Coraggio Consulting Loudoun County School Board, 2nd Tuesday School Board Meeting, Tuesday, March 11, 2025 Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2025 Place: Loudoun County Public Schools / School Board meeting (see BoardDocs / LCPS-TV) Length: 5h 27m (video) Official meeting video (Vimeo / LCPS-TV): https://player.vimeo.com/video/1063013914?rel=0 BoardDocs (School Board): https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/loudoun/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DDVHR249AF6B 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 2026-10-11. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [00:00:24] Good evening, everyone. I am now calling to order our March 11th, 2025 Loudoun County School Board meeting. Madam Chair Mansfield is out of town this week, so she will not be joining us, and Mrs. Griffiths, I understand, will be joining us a little bit later this evening. [00:00:43] So that is our first item calling to order. I am Vice Chair Anne Donahue, the at-large member, and we will move on to item number two, which is approval of our consent agenda. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? [00:01:03] Ms. LaBelle. I move we approve the consent agenda as presented. Second. That motion has been properly made by Ms. LaBelle and seconded by Ms. Chandler. There is no discussion of consent agenda items, so Madam Clerk, can you please open the vote? [00:01:23] And board members, can you please record your vote? Madam clerk, can you please close and display the vote? And that motion passes unanimously with Ms. Mansfield and Mrs. Griffiths absent for the vote. Now we will move on to item number three on our agenda Which is the Advisory Committee update [00:02:01] And tonight's presentation will be from the Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee or MSAC Tonight's presenter is Ms. Erin Kunkel, the MSAC chair. Thank you for being with us Ms. Kunkel. We will turn it over to you for the presentation. Good evening, school board chair, board members, superintendent, LCPS staff, families, and community partners. It is an honor to stand before you today as chair of the Minority Student [00:02:40] Achievement Advisory Committee to share an update on our work this year, where we are now, and what lies ahead. This year, our theme is seizing our joy. We believe that joy is not just a feeling, it is an action, a choice, and a powerful force that transforms the spaces we create, the relationships we build, and the learning experiences we foster. [00:03:02] Next slide, please. MSAC's mission remains clear, to ensure that Loudoun County Public Schools provides a culturally responsive and equitable education that uplifts all students, especially those from historically marginalized communities. [00:03:19] I would like to share with you how MSAC has been leaning into our mission this year. Next slide. This year, our work has been grounded in discovering ways to seize joy, not as a distraction from the challenges our students face, but as a means of creating a real and lasting change in their educational experiences. [00:03:39] Through our Seizing Our Joy series, we have explored joy in the spaces we create, ensuring students feel seen, valued, and celebrated in their learning environments. The joy of community, strengthening connections among students, families, and educators, keeping our joy, equipping students with strategies for resilience and self-empowerment, and the joy of learning new things, expanding opportunities for exploration, growth, and success. These guiding principles have shaped our meetings, programs, and advocacy efforts throughout the year. Next slide. Our meetings and initiatives this year have been centered around meaningful [00:04:17] student-led conversation and collaborative solutions. Some highlights include student engagement. We have provided a platform for the student delegates and even the student equity ambassadors to share their perspectives in person, ensuring student voices are at the forefront of our discussions. Our student representatives have helped lead the tabletop discussions, fostering critical conversations on race, identity, and belonging in LCPS. [00:04:44] Specialized programs and guest speakers have focused and hosted insightful discussions on dual language immersion, Navy JROTC, and the Loud Mentors program, to name a few, giving students more access to unique academic experiences and to career opportunities. LCPS staff presentations have provided critical information on new pathways for students and timely vital resources for students, parents, and their families. These presentations ensure our community is informed and empowered. Community building. Next slide. This is my favorite part. So MSAC this year has [00:05:23] focused on several things. First, I'd like you to just take a look at a few of these pictures. Next slide. We got lots of people. Our MSAC student delegates were able to join the student equity ambassadors for an in-person meeting that was truly impactful in experience. [00:05:43] Students had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Trey Baker, who encouraged them to write their own stories, find their voices, and recognize the power they hold in shaping their narratives. His message resonated deeply, reinforcing the importance of student leadership and self-advocacy. [00:06:00] Next slide. That's Mr. Baker. He was really awesome. I'll just say that. Next slide, please. And this was almost all the students in a group shot. I was amazed to see them work out that selfie, like they're better than me. [00:06:19] Next slide. More of the conversations and engagement with the students. Next slide. Now, Better Together is a signature event that we proudly host in partnership with the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. [00:06:37] This year, the room was filled with students, families, teachers, staff, and community members. each leaning into joy and recognizing that we are indeed better together. The energy in the space was undeniable and a testament to the power of connection and shared commitment to equity. [00:06:54] Next slide, next slide. Our meeting topics and table discussions and advocacy continue to be data-driven, reinforcing our commitment to progress and accountability. [00:07:10] The data informs our strategies and ensures that the voices of students and families remain central in our work. We know that progress is not just about programs and policies, it's about impact. Our review of the 2024 LCPS secondary perception data revealed both areas of progress and continued challenges. [00:07:27] Encouragingly, we see positive shifts in students' experiences with cultural representation in their learning materials and respect among their peers. However, disparities remain. The percentage of students who feel curriculum reflects different cultures, races, and identities still vary significantly across racial groups. [00:07:44] But we bring this data not as a critique, but as a call to action. we want to continue in our commitment in collaboration and partnership with lcps leadership holding ourselves and each other accountable for working together to ensure equity is not just an aspiration but a reality because when we all work together real progress happens next slide looking ahead as we look forward to the remainder of the school year we're excited about several key initiatives first we will be having msac executive board elections ensuring strong leadership to to sustain our mission. [00:08:21] Our annual equity awards and ceremony is going to be recognizing individuals and schools that have demonstrated a commitment to equity and inclusion. Radiant reflections. We'll be focusing on where we started and where we are going, continuing the MSAC delegate training to become better equity opportunity change agents and reflecting on our growth and aspirations for the future. [00:08:42] And lastly, to end the year, we will be having the joy revolution. This is our MSAC student delegate takeover. We're ending the year with a bang. Our final meeting will be fully student-led from start to finish. Student delegates will step into leadership roles working alongside the executive board and our incredible division of DEIA partners to shape every aspect of the event. [00:09:03] They will spread the word, engage with their infinity groups, set the topics, and drive the discussions. This is more than just a meeting. It's their moment to take the mic, steer the ship, and show us all what student voice and action truly looks like. Equity is not a moment, it is a movement, and we're going to keep moving forward together. [00:09:23] As I close, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the LCPS School Board, LCPS leadership, and the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, and the broader community for your continued partnership. This work is not done in isolation, and it truly requires all of us. Our students deserve an education that not only challenges them academically, but also affirms their identities and fuels their aspirations. [00:09:46] We invite you and ask you to join us as we continue to seize the joy and inspire the future. Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. Henri Nouwen, thank you. Thank you very much, Ms. Kunkel, for the presentation and for the very important work that you and MSAC do for our community. [00:10:10] I love the theme of joy. I love the colorful slides that you had in addition to the very useful content. And I was wondering, do you have a date for the equity? Yes, it is on Saturday, May 3rd. [00:10:28] Saturday, May 3rd. May 3rd, yes. We will be sending out invitations. We are currently designing them. I have a recruit. She doesn't want to talk about it right now. But we are designing invitations, and we are working on that, and we will get those to you as soon as they're ready and as soon as our wonderful vice chair signs off on them, she approves the design. Okay. Well, thank you very much. My fellow board members, are there other questions or comments? Ms. Chandler. Thank you, Madam Vice Chair. [00:10:57] Madam Chair. Thank you, Ms. Kunkel. Sorry. I really find myself reflecting on the 2024 LCPS secondary perception data. That resonated with me quite a lot. And I am grateful for the fact of your framing it as a call to action, because that really is how it feels to me. [00:11:26] It feels like an indication that we have some more work to do to make sure that every student feels safe, seen, and respected in our schools, and having this very important reminder is, it's hard to put into words, but it's so very important. And I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the work that you've done this year. It has been a joy to work with you. [00:11:50] Thank you. Any other questions? Dr. Rashid? I just wanted to point out that the equity ceremony is amazing. And I think last year was the first time I ever participated in it. And it's really hardcore. [00:12:07] It's really hardcore because I've been censored. But, yeah, it's really great. I don't want to make it whistle any more perfect. [00:12:23] I mean, from gloves to hats and a feather and all the accomplishments that they talk about, let alone in and of itself at the place where it takes place is great. [00:12:43] we'd love to just get together and share and yes we do like to do it up and we I admit that we are a little bit extra but we like to have that moment we get to relax and we get to lean into it and I'm always telling people that's our chance to smile and take it easy and enjoy people's company and just celebrate everyone that contributes to making this division better for all of our students so I love the equity it's lots of fun. That is why I was asking I wasn't able to go last year so I was hoping to find out if you have a date so I can block it off. Well, I will make sure I get it to you because I hope you will be able to join us. You will have a wonderful time. The food is great. [00:13:22] I did think of a question after I started. What support does MSAC need? Like, what are there things that we can do to support your mission? We, I will make the pitch that is forever being made that we need delegates in every school. We need that representation. We don't know what's happening in schools and as much as I'd like to have magic powers and multiply myself and be able to help everybody everywhere I can't and we would just like to be able to know what's going on in the schools um uplifting you know our message but I would say even that just continue working with [00:13:59] MSAC and supporting us coming to our meetings engaging with us even if you pop into a meeting our general body meetings and there's just an update or you just want to say hi hello I promise I won't put you on the spot, but if there's something you'd like to share, we need that. [00:14:14] We need just the visual, physical support for MSAC and lifting it up because it's easy for us to be in our different pockets and our different communities and feel like we're all isolated and we're doing this all alone and having that connection with you all on the school board and being able to engage with you all, at least in a manner that is more relaxed and comfortable and easy. [00:14:37] We've worked hard to create a space where everyone knows that they're welcome and they're safe with us and we want to engage in tough conversations, but we also want to just be able to communicate like what's going on or be able to share and lift up a positive that's happening in our schools that might be in your district and you might not have heard about it. [00:14:56] and that's just a great way to engage with us and engaging with our student delegates and encouraging them. Student delegate applications are open all year. I don't have a closing date. It's like, if you want to do it, please fill out an application encouraging students, if you know of them, to have that leadership opportunity and to join us. [00:15:13] Those are just small ways to support MSAC, but really just knowing that we're here to help and we want to support you and we want to work with you and vice versa is probably the best thing that can be done for MSAC because we need that continued support. And I think it goes a long way for the delegates to know that we are supported and our work is supported in the school board and not me just saying it because it's hard for me to sell it sometimes because they're like, you're just saying that. [00:15:37] I'm like, no, I'm serious. I'm serious. But just, you know, coming alongside, working with us, sitting with us, and talking with us would be great. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Thank you very much, Ms. Kunkel, for everything that you do. [00:15:54] And now we will move on to item four on our agenda, which is this evening's work session. Tonight, we will hear from the Department of Communications and Community Engagement from the Division of Family and Community Engagement Efforts. Our presenters this evening are Natalie Allen, Chief Communications Officer, Renee Dawson, Director of Family and Community Engagement, and Sarah Boies, the Supervisor of Outreach Services. [00:16:17] Thank you very much for being here this evening, ladies. We look forward to your presentation. [00:16:36] Well, thank you all so much for having us. Good afternoon, Vice Chair Donahue, board members and Dr. Spence. Tonight we are excited to share the first year progress of the Division of Family and Community Engagement, a new office that was created in direct response to what we heard from our community. On this next slide you'll see what we plan to go over in this presentation, but I wanted to give you a little bit of background on how we got here. During the superintendent's listening sessions last year, families and stakeholders consistently emphasized the need for a stronger family engagement and two-way communication. It became clear that while LCPS has many great resources and [00:17:14] initiatives, we needed a more intentional, centralized approach to ensure families feel connected, informed, and empowered to support their students. Recognizing this as a priority, the superintendent's post-entry plan outlined a vision for renewing our focus on family engagement strategies, strengthening communication touch points between families and schools, and providing better support for principals and sharing key information. The plan also called for expanded resources to help families navigate academic and social challenges and a more coordinated effort to ensure accessibility and responsiveness. To meet these goals the Division of Family and Community Engagement was established [00:17:52] bringing together existing resources and new initiatives to better serve our families and strengthen our partnerships with the broader community. Over the past year we have laid a strong foundation for this work and I look forward to sharing the progress we've made and our plans for the future. And with that I will turn it over to the wonderful Renee Dawson, our director of family and community engagement, whose vision and enthusiasm has really driven this work this year. The Division of Family and Community Engagement, FACE, supports [00:18:27] LCPS's vision of helping all students reach their potential in a supportive, inclusive environment. By building partnerships with families, schools, businesses, and community organizations, FACE strengthens collaboration, promotes family involvement and creates opportunities for students to thrive. Since July 1st, the FACE team has intentionally focused on six key areas to drive our efforts. Aligned with the superintendent's post-entry plan, our work centers on fostering welcoming spaces, empowering our families, [00:19:04] and enhancing inclusivity and community engagement. Our first area is building strong family school and family partnerships and what have we done we are working on expanding and enhancing family the family liaison network for improved school home connections we have hosted face family academy sessions focused on three key themes identified through family survey feedback and we have strengthened family engagement strategies through staff training and support our second area is enhancing communication and accessibility we did this through launching some [00:19:42] multilingual communication strategies including virtual on-demand interpretation services additionally we know that an area we need to focus on is increasing that two-way communication opportunities and we've done this through surveys forums and direct feedback our third area is streamlining family and school resources we are excited to share that we launched the family and community engagement webpage and in that we centralized our resources for example our military connected families special education supports and also mental health resources all of those can be [00:20:20] additionally found on our website another area is strengthening community and business engagement we've expanded school business partnerships connecting students with real world community experiences we are planning the development and i'm very excited about this of volunteer programs with industry partners and we've provided school and staff training on engaging business partners to support school initiatives our next area is centered around data driven family and community engagement we conducted principal surveys staff surveys we leveraged the data from the fan the [00:20:59] annual family survey to assess engagement needs and impact. We used feedback from committees, LEAF our assistant principal group, principals our student activity and engagement coordinators and student services to shape some of our FACE initiatives. We were very excited to present at MSAC and we look forward to going to SEAC and GEAC to also present. We've been our last area school responsive visits which are incredibly important to us we've gone out and conducted family liaison visits for training answering questions and [00:21:37] reviewing the existing resources we have and we've met with leadership teams and provided professional development for staff to improve family and community engagement next slide please as a team we decided to take a deep dive into our survey data and we did this to gain a better understanding of family and and community engagement across our schools. [00:22:04] By analyzing multiple data sources, we identified key themes, we developed some strategic next steps, and we outlined some core actions to enhance our engagement efforts. So how did we analyze this data? [00:22:19] We reviewed multiple data sources to comprehensively understand family and school needs. We looked at the division-wide family survey. We analyzed family engagement specific items to identify strengths and areas of growth. [00:22:36] We conducted a principal needs assessment, and we surveyed school leaders about their needs in order to improve their family engagement. And then we also leveraged LEAF, and we incorporated parent perspectives from LEAF to enrich our understanding about what our families need. [00:22:55] And the last thing, we listened to the family liaison data. We reviewed the liaison outreach reports, which we'll hear a little bit about in a moment, to identify what resources and supports and needs our family liaisons would have. [00:23:11] The family liaisons really are a critical connector between schools and families, offering direct assistance, linking families to community resources, facilitating communication, and providing ongoing support to enhance family engagement and student success. [00:23:29] Now we do acknowledge that there are additional groups and valuable perspectives that we have to include. and we are looking forward to including them in our work. We gained some key insights from all of this. Families and schools value collaborative efforts supporting student achievement. [00:23:50] We also understand that effective communication methods, emails, newsletters, and events are very much appreciated by our families, but there is also this need for two-way communication. Both schools and families desire more involvement opportunities with clear learning expectations and welcoming environments. [00:24:14] And our schools recognize a need for stronger community engagement and professional development in family partnership practices. Next slide, please. So the core work that we have in the Division of Family and Community Engagement is guided by some core beliefs that align with national research on effective family-school partnerships, including the work of Henderson, Mapp, Johnson, and Davies. [00:24:43] These core beliefs really serve as the foundation for engaging families, school staff, community partners, all to support student success. And those beliefs are all families, all of them, have dreams for their children and want what's best for them. [00:25:02] All families have the capacity to support their children's learning. Families and school staff have a shared responsibility for supporting student success. And lastly, cultivating school, home, and community partnerships is our responsibility. [00:25:22] And now, I have the privilege to introduce Sarah Boyce to talk a little bit about her work and outreach services. Thank you very much, Renee, and good evening, everyone. I have the pleasure within my role to oversee and coordinate what I call the unsung heroes of LCPS, our family liaisons. [00:25:42] In this evening's one LCPS spotlight, you will have an opportunity to hear directly from one of our stellar family liaisons and see her work in action. So at this time, I will give you a preview and an overview of this role. LCPS staffs one family liaison per school in either a part-time or full-time capacity, depending on the budget staffing standards. [00:26:00] Our family liaison's main goal is to be the bridge between our families, our schools, and the broader Loudoun County community. Our family liaisons serve all families, but focus on those with higher needs. Family liaisons connect parents and families of our students with the wide array of generous non-profits, faith-based organizations, and government agencies within our community that can help with things like food, housing, health care, clothing, employment, etc. [00:26:25] The goal is for students to have their basic needs met at home so that they may come to school ready to learn and thrive academically. Additionally, our family liaisons help parents and families engage with their school and become meaningful participants in their child's education. [00:26:42] Family liaisons help parents to navigate school and division technology, opportunities, and resources. They assist families to understand how to best support their children and promote attendance and academic engagement. Finally, our family liaisons serve as a person of trust for their families within our schools. [00:26:58] They may not have all the answers, but they can be a great first point of contact for a parent to get them the information that they need. Beginning in August of 2025, we have collected data from each of our family liaisons on a monthly basis through a self-report. Family liaisons provide quantitative data in the form of the number of students and families that they have assisted throughout the previous month. [00:27:21] On average, our family liaisons are serving between 3,000 and 4,000 families and between 4,000 and 5,000 students each month. When we first implemented this report, we were really focusing on the impact that our family liaisons have on families as a whole. But thanks to the suggestion of one of our wonderful liaisons, beginning with our November report, we included a field to collect the total number of students supported so that we can account for the families with multiple students across multiple schools. [00:27:48] Please note that this is why you do not see student counts from August through October on this graphic. Through this report, the family liaisons also had the opportunity to share the types of services, assistance, and referrals that they have provided to families in their schools. The most common types of assistance reported include referrals to community food pantries, clothing closets, free or low-cost health care services, housing and utility assistance, employment and literacy classes. [00:28:16] Direct service includes assistance with weekend meal bags, school supplies, clothing, winter outdoor apparel, furniture, diapers, hygiene products, and baby supplies. Additionally, family liaisons have reported regularly assisting families within their school with LCPS free and reduced meal applications, McKinney-Vento applications, school fee waivers, navigating parent view and other LCPS technology, requesting interpretation and translation services, and registering for after-school clubs and activities. [00:28:46] We know that when our families thrive, our students thrive. In addition to the quantitative data captured in our Family Liaison monthly reports, our staff are also able to share stories and anecdotes from the families that they have supported. The quotes on the screen represent just a small selection of the countless stories and testimonials highlighting the invaluable support Family Liaisons provide to parents throughout our LCPS community. [00:29:11] One of our family liaisons shared, when a mom comes in crying, your day stops. You focus on the words, the needs, the human. You take the emotion out and focus on a to-do list of how to help and what takes priority. The safety, the housing, the food, and the mental health. [00:29:27] Another one of our middle school family liaisons wrote, a single parent of a student walked two miles from home to here carrying an 18-pound baby that she was babysitting along with a big bag. She came to get the bag of food that we distribute. I learned that she works two jobs. [00:29:43] She takes a bus and a train to get to work. She rents a room at a friend's apartment. She needed coats, clothing for her son. He also needed eyeglasses. We found transportation to get her home, and the week after, I was able to get her son an appointment for eyeglasses, winter coats, clothing, and we also provided a holiday gift card. [00:30:02] And again, this is just several of literally hundreds of stories and anecdotes that we get from family liaisons on a regular basis. Another component to our work within FACE is supporting our multilingual services to promote family engagement with all parents, regardless of language or background. [00:30:18] LCPS provides interpretation and translation services to facilitate both spoken and written communication between LCPS parents and staff members. We are currently able to support 24 different languages through our on-staff, part-time interpreters, including our top five most spoken languages within LCPS, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, Vietnamese, and Urdu. [00:30:39] Any parent or staff member may request an interpreter via their school's family liaison, who will then submit the request to be covered by one of our team members. They can also request written translation of letters, flyers, newsletters, brochures, or presentations. We also provide on-demand interpretation services for unplanned interpretation. [00:30:58] We have a virtual remote interpretation platform that allows for a school staff member to connect with an interpreter online, on-screen, and on-demand. Additionally, we have a dial-in phone interpretation service called LanguageLine, which is available to support over 200 languages. As our Loudoun County demographics have changed over the years, we have continued to see an increase in demand for multilingual services. [00:31:22] You can see on this slide that we average around 2,000 requests for written translation and nearly 4,000 for spoken interpretation each year. This does not include the thousands of calls through language line and virtual remote interpretation. The data that you see on screen for 24-25 is accurate as of February 26th, and you can see that we are on track to exceed our typical numbers for the school year. [00:31:44] Our goal is to ensure that all families can engage with LCPS and support their child's education, no matter their primary language or literacy level. I will now turn it back over to Renee. The Family Academy is a key initiative within the Division of Family and Community Engagement. [00:32:04] It is designed to provide families with the knowledge, resources, and tools needed to support their children's academic success. Recognizing that strong family-school partnerships lead to positive student outcomes, The Academy offers online learning sessions that empower families, enhance communication, and address key topics that impact student achievement. [00:32:27] Through a series of online workshops, families gain a deeper insight into the division, they strengthen connections with educators, and become effective advocates for their child's success. The workshop focuses on three core themes, family advocacy, partnering for your child's success, championing student success, and connected and informed. [00:32:52] Future sessions will cover from test to success, demystifying the K-12 assessments, connecting the dots, navigating school and division communication, And the last session for this year will be avoiding the summer slide, which will help our parents ensure that they have access to information and tools they need to help their children thrive. [00:33:18] So the next slide is one I'm incredibly proud of, so excited to share with everyone. The first Family Academy session was highly successful in engaging families and providing meaningful support for student success. [00:33:34] 100% of the attendees who completed the survey reported feeling more connected with LCPS after participating in this session. Additionally, 100% of those who submitted the survey agreed or strongly agreed that this session offered valuable tools to help students help support their students' academic journey. [00:33:59] There was also strong interest in future sessions, with 100% of those attendees expressing a desire to attend additional FACE Academy events. For future topics, families recommended a session on resources available through LCPS for families with children who have IEPs, specifically addressing supports not typically included in IEP plans. [00:34:24] This feedback highlights a continued need for resource awareness and expanded support for family needs. And I will have to say that we did have our second session, which was also a success, but we haven't looked at that data yet. But it was great, I promise. So the next slide, we talk about our commitment to strengthening relationships between schools and families and the broader community. [00:34:49] Another key initiative in this effort is the 40 school site visits that we went on. were faced work directly with educators and school leaders to enhance family engagement strategies, foster welcoming school environments, and build sustainable partnerships with businesses and community organizations. These visits provided hands-on support, tailored guidance, and real-time collaboration with school staff ensuring that engagement efforts are meaningful, inclusive, and responsive to the unique needs of each school community. [00:35:25] In addition to the school visits, FACE leads initiatives such as the Business Partnership Collaborative, which is a cross-departmental effort within LCPS that brings together various divisions to align efforts in leveraging business and community partnerships. [00:35:41] This collaboration ensures that schools and students receive meaningful support from local businesses, nonprofits, and other community stakeholders. FACE also amplifies its impact through initiatives like the School Spirit Podcast. If you have not listened to it, check it out. [00:35:57] It's fantastic, which highlights student and leadership successes and the success talks where families receive direct access to the valuable school resources and engagement opportunities. By prioritizing school visits, collaborative partnerships, and innovative engagement strategies, FACE is creating a stronger, more connected school community. [00:36:19] At the heart of family and community engagement is the belief that strong partnerships create lasting opportunities for students. With 1,271 registered partners and a 27% increase in partnerships from 23-24 to 24-25, this growth has been fueled by deepened collaboration between the Division of FACE along with Career, Technical, and Adult Education and other members of the Partnership Collaborative who have helped connect business and community partners to LCPS [00:36:57] schools, enriching services for students, families, and classroom experiences and career pathways for our students. Many of our business partners in these photos that you see up here, some of you all might recognize, are also parents and grandparents of LCPS students committed to making a difference in their children's education and future. The photos highlight business and industry leaders, including one grandparent who participated in the Together in Remembrance event showing how our schools and community stand together to support learning opportunities for our students. [00:37:35] In addition to the established initiatives and events mentioned on the screen, we're going to be introducing two new signature events, the Interfaith Luncheon, a gathering designed to foster unity and collaboration among faith leaders, families, and educators, strengthening those community ties and shared support for our students. [00:37:57] and we hope to launch this event next year, and planning is due to begin in April. And then the National Day of Play, and this will be in May. It's in partnership with the National Fitness Foundation Ambassador, and this event encourages families, community members, and students to come together for a day of physical activity, wellness, and fun, promoting a healthy and engaged school community. [00:38:24] Through these growing partnerships, we are not only expanding resources and opportunities for students, but also creating a culture where families and schools and community members come together to support every child's success. This work is about more than just numbers. [00:38:44] It's about people, relationships, and shared commitment to ensuring that every LCPS student has access to a bright and promising future. And this last one might be my absolute favorite because a picture is worth a thousand words. [00:39:03] These photos capture more than just moments. They tell a story of the relationships that we are building, the families we are supporting, and the partnerships we are forging to create a school division where every student and family feel seen, valued, and empowered. [00:39:22] In just eight months as a division, we have worked with intention and urgency to lay the foundation for a comprehensive, research-based, data-driven approach to family and community engagement. [00:39:37] From the family liaisons in each school who serve as trusted connections for families to the multilingual services that break down barriers and ensure every family has access to critical resources, our work is centered on access, inclusion, and engagement. [00:39:56] Through Family Academy, we provide parents with tools and knowledge to support their child's success, while our school visits allow us to engage directly with educators and families and students to strengthen relationships and understand the community needs firsthand. [00:40:14] Our community events, from Together in Remembrance to our First Responders event, bring people together to celebrate, honor, and uplift one another. Our business partners, many of whom are also parents and grandparents of LCPS students, have stepped forward to support schools, offer resources, and create opportunities for our kids. [00:40:37] The partnership collaborative working alongside career, technical, and adult education and other cross-departmental teams has played a crucial role in expanding our outreach to industry and workforce partners, ensuring students have real-world learning experiences and career pathways. [00:40:54] Each meeting, each visit, and each connection we make is part of a larger effort to ensure that family and community engagement is not an afterthought, but an integral part of student success. And yet, this is just the beginning. [00:41:14] There are still voices to hear, partnerships to build, communities to connect with. And our collaboration with ELFACE has been particularly meaningful, helping us deepen our understanding of the diverse needs within our school system and ensuring that language and culture are never a barrier to engagement. [00:41:34] These photos offer a glimpse into who we are as a team that listens and learns and acts, a division committed to building bridges between schools and families and the community. And as we move forward, we remain focused on the work ahead, ensuring that every family in every school feels empowered to be active stewards of their child's education. [00:42:03] And with that, we'll stop and take any questions you may have. And can I just say how proud of the work I am of these two ladies up here? Because it's a department of three. We're a division of three, and they're doing all of this. [00:42:20] Thank you to all of you. This is some very exciting statistics and information and updates that you've shared with us. It's very inspiring also. I have several thoughts, but I will see if my fellow board members would like to go first. [00:42:39] Your questions and comments. Ms. Chandler. Thank you. And thank you so much for this presentation. I'm very heartened by it. And I find that I really, the information and your core beliefs that were listed on slide five really resonated with me. [00:42:56] And I think you've articulated exactly the purpose for why this department exists and the meaningful work that you're doing at every school, at every school. And it really is a story of access and making sure that at least everybody has a chance, right? [00:43:16] I mean, you can't guarantee that's just a fundamental issue with humanity, right? But we can give everybody a chance, and I think your work is really important for that. So I just wanted to thank you. I have heard in my own connections with members, especially in the EL community, that access to technology can be a challenge. [00:43:39] And I was curious if in your Family Academy work you found that families have an appropriate level of access, and have you considered trying to reach families in any different ways? It's absolutely something that we have considered, and as Renee shared, it's a soft launch for this year, And I think we're open to feedback and we'll talk with our EL FACE colleagues and see if it's something that maybe we need to offer in person at community centers and those kinds of things as we grow this initiative next year. [00:44:17] Thank you. Have you found that there are any particular times or has anything surprised you in this process? I'll let Renee take that one because the answer is yes. So one of the things that early on in our process of thinking about launching the Family Academy is we reached out nationally to different school divisions across the country to find out what are some things that have been successful and what are some challenges. [00:44:46] And so one of the school divisions that we reached out to said that they offer sessions at 12 o'clock during the lunch hour and then also in the evening. And one of the things that I think I've found to be surprising is our 12 o'clock session consistently has more numbers than our 6 o'clock session. [00:45:05] So that was surprising, and that was also what they found out in that school division, that as it grows and as we continue to have more and more families, that 12 o'clock session seems to be one. And we have some hunches as to why that might be the case, but the 12 o'clock is the more popular. [00:45:27] Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Madam Chair, for the evening. I am so grateful for all your work, and I'm grateful that I've been able to see so much of it through LEAF and the partnership there and that that, you know, advisory committee now has like a place to go for all things. [00:45:46] And I think that that's been really powerful and that's really elevated the work of that advisory committee. I am beyond thankful, and I think you said it so well, Ms. Voice, about unsung heroes. I was going to call them jack of all trades, but unsung heroes is so much better. [00:46:02] With our family liaisons, having worked in our Title I schools here in LCPS, it's just such a hinge point for so many families to have that access, and they really do it all. They do so many things, from connecting kids to helping with student achievement and conferencing and having those translators to finding eyeglasses and wheelchairs and, you know, all the different things in between. [00:46:28] And it's a daily endeavor to meet the constant needs. And I've so appreciated the conversations that we've had around that. And I was wondering if you could just share with us a little bit about the supports that are in place. I know that you've gathered them all together. I think that they also had a tour at Loudon Hunger Relief and some of the other resources that are in place to support family liaisons, because it is a heavy job at times and they carry a lot and they are wonderful, wonderful people, but I know that you do a lot of work to support them. [00:46:58] So I was wondering if you could share some of that. Absolutely. Thank you. And thank you just for the shout out for them as well. I believe that we'll have a large contingency of them here later on this evening. So I'm sure that they would love to hear some appreciation from the board when they're here later this evening. [00:47:15] But yes, I think that's a great point there. It is hard work that they do. And so we really try to equip our family liaisons with as many tools as we can. We do have a centralized database of all of our community resources. So we pull that from a variety of different areas, but we have that sectioned out into health care resources, housing resources, food resources. [00:47:37] And we try to make sure that we cover the breadth of the county, so making sure that we have resources from the western part all the way out to our eastern location, so that family liaisons, when they have a parent or a family coming to them and saying, hey, I really have a need for food or emergency shelter or whatever it may be, We have those resources readily available for family liaisons to provide resources and referrals and lists of things. [00:48:01] You may not need this right now, but here are some supports that could help you in the future because, you know, we're all just one life circumstance away from needing assistance. With that, we also provide quarterly staff meetings for all of our family liaisons where they come together. We actually had one last week, and we have our community partners come in, give presentations, updates on their services. [00:48:22] This past meeting, we had laws, Loudoun County Housing and Community Development, Crossroads Jobs, LCPS Attendance. They came and just give some professional development for our family liaisons. Additionally, we do orientations and onboarding, a training program for all of our new staff members to really ensure that they are equipped with resources and tools to support their families. [00:48:44] So it's an ongoing process of continuing to support them so that they can then in turn support their families. Thank you. Mr. Estreffi. Thank you, Madam Chair. I also want to echo the gratitude from my colleagues as well. [00:49:01] Thank you so much for the presentation. I've heard Natalie and Renee talk a lot about the two-way communication and the focus on that. So I want to appreciate also the focus on the data to drive the goals and towards removing the barriers to engagement, as you said. [00:49:21] Also want to echo Ms. Chernoff's comments around the family liaisons. I think one of the things that is very apparent in some of the schools that we visit is whenever you start talking about their family liaisons, they're very, you know, staff, administration, teachers, they're all very protective of their family liaisons. [00:49:38] They're, you know, loving on them very much, and they, in many cases, don't know how they would kind of survive as a school community without their family liaison. So just wanted to stress that as well. from my perspective, I have loved what I've seen very recently on the focus of making it easier for the business and community partners to engage with LCPS. I was, when I received that workbook at the last chamber event where Dr. Grubbs was speaking, where it had the checklist of all the things you can do if you decide to be a school business partner and how you can engage with LCPS, [00:50:15] think it's really something that I felt was missing and so even with folks that I know that I would love to just have be more active in our schools and supporting our schools sometimes it's still a sales pitch right and you can't just give them an email address and so having that checklist has been really valuable to me as well so and I know being on the school business partnership executive council liaison for the school board they are some of our biggest cheerleaders, you know, to the division. So yeah, thank you very much. The only question I have is maybe you can tell us a little bit about what we're doing to bring in more of these business [00:50:54] partners to the LCPS community, if there's any other tidbits beyond what you and I have discussed. Yes, one of the things that we're doing is just really about networking. It's about engaging with business partners. Every opportunity when you're out is about thinking about and having them think about here's how you can partner with LCPS. So I do think it is about pounding the pavement. I think it's leveraging our great partners in the Loudoun Chamber, Loudoun Economic Development, Leesburg Economic Development, expanding the scope of that work. One of the things in the last few years that [00:51:29] we've done is really expanded our environmental and agribusiness work and outreach that we've done and with Dr. Grubbs in the position as CTAE director. We have a nice symbiotic relationship, and there's great synergy there. [00:51:48] So if I find a business partner, I will connect that business partner to him, and he does the same with me, and sometimes we tackle those things together and have meetings together because it might be something that is work-based learning suited, And then it might be something where we had a business partner that said, look, I want to outfit a teacher workroom, and so how do I connect? [00:52:11] And so Mike and I have a really good relationship, and we try to leverage that. And then, of course, Christina Lee, our work-based learning coordinator, is fantastic. So that great synergy and partnership, I think, is what has really helped kind of expand those partnerships. Thank you. [00:52:27] So I had a few questions, and some of my colleagues have already asked some of the ones I had written down. And I'm also very appreciative for Ms. Chernoff's question and the thought that you've already put into providing support for our family liaison, since it does seem like the type of position that would lend itself to high risk of burnout and a lot of emotional strain. [00:52:54] So I was curious, you mentioned that some of them are part-time, and I was wondering if for the part-time family liaisons, if they are split between different schools or split between different jobs or part-time employees or how that works. Sure, thank you. So that's a great question. It really depends. We do have a family liaison at each school, as I mentioned previously. The majority of the family liaisons work at just one singular school. We do have a handful that work at multiple schools, but they are specific jobs to that individual school. So if a family liaison is part-time and they would like to work at two individual schools, they would need to apply for both positions, be hired into both positions. [00:53:33] So it is part-time, and the hours vary depending on the total enrollment of the school population, as well as some funding for schools with high numbers of EL students and high numbers of students experiencing economic challenges as well. [00:53:50] And some of them do work other positions. We have some family liaisons who are also health clinic specialists. We have a lot who are also substitutes. So they're very much ingrained in the LCPS community, so it just depends on the individual. Thank you. Thank you. My kids' elementary school a couple years ago had a new subdivision opened up within the attendance zone. So it increased the overall population of the school, but decreased the percentage of free and reduced lunch students, EL students, etc. And our school went from having a full-time family liaison to a part-time family liaison, which I understand has been a bit of a [00:54:28] challenge for them because, as the principal said to me at the time, their needs didn't change. needs for the administration didn't change of that school so and I was wondering is the are they part of the mental health team because there's I can I can see both ways why perhaps they would be but perhaps they wouldn't be because there's certainly some overlap with the subject area so I think generally speaking in most of our schools they're kind of seen as advisors to the UMHT's you know the UMHT members are the experts with mental health our family liaisons are not and we make that very clear to our staff members in that position. They're really there to help with navigating resources and connections, [00:55:08] but they're not the experts in the mental health field. But there's so much synergy and cross collaboration between our UMH team members and our family liaisons. Cross referrals happen all the time when, you know, maybe a family liaison is working with a parent or a student and things kind of, you know, cross over into the mental health realm where they'll refer to their school counselor, school social worker, et cetera, and then vice versa. Our UMH team members may be working with a family or a student on an issue and it comes up that there's a lot of needs within the household so they'll connect with the family liaison so I would say that they're they're really great working partnership and [00:55:43] relationship and my other question do the family liaisons provide support for parent-teacher conferences or is there linguistic support for parent-teacher conferences when needed yes so we absolutely provide linguistic support for parent-teacher conferences through the variety of different services that I mentioned, either in-person interpreters. We utilize our technology services for parent-teacher conferences quite a bit for parent-teacher conferences because they're typically all happening at the same time in all the same schools. So there's quite a demand. So we use our on-demand remote interpretation and our language line service very often. Family [00:56:23] liaisons will typically help with making sure that parents know about conferences, making sure that they understand how to sign up for a conference, and providing that language support logistically if needed as well thank you board members any additional questions or comments thank you very much ms allen ms dawson ms boys thank you so as it is not quite yet 5 30 we are going to move ahead to item number 10 on our agenda if that is agreeable to you dr spence [00:57:01] and have these here the superintendent's report yes ma'am happy to be able to do that and thank you for the opportunity it's always my pleasure to be able to share some good news around our school division. So tonight I will begin by reminding our families that the annual family survey launched on February 24th. We want to encourage all of parents and guardians to take a few moments to share their feedback. Your input is invaluable. It helps schools celebrate what's working well and identify areas for improvement as we work together to better support our students [00:57:35] and our families. To learn more, visit the website shown on this slide and please complete the survey by Friday, March 21st. Remember, your voice matters, and thank you for helping us make LCPS even better. Next, more than 260 peer students and 40 peer sponsors, school social workers, and school counselors gathered for the annual peer conference on March 5th to connect, share information, and brainstorm ideas. The conference spotlighted the impact of mentoring. [00:58:07] In a panel presentation, high school students who are mentors, elementary students who have benefited from mentoring, and a postgraduate student who draws on her high school mentoring experience in her professional life shared what they enjoy and gain from mentoring. In addition, students and staff from Freedom, Riverside, Light Ridge, and Broad Run High Schools presented information-packed mini-workshops sharing mentoring tips and strategies to promote inclusion, respect, and kindness in the mentoring process. PEER, which stands for Positive Experiences in Educational [00:58:40] relationships, is a specialized LCPS high school class designed to develop mentoring skills and teach students how to assist their classmates emotionally, socially, and academically. Last week, LCPS joined a global movement to celebrate Social and Emotional Learning, or SEL Day. Since its inception in 2020, SEL Day has grown into a worldwide campaign that reinforces the critical role social and emotional learning plays in supporting academic recovery, mental health, and overall well-being. Here in LCPS, we take this commitment to heart, and each year, [00:59:20] our dedicated staff leads a week-long initiative packed with resources, lessons, and opportunities for students to apply their learning both inside and outside the classroom. This year, our SEL Day supports spanned all grade levels and featured videos with insights from our business partners on the soft skills essential for success in life and work, noting that these soft skills are social and emotional skills. I want to extend my gratitude to our SEL and communications team for their collaboration on this project and to the business partners who generously shared [00:59:55] their time and expertise. I'm confident their contributions will have a lasting impact on our students, and if you'd like to view these videos, please visit the website on this slide. Next, I'd like to shout out Simpson Middle School, where the students aren't just learning about space, they're exploring it. [01:00:18] With the support of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 8th grade students built cone-shaped horn telescopes to detect radio waves from the Milky Way galaxy. This hands-on project brought science, engineering, and real-world discovery to life, showing students how astronomers use radio waves to study space. [01:00:39] And finally, in celebration of Career and Technical Education Month in February, school board members, members of the LCPS leadership team, and I visited CTE classes at Light Ridge High School. This visit showcased the innovative programs and dynamic learning taking place in CTE classrooms, not just at Light Ridge, but across our school division. [01:01:02] During our visit, we tried our hands at some of the career focused activities that students engage with daily, including making pizzas with the culinary class and attempting an engineering challenge with the engineering design class. And I use the word attempting loosely in my case. [01:01:20] We also had the opportunity to hear from the students about their experiences and achievements in CTE classes. We know that CTE classes help students develop technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and industry-specific knowledge, preparing them for life after LCPS, and it is appropriate we celebrate the hard work of our CTE staff and students this month. [01:01:46] Madam Vice Chair, that concludes my report. Thank you very much, Dr. Spence. And with that, we will skip ahead to item 13.01, our first information item on Specialized Programs and Centers Committee. [01:02:05] And I will turn it over to Dr. Rashid. Thank you, Chair Mansfield. This is a long-awaited discussion that's been going on in Special Programs and Centers Committee. [01:02:24] And it's been a while, and we're really proud to bring this forward. and I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Slevin to give the details of it. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Rasheed and Chair Donoghue and board members, Dr. Spence, for an opportunity this evening to present an update on the development of the Academy of Global and Linguistic Studies. [01:02:55] I'm joined tonight by members of the team that have been instrumental in the development of this program, and so I'd just like to give them an opportunity to quickly introduce themselves. Hi, good evening. Katie Clark, Director of Academic Programs. Hi, I'm Kelly James, Supervisor of World Languages and Cultures. [01:03:17] Good evening. I'm Danielle Graham. I'm the Supervisor of Social Science and Global Studies. So as indicated by Dr. Rasheed, this information item has been presented at the Special Programs and Centers Committee as an information item. [01:03:34] And at the most recent meeting of that committee, it was recommended to be forwarded to the full board for consideration. Our policy related to special program requires board approval for proposals for new academies. And so this item will come back to the full board as an action item at a future meeting. [01:03:53] So today we're going to take the opportunity to give you an overview of the program and have an opportunity for discussion and questions at the end of that time. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Ms. Clark, our Director of Academic Programs. Thank you, Mr. Slevin. Tonight, we just want to share a quick overview of our newest proposed program, the Academy of Global and Linguistic Studies. [01:04:17] This will provide an opportunity for students to become globally-minded problem solvers through meaningful engagement in the sphere of international relations and high-need languages to tackle current and future global challenges within the academic framework. [01:04:33] The program will offer two career-focused pathways with a paired language with the potential for expansion to additional languages. Our two pathways are global leadership pathway with Arabic partial immersion and the global business pathway with the Chinese partial immersion. [01:04:54] Both pathways will focus on the language proficiency, cultural competence, global problem-solving skills, and academic excellence. This academy will be housed at one LCPS host site to be determined. Next slide. [01:05:12] Here you'll see two pieces of data that we wanted to share with you. The top chart shows that there are several special, we know there are several special program options in high school for students pursuing careers in STEM. Opportunities for students pursuing careers in the humanities are currently limited. [01:05:32] In 2022, the LCPS Curriculum and Instruction Committee wanted to determine student and parent interests and preferences in languages offered in LCPS. As you can see, Arabic and Japanese were among the top choices. [01:05:49] Currently, Arabic is not offered in LCPS, and Chinese is only offered at two high schools. The National Security Language Initiative has identified Arabic and Chinese as two of the most important languages for government and military work. [01:06:06] In the bottom chart, in 2022, families were surveyed on potential special programs that LCPS could offer in the future. While an International Global Studies Special Program was not on the list of possibilities, a Civic Leadership Academy was listed as a potential program and gained significant interest. [01:06:27] Now I'll turn it over to Kelly James for our next section. Thank you. As we look to expand our World Language course offerings to students in LCPS, this chart shows a comparison of districts and the world languages that are available to students in person at the middle and high school level. [01:06:48] The bold languages are those that are less commonly taught. In LCPS, Chinese is offered at two schools, and Russian is offered at one. The Academy of Global and Linguistic Studies would enrich the languages offered to students in LCPS with an addition of Arabic and expansion of Chinese. [01:07:06] So what makes this program unique? We did extensive research and gathered feedback from industry professionals as well as community. And one of the things we feel that really makes this unique is our proximity to D.C. [01:07:22] with a program that is really focused on international relations and global business. Our proximity to D.C. makes it an ideal location for access to resources, opportunities for students to engage with embassies, government agencies, global businesses, and provide unique learning experiences. [01:07:40] And Ms. James actually has a quote from one of our community members about that. We received a letter of support from the Executive Director of Loudoun Economic Development who confirmed both the need and opportunity for a program like this situated in Loudoun County, home of Dulles International Airport, and an international business community within 30 miles of Washington, D.C. International business is a cornerstone of the Loudoun business community, attracting more than 122 top international companies seeking entry into the U.S. market and creating more than 4,000 jobs. Another thing that makes this unique is the opportunity to [01:08:19] expand national security languages and focus on those critical language skills for national security. And one of the other pieces is really that career focus. We took a look at academies across the state and across the country, and while a lot of them focus on global citizenship, many of them did not focus on a specific career pathway as this does. So we received positive feedback and support from a chief member of the language group in the National Intelligence Agency who stated that it would be an outstanding program that would help business build the language skills, regional knowledge, and domain specific expertise that we need for a national [01:08:55] security workforce in our business and financial communities. And while the budget will be discussed on a future slide, it's also cost effective and then really gives Loudon an opportunity to be a pioneer. This is really unique to the state, to the country, in its combination of language acquisition with other content areas and our interdisciplinary approach as well. So the goals and objectives is really to empower those students to become global citizens and effective problem solvers by providing that immersive educational experience in international relations [01:09:33] along with fostering multilingual proficiency. There will be things to develop cultural understanding and then even a technological adeptness component to it to address contemporary global challenges. Our objectives will be language proficiency, cultural competence, global problem-solving skills, and interdisciplinary academic excellence. Language learning leads to cross-cultural understanding, and this opportunity will provide students with the ability to collaborate and communicate with people from diverse backgrounds, as well as the confidence to engage in global communities to take part in the global economy and international workforce that is becoming [01:10:13] increasingly culturally diverse. This slide shows a timeline for implementation for this program. As you can see, in this current school year would be the program and budget approval. Next year would be our planning year. During the 26-27 school year would be year one implementation where we would have ninth grade students enrolled. And then in the 27-28 would be year two implementation. [01:10:47] So when we look at program capacity, we're looking from ninth to 12th grade, a total of 400 students in the program. The program would have two pathways. So the first one being global leadership. This would have partial immersion in Arabic for about 25% of the school day. And then when the If students hit junior year, they would have dual enrollment international relations courses in introductory and conflict and cooperation. [01:11:13] And this pathway is really designed to help students prepare for roles in State Department, Homeland Security, National Intelligence Agencies, and Diplomatic Affairs. Pathway 2, global business, has a partial immersion in Chinese for 25% of the school day. [01:11:29] And when they hit their junior-senior year, they'll take dual enrollment economics and entrepreneurship courses. And this pathway is really to help students for roles in global businesses and multinational corporations. [01:11:45] This slide shows an estimated budget for the full implementation over those five years including that first year of planning. As mentioned, it would be 400 students enrolled. There would be a total of four FTEs and on the next slide we will dive into a little more detailed budget. [01:12:05] So here you'll see over the course of the next four years what the cost. would be for those items listed. So for the coordinator position, the content specialist, the staffing, and you'll notice there, English learner and special education staffing would be assigned based on that student enrollment. [01:12:26] We have some costs for consumables, curriculum development, some technology and software needs, assessments, and then that dual enrollment credentialing. Again, that is for the teaching and learning portion of the budget for this program. And another thing we find particularly exciting about this program is the opportunity to expand our students' opportunities. I know several of you attended the Loudoun International Summit or some of the events surrounding the summit last year, and this could provide an opportunity to expand it. The coordinator and specialist would be able to promote global education not just for [01:13:03] the summit, but across schools, helping with exchanges, internships, field trips, and curriculum enrichment and really just weaving into the fabric this global education. So with that we are happy to take any feedback or answer questions. I think Ms. Graham's last point related to the International Youth Summit is a good one. First we would love to invite you to that and there'll be forthcoming information to the board where there may be some opportune times to join that event. But what excites me most about this academy is in many ways it is school grown. We have seen a lot of teacher [01:13:43] leadership and the development of our approach to international education and LCPS and this program is really the result of the culture that many of the teachers in our high schools have built so happy to take any feedback or answer any questions dr. we see I'll turn it back to you yeah I think that especially I think it was I forgot what slide number it was with the table with the other counties were offering versus what you know we're offering and I like the fact that we are expanding if not even more but I have no questions I just can't wait to put this in further motion. I'll give back to Chair Donnie. Vice Chair. Vice Chair. [01:14:22] I thought for today, for today, acting. Okay, that's too long. So, yeah. Thank you very much, Mr. Slevin, and to your team. This is an incredibly exciting proposal. I was a language major in college. I loved studying languages. It took eight years of German, three years of Latin, and a year of Ancient Greek, and I'm incredibly excited about these forthcoming opportunities for our students. I'm really supportive and enthusiastic and grateful that you all have put all this work together into this proposal, and I'm especially excited that it's so staff-driven [01:15:01] and internally driven. I did have a couple of questions. So one of your slides mentioned internship opportunities and things like that. Do we do study abroad here or would we want to do study abroad here? I feel like this is maybe a question I should already know the answer to but I don't. So not study abroad like you would see in like a college campus but we do have lots of exchanges that occur and very similar to what Mr. Slavin was saying they're very grassroots like some of our language teachers and social studies teachers have our students [01:15:37] participate in exchanges in Singapore and actually the summit has led to a lot of exchanges where the students will come here and then a group of our students will go over there for a similar event and so that is in that sense yes and we're hoping to kind of formalize that a little more so that it's not just no random yeah oh that's great those are amazing experiences and the best way to learn the language right so where would this program be with you you're calling it an academy would it be at academies or would it be at other high schools the presentation mentioned sites so is there going to be more than [01:16:13] one so this would be an expansion of a special program I would put it for a frame of reference thinking about think of it as another Health and Medical Science Academy for Global Linguistic Studies Academy or our approach to IB so miss Clark could give more details but essentially we are at the same time we're working with you all to get feedback and approval for the proposal we're also doing outreach to our school leadership teams to say hey do you have an interest in hosting this program at your school so the quick answer is it would be hosted at one of our high schools and there are a number of factors [01:16:49] that determine whether how we would come about that recommendation but that is happening over the next few months and traditionally that process has been managed through the special programs and centers committee so working with Dr. Rasheed and committee members we would bring a recommendation to that committee for the placement because in the fall we would start advertising so can you speak a little bit about some of the things that go into consideration for placement absolutely you did a great job but just to add on as mr slevin stated we will hold principal information sessions for the high school principals and then our committee will look at they'll fill out a survey if they're interested [01:17:29] and why their school is interested so we really look at the alignment with the community survey that we did the building leadership so that interest survey will look at building capacity do they have the room for a program at their school and then we'll also look at transportation so a committee will come together all of those schools that submit interest the committee will look at that and then have a recommendation thank you dr. Deans do we have the capability of knowing if a school has a higher percentage of students from these two [01:18:07] languages versus other languages don't do we have that we have that capability right you did you raise your question of the interest in the languages no the numbers of families that are in the school that might have this language as there as their basic language I believe we if we would be able to access that information through the student information system yes might that be a [01:18:42] consideration as to where it would go that would allow the immersion piece soon by getting the family community team to likely would be one of the one of the purposes of having the principal go school leadership team really go through the reflection reflective exercise of putting in an application is that it makes sense for their community like we wouldn't want a principal likely wouldn't drawn to applying for this Academy if their community didn't share kind of aspirationally some of the goals of the Academy and I would imagine that would [01:19:20] fit into that process that the school leadership team would go on but I think that's a good point for us to consider yeah and the the governmental agencies that could use this group of students that we're growing there would be some opportunity for mentorships from them as well right how have you explored some of those agencies yes we have begun that process and um as miss james read one of the quotes as well there is seems to be interest so we are really excited to explore the opportunities for our students here [01:20:00] and and provide some different different types of opportunities for them miss chandler thank you miss donahue um thank you so much for the presentation i i will say um i don't feel any hesitancy about it although I always sort of come back to the idea of the buses are so hard but this is really a unique opportunity that we have access to the federal government just about any corporation that exists in the world it has a presence in this county and to hear that the Latin economic [01:20:38] development has actually taken the step of endorsing for lack of a better word this program, I do feel very excited. It's that access to DC piece that's so unique. And, you know, I think it's a good fit for our very diverse community. And I could imagine as things progress, even expanding it into different languages. Like Ms. Donahue, I enjoyed studying languages too and studied French and Japanese throughout my education, although I wish I had [01:21:13] something to show for that at this stage in my life. But more than anything, I think what I gained from it was an appreciation for the cultures and an openness to people who are different than me. And that's something that's just a natural fit for Loudoun County, because of course, we're full of students who are, you know, representing all the countries in the world. [01:21:36] That said, I will say I did attend the International Summit last year, and it was an amazing experience to see all of the students who came from other countries to visit Loudoun County and to see what unique connections they were able to make with our students. [01:21:56] And even though it isn't necessarily connected, in Algonquian District there have been lots of international exchanges. We've had French Exchange students at Potomac Falls just last week, and it was a great experience for even the students who didn't have exchange students staying in their home. [01:22:13] So I'm pleased to see all of these opportunities, and I'm curious if you could share what other divisions and school districts nationwide have similar programs. Do you want to speak to that, Ms. Clark? [01:22:31] Yeah, I'll start off, and then Ms. James and Ms. Graham can add in as well. There are similar programs, but nothing quite like what these two ladies have put together in this proposal. So we have researched across Virginia, but outside of Virginia, we have visited other schools that have similar programs, but I'll let them speak as well how this one will be unique. [01:23:01] I think one way that this program is unique and doesn't exist anywhere else is the career focus that comes with this, as well as the interdisciplinary academic approach. Yeah, we, when we did our research, there were some programs that were similar in a focus on global citizenship, but not so much that career focus of how are we putting students in careers or giving Loudoun students an edge when they're looking to go into these fields. [01:23:31] And so there are some that, like I said, tend to focus more on are they taking a couple languages or something along those lines, but not with the career focus of this. So specifically, Ms. Chandler, there is an academy that we've consulted with in Prince William County, and there's also a school in New Jersey that we're modeling some of the early thinking on, and that we've connected with them, and Virginia Beach. [01:23:54] So specifically, those are some of the schools that we've done some research on. Thank you. That's great context. And it definitely resonates with me, that career pathway, which is so important. So thank you for the information. Ms. LeBell. [01:24:11] Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the presentation. I love cultures, I love studying languages, and I love travel and learning more about them. And I really love the fact that it's connected to CTE. I do have a question, however. You do require a student performance at the end of every year, and you related it to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. [01:24:36] Are the students going to talk about it? Do they present something? How does that assessment work? So it'll be a project-based assessment, and it'll be similar to, for those of you that have attended the international summit, where students are looking at how are they tackling these global issues within their community. [01:24:56] It might take a variety of forms. We have not ironed out whether there will be a presentation component. I think that's something we're definitely open to exploring. But that was one of the big pieces, is it might take several forms based on the students' talents and where they may want to take that project. [01:25:11] And would this presentation or assessment be in the target language? Potentially. They'll be taking annual assessments to measure their language growth and proficiency, but that will be a separate assessment from the Global Connections Project. [01:25:30] Thank you. I had one more question. Have you all discussed or reached out to local universities to look at any kind of partnerships with them to support the program? [01:25:46] And if so, can you talk a little bit about that? So we have started conversations. George Mason University has a unique conflict and cooperation program. So they were talking about how they might support that not only within the curriculum, but they also have opportunities over the summer and other summits students may participate in. [01:26:05] So that is one of the ones we've started to explore, but we've worked with our supervisor of academic programs to look into other universities that might work with us for not only the dual enrollment social science courses, but also language courses. [01:26:24] Fantastic. Very exciting. Fellow board members, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair for today. I'm sorry I'm late, but I did have a question when I was looking over the proposal. I didn't see transportation costs listed. [01:26:43] As you know, we have issues with transportation. We have transportation for other programs. So I'm looking for details on transportation as soon as possible. Thank you. So transportation costs would be contingent on site location, and that would be impacting routing and pickup locations and drop-off locations. [01:27:07] So we don't have that information in this presentation right now. I think that'll be vital because we have hubs for other programs where students get picked up and dropped off. So that'll need to be clarified. [01:27:23] Okay, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Sullivan, and thank you to the team for the presentation. And with that, the board will be in recess until 6.30. [01:59:44] All right. Good evening and welcome back, everyone. The board is coming out of recess at this time. We will move on to the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. The Heritage Guitar Ensemble is comprised of advanced and artist-level students. [02:00:04] Several have participated in the Pavan Regional Governor's School, and this year, four were selected for the All-Virginia Guitar Ensemble. The ensemble performed at the 2025 Yale University Guitar Extravaganza in February and received all superior ratings in the District 16 State Assessments on March 1st. [02:00:23] The Virginia Department of Education recently invited this ensemble to perform at the Virginia State Education Board meetings this coming August the 28th. Dr. Kevin Vigil holds degrees from Shenandoah University, Yale University, and the University of Memphis. [02:00:39] He joined the faculty of Heritage High School in 2005 to 2006. He was named the 2014 Shenandoah University Teacher of the Year for LCPS and presented with a Sir Winston Churchill commemorative crown by Churchill Fellow Helen Sanderson for his work in guitar education in 2017. [02:00:56] In 2020, Dr. V was chosen as the Joan C. Edwards Distinguished Professor in the Arts at Marshall University. He currently serves as Vice President for the Virginia Guitar Directors Association and is the Chair for the National Association for Music Education Council for Guitar Education. [02:01:14] We are pleased to have with us from Heritage High School the Guitar Ensemble. Thank you. [02:03:21] Thank you very much, Dr. V. Thank you, students, for sharing your gift with us. We will now move on to item number eight on our agenda. [02:03:37] student staff recognitions. First, we would like to turn to tonight's first recognition. We will turn to Ms. LaBelle, the Catoctin District School Board member, and to the acting principal, Dr. Mike Martin of Mountain View Elementary School, who will be presenting the first recognition award. [02:03:54] Thank you, Madam Chair. Tonight, I have the distinct honor of recognizing two exceptional educators whose quick thinking, deep care for their students, an unwavering commitment to the profession and to the Mountain View Elementary School community made a life-changing impact. [02:04:23] At this time, I would like to ask Ms. Madison Boyd, a second grade teacher in her third year of teaching, and Mrs. Jessica Koren, a special education teacher with more than 20 years in education, 14 of which have been with LCPS, to join me at the podium. [02:05:20] when they notice something unusual about one of their students. [02:05:37] During a busy school day, Ms. Boyd and Ms. Corham observed subtle yet concerning changes in a child's demeanor and expression, signs that something wasn't just right. Their deep understanding of their students, paired with their training and instincts, led them to act immediately in a way that profoundly impacted her life. [02:06:07] Ms. Boyd and Ms. Coram quickly alerted the school nurse, who then reached out to the student's parents. Thanks to their response, the student was taken to the hospital, where the doctors diagnosed the child with absent seizures. Further testing revealed a brain tumor because of Ms. Boyd and Ms. Coram and the dedication and professionalism that they have displayed. [02:06:37] Their ability to recognize early signs of distress and respond with calm urgency exemplifies the critical role educators play, not only in academics, but in the overall well-being of the students. Their actions quite possibly saved a life and reinforced deep and meaningful connections by teachers built with their students. [02:07:02] Because of Ms. Boyd and Mr. Coram's keen awareness and quick action, the student received the urgent medical attention he needed, underwent surgery, and is now recovering. Ms. Boyd and Ms. Coram, your commitment to your students and your unwavering compassion reflect the very best of Leiden County Public Schools. [02:07:25] It is with great admiration that we recognize your heroic actions and dedication to the well-being of our students. Could we have Mr. Martin, your principal, also join us? He has a few words to say. Yes, I do. With enthusiasm. [02:07:43] Yes, with enthusiasm. First of all, I would like to thank the school board for taking this time to honor these two deserving and really such caring educators that we have. According to research, this won't take long. [02:08:03] The typical teacher makes 1,500 decisions every day. That's an average of four decisions per minute. And tonight, Maddie and Jesse are being recognized because as they're in the middle of making 1,500 decisions, well, 3,000 if you count down too, right? [02:08:25] They made a potentially life-saving decision to make sure that they reported what they saw in that student who was exhibiting some unusual behaviors in the classroom. They are warm-hearted, concerned educators who take the safety and well-being of their students very seriously and take it to heart. [02:08:48] They are truly kind and humble public servants. The type of teachers, they typify the type of teacher that we wish for our children and for our grandchildren. My grandchildren. The award they're receiving this evening is inscribed as follows. [02:09:04] In recognition of exceptional care and dedication to students, presented to Maddie Boyd, Madison Boyd, and Jessica Coren by the Loudoun County School Board for your unwavering commitment to your students, demonstrating excellence in education. [02:09:20] Your impact is truly appreciated. And I've got Deanna Eppel, our Dean, and Brad Tuho, our AP, with the awards. [02:10:25] Next, we will welcome Sarah Boyes, Supervisor of Outreach Services, [02:11:26] Jeff Joseph, Principal of Dominion Trail Elementary School, and Jane Kennedy, the Family Liaison at Dominion Trail Elementary School. Once again, I'm the Services Manager of Family and Community Engagement. [02:11:49] Thank you very much for the opportunity to share with you the great work of our family liaisons across the division, spotlighting the amazing family liaison at Dominion Trail Elementary School. next slide please as we mentioned earlier in tonight's meeting our family liaisons main goal is to be the bridge between our families our schools and the broader loudon county community we have a family liaison in each one of our buildings who serve all families but who focus on those with higher needs family liaisons connect parents and families of our students with a wide array of generous non-profits faith-based organizations and government agencies within [02:12:27] our community that can help with things like food housing health care clothing employment etc The goal is for our students to have their basic needs met at home so that they may come to school ready to learn and thrive academically. Additionally, our family liaisons help parents and families engage with their school and be meaningful participants in their child's education by helping them navigate school and division technology, opportunities, and resources. [02:12:53] Next slide, please. To give a brief snapshot of the work that our family liaisons do on a daily basis, this slide shows data from December of 2024. Our family liaisons across the division provided direct assistance to families through weekend meal bags, on-campus food pantries, winter coats, holiday meals, and holiday gifts. [02:13:15] They also made referrals and connections to resources in our community that provide assistance with food, clothing, health care, housing, utilities, employment, and literacy. Family liaisons ensured that parents were engaged with the LCPS community by assisting them with applying for free and reduced meal applications, McKinney Vento services, after-school clubs and activities, fee waivers, internet assistance, and welcoming them to a variety of family engagement events within their school buildings. Next slide please. Our family liaison support goals one and four of the one LCPS strategic plan for excellence. Most notably goal 1.3 [02:13:54] prioritize care for students by ensuring a safe and affirming learning environment for all. And goal 4.1, deepen family engagement by offering inclusive opportunities for a conversation across the division. Next slide. It is now my pleasure to turn it over to the principal and family liaison of Dominion Trail Elementary School, Mr. Jeff Joseph and Ms. Jane Kennedy, for you to see the incredible work of our family liaisons in action. [02:14:21] All right, thank you very much. My name is Jeff Joseph. I have the honor of being the principal at Dominion Trail Elementary. I don't know if the school board has learned their lesson or not, but last time you gave me this microphone, you gave me 30 seconds, and I took 6 minutes and 43 seconds. [02:14:42] So I've learned my lesson. It will not be that long. As you can tell from the slide, our school is a typical elementary school. One of the things that sticks us apart from a lot of others is we have a large amount of diversity, and I'm very proud of that diversity that's at our school. [02:14:58] I have four children in the county that have gone through county schools. three of them are still in it, and I'm proud to bring them to our school because our school looks like the real world. And when you come to Dominion Trail Elementary, one of the things that we focus on is family engagement. We have a big seal right in front of our office that reads where families come together, and the person I'm going to introduce to you literally puts that into action with everything she does for us, for our teachers, for our students, and our families in our community. So the star of our show and our wonderful, wonderful family liaison, Jane Kennedy. [02:15:38] Thank you, Sarah. Thank you, Mr. Joseph. And thank you to the board and Dr. Spence for inviting me to speak this evening. If I could have the next slide, please. At Dominion Trail, we empower students by providing families with the support that they need to make sure their students can focus on school. So if you see in the pictures, we offer food assistance programs. We have a food pantry that I open every week, and just yesterday I welcomed 18 families and I served over 53 children shared between those families. We send home weekly meal bags to 135 students. [02:16:16] There's some overlap between the pantry and the meal bags and others are only getting the meal bags. Both of those are provided by Ludden Education Foundation's fueled program. They help us out a lot. We also help families by referring them to a lot of hunger relief and bridge feeds. I could have the next slide. Sorry, I need to go back to the previous slide. [02:16:42] My bad. We also host yearly giveaways. In the fall, we do our coats, shoes, and Halloween costumes giveaway. You see the picture on the top right. That's a pretty popular one. A lot of kids going home with Halloween costumes. We refer to community partners like Women Giving Back and Good Shepherd Alliance for Clothes. As Sarah said earlier, we refer families to services like the McKinney-Vento program and Loudoun Cares, Loudoun Community Assistance. [02:17:12] At the holidays, we have a lot of work to do for Thanksgiving. We partnered with Loudoun Hunger Relief and we sent home last year 60 meals to families in need. Over the holidays, We ran a holiday gift drive for our school's neediest children. [02:17:30] And in 2024, just within our community, we sourced 133 gifts for children in our school. Also you can see the picture of the bike. In 2022, we were selected to be one of the schools to get 15 bikes to give to our neediest families who might not otherwise be able to get them. [02:17:49] May I have the next slide, please? So we also build engagement at our school. And we do that with lots of programs. We are the Huskies, so we have our PAC leaders program where we invite parents into the building to spend the day in their children's classroom, get to know the school, they volunteer. [02:18:09] My husband was there just yesterday with my kids and he was a cafeteria worker, he helped sort my lost and found, he helped stock my pantry, he was in classrooms, worked with special needs kids and because he's Spanish speaking was able to make some connections that sometimes are harder for kids to make with their with the staff. So it was really it's a special program, very popular. We also have a two-day event each spring where families can come and have breakfast with their kids. That's our donuts for the pack. We run our Parents as Educational Partners program, PEP, for [02:18:48] international families so they can learn about the US school system, get to know our school and learn how they can really get engaged at school. We also coordinate with our PTA, our wonderful PTA, who put on such great events. I think if you go to the next slide you'll see pictures of our Monster Mash and some of our PTA events that are really popular. And there you'll see Ms. Jennifer Fenner from Celebrity School. She's partnered with us to provide transportation for some of the families who aren't able to come to our events. So you may notice I've been saying "we" this whole time and it's because these [02:19:28] activities would not be possible without the help of our school, front office ladies, our custodians, our staff, our PTA, FUELD, Sarah Boyes, all the folks who help us out and especially our dynamic duo, our award-winning team of Mr. Joseph and Ms. Lewis who really engage and support my activities and finally I just want to point out that I am hardly representative of the family liaisons here in Loudoun County I'm one well-meaning white lady but we are a very diverse group of mostly women who [02:20:06] represent the ethnic linguistic and economic diversity of Loudoun County and like those ladies to who are here to wave hi show them you're here these are our family liaisons. So, Loudoun County is the wealthiest county in the nation, and yet right in the middle of Ashburn, we have a Title I school. That means over 50% of our children need free and reduced meals. And just this morning, a father came to me to tell me that they just got a five-day [02:20:44] pay-or-quit notice to leave their apartment. And this is a man who has never been without a job in his entire life. And what was the situation right now? His government-adjacent job was taken away, and he is now unemployed. [02:21:01] And he doesn't know, as of tomorrow night, where his two Dominion Trail students, where his younger child and where his pregnant wife are going to sleep. And so I beg that those of us here who can and who have a voice, use it, please, so that we can ensure we can build a safety net to help all of these families thrive in Loudoun County so that it is not just the wealthiest county, but also the richest county in this country. [02:21:41] Thank you very much. [02:21:51] Thank you all so much. Thank you, Jane and Mr. Joseph, for being here. And it's very evident, as I mentioned earlier, the heart work that goes into this role for family liaison. So we appreciate you giving the opportunity to shine our unsung heroes of LCPS this evening. [02:22:11] Thank you. Thank you very much, Ms. Boyce. Thank you to your guests. Thank you for all the work that you do to support our community. My fellow board members, do you have questions or comments? Ms. Chernoff. [02:22:28] Thank you. There was an ask earlier because we had a presentation that kind of outlined in more detail about the work that you all do, our family liaisons. And I echo what Ms. Boyce said. You are unsung heroes. You do so much. You meet so many individual needs. I used to work in Title I schools here in Loudoun County, and I know firsthand just how many gaps you are filling. [02:22:50] And so we say thank you. We see you. If we can do anything to further support you, I know you have a great team that's in your corner. but um we really we really see the love that you have for the families of loudon county and that goes for all of you that are here tonight and are listening um so i just wanted to make sure that we said that we said it earlier but you weren't here so we're saying it again um and uh it's just it's [02:23:16] unbelievable and clearly impacting all of you at a deep level so we really do thank you and now we will move on to item number nine on our agenda which is the introduction of our student school board representatives. Tonight, we have the pleasure of having two student representatives with us. The first student I would like to introduce is Joseph Adeshoye, a dedicated student and leader at Parkview High School. As captain of both the baseball and wrestling [02:23:55] teams, he demonstrates outstanding athleticism and teamwork. Joseph is also an active member of the football team, showcasing his versatility as an athlete. He has been involved with the Student Council Association for four years, serving as an officer for two of those years, and is currently the SCA president. [02:24:13] Additionally, Joseph holds the position of treasurer for the National Honor Society, reflecting his commitment to academics and leadership. Throughout his high school career, he has maintained excellent grades, exemplifying his dedication to success both inside and outside the classroom. Welcome to the dais, Mr. Adeshoye. The floor is yours. [02:24:35] Good evening, everyone. My name is Joseph Adeshoye, a proud senior at Parkview High School. I'm thrilled to share that I've been accepted to several colleges, with my top choice being the esteemed Penn State University. As I look back on this year, I'm filled with pride for the remarkable achievements and positive changes happening at Parkview. [02:24:56] We began the year with a significant step forward, the commencement of construction on our new school building in September. While this meant temporary changes such as the removal of our football, baseball, and softball fields, it also brought improvements. A brand new parking lot was constructed in front of the school, alleviating congestion and providing much-needed parking for our students. [02:25:18] One thing that really makes me proud to be a Parkview Patriot is our school spirit. This spirit truly shone bright during our recent Spirit Week. Every year, we raise funds towards a chosen charity. This year was dedicated to raising funds for a cause close to our hearts, Morgan's Message, a vital mental health charity supporting student-athletes. [02:25:42] Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, we raised an impressive $2,684.10. In November, we reimagined our annual food drive, food can drive, transforming it into the lively Pie a Patriot event. [02:25:58] Instead of a single teacher dressing up as a turkey, each grade level competed to collect the most cans. The top student or teacher from each grade level faced a good-natured pieing at our winter pep rally. This fun twist resulted in over 700 cans being donated to our local food pantry, demonstrating our commitment to serving our community. [02:26:20] December brought the heartwarming Breakfast with Santa, where we welcomed over 600 families. Our clubs and sports teams, including the National Honor Society and the wrestling team, volunteered as Santa's helpers, creating a magical experience for the children and distributing gifts. [02:26:39] Additionally, on February 20th, we celebrated the achievements of 12 deserving seniors at our winter graduation ceremony, marking a significant milestone in their academic journeys. Academically, we've also seen exceptional results. Our recent math SOL scores were outstanding, with a 100% pass rate among seniors and an overall algebra pass rate of 92%. [02:27:02] This speaks to the dedication of our students and the exceptional instruction provided by our teachers. The arts are also flourishing at Parkview. We currently are in the midst of rehearsals for our spring play, the ever-popular High School Musical, with opening night scheduled for April 24th. [02:27:20] We're excited to bring this energetic and beloved show to our community. Our forensics team, after strong showing as regional runner-ups last year, returned with even greater determination, securing first place at this year's regional competition. In athletics, we celebrated four state qualifiers, three from our wrestling team and one from our track and field team. [02:27:42] Two of those wrestlers achieved impressive placements, finishing fourth and fifth, while our track and field athlete qualified for the prestigious New Balance Nationals. Adding to our school's prominence, Parkview is honored to host the Virginia Student Council Association Conference on April 4th and 5th, bringing together student leaders from across the state. [02:28:04] Finally, we're thrilled to announce that Parkview has been designated as an international baccalaureate school within Loudoun County Public Schools. This prestigious program will provide our students with rigorous academic opportunities and a globally recognized diploma, preparing them for success in an increasingly interconnected world. [02:28:22] These are just a glimpse of many of the remarkable achievements and positive developments that have been made this year at Parkview High School. I would also like to give a great shout-out to our amazing principal, Dr. Jefferson, who's here in the crowd, and thank you for supporting me throughout this year. [02:28:38] Thank you, guys. [02:28:50] Thank you, Mr. Edesha-Yoye, for being here and for your comments. Our next student representative is Ava Welsh. She's a senior at Woodgrove High School, where she is the community service director on the executive board of the SCA and is also involved in field hockey, swimming, and theater. [02:29:07] She is honored to represent her wonderful school and would like to give a special thanks to Dr. William Shipp and Mr. Thomas Scott for entrusting her with this opportunity. Welcome, Ms. Welsh to the dais. The floor is yours. Thank you. With a beautiful campus and a picturesque view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Woodgrove High School has served our Western Loudoun community exceptionally well in the past 15 years. [02:29:33] Because of the environmental awareness and stewardship of its students, Woodgrove was recognized as a Virginia Naturally School by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. As a current senior Wolverine, I can say with confidence that my high school experience has been uniquely valuable thanks to the opportunities provided to me and my peers. [02:29:51] The 1,540 students get to attend a school every day with a faculty that is passionate about their subjects and love to teach. Under the guidance of our Activities and Engagement Coordinator, Mr. Shuddy, who was recently presented with the Smile Award for his efforts, there are over 70 clubs for students to join. [02:30:10] Over 900 students, which is nearly 75% of the student body at Woodgrove, are involved in at least one of these clubs. Some of our largest clubs include National Honor Society, DECA, and Fellowship Club. Some of our most unique clubs include Acoustic Jam Club, Neuroscience Club, and the Thriving Pickleball Club. [02:30:29] Our SCA is proud to reflect on the progress and fresh ideas this year has brought. We have implemented many new ways to encourage school spirit, increasing our annual amount of pep rallies from one to four. We have also brought back the Spirit Plate Award, an exciting year-long class contest after a decade of not having it, giving the student body various spirited competition opportunities to earn points for their grade. [02:30:53] Our Global Ambassadors and Minority Student Union Clubs collaborate year after year to bring the community together for one of Woodgrove's most valuable events: International Food Night. Students are encouraged to bring a dish that represent their culture, as well as participate in unique dances, games, and traditions. This past January, we had our most highly attended and successful one to date. There was literally not enough space in the cafeteria to hold all the the foods and guests. Next week we will be hosting our annual international summit where students from France, Italy, Poland, Estonia, Germany, and Ukraine will be visiting our school and staying [02:31:31] with some of our very own wolverines. This event will be attended by delegations from several of our colleague LCPS high schools and will encourage students to think globally and act locally as our global studies teacher Mr. Talbot would say. Woodgrove may be tucked away in rural western Loudon but we strive to connect with not just our community but also the world around us. The athletic department at Woodgrove is exceptional. Our girls basketball team has won the district championship for four consecutive years and went on to win the state championship in 2024. Our boys wrestling team has won back-to-back state championships during last season and [02:32:07] just around two weeks ago this season. The girls softball team has won the state championship for the last two consecutive years and thanks to the hard work of our unified PE class, Woodgrove High School has been presented with the Special Olympics Unified Champion School Banner. [02:32:23] Woodgrove is one of only nine schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia to receive this designation this year. The Fine Arts Department has offered many Wolverines a creative space for students to expand their minds and express themselves. The VHSL one-act competition piece Haters won first place in regionals this year. [02:32:40] Our spring musical Grease broke the school record for most tickets sold since opening in 2010. We are currently 15 days away from opening night of our Cappies musical Mamma Mia, which is being brought together by student-led music direction and choreography. [02:32:57] While the accolades Woodgrove has received are outstanding and well-deserved, it is the people in Woodgrove that make it a truly special place. As I move on to college, I will miss and remember fondly our news show, Wake Up Woodgrove, our choral program filling the foyer with their beautiful songs, and the school cheering louder than ever before when our unified basketball team hits the court. [02:33:18] Every day, we are reminded of our school motto, work, honor, strive. As Wolverines who are committed to making our school the best it can be, each day we work with integrity, honor ourselves and others, and strive for success. It is truly an honor to be here on behalf of my school, and I can say with utmost sincerity that these past four years have made me proud to be a Wolverine. [02:33:38] Thank you. - Thank you, Ms. Welsh, for being here and for your comments. And with that, we, having already heard the superintendent's report from Dr. Spence, we will move on to item number 11 on our agenda, public comment. [02:34:01] Thank you for engaging with the school board through the public comment process. The school board welcomes comments from Loudoun County residents and believes that strong community and engagement and outreach are important components of a successful school system. Speakers must limit comments to the time allotted. Based on the number of speakers and the agenda this evening, all speakers have been allotted one minute each for public comment. [02:34:21] Speakers who miss their time slot will not be called at a later time. All audience members shall maintain civility, decorum, and respect for the functioning and dignity of the school board at all times, and abide by the public comment procedures set forth in School Board Policy 2520, entitled Participation by the Public, and on the LCPS Citizen Participation website. [02:34:44] Those resources also provide information on the distribution of materials to school board members, given that under no circumstances may a speaker approach the dais. In accordance with School Board Policy 2520, speakers should refrain from vulgarity, obscenities, defamation, profanity, or other like breaches of civility, decorum, and respect. [02:35:04] Speakers also may not target, criticize, or attack individual students and or individual division employees during public comment or engage in conduct that otherwise disrupts or delays the meeting. inappropriately loud conversations or outbursts from those in attendance will not be tolerated security staff will be asked to restore order per school board policy 2520 when reasonable the chair will warn a speaker of breaches of decorum or of these rules prior to the chair Terminating speaking privileges or taking other action to preserve the civility decorum and orderly conduct of the meeting [02:35:39] Which could include but is not limited to the chair directing staff to remove the attendee from the remainder of the meeting and or the public comment being concluded for the evening. The public is reminded that access to school board meetings is available through LCPS-TV on Comcast Channel 18 and 1070 HD and Verizon Fios Channel 43. [02:35:59] The live stream of the meeting may be viewed on the website. We look forward to hearing your comments. We will begin as we always do with our virtual commenters. Our first speaker will be Magali Kalko, followed by Sue Weber. Good evening. My name is Magali Kalko. I'm a Loudoun Valley State 3 resident and a Rockridge High School parent. I am here to oppose the blue route of the Dominion Energy Golden to Mars project. The proposed line will be within 10 to 20 feet of our [02:36:38] schools, residents, and right above our school pathway to the school from our community. If you have been to our schools, they are buzzing with activities every day. I can't stress enough how concerning this is to the health of our children and our community and our residents. I live right by the tree line that separates us from the school campus, and it appears this tree line will be removed and replaced by giant monopoles. This is, there is simply no expectation of privacy left [02:37:15] either. This proposal is simply unacceptable. Thank you. Our next speaker is Sue Weber, followed by Raj Katapali. Good evening. Regarding Dominion Energy's Mars to Golden Project, I urge the board not to recommend any routes today. The board does not have the final route details from Dominion. The SEC filing is planned but has not occurred. Any decision today would be based on incomplete information. If the board moves forward, it raises a question. Is this decision [02:37:51] being pressured by outside influences? A premature recommendation could have unintended consequences. For example, opposing the blue route today could inadvertently support the green route, the closest to Rosalie Carter Elementary, which is also bad, prioritize student safety. I trust you take this responsibility seriously and should consider all facts before deciding. Please do not make a route recommendation today. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Raj Katapali, [02:38:26] followed by Trinh Vu. For Moner and Loud Valley 2 on Weber Square, where the Route 3 have proposed cold into mass transmission line would dangerously go close to my home and others in the community. [02:38:43] As a child to already within hyperactive immune system, I'm deeply concerned about the health risks and safety hazards of the placing high voltage power lines within 100 feet of my home and many others. This project will also cause economic harm to the families who build their lives here. It will fundamentally change the lives of our family and many others in the way that can ambient. This is not a question of Route 3 versus Route 4. I am here to respectfully urge the school board to oppose both Route 3 and Route 4 and to advocate the Dominion Energy to explore [02:39:18] the solutions that better protect all Loudoun County communities. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Our next speaker is Trinh Vu, followed by Omer Bhut. Can you hear me all right? Hi, my name is Trinh Vu. I'm the Vice President of Longton Valley Estate with over 3,000 [02:39:52] resident and we want to speak to you regarding the Dominion energy going to Mars high voltage transmission line project. I urge the board to oppose all Loudoun County Parkway route and insist Dominion genuinely pursue underground solution. Dominion abruptly dropped all the underground route in January and that limits us to what they're going to find in March with the SCC. Overhead line will reduce property value, increase health risk, and severely disrupt our community. Dominion knowingly choose a substation unsuitable for overhead line near [02:40:30] Dulles Airport, prioritize profit over community impact. We ask the board to strongly oppose all Latin County Parkway route, support route as a fallback, maintain pressure on Dominion for Thank you. Our next speaker is Omer Bhut, followed by Shreya Raval. [02:41:08] Hi, this is Omer Bhut. I am a resident of Loudoun Rally 2. I'm here to let you know that I oppose the current plans of Dominion Energy, and I suggest that the board selects between option four and option three, respectively, in preference. [02:41:29] there are the more suitable options for our community. Dominion Energy has plans to potentially put down 500 kilowatts gold into more transmission lines, which would require overhead lines passing through our community. While I strongly oppose all of the proposed routes, we are left with no viable alternative and are being forced to choose the least harmful option. So as far as least options are concerned. Option four is the most least, and option three is the second best. [02:42:05] I urge the board to please select between the two. We as a community... Thank you. Our next speaker is Shreya Raval, followed by Brenda Bengtson. [02:42:51] Can you hear me? [02:43:15] The speaker is unmuted. [02:43:41] Can you hear me? We can hear you. Go ahead. Okay. Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Devang Raval, and I'm a resident of the beautiful Loudoun Valley community, and this is regarding the Dominion's proposed, you know, extra high voltage power line going through the community. While, you know, I strongly oppose all five proposed, you know, power lines, it seems we are left with no choice but to select one of them. [02:44:17] From my understanding, based on the facts, routes one, two, and five have the highest impact from 700 houses to 1,200 houses. Route 4 and Route 3 have the lowest impact, which has been chosen by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. My request to the Loudoun County School Board is to strongly oppose all routes, and if not possible, to fall back on Route 4. [02:44:46] Thank you. Our final virtual speaker is Brenda Bankson. said, I tell my students, if you are free, free somebody else. If you have power, empower somebody else. Using skills to benefit others is a core value of public education. The antithesis to the [02:45:18] nightmare of Project 2025. PBS says it will be like going back when children with learning differences and challenging behavior. We're not entitled to an education. Project 2025 pushes an extremist anti-public education agenda, but voters oppose destroying the DOE. Free societies protect public education. Let's keep it that way, since the only thing more expensive than education [02:45:52] is ignorance. Ben Franklin. Thank you. We will now move on to our in-person public commenters. Our first speaker will be Rajan Paradkar, followed by Lauren Lila Stolen. Good evening. I'm a parent of kids that go to Rosalie Carter and Rockridge High School, and I'm here to urge you to reject all the routes that Dominion has proposed and look for the partial underground routes, and I urge [02:46:28] you to do everything in your power to protect the health and well-being of our students. I would like to respectfully remind the board that as a fiduciary, it's your duty to deal with issues concerning assets of the school system, and your first priority should be the safety and health of the school children. As per the Virginia Department of Education's guidelines for school facilities, page 16, item number 9, location of schools near electric power transmission lines should be avoided. If new schools cannot be built next to power transmission lines, then how can you put them next to existing schools? You rejected cell towers, this is [02:47:05] worse. So both the proposed green and blue routes go very close to the schools and right over the sidewalk that the kids are going to go to school. If you approve any of these routes, you are willingly sacrificing the health and safety of the school children. It will take two years to construct this, and during that time, they are going to be walking under that. [02:47:22] Thank you. can I submit the comments and the attachments with that oh only if you do it in the back please yield thank you our next speaker is Lauren Lylastolen followed by Sam Mutreja good evening members of the school board I'm here to express concerns regarding the Golden to Mars transmission line project my name is Lauren Lylastolen resident of Loudoun Valley 2 former LCPS biology teacher and perhaps most importantly a parent of two children ages 5 and 3 [02:47:59] years that do and will attend Rosalie Carter Elementary School and Rockridge High School for a collective 10 years each before they graduate. Our family walks to and from school every day and I do mean every day including when the windchill is 8 degrees. We also use the trails along Broad Run weekly. I believe the responsibility of the school board is to protect the safety health and well-being of the students and staff as they attend school. As such I'm surprised to see the school board staff recommendation to reject the blue route but not the green route especially because the Virginia Department of Education Guidelines for Public School Facilities advises against placing schools near power transmission lines. I have been following the progress of [02:48:37] this project since the first public meeting that Dominion held. Based on my study of the Golden to Mars project, I urge the school board to reject the green route outright but leave the blue route open for consideration until undergrounding can be continued. Thank you. Our next speaker is Sam Mutreja followed by Serisha Bumiretti. Good evening. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come in front of you. Talking about the Golden to Mars project again and specifically the green and blue routes both are really bad as far as health effects are [02:49:12] concerned both are bad it's kind of proven fact that it takes about a thousand feet for the electromagnetic waves to dissipate and both the schools fall within that range secondly during high winds these transmission lines are not insulated which means that they can be arcing and they can be electrical flashes, and both these lines run down the Broadland Park full of vegetation. [02:49:35] That means we could be dealing with a wildfire right in your backyard. Please reject both these lines and all the lines if possible, but definitely these two lines which are so close to the school. Thank you so much. - Thank you. Our next speaker is Sirisha Bumaretti followed by Bhavna Chondok. [02:50:00] - Everyone, my name is Sirisha Bumaretti, and my daughter is a freshman at Rockridge High School. While all five proposed Dominion routes have some impact routes one two and five along Loudoun County Parkway would be especially devastating affected affecting 1200 plus families within 500 feet of the center line and a total of 17 communities with the ripple effect of extending to thousands of homes this is not an easy choice my own daughter attends Rockridge High School but to minimize impact on our communities I request [02:50:37] the school board to support the county's recommendation, Route 4 Blue, as the first choice, if no other options, including partial or full undergrounding, are feasible. Thank you so much. Thank you. Our next speaker is Bhavna Chandak, followed by Karthik Thirokhanda. [02:51:00] Hello, Board of Supervisors. My name is Bhavna Chandak, and I'm a resident of LV2. I strongly oppose Route 1, 2, and 5 along the Loudoun County Parkway due to the severe impact on our community, directly affecting 1,200 families and nearly 1,200, sorry, 2,400 children. While Route 3 and 4 also raise concerns, Route 4 is the least disruptive of them all. [02:51:26] As someone who suffered a double-brain amorism last year, I'm deeply concerned about the potential health risks these high-voltage power lines may pose, especially for people like myself with health complications. The health effects remain unstudied and the disruption the project could cause is worrisome. If a route must be selected, I strongly advocate for Route 4, which has the least impact. Although the final decision is in your hands, I urge you to support the option and stand with us. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Karthik Tirukhanda, followed by Bharat [02:52:02] Gandhari. Good evening. I'm Karthik Tirukhanda, a resident of Loudoun Valley 2. I'm here to express not only my perspective but also the collective feelings of students, parents, and other concerned members of our community. The Route 1, 2, and 5 lines affect over 15 district communities with [02:52:36] the orange line having the most substantial impact, reaching 1,162 homes. The red and yellow lines also significantly affect a considerable number of residences. It is critical to take a data-driven approach and support the recommendations put forth by the Board of Supervisors with Route Blue as the top priority and Route 3, Green, as the second option. [02:53:04] In terms of impact, the Blue and Green lines present significantly less disruption compared to the other three alternatives. Thank you for this opportunity to express my thoughts. Our next speaker is Bharat Ghandari followed by Divyadevi Chidambaram. Good evening. [02:53:26] While much of today's discussion will be focused on Route 4, Blue, I want to highlight the serious concerns with installations along the Loudoun County Parkway, which would become the default right-of-way both Routes 4 and 3 are blocked. The Loudoun County Parkway route would directly impact multiple schools, including Stonehill Middle, Moorfield Station, Primrose Daycare, where thousands of LCPS students learn and play. [02:53:49] This is an addition to the 1,200 families that would be affected along this route. While students spend six to seven hours in school, they spend a significant portion of 16 to 17 hours at home studying and growing up in the neighborhoods. That would be permanently altered by these massive towers. Beyond the visual and environmental impact, these towers would disrupt the daily commutes, school bus routes, and the emergency response times. [02:54:13] To minimize the harm, I strongly urge the school board to support the Board of Supervisors' recommendations of Route 4 as the first choice and Route 3 green as the second choice. These routes have the least impact on our communities, schools, and families. Thank you. Thank you. [02:54:29] Our next speaker is Srinivas Ravikanti, followed by Sharisha Bellamkhanda. Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize. I'm so sorry. [02:54:45] Our next speaker is Divya Devi Chidambaram, followed by Srinivas Ravikanti. Hello. I'm Divya Devi Chidambaram, a resident of LV2. I'm here to strongly oppose routes 1, 2, and 5 along Loudoun County Parkway as it directly affects approximately 1,200 homes and 2,500 children approximately, whereas routes 3 and 4 affects less than 100 homes. [02:55:12] These are our forever homes, and we have old parents living with us. Given that there are not enough studies conducted to fully understand the long-term neurological effects of exposure to these high-voltage lines, especially for children and the vulnerable population, I kindly request you to keep options 3 and 4 open. [02:55:27] By keeping these options four and three open, we maintain the ability to advocate for a broader and more responsible solution, one that does not simply shift the burden to other neighborhoods, but instead pushes for a long-term solution. Thank you. Thank you. [02:55:44] Our next speaker will be Srinivas Ravikanti, followed by Sharisha Belamkanda. This is Srinivas Ravikanti. Thanks for allowing me to talk here. I would like to talk about this Dominion planning, what's going on. [02:56:04] Out of five options given, I would recommend, my opinion is to go for four and three. You have a reason for that. So I'm a numbers guy. I looked at the impact given by, you know, what's happening in that five routes. [02:56:28] I see the impact. I see the numbers. And the numbers are like, you know, number four is like 5% of impact when compared to the right-of-way, which is number five. So that's very, very low compared to any other route. And second option is number three. It's like 10 percent, 10 percent impact. So definitely I would prefer that. Now, coming to the health of the people there, school doesn't operate whole year. Thank [02:56:59] you. Our next speaker is Sirisha Bellamkonda, followed by Nicole Cranford. Good evening. My name is Sirisha Bellamkonda, and I'm resident of LV2 community and parent of two children who attend lcps schools i'm here today to speak against the proposed routes for the 500 kv transmission lines from golden to mars like many people in my community i'm very concerned about the harm these routes could cause to our families schools and neighborhoods i strongly oppose routes one two [02:57:34] and five which run along loudon county parkway these routes would affect over 1100 homes and place thousands of families too close to high voltage power lines i understand this is a difficult decision with no perfect option we must remember that children exposed to these lines is not just limited to school hours but more at homes too if we have a have to choose from the given options I strongly urge you to keep route 4 as a first option and route 3 as a second choice as these routes impacts less homes compared to the other routes 1 2 and 5 thank you for your time thank you our next speaker is Nicole Cranford followed by Rama [02:58:13] Good evening, members of the school board, and thank you for your time. I oppose all routes, however, I do urge you to support the Board of Supervisors' recommendation to approve Route 4, blue, as the first choice, and Route 3 as the second choice. [02:58:39] Rejecting these routes would force us to choose from Routes 1, 2, and primarily 5, which would impact more homes and neighborhoods. Keeping Routes 3 and 4 in play preserves our ability to advocate for safer solutions in the future. [02:58:56] Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Rama Rapparty, followed by Sushil Bambardekar. Good evening. I'm Rama Rapparty, and a resident of Elvito for the past 17 years. [02:59:14] Today, I'm here with my neighbors and my community to strongly oppose the 500 kV power lines along Laudon County Parkway roads 1, 2, and 5 under the Golden to Mars Project. These power lines pose a direct health risk, emitting strong EMF radiation, not just to me, my family, my neighbors, but also to the 1,200 families along Route 1, 2, and 5. [02:59:36] I plead the school board, choose Option 4, recommended by Board of Supervisors, as it has minimal disruptions to the health of the community. In conclusion, the biggest asset for any individual is their personal health and the health of their loved ones. So please approve the Route 4 and save the community of the looming uncertainty. Thank you. [02:59:55] Thank you. Our next speaker is Sushil Bambadekar, followed by Mandira Roy. Good evening. I am Sushil Bambadekar, here as a concerned parent of a Rockridge student and a Loudon Valley resident, along with my community members. [03:00:12] Rejecting Route 4 and Route 3 allows Dominion to use the right of the way, which is the orange route, which, as we heard, has a maximum impact. 1100-plus houses, 15-plus communities, and schools such as Stonehill Middle School, Moorfield Station Elementary, as well as Primrose Daycare. [03:00:28] Full or partial undergrounding, while desirable, is a very difficult battle, if not impossible. It has been done only once, in California, 12 years back, and never again, just because of the 10 times plus cost as well as the risks involved. That's why the Aspen to Golden Underground case was lost. [03:00:45] So I urge the school board to think of all the communities that they represent as leaders, not just one section, and follow the Board of Supervisors' recommendation. Blue Route 4 as the first preference, followed by Route 3, green, just so that, you know, that has the least impact on communities and environment. [03:01:01] I hope the school board takes the right decisions as a leader in the best interests of the communities. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Mandira Roy, followed by Vani Potanini. Good evening. [03:01:19] I'm here to share my son's perspective, a Rockridge student. He thinks critically and he says, 1. Undergrounding, while a highly desirable option, may not be feasible. Given the tight timeline to complete by 2028 and the extremely high cost, Dominion will not rally the SEC to approve undergrounding. [03:01:36] We must be realistic about it. Two, Route 4 Blue is the least impactful route. The guideline about power lines near school applies only to new schools, not existing ones. For the greater good, this guideline can be overlooked. Leadership is not about making tough decisions. [03:01:52] The school board has the opportunity here to set an example by acting with foresight, responsibility and courage. Route 4 Blue causes the least disruption. Please do not reject it. I stand here as a proud parent, deeply appreciative of Rosalie, Stonehill, Rockridge teachers who have shaped my son's character, teaching him to think critically, speak up, and contribute to meaningful discussions like this one. [03:02:19] Thank you so much. Thank you. Our next speaker is Vani Potanini, followed by Gopinatham Menachi. Good evening, members of school board. Thank you for this opportunity. My name is Vani Potanini. [03:02:35] I am resident of Loudoun Valley, and I am here with my other community members. Today, I am here to express my concerns regarding Dominion Energy's proposed high-voltage transmission lines, Golden to Mars. Dominion Energy has proposed five possible routes for the 500kV Golden to Mars transmission line, all of which would involve overhead lines running through my community. [03:02:57] I oppose all the proposed lines. However, we are being forced to choose one of the proposed routes due to lack of any feasible alternative. I request school board to please consider the routes recommended by Board of Supervisors, Route 4, blue, as first choice, and Route 3, green, as second choice, as they have least impact to the community compared to the other routes 1, 2, and 5, which impact more than 1,200-plus homes, all located within 100 to 500 feet distance. [03:03:25] I once again urge board to consider the least impacted routes to the neighborhood. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Gupinathan Menachee, followed by Liana Paradkar. Good evening, board. My name is Gupinathan Menachee. I live in Loudoun Valley 2. [03:03:47] What and why? What I'm going to talk about? I'm talking about the same Dominion Republic transmission lines, high-voltage power lines. Why? We have to choose the board. I'm asking the board to choose the least impact lines. [03:04:03] What are those? Four and three. So the other lines have a high impact which pass through the Loudoun County Parkway which affects all our community members. There are statistics that have been given. Loudoun board already chooses, Loudoun board supervisors already chose the four and three as options. [03:04:22] Why? Because they look at the facts. What are the facts? Dominion has presented the impact analysis as well as the feasibility study. Both of them have given a choice of four and three. So I would like the board to consider what are the options given, what are the facts given, and choose four or three. [03:04:42] Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Liana Paradkar, followed by Numan Brahman. I'm a student of Rockridge High School, and my sister goes to Rosalie Carter, and we watch a school every day under the route that Dominion wants to build 500 kilovolt power lines on. [03:05:03] I and my fellow students and teachers are afraid. The table of impacts that Dominion has submitted needs to also include the number of students and staff and their families that will be affected we have a document provided that that accounts for the students and you will see that the green and blue routes are in fact the most impacted routes will provide that later what if I one of my fellow student gets hurt or dies due to some accident during the two-year construction period kids could sit under these poles and get electrocuted natural disasters could increase the chances of damage to these lines causing them to fall there's also isn't enough research done to know exposure to these kill these 500 kilovolt power lines could cause irreparable damage to our health as a [03:05:39] student of the LCPS system I urge that you and the Board of Supervisors go back to work with Dominion and figure out an alternative that does not impact our communities and our schools. You are not responsible and should not be pressured to solve a problem that you did not cause. Thank you for your time and I hope and pray that you will do the right thing for our schools. Thank you. Our next speaker is Nooman Rahman followed by Chris Countryman. Good evening members of the board. [03:06:08] My name is Nooman Rahman and I'm a resident of Loudoun County. Like many others in the community I take great pride in our schools and want to ensure our children, teachers, and staff have the safest possible learning environment. I also work in the field of public safety AI, and I'm here today as a concerned citizen who saw firsthand how emerging threats require smarter, more proactive solutions. [03:06:30] A couple years ago when I was graduating from undergrad, I was deciding which county to move into. I decided Loudoun County. It's one of the best counties for everything, right? And the main thing that I've noticed in our schools is we have the best systems and technologies, but when it comes to our actual security system, VMS, they don't have any, like, a third set of eyes. [03:06:51] Right now in this space, there's a lot of competitors, there's a lot of companies, but I think the school board and our actual school system should take a look into advanced AI safety solutions that detect for weapon detection and other advanced capabilities just because it's really important to me and my two children. [03:07:07] Thank you so much. Thank you. Our next speaker is Chris Crunchyman, followed by Corey Brené. Good evening. Today, the Federal Department of Education was told to go home. [03:07:28] Half of those folks will not have a job to return to on Thursday. Public education is under attack, and regardless of the political affiliations of their parents or anyone in this room, the children will pay the price. Have you truly looked into the impact of no Federal Department of Education or the impact to the funding? [03:07:50] and how we make sure the basic fundamentals of a public education are reinforced and all students are served in a manner to help them become productive citizens to create a better future. Because the answer cannot be to ask educators to do more with even less. [03:08:08] Educators have already been leaving the profession because they are dehydrated from the sweat and tears they've given. Their veins have collapsed. There is no more blood for them to give. I am not advocating to cut programs, but I am asking you to temper the new endeavors and the projects that dominate staff time with the harsh reality in front of us. [03:08:26] - Thank you. Our next speaker is Cori Brune followed by Shree Nagiretti. - My name is Cori Brune and I'm an English learner teacher at Broad Run High School. Tonight, my remarks do not represent those of LEA or any other LCPS employee. [03:08:46] I'm speaking for myself as a Loudoun County taxpayer, as a parent of four children who attended and graduated from LCPS schools, and as a current employee. Tonight, you will be voting to approve the names of the spaces in four elementary schools as Amazon Think Big Corners. [03:09:03] The donation was laudable, but should not come with any naming caveats. I think this opens the door to renaming other spaces, such as the future Lockheed Martin Stadium or the Panera Bread Cafeteria. LCPS has always had strong community sponsorships and partnerships without such strings. [03:09:21] LCPS deserves better than this. I urge you to not vote to name the spaces. LCPS will never outperform its educators. - Thank you. Our next speaker is Sri Nagaredi, followed by Anvita Gandhari. [03:09:39] - Good evening, all the board members. First, I want to express deep concern for Sudik Shah Konanki, a LCPS and Thomas Jefferson graduate who is missing the spring break. [03:09:58] So I respectfully urge this board to pass a resolution of support and prayers for her safe return. Our community is watching and hoping. The next one is Dominion Power. So what are we doing here, right? [03:10:14] So first thing, we are making the concrete jingle. So I think Board of Supervisors has already approved, made the decision, they are the decision makers with the option four. I just want to support that option and I want to be with them. [03:10:29] Second thing is your job is to do basically to support education, not our infrastructure. So focus on your duties, leave the infrastructure, who operates the data centers. So thank you very much. Thank you. Our next speaker is Anvita Gandhari, followed by Norma Ayala. [03:10:49] My name is Anvita Gandhari, and I'm a freshman at Rockridge High School. One of my favorite hobbies is walking around Loudoun County Parkway and Stonehill Middle School with my friends. It's not just me. [03:11:05] Many residents love the walking trails and greenery in our community. But if the power lines are installed along the road, I'm worried we won't be able to enjoy this the same way. after carefully reviewing the proposed routes i realized just how much they will impact our community this is a tough decision but it's clear that we need to choose the option that causes the least harm which is route four i strongly oppose routes one two and five which cut through loudon county parkway if there are no other feasible solutions i urge the school board to follow the loudon county board of supervisors recommendation to minimize the impact on our communities thank [03:11:41] you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Norma Ayala, followed by Meghna Chandak. No, Norma Ayala. Our next speaker is Meghna Chandak, followed by Arun Sabramoni. Thank you. Meghna Chandak is not here, [03:12:14] Arun Sabramoni. And after that will be Raghu Kulkarni. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is an Erin Brockovich moment. Schools are most sacred for our children, students, teachers, and staff. We are opposed to all routes proposed as the impact study is deeply flawed. Scientific and health risks include childhood leukemia. This is human carcinogen group 2B, ladies and gentlemen. Risk of cognitive development, neurological and behavioral effects [03:12:53] like Alzheimer's and adverse reproductive outcomes. Safety hazards include violation of Virginia Department of Education guidelines. If it is not good for new schools, how come it is good for existing schools? Request corporate greed not to take over and Dominion and other utility companies to think and do the right thing let science facts and human values prevail thank you thank you our next speaker is ragu kulkarni followed by madhuri goganini hi board hi board [03:13:32] members of london county public schools this is ragu kulkarni i'm a resident of london valley villages i've been living there since almost 20 years now i have two kids going and graduated from Lauren from Rockridge, Rosalie Carter. [03:13:52] I engage, empower, enrich. Definitely, Dominion is helping our community build strong power lines. However, they have to engage the community options and listen to the board of supervisors and build accordingly. [03:14:17] The first preference would be build underground. If not, please choose the Board of Supervisors, Route 4 or Route 3, because those are the least impacted ones. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. [03:14:33] Our next speaker is Madhuri Goganini, followed by Raji Ramanathan. This is Madhuri Goganini. I strongly urge you to leave the Route 3 and 4 open for further discussion. While these routes may impact fewer homes and families, no one should be sacrificed. [03:14:53] However, by keeping them as options, we maintain the ability to advocate for a broader, more responsible solution, one that does not simply shift the burden onto different neighborhoods, but instead pushes for a real long-term resolution. If we remove these two routes now, we lose the opportunity to challenge the viability of all five routes and make a strong case for underground placement, which will significantly reduce the risks and disruptions to our community. [03:15:18] The most pressing concern is that not enough studies have been conducted to fully understand the long-term neurological effects of exposure to high-voltage power lines, especially for children and vulnerable populations. Other counties have taken a precautionary approach, implementing stricter regulations to protect their citizens. [03:15:37] Yet here, we have not such safeguards in place, leaving our community at risk. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Raji Ramanathan, followed by Lakshmi Pandurthy. Hi, good evening. My name is Raji Ramanathan. I am from Loudoun Valley 2. [03:16:01] So this is regarding Dominion Energy 5 and KV Transmission Power 9. So I strongly reject Route 1, 2, and 5 because it is going through Loudoun County Parkway and it has a major impact. [03:16:19] If the school board rejects Route 3, green, and Route 4, blue, The Dominion Power will default to right of the way, which is Route 5 Orange, which cannot be legally challenged by school board or Loudoun County residents. [03:16:35] We cannot do anything about it. So this Loudoun County Parkway, the Orange Line, will impact Stonehill Middle School, Primrose Daycare, Innova, Urgent Care. They didn't even care about the hospital and a lot of houses. [03:16:50] So please choose Route 4, first choice, Route 3, greener, second choice. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Lakshmi Pandurthy, followed by Kamal Gogginini. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. [03:17:09] Thanks for the opportunity to speak in front of you today about this Dominion high power lines. My name is Lakshmi Pandurthy. I'm a resident of LV2. Since 18 years, I lead a very happy and peaceful life here without any major concerns. [03:17:27] But today, and I want to say that my kids went to Rosalie Carter, Stone Ridge, and Rock Ridge, and now they are leading a very successful life. Thank you to the LCPS and the board members, and I 100% honor your LCPS board members. [03:17:46] But today, here, I'm here to oppose the Dominion Power Lines 1, 2, and 5, based on the analysis and statistics. The impact is very high when compared with Route 4 and 3, the blue and green. [03:18:05] As I mentioned, I respect the NCPS, but... Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Kamal Gogineni, followed by Annapurna Panugati. Good evening, school board members. My name is Kamal Gogineni. I'm a parent of three children. [03:18:22] I've been living in Loudoun Valley for the last 16 to 18 years. And basically, I personally oppose all routes, being it affects many communities and students and parents living in the area. [03:18:40] But basically, the Board of Supervisors already chosen or recommended Route 4 as the first choice and Route 3 as the second choice based on the impact and impact to the communities and things. So I would basically support the same options. [03:18:58] I request you to support Route 4 as the first option, Route 3 as the second option. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Annapurna Panugati followed by Rajiv Naluri. Hi, my name is Annapurna Panugati and I live in Loudoun Valley too in Ashburn. [03:19:19] I'm here with many other residents from my community to strongly oppose Romanian energy high-voltage power lines through all routes, especially Route 1, 2, and 5. I strongly oppose these three lines because this is going to impact the health and well-being of my family, my kids, neighbours, and my neighbourhood community since we are exposed to high electromagnetic fields which are within 500 feet of our houses and walking trails on Loudoun County Parkway. [03:19:48] If there is no solution or no underground alternatives, I urge the school board to approve Route 4 as the first choice and Route 3 as the second choice, which causes the least community and environmental impact. Thank you. Thank you. [03:20:06] Our next speaker is Rajiv Naluri, followed by Vijaya Ravikanti. Hey, good evening, everyone. This is Rajiv. I'm a resident of Loudoun Valley for the last 12 years, and I am here to strongly oppose all the power lines. But some of my neighbors said that, you know, requested you guys to reject all the lines. [03:20:27] But I just want to remind that if you guys reject all the lines, you are giving a Dominion a choice of going with the right-of-way by choosing option five, route five, which is orange, which has largest impact on the community, like 1,100-plus houses, and then there is a Stonehill Middle School right behind it, and then there is a Prime Rose daycare and then Moorfield Elementary School is passing through and then there is a hospital. [03:20:56] So it has the largest impact. So I requested the school board to support the Board of Supervisors' decision of Route 4 blue as the first option and Route 3 green as the second option. And I wish the school board takes the right decision to protect our community. [03:21:13] Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Vijaya Ravikanti followed by Rohan Kandikanda. Good evening, board of members here. I'm in this community, similar community that everyone is talking about in the past 18 years or so. [03:21:36] And think about it. I just want to question everyone here. Think about 1,200 plus, over 2,000 kids suffering with something or other in the long term. And think about 120 or 150 kids suffering with long-term things in the long term with kind of electric magnetic waves or whatever we call, who would you choose? [03:21:57] Think about it, right? Let's really think about it. At the same time, we are all talking about impact to schools every time. No Route 4, no Route 3, everything. But think about it. Every student spends only one-third of their time in school. Remaining time is all spent at home. [03:22:15] So think about that, and please, we strongly urge, Please support the Board of Supervisors' decision and go for Route 4 and Route 3 if given a choice. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Rohan Khandikanda, followed by Carolyn. [03:22:37] No Rohan Khandikanda. Our next speaker is Carolyn, followed by Devang Raval. Good evening. [03:22:55] Saying yes to high-voltage power lines above our schools during ongoing threats to the Department of Education is doubling down on the idea that our future, our children, aren't vitally important. Allowing those powerlines to run through our beautiful, diverse community in one of the richest counties in the nation to save a dollar for billion-dollar corporations is reminiscent of outrageous environmental injustices in places like Dallas, Texas, Jackson, Mississippi, and Flint, Michigan, where politicians devalue the specific people who would be impacted most. [03:23:32] Certain communities are disproportionately burdened by environmental contamination and health risks. Don't do this to us. Don't dismiss our concerns. Our kids are counting on you. You have a chance to say no. Please exercise it. [03:23:50] Underground the lines. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Devang Raval, followed by Ram Rubiretti. Okay. No, Devang Raval. Our next speaker is Ram Rubiretti, followed by Ramesh Reddy. [03:24:09] Excuse me, followed by Ramesh Reddy Adipudi. Good evening, board. First of all, I'm here to talk about the Golden Mars Park project. [03:24:26] I would ask the board to reject all the routes, all the options. If that is not possible, you should go with the option recommended by the Northern County board. So in case, if you plan to reject the option four, you should reject option three as well, because option three also equally dangerous, and it's pretty close to the homes and schools. [03:24:48] And also advocate to go for the underground option. Developing countries like India, they are going underground in one of the capital cities they are building new. So a developed country like U.S. can easily offer that one. And also there are a lot of people in the Route 3 who are retired teachers and veterans, probably who are not aware of all these happenings. [03:25:10] And just because we have the under-representation from that particular route, you should not ignore that. I really appreciate, you know, you are looking into this one. and urge you to either go with Route 4, if in case you reject Route 4, you should reject Route 3 also. Our next speaker is Ramesh Reddy Adipudi, followed by Andrea Weitzkopf. [03:25:33] Good evening, school board. I'm a resident of Loudoun Valley State in Ashburn, and I've been living there for the past 16 years. I'm here to raise my concern about Dominion proposed 500kV line going through our communities. [03:25:53] We all know the high-voltage line is a big threat to the health of the residents. So out of five proposed roads, after analyzing, I request the board to accept Route 4 as it will have a minimal impact than other roads. [03:26:11] And also I want to mention there is a petition in the change.org, and thousands of residents are signing that petition. Thank you. Thank you. Our final speaker is Andrea Weitzkopf. I didn't come to speak on a particular topic. [03:26:35] Of late, I've been wondering if in a hundred years when people say, how did they let this happen? I don't want to be part of that. And so all I have is a voice, little as it is, and I am using it to ask you, because your voice comes with power. [03:27:10] Please make sure every child belongs here in Loudoun. and that they know it and don't be afraid to make sure that our children are protected thank you black lives matter thank you to everyone for coming out today and providing your public comment [03:27:37] board members at this time we will take a short recess and reconvene at 8 10 pm all right the [03:42:02] board is back from recess and we will continue with item 12 our action items beginning with item 12.1 tonight's first action item recommends that the school board adopt the proposed meeting calendar for the dullest south secondary school attendance zone change process we will hear from [03:42:22] mr kevin lewis the chief operations officer regarding this item mr lewis thank you vice chair donoghue we appreciate the opportunity to be here tonight so tonight we have in front of you our calendar for our spring attendance zone change plan that we have looked at for the dullest south [03:43:01] area and so your consideration tonight is simply on the calendar that we would agree to start that process as you see on that calendar and you know the week after spring break we would be coming to the board with a staff plan we'll have many conversations in-house and develop a plan and come to the board with what the staff is proposing for us the first consideration and then the board through that process and that series of meetings that you see in the attachment where we would have that series of meetings and ultimately have a decision point on June 10th. [03:43:36] This action would be for those schools identified only for changes. We will notify all the elementary schools and high schools in that area, just so everyone's aware. And then the plan is for those changes that the board adopts would take place in the fall of 2026. [03:43:54] We would not do it in the fall of 2025 to give folks, especially at the secondary level, time to make changes to their their plans and you know be prepared for the following year so those would go into effect on fall of 2026 so i'm happy to take any questions you may have thank you mr lewis is there a motion mr estruffy thank you madam chair i move that the loudon county school board adopt the proposed meeting calendar for proposed meeting calendar for the dullest south secondary school attendance zone change process further the following secondary and elementary [03:44:31] school communities be notified of the attendance zone change process. Freedom High School, John Champ High School, Light Ridge High School, J. Michael Lunsford Middle School, Mercer Middle School, Willard Miller School, Aldi Elementary School, Arcola Elementary School, Buffalo Trail Elementary School, Cardinal Ridge Elementary School, Goshen Post Elementary School, Henrietta Lacks Elementary School, Hovatter Elementary School, Hutchison Farm Elementary School, Liberty Elementary School, Little River Elementary School, Pinebrook Elementary School, Hutchinson, Pinebrook Elementary School, notifying a specific school community does not indicate that the middle [03:45:07] and high school attendance zone currently serving the community will change, only that school attendance zone adjustments may be reviewed, proposed, or adopted. Thank you. There is a motion. Is there a second? Second. The motion has been properly moved and seconded. Mr. Estreffi, would you like to speak to your motion? Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have anything to add or additional context beyond what Mr. Lewis mentioned, so I will leave it to discussion. Is there discussion, board members? [03:45:37] Dr. Rashid. I had a question for Mr. Lewis. And Mr. Lewis, just if you could clarify again, especially for some constituents that reached out to me in the last two days, if you could explain the red number in parentheses when we go from the year 25-26 in that table on BoardDocs. [03:45:59] And you can see, for example, in Willard Middle School and Mercer Middle School, you could see in parentheses it's 103. And when you go to 26-27, it grows to 156. And then it goes even higher in 27-28, but then it drops in 28-29. [03:46:17] And if you can just explain again to me why is that so all of a sudden from 27-28 to 28-29. Thank you, Dr. Rashid. I appreciate that question. And our efforts here are to identify what the projections are if no change took place. [03:46:35] So right now, you can see in the 25-26 year, the first white column is the 103% enrollment based on what we project to have this coming fall. And then in the two yellow columns are the two years that this, and we've talked about this being an interim solution. [03:46:54] So we were going to make changes to these schools in anticipation of a larger attendance zone change when we open high school 14 that would open in 2028. So the two yellow columns are the two years that we believe this interim change will be in effect. [03:47:12] And you're looking at the numbers. So if the board made no changes this spring and did not make any changes at all, in the 26, 27 year, we believe that the enrollment would be 156 over and then 206 over. [03:47:27] So that's essentially the board's job is to adopt a plan that eliminates or minimizes that over the next couple years until the entire area can be revisited I will say that our goal is from the staff perspective is to bring to the school board a plan that either does not or minimizes any changes that would have students that would be changed this time and then again in the fall of 28 as well so that's what we'll be working for and we'll be bringing a plan hopefully that does as we can to do that. Mr. Lewis, it also says 22 in parentheses for Light Ridge. If you can explain [03:48:07] how that drops from 22 to 67 when you go from 27, 28 to 28, 29. Right. So that just indicates that Light Ridge will be overcrowded at that point as well. And those numbers include the modulars, which they do at Willard and Mercer as well. But again, if the board chooses a solution that reduces the number of students that are going to Willard, then that will also reduce the number of students that will be going to Light Ridge. Yeah, because I think you had said that Willard feeds into Light Ridge. Yes, ma'am. As currently it is. Correct. Thank you. I have no other further [03:48:39] questions. There are other discussion? Seeing no further discussion. Madam Clerk, can you please open the vote? And board members, please record your votes. Madam Clerk, can you please close and display the vote. That motion passes with Mrs. Griffiths in opposition and Ms. Mansfield [03:49:17] absent. Okay. So next we will move on to item 12.2 out of the Finance and Operations Committee, contract award of IFB-24-537, administrative building third floor renovation. Speaking to this item will be Mr. Estreffy, chair of the Finance and Operations Committee, and Mr. Lewis, again, the chief operations officer. Gentleman, the floor is yours. Thank you, Madam Chair. [03:49:47] I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve the contract award of IFB 24-537 Administration Building Third Floor Renovation to GCS Segal, Inc. in the amount of $1,211,084 and authorizes the chair of the school board to sign the final contract documents upon presentation. [03:50:09] Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Rashid. The motion has been properly moved and seconded. Mr. Estreffi, would you like to speak to your motion? Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have much to add beyond the context that was discussed when this was an information item in our last meeting this was discussed in committee there was some discussion around this as a budget item looking at you know speaking of it in terms of priorities and how how this item came about and beyond that [03:50:48] I'll just leave it to mr. Lewis to add any additional context I don't have anything in specific to add I'll be happy to take any questions board members is there further discussion mrs. Griffiths Thank You madam chair per our F&O meeting I mentioned all the reasons why we should put off renovating the third-floor administration building I continue to say no to these projects I did not vote for this cap that was the previous school board it is on the agenda today for us to vote on it we can choose to vote no this is another vote [03:51:28] where the optics do not look good for the school board if we vote for these renovations I have a letter today from Miss Lisa Johnson from Guilford she writes you know please check your mailbox at the administration building purple I'm sorry that's the wrong part I just wanted to give you all an update pertaining to the student letters and the gift book we sent you last June 7th [03:51:54] Nothing, to my knowledge, has been updated nor communicated about a possible timetable for when the cottages, classroom, HVAC registers, rusty bathroom sinks, or plans for handicap access in our K-3 bathrooms, like the other elementary schools have, can be put into place. [03:52:11] Sadly, none of these seem to be included in the upcoming capital budget plans for FY25 to 30, either. Students enthusiastically wrote you all letters, all of us, nine months ago, and with the extra funds in our budget recently disclosed, we had hoped that we would at least have new sinks in our common bathrooms, two cottage classrooms power washed, with inside floors and siding replaced. [03:52:36] If you remember, these cottages are 27 years old, and now it shows. Our other schools with cottages at least have nice skirting around the bottom with holes and not broken plastic. While we are always happy when the school board is able to visit Guilford in person, as some of you did in September 2024, if nothing happens, changes as a result, it really does not make our students feel like we matter as much more modern schools are built. [03:53:04] We have these bare necessities already. As Charles Barrett says, it's always about the children, so I hope this is so. And with that being said, it's a matter of optics. So if we go to vote for this today, $1.2 million for the administration building, what are the optics, what does this say to schools that are in desperate need of renovations? [03:53:30] I would like to also quote a previous former school board member, Ms. Jill Turgeon-Turill, 2012 to 2019. She had thought she eliminated construction in the administration building, including the school board suites, because it was a waste of money. [03:53:49] The previous board did not choose to spend money on the administration building. So with that being said, I'm hoping this school board will consider the optics and consider that even though this is the cap and not the CIP program, that money needs to go to schools that much need it, that much need renovations. [03:54:10] I will reiterate that repairs and renovations to our aging schools should always take precedent over reducing our carbon footprint or renovations to the administration building. Thank you. Is there any further discussion? Dr. Rashid? [03:54:27] I'm happy that the third floor is being renovated. I went upstairs, I think, last week, and there's like a conference room, and it's the size of a closet. The paint is chipping. I mean, it's a little, it's kind of dark in there, although I am sensitive to, you know, the other schools that are in need. [03:54:46] But, you know, board members, you do have a choice tonight to make that decision if you want to renovate the third floor or not. but do remember we found a cockroach under this table I believe a couple months ago because we didn't change the carpets and there's a lot of stuff going on over here um so I although I am sensitive to the LCPS um the other LCPS schools that are in need of it definitely without a doubt I just do want to say whenever you get a chance go to the third floor it's like going to the 13th floor the floor that is like you're not supposed to be going on but go there it's it's it does need [03:55:24] some renovation um but um i i am mindful for the other lcps schools they are in need but i i still think that uh the administration building does have to keep up um with renovations thank you thank you um vice chair donahue i for me i miss griffiths i i hear what you're saying i got i got the letters i i worked at guilford so i can definitely speak to that and i have been in communication with them and Mr. Lewis about those ongoing projects and in our in the fall during the [03:56:02] CIP and CAP budget we had these conversations and to me this this tonight is about the appropriate place in time for those conversations and when that should occur and that occurs during the budget cycle so for me I'm trying to look at this decision not in light of can we vote no and these funds will be moved to renovate the schools because that they won't. We made that decision already. This, these funds are allocated for support services. Correct me if I speak out of term, Mr. Lewis. And that decision was already made through that adoption. And I understand that you didn't support that and I respect that. But for me, what I'm looking at here is these funds [03:56:41] have been designated for this project and LCPS went out and bid the project and took the lowest bid. So that is where I have to look at the decision in terms of for myself is to think about these funds have been designated for this project and now they've gone out and gotten the bid that's the lowest. And so that's what we're deciding tonight. If it were a different conversation during the CAP and CIP budget where we could allocate those funds, move them from support services to renovations to beef up that allocation, that could have been a conversation then, but that time has passed. And I do appreciate you bringing it up in the sense that I want to be [03:57:20] mindful going forward to make sure that I'm really looking at all those line items in the next CIP and cap budget, make sure that we're supporting those things. And certainly after we got the letter from, uh, Guilford, looking at making sure that, you know, we're following up on those projects for the time and place of this conversation. Now, though, I am glad that we are taking the lowest bid for funds that were already allocated. Did I summarize that correctly, Mr. Lewis? [03:57:45] was it accurate yes okay thank you mr. Lewis can you please speak to these the situation with the requests for updates at Guilford this ma'am so we include a number of projects in the capital budget for this coming period of this first six years we're replacing their building an ADA ramp inside the building for the the stage in the gym we're also replacing the gym floor we're refreshing the restrooms placing a grease trap upgrading all the HVAC controls and in the building replacing all the LED lighting as well so there are a number of projects in this in this capital budget that is specifically [03:58:24] designed to work on Guilford Elementary School as we are for many schools we also have a number of the projects that were identified a while back mr. Steffi and I walked the school a number of work orders have been submitted and a lot of that work has been addressed about work orders and we were we're doing a follow up after we got that note today as well we'll be providing going back out and making sure we have all those taken care of that at work order ready. Thank you. Mr. Streffi. I also want to add that it's not just a [03:58:59] matter of paint or carpet. I think that this renovation is specifically going to support the need to reconfigure the office spaces specifically. So we have HRTD, business and finance, and specifically division council. I think they're divided they're on a different floor if I'm correct and there is a functional need to have them together in a space that you know that is separate from other spaces and so that's something I considered in committee as well miss Chandler thank you madam chair and thank you mr. Lewis I really do [03:59:37] appreciate my colleagues comments in terms of really looking at the appropriateness of this action. Ms. Chernoff, I really appreciate your considering the place and time and how it is important to have a well-executed plan and to understand when updates are appropriate because we do have 100 schools. And I do also appreciate Ms. Donahue's question and Mr. Estreffy's context in terms of why these renovations are being made. [04:00:09] It's always going to be a tough choice, but we have a responsibility to maintain the property the property that we have, and the better that we maintain it, the longer it will last. So, thank you. Ms. Skribbis. [04:00:26] Thank you, Madam Chair. And Ms. Chernoff, you are correct. I did not vote for this. I did not vote for these renovations. I am always very clear we need to renovate our schools first, and that's where the money should go. So, Guilford is just an example, and maybe you don't think it's the time or place, but I think that the optics are important. [04:00:52] Guilford had sent those letters with descriptions of their school. It's gonna be a year now, and nothing has been done. So the reason for me bringing it up is, as far as optics go, if the admin building is getting renovations and schools are not, that's a problem, that's a real issue for our students. [04:01:13] And I'm thinking about the students and their safety in these schools. So that's why I brought it up today. And I agree, time and place, but I felt that this was a good time and place. So thank you. Yes, Ms. Chernoff. [04:01:31] I appreciate that, Ms. Griffiths. And I think I just wanted to make sure that people understood why I'm going to vote to support it, because I'm looking at these funds have been allocated. We made that decision when the cap and CIP was adopted, and tonight I'm voting for the lowest bid. [04:01:52] that's how I'm approaching it and I just wanted that to be clear. Ms. LaBelle. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am concerned that we are renovating an office space before we renovate a school. Renovation is renovation. Granted, they're not going to cost the same, but something needs to be done for Guilford as soon as possible. This school is absolutely a mess and the students are endangering their [04:02:31] health by being in it Madam clerk will you please open the vote board members please record your vote madam clerk can you please close and display the vote and that motion passes math six to two with mrs. Griffiths and ms. LaBelle opposed and chair Mansfield absent for the vote we will now move on to item [04:03:09] number 1203 sorry item number 1203 from the finance and operations committee the think big spaces agreement with amazon which i understand will be uh we will hear from mr slevin and or mr astreffy the scene mr astreffy thank you madam chair um i'll start us off with a motion i move that the loudon county school board review and approve the resolution to support the naming of amazon think big corners at four elementary schools and authorize the chair of the school [04:03:48] board to sign the agreement with amazon and is there a second second the motion has been properly moved and seconded. Mr. Estreffi, would you like to speak to the motion? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Very briefly, board members, directly to action from F&O, we're considering the approval of the Amazon Think Big Space Agreement, which would designate four small STEM-focused labs as Amazon Think Big Corners at Forest Grove, Frederick Douglass, Guilford, and Potomac Elementary Schools for an initial three-year period. This aligns with the school's school division's strategic [04:04:25] a goal to strengthen business and community partnerships, and the project is funded by a $125,000 donation from Amazon Web Services through the Loudoun Education Foundation to equip the labs, supplemented by a $65,000 donation from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, I believe, for curriculum development and personnel support, and I will pass it on to Mr. Slevin. [04:04:50] Thank you, Mr. Streffi. I'm excited tonight to be joined by Ms. Danielle Nadler, the Executive Director of the Loudoun Logistication Foundation, who's also here to answer any questions you may have about this agreement. We are excited and grateful for the LEF securing a $125,000 grant from Amazon Web Services to create mini labs within four of our elementary schools, as Mr. Estreffia has mentioned. [04:05:15] These mini labs are to be called Amazon Think Big Corners. They are small, small as a corner within a library, for example, or a wall within an existing classroom at Frederick Douglass. As is stated in the draft, the agreement with AWS reserves the right to use this space, so we're not having any kind of impact on capacity. [04:05:35] It's really just an opportunity to identify some space in recognition of this grant in our partnership with Amazon. As Mr. Estreffi mentioned, you are being asked to approve the agreement as well as the resolution. The staff has reviewed the information with respect to LCPS policy 6510 naming school facilities and LCPS policy 4180 commercial, promotional, and corporate sponsorships in support of the action to name the four small areas Amazon Think Big Corners as shared. [04:06:08] This information was first introduced to the F&O committee as an information item in February and as Mr. Streffi mentioned It was approved by to move to the full board as an action item in the March 4th meeting of the F&O meeting and with that we're available to answer any questions or Listen to any feedback or comments from the board. Thank you. Mr. Slevin and Ms. Nadler. Thank you for being here And this is, there is all, we already have an Amazon space at Lepton Middle School, is that correct? [04:06:45] Yes, we have an Amazon Think Big space at Simpson Middle School. We've had that in place since, for two years, in partnership with our computer science team that works primarily out of that space. Thank you. [04:07:01] I, as I mentioned to Ms. Nadler earlier today, I have a fifth grader who has taken a few field trips over to the Amazon Think Big space. Simpson Middle School and absolutely loves it and looks forward every time his class gets to go and is very excited that next year he'll be a student at Simpson Middle School and will have greater access to the space. So I think it's it's a wonderful thing for our community. I'm very excited that we have this opportunity to expand to make those spaces available to more students and I wanted to thank Ms. Nadler and Elia for facilitating the expansion of these [04:07:40] spaces. You're welcome. Uh, Ms. Chandler. Thank you. Um, and thank you, um, for the context and clarification tonight. I have a couple of questions if that's okay. Um, first I would like to start with a question for our legal counsel, Mr. Allen. Um, Mr. Allen, I understand that part of the reason why the, um, this item was pulled off the consent agenda is that not all of the LCPS or the Loudoun County School Boards Council's recommendations made it into the final draft and I'm looking for [04:08:16] a little bit more context and clarity around whether or not that's normative and if it is exposing us to any undue risk. Thank you Ms. Chandler I appreciate the question you're you're correct my understanding is that this was placed as an action item as opposed to a consent agenda item by the chair for further discussion if the board wanted to do so particularly in the light that AWS did not incorporate all of our legal team's proposed revisions. [04:08:47] Our legal team strives to negotiate such contracts to ensure the school boards and LCPS are on the strongest legal footing as possible. And so while AWS did not incorporate all of our legal team's proposed revisions here, the version the board has before it tonight and that F&O committee had before it, while not ideal per se, is one that the school board and LCPS conceivably accept when weighing the interest to pursue this opportunity if the school board and LCPS choose to do so. [04:09:22] So to your question specifically, while not ideal, it's somewhat normative that a vendor or a partner would not agree to all terms that we put forth. So it's an operational decision at that time. [04:09:39] Thank you, Mr. Allen. And then Ms. Nadler and Mr. Slevin, I have gotten the impression that there is some perceived timeline or pressure to do this sooner rather than later. Could you give me some context on that, please? [04:09:55] Thank you for that question. In terms of pressure to proceed, part of it comes from the excitement of our schools that are receiving the equipment and the opportunities that would come with this grant. [04:10:11] This is not a process that started recently. The foundation, as well as the science office and the schools have been engaged in conversations about what this might look like for the past calendar year, recognizing that as we move towards final completion of the agreement, recognizing there were policy implications to take through the board. [04:10:35] The schools have been patient as we work through the agreement, work through the resolution, work through the committee process. um and so aside from the excitement from the schools there's also the logistical um processes that go into ordering things like 3d printers or equipment that are part of the grant once we receive the funding knowing that there's lead times on those items there's also the actual altercations of the space alterations of the space meaning just like the wraps they're going to put on there we've tried to hit a couple of three-day weekends because that's about the amount of time So probably the last opportunity for this calendar year would be over spring break. [04:11:16] Would that be an absolute deal breaker? No, in terms of the student's issue would not benefit from having access to that space, but we would probably have to look into a later time period. And so that's my attempt to answer your question in terms of where the advocacy for this being done. [04:11:38] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Slevin. That's very helpful. And in reflecting on some of the comments that were made here tonight and some of the questions that have existed in the community, I just wanted to ask if there are any other examples other than the existing AWS space where we have similar partnerships and have named spaces after corporations. [04:12:01] So we have named what comes to mind is during the major gift campaign and an earlier few years ago with the Latin Education Foundation and the opening of the academies. There are a number of spaces within the Academies of Loudoun that are named after corporate sponsors, and they went through a similar process that we're going through tonight. [04:12:21] They're brought to the board. I would note that these partnerships are time-bound. They are limited to, in this particular case, five years. And there's an opportunity to revisit the agreement on an annual basis. And so this is not something we do often, but it is something that we have leveraged in the past to recognize partners who've made a significant impact. [04:12:44] Thank you. Ms. LeBeau. Mr. Slevin, when they made the programs up, the two programs that we already have in the county, did they bring up the idea of naming them Amazon Think Big Space? Was that in the contract when we created these spaces? [04:13:13] So I'll let Ms. Nadler answer that, but my understanding is that the Think Big Spaces is a branding. There are a number of Think Bases across the Commonwealth in the country and even internationally. Yes, thank you so much. [04:13:30] That is correct that they approached us as part of our – we partner with AWS on several different fronts, And this is the one that they do have branding and AWS Think Big Spaces around the world. [04:13:47] And they were excited to do this in Loudoun. But yes, from the start, that is the idea. Always part of the title. Yes. If we did not say it's Amazon's big think space, but put in a plaque or something that said, thank you for our partner Amazon would that negate the contract that would that would be that would that would take us back to the drawing board so we'd have [04:14:22] to go back to a discussion again and this is time-sensitive you're saying it is time-sensitive but it's also we're here for board approval so it's the boards boards discussion okay thank you mr. off thank you um I I do actually actually think it is time sensitive for other reasons. For me, the bottom line is this is going to put resources in schools that are going to directly impact kids and their achievement in [04:14:56] science, which is an area of focus for us. And these schools that need this support, and it is, I was reading the resolution, and you know, it talks about collaborative workspace that's going to spark scientific exploration, creativity, hands-on learning. And the science curriculum almost demands a hands-on approach, in my opinion, in our elementary schools and having worked in elementary, like this is what gets them engaged. Learning vocabulary science words on a slide deck isn't [04:15:31] necessarily going to put all the pieces together for everyone. So for me, I think it is time sensitive. We talk a lot about the school improvement plans. We talk a lot about accreditation and the new process that's coming out and so for me I do think it's time sensitive because I think the sooner we can get these resources in the teachers and kids hands the better because that is going to help achievement which is what I believe we should be about for our students especially our students that need these resources this is not unprecedented to have a name I was at a middle school today that had a courtyard named for get ready for it dominion um so maybe I [04:16:10] shouldn't say that out loud tonight but this is part of what we do we partner with people that want to help our students and this space is going to help our students and so for me I've been to Frederick Douglass and seen the space I happen to be there the day that the whole admin team and different people from across the district were collaborating around the lesson plans that we're going to correspond with this and the excitement is real and so I don't always want to rush things i don't think we have in this sense i think that you know i listened to the committee and i think you guys went through you know some pretty serious conversation about what this is about [04:16:48] but i just i really want i don't want us to lose sight of what stepping back from this will do which is not have those resources for those kids and so for me that's all it comes down to and so i am anxious and excited to support this space and i thank you for your work on it dr rashid [04:17:11] Thank you, Chair. There's a statement within the resolution that kind of, and I don't know if this question is from Ms. Naylor or a division council, and in the statement it says that the school board will retain the right to revoke or rename such space at any time for any reason, including if the Amazon Think Big Corner name becomes at odds, you know, with the mission. [04:17:35] So is it any possible way we could always revoke the name in the future at any time? Can we vote on that again at a later time? Are you looking at the resolution or the agreement? [04:17:51] It's in board docs. Let me see. The resolution. Dr. Rasheed, I'm happy to hop in and answer. So yes, that's in resolution. [04:18:08] So to the extent the board does wish to invoke that revocation, it could do so. there is a term and termination provision in the actual agreement that allows any party to terminate the agreement at any time for convenience by sending written notice. So if that's the board's will, it could do so. But I will note that the term of the agreement is only one year. [04:18:35] And then after the one year? I think it's speculative, but the plain language of this agreement is for one year and um miss nadler could have further discussion with aws and you know there could be an ongoing or enduring relationship but just looking at the agreement that is before the board tonight the term is one year i see okay thank you thank you mrs griffiths thank you madam chair um i believe i brought this up in the fno committee meeting um there's [04:19:10] a lot of stipulations in this agreement and jack kent cook also donated um so as far as that goes why can you tell me again why we're not naming it after him um as far as the donations uh that he made or the foundation made thanks mrs gravis great question um jack kent cook is a private charitable foundation so they they're okay with their name being on things and they're okay with thank yous but they do not want it or require it um dissimilar from a company appreciates it [04:19:47] does that answer the question uh i would much rather see jack cook jack cook kent jack kent cook foundation and amazon services uh listed as the donor i was gonna i'm gonna ask one question and then and then i'll go back to you as well um mr slevin and and or miss nadler um can you speak to uh with this project my understanding uh is that it's it's more than just amazon giving us [04:20:26] the money for the space can you speak to what the arrangement entails you know has more practice at this um but i'll share um so for this specifically the agreement the resolution it really is just regarding this space um it doesn't usually rise to the level of a formal agreement um with school board signature or a resolution with the naming, but because of the naming rights and the agreement, that's why it rose to this level. [04:20:59] But I'll just try to quickly bullet point other ways that AWS partners with us. Each week, actually Amazon specifically drives 2,000 meals from our Fueled program for free in-kind to 40 of our schools. [04:21:15] That's in-kind donation each week. they've just recently granted 25K for a new sustainability, food sustainability program or food recovery program with the sustainability office. [04:21:30] 25K each year they donate to our classroom grants, also known as innovation education grants. They've supported Propel and Level Up through several grants and none of that have been formal agreements or any naming rights, but that just each year we have conversations with them on here are the needs we're hearing from various departments. [04:21:50] And then they align it with their giving priorities. - And specifically to the Think Big Space, in the agreement it also envisions career mentoring and opportunities. And so they would have, as you can imagine, there are many career paths within a company such as AWS. [04:22:08] And so talking with students in the Think Big Space about career opportunities, participating in career days that may be happening in the schools. There's also mention, and this has happened at the Think Big Space at Simpson, so I imagine it would happen here as well, where employees would actually come and volunteer with projects and hands-on opportunities. [04:22:28] Each of these schools are also propelled and leveled up schools, and so there will be opportunities to engage in activities related to other initiatives at the school, and then professional development for staff, like what's coming next, what's happening in the industry to help them think about what's forming. [04:22:46] So it does also develop a nice bridge for a local school partnership, something that was mentioned earlier this afternoon with the presentation from Ms. Dawson and her team. And then while not promised, there are opportunities just to continue to say, hey, Amazon, this might be nice in this space as well annually. [04:23:05] So it just develops, it fosters a relationship between a school and a business partnership too at a base level, if that makes sense. Thank you very much. Ms. LeBeau. Again, I'm just wondering, Was the name suggested by Amazon as Amazon Big Space? [04:23:28] Think Space, I'm sorry. Amazon Think Big Space is the name in the agreement, yes. Okay, so that is the official name put on the program by Amazon? Yes. Okay, thank you. Mr. Estreffi. [04:23:46] Yeah, I just wanted to also echo Ms. Chernoff's points. In case my excitement for this didn't come out in committee or didn't come out to the full board, I'm super excited about this opportunity. think we need more of these types of opportunities and this agreement as was already mentioned is not something that's going to be infinite and the board already has stipulations in its resolution that protect it from being bound by something by any agreement in a way that could compromise our mission or other things and so I appreciate all the work that's been done to get us here [04:24:25] to this point and all the relationships that we've fostered and I also got to hear in committee from Miss Timothy our science supervisor which was also exciting because she kind of gave us a broader perspective on how this is going to impact students which I wanted to make sure I mentioned to the full board as well thank you Dr. Deans would this in any way preclude Microsoft from making [04:24:58] a donation the short answer is no and we have existing partnerships with Microsoft that Ms. Nadler can speak to. - Does Microsoft have its name on its partnership? [04:25:13] - They've never requested a specific name, but similar to a lot of the other projects that, similar projects that Amazon or AWS might support, Microsoft has purchased 3D printers, they do a Girls in Engineering Day at every one of the middle schools throughout the school year, and they've never asked for anything in return. [04:25:35] - I would add, and I'm not sure if this is helpful, recognizing that we are asking for a name The Think Big Space is also a brand and identity. For example, Ms. Daller could maybe get into specifics. We had students at Simpson Middle School go to the Think Big Space and connect with students in Dublin out of Think Big Space internationally. [04:25:56] And so it's viewed as like an innovation hub. It's an opportunity for students to go and connect with each other and science first and foremost, but there's also an opportunity to partner with the innovation that's happening in a major corporation within the United States, but also internationally. [04:26:14] So while we're renaming it a Think Big Space, we're actually joining a network of school systems that have these type of spaces. And we're one of the few divisions, I don't want to speak out of turn, but that have multiple Think Big Spaces. And so we've done so well with the Think Big Space, it's simply there's continued motivation to do that. [04:26:34] So while it is naming, it's also bringing a resource into our school system that will provide opportunities above and beyond just what's happening in that school. Dr. Rasheed? [04:26:51] I forgot, is this time-sensitive? Like, it has to be voted on today? I'm just asking, putting it out there. Mr. Clevin? Because it looks like there's a lot of questions about it, and there's just some ambiguity. It would, we are aiming, we would, if it was not voted today, it would be difficult to get the project done at the end of this. [04:27:13] It would be difficult to get the project done. We don't know when we would fit in the logistical timing of it. Mr. Streffi. Yeah, last comment. So from my perspective, I think it is important for us to make a decision on this tonight because there's so much, regardless of what the decision is, there's so much work and sweat equity that has been put into all of this and the relationships as well. [04:27:44] And then the last point I'll add around this being kind of a resource, we teach in some of our classes or programs with Amazon technology or with Microsoft technology and so the fact that one of these technology providers are investing in our schools and providing those resources to us so that we can offer this opportunity is something I think is pretty special. Seeing no more discussion we will take the vote. Madam Clerk can you please open the vote. Board members [04:28:20] please record your vote. Dr. Rishi. Chair if I may. Now you know Melinda some frustration with me um could i uh oh if it's not too late could it make a motion to postpone the vote to next to the next school board meeting mr allen uh given that you're in the middle of a vote it wouldn't be timely at this juncture um if there is an interest to move to reconsider the [04:29:00] vote after the vote has concluded that's something that could be considered so my understanding mr allen is because we have started the vote we have to complete this process that is correct okay thank you thank you mr. Allen madam clerk can you please close and display the vote and that motion passes six to two with miss Chandler and dr. Rashid [04:29:39] opposed and chair Vansfield absent for the vote thank you mr. Slevin and Ms. [04:29:57] Nadler we will now move on to our information items as we already discussed item 13.01 before the break we will move directly to item 13.02 which is the discussion of the golden to Mars transmission line project overseen by the Department of Support Services we will have mr. Kevin Lewis back for to give us more information about this mr. Lewis the floor is yours thank you vice [04:30:36] chair Donahue we appreciate the opportunity to come to you tonight we're here to provide a little bit of context a little bit of detail to both the board and the community recognizing the board has been involved in some public meetings already and has some some information about the project so I want to give an overview of what the project is and try to give some context to not only that the project but maybe some of the comments you heard tonight and some of the things that are a part of your decision as we move forward to this so [04:31:12] the project itself is a 500 and a 230 kV electric transmission project that means there's two circuits one very large 500 and one 230 it's just in the final stage in a series of projects that Dominion Energy is working to provide provide energy needs to Loudoun County so as you know this is a very important project to both the county and to the region and to all of our needs including our um you know school system and the all the power that we receive and utilize there so you know you'll see here there's a note that during these conversations we've had many [04:31:48] conversations with dominion energy as well as the county loudon staff the engineering staff planning staff and gone through a lot of details we've had multiple conversations about the potential for underground and what we've been advised by dominion that an underground solution is not feasible but as you know that the conversation continues and you know we're happy to continue that conversation with the board as well and at this point in time what we've been told by Dominion Energy is that they do not plan to submit a an underground version of this but again as you said we can we can continue to have this conversation so essentially what we're talking [04:32:26] about is Dominion Energy planning this big power line project has approached Loudoun County Public Schools because two of the five routes and you heard a lot of conversation tonight about the five routes and you can see here on the screen route one is red two is yellow three is green four is blue and five is orange and so you've heard a lot of references to each of those plans this evening and so i wanted to give a little bit of context in the upper right hand corner the northeast corner you can see where the golden substation is and that is near where route 28 and the wnd trail [04:33:01] cross, and then it winds its way down on one of five of those routes, all the way down to the bottom left, which is near the southwest corner of the airport property. So it's quite a project, and in the center of that screen, you see there a black star, and that star is the location of our schools, both the Rosalie Carter Elementary School and Rockridge High School. [04:33:26] So, traversing down from the Golden Substation, you'll see all five of the lines are located included in that same alignment. And you can see that the line changes from red to green to blue to indicate that they're all together. When you get down closer to where you see the word that the Lockridge substation, you'll see that they split. So the yellow and the red go towards the right. And then the purple or the blue, the green, and the yellow continue to go down. I'm sorry, the red and orange go to the left. And the blue, yellow, and green come toward and come toward our [04:34:00] property. As you get down closer to our property, you see that they split again, and the green and blue go on, the blue goes on the east and south side of our property, and the green goes on the north and the west side of our property, and then yellow splits off again and goes down through the Loudoun County Parkway route. So what we want to do is be able to talk a little bit more about how impacts our property itself and so the next series of slides will be to try to better describe that and this the upper center of the the site you'll see that [04:34:37] that somewhat yellowish shaded area is our campus it is includes our Rock Ridge High School and the Rosalia Carter Elementary School and you can see a little more detail where the blue line again on the east side and the south side of the project and then the green line goes on the north and the west and I will point out to the west of that green line, you'll also see the many houses, and you heard from a number of those folks tonight. [04:35:05] That's the Loudon Valley Estates 2 neighborhood, and I think probably a good many of those folks were here from that neighborhood. And then just to the south of our project, of our campus, is the Loudon Valley Estates 3 campus. And so I just want to point that out for reference as some of the folks that came to you tonight identified which one of those areas they were from. [04:35:28] So we'll also show that the green and blue lines converge again and then go down along the alignment of the broad run corridor. So I want to be clear that tonight what you're being asked to do is to consider the endorsement of one of the alignments. [04:35:48] Right now we don't have, the engineering has not been done for any of these lines, so we can't tell you as staff, we can't tell you exactly how our property would be actually impacted by either of those lines. So that would come later. the board if you endorse one or other of these lines then as the the application gets submitted to the state corporation commission however that works out in the final alignment is chosen or decided by the powers that be then we would come back and deal with easement acquisition properties where we would know exactly where the alignment would be um so just just for you know it's there's [04:36:25] there's more to come with this and tonight you would not be granting an easement uh well this conversation wouldn't be a granting an easement we would be just talking about the alignment and as you also know and you heard a couple of speakers say tonight the board supervisors has a made taken a vote to endorse the blue line as their number one choice and then a green line as their second choice so if in those two lines of the old ones that affect our property so essentially we would be talking about whether or not one or either of those would be [04:37:02] be acceptable to the board. You heard a lot of conversations about one, two, and five, which are the ones that go down the parkway, really aren't a part of your decision. However, if you were to decide not to support either, then that may affect what, you know, the ultimate decision by Dominion Energy when they take that forward. So you wouldn't be impacting directly on that, but you may have an effect on that with your decision. So this is just a slide, just talks, it shares the information that was provided by the Board of Supervisors vote, where they talked about in consideration, they decided that route for the blue line is a preferred alignment and route 3 the green line is the second preferred alignment so that's that's the [04:37:40] information that the board supervisors the action they took and what they've sent a letter to us asking the board to support that as well you also heard a lot of numbers tonight about the number of from the the folks that spoke about the number of neighborhoods the number of houses that were impacted this chart is a summary and you can see across the top the red yellow green blue and orange in those columns we've highlighted the green and blue columns of route three and four because those are the two again that affect our property probably where most of the numbers came from that you heard about [04:38:18] tonight was that where you see two-thirds of the way down where you see the residences dwellings within 500 feet of the center line number people talked about 1200 homes that's where that's coming from route five all the way in the far right 1161 and so for the most part if you focus on the green and blue the two routes that affect our property they're pretty similar in the impact on the number of wetlands affected the forest the floodplain all those things the right away the difference there is the green line affects 128 homes and the blue lines affects 64 homes and talking [04:38:57] with county staff that is part of what the Board of Supervisors looked at that that was and you heard people say tonight that was the least impactful for the dwellings but both of those are very impactful to our campus and so I don't want to minimize that but just sharing that that's this is the chart where they were taking that information from so it would take a little bit of time to talk more about the projects themselves to both the green and the blue here you see we begin the a blow-up version of the green and you can see where the green [04:39:36] line comes down from the upper right the northeast corner of the property and then turns and goes across our property the areas that you see hatched in black are the areas where they actually cross our property you see our property has two stems up at the top that follow the the routing of the of the broad run the black dots in there are the potential locations for the power poles themselves again the engineering hasn't been done so those are estimates at this point the green line then only touches our property in the back, but then goes parallel to our property down the Broad Run [04:40:10] to the west side of the property, and you can see there is about 369 feet from our elementary school. I will also share that that dimension is to the edge of the easement, not to the actual power pole, so the actual power pole may be slightly farther away from our school than that. [04:40:30] I'm going to take a couple of shots. The next couple of slides will give you some visuals that the Dominion Energy engineers put together for us to help show what the actual effects are. So the first one you're going to see, we're going to focus on the elementary school on the left. If you see where the bus loop is, the first one is if you're standing close to the bus loop looking to the left or to the west. And then the next series of slides will be right from behind the school and looking from the west and then to the north and then to the northeast. So as you see those photographs come [04:41:04] up. Oh, you know, I wanted to also point out in this line, you do see a purple line on the right hand side between our campus and the, um, um, the industrial park. That is an existing 230 line that's there now. Um, so again, this is standing in front of the school, looking to the West, you can see the corner of the Rosalie Carter elementary school. The top photograph is what you see now today. Um, and the, the one at the bottom is where the dominion folks have superimposed what the power lines would look like from that area. The next one is again standing in the back of the [04:41:44] building looking in the same direction where at the top you see you can see the playground there on the on the far right the tennis courts or playground in the center there between the trees and the tennis courts are to your right that actually go to the high school. Again the bottom photograph the power poles and the power lines are superimposed in that photograph to indicate what it may look like. Same here is looking straight and due north and you see right looking from behind the elementary school over top of the tennis courts. The top is without, and the bottom has the power lines shown there as well. And then we're now looking kind of northeast where you see [04:42:21] the wooded area behind the school and the power poles and lines superimposed on that photograph. This is if you go over to the high school and stand in the stadium and look towards the elementary school, you can see the power lines. It's really kind of hard to tell, but in that picture you can see the high school and then behind that is the elementary school and then that's the green line superimposed on there as well. So that's the green line. We go to the blue and we do a similar [04:42:56] exercise where you see the blue line coming down on the east and south side of the property. In the big yellow circle there you see some light blue dots. Those are the potential locations of power poles again engineering has not yet been done and this line comes within 117 feet of the stadium but then a little more than 400 from the the elementary school and a little less than 400 326 I think it says there from the high school so they are similar proximity from the buildings and again they they are closest to the folks in the Loudoun Valley States 3 subdivision you can [04:43:35] see that right below that on in the campus so these photographs will be similar in nature of It'll be a little bit easier to tell because the stadium is a giveaway. But the first photograph you're going to see, if you can picture standing on the front porch, so to speak, or in the front doors of the high school looking directly south towards the Lowndon Valley Estates 3 neighborhood. [04:44:01] And so above is what you see now, and you see a couple of light poles in the parking lot, and then you see the power pole there that is directly between the school parking lot and the Lowndon Valley Estates 3 neighborhood. The next photograph is looking in that same direction from the stadium, looking south towards there, and you can see quite a few poles that are associated with the lights on the softball field, but then the power poles have been superimposed in the bottom section. [04:44:34] This is sitting on the visitor's side of the stadium, looking to the industrial park to the east, and you'll see there that at the bottom you can see the power poles between the trees. And the last one is sitting at the home side of the stadium, looking across the field toward the industrial park, and you can see those superimposed there. [04:44:59] So from a visual impact perspective, I just wanted to share how each of those were, and we're very grateful for the Dominion folks to provide these to help us and you in the community visualize what we're talking about. This is the last one looking back at the north side of the property from the high school as well. [04:45:17] So right now we have a tentative plan for tonight. As you can see, we're having an information item. We plan to bring that back, but we're hopeful to have some comments and some guidance from the school board. You can see there that Dominion has a plan to submit to the SCC in the very near future. [04:45:39] We don't have that exact date yet. And so, you know, any information that we can have from the board, guidance from the board, or any direction you give us, then we'll certainly share that with them. And that may or may not be included in their application and their process moving forward. this is just a final just a summary of the whole area and I think that's probably my last slide I just want to be able to have that here for you to be to be able to see and ask any questions you may have I will say that I think I've had the conversation with a couple of you if you look at that area right there [04:46:16] where the blue and the green come back together at the southeast corner southwest corner of our property that's where the road comes into the campus so So I think, as I've described to you before, if the board is going to support one or the other, and if it is the green or the blue, you would be driving underneath of the green line at that point when you come across that bridge as it goes down the trail, and then the blue line would be on your right-hand side. [04:46:45] So the visuals that you had there, we believe that the green would be less visually impactful, but then the board has lots of other things to consider as well. So all that to say, I'm happy to answer as many questions as I can, and I'll turn it back to you, Vice Chair Donahue. [04:47:05] Thank you very much, Mr. Lewis. I have a couple of questions for you, and then I suspect my colleagues will have several also. Did you mention already on the map, the second slide, what the purple lines are? [04:47:26] Thank you. So those lines that are already there, in fact, they were there when we built the school in 2017, I think it was, And so they are existing and currently are about the size of one of the circuits that would be on the new poles. [04:47:45] And is there, several of the speakers earlier seem to be advocating that we should oppose all of the suggested lines. Can you talk a little bit about hypothetically what might happen if we were to say we don't support any of them? [04:48:05] So I think mostly you only have a voice for the blue and the green because those are the ones that touch your property. the Board of Supervisors has a much longer alignment to consider for all the impacts for the rest of the community. So if you were to support neither of those, then the Dominion Energy and the Board of Supervisors would have choices to go, and do they then consider the other routes? [04:48:29] So as I said earlier, you don't have a voice in routes one, two, and five, but if you make a decision on three and four, then it could very well impact that focus. And so right now we're asking the board to just focus on four and five, the blue and the green. [04:48:49] Thank you, Mr. Lewis. And what would happen if we didn't express a preference prior to Dominion submitting their application to the SCC? I'm not sure I'm in a position to answer that accurately. [04:49:06] I can speculate, and that's never a good idea. But if you take no position, then you don't have a voice at all. And so, you know, that is one option you have is to oppose them or you can endorse one or the other or, you know, like the supervisors endorse one for a preference one and then the other as a secondary preference. [04:49:24] So this is, I guess, your opportunity to have a voice in this process. Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Yes. Yes. Dr. Rashid. I just wanted to piggyback off the question that Chair Donahue had asked you. [04:49:41] I didn't hear the first part of the answer. Why was it that the purple lines were not considered again? Or purple line was not, or the purple route was not considered? Yeah, so the purple line is just indicating a line that is already there. It's been installed for a number of years and was there when we built the school and was there when the community was built as well. [04:49:59] So I'm assuming we can't add to it. I think that's true. That's outside of my area of expertise. But, yeah, I believe that's the case. They can't add to it. Ms. LeBeau. I forgot. [04:50:16] Give me a minute. Failing mind. Yeah. I wanted to ask the buildings in purple stripes those are on I'm looking at 22 at the moment but those are buildings powered by the purple lines is that what that is I'm not exactly sure what they are I don't think they're associated with the project they are buildings I think that are under construction right now and they're in an industrial park but I'm not sure what their actual [04:50:52] function is okay just wondered why they were verbalized I think it's just because they're under construction now okay thank you mrs. Griffiths thank you madam chair while I understand I might lose my voice here this affects many homes and schools and for me this is a health and safety issue it will also bring down the values of all homes in the area I have been here almost 20 years and I've seen a lot of change I worry about the health of our kids not to mention Loudoun County is full of towers and data centers now this is not [04:51:28] the place when I moved almost 20 years ago it's not the same place there is not anywhere you can really drive without seeing towers and data centers I do not like being pressured to vote for this and I will not be part of any vote whether it's today or next board meeting. Thank you. Ms. Chernoff and Mr. Estrovie. Thank you. Mr. Lewis many of the speakers tonight talked about preferring an underground option can you walk us through what say we have in that if that's even on the table at all if that was discussed with the Board of [04:52:07] Supervisors as well sure I have limited awareness of all the conversations that were taken about it what I do know is when you transition from an overhead line to an underground line it is quite an apparatus to do that and it takes what has been estimated five to seven acres of property to do that so you when you transition down off of that pole to get to underground it's a big area that has to do that it's also a lot of power and so when you put that underground you have to have special conditions to do that it'll be a very large ditch it would be concrete in case probably it's my understanding [04:52:45] there may even have to be cooling systems because the amount of heat that's generated by those by those lines and so it's not the same as us burying a line that furnished that feeds our schools it's it's quite an endeavor so i think that was been part of the the challenge that their dominion engineers have had is try to find the space to get that down off the pole and then back up on the poles on the other end so you'd have to have that space in both places there have been a number of conversations with the airport you can see in that drawing where that circle is that's the doppler radar for the that's sitting on the airport area that's the national weather service station there and so we're very close to the airport i know those conversations were [04:53:25] had with the the airport authorities and there were challenges with that and as I said when I started the conversation that the Dominion folks have told us it's not an option I do know that folks from the county the board supervisors and their staff have continued that conversation and so we're happy to you know dig deeper into that if the board would like us to do that. I appreciate that and then can you flip to the side where it's zoomed in on green and blue but closer up image of [04:53:58] just the lines sorry yeah that that's good um is it fair to say like i know that it's the closest point on the green line is probably the closest point to one of our schools is that that's correct right in terms of feet the 390 i think it was the slide that had both lines the green and the blue slide four thank you yeah no but what i'm trying to understand is i i think that the green line [04:54:38] is the line that gets closest to one of our schools but it appears that the blue line has a is minimally further away and has an impact on both schools is that fair to say that is fair yes because I'm trying to reconcile some of the comments that we heard tonight and really listening and understanding that yes that green line it is true to say that that one gets the closest to one of our schools but also the blue line has a pretty big impact to both rosalie carter and rockridge in a close proximity we're talking about 50 feet i think yes so the green line is [04:55:16] 369 feet away and the blue line is 326 from the green is 369 from the elementary and the blue is 326 from the high school but i'll also share that this this again is prior to final engineering so these are estimates at this point all the way around okay i appreciate that and then are there any other discussions or upcoming things that would impact these lines or are they pretty much it's these these are the options and that's what's gonna happen so my staff is working and i appreciate [04:55:52] that question so my staff is working with the county staff to put together a meeting with the dominion folks and also columbia gas and so there is a conversation about some potential conflicts about easement that the columbia gas folks need as well and so we're trying to sort that out and hopefully by the time we get back to the board we'll have had that meeting we'll know the answer to all that okay so if there's potential impact there we would could impact one of the routes or multiple? Most likely it would impact the blue line because the the conflict that we understand is between the gas line and the blue line. Okay all right that will be helpful information. Thank you. Mr. Streffi. Thank you madam [04:56:32] chair. I have a bunch of questions slash comments but I am curious you mentioned that the green line would cross over the road that leads to Rosalie and Rock ridge what would that look like aesthetically i mean visually so the lines would literally cross the road how far away would those poles be those towers from the actual road sorry in this photograph you see the in the bottom left hand corner right where the the dimension is shown um close to the [04:57:11] houses is where the road comes in and you can see that little called around area little cul-de-sac right before the the bus loop that is where that green line would cross over top of that road and essentially if it's not directly over the bridge the bridge spans the the the stream corridor and so that the proposed green line is going down that same area so as you drove across that road across that bridge into the campus you would go underneath of it and then as you look forward then you don't see it again because it's behind you now granted the photographs we saw if you turn around and look back then you would see them and that's the photographs we had with the the power line superimposed on there and and from [04:57:49] from my perspective that would be less visually impactful than what the blue line would be but as we've heard tonight there's more things to consider than that and then there are a lot of walking paths that lead to the school where students who are whether they're in the walking zone or outside of the walking zone they use that path those paths what do you imagine the impact being to those students who are walking to the schools and I've heard lots of things from community members full disclosure I am an LV2 resident right and so many of the folks who are here tonight are my neighbors and I have very [04:58:27] similar concerns right as we all do I have a little one going to Rosalie this year so just want to make sure that like there so there's there's the noise concerns of these power lines they buzz right there's a lot of other considerations. So what about those walking paths? So for the most part, if you're walking from Loudoun Valley Estates 2, you'll be walking down Loudoun Reserve Drive along the sidewalk beside the road, and you would have that same experience that I just described, walking under the power line as you walk across the bridge. Excuse me. If you're coming from Loudoun Valley Estates 3 to [04:59:05] the south, you can see, I don't know if you can see that, but there's a red line that indicates coming from that cul-de-sac, the first cul-de-sac closest to the broad run, you can see a red line that comes up and then goes left and then goes on to the campus. That is a trail network that comes from Loudoun Valley Estates 3. [04:59:23] So if the blue line were to be put in, then those students would be walking under that power line to get there from that perspective. And then the green line, I don't know if you mentioned it. I do see some red right along the green line as well. Are those walking paths? I believe so, but I'm not really sure. [04:59:43] That's off of our property. that's on the county property along the Broad Run, but I do believe there is a trail down that stream corridor. - So from my perspective, as I'm weighing this, I think community members by and large, they understand that the Golden to Mars connection is a critical connection that has to be done. [05:00:06] I think from my perspective, I also want to stress that although we may not have a direct voice, any of the routes one, two, and five that go across Loudoun County Parkway not a reasonable option I think that's that's pretty clear to many of the community members as well and it has you know very little community support and would negatively impact everything from environment to home you know to homes to other public facilities you know by magnitudes so that route shouldn't be considered and I just want to offer my perspective is that if we you know [05:00:46] Depending on what our position is, we will have a voice in whether or not a Loudoun County Parkway route is taken because there is a right-of-way route. I forget which number route. I confuse the colors and the numbers now because I've looked at this so many times. [05:01:04] So I will say that that is a very important consideration, as we heard tonight. At the same time, I'm conflicted because regarding routes three, green and blue, while they impact fewer residences, the proximity to the schools should be concerning, right? [05:01:24] And I think it's okay to say that, given that both routes pass, like, less than 500 feet from Rosalie and or Rockridge. I think that's an important consideration as well. And it was mentioned that in the fall, we basically changed our cell phone tower policy that we don't, in committee, we don't see by policy now new applications for cell towers on LCPS property. [05:01:55] And I can't speak for the rest of the board, but for me, that was basically seeing that when decisions like this have to be made and we're looking for the least impactful choice, that least impactful choice seems to more often than not default to our school communities and our LCPS properties. [05:02:21] and I think that that is something that's really where I was coming from with that vote and I know that this is not apples to apples but it is important to note that you know I am concerned about what's being decided as the least impactful route is disproportionately impacting our school communities and I'm not thinking about it from this just this one vote or this one case I'm thinking about it for the long term as well and in that area there's a lot of green right and so the community obviously cares about protecting whatever green is left in our you know in our [05:02:56] neighborhood but also in our county so i'll say that and then um i do want to piggyback off of ms shirnoff's point around undergrounding um many of the community members including myself feel that we haven't adequately explored partial undergrounding um and i i definitely understand that the board of supervisors in their recommendation have included that desire as well and so I am also wondering what else we can do to advocate for the [05:03:33] partial undergrounding solution knowing that the both of these routes are less than 500 feet from the from the schools I I still don't know what mechanisms we have to advocate for for that I know I understand the costs I know I understand there are some challenges and we don't fully know if it's feasible there it It seems that there could be enough land between the two points for the transfer stations. [05:04:03] But a lot of community members also have said that we haven't brought EMWA to the table together with Dominion to really explore that route. And we do live in the richest county in the country, and it seems time to actually explore that. [05:04:22] especially with so many data centers and a lot of the energy use coming, you know, feeding back into those data centers. So I know I have a lot of points here, but I just want to express one or two more. I think it's really important to look at the vibe, the feasibility of those partial underground routes. [05:04:42] And then I think from my perspective, one of the things that I am also conflicted about is that I can't really tell exactly how LCPS properly, LCVS property is actually going to get impacted. I think, I believe it was Ms. Griffiths mentioned that as well. So that's something that doesn't sit well. So I think it is important that we push for a solution that prioritizes the safety and minimizes disruption and considers a viable [05:05:16] alternative, which could be three and four, but I think it's important that we exhaust our ability, at least as a board, to push for those underground routes. Dr. Deans. I just think that we should take safety over aesthetics, and we should choose based on the elementary school versus the high school because of the young developmental stages that the elementary kids are in. [05:05:54] So I think we should choose safety over aesthetics. Looking at the ugly lines won't hurt us as bad as the vibrations off or off the lines. [05:06:12] So I just think that we should choose the one that is furthest away from the elementary school. Ms. LaBelle and then Ms. Chandler. I have a concern on how close the blue line is running to the back of the stadium area. [05:06:33] You have a lot of activity going on there after school, as well as during football games at night. You have band practice. You have all kinds of practices going on in that area. So that does concern me how close that is. [05:06:52] We saw it in one of the slides that were of the actual location, standing in the stadium, how close they would be standing to those lines. And they're also elevated at that point in time, so they're even closer to any of the emissions if they're, you know, harmful or not. [05:07:11] They're still there, and that becomes a worry for me. Ms. Chandler. Thank you. I have to say I'm really struggling with this, and, of course, it's not an easy decision for any of us to make. [05:07:30] It's definitely a health and safety issue for me. I have been fixated on one idea since it was written by a constituent in an email over the weekend. I understand the VDOE's guidelines for school facilities in Virginia's public schools. [05:07:47] On page 16, under school site consideration, says locations of schools near electric power transmission lines or other environmental hazards should be avoided. And that's for new school construction. but I'm really struggling with the idea that if it's not a good idea to build new schools near existing power lines, then how is it a good idea to build power lines near existing schools? And that, I can say, extends to homes too, of course. And so if there's any way or any exploration for undergrounding, especially in this area, it's something that I would like to see first and [05:08:24] foremost. That said, could you please repeat for me what you were saying with Ms. Chernoff's question about some considerations with multiple utility lines? So we have some conversations with Columbia Gas. It's also asked for an easement in the same general area as the blue line, but the engineering of neither utility is complete yet so that we know exactly what the the whether it is a true conflict or whether it's not and so we're trying to get all those parties in the room to figure out what that means I will say [05:09:02] miss Chandler I appreciate you reminding me about the Department of Ed's guidelines and you are correct that that language is in there and it says that that we should be you know power lines schools near power lines should be avoided so I reached out to the video a director of facilities to see if he could get any more guidance from that because the word near doesn't help me a lot is near two feet or 400 feet or a thousand feet and there's not any more specificity to that although they did say that you know this that recommendation is not binding is not an authority having jurisdiction [05:09:40] and unfortunately it doesn't come with any real data to know exactly what that means what near is but point taken that it is near is near and I don't think we're going to argue that this is not near. So it is something to consider. Right. And if it's a VDOE recommendation and it's a safety concern and it's no more or less a safety concern for a school or a house, I mean, this is a highly populated area. It's a very diverse community. We saw and heard that from the public [05:10:15] comment tonight. And when it comes down to it, knowing that it's possible that the preferred option that seems to be based on the email like I counted the emails I wrote notes on everybody's comment right everybody seems to be wanting number four and it's possible that number four might go away so I don't know how anybody can make an informed decision until I mean I'm so grateful that the team is trying to facilitate and get more information but it doesn't seem possible to make an informed decision until we have that information and so I'm just I'm really struggling thank you [05:10:54] Ms. Labelle. Once again, in looking at the athletic field, we also have tennis fields and parking lots that would run very, very close to the blue line. [05:11:11] I think that if we look at the blue line and how close it is to where student activities are taking place, and then look at the green line, at least the green line is further away from where the students are. [05:11:28] so I'm wondering if the green line wouldn't be a better option for our students I know everybody wrote about option four the blue line but I looked again and and I'm looking at where students are outside not just inside the building and there's a lot of places that you know they're open to [05:11:50] exposure seeing no more discussion right now and this is not on for action this will be brought forward as an action item at some point. Mr. Estreffi. Thank you. A quick one. So, Mr. Lewis, I know you mentioned that we still don't know the Columbia Gas proposal or easement request and how it might [05:12:29] impact. Do you think we'll know more by the next school board meeting? Are those meetings planned in the next week or two? The hope is to have those meetings, and I would agree that it would make sense to not come back to the board for action until we had the answer to that. [05:12:47] And I guess what I'd like to do, Madam Vice Chair, if it's not inappropriate, is to see if there's consensus to the board, would the board like us to go back and continue to explore the underground with the folks at Dominion Energy, just to try to run that to ground to make sure we had a really good answer for you all, and then sort out the question about the potential conflict and then we come back with more information. Mr. Allen, I don't know if you [05:13:18] heard Mr. Lewis's request, but is it okay for us to suggest guidance? I'm sorry, suggest guidance for... Sorry, Mr. I'm sorry to put you on the spot, Mr. Allen. Mr. Lewis was asking if we wanted him to run to ground the possibility of burying the lines and my question for you is because this this is on for information it's not on for action is are we okay to express a desire in that regard [05:13:57] thank you for clarifying so the board can always provide direction to the superintendent to provide to staff in that regard um it's not formal board action is as i understand it what you're you're asking um so that would seem to be appropriate thank you mr allen uh and mr lewis [05:14:27] i i believe my colleagues would strongly prefer to get some clarity on on that possibility thank you okay thank you all right thank you very much mr lewis and with that we will move on to item number 14 on our agenda board member comments and committee reports we always start with ms labelle Mrs. Griffiths, would you like to go first this evening? [05:14:58] Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to mention we have a young lady missing in the Dominican Republic. She is a resident of Ashburn. Her name is Sadiqsa Kanaki, and I think I speak for everyone here that we hope she is found safe. [05:15:16] So I just wanted to give some thoughts and prayers for her family. With that, I'd like to move on to, I've had the pleasure of attending the Loudoun Symphony Youth Orchestra concert at Light Ridge High School. The orchestra provides music education enrichment in an ensemble performance setting for more than 250 student musicians, 87% of whom are also students in Loudoun County public schools. [05:15:44] Students in the Philharmonic LSO top tier ensemble perform professional level standard orchestral repertoire and represent the most accomplished young musicians in the area. The LYSO Philharmonic auditioned and was selected to perform at the 2025 Viennese Masters Orchestra Invitational on June 20th at Carnegie Hall in New York City, where they will perform the works, including Florence Price's dances in the cane breaks and selections from Charles Gounod Foss on main stage [05:16:22] under the direction of conductor and music director, Dr. Hayden Dinesha. The Philharmonic students will also attend a clinic taught by distinguished conductor Helen H. Chapayo of the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts. The LYSO students are excited to represent Loudoun and share a part of our county's rich artistic talent with an audience on the world stage. [05:16:46] To experience a performance by these excellent musicians, they welcome members of the Loudoun County School Board to attend the next LYSO Spring Concert, which will take place on Saturday, May 10th at 2 p.m. at Light Ridge High School. Please mark your calendars. Thank you. [05:17:04] Ms. Chandler? I don't have any further comments tonight. Thanks. Dr. Deans? For the Equity Committee, we're in the process of reimagining its role to the school board, and so we're in a holding pattern. [05:17:26] Thank you. I had the pleasure of a couple of interesting things recently. I attended the Loudoun Chambers breakfast talking about career and technical education with Mr. Estruffy and Ms. Chandler. [05:17:42] One of the keynote speakers was our very own Dr. Mike Grubbs, and it was a real treat to be present for that event. I also joined our chief of staff, Dr. Bergen, recently for a tour of the Middleburg Charter Academy, which was my first occasion seeing that school, and I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to do that. [05:18:01] I appreciate their welcoming me. This Thursday at 5 p.m., I will be attending the Board of Supervisors budget work session at 5 p.m. at the Government Center. Next Thursday, the 20th, is the next Student Services Committee meeting, which will be at 4.30 here at Admin. [05:18:21] And I also wanted to make sure I mentioned the Loudon Education Foundation has their application portal is open right now for their student scholarships and for their classroom scholarships. So anyone who is interested can find out more information at loudoneducationfoundation.org. [05:18:41] Equality Loudoun also has their application period open for scholarships right now for local, I believe it's last two years of high school and first two years of higher education for student scholarships. And Loudoun County High School is having a boys volleyball tournament and supply drive to benefit laws, the domestic violence shelter here in Loudoun County on next Wednesday, the 19th from 7 to 9 p.m. [05:19:10] at loudon county high school which i think sounds like it's going to be a fun event and i'm hoping to be able to go that's all for me mr estrafi thank you madam chair i wanted to take the opportunity just to remind everyone that on march 21st um we have the school business partnership awards recognition breakfast i think i saw most of um you all at the lat at the one last year um i think there was over uh or close to 500 people there it was a wonderful event i really encourage you guys to join. And this event honors, obviously, partners who have made an impact on [05:19:45] education in the school division. So that's it for me. Ms. Chernoff. Thank you. I just wanted to bring attention to a change in the curriculum and instruction meeting. It's normally the first Wednesday of every month. It was not last Wednesday. It is tomorrow evening. We have a time change from 4 30 start. We're starting at 4 45 p.m. mainly because of requests from high school teachers to be able to get there in time for the conversation on policy 5030 assessment and grading this is a year in the making and tomorrow night it sits as an action item potentially being ready to go to [05:20:22] the full board I'm very much looking forward to this conversation and to the final hopefully revisions before it reaches you all and we are also have two other big topics that we are covering so we're going to be talking about the generative AI policy which is coming back so that's policy 5430, which is a brand new policy. A lot of great discussion around AI and how it relates to education. So excited for that. And then we are also going to have Principal Buechler and Principal Compton from Trailside Middle School and Watson Mountain Middle School who are going to be presenting an update on how their alternative schedules are going. Trailside is piloting an [05:21:02] eight block and Watson is piloting a very unique A through E day schedule. So looking forward to next steps and conversations for middle school scheduling. And so we invite you to come out and be a part of that. You can sign up for a public comment when you arrive, if you would like. I would also just like to thank Light Ridge and their CTE programs as highlighted in the superintendent's report. We had an absolute blast making pizza with their students. Who doesn't, I mean, again, the food, I'm always there for the food. So it was awesome. As well as what I would [05:21:35] call a challenging cable car experiment where Dr. Spence and I did not thrive particularly. But that's okay. You live and learn. And also this past weekend, I just have to give a shout out to Harper Park Middle School, which basically kicked off the theater season, which I'm very excited about with a show filled with color and life and fun in Seussical, the musical, Junior. And just a huge thank you as we enter into this season of all the shows at high school and middle school levels for all the educators and the parents and that are selflessly serving to make sure that [05:22:11] these shows happen and just a huge shout out to our students who just are amazingly talented so it just in a season that's you know coming out of winter been kind of heavy it was just it was all the fun you could possibly imagine so huge shout out to those kiddos um and just a great time overall. Dr. Rasheed. Thank you, Chair. At the March Specialized Programs and Centers Committee meeting, staff shared insight on how they are developing a five-year plan for career and technical education expansion. They're considering gaps, meeting clusters, or zones where existing CTE programs are not offered. They are also seeking input from educators and school administrators [05:22:49] who are interested in providing new high-demand CTE programs. I was pleased to learn that the clusters they are considering are based on county planning zones, meaning that potential transportation needs will be top of the mind. The five-year plan should be finalized and in the implementation stage this fall. Thanks, Chair. And Ms. Labelle. Thank you, Madam Chair. The SBAC committee met recently. A group of students, I'm constrained from giving any too much information, did reach out to me and asked if they could, as part of their capstone program, [05:23:29] present a program about safety and security and suggestions to the school system. And they came at our last, not the one we had today, but the meeting before, and they were wonderful. They had a bunch of wonderful ideas, a lot of them which we are already implementing, but they didn't know that when they put their capstone project together. [05:23:52] They are continuing to survey all the high schools in the county to ask them in a survey how they feel about security in their building, what do they see as gaps, and they will be presenting or forwarding the information to the SBAC committee and to Mr. Clark. [05:24:13] The other thing that happened recently is I went with Mr. Allen, our school division legal person, and we went to a legal seminar, and I got lots of good information, lots of updates, things that we have to look at when we are working with children in SBAC to make sure that we're not depriving anyone of their rights, that were in compliance with legal programs. [05:24:47] And the trip was wonderful. The trip home for both of us was a little challenging with planes that didn't work well. But we won't go there anymore. It's over, passed, and we're back home. And the last thing that I would like to mention is that I'm having my monthly roundtable. [05:25:06] It will be on the 27th of March, 6.30 to 8 o'clock at Coach's Corner, which serves great food, and we always go, and we're always there to listen to anybody that wants to come and ask about policies, tell us about problems. [05:25:26] We're always open, so hope to see you there. Thank you. Thank you, everyone, and Ms. LaBelle, glad you and Mr. Allen made it back safely. With that, we will move on to item number 15, new business. Is there any new business? Mrs. Griffiths. [05:25:42] Thank you, Madam Chair. As a matter of safety, I brought the issue of 80-40 at our February 11th meeting, and I believe there was discussion at the Student Services Committee meeting on February 20th. While I appreciated the discussion on 80-40 taking place at the committee meeting, I don't believe it was discussed in its entirety. [05:26:01] I believe it still needs to be addressed at committee and brought to the full school board for discussion. We would then have it as an information item eventually on the agenda for a future board meeting. Again, this is a safety issue, and we can't keep kicking the can down the road. We can't go on identity and emotions when it comes to safety. [05:26:19] I have also requested the focus group information that I'm waiting on. We were potentially going to contract with a group that would do focus groups, and apparently I thought we signed a confidentiality agreement, so I'm looking for that information as well. [05:26:37] But I would really like to have the conversation on 8040, and I know it has to go to committee first so I'm hoping it'll end up at the board and not next meeting but maybe the meeting after thank you is that a motion mrs. Grievous it's new business asking that it goes back to committee for discussion okay all right any other new business all right then the thank [05:27:12] you everyone thank you everyone for being here the March 11th 2025 school board meeting is adjourned thank you for coming and get home safe ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coraggio Consulting · aguyonx.com