slides show

[00:16:15] SOL reading pass rates this past spring, 2024, compared to the year before, 2023, for students who received tutoring and also took an SOL in both of those years. So for example, this number does not include third grade students who received tutoring this past spring because they would not have taken an SOL the year before. So that's why the numbers are not the same. As you can see, the pass rate for the students who did take an SOL two years in a row for the total group, as well as for students with disabilities and English learners, did increase. And the same is

[00:16:54] true for math. So again, positive results. The team truly thinks it's worth continuing. I think principals and school teams would agree that they saw positive results. And I will say that we do have funds remaining in the All in Virginia funding we received. Just as a reminder, we received one sum of money and the state directed us to spend it in these ways. When those funds are gone, they're gone. So I'll talk a little bit briefly at the end about how we are looking at FY26 and ways to continue tutoring beyond this current year. But we are fortunate to have some

[00:17:32] of those funds remaining to be able to continue tutoring this year. Before I talk about that I would like to turn it over to Ms. Paula Williams principal of Moorfield Station Elementary School to talk a little bit about her school's experience. Thank you very much Dr. Ellis. I'd like to thank Dr. Spence and his cabinet as well as our school board for the opportunity to come together and share with you all today. My name is Paula Williams and I am delighted to be the principal of Moorfield Station Elementary School.

[00:18:06] At Moorfield Station Elementary School, we had two outcome goals when it came to utilizing the funds that were available to us through all-in-Virginia tutoring. First of all, our goal always is to provide students with well-planned and engaging Tier 1 instruction.

[00:18:25] We also focus on targeted Tier 2 and Tier 3 instruction. And with this, our two goals were to provide not only our students with greater access to targeted tier two instruction, but also to provide our families with greater versatility and pathways, because we know that we serve a very large community, and we wanted to be sensitive to the fact that students have different schedules and varying needs.

[00:18:49] So, again, our two main points were versatility and pathways. At Moorfield Station, what we did is we accessed our varsity online tutoring for reading and math, And the way that worked is that families were given the opportunity for their children to provide, to receive instruction outside of school for a tutor.

[00:19:11] They could have two hours of reading instruction per week. They could have two hours of math instruction per week or one hour of each. And so we surveyed our families to find out what their children needed and really honed in to kind of personalize the instruction that students could have outside of school hours.

[00:19:29] We also accessed university instructors during our school day. And that instruction was provided during our intervention block for math. And those students were identified based on our mid-year, our winter Virginia growth assessment. And students who performed either had a score of low or not proficient on the mid-year Virginia growth assessment were identified for that support.

[00:19:53] And that was students in grades 3, 4, and 5. In addition, we utilized funds to pay our Moorfield Station teachers to provide high dosage after-school tutoring for our third graders in reading. Because what we found is that there were a large number of our third graders who fell into that category of needing support as identified by the Winter Virginia Growth Assessment.

[00:20:18] So again, we used all three of these avenues to provide support to our students, and the outcome was growth. All of our students grew in the areas of reading and math. Our achievement in our SOL scores went from 90% to 93% for all of our students.

[00:20:37] In addition, all of our gap groups experienced growth as well, and the same is true for math. So we are very grateful to have this resource, and we look forward to continuing to provide support to our students and our families in a variety of ways. Thank you for the resource, and thank you for your time today.

[00:20:54] Thank you, and now I will pass it on to Dr. Campiglia, principal of Willard Middle School. Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to be here with you to discuss our successes at Willard Middle School with the All-In-Virginia Tutoring Project.

[00:21:13] Last year, we had the opportunity to have an amazing tutor who was with us from late January until May. She was with us every day and served our scholars during resource. We opted to have her during the day because we wanted to make sure that we could have as many kids access her support as possible.

[00:21:31] So she, along with our reading strategies teachers, supported 160 scholars by providing Tier 2 intervention in Lexia. And what did that look like? Well, we had each scholar had an individualized support plan, and they had goals for word study, grammar, and comprehension.

[00:21:50] And what we found is when we combined our reading strategies instructors and our all-in-Virginia tutoring support, we started to see growth. So within 10 weeks, we had 77% of our scholars who had met one or more of their goals. We saw increases in our MAP spring growth, and you'll see later that we also saw increases in our SOL scores.

[00:22:12] I would also like to say that one wonderful thing about having Cindy with us every day is she really did become part of our community. And so when we did celebrate our scholars' growth, she was right there giving out certificates and cheering the kids on. And that really made a difference because she was really able to build relationships with our scholars.

[00:22:30] So I'm pleased to share with you our results and our amazing successes from last year. As you can see, we moved from a level two in English to a level one. And while we cannot say that this was specifically because of one specific factor, it did help, and I will stand by this, to have an additional adult in our building providing one-on-one support to our scholars on a regular basis. I'd like to share with you as well our overall pass rates. We're very proud of

[00:23:07] this so that you can see in English because she was really focusing on Lexia. We now stand at a 92.9% pass rate and that is up from 87%. And then our students with disabilities, we are currently had a 74% pass rate, and that is up from 59.7%.

[00:23:25] So we are very proud of these data points. However, I would like to point out that last year, our tutor really did focus on our general education students who were not receiving other supports. That was the guidance that we did receive, and so this year, as we have more Lexia licenses and we have the support, we would like to expand the support to all kids.

[00:23:47] So she was really focusing on our general education students last year who needed additional support. But you all know that numbers are numbers, but it's really about kids. And so here's what I'd really love to share with you. So we saw that when we had kids who engaged in Lexia Power Up, 72% of them experienced growth.

[00:24:10] She's one of our seventh graders, and she was able to get supports through her reading strategies class and also through Lexia. Her SOL score grew from 70 points from grade 6 to grade 7, and this was her first SOL that she had passed. So this is one success story, and I'd like to share one more with you.

[00:24:28] This young man is extraordinary and faced significant challenges in reading in particular. In 6th grade, his SOL score in reading was 317. In 7th grade, 285. 8th grade, on his first try, he got a 386.

[00:24:47] We supported him, and ultimately, in his retake, he achieved a 415. This was the first reading SOL that this young man has passed. And you should have seen the tears of joy that we were crying in our office.

[00:25:03] And the success that he saw there translated also to passing his science and civics SOL. So what we saw is, when we really were supporting our students with word study, with grammar, and with reading comprehension, These skills were transferring to other content areas, and more importantly, it was really boosting their sense of self, their self-esteem, their belief, and their ability to succeed.

[00:25:27] And so now as he enters Light Ridge, he has all of those successes under his belt. So I thank you for the opportunity to be here with you today and also for the opportunity to have this amazing resource last year, and we look forward to continued collaboration this year. Thank you both very much for sharing your experiences at your school.

[00:25:48] I think it's really important to hear from you and how it was implemented and the impact that it's had on your students, so thank you. So as you can tell, we did have many successes with All-In Tutoring, and we are proud to be able to continue to offer this service in the coming school year, for the 24-25 school year, using the remaining All-In Virginia funds.

[00:26:13] Principals have already been asked to identify the ways in which they will provide tutoring to students. I think that each of us has learned a lot about implementation, and there are tweaks to be made for sure. And so principals are in the process of planning that now. They do have the option to utilize university instructors, virtual tutoring through varsity tutors, and part-time funds for staff.

[00:26:39] We also, as I alluded to earlier, are refining our data collection and reporting to gather better evidence division-wide and at the school level to truly measure the impact for the entire 24-25 school year. And we will also utilize the data collection to determine long-term next steps.

[00:26:58] I know that several board members have identified tutoring as a budget priority for FY26, so do know that staff is thinking through what that could look like long-term. And with that, I will turn it back to you, Chair Mansfield, and we will try to answer any questions you have.

[00:27:16] Thank you, Dr. Ellis. I guess I am one of those school board members who is looking to have more of tutoring. But I think, I mean, it's a little bit more nuanced than that. I see that the university instructors, according to the end of program report, are in person and were allowed to learn a little bit more about the science of reading.

[00:27:42] and they were allowed to use Lexia, is that correct? That's correct. Yes, and so varsity tutors, are they grounded in the science of reading, or do we know? Are they structured literacy literate? Do we know?

[00:28:01] So I do not have that information. I do know that they did not have access to Lexia as far, yeah, they did not have access, so I can get you more information on that. So we all know that the evidence shows that it's best tutoring in school during school hours, as well as with staff who knows the curriculum and is supported by the staff in-house.

[00:28:29] And I can say for Willard, it does look like some of that resonated there. I was wondering, you said that Ms. Campanella, can you get me here? Campelia. Campelia.

[00:28:45] Ms. Campiglia, if you would please, what did they use for students with disabilities if they did not use Lexia and you did not use the university tutors for the students with disabilities?

[00:29:04] So they were primarily using things like LLI and resources that they already had in classroom. And that was up to the individual special education teacher in accordance with the child's IEP and the supports that they needed. Thank you. So I'm looking forward to working on what data we can look at and parse through to see if, you know, university and on-site better than or the same as online or, you know, looking through some of those different models.

[00:29:43] Anybody else have any questions? Yes, Ms. Chernoff. Thank you so much for coming today and sharing. I really love when we humanize data. I think just putting those pictures up there, we all like sort of sit back a little bit and remember why we're here and the faces and why we do what we do.

[00:30:02] And so I thank you for bringing that perspective and for sharing your successes. I really am going to have a lot, I think, to ponder in terms of the budget and thinking about tutors, and I echo what you said, and I know what you're thinking, Ms. Mansfield. I'm also wondering that question of flexible staffing and highly trained staff, adding those to a building and serving in those roles versus the tutoring role and kind of comparing that.

[00:30:30] As I was reading through the report and the presentation and thinking about this, and we're going to talk about this later in the meeting, but we're going to talk about a performance monitoring committee later. I just couldn't help but think that this could be the kind of perfect case study for a committee like that.

[00:30:46] You said you would love to splice and dice and dig deep, and I would too, and analyze all those successes even deeper and get more feedback. When we hear that many teachers wanted, you know, enjoyed having them embedded in their school, how many?

[00:31:02] Was it worth it to continue? So when I think about that correlating and tracking data of subgroups, evaluating the program for budget decisions, I'm just going to put a plug there. I'll bring it up again later but I really wanted to highlight that that could be the kind of thing that we as a school board could partner with you as staff and really digging deep into some of these numbers so that we're making those best decisions for our building so appreciate the feedback sorry any other questions yes miss Griffiths I want to thank you so much for this presentation

[00:31:37] I think tutoring is extremely important and in case I missed it I like this whole presentation but in case I missed it is there other programs for high school students where they can tutor kids I do remember one a couple of years ago where they would go to the library and meet with tutors there is that something we can or we could talk about it at a later date is that possible too sure so I'm not quite sure what you're referring to but happy to look into it

[00:32:15] and have more conversation about it i will say that varsity tutors on demand tutoring is available to high school students any student and i could also pull the numbers for how many students accessed the tutoring services that are that go beyond english and reading and math dr ellis could you remind the school board about what all in tutoring all in virginia was for what grades that was specifically for yes thank you it was specifically allocated for grades three through

[00:32:54] eight in reading and math only so the on-demand tutoring was an added bonus that we were able to provide the rate the other students and my understanding is that for varsity tutors you did include even though it wasn't part of all in virginia funds you did lcps did include it for high school yes it was available k-12 in all of the subject areas that they offer in SAT prep in essay review the the list of classes is long just to be clear the program I was referring to were

[00:33:33] high school students tutoring okay just to be clear so I wanted to know if that was possible if that was through lcps my daughter used to go to the library for that um this was several years ago so maybe you can refresh my memory on that i know it's it might be separate from varsity tutors but any way we can get tutoring going extra credit for high school students would be fantastic thank you for the clarification i did not get that the first time so we did have

[00:34:08] at least one school that I'm aware of partner with their neighboring high school to provide high school tutors. That ended up being a little more difficult to facilitate in terms of the high school schedule and the elementary and the middle school schedule, transportation and all of those logistics. And happy to talk more about partnering with high schools. Yes, Dr. Deans. It is exciting to see growth. This amount of growth is exciting. And what I wanted to say was, I just think that

[00:34:45] it shows that, as one of you indicated in your presentation, that extra adult in that building can make all the difference. But in terms of digging deeper into the data, rather than Dr.

[00:35:04] Ellis having to do it there are several staff and principals who are working on their doctorate that might be a place for them to work that was just a thought because I had talked with four different ones who told me that they were at that at that juncture thank you dr. Deans if I may I would like to say that at Willard we had an amazing student support advisor who was working closely with our tutor and so he did start crunching the data and he looked at the difference

[00:35:40] between how the kids were achieving with our tutors and how they were achieving with our certified reading specialists so we started to look at those data points because they matter and what we did see is I'm going to be fully honest here there was a difference in achievement levels so kids were positively impacted by the tutor and they were even more positively impacted when they had a trained reading specialist.

[00:36:06] That makes sense. And so going back to what you said, Chair Mansfield, right, the more we can really train and equip these adults coming into our building so that they can really be as great of an asset as we would like them to be, the better. And so did you look, so you looked reading specialist, tutor, and then did you look together?

[00:36:30] Yes. Okay. Yes, Vice Chair Struffy, and then Ms. Donahue. Thank you again for the presentation and for sharing all of your experiences and the efforts that went into this. Just two thoughts. One is I know that we're going to continue to provide tutoring through these programs through 24-25.

[00:36:51] Could you just give some additional clarity if a school has that extra person in the building, university instructors, personnel, they will be able to have that person through 24-25. And then what about schools that didn't take advantage of that resource last year would they have the opportunity to take advantage of that this year yeah appreciate that question so we are working closely with university instructors to map out a plan for that schools

[00:37:26] were able to request that they maintain their university instructor they those schools that did not receive a university instructor for a variety of reasons they didn't request one or one wasn't hired they could also request one we are also working but that's not a guarantee and I'll ask Mr. Meisensal to to jump in in just a minute in terms of whether that person still wants a job with with university instructors there are many factors so we're working through that and also wanting to make sure that we have we utilize the funds in a way that's equitable

[00:38:01] across all schools yeah so just to add to that we are working with the principals from all of elementary and middle schools for a plan for the 24-25 school year offering the option for university instructors and if they have a particular person from last year that they're requesting they can identify that we've already collected some of those names a number of names and provided that to UI so that they can start connecting with those specific people to get them back into our buildings so that's a work in progress right now for the plan for the 25

[00:38:34] 24-25 year. Thank you. And if I can ask one last question. So I know one thing I appreciated about this kind of this program is that all the different schools have different communities, different needs, and so each school had the ability to implement this in the way that they felt was most appropriate. If we look at, for example, some of the Title I schools and the subgroups that were mentioned, are there ways that we can come up with maybe best practices or

[00:39:08] I think one of the best things that as we look at the data and we continue to crunch this and look at these best practices and lessons learned is how much further we can come this year, knowing that those resources are going to still be available, how we can improve upon what was accomplished.

[00:39:25] This is the first time we did it last year. The funds were there, and we did it very quickly, right? And so how far can we push the envelope this year, especially when it comes to some of the students that need this the most? I appreciate those comments, Mr. Streffy, and that's something that we hope to be able to do as we think about how we refine our data collection so we can drill down and identify those schools that had the most success and learn from them and share that with other schools.

[00:39:57] Ms. Donahue? Thank you, Madam Chair. I actually don't have any questions. I just wanted to thank you all for the work that you're doing for our children. Thank you for the information that you've provided and say how heartened I am to see these results.

[00:40:16] During the campaign last year, one thing that I heard over and over and over again from all different members of our community here in Loudoun County was, what are we doing to get our kids caught up? And it gives me a lot of hope to see these results so far and to be able to report that back to the community to say, We are starting it. It's going to be a process, but we are starting it and we have tried out pilots and it's working and we have plans to keep moving forward.

[00:40:45] So thank you again for everything that you're doing and for and for the information tonight. Thank you, Ms. Donahue. Thank you for your presentation. I appreciate it. And I'm looking forward to my visit back at Willard very soon.

[00:41:02] You are welcome anytime. The next item in our work session is item 3.02, Department of Teaching and Learning.

[00:41:27] Student Pathways and Special Programs, presented by Mr. Neal Slevin, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning.

[00:41:51] - Good afternoon, Chair Mansfield, members of the board, and Dr. Spence. We are excited to be in front of you today to have a conversation around instructional pathways for our students in Landon County Public Schools. At the start of the presentation, I just want to take a moment and have my colleagues introduce themselves really quickly.

[00:42:10] - Good afternoon, I'm Jeff Brownsley, Director of Teaching and Learning, K-12. - Good afternoon, Katie Clark, Director of Academic Programs. - Good afternoon, I'm Michael Grubbs. I'm the Director of Career, Technical and Adult Education.

[00:42:26] - Thank you. Before we dive into the presentation, I do want to take a moment and we hope to use this format of a work session during this early portion of the board meeting to have some conversation today around the topic of pathways, specifically around courses that are offered for our students and programs that exist and may exist in the future for LCPS.

[00:42:46] We really are hoping to gather some broad thinking about what the board is hearing and feeling and thinking about when it comes to the future of these topics. You should have in front of you a copy of a note catcher. So if you're not able to get your thoughts out into the public via your microphone, we're happy to take written feedback.

[00:43:06] This will really inform staff's recommendations going forward and particularly the work of the Special Programs Committee, so your colleagues would appreciate that as well. So your voice could be heard throughout the committee process before coming back to the full board. I'd like to start by just referencing two connections we're making tonight, one to the superintendent's post-entry plan that Dr. Spence shared last spring, and it's focused on consideration for an enhanced college and career readiness platform, particularly a course planner, how do families make decisions around the courses that they want to pursue while they're in Latin Academy Public Schools,

[00:43:44] and the opportunity to increase specialized pathways and work-based learning within LCPS. This, of course, is couched within the board's strategic plan when it comes to offering multiple accessible pathways for students through diverse programming and expanding opportunities for trust-building, dialogue, and data sharing, because we don't want to make these decisions alone.

[00:44:03] We want to make sure that our community is with us. We're going to start with a focus on our course catalog and course planner, the discussion led by Mr. Roundsley, and then the latter part of the presentation will focus on special programs and pathways led by Ms. Katie Clark. We will pause throughout the work session to have a little bit of dialogue, and then we'll move on to the presentation to the next topic.

[00:44:26] So with that, I'm gonna turn it over to Mr. Roundsley. - So in Board Docs tonight, there was a slide that did contain a video regarding Course Planner, which is the career and college readiness platform that we are adopting in LCPS.

[00:44:41] Hopefully you had a chance to see it as a short, we just wanted to help you visualize what this will actually look like when students have access to it and when all the data is ready. But being a part of this process has really presented us with some opportunities and some challenges that we want to consider as we move forward. So thinking about the opportunities that this has is the first of all kind of a mantra that we've been using throughout this is how do we standardize our course offerings where it makes sense.

[00:45:06] So we believe we can create more equitable opportunities for students and also provide schools with some autonomy to be responsive to the needs of their community through established programs and also opportunities to innovate new pilot programs that may not be widespread across LCPS, but could provide us with some valuable insight into where student interests might lie.

[00:45:27] So we're trying to find that line between where we wanna standardize, what's available to every student, and how we also help support schools with the programs they have, and to innovate when they have the right staff and students to do so. Transparency for students and families.

[00:45:42] This allows students and families to get a much better insight into what's offered at each particular school campus, and to know what opportunities exist for them and to visualize the opportunities that exist for them. And increase visibility into course enrollment trends. So this is helpful for us in the Department of Teaching and Learning and across HR to have opportunities to see where there is student interest, where we might support student interest with more courses, where we might need to provide more training and support and professional learning to teachers to be able to offer that.

[00:46:12] But hopefully we're getting some early insight into where student course enrollment trends are moving so that we can be proactive and respond to that and be ready for those students when they are prepared to take those courses. There's also challenges that come from this. First, hiring qualified educators for specialized courses.

[00:46:27] We know that there are courses that are in high demand across LCPS and those courses can also be sometimes challenging to staff. That might include some dual enrollment courses or world language courses that require some very specialized training for our teachers. So how can we increase the availability of these courses and access to these courses to make sure that all students have access to these really sought after opportunities. Another challenge is staffing for the robust course offering. So we have, we know there's students who have lots of interests in a lot of different courses, but how can we offer more courses without negatively impacting what we have? Our school's ability to offer a really coherent staff, staffing model to

[00:47:07] make sure that they can offer as many classes as possible. And finally, the equity of access and opportunities. How do we make sure that every student has access to all of these great opportunities that are part of Loudoun County Public Schools. So on the next slide we have two schools in LCPS and both of them have basically the same enrollment around well one has 1482 one has about 1450 and you can see that there are some differences in the number of courses that they're offering. School A is offering 180 total courses for students. School B is offering 144 total courses and while there are differences across all the content areas you see the most

[00:47:46] significant differences across CTE courses, math courses, and world language. So we wanted to just take a moment to explain why you might see across schools different availability of courses. The first one is teacher availability. So school A has some thriving world language programs that might not be available at other schools, and they also offer more access to students into dual enrollment courses. And again, that's that first challenge that we talked about. How do we make sure that we have teachers and the availability of staff prepared to offer those really specialized, rigorous course offerings that we want all students to have access to.

[00:48:21] The next area why you might see a difference is in student interest. So just because the school is offering fewer classes, we don't want that to indicate that the school is not being responsive to the needs of their community. School B has far more students enrolled in their fine arts programs, more students enrolled in art classes, more students enrolled in music classes.

[00:48:41] So schools may have well-established programs in their community, things that are really important to them that we don't want to negatively impact by saying you have to offer more classes. We want to make sure we're being responsive to what students and families want in those particular communities.

[00:48:57] A third reason is facilities. Now, this might not necessarily be true in this class, but take something in this case, but take something like the NJROTC program that's really limited based on the facilities in order to offer that. Or in a much smaller example, we have a course around sports medicine that requires a very specialized space to be able to house that, which not every school is able to have at this point.

[00:49:19] And the last one is programs. School A has access to more programs than School B, and so they are, as a result of that, offering more classes and having more opportunities on their schedule. So, again, there are differences in what our schools are offering, but on the next slide, you'll see that there are significant similarities, too.

[00:49:38] So this slide represents the classes in our high schools that are taught at 15 or more LCPS high schools. And of course, across the board, we see access to all of the courses that students would need to earn an advanced studies diploma. We see multiple electives.

[00:49:53] If you look at fine arts, we have robust fine arts offerings across all of our schools, art one through four, photography, AP art. All of our music courses, all of our theater courses are offered at all of our schools. We have our two standard health and PE courses, health and PE 9 and 10.

[00:50:10] Within CTE, with Dr. Grubbs, we'll talk about momentarily some of the opportunities that are there. We have 13 different courses representing seven different career clusters and six sequential electives. Really strong world language offerings in Spanish, French, German, and then Latin.

[00:50:25] Only one level of Latin is available in all of our schools right now. Advanced placement courses in English, math, science, social science, world language, and art. and then two dual enrollment courses that are widespread in English and social science and global studies. And so what we're seeing here, again, is that there is a lot of variance between the number of courses schools are offering and what they're able to offer, but we also have strong consistency in some really key areas as well.

[00:50:52] And again, our challenge as we go through this is where do we establish that line between what every school should offer to every student and where are we allowing schools the autonomy and the flexibility to be responsive to their community and responsive to the realities of their staffing and the situations in their schools.

[00:51:13] So this is one of those moments that we wanna pause and have a little bit of discussion or questions from the board. And we put two questions on the table and you could definitely go outside of these questions. But one, based on the community input you're receiving, what courses would you like to see become more of a standard part of our course offerings?

[00:51:32] And then two, how might we increase access to specialized courses for students? We've had some conversations around centralized staffing. By that we mean maybe sections created and managed from the central office that are pushed out to schools that aren't dependent on the school making the decision to staff those particular programs.

[00:51:51] Regional hubs, perhaps we target a particular high school and make sure students are able to get there potentially by transportation or other synchronous methods of instruction or continuing to expand virtual options. We have dipped our toes into some virtual options for some of our courses with smaller numbers.

[00:52:09] So those are some of the ideas we have around increasing access without necessarily creating a whole new teaching position or things of that nature. So we just want to pause there to get some reaction and discussion. So something that, of course, my community always talks about is ASL, right?

[00:52:30] Especially for the dyslexic community, and we don't have enough ASL teachers. The thing with a lot of kids with learning disabilities and a reading disability in particular is that they have a hard time learning English. However, I will say that there are students that we should make our Spanish as a very transparent language.

[00:52:56] And it's more of a one-to-one, you know, you see it, the letter and the sound is more one-to-one than, say, French. So even English, which is not transparent. What I would like to see is more like co-taught classes.

[00:53:16] So maybe we wouldn't have to always have like an ASL. We wouldn't have to have that as your go-to. I would like for kids with disabilities to be able to take, you know, Latin and Spanish and even German, I think.

[00:53:35] But they need more support. And I don't know that we've really looked at accessibility options for them. And I don't know that we've really looked at co-taught classes for them. But I do know that for our dyslexic students, if we don't have, if they fail one class in foreign language, they have to fail it before they can take a computer course and do their foreign language requirement for their advanced diploma.

[00:53:58] I don't want them to have to fail first. I want to give them the support beforehand. So I'm looking at all these world languages and everything, and I'm thinking, how can we support those students in that class with co-taught classes or something and really look at our accessibility?

[00:54:17] That's my thing. Anybody else? Do you want me to move on to Dr. Rasheed? I took notes, so if the board would just like to have a discussion, we'll take notes. I have a couple of things that I'd like to add, but piggybacking off what Chair Mansfield said, one of the world languages I'd like to see be expanded on or rather be offered or at least be started on will be the South Indian language called Hindi. So it's, you know, we do have a growing population, especially in the last five to ten years. So it'd be great to kind of expand on

[00:54:55] such a language. It's great how we have a whole bunch of international language of us to add this on would be extremely helpful. At least we could start it off as a pilot in one area and then see how that uh continues to expand but i think that's definitely an option to explore i had other things to say but i i didn't want to go off topic from languages if anybody had any other why don't you go ahead and then i know they're taking notes and then miss the bell after okay all right awesome um uh other courses i'd like to see offered um i know we have ham sci but it would be great if we

[00:55:29] can get uh you know equivalent courses be offered in high school for example a lot of colleges call it bio 141 bio 142 so a lot of prerequisites to a lot of careers that are coming up I know there's AP offerings and everything like that but directly correlating with colleges would be would allow a easier flow when students graduate from high school that way once they're done with the prerequisites they can then gear themselves into getting certain pathways in health care for example occupational therapy dentistry nursing

[00:56:04] etc. Another thing I'd like to explore, and I tell you this a little quickly, but is a concept called asynchronous day. I know it's going to be quite a hurdle to bring that forward, but I think seniors and juniors in high school need to have some sort of flexibility where they can go to their college interviews, they can take their SATs, anything of the sort. It's not a day off, but something called asynchronous days would help maybe once a month something like that and in those days it's not a free day they would still have to complete assignments but it'll allow flexibility

[00:56:43] where these students can just kind of I guess you know attend to other matters that are pertinent to their career in addition to what they're doing in high school so I mean you know overall those are my those are the points I wanted to say thanks. Thank you Dr. Rashid. Ms. Labelle? Dr.

[00:57:10] Ms. LaBelle, would you put that on because I want them to record you. I'm used to being home. I'm sorry. One of the things I'm worried about in Western Loudoun that we need to expand upon, both in my area and Dr. Rashid's area, that is an area that is growing in tourism.

[00:57:28] We have wineries, cideries. We have agricultural production, organic farms. We have livestock, and yet FFA has been taken out. discussed this with many of the constituents at the county fair. Some of them didn't even realize it was missing. They thought their children were getting instruction in some sort of farming technique. I would like to see the FFA classes put back in. Right now Future Farmers of America believes that there

[00:58:06] is an FFA class at Academies of Loudoun. That would be Mrs. Chavez's class and it is mostly horticulture and landscaping. That's not farming. We need to have it come back in because right now, one of the biggest money producers for our county is the tourism in Western Loudoun, where people go to experience the things that the country has to offer.

[00:58:35] We have a lot of kids out there that would be interested in taking it. taking it. If we could put something out at either Valley or Woodgrove for FFA, I am sure we would have a very, very robust group of students ready to take part in it.

[00:58:54] Thank you, Ms. LeBell. Yes, Ms. Donahue. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Sullivan and everyone for your presentation. I'll piggyback on a couple of the things that my colleagues have mentioned, because I've also had a number of constituents raise interest in LCPS offering South Asian languages, in particular Hindi, and I have also heard from several constituents, especially out in the West, about some focus on agriculture, since that is a little

[00:59:29] bit more common culture in the western part of the county. But I wanted to ask about computer classes and coding and where that fits into your to what to what you're telling us about is is are these subjects that are offered as part of the math or science already at pretty much every high school and if not is there a way to add more of that in it seems like more and more the the young folks these days are very interested in that topic and it is important for them as they are going out into our world that is increasingly more you know complicated with

[01:00:08] technology and especially in this area with all the data centers and the jobs in that field so the so absolutely one of the things we focused on is our k-12 computer science pipeline and part of a pipeline is there's something at the end of it and so we want to make sure our students are prepared for the courses in our high school so really our computer science courses cut across our mathematics courses some of our higher level computer science courses and then of course the connection to career and technical education and so a number of of our computer science courses are within our CTE programs.

[01:00:41] We have taken some specialized approaches with some of our business partners to go even further when it comes to seniors that have made it through all of our available computer science options, and we're also looking at new courses that are available, and that'll be a big part of what Dr. Grubbs will be working on as he starts to familiarize himself with our offerings within LCPS.

[01:01:04] I would also note when we get to special programs, IT, computer science, data centers, those are all possibilities. It's just a matter of where do we start when it comes to specialized programming. There's a lot of interest within our community as you can imagine. - Thank you.

[01:01:19] And if I, sorry, if I could add one other thing. Also following up on what Dr. Rasheed was saying about different career pathways, I had heard some inquiries, especially in the Sterling area, from people who are interested in like a dental hygienist preparation program or, you know, prerequisites, something like that.

[01:01:39] Thank you. - Thank you, Ms. Donahue, Vice Chair Struffy. - Thank you, thank you very much. So a lot of what was said already resonates, some of the language programs. I think my curiosity is to just kind of try to understand what does the barrier look like right now in terms of hiring for some of these specialized courses, specifically for computer science and CTE.

[01:02:06] And, you know, I have this hunch that, you know, in a school that has a really robust kind of community-backed program, like fine arts or theater, that you'll be able to attract better talent or maybe more easily hire to that program.

[01:02:27] And conversely, right, in a school that doesn't have a similar program built out, doesn't have the reputation or the community backing, it's a lot harder to get those engines going. And so the school may feel a little bit more disempowered, right?

[01:02:44] So I'm curious, one, is to see what, you know, how long have some of these job openings been open in certain schools? Two, is, you know, what can we do to plant the seed and help it grow in some of these schools, depending on whatever the factor is involved, whether that's student interest or community backing or something that fits really nicely.

[01:03:12] We've talked about some of the programs, advanced CTE in Sterling. And then one of the things I've talked to you, Mr. Slevin, about is the counseling related to a lot of the CTE and specialized pathways because, you know, some of these fields have broadened so much in the last 10 years and just really like to know how are we looking at counseling, the course finder, and just helping kind of demystify or decrypt some of these things for families is really important, but really just thinking about counseling and how does a student really understand the pathway that they're getting into?

[01:03:52] Like if they're looking at computer science, what are we actually telling them about, do they actually even understand that the difference between the coding aspect versus the data and that these are now two different kind of pathways.

[01:04:10] So not to go on and on. And then the other thing is, what's the process if a school wants to bring something new or something more, right? And what would have been the experiences of different schools when it comes to pivoting on a yearly basis, right?

[01:04:26] I'm guessing tweaks or adjustments are made yearly. What are the schools that are really just revamping and how are they getting the support versus schools that are maybe potentially not making a lot of changes or stagnating or maybe a little less responsive in these types of areas.

[01:04:45] And so how can we support those schools? That's it from me. Thank you, Vice Chair Struffy. Yes, Mr. Handler. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the team for being here today and for engaging in this conversation with us.

[01:05:03] I know this is a conversation that Mr. Slevin and I have had for quite some time now because I do often hear in my community a desire for consistency, especially as Chair Mansfield mentioned for students with disabilities to have access to these language options that are just more accessible to them and I love the idea of being able to provide them with more consistency at a regional school so that we don't have to hire a teacher at every school but can can leverage the resources we have to make it more accessible

[01:05:37] on that note I think we are in a unique position here in Loudoun County being part of the Washington DC metro area everything that you could dream of is available here and in that way I think I would like I could see bringing that language school together and perhaps engaging in something like an international studies unit that might do world diplomacy we're so close to Washington and there are so many experts here that could offer something unique to our students and I just think there's

[01:06:12] really a lot of opportunity for us to engage in that. I have a degree in political science myself and I love that we have so many STEM opportunities in our community but students want lots of different pathways and really we don't need, I think back to my own education and how in the past there was more of a track. We don't need to put students on a track, but offer them the opportunity to have different experiences so that they can make real choices about their future and informed choices. With that said, I would love to see more world languages provided. We have so much

[01:06:51] diversity in our community, and I think we could expand and offer Arabic, Chinese, Russian along those lines. I also think it would be great, and I hear consistently more CTE opportunities, decentralized and locally available. I think a lot of people struggle. I know I just finished paying off my student loans, and we would like to offer students the ability to take a different route to have a successful life, and there are lots of ways we can do that. And it's not lost on me

[01:07:28] that in an area where there are so many successful people who have advanced degrees there are also lots of people with technical skills who are making amazing salaries because their skills are precious here. Being able to fix an air conditioner it's it's not something that everybody can do and and we can offer those opportunities to our students. I also think we should recognize the fact that we have NOAA nearby and we could probably off offer a weather track you know that's something that could expand there's just a lot of great

[01:08:05] opportunities that we could take advantage of so thank you for continuing to engage with us and for letting us offer our thoughts on this yes dr. Deans I don't know if it is but could the course catalogs be citywide and maybe use some of that special permission to have kids to to move to schools where their courses are being offered I don't know that might be a possibility or it might be being done already and the other piece is to piggy

[01:08:40] back off of what Miss Chandler said government agencies encourage partnerships and they encourage their people to get out of the office and I'm just wondering what kind of schedule, you know, if it's offered all, if some courses are offered all at 8 o'clock in the morning, that government person can go and teach that course and then go to work.

[01:09:10] And that would not be additional costs because the government gives them X number of volunteer hours per pay period to work in the community. So that's one that I think a lot of. And the other one is the African American history course.

[01:09:26] How much flexibility do we have with the Virginia Department of Ed to teach it at different levels? I mean, there are middle school kids who would love to take the African-American history course. You know, it would be watered down more than the one that's AP.

[01:09:42] But how much flexibility can we have to have courses offered before high school? I think middle school kids are sometimes mature enough to handle that. Thanks, Dr. Deans. Yes, Ms. Griffiths.

[01:09:59] Thank you, Madam Chair. We've already met about programs, and I'm really excited about CTE expansion. I do want to start, and I want to echo my colleagues, great ideas, fantastic ideas, but I would like to start off with simple classes, dress for success, and resume writing.

[01:10:18] We need to have that available at every school. We need to start that first, because I will tell you, as a recruiter, they don't know what they don't know, and they show up in t-shirts and chewing gum so i would rather see them dressing for success and have a nice resume so if we could start there that would be fantastic thank you i think i would be um not doing my my duty if i didn't put a plug in for a transition center for uh individual education plans uh we're going into

[01:10:53] special programs okay all right well then i will shut up for right now i'm not saying that and i'll Put a bubble in it, is my kindergarten teacher, you should say. Yes, Ms. Chernoff. I'll be quick. I think I'm a little more old school when it comes to this stuff. I don't know why, but putting all these ideas on the table makes me a little like, oh, what about the stuff that's really good already?

[01:11:14] I do feel that way a little bit. I love the ideas, though. I love the innovation of my colleagues, and I don't really think like that in terms of pathways. I'm sort of the kindergarten teacher that's like, let's let kids be kids. But we live in a different world than when I taught and when I was growing up.

[01:11:31] I will always put a plug in for the fine arts. I worry that with all the new things, as things pull away, that we might lose that focus and that community. It's such a rich community. It has so much to offer these kids. And they find community and they find mental health benefits.

[01:11:47] And a lot of them literally find their voice. And so I will always put a plug for that to not go away and for that to not be shrunk down and to continue in the vein of having robust fine arts programs. I'm going to piggyback off the resume building. I also, you know, think kids need to learn how to balance a budget.

[01:12:06] And I know we've talked a lot with SEAC about executive functioning skills. Just some of those things that, you know, we're so driven towards career, career, career, get out the door, get on to the next. And that's very much driven by our area and our world. But there are just some of those basic skills that I think, too, that get lost, that would help those trajectories in such a powerful way.

[01:12:29] So thinking about some of that as well with transition, but not just for students with special needs, but for all students. Okay, we have, I guess, 20 minutes. Do you all want to continue with your presentation first? Okay, really quick, because we need to continue.

[01:12:49] Yes, yeah. Thank you, Chairman Mansfield. Just one thing I forgot to add. You know, Mr. Rounds, he had mentioned specialized space, and that supports certain careers. I think that piggybacking off that, you know, I know that Academies of Loudoun has a lot to offer when it comes to specialized space. So I know we have culinary, and we might, I think we have automobile.

[01:13:05] I remember doing the tour there. So thinking along that line, it would be great if we had, I mean, there's a lot of things where I wanted to think about in terms of high academic performance. So not a lot of students out there perform in high, have our high academic performers. And I think that it's important, maybe if there's a portion that could be like a lottery system that gets accepted into Academies of Loudoun and it's not just always, you know, high academic performers all the time.

[01:13:32] I'm not saying eliminate it based on merit. I'm just saying it'd be great to have a small portion of that. Thank you. Ms. LaBelle, real quick. Yes. I can't look at you and speak here at the same time.

[01:13:47] You said that there were seven career clusters that are covered in the Academies of Loudoun. What ones are not? There are 16 of them, and so we're looking at less than half. So those are not at the academies allowed, and those are across all of our standard LCPS schools.

[01:14:06] And those are the ones that are at 15 or more. Some of those, many schools are going to teach other ones as well. We were just looking at the ones that were consistently part of the LCPS course offerings. But I would say the vast majority of them are represented, just not all at the same schools. Okay, thank you.

[01:14:24] So we are going to go through the rest of the presentation, then we'll have time for some more dialogue if time allows. But a reminder, you do have the opportunity to provide us written feedback. And while I did receive many comments, I do want to respond to Ms. Chernoff and recognize part of this work is repackaging and evaluating what does exist to make sure it's working for us.

[01:14:44] But we also need to be investing and see where there's new opportunities. But a large part of this conversation, you know, we offer ASL, but maybe we need to think a little bit different about how we're offering it. So it's not all new. Some of it is just refining our approach to that. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Ms. Katie Clark, our director of academic programs, who is going to provide some information on special programs.

[01:15:08] Thank you, Mr. Slevin, and good afternoon. Thank you for allowing us some time to talk about our special programs. Over the past two years, we have made significant progress in expanding opportunities for our students. With the addition of our international baccalaureate diploma program at two of our high schools, language immersion program at two of our elementary schools, and our newest special program that will be recognized this evening, starting this school year, the Health and Medical Sciences Academy at two of our high schools. In 2022, LCPS implemented the special programs and academies policy and

[01:15:44] regulation 5115, which defines a special program or academy as any program that is not part of the standard approved program of studies or deviates from existing school board policies or regulations. These programs must align with our LCPS strategic framework, equitably providing students with unique learning experiences that build upon their interests, talents, and strengths, ultimately preparing them for post-secondary education and future careers.

[01:16:13] Our goal is to ensure that every student who wishes to participate in a specialized program has the opportunity to do so. We are committed to continue to refine and expand these opportunities to meet the diverse needs of our student population. We appreciate your continued support and guidance as we work together to provide these valuable opportunities for our students.

[01:16:38] This is our status chart for special programs. This chart provides a clear overview of the current status of various special programs within LCPS. It categorizes programs into four distinct phases: Under Consideration, Proposal Phase, Planning Phase, and Implemented.

[01:16:57] Under Column 1, Programs Under Consideration. This lists some of the programs that are being explored to determine their viability and alignment with student needs and the district's strategic goals. We will discuss these programs on a future slide in more detail.

[01:17:14] Our second column, phase two, the proposal phase, we currently have the following programs in our proposal phase: An Achievable Dream, an Environmental Science Academy, and a Global and Linguistic Studies Academy. These programs are currently in our review process and need to be reviewed and approved by staff before bringing the final proposal to the Specialized Programs and Centers Committee.

[01:17:38] Column three, our planning phase. We currently have four programs that are in this phase: Access Academy, Dual Language Immersion, Health and Medical Science Academy, and our International Baccalaureate Program. This phase involves detailed planning to address curriculum design, resource allocation, and overall implementation strategies.

[01:17:59] Programs stay in this phase until they are fully implemented. Our last column here is our implemented programs and our programs are AOS, AET, MATA, and NJROTC. These are all fully operational and actively contributing to student education and development.

[01:18:20] There are many things to consider when deciding what opportunities to provide next. As you can see on this chart, the left side of the diagram addresses what we should focus on, whereas the right side will drive the where. All of these considerations are important as we need input from all key stakeholders to make these decisions.

[01:18:40] On the left side, we have our student interest. We capture students' interest through academic career planning and course planner and through active family student engagement. This ensures that the programs align with what students are passionate about. Next we have family and community.

[01:18:57] Input from family and community members is gathered through listening sessions and survey data, ensuring that the programs reflect the broader community's needs and perspectives. Next we have business community. We plan to gather input from the business community through events like the Big Tent, which we are holding in October, which helps us understand community needs and develop partnership opportunities.

[01:19:22] On the right side, we have strategic plan. The strategic plan identifies the priorities of the school board, including funding considerations as part of the capital improvement plan and budgeting process. This helps in laying out a long-term plan for educational programs.

[01:19:39] Next, we have school leadership. School leadership evaluates proposals, school capacity, and plans for geographic parity to maximize opportunities for students. This also involves managing transportation times and costs.

[01:19:54] And lastly, we have the budget process. The budget process involves evaluating funding, school capacity, transportation, and construction needs. This input is crucial for the operating and capital improvement budget processes, ensuring that construction funding and prioritization are aligned with school needs.

[01:20:13] This slide emphasizes a comprehensive approach to planning, incorporating feedback and data from multiple stakeholders to create well-rounded educational programs. I do want to point out that the creation of these special programs and academies involve all departments and LCPS to work collaboratively for our students.

[01:20:34] Now I would like to introduce Dr. Grubbs, Director of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, to talk about opportunities in career and technical education. Thank you, Ms. Clark. Ensuring CT programming is accessible to all students in LCPS requires deliberate planning, stakeholder input, and alignment to the superintendent's post-entry plan.

[01:20:55] As the figure illustrates, we are beginning to examine what the current state of CT is in LCPS. While we have a robust CTE programs, there are opportunities to review distribution across Loudoun County. As the figure further illustrates, next we need to consider where there are opportunities for innovation and growth in alignment to economic development and the employment opportunities within the region.

[01:21:18] Lastly, we need to thoughtfully consider how we achieve our goals sustainably. We will be mapping out a multi-year plan that not only considers CTE program expansion, but also innovative opportunities such as internships, apprenticeships, and dual enrollment. I will now pass it back to Mr. Sullivan to illustrate the guiding principles.

[01:21:40] Thank you, Dr. Grubbs. This was going to be another portion of the presentation we were going to pause for some discussion, but we'd ask you to provide us written feedback or save your comments towards the end, but it's important for us to illustrate some of the principles that we think about as staff when proposing next steps when it comes to special programs.

[01:21:56] First, we think about balance and consistency as a spectrum. Some programs offer more generalized courses that are suitable for any high school student, making them appealing to a large number of students across LCPS. Other special programs might be more specialized, appealing to smaller number of students and not replicable at multiple sites.

[01:22:15] For example, currently IB is represented at Heritage High School and Loudoun Valley High School. One of our goals is to expand that opportunity, potentially in the southern or eastern portions of our county, to achieve a level of consistency. Other programs, like the Access Academy, serve an important purpose, but may not be replicable across LCPS.

[01:22:37] However, other programs at other schools can ensure that students across LCPS have access to diverse and balanced programs appealing to different students and communities. The second guiding principle is responsiveness, means we are considering their interests and needs of students and families.

[01:22:52] An example of this, which the board brought up earlier, is our effort to expand world language offerings, such as Arabic. While not a special program, expanding world language opportunities at LCPS has been considered an area of interest for our community. In 2022, LCPS surveyed students and families to determine top areas of interest for expansion and proposed adding Arabic to four high schools based on high levels of interest in language at those schools at some point in the future.

[01:23:18] The third guiding principle is sustainability, means that we have the facilities, staff, resources, and students interested to ensure that the program will last over time. Given limited resources available, we want to ensure these programs reflect community needs and can sustain themselves beyond a highly committed teacher or school leader who may move on to other opportunities.

[01:23:40] We wanna make sure that the programs are aligned, our fourth guiding principle, to the vision of LCPS and industry needs in our community. Our school system values rigorous, authentic and student-centered learning, and so the special programs we bring to school should challenge students with relevant real-world issues and empower them to become engaged citizens and leaders in Loudoun and beyond.

[01:24:01] And the last guiding principle is cost-effectiveness. means we are evaluating both the costs and the benefits as we prioritize what opportunities are developed first. When thinking about developing our multi-year plan related to student opportunities, we have to manage the tension between the scope of the work, meaning what is included, how large or small of an effort that is, the time it will take to implement, and the budget that we have to work with.

[01:24:28] Each of these variables has a corresponding impact on the others, creating a tension that we need to manage. For example, a new program requiring modifications an existing building or an entirely new site will require working through the capital improvement budget process for prioritization and funding approval likely this will increase the time it would take to launch this program for example with high school 14 we know the time it's scheduled to open up in school year 28 29 and we know what the location can support based on the current design so we could prioritize a special program for high school fit 14 that fits into the space that is

[01:25:05] available by developing an appropriate scope and budget ask to match that potential. And another aspirational example is a fine arts academy, which some board members and public, members of the public have expressed interest in. While at this time we don't have a defined scope, location, or plan for this academy, it has been a topic of interest.

[01:25:26] Our first step would be to define an agreed-upon scope for the academy. This would inform whether we would need new construction, expand a current school site, purchase or lease space. Once that determination has been made we would need to consider where it makes sense in both the operational and capital improvement budget. Alternatively expanding an existing program such as adding another IB site is smaller in scope in comparison impacting all three variables on the slide. As we share additional information about our existing and proposed programs in the following slides consider the impact of those priorities on the scope time

[01:26:04] and budget variables. The purpose of this graphic is to provide some information that will support your thinking in terms of prioritization. This chart shows the estimate of the total cost of implementation from previous programs. These are intended to demonstrate in order of magnitude estimates for planning purposes. You can see how long programs take to fully implement, how many students the program will reach, and the cost along with the staffing required to support the program. At this time I'm going to ask Ms. Clark to give a update on prioritization of future

[01:26:38] opportunities. Thank you Mr. Sullivan. This chart shows the programs that we have committed to but are not yet fully funded, as well as potential special or educational programs. The committed, not yet funded initiatives include extending the DLI program for grades 2 through 5, including the staffing for that, providing additional staffing for the HAMSci and IB programs to support scheduling flexibility, developing alternative educational programs, such as educational programs and a recovery school,

[01:27:12] And establishing the Access Academy in partnership with George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College, with staff currently determining the budgeting needs for those. Our next column is for potential special or educational programs.

[01:27:28] We could look at expanding established programs like IB and DLI, potentially a transition center, which was mentioned tonight. Expanding oversubscribed programs to more school locations, and developing new programs in areas such as IT, trade and industry, environmental science, global studies, and fine arts.

[01:27:52] Now I will turn it back over to Mr. Slevin to close us out this afternoon. Thank you. So, while I do have one more slide, we do want to take an opportunity to get some level of feedback in the time that we have for board feedback on what staff should be thinking about in terms of the discussion on scope, time, and budget as we plan for future opportunities.

[01:28:17] Okay, we have like three minutes. Transition Center for Marketable CTE Skills for Students with Disabilities. Ms. LeBell.

[01:28:38] Ms. Donahue. Thank you, Madam Chair. Fine Arts Academy. Mr. Shaffee.

[01:28:54] Ms. Treffee. IB program expansion in Eastern Loudoun, specifically Parkview High School. Ms. Griffiths? I have several. Dulles Airport programs, AutoCAD, child care programs, automotive, as mentioned, plumbing, HVAC, and the list goes on.

[01:29:13] And we can meet further about that. Can you close it out, Mr. Slevin? Thank you, Chair Mansfield. Will do. So in terms of next steps, we appreciate the input provided tonight. We will bring recommendations back through the Special Programs Committee.

[01:29:31] chaired by Dr. Rasheed and particularly starting with an FY26 roadmap and then looking at a multi-year plan. We are announcing what we've described as a big tent event or workforce summit, a conversation with our community partners. So many great ideas were put on the table tonight and each of them are backed with a partner in our community and we want their input and their voice but most importantly their help in providing these opportunities to our students and our families. We recognize that all of this will be a multi-year plan, so this certainly won't be the last conversation we have on this topic, but we appreciate your engagement and the

[01:30:10] enthusiasm around the topic, so thank you all. Thank you, Mr. Slevin, and we will continue with item 4.01 and recess for dinner, and the board will reconvene at 6.30, and the board is now in

[01:30:25] recess. Okay, good evening. The board is coming out of recess at this time. I'm sorry, I'm a little

[02:03:36] late um we will start with item 6.01 the pledge of allegiance and the national anthem uh we have two pledge leaders with us today leona ganu is a health and medical sciences academy student attending briar woods high school leona is leona is a student at riverbend oh she was a student at riverbend middle school and is thrilled to be a part of hampsi academy she attended summer bridge activities at Briarwoods during the summer, which is a testament of her keen interest in this

[02:04:12] program. Welcome. And we also have C.K. Reynolds is also a health and medical sciences academy student and will be attending Tuscarora High School. C.K. went to Harper Park Middle School and is thrilled to be a part of the HamSci Academy. He attended health camp during the summer in the arts and then later attended summer bridge activities at Tuscarora during summer, which is a testament of his keen interest in this program.

[02:04:40] Aiden O'Brien is a proud LCPS graduate. She will be singing our national anthem, attended Little River Elementary, Lunsford Middle School, and Freedom High School. She graduated in May from the Florida State University with a degree in music education and a concentration in choral music.

[02:04:59] Aiden will begin her teaching career this year at Loudoun's newest and 100th school, watson mountain middle school she is overwhelmed by love and support that the faculty in loudon will have shown her already and is eager to begin the year welcome all three of you thank you for being here at this time i will ask everyone to stand for the pledge of allegiance and the national

[02:05:26] anthem i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[02:05:50] Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed twilight's last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight for the

[02:06:21] rest we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rock still there the next item on the agenda

[02:07:25] item seven is student staff recognitions item 7.01 one lcps spotlight health and medical sciences academy presented by vandana sharma coordinator health and medical sciences academy dr jane o'connor hampsi resource teacher shilia alzada principal briar words high school pamela croft principal

[02:07:49] tuscarora high school and students miss sharma and medical sciences academy we have spent a year building this wonderful program for our students and are very excited for the opportunity to spotlight it this afternoon. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the team it took to bring

[02:08:26] this program to life. I want to start by giving a huge shout out to Ms. Katie Clark, Director of Academic Programs, who has been extremely helpful with enrollment and lottery implementation for HEMSci. I would like to acknowledge the offices of Secondary English and Language Arts, Health and Physical Education, Secondary Science, Division of EL, and Office of Special Education for collaborating with us to develop a curriculum that is well-rounded and rigorous.

[02:08:55] And last but not the least, I'd like to thank Ms. Dawson for championing this cause, providing relentless support and engaging with our business partners to bring this program to fruition. This evening, we will provide you with a brief overview of Health and Medical Sciences Academy and how it aligns with one LCPA strategic plan for excellence.

[02:09:17] We will highlight the purpose and intentionality behind creating Summer Bridge activities and most importantly, provide you with the valuable perspectives of our students and our school principals. Next slide. It is my pleasure to introduce you to our team.

[02:09:35] Dr. Jane O'Connor is a resource teacher. We have two student representatives here, Liana Gannou from Briarwoods High School and C.K. Reynolds from Tuscarora High School, and our two fantastic principals, Ms. Sheila Elzate, Briarwoods principal, and Ms. Pamela Croft, principal of Tuscarora High School.

[02:09:54] Next slide. Let's take a look at how the HAMSci program aligns with our division strategic plan. In HAMSci, we aim to ensure our students are supported in a variety of ways and provided opportunities for individualized success in a rigorous teaching and learning environment.

[02:10:18] Next slide, please. HAMSci is directly aligned with the LCPA Strategic Plan, Goal 1, of empowered students, specifically aligned Action 1.1, Core Academic Excellence, and 1.2, Multiple Accessible Pathways to Success.

[02:10:36] Health and Medical Sciences Academy, or HAMSci, is dedicated to preparing our students for careers in the rapidly evolving fields of health and medical sciences. HAMSci is designed to provide our students with multiple pathways for success upon graduating from high school.

[02:10:54] The Academy will focus on providing health science literacy to our students, paired with a curriculum that develops critical thinking skills, along with giving them opportunities to acquire industry credentials to prepare students for in-demand, highly skilled healthcare workforce careers.

[02:11:13] I'm excited to talk to you about our program, which is starting this year at Briarwoods High School and Tuscarora High School. From the start, we realized the importance of keeping our students engaged through the summer as a lot of our students were leaving their zoned high school to go to either Briarwoods or Tuscarora High School.

[02:11:32] We decided summer bridge activities to foster meaningful connections among rising 9th grade Hanfly students while familiarizing them with their school building and getting them excited for upcoming academic year. Through engaging tasks and collaborative challenges at various locations within our school, we wanted to create a sense of belonging and friendship among students as they get ready for their high school journey.

[02:11:54] The Summer Bridge activities were designed to introduce students to some of the practical elements they would be learning throughout the school year and ultimately in their careers as health care professionals. These sessions were set up as crash courses into vital science, sports injury management, and elements of suturing so that they would not only engage with their fellow ham science students, but also serve as a foundation for the knowledge they would build upon for their duration within the academy and beyond.

[02:12:24] I would now like to call upon our student representatives to share their ideas and thoughts. Hello, everyone. My name is C.K. Reynolds, and I am a student from Tuscarora High School.

[02:12:40] When I was young, I was injured after a bike accident. Me and my mom and many health professionals helped me heal. I realized I wanted to help others and pursue many medical experiences after this experience. I was curious about how the body repaired itself.

[02:12:56] We learned a bit about it in seventh grade biology, but I wanted to go deeper into the healing process. I knew I wanted to apply when I met Dr. O'Connor in an information session for 8th graders. I was ecstatic when I was accepted into the HOMSci program in late April.

[02:13:14] The Summer Bridge program solidified my excitement for medicine this summer, especially the suturing unit. The Summer Bridge unit on suturing helped me realize how a doctor helped my body heal more effectively. I even have my own surgical scar to prove it. I am excited to learn more about becoming a healthcare professional.

[02:13:30] I know in healthcare, I will encounter the most challenging parts of a patient and doctor's life, and I hope to improve their well-being. Hello, my name is Liana Genu, and I'm a student at Briarwoods High School.

[02:13:46] My inspiration to pursue a career in the medical field is deeply personal. My grandfather passed away from lung cancer just a month before I was born. Unfortunately, the cancer was detected too late, and I often reflect on how different things might have been identified earlier.

[02:14:04] This experience has motivated me to join the medical field with the goal of improving early detection and treatment so others do not ensure similar losses. During the summer, I had the opportunity to learn how to perform stitches. I thoroughly enjoyed this lesson because it provided insight into the work we might undertake in the medical field.

[02:14:24] Additionally, it allowed us to interact with other students from the HAMPSY program. Good evening. I'm Sheila Alzate, and I'm the principal of Briarwoods High School. I'd first like to thank our LCPS leadership for their vision in helping to develop the Health and Medical Sciences program and for their diligence in the more than a year's worth of planning that went into opening Health and Medical Sciences for this upcoming fall.

[02:14:56] I would also like to thank our Tuscarora Partnership for our work that we have done in collaborating to make sure that both programs get off the ground with an equitable start and I also look forward to working closer with them in the future. The exciting part is that we will get to serve students in part of the central eastern and southern part of our county and we are looking forward to bringing them into Briarwoods and helping them to become a falcon where it is

[02:15:31] always a great day to be a falcon thank you good evening i'm pamela croft principal of tuscarora high school and we were so excited to have the opportunity to host ham sci in our building i echo all of miss alzalty's sentiments with the exception of the falcon it's a great day to be a husky but we are so um happy to provide yet additional pathways for our students to leave our building college and career ready. So thank you all for the support that you've provided.

[02:16:15] Thank you for your presentation and thank you for being here. Board members, do you have any questions? No? I think we're supposed to take pictures now, so we'll come down. Oh, Mr. Slevin has something. Thank you, Chair Mansfield. Where's Ms. Clark? Can she come up and give me a hand?

[02:16:38] Good evening, Chair Mansfield, school board members, and Dr. Spence. We are pleased to recognize Briarwoods High School and Tuscarora High School for their leadership in hosting the inaugural cohort of the Health and Medical Science Academies. The HamSci Academy, as just explained, is designed to expand learning opportunities for students in the health science literacy through curriculum centered on deeper learning that develops critical skills and competencies geared towards the healthcare field. Tonight, we would like to present a plaque that will be

[02:17:10] displayed with pride at Briarwoods High School and Tuscarora High School, and we are presenting them to the principals of those schools because of their leadership in this effort. We appreciate your dedication and commitment to our students and we look forward to the great things that will come from this program. At this time we would like to come forward with the board to take a picture

[02:17:35] to honor this moment. As a little point of privilege I have to say I'm excited to have

[02:19:28] Ms. LaBelle back with us. Welcome back in person. The next item we will move to item 8.01 the superintendent report presented by Dr. Aaron Spence. Thank you Madam Chair, members of the board. It's my pleasure to be able to share some good news from around the school division.

[02:19:55] We'll start with the preparation for the beginning of the year. LCPS administrative staff, central office staff, and educators have been attending events and conferences over the previous two weeks to help kick off the start of our school year. Over 700 school-based administrators and central office staff attended the two-day Lead Loudon conference at the end of July. This conference was planned collaboratively by the Division of Professional Learning and School Support and Human Resources and Talent Development, and it aimed to invest in the development of LCPS leaders, facilitated knowledge sharing and collaboration, and promoted alignment with the division's goals and missions. Attendees had the opportunity to choose from over 108 breakout sessions prepared

[02:20:34] by their LCPS colleagues and guests, and breakout session topics range from innovative math and reading strategies to discussions about AI and its impact on education to creating work-life balance the following week we welcomed 220 brand new teachers who participated in the beginning teacher institute during this event our new teachers had the opportunity to learn strategies around building relationships learn how to create welcoming classroom environments and explore structures for supporting student behavior and i have enjoyed i have to say hearing from our new teachers and seeing their passion for the career on which they are about to embark also last week

[02:21:12] At our Welcome 1 conference, we welcomed these 220 educators along with over 400 teachers who are new to LCPS but have worked in other school divisions. And we're very grateful that these educators have chosen LCPS as their work home, which we believe is a great indication that LCPS is a division of excellence.

[02:21:31] This week, the Department of Teaching and Learning hosted the Teaching and Learning Leadership Institute, which brought together teacher leaders from elementary, middle, and high school levels. This was the first year that this event was held, and it was great to see the multi-level collaboration that was happening. My hope, as always, for all of our teachers and LCPS staff is to ensure that our students know that they are seen, heard, and loved.

[02:21:51] And I'm grateful for their commitment to our students and to LCPS. Also, earlier this month, Equity Leads gathered for a two-day equity institute hosted by the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. There, they collaborated on plans for the upcoming year and reflected on the previous year's successes.

[02:22:10] As you probably know, each school has or will have an equity lead. This individual is a teacher or administrator and supports the school's students and community by ensuring that the school is a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming environment. I do want to underscore how important the work of the equity leads is to our schools in helping our students feel a sense of belonging and connection with their community.

[02:22:30] I hope our equity leads left this year's Institute feeling energized to fulfill their vital roles. We are also pleased to note that LCPS has welcomed 40 ambassador teachers from around the world its partnership with participate learning hailing from africa jamaica south america and the philippines these ambassador teachers will work across 15 elementary schools as classroom and el teachers for up to five years with visa sponsorship through this partnership as experienced educators in their native country the ambassador teachers will impact their school communities with their rich and diverse experiences and we're excited to begin

[02:23:06] this new partnership and look to increase the number of ambassador teachers through this this collaboration as we move forward. LCPS and Shenandoah University partnered this summer for a collaborative program called Camp Read-A-Lot that benefited teachers and students.

[02:23:22] 30 Meadowland Elementary students in grades one through five participated in the summer camp, which focused on helping them improve their reading skills. At the same time, the camp, which was free for students, also provided 19 LCPS teachers with the training necessary for earning their master's degree or reading endorsement.

[02:23:39] And we want to thank the support the Claude Moore Foundation to make this training also free for those teachers. We want to congratulate Chris Stark, a business and IT teacher at Briarwoods High School, who was awarded the 2024 Virginia Cybersecurity Educator Award in Secondary Education at the 7th Annual Virginia Cybersecurity Education Conference that was held at Virginia Tech in July. In the presentation of the award, Mr. Stark was credited with fostering a love for cybersecurity amongst his students, specifically through his leadership of the cyber patriot team which is a national youth cyber defense competition and also

[02:24:15] the briarwood cyber club mr stark working with fellow teachers also led the creation of cyber slam which is an annual conference that brings together students from across the region with national cyber security experts and leaders with the goal of exposing students to opportunities in the cyber security field that event started in 2022 and it has now grown to attract over 500 students and we want to again congratulate Mr. Stark on this recognition. We also want to congratulate J.E. Lumpden Simpson Middle School and Willard Middle School, which have received the 2024 Association for Middle Level Education Schools of Distinction recognition. These two LCPS schools

[02:24:52] are amongst only 17 schools nationally to receive this recognition this year, which honors schools that demonstrate outstanding commitment to middle grades education and continuous improvement. Simpson and Willard joined five other LCPS middle schools, Belmont Ridge, Brambleton, Farmwell Station, River Bend, and Smartsville as schools which have been recognized as schools of distinction. These schools are selected as AMLE schools of distinction on an annual basis and recognition is awarded on a four-year cycle. This year's recipients will be recognized at the AMLE Annual Conference for Middle-Level Education in November. Madam Chair, members of the board,

[02:25:30] it's also my pleasure to share with you some announcements concerning new administrators, new principals, and staff. We'll begin with this. This school year, LCPS will have a new program school to provide structured non-traditional learning environments for students in the disciplinary process in grades 6 through 12. The goals of our alternative program are to ensure students stay on track with their education and meet their academic goals, foster behavioral changes that are positive and reduce disciplinary issues, and support students in developing the essential life skills they need and achieving personal growth. We're pleased to note that Dr.

[02:26:01] Sean Mason has been named the principal of the alternative education program. Dr. Mason comes to LCPS from the Schenectady City School District, where he served as the Assistant Superintendent of Planning and Accountability. Previously, he was the Manager of School Operations Support for Baltimore City Public Schools. Dr. Mason has a Bachelor's Degree in Recreation Leadership from Hampton University, a Master's Degree in Adult Education Administration and Supervision from Coppin State, and a Doctorate from Walden University in Educational Administration.

[02:26:29] We'd like to welcome Dr. Mason to LCPS and look forward to his support of our newest program. Thank you, sir, for being here. Congratulations. Next, I'd like to recognize Denisha Davis. I think she's here. If you'd stand up. Great. Thank you. Denisha has been named the next principal of John Tolbert Elementary School. Most recently, Ms. Davis was the assistant principal at Round Hill Elementary School. Previously, she served as dean of Newton Lee Elementary. Ms. Davis joined LCPS in 2013 as a second grade teacher at Middleburg Elementary, and she began her teaching career at Boyce

[02:27:04] Elementary in Clark County in 2006. Ms. Davis has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Florida A&M and a master's degree in administration and supervision from Shenandoah University. Ms. Davis, congratulations. We welcome you to your new role. We'd like to also congratulate Stacey Huffer.

[02:27:24] Stacey has been named the next principal of Harper Park Middle School. Ms. Huffer was the assistant principal at Briarwoods High School. She also served as an assistant principal at Eagle Ridge Middle School and assistant principal of Stonebridge High School. She began her career as a language arts teacher in Prince George's County Public Schools in 1998.

[02:27:41] Ms. Huffer has a bachelor's degree in English from Sam Houston State University in Texas and a master's degree in curriculum instruction from McDaniel College in Maryland. Ms. Huffer, welcome to your new role. We'd like to recognize Nicole Mullen.

[02:27:59] Nicole has been named the next principal of Frances Hazel Reed Elementary School. Most recently, Ms. Mullen was assistant principal at Leesburg Elementary, a position she's held since 2019. Ms. Mullen started her career with LCPS in 2005 as a second-grade teacher at Legacy Elementary School.

[02:28:15] Ms. Mullen has a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary liberal studies from James Madison University and a master's degree in education leadership from George Mason University. Ms. Mullen, congratulations to you on your new role. Next, we'd like to congratulate Melissa Sargent, who has been named the next principal of John Champ High School.

[02:28:37] Ms. Sargent began her tenure at John Champ High School as the assistant principal in 2018. She also served as interim principal at Parkview High School in 2021 and as the acting principal of John Champ in 2021. Previously, she served as an assistant principal at Broad Run High School and Potomac Falls High School.

[02:28:55] Ms. Sargent began her teaching career in 1994 as a teacher at Allendale Fairfax Middle School in Allendale County School District in South Carolina. Ms. Sargent has a bachelor's degree in education from South Carolina State University and a master's degree in educational leadership and supervision from the University of South Carolina.

[02:29:11] Ms. Sargent, congratulations to you on this new role. I'd like to next congratulate Jennifer Thiessen, who has been named the next principal of Evergreen Mill Elementary School. Most recently, Ms. Thiessen was the assistant principal at Newton-Lee Elementary School, previously the dean of Seldon's Landing Elementary School.

[02:29:33] Ms. Thiessen began her career as a fourth-grade teacher at Pinebrook Elementary in 2010. Ms. Thiessen has a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary liberal studies from Virginia Tech, a master's degree in curriculum instruction from Virginia Tech, and an educational leadership certification from George Mason University.

[02:29:50] Ms. Thiessen, congratulations on your new role. We'd like to congratulate Catherine Clark, who has been named the Director of Academic Programs. Ms. Clark, who you heard from earlier this evening, has been in public education for over 20 years as a math teacher, grade-level dean, assistant principal, and as the principal of Stonehill Middle School for six years.

[02:30:12] In 2022, Mrs. Clark transitioned into a central office role as a supervisor of special programs in the Department of Teaching and Learning. She holds a bachelor's degree of science in mathematics from Virginia Tech and a Master of Science in Educational Administration from Shenandoah University. She's passionate about education and is looking forward to working with the board to provide students with opportunities that enhance their educational journeys.

[02:30:34] We welcome Ms. Clark to her new role as well. If you could just stand so we could recognize you. We'd like to congratulate another familiar face. As a part of our support for families across the division, LCPS has created the Division of Family and Community Engagement, which will consolidate family, community, and partner engagement.

[02:30:54] We heard extensive community feedback last school year that families needed streamlined communications and a stronger way to engage with the division. The Division of Family and Community Engagement will provide a clearer focus on expanding our robust relationships with parents, local businesses, and community organizations. I'm pleased that Renee Dawson will lead the Division of Family and Community Engagement, which is part of the Department of Communications and Community Engagement.

[02:31:17] There we go. I'll note quickly that most recently, Ms. Dawson has been the Director of Community Connections and Programs in the Department of Teaching and Learning, where she has served as a liaison to community partners and has been instrumental in forging connections between organizations such as the School Business Partnership Executive Council, the Career and Technical Education Advisory Council, and our schools.

[02:31:44] Previously, she has served as principal at Brambleton Middle School and assistant principal at Woodgrove High School, and she began her career with LCPS as a French and Spanish teacher. We look forward to working with this new division to make LCPS a model of family and community engagement. Congratulations.

[02:32:04] We'd also like to congratulate Derek Ferry, who has been named the Director of Athletics and Extracurricular Activities. Derek became the Assistant Director of Athletics and Student Activities in 2022 after serving as the Supervisor of Athletics since 2016. Previously, he served as Athletic Director at Tuscarora High School and Assistant Athletic Director at Loudoun County High School.

[02:32:24] Mr. Ferry began his career in LCPS in 1999 as a teacher at Harper Middle School. He's also coached cross country wrestling and outdoor track. He's an LCPS graduate and he earned his bachelor's degree from Longwood University in Health and Physical Education and his master's in educational leadership from George Mason University.

[02:32:42] We'd like to welcome Mr. Ferry to his new role as well. And then last but certainly not least, we'd like to congratulate Tanisha Holland, who has been named director in the Department of Human Resources and Talent Development. Ms. Holland joined LCPS in 2023 and served as supervisor in performance management in HRTD.

[02:33:03] Prior to working for LCPS, Ms. Holland was the equity and employee relations administrator for Prince William County Public Schools. In addition, she served as the Admissions Director for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and as a Recruitment Administrator in Human Resources for Fairfax County Public Schools.

[02:33:19] Ms. Holland began her career as the Assistant Director of Admissions for American University in Washington, D.C. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish from the University of Virginia, and a Master's Degree in Latin American Studies with a concentration in International Relations and a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.

[02:33:36] We'd like to welcome Ms. Holland to her new role. Congratulations. Madam Chair, that concludes my presentation. Thank you, Dr. Spence, and congratulations to all our new administrators. We will now move on to item 9.01, the Public Hearing Department of Support Services, abbreviated Elementary School Attendance Zone Change Process, Planning Zones DS08.4, DN36.17, and DN36.18.

[02:34:12] We have residents who would like to provide public comment, and I will read the public comment script once for both the public hearing and also for item 10, which is normal public comment. A little bit different, speakers for virtual will include both speakers for both the public hearing and the general public comment.

[02:34:35] Therefore, in order to keep things organized, we will take up the in-person speakers for the public hearing first, followed by the virtual speakers. It could be either or. And then please note that the virtual speakers could include individuals who are speaking to the board on either public hearing or other general matters.

[02:34:54] And then we'll move into the general public comment for all of our in-person speakers. I know that was confusing, I'm sorry. Okay, so I will go ahead with my public comment script. Thank you for engaging with the school board through the public hearing and public comment process.

[02:35:11] The school board welcomes comments from Loudoun County residents and believes that strong community engagement and outreach are important components of a successful school system. Speakers must limit the comments to the time allotted. Based on the number of speakers on the agenda this evening, all speakers have been allotted one minute each for public comment. Please be advised that speakers who missed 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 unless arriving, departing,

[02:35:45] speaking at the podium or during a break violations of civility decorum of 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 and approaching this a speaker or 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

[02:36:24] 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 applicable confidentiality requirements.

[02:36:44] 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 the public comment period. Violations of decorum or civility by any meeting attendee may result in the chair directing staff to move the attendee from the remainder of the meeting.

[02:37:07] 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 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 the school board

[02:37:42] 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 with the public hearing in person and the first person is tina kapoor followed by

[02:38:03] man mohan sati hello school board we are residents of the west park brambleton community we oppose this initiative and request our community be excluded from rezoning our children are within walking distance of madison trust for the child's wellness and mental health it is not in the best interest of the child to commute to school every day for well over 20

[02:38:42] minutes the implications are less sleep higher risk of stress and a higher chance of missing school leading to higher absentee rates madison trust is one of the top ranked elementary schools in Virginia the most important reason we moved here was for them to have the opportunity to attend Madison trust to gain an excellent education if this opportunity is taken away it may affect their level of education this is very concerning for us we feel that the current recommendation is a short-term solution that will not fix capacity issues we recommend that neighborhoods that are further away from Madison trust be rezoned instead and the number

[02:39:19] of special permissions be reduced so that our local neighborhood children be given the opportunity to attend their homeschool. Thank you. Thank you. Manmohan Sethi, followed by Bobby Situ. Hi, school board. We moved, we bought our house where we bought it because we wanted to attend Madison Trust. That was one of the top reasons, you know, we bought our home. And there's

[02:39:55] currently neighborhoods that are further, three miles out, that are, you know, attending Madison Trust and we're within you know one mile of Madison Trust and uh I mean it's it's it's like the highest rated school in Loudoun County and we feel like you know we should be able to attend that I mean that's generally the way it's supposed to work and uh yeah thank you. Thank you. Bobby

[02:40:26] Sidhu I guess and uh Nikhil Patil. Good evening school board hope everyone's having a great evening tonight uh just to reiterate what every uh tina and mohan already said uh we we came into loudon county because of the school district here and madison trust obviously is one of the higher rated top schools for elementary is what i want my daughters to attend as well a big reason why i'm up here today is sleep is so important for our kids these days and adding that extra commute for the kids is going to impact them at the end of the day and also the parents commute also if they

[02:41:04] have to drop the kid off and in terms of emergencies as well um like tina and mohan both said there's outside communities who have an exemption to attend madison trust and that is impacting the decision on us now that the school board is uh worried about over capacity but there's students who are attending madison who don't even belong in that school district and also when i was growing up in high school i got changed into schools and it was one of the most traumatic experiences in fairfax County to have to go to a different school in the middle of my development. Thank you. Nikhil

[02:41:43] Patil followed by Josiah Surface. Thank you board members for giving us the opportunity to express our concerns. Thanks to all my community members who have been part of this discussion. So proximity has been as big as concern to us. We have been living in a community where everything is close by. The whole reason we wanted to move towards West Park community was to be close to the school district and within a mile distance from the school district. And we have that approach right

[02:42:21] now with Madison Trust. But unfortunately, with the rezoning, we have to move away or at least have the kids have to move away 20 minutes or two, half an hour to attend a school. So we are hoping that they don't have to do it. Again, we understand the decisions that are happening behind the scene. But certainly, we feel like it's going to take an impact on our kids as they continue to grow.

[02:42:39] Elementary school is an important aspect for kids' well-being and growth. And if we can get them the right facilities and get them the right focus at the right age is going to be important. So we feel like closer they are to the school district or the schools, the better it is for them.

[02:42:56] Thank you. Thank you. Josiah Surface, followed by Teja Malavarupu. I'm here today as a concerned father of two children as a resident of Loudoun County in Brambleton to request that the elementary school attendance zone for the West Park 4 community not be changed.

[02:43:20] A failure to plan is planning to fail. Some attribute this a quote to Benjamin Franklin. Regardless of the proper attribution of this quote, this board certainly knows a thing or two about planning to fail. In 2015, they knew about the future residential developments that they are now using today as justification for sending our children to Sickleland Creek Elementary School, when many of us live within walking distance of Madison Trust Elementary School.

[02:43:43] For nigh on a decade, they knew about these housing developments were coming, and they did nothing. In fact, in 2015, when establishing an attendance zone for Madison Trust Elementary, they had as one of their goals for Madison Trust, quote, relieving existing and projected overcrowding in the Dulles North Area elementary schools.

[02:44:00] It would seem that failing to plan is a common occurrence for this board. For a decade, you knew this was coming, and instead of expanding Madison Trust or constructing another elementary school within Bramilton, you just thought you would move our children to attend whatever school and wherever it was.

[02:44:15] Thank you. No clapping. please. Thank you. Let's see. It's Teja Malavarapu followed by Smitha Paramesh. Thank you. I recently bought a home at Stratus at West Park, and we want the community to be exempted from rezoning.

[02:44:40] We bought homes here considering the fact that my kids would be going to Madison Trust Elementary. The school is rated one of the best schools in the country. As the home prices are driven by school ratings, we as a family literally spent one year on research in zeroing down the home and waited for six months on home delivery and schools being one of the top factor contributing on this research. Rejected did research a lot of homes in Aldi even though the home prices were lower because of the fact that the school ratings are really good. If we have to rezone then schools which are further to this community should be rezone. My kid is turning five next year and I have a strong security concern in sending my kid alone to a school which is six miles away

[02:45:20] all alone, every day in a bus. I have moved from Leesburg to Ashburn just for the fact to avoid going into schools in that area and for the reason being that they are poorly rated compared to Madison Trust. And our entire hope of providing quality education is coming crashing down with this rezone and I'd like the community to consider my...

[02:45:38] Thank you. Okay, so Smita Permish, followed by Rishabh Srivastava. Good evening. I'm Smita Permish, a resident of the West Park community.

[02:45:57] I'm also a mother of a kindergarten student who she's about to start her school journey with Madison Trust. And we're just four minutes away from the school. And four minutes, I emphasize on that because it plays a really crucial role in our day-to-day life because my kid is severely motion sick.

[02:46:16] What you see in this bag are all the things that I've tried and tested to get her through a short commute of five to ten minutes. We're required to make frequent stops, give her all the wristbands, the motion sickness candies, the special glasses, to just get her through a 10-minute commute.

[02:46:33] Now, even though we are just, you know, eyesight within the school, we are being rezoned to go to Sicklin, which would be 20 minutes away. And I cannot imagine the audit that she would have to go through every day, especially when there is traffic and, you know, inclement weather.

[02:46:49] So I really request you all to reconsider this decision and think about the impact it will have in families like mine. Thank you. The next one, Arishab Srivastava, followed by Shweta Trivedi, and then it would be Shweta Trivedi, followed by Sushant Kumar.

[02:47:22] Good evening, everyone. Our concern as a parent is the rezoning of the school from Madison Trust to Cyclone Elementary will increase the commute from 1.5 miles to 4.8 miles. And for kids to go to the Cyclone Elementary School, they have to wake up at 6 a.m. in the morning to get ready for the bus to pick up at 6.45, which is two hours early from the start of the school, 8 o'clock, and will come back at home around 3 p.m.

[02:47:49] So kids must be spending three hours every day to prepare for the commute of the school. After they are home, they can hardly get three hours of time for some extra-regular activities before they go to bed at 6 p.m. Because of their age, they need at least 10 hours on sleep. All this transportation logistics will further add fatigue and will make kids more tired.

[02:48:10] It's my humble request to the board to reconsider the rezoning decision and have the houses closer to Madison Trust to be the part of the Prestige School and considering other options such as Madison Trust is projected to be at 100% capacity in the next two years. In the meantime, Madison Trust should also check for the special permission to provide it every year.

[02:48:29] Thank you. Zushant Kumar, followed by Sri Aruan Venkata. Good evening, school board.

[02:48:47] I'm a resident of Loudoun County for about nine years. The proposal to rezone our children to Saikol in elementary is going to take a severe toll on their health and well-being. This proposal will increase the commute time by tenfold. The children of this age are supposed to be spending the quality time with their parents and learning activities instead.

[02:49:05] So I sincerely request the school board to consider our petition and exclude the rezoning for the West Park community. Thanks for this opportunity. Thank you. Shavon Venkata, followed by Shinavas Babu Ganga.

[02:49:31] Srinivas Bambu Ganga, followed by Praveen Boodota. Good evening, everyone. This is Srinivas. So I was here as a concerned parent of my children who goes to second grade this year.

[02:49:51] And when I signed a new home seven months back from the Builder website, I saw Madison Trust as an elementary school, which is within less than a mile from the new community, which I was very happy to sign and which was a primary factor for moving into the new community.

[02:50:13] And now when I learned that it was a rezone to Cyclone Elementary School, which is five miles away, so I felt it doesn't make sense. I'm staying within one mile radius and going to a school which is five miles away.

[02:50:28] So I want to ask the board to reconsider the decision to do the rezoning for the homes which are further from the Madison Trust. And thank you. Thanks for your time and commitment for the future of our children.

[02:50:45] Thank you. Thank you. Praveen Pudota, followed by Atul Anvekar. Good evening, board. I'm Praveen.

[02:51:00] I'm one of the residents of Stratos at West Park community that I recently purchased my home in. So the primary reason for purchasing my home at the Strait Access West Park are the three schools that I thought would be the best for my kid. The Madison Trust Elementary School, Brambleton Middle School and Independence High School.

[02:51:16] First it was Brambleton Middle School that was moved to Watson Mountain and now it was Madison Trust Elementary School that was being moved to another school. This school, the new school is far away from my home and it takes a toll on my kid's health because he got to wake up early, he got to go to bed early.

[02:51:31] Since we both are working parents, we get hardly enough time to spend with my kid if he goes to bed early. And also I agree with all the fellow residents that all the residents have concerns that they want to be addressed. So I request the board to reconsider the decision of rezoning this one.

[02:51:50] And here are our concerns. Thank you. Thank you. Atul Avenkar, followed by Naga Maruduri. Good evening, school board. Pretty much I'm aligning with what others have said.

[02:52:08] So primary concern is the distance. Because when we got this house, because this is our second house, other than the house, the amenities around it were important for me. And school topped that. Because Madison Trust is so close to us, which is why we really went for this house.

[02:52:26] And the second point is medical emergencies. Me and my wife, we work in Reston and Herndon. So if something happens in the school, going from there till Leesburg, It's a long commute, and doing that would be impractical and stressful as well, which is why I request the board to please consider the zoning option and just have our kids in the Madison Trust.

[02:52:49] The other solution would be there are kids from the Aldi area that are coming to this school. If you can consider zoning them to the respective schools there and have our kids in the school. Thank you. Thank you. Naga Mahruduri, followed by Rishikesh Mate.

[02:53:11] Good evening, board members. My name is Rishikesh Mate.

[02:53:26] As everyone else, I am a resident of West Park, who got the house, new house, thinking Madison Trust would be the school, elementary school for our daughter. So we came to know about the news that it will be rezoned. So I just wanted to emphasize on all the points that everyone has covered, how important it is for the well-being of our children, the school to be near our...

[02:53:48] So I just wanted to request to reconsider our plea, to reconsider the rezoning. Thank you. Rishi Kash Matre, followed by Anisha Kilaru.

[02:54:20] I stand before you as a concerned parent in the future of our children, particularly regarding their well-being. Our children live within just one mile of Madison Trust Elementary School. This proximity should be an advantage to the kids. but this rezoning to a school that had long travel time, which leads to less sleep and stress and higher absenteeism.

[02:54:39] I sincerely request LCPS board members to prioritize our kids' well-being by addressing the issue of proximity to schools. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Anisha Kilaru, followed by Sandeep Kote. Respected board members, let alone the stress of buying a new home in this market, and now we are left with a new concern of rezone,

[02:55:16] I strongly oppose the school board initiation for rezoning. We invested so much time for what's good for the family. It cannot be taken away so easily with this rezoning decision. Travel is a stress to kids and will be now to parents also due to the amount of time our kids spend on Evergreen Mills Road.

[02:55:37] I want to specifically mention Evergreen Mills Road because I looked up. This has a road safety hazard audit from Loudoun County and the Virginia Department of Transportation. It's published in Loudoun County's site and other sites as well. So due to these safety concerns, I strongly request the school board members to not do the rezoning for our community.

[02:56:02] Thank you. Thank you. Let's see. Rakesh Takalapali, followed by Shravan Adaharapurapu.

[02:56:33] Shravan Adaharapurapu, followed by Sarav Chattershi. Good evening, school board.

[02:56:59] So I think my fellow residents have communicated already the problem so far, right? So my point is not just travel, right? The roads there is not safe. There is no sidewalk. So in case of a need for students to walk, there is no sidewalks in there. So it will be difficult for kids to commute, especially elementary and first graders in that. And then we also need to understand there are numerous number of research articles about how commute time results in learning outcome degradation, right? So I've seen at least more than 10 papers out there that talks about 30% degradation of learning outcomes, which should

[02:57:36] be considered. And on a light note, I would want you to kind of reconsider the mighty macaws for us. Thank you. Thank you. Saurav Chatterjee. Oh, that was it. Okay. Thank you. Okay. And now we will move to our virtual speakers, and we could have either for the public hearing or for general

[02:58:02] public comment. Do we have Umit Bezer, followed by Ramesh Kumar Khatim? Okay, hopefully everyone can hear me. This is Umit Bezer. Thank you for the school board for taking the time to listen to the concerned parents. I'll reiterate what I believe all the other parents that you've been

[02:58:41] listening to tonight have said. The topic of zoning is never easy. However, I feel the answer to a difficult question should not be one with an easy answer, rather one that is best for the well-being of our children. Our development, although the newest zone to Madison Trust, the answer should not be the easy answer, rather what makes the most sense. Our community is one that is closest and will allow our children the flexibility and ease of attendance. Changing our school will increase commute from under five minutes below the national average to over 20 above the national average. This will impact sleep patterns, overall stress, and impose

[02:59:20] growing pains on our curious minds. Thank you all for your time tonight. Thank you. I wanted to be sure that to go back for a little bit. I wanted to make sure I didn't skip anyone who's in person for the public hearing. What was your name? Okay, that's for

[02:59:53] the next one so we're going to do the sorry um so we're doing the public hearing first for the and then we'll do virtual and then we're going to do the in-person for the regular public comment okay i think i think we're okay and i really do apologize for butchering people's names i really

[03:00:13] do hate to do that but sorry um okay the next person uh ramesh kamur katkam no okay and how about Rahan Hayder, followed by Anusha Gavaini.

[03:00:54] I'm a rising senior at Freedom High School. The reason why I'm speaking today is to address the quiet health literacy epidemic that's going on in America and urge the school board to take action to combat this issue. Nearly 90% of American adults possess less than proficient health literacy skills, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

[03:01:13] In order to combat this issue, systemic changes need to be made in health and medical education for the next generation and K-12 students. The new Health and Medical Science Academy will only help 75 students during the 24-25 school year and is simply the first step in tackling this issue.

[03:01:30] Further initiatives need to be implemented for the thousands of other LCPS students to learn about the field of public health, understand the complexity of medical terminology and health insurance, and recognize the importance of disease prevention. All of these skills are not only helpful, but necessary for the 21st century high school graduate.

[03:01:47] Thank you for your time. Thank you. Can I ask your name real quick? Do we know his name? Mr. Hager, thank you. Okay.

[03:02:03] And then Anusha Gavini, followed by Vamsi Atayli. Hi. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I'm Anusha Gavini. My concern is regarding the Madison Trust Elementary School rezoning.

[03:02:23] I understand you are about to reach the full capacity, but I have a burning question here. I understand that's how community schools are allocated in the United States or in whichever state or in Virginia. It doesn't make sense sending people that are near to the school far away from there.

[03:02:43] I think considering kids that are near to the school first would make sense. And considering the kids' health, safety, for such small kids, it would be appropriate.

[03:02:59] Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. Thank you. The next is Vamsi Atili, followed by Aruna Khanna. I moved from Illinois last year, and my daughter attended Madison Trust for her kindergarten year.

[03:03:18] The move from another state was already a significant transition for her. And now with the proposed rezoning, she faces yet another change. At her age, such transitions can be particularly challenging, and we are concerned about how this will affect her. Madison Trust is not only a mile from our home, which makes a very short and manageable commute for her, but in contrast, she's going in elementary is much farther and the commute would increase significantly. The longer bus ride could take away her sleep and overall well-being. For her age, she's six years old. It's crucial for her daughter to get enough sleep to support her growth and

[03:03:56] learning. A longer commute to the new elementary school would reduce her sleep and add any unnecessary stress to her daily commute. It's important that she spends the time resting rather than commuting. So, I request the board to reconsider the rezoning boundaries because of the reasons that we all have mentioned. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you. Aruna Khanna,

[03:04:19] followed by Sashi Khandru. Okay, so Sashi Khandru. Hello. Thank you, board and the chair for this opportunity to speak here. I stand here as a concerned parent for my kid who's going to be in

[03:04:58] the first grade in Madison Trust, we were surprised to hear that there's a rezoning that was happening. I empathize and reemphasize everything that the community folks have been mentioning on this call. I would like to see if the board can reconsider the decision and help with our kids' ability to go to the best school and get the best education possible. Thank you.

[03:05:25] Thank you. I'm assuming that's Sashi Khandru. So we'll move on to Vishala Madhula, followed by Rushita Singh. Hi, this is Vishala. Good evening, and thank you for the opportunity to voice my concerns.

[03:05:46] I strongly oppose the abbreviated initiative to rezone and request our community, the West Park-Ramilton, to be excluded from rezoning. Our children are within walking distance from Madison Trust Elementary School. In my case, and I'm sure in many other people who are moving into this community, many of the kids are also joining the school in the middle of the school year, and it is already a big change.

[03:06:11] So adding other stress to this, such as impact of sleep, longer commute, apart from that, the mental health and well-being of the children. I would like to add two other points. One of them is the community cohesion. Rezoning could weaken the bonds of our community, which has been built around Madison Trust Elementary School.

[03:06:32] It may diminish parental involvement, school spirit, and the strong sense of community that benefits both students and parents. Thank you. Rushita Singh, followed by Suvarshika Naka.

[03:06:53] Are we going to reset for them?

[03:07:23] Are we going to tell them to take their speaker off with their microphone? They appear to have dropped from the meeting.

[03:07:49] I'm sorry? They are no longer in the meeting, so we cannot unmute them. Okay. We'll move on to, I guess, Jacob Wellesley, followed by Rishabh Srivastava. We do not have a Jacob Wellesley in the meeting.

[03:08:31] Okay, Rishab Srivastava. Letting me speak. My name is Rishab Srivastava, and I'm a resident of West Park 4, Brambleton.

[03:08:51] I'm today speaking to strongly oppose the proposed rezoning. The new plan would significantly increase our children's commute, extending them from one mile to five miles. This leads to longer bus rides, earlier wake-up times, and increased safety risk, particularly during bad weather.

[03:09:08] These changes will physically and mentally exhaust our children, reducing the time and energy for schoolwork and extracurricular activities. Logistically, it's a nightmare for parents, especially during emergencies, when quick access to the school is crucial. The added stretch and difficulty in coordinating drop-off and pick-ups are a burden for working families.

[03:09:30] Additionally, it's concerning that communities over three miles away have exemptions to attend medicines taking spots that should go to local children. This rezoning disturbs not just our daily lives, but also the well-being and safety of our children. So I urge you to reconsider this plan. Thank you.

[03:09:47] Thank you. Sridevi Mirayala, followed by Subramaniana Karkalamundi. Sridevi is unmuted.

[03:10:20] Can you hear me? Can you hear me?

[03:10:41] Yes, go on. Hello. Good evening, respected board members. My main point to request for not to happen this rezoning is, apart from the distance, I'm also concerned about the kids' tardies, the number of tardies that they're going to get because of the longer commutes that they're going to make.

[03:11:02] And this also leads to the compulsory attendance required by the Virginia Code, 22.1254, that says that there is a certain number of days that the kids need to be attending that might be impacted and also kids' tardiness.

[03:11:21] I prefer my kid to spend more time with the family and the extracurricular activities than spending the time in the commute. And especially for the elementary kids, it's important to stay close to the home for the emergencies that they quite often get.

[03:11:40] Even for the parents to commute to the school will be very difficult. Thank you. Subramanya Karkalamundi, followed by Guri Soleti. Hey, everyone.

[03:11:57] thank you both for giving us this opportunity as occurred by majority of the members in here the primary things that we are mostly concerned about our kids because of this reasoning is that one it will impact their mental abilities and the physical because of the extra distance that they have to travel and as mentioned by other members too especially kids from the elementary school there will be many occasions like wherein we as parents have to attend any of the emergencies

[03:12:31] and this extra distance is only going to impact kids well-being uh our temperatures time also so we request that we need should not be re-zoned because of the um less than five minutes distance that our community currently has as opposed to um driving all the way for 20-25 minutes to the new school that that is part of the re-zoning those are thank you

[03:13:00] gauri suleti followed by lynn davis good evening board members uh this uh this is gauri here thank you uh for giving me this opportunity to speak uh on behalf of madison trust rezoning so i strong we strongly encourage uh emphasize the same like the our neighbor our fellow neighbors mentioned saying that the kids concern about the school rezoning so i request the board members to look from the parental perspective and encourage uh not to i mean not to encourage the rezoning of the madison

[03:13:39] trust which is assigned to the west park initially so i appreciate giving me this time to speak on before of the neighborhood and think from the parental perspective and think from the future kids' mental and mental ability to stay within the school zone. Thank you so much.

[03:13:59] Thank you. Lynn Davis, followed by Balraj Situ. And I just want to speak with regard to my wish that the school board engage in collective bargaining with its teachers and faculty. I think we can all agree that turnover is incredibly disruptive to students' learning in addition to the cost to the school system.

[03:14:33] I believe that if we engage in collective bargaining with our teachers, we will show them that we have their best interests at heart and we will have better retention rates. I think it just shows a tremendous amount of disrespect to our teachers and the faculty by not giving them a seat at the table so that they can be part of the process.

[03:14:57] Thank you. Thank you. Balraj Sidhu, followed by Ambooj Sina. Do not see a caller by that name.

[03:15:21] Okay. Ambooj Sina, followed by Yolanda Lemon. Hi. My comments are regarding the rezoning of the West Park community from Madison Trust Elementary to Cyclone Elementary. I strongly oppose this proposal for several reasons.

[03:15:38] First, Cyclone Elementary is a 20-minute commute away, which means our young children will have to wake up extremely early studies show that lack of sleep in childhood can lead to serious health issues like heart disease and diabetes later in life by forcing early wake-ups you risk our children's long-term health second lcps has a shortage of bus drivers which means parents will have to arrange transport adding financial strain on our families third safety is a concern in case of emergencies i would feel much safer if i or someone from our community could respond quickly as opposed to a commuting 20 minutes away finally the distance to cycle and limits our ability to engage with the school, which can affect our children's success. Madison Trust is just a mile away and currently has the capacity to enroll our

[03:16:17] children. Keeping them there is better for their health and academic performance. Thank you. Thank you. And last for our virtual that I have is Yolanda Lemon. Good evening. Can you all hear me? Yes, ma'am. We can hear you.

[03:16:39] School board members. Good evening, school board members. Please vote no to collective bargaining. My name is Yolanda, and I represent teachers who are completely unaware of the ongoing collective bargaining discussions into union membership without their knowledge or consent.

[03:17:09] This is deeply concerning. These educators dedicated to our students are being left in the dark about a process that could drastically impact their careers and livelihoods. They must be given the option to opt out without penalty if unionization is pursued in Loudoun County.

[03:17:30] The LEA major talking point is salary increases. Well, I think we are already on a great path to achieving that goal without union intervention. It's crucial that all Loudoun County teachers, many unaware of these developments have their voices. Thank you. And now we're going to move from the public hearing and the virtual to our in-person speakers. The first one is Brenda

[03:17:59] Bankson. She'll be followed by Steve Greenberg. Project 2025's proposal to destroy public education will decimate funding and civil rights protections.

[03:18:25] Privacization and discrimination starves public school districts that serve all students, impacting millions. Same old show, just a new name. Lindsay Burke wrote the chapter on canceling public education.

[03:18:42] She and the Youngkin transition team supported a vague divisive concepts edict and attacked teachers with a toxic tip line. Nowhere in Project 2025 are student rights even mentioned.

[03:19:00] We know what's at stake. Please hear, honor, and value public educators. Give them a seat at the decision-making table. A call to action. One, vote for collective bargaining. Two, expose Project 2025.

[03:19:18] Thank you. Steve Greenberg, followed by Brandon Kerr. Good evening, Chairman Mansfield, esteemed school board members. My name is Steve Greenberg. I'm speaking this evening in regards to agenda item 1107, collective bargaining.

[03:19:37] I'm here to encourage you to adopt the proposed collective bargaining resolution. I feel quite vested in this decision as a graduate of Loudoun Valley High School. My son went to Woodgrove. I live in Leesburg, pay taxes there and vote. But my most important role is I am a first grade teacher at Rolling Ridge Elementary School.

[03:19:56] I want you to know that how much it will mean to your employees to pass this tonight. And the timing is perfect, right at the beginning of the school year. The promise to them that they're division leaders, they will sit with them and collaborate, communicate, work creatively using both sides' critical thinking skills to make this the best school system ever for our students and for our staff.

[03:20:22] It's time to bring in the 6th C. Thank you all for your leadership and service to our community. Good night. Thank you. Brandon Kerr, followed by Charles Hansen. Good evening. My name is Brian Kerr, and I'm excited to start my 10th year of teaching tomorrow.

[03:20:45] I would love to be at home right now, relaxing, thinking about staying up in my classroom and planning exciting activities to do with my classes. And yet here we are again, talking about collective bargaining. It's been a long road. At this point, I've spent nearly a third of my career fighting this battle. Tonight is a historic opportunity to give educators the voice that we've worked tirelessly to gain for years. I struggled figuring out why I had to say tonight that hasn't already been said, I realize that many may not understand what this vote actually is. I've seen a lot of hostile rhetoric saying that the school board would be imposing collective bargaining onto employees, which isn't true. This resolution simply gives employees a choice. It creates a process for

[03:21:23] a fair election to be held to allow educators to advocate for a better LCPS. So what are its opponents afraid of? That their own opinion is not widely held and most educators actually want to see at the table? Hmm. Ten or nine years ago, I came to LCPS wanting to make a positive difference And I'm looking forward to continuing that work through collective bargaining.

[03:21:41] Thank you. Thank you. Charles Hansen, followed by John Myers. Thank you. I'm Charles Hansen, and I teach high school math.

[03:21:58] We know there is a small, vocal minority of citizens who manufacture outrage with little regard for the facts and seek to tear down public education here. However, the vast majority of Loudoun families support LCPS. We know that because every year we ask.

[03:22:15] In the survey results released just last month, almost 90% of Loudoun families agreed that their child's school, quote, provides a high-quality education. However, we know as educators that we can do better.

[03:22:31] A strong collective bargaining agreement will help us get there. Loudoun educators are in their buildings every school day, supporting all of our students. We know it works. We know it doesn't. We have little input, though, on a lot of our work rules. this is my contract i got it in may the only input i had on this contract was to either sign it or leave tonight you've got a chance to make a little bit of history oppose amendments pass the

[03:22:58] resolution let's get to work together mr john myers followed by chris countryman good evening my name is john myers president of the loud and queer firefighters association tonight we stand at a crucial crossroads for the future of our teachers and our schools i urge you to pass this resolution as it stands. No amendments, just a straightforward yes vote. There's no better advocate for teachers than teachers themselves. By passing this resolution, you will give educators

[03:23:34] the seat of the table they deserve, allowing them to advocate effectively for the needs of their student success. Trust the committee process you designed. This resolution is a result of hard-fought compromises and collaborative efforts. It represents a balanced approach that LCPS remained an employer of choice in a highly competitive region. Loudoun County is currently the last county northern virginia without a collective bargaining resolution how can we expect to recruit and retain top knowledge teachers if we're not offering them the same voice as their work as other counterparts the neighboring counties those opposing the rest of the resolution are not lcps educators listen to the voices of those who are in the classrooms every day they're the ones who understand the needs of the challenges firsthand please vote yes tonight and give our educators

[03:24:14] respect and representation they deserve thank you thank you chris countryman followed by suzanne Sockler Cochler. Good evening. I'm Chris Countryman, president of LEA, an organization made up entirely of LCPS employees. I want to thank those of you that understand there is value in collective bargaining. That is, it is a strength of a school district when you value the input of the people that do the job. In the words of our past president, teacher working conditions are student learning conditions. I have yet to hear a valid argument against collective bargaining.

[03:24:53] Instead, I have seen and heard half-truths, twisted data, and flat-out lies. These are the tactics of people with their own agenda. These people do not advocate for LCPS employees or students. While these people are busy bashing us, we're busy in the schools making a difference in the lives of the children in our public schools.

[03:25:14] It is time to move forward. No resolution will be perfect. The process has taken three years. Enough. It has already been passed back and forth between the board, committee, subcommittee, and let's not forget the lawyers. It is time for the amendment to pass.

[03:25:31] Thank you. Suzanne Cochler, followed by Corey Brunet. Good evening. I'm Suzanne Cochler, and I am an LCPS employee and Loudoun County resident.

[03:25:49] As LCPS staff, LCPS administration, Loudoun County School Board, it is our collective mission to do what's best for kids, including optimizing their learning environment. Tonight is the night to carry out that mission by passing the resolution as is without further delay.

[03:26:05] The current resolution is, as many have said, the culmination of concessions and compromises that have already been discussed at length in committee. As such, the time to amend it has passed. As someone who's worked under a collective bargaining agreement for 17 of my 18 years, I can assure you that collective bargaining is the best way to rebuild trust, transparency, accountability, and mutual respect amongst all LCPS stakeholders.

[03:26:30] It will not raise taxes, it will not allow strikes, it will not force political affiliations. Those are misconceptions held by individuals who do not understand the original purpose of unions and likely have not felt the support and benefits of collective bargaining. Thank you.

[03:26:46] Thank you. Cori Brunet, followed by Kyle Nathanson. Good evening. My name is Cori Brunet, and I'm an English learner teacher at Broad Run High School. Tonight, you will take the most consequential vote in your tenure, my tenure, and that of all the educators in this room.

[03:27:07] LEA reached out to each of you over the summer to meet and answer questions you might have about collective bargaining. Some of you took advantage of that opportunity and are ready to make an educated decision. A few of you have consistently resisted learning about it. Learning. You are school board members.

[03:27:25] Your mandate is to defend and foster learning for LCPS students. yet you choose to be ignorant. Learning about collective bargaining doesn't mean you've taken the pill or that you're weak or you have given in. It means that you take your role as school board members seriously and truly want to make informed decisions for your constituency.

[03:27:45] Do what is right and vote yes on the current resolution. LCPS will never outperform its educators. Thank you. Kyle Nathanson followed by Wallace Jed. Thank you.

[03:28:09] Loudoun County is my home. I've lived here all my life. I am proud to work in Loudoun, proud to work in the home that raised me, and I am proud to stand with the educators that taught me to be the person I am today. To those on the board who have stood by educators throughout this process, thank you.

[03:28:25] Thank you. Despite the slander, despite the libel, you stood by what is right. Tonight, I implore everyone here to join us, to join those individuals and stand for what is right. I implore the board to vote yes on collective bargaining. I implore our county to support its educators, and I implore those who oppose this process to stand with us, to not act out of spite, to not destroy something good just because you don't like it, but to stand with us, to stand for what is right, to stand for our educators, for our county.

[03:28:57] Past collective bargaining. Thank you. Thank you. Wallace Judd followed by Peg Klein. Good evening. I'm Wallace Judd. I've been a fourth grade teacher, authored a K-6 math series, written SRA kits and problem-solving kits for measurement, and have a PhD in education from Stanford.

[03:29:21] Teachers unions nationwide have shown unionization to be a thinly veiled invitation to corruption. Union dues support school board members favorable to the union. Union-backed school board members return the favor with higher wages.

[03:29:40] When the school board sits at the negotiating table, who's missing? Parents, students. The school board does not need an intermediary to speak to teachers. They can do it directly.

[03:29:56] I fervently hope the school board creates a forum where teachers, parents, and the board can speak openly and honestly. Thank you. Peg Klein, followed by Gary Ball. The All in Virginia success stories demonstrate how in-person, high-intensity tutoring benefits students and improves outcomes.

[03:30:31] All in Virginia should be extended for the 24-25 school year for in-person tutoring. My daughter has been on an IEP for over four years and is still not even close to reading at grade level. This summer, she received varsity tutoring, which was extremely ineffective to meet her needs.

[03:30:51] This was due to the same reasons remote learning during the pandemic did not work and why All in Virginia was created in the first place to address learning loss caused by the remote classroom setting. Funding online tutoring as a solution to a problem caused by remote learning makes no sense and only perpetuates the problem.

[03:31:15] Please follow LCPS's mission to engage, empower, and enrich students. Solely focus All in Virginia funds for in-person tutoring. Gary Ball followed by Sandy Sullivan. Good evening school board. I stand here having been from a family of unions. My grandfather and father were both in unions out in the west.

[03:31:49] I saw the positive aspect and the negative aspect of unions and for a brief period of time I was in the union. I stand opposed to unionization of Loudoun County Public Schools. I do not believe that it will benefit the kids. Frankly our kids and our teachers deserve the best and I'm sure that you all have been providing that. Do not see where the collective bargaining will enhance what our children are learning. I've been part of the Loudoun County Public School System, our kids and now grandkids, since 1991. And yeah, that 90% rating is accurate. You know,

[03:32:26] the people here believe that the school system is great, and I know you're working to keep it great. I'll finish with what FDR said in 1937. Collective bargaining does not belong in the public sector. Thank you. Thank you. Sandy Sullivan followed by Phoebe Greenwood. Good evening. I'm Sandy Sullivan, a third grade teacher, a director on the Loudoun County, on the Loudoun Education Association Board, and a broad-run resident. Two years, 11 months, three weeks, and two days.

[03:32:59] 1,083 days ago, this process for Loudoun educators to gain collective bargaining began. What does collective bargaining do? Collective bargaining gives a real voice to educators, those who you trust to support and educate our students every day what is collective bargaining not do it does not allow for striking that is prohibited by law we do not all have to agree if collective bargaining or any policy is is best for lcps our students our educators in our community but let's commit to agree that facts are what are our decisions and stances should be based on tonight your educators urge you to adopt the collective bargaining resolution with no amendments

[03:33:39] The resolution you will vote on tonight went through the prescribed committee process. The resolution in its current form contains compromises on all sides. Educators' working conditions are students' learning conditions. Thank you. Phoebe Greenwood, followed by Sheevan Fleet.

[03:34:09] Right there. Okay, thank you very much. And I can come and get you if you need me, too. Thank you. Good evening. I am a taxpayer and a resident of Loudoun County as well as a grandparent of Loudoun County Public School Elementary School children I fully support all the outstanding teachers in Loudoun County but I would ask you beg you to oppose the collective bargaining and the introduction of unions in what is otherwise an excellent Loudoun County School District you are my elected school board I look to you to pass a budget every year which can compensate

[03:34:48] our outstanding teachers fully and as I understand it a layer of unions between my school board and my teachers is not a service to me as a taxpayer you're my board and you serve the teachers and you have a budget every year where you can compensate them fully last year there was a budget this year you increased it by 10% that gives me faith and confidence that every year you can find a budget that will sustain our outstanding teachers and give them the salaries and the benefits they deserve. That's what we elect you to do. That's what you do. Why

[03:35:22] bring in a layer between you and them? Thank you. Shivan Fleet followed by Patricia Caldwell Wilson. Good evening. My name is Shivan Fleet and the resident of Loudoun County. Collective bargaining is fundamentally about power. It shifts power away from elected officials and ultimately from parents and voters. Instead, it hands over the power to unelected bureaucrats with bureaucracy, with radical political agenda. It protects teachers

[03:36:00] regardless of their performance, and it does not really care about the quality of students' education. The true victims of collective bargaining are children. We know that some of you school board members sitting in front of us received donations from organizations that support collective bargaining.

[03:36:19] Hopefully you're not going to sell us out. Collective bargaining is bad for our school and we're here to oppose it, thank you. - Thank you, Patricia Caldwell-Wilson followed by Daryl Dawson.

[03:36:41] - School board members, my name is Patricia Caldwell-Wilson and I'm here in support of collective bargaining with no amendments. Teachers should have a seat at the table to negotiate the terms and conditions that affect their working conditions and learning environment of the students in Loudoun County Public Schools.

[03:36:58] The school board's push against collective bargaining for staff and disinformation to the public related to collective bargaining has been nothing less than shameful. Many educators and educational support staff are residents and parents here in Loudoun County.

[03:37:15] This has been a multi-year struggle that has seen many experienced educators leave this county and their profession. A vote in favor of collective bargaining is a win-win for all parties involved, especially our students. Loudoun County Public Schools has the opportunity to lead in diversity, equity, and inclusion for both staff and students.

[03:37:37] Collective bargaining is a process that can bring us together for the benefit of all. Thank you. Thank you. Daryl Dawson, followed by Esther Johnson. Good evening. My name is Daryl Dawson.

[03:37:56] I'm a teacher at Seneca Ridge and a resident of Lansdowne. Tonight is the night to pass the collective bargaining resolution as it stands no amendments simply say yes quit complicating the simple if you are to believe that lcps is the employer of choice then indeed why is loud in the very last county in nova to not have collective bargaining how can we recruit and retain educators if they do not have the same voice and choice as neighboring counties again a thousand eighty three days that's one and a half million minutes don't less don't waste another minute no decisions about

[03:38:36] us, without us. Thank you. Esther Johnson, followed by Tiffany Plifka. Good evening. Welcome back. I hope you all had a great summer. Tonight, I want to urge you to vote yes and pass the collective bargaining resolution as presented to you by the committee. For the past three years, we have worked tirelessly to reach this point where educators can have a voice in shaping their working conditions.

[03:39:11] It's crucial to remember that educator working conditions are student learning conditions. When educators have the resources support and fair treatment that they need they can provide the high quality education that our students deserve by voting yes you're not just supporting educators you're supporting your students ensuring ensuring that they thrive in an environment where their are supported to engage empower and enrich their learning experience this would be the very best back-to-school supply you could give us. Thank you. Thank you. Tiffany Polifko, followed by Renee

[03:39:50] Whitmire. Tonight you will pass the collective bargaining resolution because April Chandler took $500 from the VEA-LEA, Arban Estreffi took $500 from VEA-LEA, Anne Donahue took $750 from VEA-LEA, and Samara Rashid took $500 from the PAC. Let's see. Melinda took the endorsement, April Chandler took the endorsement, and April Donahue took the endorsement. The only people who are going to benefit from this resolution passing are you looking for more political favors in the future, the highly paid lawyers and the administrators that were installed specifically for this purpose,

[03:40:30] and the head of the food chain at the LEA who is going to cut the legs out from all these staff sitting behind me. Our children are going to be harmed. Parents are going to be harmed. Taxpayers are going to be harmed by this resolution passing. You don't even know how much this is going to cost. You have no idea what this is going to cost us, and if you dare pass this tonight, you should never be re-elected to the school board again because you're no better than the slimy politicians sitting up on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. spending other people's money with reckless abandon. Shame on you if you pass this resolution this evening. Thank you. Renee Whitmire followed by Tracy Lane.

[03:41:15] Tracy Lane followed by Garrett Cunnington. Good evening. As I began to start my 19th year as an educator I have a little thing that I played around with today. Maybe hopefully a little levity after the last thing anyway. Tis the night before the start of the new school year and the people are

[03:41:51] all through the house. All the educators are stirring, even our families and spouses. Our hopes are hung on the school board with care and hopes that collective bargaining will soon be here. We should all be home snug in our beds, but visions of a past resolution dance in our heads. All of us dressed in our red are determined to make a clatter because 564 days of waiting is too long.

[03:42:23] Pass the resolution today. No amendments. Show us that our students and educators matter. Thank you for your service. Thank you. Garrett Cunnington, followed by Patty Nelson.

[03:42:45] Good evening. As a Loudoun County resident and parent of three high school students, I'm here to express strong opposition to any action by our school board that may result in unionization of our Loudoun County school system. I teach my kids that nobody hands them a reputation, that they earn it through their actions and results. Similarly, unionized school systems have earned their reputations of being divisive, fiscally challenged, underperforming systems.

[03:43:16] I encourage this board to do everything in its power to prevent unionization of our school system and instead earn a reputation of solving problems in ways that other districts would want to emulate. Thank you. Thank you. Patty Nelson, followed by Julius Reynolds. Hi, I'm Patty Nelson. I've Lived in Loudoun County for 30 years.

[03:43:44] I have one gifted and one special needs child, and you educated them both, and I wanted to start by thanking you for that. So I'm here. I'm also the secretary-treasurer of SEIU Virginia 512. I was a Loudoun County psychiatric nurse for 15 years.

[03:44:01] I know what it's like to be a public employee. I know why public employees need a union. I'm asking you to pass this resolution. I have watched this resolution go through the, you know, three years of spins and turns and struggle and derailment and then back on the rail.

[03:44:22] I appreciate all the work that's gone into it, but this is a workable resolution. You start throwing amendments in, it will become an unworkable resolution for one side or the other, you know, and it will be just one more stall in the process of getting Loudoun County teachers to the...

[03:44:46] Julius, I'm sorry, it was one minute. Julius Reynolds, followed by Victoria Hanyandi. Good evening.

[03:45:02] We have only but a minute, only 60 seconds in it. Forced upon us, can't refuse it, didn't seek it, didn't choose it, but it's up to us to use it. We might suffer if we lose it, give account if we abuse it. Just a tiny little minute, but collective bargaining for our educators.

[03:45:20] Stand in it. I'm Dr. Julius Reynolds. I live in Broad Run District. I am a juvenile employer, juvenile appropriation officer for Loudoun County. I'm a parent of a rising eighth grader Farm World Station. But most important, I'm the chair of Loudoun County SEIU, the union for Loudoun County workers.

[03:45:41] And today I stand before you and say in voice stentorian that the time is now for collective bargaining for our educators here in Loudoun County. Thank you. Thank you. Victoria Hanyandi, followed by Carrington-Cunnington.

[03:46:02] As a Loudoun County resident, I'm asking you to vote against collective bargaining as it will have detrimental effect on our community and also on your leadership role for the following reasons. Collective bargaining is expensive.

[03:46:18] It will cost Loudoun County taxpayers over $3 million every year. In addition, teachers have to pay their dues. So how does this exactly benefit teachers financially if we vote for collective bargaining? Also, LCPS already has a support system in place for our teachers, School Board Policy 7016 and 7014, and the Office of the Ombuds.

[03:46:38] Why do we need more bureaucracy and waste money, time, on collective bargaining? In regards to teachers' pay, Governor Youngkin's state budget already includes a 3% pay increase for teachers in the next two fiscal years. The previous school board failed our community in so many ways.

[03:46:54] Our community entrusted you to make changes and improvements. Why would you give away your decision-making power? I hope you believe that you are a competent leader to represent our community's best interest and vote against collective bargaining. - Thank you. Carrington Cunnington, followed by Sylvia Ross.

[03:47:19] - Good evening, school board. As a Loudoun County resident and mother of three LCPS students, I came to voice my strong opposition to the unionization of LCPS. Unionization disenfranchises the voices of students, parents, and teachers themselves by placing onerous restraints on individual expression and pitting faculty and administration against one another.

[03:47:40] History and modern day demonstrate that unionization creates conflicts of interests between parties designed to be collaborative. It wastes time, money, and resources on politicized issues that harm children and divide communities, and it centralizes power in the hands of a few whose incentive structures run in direct opposition to the good of students and the community that the schools serve.

[03:48:03] Please keep unionization out of our schools. Thank you. Sylvia Ross, followed by Todd Fielding. Good evening, everyone. I see this issue completely from a different perspective.

[03:48:26] I do oppose unionization because I see it, one, the first point is that it disenfranchises the actual voter and taxpayer. As a public servant, your powers may not be wrongfully and unconstitutionally delegated to an unelected and unaccountable union or any other third party.

[03:48:43] The agency you exercise is held as a public trust as much as the Loudoun County Public School employees hold their duties and servants as a public trust. This is the issue of non-delegation doctrine. It's 101 to law and government. Number two, it wrongfully delegates that authority because public sector unions by their very nature got executive power in the accountability of the executive to the voting public.

[03:49:05] How? By undermining the requirement at every level of government to include school board under the Guarantee Clause of the United States Constitution. Public sector union employees who unionize have, by their very nature, a conflict of interest with fiduciary duties. And my job is simply as a parent to say that your responsibility is to maintain your sovereign authority.

[03:49:25] Thank you. Todd Fielding, followed by Kate Hall. Thank you for your service. My name is Todd Fielding. I'm a member of the Board of Directors for LEA. I'm also a teacher at Farmwell Station Middle School.

[03:49:42] Tonight is a pivotal night for Lowen County Public Schools. we stand on the brink of a decision that will shape the future of our educators and, by extension, the future of our students. The resolution before you tonight is not just another item on the agenda. It is a crucial step towards empowering those who dedicate their lives to the education of children.

[03:50:02] Tonight is the night to pass this resolution as it stands. I urge you to vote yes without any amendments. The time for deliberation is past. The time for action is now. There is no better voice for teachers than teachers themselves.

[03:50:18] This resolution is about giving educators a seat at the table, a seat where they can advocate for these needs, their rights, and ultimately the equity of education that they provide. We must trust the committee process that you, the school board, designed to craft this resolution.

[03:50:37] Thank you. Kate Hall, followed by Susan Hammontree. Good evening, members of the school board. My name is Kate Hall.

[03:50:52] I'm a Leesburg resident. I'll be starting my 14th year as a teacher at Brambleton Middle School tomorrow. I spent eight years teaching in Fairfax. Tomorrow we'll start my sixth year teaching in Leesburg in Loudoun County.

[03:51:08] I'm also a mother of a first grader at Balls Bluff Elementary. When I started six years ago looking for a job in Loudoun County, Loudoun County teachers already working in the county urged me not to come work for Loudoun County, that their administration did not care about and support teachers. In the years that I have been here, I have seen that to be true. It is high time that this county start supporting its teachers by trusting us to have a say in what is best for our students. At the beginning of the evening,

[03:51:43] Superintendent Spence said that he wanted our students to be seen, heard, and loved. It is time for you to make teachers feel the same way. Thank you. Susan Hammondtree followed by Jo Claire Marshall. Ladies and gentlemen of the school board, I'm a staff member and a resident of Loudoun County. Today I urge you to adopt the collective bargaining agreement. This agreement aligns with our strategic plan for excellence. It is not just about fair negotiations, it's also about embracing

[03:52:18] a collaborative approach that will propel us all to new heights. Loudoun County stands as the last in northern Virginia without such an agreement. By taking this step, we join our neighboring counties in showing our dedication to listening to our educators and giving them a rightful seat at the table. Giving us a seat at the table is not only fair, but what is vital for our collective success. This agreement will ensure that educators have a meaningful role in shaping policies that affect their work and by extension our student success. It's time for us to demonstrate our commitment to a thriving inclusive educational environment. Remember the wisdom from Dr. Seuss's The Lorax. Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's

[03:52:58] not this is one moment this is our moment to show that we care deeply and are ready for an act for betterment of all of our schools let's make loudon county a leader education thank you joe claire marshall followed by timothy greening good evening thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight i am an lcps parent a special education teacher and a loudon county resident tonight is the night to vote yes and pass this resolution without amendments many of my colleagues and i want this

[03:53:35] so we can have meaningful participation in improving our working conditions. We are the last county in Northern Virginia without a collective bargaining resolution. I wonder how many of my colleagues will look for employment elsewhere if we continue to be the only district without a resolution.

[03:53:51] How can we expect to attract the best staff if we don't offer them the same meaningful voice that they could have in neighboring districts? Tonight, you have the power to make a significant difference. Please show your employees that you respect them and give them a seat at the table. please vote yes. Thank you. Thank you. Timothy Greening followed by Louis Velasquez. Good evening.

[03:54:17] I'm Tim Greening and tomorrow I'm beginning my 29th year as a proud educator all of that time in the Loudoun County Public Schools and I'm really proud of my service to this county. As you can imagine a lot of things have changed in almost three decades of teaching in this county but the vote tonight represents one of the most significant changes ever in the way that public education has done that I can think of. It's a monumental decision, and I urge you to vote yes without amendments to this resolution. One thing that hasn't changed in 30 years is that all of us, and I'm not just talking about teachers. I'm talking about bus drivers. I'm

[03:54:57] talking about support staff. I'm talking about cafeteria workers. I'm talking about custodial staff. All of us work together to make sure that the students of Loudoun County get a world-class education and the best way that you can help us do that is to give all of those stakeholders a seat at the table so that we can negotiate our working conditions so that we can give the best to our students. Thank you. Thank you. Luis Velasquez followed by Suzanne Satterfield. Good evening.

[03:55:32] My name is Luis Angel Velasquez. I'm a science teacher at Stonebridge High School and I mean tomorrow i will begin my 34th year of teaching um i i'm here because if i believe in in the power of education and i have a commitment okay and i've been living all my life for this commitment um dr spencer at the beginning of the meeting he talked about equity right so i i beg you this morning this afternoon this evening that you pass collective bargaining okay um this is not about politics it's about having a a chance of sitting together and working for our same goal your goal and our goal is the same, the students' right.

[03:56:09] As a minority teacher, okay, representing all of the Hispanic community, yo les pido en esta noche que pasen el proceso de collective bargaining. Por todas esas cosas que no pueden hablar y estar aquí en esta noche, les pido que pasen ese proceso para que todos unidos.

[03:56:26] This is not only about teachers, it's about all of the other employees, okay, secretaries, okay, nurses, okay, and custodial staff. Thank you. - Thank you. Satterfield followed by Andrea Weiskopf. There's no secret that many of you have cashed checks from teacher unions or received their endorsement, but you owe them nothing in return. Your job is to uphold the constitutional oath you took and to not delegate your power and management responsibilities to unelected unions or any other third party. Teacher unions are propaganda machines that demand

[03:57:04] teachers to fall in line with their radical agenda, takes their money, handcuffs them to their terms, steals their individual voice, can refuse to represent them, creates divide among staff with seniority, stifles conversations with non-union staff, parents, and students.

[03:57:22] Unions create wasteful spending that will take funds away from teaching jobs and salary increases, as well as funding the classrooms. You do have the power to work with teachers without collective bargaining. Our teachers' excellent medical benefits and pension are unmatched in the corporate world, and were created by the school board.

[03:57:43] Do no harm. No one's born in the wrong body. Hands off the kids. Thank you. Andrea Weiskopf.

[03:57:57] I plan to speak for collective bargaining, but I cannot advocate for myself when LCPS has sanctioned, with thought and deliberation, the terrorizing of Jewish students at Stonebridge. Please refer to the handout I provided.

[03:58:16] Allowing the writing or depicting of River to the Sea tells Jewish students that they are not safe. There is nothing anti-Semitic about advocating for a Palestinian state, but River to the Sea advocates for the annihilation of Jews.

[03:58:34] Shame on LCPS. Each and every child belongs at LCPS. Each and every. Thank you. Black Lives Matter. Thank you.

[03:58:50] And board members, thank you all for coming out and providing your public comment. Board members, at this time, we will take a short recess and we'll reconvene at around 8.35 p.m.

[03:59:07] All right, the board is back from recess.

[04:07:46] We will now move on to our action items, starting with 11.01, Student Services Committee, New policy 6640, emergency first aid, CPR, AED, and diabetes management trained and certified personnel.

[04:08:08] Ms. Donahue, do you have a motion regarding 11.01? Yes. Yes, we're just jumping right in. Okay. Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.

[04:08:24] This policy 6640 is a new policy that was presented as an information item to the full board at the June 25th meeting and is back on for action tonight. and i move by it's your amendment you want me to make first you have to make the motion for the base motion and then i can yes oh yes yes i'm sorry i thought you said amendment yes i move that the loudon county school board approve uh draft policy new policy 6640 i have a motion by miss donahue do i have a second second i have a second by miss shurnoff it's been probably moved

[04:09:02] and seconded. Is there any discussion? Yes, there's some discussion from me. I have a little amendment. It's just a teeny tiny one. And I'd like to amend the base motion by adding the word prescriber to line 21 after the period and before the word authorization. I would also like to add a reference code of 22.1-274.01 colon one to line 29. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second

[04:09:34] by Ms. Chandler. The motion has the motion to amend the base motion has been properly moved and seconded and yes there's some discussion. There is a tiny amendment to keep the wording consistent with VA code and I would and really it's just authorizer and it's prescribing authorization. I just wanted to make sure that we knew it was the prescriber authorization and also I would like to thank the parents who advocated for this overall change of monitoring student cgms and provided the research from other districts who were monitoring cgms

[04:10:12] this helped staff with their research come up with a process for lcps and I'd also like to thank Mr. Dolson who's not here for taking me on my health clinic tour and the school nurses who talked to us candidly about their experiences shared their day with me as we get to the budget discussions i'll share more needs from the nursing staff however for this policy it took all for us to get to a space that would be great benefit for our students with diabetes and their families and i'm super super proud of the work that was done um any other discussion no okay we will now vote

[04:10:48] on the amendment which is to add prescriber to line 21 after the period and before the word authorization and to add reference code i said that so that's what we're voting on um clerk will you please open the vote board members would you please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote and that motion passes unanimously thank you very much we will now go back and open

[04:11:23] up discussion on the base motion as amended to circle back um any other discussion seeing no more discussion we'll now vote on the base motion as amended think of this as practice for later clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display

[04:11:51] the vote would you like to wipe the board miss labelle can we clear the board and re-vote please okay the board has been cleared board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote and that motion passes unanimously okay now we are moving to 11.2

[04:12:27] our next action item student behavior and accountability committee revisions to policy the 82 to 73, student speech and expression presented by, well, I think what I'm going to do is I'm just going to go ahead and ask for a motion since we already discussed it, and then we're going to move on with discussion after it's approved, or motioned and seconded, and then we'll move to discussion.

[04:12:52] So, Ms. LaBelle, do you have a motion? I have a motion by Ms. LaBelle. Do we have a second?

[04:13:09] I have a second by Dr. Deans. The motion has been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Yes, Ms. Donahue. Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to, I have some concerns about this policy, and I would like to offer two proposed amendments.

[04:13:27] My first proposed amendment is to strike the first two sentences of the opening paragraph and replace them with the following language. Students have the right to freedom of speech and expression during instructional and non-instructional time, both inside and outside classrooms or other areas where instruction is occurring.

[04:13:44] Such freedom of speech includes oral and written communications, student advocacy for social or political causes, and communications in different formats, such as in publications on clothing or through electronic or digital social media. Let's start with that amendment first. Do I have a second?

[04:14:01] Second. I have a second by Ms. Chandler. The motion has to amend the base motion by Ms. Donoghue has been properly moved and seconded. Ms. Donoghue, would you like to talk to your motion? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. My concern is that the first line of the policy in its draft form, I think, could be read as suggesting that our students do not have the right to freedom of speech and expression during instructional time or inside of classrooms, which I do not believe was the intent of the drafters.

[04:14:33] And I think that we all agree that our students and our entire LCPS community enjoy their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and expression at all times in all places. Those rights are subject to appropriate restrictions to maintain orderly flow and processes of the school day.

[04:14:49] But because I was concerned about possible interpretation of that language, I am proposing these changes. Is there any other discussion? Yes, Ms. Crevas. Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. Donohue, I'd like to ask you about the political advocacy to clothing.

[04:15:07] Who is deciding which advocacy is harmful by wearing buttons or political clothing? What are reasonable restrictions per the policy, timing and location? In this political climate, can students wear a Harris shirt?

[04:15:22] Can they wear a Trump shirt? Are we going to be equal on political advocacy? What is a reasonable restriction, timing and location, and what are you really saying? What are kids allowed to wear? Madam Chair, may I respond?

[04:15:40] Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Go ahead and respond. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths, for your questions. The reference to clothing, there is already an LCPS dress code policy and the reference to clothing that I would suggest adding here is just to make it clear that if a statement or comment would violate the policy by being spoken aloud, it similarly cannot be printed on a shirt.

[04:16:03] So who's deciding that? Who's deciding if it's hurtful, harmful? Who's deciding what kids can wear as far as political advocacy or buttons? Who's making that decision?

[04:16:20] I believe Ms. Donahue said that it's already in a policy. Is that correct, Ms. Donahue? My understanding, Madam Chair, is that there is already a dress code policy that pertains to the appearance of clothing that a student can wear.

[04:16:40] In this policy, does it discuss political advocacy? In the student dress policy? No, I don't believe so. So basically, we're changing the policy to allow political advocacy. Mr. Allen, would you mind talking about policy, what is it, 8270, the dress code, and how it is cross-referenced in this policy?

[04:17:12] Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, policy 8270 is the student dress code. It's about four pages long, and it sets forth the parameters on what's appropriate and what's inappropriate.

[04:17:31] relevant here, section B3G, talks about when there's language, slogans, symbols, profanity, icons are images that are reasonably foreseeable to cause immaterial and substantial disruption or invade the rights of others, and that amount to hate speech, are highly offensive or threatening to others, or impede or distract from the board's mission of instilling values necessary or appropriate for polite civil discourse or political expression in a school context, social tolerance, non-discrimination, self-awareness, and

[04:18:10] sensitivity to the feelings of others. For examples, displays of certain symbols such as confederate or swastika images are perceived by many as racially hostile or are associated with racial prejudice, have been a source for conflict among students, and could result in hatred, ill will, and emotional trauma that are all inappropriate in the school context, period.

[04:18:33] So I would say that that policy, 8270, is pretty instructive for school administrators to enforce. Sorry, Madam Chair, if I could add one thing in response. Yes, thank you, Mr. Allen. Yes, Ms. Donohue. Thank you.

[04:18:49] I just wanted to point out that my amendment is not what added student advocacy for social or political causes. That is in the language that came out of the committee. Thank you, Ms. Donohue. So the motion, yes, Mrs.

[04:19:06] This policy may need to be reworked. It's a little vague because I'm not really sure who's making these decisions on what is harmful and hurtful. I don't know. And my question was, in this climate, you know, if you wear a political shirt, is that allowed?

[04:19:26] Or a button, is that allowed? I heard what Mr. Allen has mentioned, but who is making these decisions? Yes, Ms. Lambelle. oh and remember to turn on your mic use this one okay I have a button pusher this is good when we talked about it we were talking about in the classroom during instructional time we are worried about disruption by student expression or speech during classroom lessons

[04:20:03] so at that point in time that's why we have the phrase at the top the first two sentences leaving out, you may not have free speech during instructional time. Now, if the instructional time is including political decisions or talking about world situations or crises, which we do have happening in the world right now, and we are aware of it in the schools, then it is appropriate and allowed.

[04:20:32] It is when people are shouting or doing things or saying things just to get a rise out of others or to interrupt the flow of the lesson. So that's why we made it specific to, you can talk about it all you want outside of the classroom, but inside of the classroom, we need to follow what the teacher is leading, what the lesson is, what we are supposed to be learning and expressing.

[04:20:56] So that was why we had that difference. At the point where if we're looking at shirts or something like that, if the teacher, the classroom teacher has any doubts, She can ask at the administration office whether that is considered distracting or harmful or insulting to other students.

[04:21:19] I think those words pretty much describe what we were looking for when we wrote this policy. We don't want people putting other people down by slogans or stickers that they have on their computers or other things like that. It has to be something that will not be distracting and will allow the teacher to proceed with the lesson without having to worry about those issues.

[04:21:43] Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. Dr. Spence, would you like to weigh in? I was just going to speak to the enforcement of those. That's contemplated in the dress code. There's language in there about school staff enforcing those in a reasonable manner, and there's some language about the enforcement of that, some very specific guidelines around how that has to occur.

[04:22:03] Thank you, Dr. Spence. Do we have any discussion on the amendment to the base motion from Ms. Donahue? If I see no more further discussion, we can go ahead and take a vote on the amendment to the base motion, which is to replace, you want to repeat?

[04:22:26] Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. It would be to replace lines 9, 10, 11, and the first three words of line 12 with the following. Students have the right to freedom of speech and expression during instructional and non-instructional time, both inside and outside classrooms or other areas where instruction is occurring.

[04:22:48] Such freedom of speech includes oral and written communications, student advocacy for social or political causes, and communications in different formats, such as in publications, on clothing, or through electronic digital social media. Thank you.

[04:23:05] So let's go ahead and take a vote on this amendment to the vote, the first amendment to the space motion. clerk would you please open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote and that motion passes with dr deans miss griffiths and dr rasheed in opposition

[04:23:36] hey would you would you go ahead and clear the board one more time please all right board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote motion still passes um five yes

[04:24:11] with Dr. Deans, Ms. Griffiths, Dr. Rashid, and Ms. LaBelle in opposition. Okay, now, do we, I can entertain any other, back to the base motion as amended.

[04:24:27] So, is there another amendment? Yes, Ms. Donahue. Thank you, Madam Chair. I would propose a second amendment to this policy on line 19, which is sub-bullet 2. I would propose after juveniles that we amend the policy by adding however speech or other expressive conduct shall not be deemed obscene, pornographic, or harmful to juveniles based solely on reference to a person's or group's sexual orientation or gender identity.

[04:24:59] I have a motion on the floor by Ms. Donahue to amend the base motion as previously amended. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Chernoff. So the motion to amend the base motion as amended by Ms. Donahue has been properly moved and seconded.

[04:25:18] Is there any discussion? Well, actually, Ms. Donahue, would you like to speak to your amendment? No, thank you. Ms. Griffiths, would you like? I have a problem with this amendment as well because I feel like we are always adding sexual orientation or gender identity into every policy.

[04:25:41] I believe we went over this with policies 50, 55, and 63, 30. I'm not sure why we have to add it into this one or add it into every policy when it's already covered. So I just wanted to add that.

[04:25:58] I don't believe there should be political advocacy, and I don't believe we should be adding gender identity to everything. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Griffiths. Is there any discussion? Yes, Dr. Deans. I would like for us to figure out a way to put the amendments somewhere for us to read rather than just hearing them so that we'll know what we're voting on.

[04:26:28] So for this policy, I think that we should send it back to committee with the information that has been given and let the committee determine if that language is acceptable. Because when we have our committee meetings, and I'm on that committee, we do have staff and the attorney with us, and we can make those determinations in the committee.

[04:26:55] So it's hard to hear three amendments on top of what is proposed and know what you're voting for. So I would not like to vote not knowing what I'm voting for. Okay, so let me just answer Dr. Deans.

[04:27:20] So you can make a substitute motion to send this back to committee if you would like. I would like to make a substitute motion to send it back to committee with Mrs. Donahue having sent us what she said out loud for us to take into consideration in committee.

[04:27:57] Mr. Allen, can we go ahead and do that substitute motion, or do we have to close out Ms. Donahue's second amendment? So the substitute motion is taken sort of like an amendment to an amendment, so you would take that up and dispose of it first.

[04:28:15] so if there's any further discussion on that and then take it up as a vote. Okay, is there any other discussion on that? Yes, Ms. Donahue. Thank you, Madam Chair. This is as to Dr. Deans' motion to return to committee.

[04:28:33] Yes, ma'am. Correct? Thank you. Yes, ma'am, with all of your already written in kind of things. Thank you. Thank you. I will not support sending this back to the committee, and the reason for that is this was already on for information before this board in early June. Proposed at that time that we send this policy back to the committee I expressed concerns that I had on the dais about this proposed policy I emailed the members of that committee prior to their June meeting My understanding is that my concerns were discussed at that at their June committee meeting, but that no changes were made I also emailed my proposed amendments to all of the members of this board

[04:29:11] before today, so I I understand Absolutely what dr. Deans is staying and I take your point it is very hard to Give proper consideration to changes on the fly when we're sitting up here And that is why I have tried to start engaging in that habit to make sure that I if I want to propose amendments that I write them Down and send them out before at least before the day of the meeting, so I will not be supporting that motion Thank you as discussion on that general point i do think that it is a much better practice to have all of the amendments well first of all i

[04:29:49] think first of all i think it's a much better practice to have things fully baked in committee and second of all if we were going to um also have amendments that they be in and on the agenda by friday okay so that everybody has the chance including the public to know yes did receive button lady. I did receive Ms. Donahue's letter. I did look over and we brought it up in committee.

[04:30:28] We decided that the part that had to do with written speech and so forth was addressed in the, or cross-referenced in the part we put below, but I don't recall seeing anything about adding a statement about gender identity to it i don't recall that at all so we did see and put in and address the part about the written through the the clothing student attire cross-reference

[04:31:02] mr allen if it goes back to committee would it go um as amended the board could vote to clarify that it would go back to the committee with that amendment after so you would first dispose of this motion on the floor or clarify kind of Dr. Deans could retract and rephrase that motion to include that caveat and then the board would dispose of that motion with the the clarification

[04:31:39] that it would go back to committee with the first Donahue amendment that would probably be the most efficient way to do it if Dr. Deans is so inclined. Dr. Deans. I think that that was probably sent to the chair and not to all of us uh the entire committee i've not seen it yes dr she i'm also on that committee i don't remember seeing it but i would feel more comfortable i went back to

[04:32:16] committee okay there is a motion on a floor a substitute motion to um and to take this back to committee either and mr allen with we have to dispose of this one but this is a substitute motion That's correct. So if it is the board's intent to send it back with the amendment that has already been approved by the board, I think there should be clarity for clarity of the record there.

[04:32:53] So one way to do that, if Dr. Deans is so inclined, is to retract the substitute motion and then repose it with that clarification. So it would be that she moves to send this back to the SBAC committee for further review, but leave intact the amendment that has already been approved by the board.

[04:33:17] Or, as it currently stands, the whole motion would go back for further review without that amendment. So help me, if you will, I retract what I said earlier, and my new proposal should say what?

[04:33:44] Thank you, Dr. Neins. Yes, you could withdraw the substitute motion that is on the floor, and you would rephrase as I move that we send policy 8273 back to the SBAC committee for further review with the amendment that we approved earlier tonight okay i retract what i

[04:34:10] said earlier and i move that we send this 8273 back to committee with the amendment in writing to the committee do i have a second okay i have a second by mrs griffiths um okay so we are voting on this substitute motion which is basically an amendment but this would effectively send this

[04:34:48] back to we have already voted on the first of the amendment this would be to for other suggestions for amendments from Ms. Donahue and I think there's one from Ms. Chernoff as well okay clerk would you please open yes this is to send it back to committee oh yes there was a second it was seconded by mrs griffiths i think is there yes you i think i remembered that um okay clerk please

[04:35:27] open the vote board members please report your vote and clerk please close and display the vote and that passes with so it passes with dr dean but dr dean's mr vice chair streffi miss donahue and Ms. Chernoff in opposition so it still goes back to the committee it passes okay we're moving

[04:35:58] on to the next one okay item 11.03 joint committee of the Loudoun County School Board and Loudoun County Board of Supervisors revised joint committee rules of order and 2024-2025 work plan I have a motion regarding that and I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve the Board of supervisors rule of order as revised and adopted at the june 10th 2024 joint board of

[04:36:34] supervisors and school board committee meeting effective july 1st 2024 further that the school board approved the 2024 2025 joint committee work plan as approved by the at the june 10th 2024 joint meeting joint committee meeting and direct lcps staff to prepare the board of supervisors and school board approved items for the designated meeting uh meetings do i have a second i have a second by miss chandler this motion has been properly moved and seconded is there any discussion basically this is just agreeing that we are agreeing to a calendar and a work plan for the

[04:37:13] joint committee any other discussion clerk would you please oh if there's no more discussion we'll go ahead and vote on this uh clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote

[04:37:31] clerk please close and display the vote and that motion passes eight with one in opposition mrs griffiths our next action item is item 11.04 department of support services abbreviated

[04:38:03] elementary school attendance zone change process planning zones d so 8.4 dn 36.17 and dn 36.18 do i have a motion yes vice chair struck thank you madam chair i move that the loudon county school board adopt the recommended attendance zone change to assign planning zones ds08.4 parkside village and proposed fleetwood north dn36.17 and dn36.18 section of west park at

[04:38:42] brambleton to cycling creek elementary school the attendance zone change is to take effect immediately the start of the 2024 and 2025 academic year i have a motion on the floor do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Chandler. The motion has been properly moved and seconded. Vice Chair Streffi, do you want to talk to your motion? I'll leave the presentation of the motion to Mr. Lewis, if that's okay, Madam Chair. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Streffi, Chair Mansfield.

[04:39:18] So tonight we have for you the action item. If you recall, back in June, we did take this through as an information item. You heard from some residents this evening about their concerns about that, and I just wanted to reiterate the numbers that we're talking about.

[04:39:33] This area, Madison's Trust Elementary School, is approaching overcrowded already, and there are about 380-some students coming from those two, 288, sorry, students coming to those two neighborhoods for which there are 50 open seats, and so we do see that this Madison's Trust will be severely overcrowded in the next coming years, and then the school board won't have another chance to do a change unless they open up a full boundary process so the policy allows the board to do an abbreviated attendance zone change for new development and that's what we have in June when we brought this to you there were two students that live in there and now there are 18 and

[04:40:13] those are the folks you heard from from this evening you know staff is still in very much in support of doing that to avoid the overcrowding and I will also point out that at this point we are nearing very close to the third grade being completely over over enrolled and then having to regionally assign those classes as well so we do believe it's important for the board to move forward and and to avoid that overcrowding in the future i'm happy to take any questions you may have board members do you have any questions

[04:40:45] yes dr rasheed i feel like um this is the uh heartland community you know uh revisited all over again and i stand by what i said many many months ago when i first took office that i feel like you know these communities are popping up and I think you know Mr.

[04:41:06] Lewis you and I had this discussion before communities are popping up we can't you know we can't handle it with the amount of schools like and sometimes I just feel like it's something above us or somewhere else along the lines that the school board then gets entrusted we're making such a difficult decision that being said I we heard the public commentators just like what you had mentioned and I know that for the least I could do and I do see the numbers I saw the data that you presented and I saw the projected enrollment for 2025 where

[04:41:42] it will be over capacity 94% it's getting there and then 2029 it's 124% which is quite a big number again it's just you know it's really not fair that the community has to go through that if anything if anything I really feel that it's really important to at least at the least consider those students that have I guess a medical issue of some sort where they can seek special permission now I know this is oh this is coming to fruition what next week I guess yeah next week and because it's such a close-knit a time I was wondering

[04:42:20] if by any chance it would be phenomenal to have the special permissions window to be opened up where these families can I guess say their case at least just to say you know like if their child has a medical problem or some dire situation just for that at the least so it could give them some time if anything. I didn't know if that could happen but that's my opinion on this matter. Thank you. Thank you Dr. Rashid. Mr. Lewis is legacy close and is it under capacity and would

[04:42:56] that be appropriate as well or confirmed with elementary education that Sicklin would have space for the long term of this and so that was why we selected they also Sicklin Creek Elementary also matriculates directly to Brambleton well now Watson Mountain Brambleton Independence High School so that was in part part of the recommendation from a space and the feed I do not know if legacy, quite honestly, I do not know if legacy would have space for the long term until the

[04:43:34] next elementary school opens. Okay, yes, Vice Chair Straffian. In looking at the options available, how did we factor in the kind of the geography of this area relative to the school, to Sickland specifically, and how did that factor in? That's really the question. That's an excellent question, her adjacent to this portion of the Bramilton where we heard from the residents this evening the Arcola farms residential which is in the corner of

[04:44:14] Ryan Road and Evergreen Mill Road to the immediately to the immediate west of the this community that was recently approved by the Board of Supervisors they are moving forward with their project and they are zoned to sickle and so there was an adjacency that we thought there would be a greater collective group with the recommendation to sickle in and again recognizing that we knew that they would have capacity for multiple years until the next school open miss Donahue thank you madam chair thank you mr. Lewis and miss Tate I just had one question based on some of the comments that we heard from affected

[04:44:53] parents earlier this evening if I remember correctly there were some parents who said that they live in the walk zone for Madison's trust but they will be redistricted to Sicklin and they will have to drive. Do you know if that is correct and if so how did that zoning decision come about? So I believe the comments that you heard tonight where they were within walking distance and we did double check the walk zone map and they are outside of the walk zone for Madison's Trust. Sorry for a stupid question but what is the

[04:45:32] difference between walking distance and walking zone? Well we determine the walk zone based on the criteria based in policy 6210 and at this point in time we have not included that area in the walking zone of course in the past there wasn't any residences there those are just under construction um so um you know it's up to you know the speakers that would determine how far they believe a walking distance is but as it's determined by the policy our walk zone is limited

[04:46:01] to the to the section of the neighborhood just adjacent to where this one is thank you vice Chair Struffy and then Miss Griffiths. Thank you. Just another note around the the geography of DS 0 8.4 that is more obviously in line with Madison Trust and Brambleton and I guess that going to Sicklin Creek is because of the new

[04:46:37] development sitting in that shaded area as I'm looking at the map is that correct just want to confirm that that is correct yes sir mr. Griffiths thank you madam chair um I'm just curious to know when what is the year Madison's trust was built 2016 so when Madison's trust was built wasn't it assessed new homes that it would service in the area because it seems to me a lot of the

[04:47:14] residents purchased homes specifically to go to Madison's trust and I mean that was 2016 that wasn't that long ago so our communities are very dynamic as you know and so if my recollection is that Madison's Trust Elementary opened up over capacity like a number of our schools did and so it was overcrowded very quickly and so the school boards that are sitting at the time those boundaries are done make those decisions on where the boundaries are and I think if I remember what you said is the area we're talking about is currently in the

[04:47:53] Madison's Trust area and we're recommending that it be moved into the Sickling Creek because of the capacity in the enrollment area in that area well I'm just curious why an assessment wasn't done at the time when the school was built I guess that's really my question yes most certainly it was and the board would have done that and we provide and you'll go through that this fall too where we provide all the information the assessment of where all the current housing is where the future housing is and that would have been part of that assessment

[04:48:27] but as times change and enrollment changes we see different patterns of where they are right now what we're seeing is that the school is overcrowded and will only become more overcrowded at the as these three areas are developed and will definitely exceed the capacity of the school this one is a hard one any other discussion yes miss Chernoff I just have two quick questions I just want to clarify that this is, especially for the West Park parents that were here tonight, this is a new development. And in June, you said there were only, I saw in board docs, there were only two that had

[04:49:05] registered at Madison's Trust. Is that correct? And then now there's 18 and those, because we haven't made this decision yet, also they're enrolled at Madison's Trust. Yeah, the 18 have registered as of five o'clock this afternoon, yes. Okay, but they never attended Madison's Trust. That's correct.

[04:49:23] Unless they had lived in that area before they moved to their new home. Or if they had a special exception. Right, right. Okay. So it's not like we're taking one group and moving them. This is a new development. And then this isn't really a question, but it just kind of goes back to the discussion about early start times.

[04:49:39] And I know I've beaten it to death, but I'm going to keep going. You know, Sicklin Creek is a 745 start and Madison's Trust is an 8 a.m. start. And that's a tough pill to swallow in terms of they were going to have an even later time at the school that's closer versus going to a new school that is further away and starts earlier.

[04:49:59] So I definitely hear those concerns, and I want the parents to know that we're working that in, too. Like, this is a layered issue, and these are really tough decisions that I'm pretty sure none of us enjoy making, and I'm grateful for the advocacy.

[04:50:15] it's a tough decision but I did want them to know that that is another thing that's in our queue that we're we're paying attention to that to kind of bring equity there as well any other discussion yes thank you minister is there any way to put extensions on the school I know I ask this occasionally when we talk about overcrowding is there any way to renovate the school and add more room to the school on the land it's on we'd have to assess each school site to to be sure that I believe Madison's Trust is probably large enough to do

[04:50:52] do that. In addition to the school is two, three years away after it's approved by the school board to do that. Another solution would be to do modular classrooms. That's not a recommendation to do a temporary classroom when you have a permanent space available just down the road. And so we'd recommend to not do modules when you have a solution for a built school already that's within proximity of the school if you're suggesting doing modulars then i feel like we

[04:51:27] should leave it up to the parents if they want to stay with madison's trust and maybe use modular classrooms rather than go to sickland the issue with the the modules is they were at least a year away and so we're talking about enrollment that's here today and our recommendation is for this this school year and so modules could not be put in without a full site plan approval and that takes several months and then we're ordering an installation so we try to plan any modular

[04:52:02] constructions a year in advance and again we just we wouldn't recommend a temporary solution with modules when we have space at the other school obviously it's a decision of the board any other discussion yes dr. sheaton i wanted to ask maybe perhaps dr. spence can can kind of fill in or provide any insight in regards to this and if there are any other options so I mean in terms of insight this is this is an issue that school boards in Loudoun County have been dealing with

[04:52:40] for decades and that they will continue to deal with and that you will continue to deal with as you heard Mr. Lewis talk about as we bring forward in the near future a look at recommended rezoning that needs to occur as a result of capacity in our schools and neighborhoods change and they're flux and this is a constant challenge in Loudoun County I my insight would be I know this is challenging and for example what mr. Lewis just said about we would not recommend keeping a school over capacity and moving modular units to that school when relatively nearby there's a school with substantial

[04:53:19] capacity 50% capacity and and lots of room to move children into that are adjacent to the zone that's already headed there. And I'll answer your last question and I'll throw this out and probably muddy the water a little bit more for you. You said, are there other options?

[04:53:38] The only option that I don't think we've contemplated in this discussion would be to grandfather the students whose parents purchased homes with the understanding they were going there. Go ahead and grandfather those 18 students, figure out how to accommodate them, and then move the rest of the zones that we've recommended into Sickle and Creek.

[04:54:01] So if we grandfathered these students in for this year and for the subsequent years for, right, once you're in, you're in.

[04:54:30] Okay. Chair Mansfield? Yes, Mr. Lewis. I think the special permission policy may require them to apply for special permission the following year. I'd have to, we'd have to check on that, so I'm not sure. Because that's what I don't want to have happen, is if we grandfather them in and they're there and then they have to be special permission, that's just frustrating.

[04:54:52] So I think if we worded the motion properly, you may be able to take that action to do that, right? To have them for the full time?

[04:55:14] We're not sure. We weren't expecting that question, so we'd have to check on the special permission process. Yes, Ms. LaBelle. We do have one more special permission session coming up on the 26th of August.

[04:55:39] So if we need to go special permission, there is one more session before school starts. Just barely. I don't know that we'd have to go to special permission now if we made it, you know, to grandfather them in. It would be the year after that I was going to be concerned about.

[04:55:55] Okay. Is that correct, Dr. Spence? Honestly, I think I might have to defer to Wes on that. Or Ms. Richardson.

[04:56:17] Is her finger up? Thank you, Chair Mansfield, for the ability to review Regulation 8155 very quickly.

[04:56:41] So if the board went forward with recommending a special permission process as it stated in policy and outlined in regulation, we would have to consider it for the following year. So you would want to make a motion that would remove that provision for the group of students that you're considering as grandfathering in, based on those that had purchased their homes prior to us making this decision.

[04:57:10] Because to remain on special permission, you must apply every year at the elementary level. Okay, so I'm hearing that we could make an amendment to grandfather those kids in for the duration of their time at Madison Trust, the life cycle.

[04:57:32] Yes, Vice Chair Straffi. So in thinking about this, my only concern is, not my only concern, but one of the concerns is that if this is a new development, homes are under construction or people have put in their orders for these homes and that purchase has kind of begun, right?

[04:57:55] And they've made those decisions potentially based on that school, similar to a lot of the other families who have expressed that concern. I don't know that this would really be the solution. I mean, obviously, this could be a route for some of the families that have already moved in.

[04:58:14] But, you know, practically speaking, it seems like there would be a lot more families in the similar situation even today that we don't know about. May I, Chair Mansfield? Yes, ma'am. Please go.

[04:58:33] So presently we are aware, as of close of business today, of 18 students who are living in the neighborhoods recommended for rezoning that have registered and are enrolled at Madison's Trust.

[04:58:51] The special permission process, including the appeals for August 26th, is after the first day of school. If it's the board's prerogative to address the request of the students who are registered as of today, that could be facilitated through 8160, that is the change in school assignment.

[04:59:16] And you could allow those students that are presently registered, the 18, to stay at Madison's Trust for this 24-25 school year, and then come the 25-26 school year, when the special permission process opens you could allow them that opportunity to request to remain and if space was available they could or otherwise they could go to Sickle and Creek. There may be siblings as Mr. Estraffi said there are others that move in and so we know we can't serve them all at Madison's Trust but

[04:59:53] for those who have moved in and are registered at this point in time I would volunteer our office to contact those parents ask them their preference if that's the board's direction with the motion tonight and we could facilitate that if you wanted to grant them permission for those 18 students for the duration of their elementary school years that too could be facilitated begin then you may have a third grader this year who has a four-year-old coming in next year and so that parent would have to request special permission for that

[05:00:26] younger sibling I just offer that as an option as the board is weighing this but there will be new residents moving in still okay any other discussion because of this issue can can you get the process going to make put an extension on that school knowing now what we know that we're gonna have more families coming in that want to go to that school can I you said it's a three-year process but can we start that process so we don't have to go through it appeals

[05:01:05] process every year. Dr. Spence. So I would simply say this from the administration's perspective, absent a direction from the board, we would not recommend diverting capital improvement funds from other projects to extend Madison's trust, which is already over capacity when we have a building nearby, which is at 50% capacity, which could accommodate those students with a zone change. So the answer, yes, Ms. Grip, is you can do it. The question is whether or not the board should do it and administration's recommendation would strongly be no we

[05:01:41] don't think we should increase the size of Madison's Trust that is the reason we have rezoning as an option so that we can use the capacity of our existing buildings and preserve the capital improvement funds for other needed projects yes dr. Deans we were given this information given this as an information item in June I believe we need to go with the recommendation from that day, even for those 18 who have registered. I just think that we need to, kids are resilient,

[05:02:20] and rather than start them there, those 18 there, and then have to move them later would be, to me, more problematic for my child than starting them at the other school. We were given this information in June. It is my thought, and I'm not making a motion, but it's my thought that we should go with the recommendation that we closed out the year with in June and just redirect all of the students to the other school and not have to revisit it

[05:02:58] later those are my thoughts thank you Dr. Deans okay one last and then thank you madam chair I I appreciate you sharing some of the alternative options that we could kind of entertain I think from my perspective I'll just share that But I don't think this leaning any further on the special permissions process is the way to go.

[05:03:25] I mean, we have seen these appeals. We have seen what these situations can cause. So you allow a student to attend, in this case, for the one year and then have them apply. We've seen situations where, you know, a sibling, an older sibling has access to the school.

[05:03:44] Then there's not enough space at that grade level for their younger sibling. Then they're in different schools. I don't think that we should utilize this as a solution or a long-term solution at all. I think that this decision is a very difficult one by itself, but I just don't think that the special permissions process is something we should lean on as a solution to this.

[05:04:07] I think that we're gonna continue to see these. I think if I were to have to share my only, my last kind of thought or reservation is just looking at DS08.4 and where it is relative to what would remain in Madison's Trust, yes.

[05:04:24] It just doesn't intuitively. I know it's a new development, and so it makes sense that we would utilize capacity at Sicklin. But just looking at the map, I'm just seeing how close it is to Brambleton MS and Madison's Trust.

[05:04:41] It's a difficult situation. OK, with that, we have a motion on the floor. so do you guys need for me to reread it okay okay the motion is that the loudon county school board adopt the recommended attendance zone change to assign planning zones dso 8.4 parkside village and propose fleetwood north dn36.15 and dn36.18 section of west part at brambleton west park

[05:05:19] at Brampletem to Sinklin Creek Elementary School. The attendance zone change is to take effect immediately with the start of the 2024-2025 academic year. Clerk, please open the vote.

[05:05:39] Board members, please record your vote. This is to move them. Clerk, please close and display the vote. And that motion passes with Mrs. Griffiths in opposition.

[05:05:59] Thank you. The next action item is item 11.05, department of support services school board meeting calendar for the fiscal year 2026 capital budgets and fall 2024 school attendance zones change processes um do i have a motion mr estrafi

[05:06:25] yes madam chair one moment i move that the loudon county school board adopt the proposed meeting calendar for the fy 2026 capital budgets and an eastern loudon elementary school attendance zone change process further any abbreviated attendance zone processes as identified and guided by the school by school board policy and regulation 6530 changing school attendance zones be initiated as needed i have a motion by vice chair streffi do i have a second second okay couldn't tell which

[05:07:02] one that was um okay let's go with ms shirnoff it's seconded by ms shirnoff it's been properly moved and seconded is there any discussion yes ms chandler thank you um i i will say to staff I have had a lot to say behind the scenes on this issue, as we've been made aware that it was coming before the board, and I'll apologize for my snark.

[05:07:31] Please understand that the concerns I have about this come from how deeply I understand my community and from how I have been listening to my neighbors. I don't believe that a boundary change has occurred in our community since my daughter started school in 2012.

[05:07:51] And she's a senior this year. Our community is long established. I can think many of the communities were built in the early 90s and mid 90s. And I can think of neighbors who went not only to our elementary schools, but then came back and brought homes in our community and have sent their children to our elementary schools.

[05:08:13] Families really identify with the schools, with their neighborhood schools, and they have strong connections. I had a conversation yesterday with someone on a PTA who had expressed some concerns to me when this was initially brought up before her school was included, who said she doesn't even want her children to know this is being discussed right now.

[05:08:37] It's not an easy change to make. It's not an easy change to make when the neighborhoods are new. It's certainly not an easy change to make when the neighborhoods are old. I will acknowledge that I did notice on my school visits how some schools are bursting at the seams, and some schools are really underutilized. And I can acknowledge that housing prices are prohibitive in our neighborhood, and it's incredibly difficult for young families to

[05:09:08] afford housing in Countryside and Cascades. And I guess I'll just leave it at I will be open to the conversation that we're about to have, and I'll do my best to express the concerns that I hear for my community and we we will just have to believe that we can do hard things is there any discussion any other discussion seeing no more discussion we will go ahead and vote clerk please

[05:09:44] open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes unanimously the next item is um thank you mr lewis the next item is uh item 11.06 human resources and talent development committee revisions to policy 7910 reduction in force and deletion of policy 7920 reduction in force classified employees miss donahue do you have a

[05:10:24] motion yes thank you madam chair i move that the laden county school board adopt the proposed recommendations to policies 7920 and 7910 i have a motion by miss donahue do i have a second i have a second by Ms. LaBelle. The motion has been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion?

[05:10:47] Seeing no discussion, we'll now vote on the motion to accept the revision to policy 7910 and 7920. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously. Moving on to our last action item is 11.07, Legislative Audit and Policy Committee Collective Bargaining. Ms. Chandler, do you have a motion? Thank you,

[05:11:23] Madam Chair. I do. As chair of the LAMP Committee, I move that the school board adopt the proposed collective bargaining resolution recommended by the Legislative Audit and Policy Committee. Second. Thank you, Ms. Donahue. We have a second by Ms. Donahue. The motion has been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like to speak to your motion?

[05:11:47] Yes, please. So I'd just like to acknowledge the path that we've taken on this journey way back on March 28, 2023. The previous school board voted to consider collective bargaining. Then at the close of their term on December 12, 2023, the school board passed a resolution to amend the board's March 28, 2023 resolution to remove the self-imposed deadline of December 31, 2023 indefinitely for making a determination to adopt or reject a collective bargaining resolution and to refer the proposed LCPS collective bargaining resolution to the NPE at the time

[05:12:27] committee with the recommendation that it establish a joint committee to consider the eight items LEA raised in its communication to the board on December 7, 2023, wherein such joint committee would be composed of two designated board members, representatives from the LCPS hrtd and lcps department of business and financial services and representatives of the lea the joint committee on collective bargaining that was established by the legislative audit and policy committee met on march 20th 2024 april 15 2024 and may 2nd 2024 to consider the eight items lea

[05:13:03] raised in the december 2020 2023 communication to the school board with the lea representatives having an opportunity to have a seat at the table on the joint committee the hope was for the joint committee to have an opportunity to come to a consensus and report recommendations to inform the LAMP's decision-making on the proposed LCPS collective bargaining resolution ultimately voting to recommend the for the school board's adoption while the joint committee provided LEA representatives and LCPS employees and LCPS administrators and school board

[05:13:42] members to share their respective positions on the items LEA raised with the proposed LCPS collective bargaining resolution, the members of the joint committee were ultimately unable to reach a consensus on the recommendations put forth to the LAMP committee and concluded its work on May 2nd, 2024. The LAMP committee met on May 30th, 2024, held a special meeting on June 7th, 2024, and met again on June 20th, 2024, to further discuss the proposed collective bargaining resolution. After reaching a consensus to recommend a draft of the proposed collective

[05:14:18] bargaining resolution for consideration to the full board, the LAMP committee reviewed the draft collective bargaining resolution and voted at the June 25th, 2024 meeting to move it forward to the school board. While there was a motion entertained to suspend the rules to take the information item as an action item at that meeting, it did not pass and therefore that brings us tonight where the board is poised to consider the proposed collective bargaining resolution as an action item and

[05:14:49] ultimately vote to adopt or reject the proposed collective bargaining resolution. Thank you, Ms. Chandler. Is there any discussion? Yes. Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Chair Mansfield. I will be making several amendments tonight, which I have socialized with my fellow board members, as well as publish them on board docs on Friday for all stakeholders to view ahead of the meeting.

[05:15:19] These proposed amendments address several aspects of the resolution, which still give me pause. My concerns stem from the board maintaining its authority over policy as set forth by Virginia law, ensuring that the resolution will be sustainable by the division and our school buildings, as well as prevent negotiation endeavors that might otherwise result in an impasse.

[05:15:37] As Ms. Chandler stated in LAMP committee, we worked through the list of items that LEA wanted revised in the proposed resolution for LCPS, and even considered additional items that LEA raised that were not set forth in its original list circulated in December. While I brought up individual concerns in committee, our process did require consensus, and we did not all three agree on everything.

[05:15:58] Upon re-listening to all the meetings and discussions and further reflection over the recess, the following areas are still concerned for me, and I now appeal to the rest of the full board for their consideration of these items. My first proposed amendment is, I move that the Loudoun County School Board remove the following language from the proposed resolution on lines 288 to 289, provided however that collective bargaining concerning rules regulations and policies on wages benefits and working conditions as defined herein is permitted subject to the board's legal

[05:16:32] obligation to comply with virginia code in all respects i have a motion by miss shirnoff do i have a second i have a second it has been by miss labelle the motion to amend has been properly moved and seconded is there any other discussion may i speak to it yes you may speak to it um for this one, most importantly, I have concerns about the school board's rights and responsibilities as it pertains to jurisdiction over policy. I would like to strengthen the language so that it ensures that the board retains its authority concerning policy as we answer to our constituents. The board

[05:17:09] should retain its lawful authority concerning policies as outlined in the Virginia Code, section 22.1-78. Under the Virginia Constitution and case law, the school board has final authority over its policies and the current language may create tensions with that law and subsequently compromise the authority of the board if we make it part of the collective bargaining resolution.

[05:17:29] I believe the proposed language yields some of the board's power and could lead to an impasse or a situation where the board could be required to take on policies it cannot logistically take on due to practical limitations of the governance process. In the event there is tension and conflict, they are covered by paragraph 17 of the resolution. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. Any other discussion? Yes, Dr. Spence. I apologize. I'm just looking for a clarification. There are two resolutions in the board docs one of them is clean and one of them is redlined and the numbers don't

[05:18:06] match up on the lines so i would i would you probably want to in your amendment indicate which lines you're referring to which version you're referring to sure i'm referring to the proposed um resolution that came out of lamp the red line version thank you dr spence okay um any

[05:18:35] other discussion yes miss labelle and it's just for the i i also wanted to speak to this proposal i am concerned about the word wages that is in this document the school board has the final authority on wages if we are in a position where the lea the bargaining unit could ask for higher wages that we can't afford then we if we pass this with the word wages in it are counter

[05:19:13] to what our legislative powers are from the state of Virginia. Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. Is there any other discussion? Yes, Mr. Strafi.

[05:19:32] Thank you, Madam Chair. My perspective on this amendment specifically, and I'll speak to the base amendment as well a little later on, but I think that I would support this amendment from the perspective that I don't think that the language that is being proposed to be stricken is adding much value and potentially actually creates a little bit more confusion.

[05:19:59] So for the sake of clarity, I would support this amendment, although I am very happy with the rest of the resolution. I think that it gets us to the right start line. A lot of work has been done, so I'm not really rethinking kind of the remainder of the resolution.

[05:20:18] I think that in this particular case, in this amendment, I would support it for the sake of clarity. Thank you, Vice Chair Estreffi. Any other discussion? Seeing no discussion, we will now vote on the amendment.

[05:20:54] And that motion does not pass. Well, with Ms. Griffiths, Mr. Estreffi, Ms. Chernoff, and Ms. LaBelle with a yes.

[05:21:09] And then Dr. Deans, Ms. Chandler, me, Ms. Donahue, and Dr. Rasheed in opposition. So that does not pass. We go back to the base motion. And do I have another amendment?

[05:21:28] Yes, Ms. Chernoff. I appreciate your patience. I move that the Loudoun County School Board replace the current language set forth on line 160 of the red line version and following with the following, which clarifies the scope of items to be negotiated.

[05:21:43] Working conditions means during the term of the first collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the board and the exclusive bargaining representative a maximum of four of the following topics with the exclusive bargaining representative and the board each choosing up to two topics. These are bulleted points: a grievance resolution process in accordance with applicable Virginia law, the rights of the exclusive representative to access employees and information, the duration of the collective bargaining agreement including the extent of any midterm bargaining obligation, a duty-free lunch, planning time, dues deductions, joint labor management committee,

[05:22:19] LCPS tuition assistance for non-resident employees, and leave for union business. In each successor collective bargaining agreement, the exclusive bargaining representative and the board may each make proposals to bargain up to three additional bargaining topics for a maximum of six topics for those provided in the above list herein after negotiated topic or negotiated topics, excluding those subjects and rights reserved to the board in the resolution thank you I have a motion do I have a second I have a second by mrs.

[05:22:49] Griffiths is there any discussion yes would you like to speak to your motion to it I have concerns around the scope and definition of working conditions as well as the number of items we agreed upon for the various cycles of collective bargaining I believe there was some confusion from where we landed originally the Virginia code does not define working conditions and therefore permits school boards an opportunity to clarify the scope of items in addition to the number of items negotiated each cycle.

[05:23:16] By clarifying the working conditions definition, it will help focus what can be negotiated to help avoid an impasse. I would like to clarify that this amendment only pertains to the definition of working conditions, which does not necessarily include various other topics, such as wages and benefits.

[05:23:32] Those can still be negotiated. This amendment also has to do with clarifying the number of items that can be negotiated each cycle. I went back and listened to our committee meetings, and it is my understanding that based off very first LAMP meeting we had after the joint committee ended that we agreed on the following and it appeared that our committee contemplated a maximum of six additional topics that could be negotiated for the second bargaining agreement. That is after the conclusion of the negotiations for the second collective bargaining agreement there could be a maximum of ten negotiated topics and after a third a maximum of topics. That being the case it appears that it was agreed upon it that being the case it appears what was agreed upon

[05:24:11] was that the exclusive bargaining representative and the board could each make proposals to bargain up to three additional topics. Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. Any other discussion? Seeing no discussion, we will go ahead and take it for a vote.

[05:24:30] This is to amend the base motion. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote.

[05:24:48] That motion does not pass. With Mrs. Griffiths, Ms. Chernoff, and Ms. LaBelle with yeses and then Dr. Deans, Ms. Chandler, Ms. Mansfield, the Vice Chair Streffy, Ms. Donahue, and Dr. Rasheed in opposition.

[05:25:08] That motion does not pass. We are back to the base motion. Do I have another amendment? Yes, Ms. Chernoff. Thank you. I move that the school board remove lines 199 to 231 altogether from the red line version of the proposed resolution and leave this as an item to be negotiated during the collective bargaining process as outlined in the working conditions definition. Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. Do we have any, there's a motion on the floor. Do I have a second? I have a second by

[05:25:47] Vice Chair Straffi. Now is there any discussion? Go ahead to speak to your motion. Sure. With respect to the topic of union building access, this is one that really, as I went back and listened to the hours and hours of meetings I sort of tallied the different times we discussed different topics and this one definitely got the most airtime and so that caused me to sort of pause and upon further exploration it seems that this particular item may be better suited for collective bargaining negotiations rather than be articulated in the resolution so that the specifics can be worked out then with the

[05:26:24] different stakeholders and with the elected exclusive bargaining representative if the bargaining resolution unit in the resolution I believe we need to add language around approval and notices of the space as well and determine what's appropriate in terms of written notice versus written request and who has purview over that particularly so that building principals and designees can continue operations as needed without unintended interruption schools are living buildings they have lots of things going on foreseen and unforeseen within any given day. It is my belief that the principal or building designee or

[05:27:01] administrator should have the final say on approval of such meetings with any outside parties, union or otherwise, to protect and respect the operations of the school as well as the contracted duties of its employees. Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. Any other discussion? Seeing no more discussion, we will go ahead and take this for a vote to amend the base motion. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members,

[05:27:30] please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. This motion fails with Ms. Griffiths, Ms. Chernoff, and Ms. LaBelle in yes, and Dr. Deans, Ms. Chandler, Ms. Mansfield, Vice Chair Struffy, Ms. Donahue, and Dr. Rasheed in opposition. That motion does not pass,

[05:28:03] so we are back to the base motion. Do I have any other amendments? Yes, Ms. Chernoff. - Do appreciate it. So seeing that that amendment did not pass, I move that the school board revise line 206 to say written request instead of written notice for the reasons that I've already expressed.

[05:28:26] So I do not need to speak to that motion. - Do I have a second? Okay, I have Ms. Griffiths seconded that motion. The amendment has, the motion to amend the base motion has been properly moved and seconded.

[05:28:46] Do we have any discussion? Seeing no discussion, we will move on to a vote. Clerk, please open the vote.

[05:29:02] Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. And that motion fails with Dr. Deings, Ms. Chandler, me, Vice Chair Struffy, Ms. Donahue, and Dr. Rasheed in opposition.

[05:29:26] That motion does not pass. We are back to the base motion. Do I have another amendment? Almost there. I move that the school board add the following language to lines 229 and 231.

[05:29:41] This also has to do with access to union access. To access individual employees that they represent that such access in the judgment and discretion of the principal or designee of the building administrator, if applicable, does not interfere with the operation of the facility or the employees contracted or assigned job duties.

[05:30:04] I have a motion on the floor. Do I have a second? Yes, I have a second by Ms. LaBelle. Thank you. Ms. LaBelle gave us a second. It's been properly moved and seconded. Ms. Chernoff, would you like to speak to your motion?

[05:30:22] This just is a further commitment to protecting our buildings. I do have concerns about people not, you know, building administrators or designees not being able to approve certain things. I think we have to protect that at some level. I feel a responsibility to do that, and this would tighten the language on that.

[05:30:45] Is there any other discussion? Yes, Ms. LaBelle. - I have a concern, as does Ms. Chernoff, about people coming into the building. The people that are going to be coming in, be they members of LEA or not, they're not building teachers if they're coming in during the day because building teachers are in their classrooms teaching.

[05:31:07] We have no idea who these people are coming in or how they are affiliated with LEA. I think the least we can do is let the principal know and make some decisions about who's being allowed to come in at any time during the day. I think that any collective bargaining representative would agree that to call ahead and say, is today a good day for me to come in? If so, can I come about 10 o'clock? I mean, that's not a big ask. But on the other hand, just

[05:31:41] to have them show up at the door can become a big problem. We have emergency response sessions. We have testing going on. We have fire drills planned. We have to have one every day for the first week of school. And to have just people show up and say, oh, I'm here to talk with the union, that's not a good thing to do. It's disrupting the learning of the people in the building and the teaching of the people in the building. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. Is there any other discussion? Yes, Ms. Chandler. Just as a point of clarification, the way the

[05:32:18] resolution is written now there is a provision for group meetings that follows established lcps protocol and requires the use of our facilities policy and at least three business days notice miss chandler is that for group or for individual for group yes mr charnoff and just to be clear like the individual access also they have to give notice it's just not written request so this is just to tighten the language of approval on my end in terms of wanting that to be a little bit

[05:32:58] tighter. But notice is required as it's written right now. Ms. Chernoff, would you mind restating your amendment? Sure. I move that the school board add the following language to the red line version on lines 229 to 231 per individual employee access. Quote, to access individual employees that they represent that such access in the judgment and discretion of the principal or designee of the building administrator, if applicable, does not interfere with the operation

[05:33:36] of the facility or the employee's contracted or assigned job duties. Thank you. Is there any more discussion? Yes, Ms. Chandler. Just as a point of perspective, I think it's important for us to take into consideration that notice is still required, but this is really more of an emergency situation in which an employee might be in a crisis, and requiring the person that the employee may be in conflict with to make the decision about whether or not their union representative

[05:34:15] has access to the building seems unjust to me. I think written notice and the requirement to follow all of our security protocols is built in but that they should still have the ability to access the employee if the employee asks for it so based on that as it's written now I won't be supporting the amendment. Dr. Spence did you have something to add? I do in terms of this one

[05:34:45] I do have a concern in terms of interpretation and who ultimately then becomes responsible for interpretation of whether or not um access to the individual employee at that point is um you know given the language here isn't interfering with the operation of the facility or the employee's contracted job duties yeah and so i mean just the way that it's it's left there's no clarity about who's the arbiter of that right so the way that it's worded is so long as that doesn't happen but what if there is a disagreement in the building about whether or not that's going to interfere

[05:35:23] with the employee's job duties ultimately administration is responsible for ensuring that employees are, you know, fulfilling their duties as assigned. And so I would say, I mean, I haven't weighed in on these other ones, but I would say I would weigh in here because I do think there has to be some clear arbiter if there's a disagreement.

[05:35:44] If LEA just walks into the building and says, hey, we're going to go meet with individual employees and, not LEA, let me be clear, if whatever the bargaining unit is indicates that they're going to do that and it's determined by administration that that's going to interfere with the employee's duties at that time and the bargaining unit representatives disagree who's the arbiter and who's the final decision maker there and that's not contemplated here the way it's written and I think that's probably what Ms. Chernoff's amendment is trying to get to that there has to be somebody ultimately

[05:36:17] who can be the arbiter of that and then you know I don't I mean unfortunately then it becomes complicated in terms of there's if how do you then resolve that once there's disagreement but in that moment somebody has to be able to be the decision maker and that's not contemplated the way it's written any other discussion yes sure enough i thank you dr spence for for that but i also want to note that like 6310 the way it's written requires us to our policies about building

[05:36:53] access require a notice and approvals so I also feel like not only to your point who's in charge and who gets the final say whether it's individual or group there's also conflict there already in a resolution that we're you know considering passing that is in conflict with a current policy that exists and so I just think we have to be overly cautious when it comes to the ins and outs of our physical buildings and so again I think I've said it and you know I appreciate the expansion and I just really really hope that we can get to a place where there is someone that kind of signs

[05:37:30] off on this interaction. May I just add one additional piece that the individual meetings are not covered by that policy so that is it they're separate from that policy and regulation cover group meetings and facilities use and did not cover the individual meetings that are contemplated here which is again why i would lean in and say because there is no other policy that can provide some additional guidance some language about who's going to be the arbiter of a decision about whether or not impairing an employee's duties has to be included any other discussion

[05:38:09] okay let's go ahead and vote to amend the base motion clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote and that motion does not pass

[05:38:37] with Ms. Chandler, Mansfield, Estrephi, Ms. Donahue, and Dr. Rasheed in opposition. So we're back to the base motion.

[05:38:54] Do I have another amendment? This is the last one. I appreciate, again, your patience. I move that the board revise line 402 in the red line version.

[05:39:12] the board shall direct the LRN to verify whether 30% of the employees in a bargaining unit wish to be represented by the employee organization. We have a motion from Ms. Chernoff. Do I have a second? I have a second by Ms. Griffiths. Ms. Chernoff, would you like to speak to your motion?

[05:39:35] Oh, it's been properly moved and seconded. Would you like to speak to your motion? Yes, thank you. During committee, I did express just some concern about certifying of the authorization cards as it related to the dual purpose, and I do still feel like we need language around certifying the signatures in terms of just confirming that they still want LEA to be the union exclusive bargaining representative in the election, and that they are indeed LCPS employees, which I believe we have that provision.

[05:40:05] And based on conversations from the joint committee and re-listening feel that it was mentioned that this opens us up to potential legal risk because it may appear that we gave LEA an advantage in becoming the exclusive bargaining representative by allowing a dual purpose card.

[05:40:21] Every other potential exclusive bargaining representative will have to start from scratch. So I feel it would be fair and reasonable for the potential exclusive bargaining representative to include LEA, at least reconfirm and certify that they are current employees and that 30% want that process.

[05:40:38] - Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. Any other discussion? No, no more discussion. Okay, we'll go ahead and vote for this amendment to the base motion. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote.

[05:40:56] Clerk, please close and display your vote. That motion does not pass with Dr. Deans, Ms. Chandler, Ms. Mansfield, Mr. Streffi, Ms. Donohue, and Dr. Rasheed in opposition.

[05:41:18] We are now back to the base amendment. Are there any other amendments? Yes, Ms. Donohue. Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I did want to briefly say, as people have alluded to already, this is a momentous evening.

[05:41:36] I'm a proud union member, and I grew up in a state that had teachers' unions. I attended K-12 public education schools in unionized public schools. I understand this is a big change that we are about to embark on here in Loudoun County, and it's been a big change for all of Virginia where this is happening.

[05:41:54] And certainly it is not uncommon for anxiety to accompany big change. But I'm excited to be part of this moment because I hope and believe that collective bargaining will bring positive change to LCPS for our students and for our educators. I am planning to support the resolution tonight, and I believe I've been open and consistent about my desire to see it pass as soon as possible.

[05:42:14] To all of the educators who are here tonight or listening live, watching live, or listening or watching later, I want to say thank you for teaching our kids and serving our community. Good luck to you as you embark on your new school year. For everyone who's been working towards collective bargaining, I thank you for not giving up.

[05:42:31] For everyone who's been opposed, I hope that whatever happens tonight, we all keep an open mind and work together as we move forward to help our schools succeed and improve. All of that being said, I am offering one amendment in two parts. Going back to the beginning of this process with the joint committee, one of my priorities was to change the language in the section on access to LCPS facilities.

[05:42:54] Because the version that we originally got, were assigned to look at, stated that the exclusive bargaining representative would have to submit a request subject to approval by the principal or principal's designees in an LCPS facility in accordance with policy 6310.

[05:43:15] I had some concerns about that, and we discussed in the joint committee meetings, and I included when I wrote in my report summing up the JCCB, recommending that we change the language from request and approval to notice, to written advance notice.

[05:43:33] I was consistent on that issue, and I was surprised to see that by the time the draft that we are working from today, there are still references to approvals and requests. And I, as has been noted before, just recently this evening, I believe that there is some inconsistency in the draft resolution language right now that needs to be clarified.

[05:43:58] And for those reasons, I am proposing two changes. So my first proposal is on lines 209 and 216. There are references to policy 6310 in both of those lines. and I would suggest after the references to Policy 6310, we add the following language.

[05:44:19] Notwithstanding the language of Policy 6310, the exclusive bargaining representative is not required to submit a request and obtain approval in order to hold a group meeting within LCPS facilities. It shall not be a violation of this section if an appropriate space is not available due to prior reservation or unforeseen circumstances such as a fire alarm or other school evacuation.

[05:44:41] I am proposing that language to make clear that the exclusive bargaining representative will not be required to submit requests subject to approval to be able to hold group meetings in LCPS facilities.

[05:44:57] They will be required to provide written advance notice, which will meet the goals of ensuring that the principals and other building administrators know what is happening in their buildings and who is coming in. And I would point out that, as Ms. Chandler already noted, the resolution language currently requires that all visitors who are not LCPS employees, whether for group meetings or individual meetings, will be required to adhere to LCPS visitor rules.

[05:45:25] And I believe those safeguards are important to safeguard our school communities. But this would alleviate the potential conflict or confusion between the requirements of Policy 6310 and the language of this policy. In conjunction with that, I would also recommend the removal of line 227 entirely, which reads, requests submitted in accordance with section 3B1 shall not be unreasonably denied.

[05:45:52] And again, my basis for recommending that proposal is to make it absolutely clear that we are not, that the exclusive bargaining representative will not be required to submit a request that requires approval to conduct a group meeting. Thank you.

[05:46:10] Okay, so you have one amendment in two parts, correct? Yes, Madam Chair. Okay, so one amendment in two parts. Do I have a second? We have a second by Ms. Chandler.

[05:46:28] Would you like to talk to your motion, Ms. Donahue? No, I did. Thank you. Thank you for allowing me to get ahead of myself, Madam Chair. Dr. Spence, would you like to speak to this?

[05:46:46] I would. I appreciate the opportunity and know that there may be other board members who want to discuss, but I thought I would just weigh in on the administration's perspective. I just want to be completely clear here. From an administrator perspective, this is completely unworkable and it's untenable.

[05:47:03] There's just no way to say that all you have to do is say we're coming because there are so many things that are happening at any given time, on any given day in a school, and to say the administrator in that building has no say whatsoever about when that happens, when they show up, it's just completely unworkable.

[05:47:22] And, I mean, it doesn't contemplate when, what time, during, you know, nights, weekends, but also during the day when there may be things going on. I mean, do we get to say, well, we're coming in and it doesn't matter that you're having a play or a giant school assembly or whatever?

[05:47:38] Like, this is just completely unworkable from a principal's – I mean, having been a high school principal for nine years, like, this is completely unworkable. I just think it's a step too far in an administration's perspective to eliminate any kind of conversation between the principal and the bargaining representatives about when an appropriate time to meet would be.

[05:48:01] And I think the idea that it should not be unreasonably denied captures the fact that the administration would work with the bargaining unit to ensure that those opportunities are provided, but also allows for a conversation to occur and say, that's not the best day can we can we pick another day that week and um i just want to be absolutely clear like if i'm an administration i i mean if i if there was one thing administration would hill we would die on this would be a hill we would die on with regards to this madam chair may i

[05:48:33] respond yes ma'am thank you i appreciate your perspective dr spence respectfully i have been advocating for this position since April and I have stated it repeatedly and publicly that this is what I think is an appropriate change and I have invited members of the LCPS administrative central staff to engage in conversations with me about all of the all of the issues that we're

[05:49:11] discussing this evening and I have specifically asked with regard to this issue tell me what a Request gives the school that notice doesn't give, and I have not received substantive responses, so I would have loved to have had this conversation before right now.

[05:49:33] I understand, and you and I have not had that conversation, and I can only apologize that I have not had that conversation, and I can't speak for staff and what conversations they have other than we think it's contemplated in the existing language.

[05:49:51] And I would also just like to point out this does not prohibit conversations between the exclusive bargaining representative and the principal or other or other school administrators and in fact the language that is in here does require that for group meetings the exclusive bargaining representative and the principal or the principal's designee needs to agree on the designated space for use for to hold a group meeting so it actually specifically contemplates them continuing to work together yes ma'am it does it does contemplate them working together to agree upon a space it does not indicate with your changes any kind

[05:50:30] of, again, final decision-making if there's a disagreement. And, in fact, in this scenario, it sort of specifically says there is no need for decision-making, that it's simply notice and we're coming. And even if the administrator feels it's a bad time and there's good reasons for that and to have that conversation, that at the end of the day, the bargaining unit in this case would be able to say, well, we're sorry, we disagree and we're coming.

[05:50:57] So I'm just, I mean, I'm expressing administration's deep concerns about this amendment. I understand. And I do appreciate you standing up for those concerns. I have been viewing this issue from the other side, which is if an exclusive bargaining representative wants to hold a group meeting and happens to want to hold it in a facility where a principal or other member of the administration within that LCPS facility doesn't support unions, what's to stop them from just saying, nope, can't use my school?

[05:51:29] I mean, if that's a question, I would say the language on line 227 stops that, right? It says it shall not be unreasonably denied. And I think at that point, then that becomes a conversation between central administration and school administration to enforce that.

[05:51:56] Any more discussion? Yes, Ms. Chernoff. This is a question about the policy. Maybe, Dr. Spence, you know about 6310. I misread it about the individual meetings. But for group meetings, I mean, that would include like PTAs or other kinds of groups.

[05:52:13] So for me, drawing that parallel, those kinds of groups that are very involved in the school have to have approval and they have to request and have notice and approval. So what would prohibit them then, I mean, if we're going to undermine 6310 by allowing a union representative to just give notice, I think it opens a different can of worms in terms of other types of groups that will then say, well, then we want that too.

[05:52:40] So, I mean, I think it's clear that, I mean, I obviously wanted the request with individual meetings. I understand, you know, there are emergency situations and why that didn't pass. But I just, I really cannot get behind this for the same reasons that Dr. Spence brought up. And I, again, schools are, they're unpredictable at times.

[05:52:59] And the principal or the designee has a pulse. I've worked in schools. Things happen. Classes get moved because a kid got sick. Different things are happening all the time in the afternoons. People are coming and going. um sometimes the after school programs have to come inside because of bad weather and they weren't planning on using the gym like there's just so many things that can happen and i think by using if we were to adopt this amendment i think that we would be on a slippery slope in terms of having the ability to prohibit those kinds of things happening and being a disruption

[05:53:30] so i will not be supporting the amendment i can get behind the the 6310 as far as um group but to your point about pta i think that pta presidents often go inside um schools and everything pretty regularly um just like you know an individual could go in individually so i probably will not support this for the group but i completely support for an individual any other discussion

[05:54:10] Okay. Seeing no more discussion, we have an amendment to the base motion from Ms. Donahue. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote.

[05:54:39] And that motion does not pass with Dr. Deans, Ms. Chandler, Ms. Griffiths, Ms. Mansfield, Mr. Estreffi, Ms. Chernoff, Dr. Rasheed, and Ms. LaBelle in opposition. so now we go back to the base motion to pass the base motion which is miss chandler would you like to repeat the base motion um is it germane to the motion yes okay what is your point of information

[05:55:18] so thank you madam chair i would like to refer to policy 2160 page 9 section f prohibit is this to clarify something this is to clarify the vote and you can use to ask questions on the request a rewording or ask for clarification. It's a point of information, conflict of interest.

[05:55:39] We can have Wes chime in. So my understanding of a point for clarification is a motion that can be used to ask for questions about a motion, request a rewording or ask for clarification. If we're going to the actual vote, I would like to use my point of information. What is your question?

[05:56:03] It's not a question, it's a policy. - Wes, would you like to weigh in? I'm sorry, Mr. Allen, would you like to weigh in? - Thank you, Madam Chair. To the point of information are directed to the chair and it's within the chair's discretion to grant them.

[05:56:25] The understanding is they're typically used for clarifying information or piggybacking off of something to ask for clarity. That said, if there's further discussion, the board, the chair can let any board members provide any final thoughts or pose any questions to the extent we're not amid a vote.

[05:57:00] Ms. Griffiths, what is your clarification? Thank you, Wes. Is that point of request or point of information? Thank you. My understanding was there was a point of information on the floor is what I heard. - My understanding is point of information before a vote can be discussed.

[05:57:26] - A point, thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. I think the question on the floor that was posed was whether, what is a point of information? That's what I heard earlier. - Well, April, Ms. Chandler can do her motion and then I can do my point of information then.

[05:57:47] - The point of information or discussion, I'm sorry. In terms of where we are, was the motion reposed it was reposed so that we could so we could go ahead and um vote on it but then it's up to the boards the board chair um in terms of whether any further discussion is entertained and to the extent there's a point of information then then yes that would be asking for a clarification

[05:58:21] um on on what's being discussed okay so we were so you asked for a point of information or slash clarification after the motion so it has to be for the motion a clarifying for that motion

[05:58:42] yes miss chandler would you please go ahead and restate the motion before we vote on it with your you need your thank you as chair of the lamp committee i move that the school board adopt the proposed collective bargaining resolution recommended by the legislative audit and policy Committee. All right. Thank you, Madam Chair. Point of information, I'm referring to policy 2160,

[05:59:22] page 9, section F, prohibited conduct regarding contracts. Now, I know this is a resolution, but policy 2160 defines contract means any agreement in which a government agency is a party or any agreement on behalf of a government agency, which involves the payment of money appropriated by General Assembly or political subdivision whether or not such agreement is executed in the name of the Commonwealth. No school board member or employee should have a personal interest on any contract, any contract with any government agency, which is subject to

[05:59:59] the ultimate control of the board. I'm sorry, I don't think that that's a clarification. I think that is a... It's information. It's point of information. Okay, go ahead. In the last election cycle, the Loudoun Education Association recommended six of the nine members sitting on this dais. Even more concerning than the public campaigning and political recommendations they made, the LEA made financial contributions to Ms. Donahue, Ms. Chandler, Mr. Estreffi,

[06:00:35] and Ms. Rashid, their campaigns, creating a clear conflict of interest between these members and the resolution being voted on today. Ms. Chandler had every reason to introduce the collective bargaining resolution in committee and subsequently along with Ms. Donahue's support vote for it and bring it to the full board for consideration. I ask Chair Mansfield to enforce adherence to policy 2160 and not allow members that were compromised to vote for this resolution

[06:01:09] where it is a clear conflict of interest between four school board members and the LEA who recommended their political campaigns and pretty much bought their vote, and that's it. Thank you, Ms. Griffiths. It's time to move for a vote. I have a motion. It's been seconded,

[06:01:39] and we have discussed it. So, Clerk, will you please open the vote to the base motion? Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes.

[06:02:03] Six with three opposed. Ms. Griffiths, Ms. Chernoff, and Ms. LaBelle. Thank you. We will move on to our information items. I have an item 12. It is 10 o'clock, 1030. Board members, do you want to continue on since we have several? Okay. We will move on to policy 2310 committees to the school board presented by Vice Chair Streffy and I guess it says Daniel and Dr. Smith, Chief of Staff.

[06:02:36] Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to present this information item related to Policy 2310, Committees of the School Board. There are three substantive edits to this policy that are being recommended.

[06:02:55] For two of these items in this policy I think we are just adding language that would basically put into the policy already practiced kind of standards and one of them is related to meeting quorum for a committee meeting and it just allows the committee chair basically to request either the meeting be rescheduled if it can't meet quorum.

[06:03:28] Or it also allows the committee chair to appoint a new chair, one of the standing committee members as chair, in the in-person meeting if a quorum can be met, if the chair is not present.

[06:03:49] And then the second edit here is related to the joint committee with the board of supervisors, adding language that says the joint committee is structured and guided by the Board of Supervisors Rules of Order, which is reviewed annually by the Board of Supervisors and School Board.

[06:04:06] And then the final addition here basically introduces a new standing committee called the Performance Monitoring Committee, PMC, been abbreviated, and this PMC would be dedicated to analyzing and monitoring division-wide performance data such as strategic plan metrics and achievement results to help identify trends and areas for improvement to enhance student achievement and division progress.

[06:04:33] The committee develops policies to support diverse student needs in an endeavor to enhance overall and targeted resources for students, staff, schools, and programs. Through this work, the PMC contemplates programs, curricula, and initiatives that foster student success and ensures transparency through regular reporting to the board and the committee.

[06:04:53] I'm very excited by this addition of this committee. I think it's something that came out organically at the beginning of our terms, in discussions during the retreat. It's something that I think a bunch of us got really excited about, and it would allow basically work to be done related to looking at data and trends related to student outcomes, but not limited to other topics as well, such as recruitment and other data.

[06:05:25] So it would also allow more specific work to be focused on data and student outcomes that is difficult to achieve through board meetings and through all of the different committees that are existing right now.

[06:05:47] And so very excited about this. I'll just leave my comments to that. - Does anybody else have any other discussion? - Yes, Ms. Chernoff. - Thank you, Madam Chair.

[06:06:04] I fully support these changes as well, especially the additions of the Performance Monitoring Committee. There are so many decisions that we make as board members, and I don't always feel like I'm seeing and understanding the full data picture. When I worked at the district level in LCPS and in our schools, I had access to a CLIC application that helps sort data and scores of multiple formal assessments in real time.

[06:06:26] This is the data that our school teams use to inform their areas of focus for instruction and growth. I believe that establishing a committee like this would allow a similar mechanism for the school board. Assessments are cyclically given and that data does need to be evaluated cyclically. This is a task that I envision the committee could work on.

[06:06:44] Additionally, we could write and revise policies about how parents can access and understand student performance on assessments. I mentioned during the tutoring presentation at our work session that I felt that this was a great example of something a committee like this could put a task force together on and could look at and evaluate based on certain data points.

[06:07:02] I will be honest. I sometimes feel on the board like I'm playing a game of telephone where data is presented to us at such a high level and has been passed through several rounds of streamlining and summarizing that it starts to lose its meaning. We need to be able to understand and access authentic data to ensure transparency and set realistic goals for growth as well as highlight successes.

[06:07:22] We can set policy and support operations that drive achievement for all students forward. we must have the data to drive our decisions second to ensuring safety of all students prioritizing student achievement remains the focus for me personally on the board and this committee would be a tangible step in bringing that to the forefront i not only hope we establish this committee i true i hope i can be a part of it thank you soft sell i heard that um okay i'm very excited about this the performance monitoring committee i am super thrilled that Vice Chair Streffi brought it to our attention like the very I think first or second week we

[06:08:02] even met as a new board but wasn't even what do you call it sworn in yet so we could all meet together so and also I think that this will also continue the work of the board around you know chairs for different committees and things like that so I'm excited about this and if there is any other discussion no okay well if there's no more discussion this will this will uh come back

[06:08:38] as action item at the september 10th school board meeting and with that we will move to item 13.01 motion to convene a closed meeting vice chair astraffy do you have a motion chair um i move that the loudon county school board recess this public meeting and enter into a closed meeting pursuant to 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia for the following discussion or consideration of the disposition of publicly held real property where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body as authorized by section 2.2-3711A3 of the Code of Virginia.

[06:09:17] Discussion or consideration of the acquisition of real property for a public purpose where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body as authorized by section 2.2-3711A3 of the Code of Virginia, consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel, discussion and consideration of student matters that would involve the disclosure of information contained in scholastic records as authorized by section 2.2-3711A2 of the Code of Virginia.

[06:09:58] Mr. Vice Chair Streffi has made a motion. Do I have a second? I have a second by Ms. Donahue. It's been properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board go into its closed session. Is there any discussion? No.

[06:10:14] Seeing none, clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote.

[06:10:29] And that motion passes unanimously. The board is now in closed session.

[07:06:59] The board is now coming out of the closed session.

[08:03:28] Vice Chair Estreffi, can you read your motion? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the closed meeting be adjourned, that the Loudoun County School Board reconvene its public meeting, and that the minutes of the public meeting reflect that no formal action was taken in the closed meeting. I have a second by Ms. Donoghue.

[08:03:48] Board members, it's been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? I see no discussion. We'll go ahead. Where's Dr. Samara? Clerk, would you please open the vote?

[08:04:07] Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes.

[08:04:24] unanimously vice I guess we don't have any other oh we do have another vice chair Struffy do you have another motion yes thank you madam chair I move that the following resolution certifying the closed meeting be adopted and reflected in the minutes of this public meeting whereas the Loudoun County School Board has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and whereas 2.2 - 3 7 1 2d of the code of Virginia requires a certification by the school board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law.

[08:04:58] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board hereby certifies that, to the best of each member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification applies, and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered by the Loudoun County School Board.

[08:05:20] Do I have a second? Who did it? i have a second by miss donahue is there any discussion if there's no discussion we'll take an electronic vote clerk please open the vote clerk board members please record your vote okay close and display the vote and then motion passes um oh look we have item 14 board member

[08:05:56] comments and committee reports would y'all like uh i would like to have a thumbs up if you would like to submit your comments in writing if you have them thumbs up oh i don't see unanimous is everyone unanimous okay all right so new business we'll move on to item agenda item 15.01 new business is there any new business for tonight no seeing none the august 13th 2024 meeting of the

[08:06:35] lcps school board is now adjourned thank you for your work and drive home safely please it's the 14th

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