Coraggio Consulting
Loudoun County School Board, 2nd Tuesday School Board Meeting, Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Place: Loudoun County Public Schools / School Board meeting (see BoardDocs / LCPS-TV)
Length: 5h 34m (video)
Official meeting video (Vimeo / LCPS-TV): https://player.vimeo.com/video/1135569519?rel=0
BoardDocs (School Board): https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/loudoun/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DMGHWQ4A665F

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

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[00:01:44] Good afternoon, I call to order this November 11th, 2025 Loudoun County School Board meeting, sorry. I'll start with disclosures and I'll go ahead and start. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in a connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees.

[00:02:11] Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees, while in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be effective, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest.

[00:02:29] This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Ms. Chandler. Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interest may also be affected,

[00:03:09] which i am included i can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest this disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years thank you miss chandler mrs griffiths thank you madam chair as a member of the loudon county school board i make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and our health insurance and related benefits in any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for lcps employees Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee.

[00:03:47] These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees while in the access of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public's interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years.

[00:04:05] Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. Mr. Streffi. Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees.

[00:04:23] Specifically, as a school board member, I'm eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest.

[00:04:39] This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Mr. Streffi. Ms. LaBelle. Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits in any other discussion that may include or affect the benefits for LCPS employees.

[00:05:05] Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and health-related benefits as an LCPS employee. In addition, as a former LCPS employee, I, as well as my spouse, receive Medicare Advantage insurance benefits through LCPS.

[00:05:23] These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which my spouse and I are included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest.

[00:05:39] This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. Ms. Chernoff, you think you got it? Okay, there we go. Thank you, Madam Chair.

[00:05:55] My apologies. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees specifically as a school board member I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee these benefits however affect thousands of employees well in the excess of the statutory three employees whose interest may also be affected of which I am included I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest this disclosure will be reflected in the public record of the

[00:06:32] clerk of the school board for five years thank you miss Chernoff for coming right in and doing it appreciate it um we'll move on to item three approval of the consent agenda uh board members are there any changes to be made to the consent agenda seeing none before we vote on it we have one proclamation to read this proclamation recognizes november three through seven 2025 as school psychologist week and will be read by mr streffi mr streffi thank you madam chair whereas all children and youth learn best when they are healthy supported safe and receive an education that enables them to thrive academically, socially, emotionally, and

[00:07:12] behaviorally, and whereas schools can more effectively ensure that all students are able to learn when they meet the needs of the whole child and provide culturally responsive, multi-tiered supports, and whereas children's mental health is directly linked to their learning and development, and the learning environment provides an optimal context to promote good mental health through connectedness within the school and community, and whereas sound psychological principles are integral to instruction and learning, social and emotional development, prevention, early intervention and school safety, and reverence for the LCPS commitment

[00:07:50] to equity for all students, and whereas school psychologists are specially trained to provide access to a continuum of mental health services and academic supports that lower barriers to teaching and learning, and whereas school psychologists help children to thrive by nurturing their individual strengths across both personal and academic endeavors and whereas school psychologists are trained to assess student and systems-based barriers to learning as well as individual strengths, utilize data-based decision making, implement research-driven prevention and intervention strategies, and evaluate outcomes and improve accountability. And whereas residents of

[00:08:28] Loudoun County should recognize the vital role that school psychologists play in the mental health, social-emotional, behavioral, and academic development of all children. Now, therefore, be it resolved, the Loudoun County School Board formally recognizes November 3rd to the 7th, 2025, as School Psychologists Week in Loudoun County Public Schools to highlight the positive contributions that school psychologists make to the division.

[00:08:52] Thank you, Mr. Streffi. I'll now entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. I move that we approve the consent agenda. Thank you, Dr. Deans. I have a motion by Dr. Deans to approve the consent agenda.

[00:09:08] I have a second I mr. Struffy second we have a second by mr. Struffy it's been properly moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda at this time we'll take a vote to approve it clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote and that motion passes six to with six to zero with mrs. Griffiths abstaining from the vote and Vice Chair Donahue and Dr. Rashid absent for the vote. All right let's move on to item four

[00:09:47] our work session starting with Department of Communications and Community Engagement Division of Family and Community Engagement Efforts presented by Renee Dawson Director of Family

[00:10:29] and Community Engagement and I'll have her introduce the rest of her team. Good afternoon Chair Mansfield, board members, and Dr. Smets. It is National Family and Community Engagement month. Thank you for the opportunity to share an update from the Division of Family and Community Engagement. I'm here with my colleague, Supervisor Sarah Boyce, Supervisor of Outreach. Now in our second year, this work reflects a strong commitment to strengthening the communications among families, schools, and community partners. We are proud to highlight the meaningful progress already underway this academic year and the impact it is having across our schools and

[00:11:08] communities. Family and community engagement is a key strategy for improving student success and strengthening our school communities. This side highlights three important impacts of this work. First, we know and data indicates that strong partnerships between families and schools improve student outcomes. When families are connected and engaged, students have a a better attendance, stronger achievement, and higher levels of motivation. Second, FACE helps

[00:11:43] expand access to learning. By connecting families to resources, programs, and clear information, we support their ability to guide and encourage their students throughout the school year. Third, FACE promotes meaningful engagement with all families. Multilingual communication, inclusive outreach, and aligned community partnerships help us reach families in ways that meet their needs and strengthen their connection to our schools.

[00:12:11] These impacts reflect why FACE is a vital part of supporting every student and every family across LCPS. We are excited to offer an update on a few key areas that we lead in the Division of Family and Community Engagement.

[00:12:31] Each of these focus areas is anchored in the 1LCPS strategic plan and represents the work that we do every day to support students families and schools we'll be sharing updates about our amazing family liaisons who serve as trusted connectors for families they help families navigate school system access resources and strengthen the home school relationship and Family Academy which provides families with workshops and learning opportunities that build knowledge and confidence to support their students throughout the school year. Language assistance services ensures that families have access to interpretation and

[00:13:09] translation so that they can fully participate in their child's education. This work removes barriers and helps families stay informed and engaged. Our community schools and communities in schools partnerships provide coordinated supports in schools with identified needs.

[00:13:28] These efforts bring together academic support, family services, and community resources to helps students succeed. Faith and business partnerships deepen connections between schools and the wider community, and these partnerships provide support in programs, volunteers, and resources that enhance student experiences. We are very happy, very, very happy, to be hosting an interfaith luncheon this Thursday, November 13th, on World Kindness Day. Finally, the FACE Educator Cohort builds staff capacity by helping teachers and other educators strengthen

[00:14:07] engagement practices and integrate family and community engagement into daily instruction. These areas together reflect the core work of FACE and our commitment to supporting every family and every child every day. Good evening Chair Mansfield and the members of the Loudoun County School Board. Thank you for the opportunity to spotlight our work happening within the Division of family and community engagements in my role i have the pleasure of overseeing and coordinating our family liaisons across lcps our family liaisons main goal is to be the bridge between

[00:14:43] our families our schools and the broader loudon county community our family liaisons serve all families within their school but 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 our community that can help with a variety of needs.

[00:15:05] 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 excel academically. Additionally, our family liaisons help parents and families engage with their school and become meaningful participants in their child's education. Family liaisons help parents to navigate school and division technology, opportunities, and resources.

[00:15:26] They assist families to understand how to best support their children and promote attendance and academic engagement. Finally, family liaisons serve as a person of trust for the families within our schools. They may not always have all the answers, but they can be a first point of contact for a parent to get them the information that they need.

[00:15:47] This slide shows the immense impact that our family liaisons have had across the division. During the 2024 to 2025 school year, family liaisons assisted an average of between 3,000 and 4,000 families and between 4,000 and 5,000 students each month.

[00:16:04] They supported our families with assistance and referrals for basic needs such as food, clothing, health care, housing, utilities, transportation, and hygiene items. They distributed vouchers made available by generous partners such as the National Center for Children and Families and Galilee United Methodist Church to access free eye exams and glasses, winter clothing and accessories, and household furniture and kitchenware.

[00:16:30] Family liaisons help distribute winter coats and school supplies donated by our amazing community partners, such as the Knights of Columbus, Dulles South Clothing Closet, Loudoun Fire and Rescue, and the Broadlands Rotary, and many others. Family liaisons run the weekend backpack meal programs and in-school food pantries through partnerships with the Loudoun Education Foundation-Fueled Program and various other churches and faith-based communities.

[00:16:57] They make regular referrals to our community nonprofit organizations, such as Loud and Hunger Relief, Women Giving Back, HealthWorks, Inova Cares, Loud and Literacy Council, Good Shepherd of Northern Virginia, Tree of Life, and many more I could continue to go on. Family liaisons have helped countless families apply for LCPS services, such as free and reduced meals, McKinney-Vento, after-school programming, fee waivers, and much more.

[00:17:24] So far this year, our family liaisons have reported seeing an increase in need and inquiries from families within our community who are seeking assistance after being impacted by the federal furloughs and reductions in force. Family liaisons continue to serve as a person of trust for all families within their school to help in their time of need so that our students do not have to worry about challenges at home.

[00:17:45] They can instead come to school every day ready to learn and to 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 of testimonials highlighting the valuable support that family liaisons provide to families throughout our LCPS community. One family liaison shared, a family liaison's role goes beyond their office hours. It's about relationship building in a community and being a village for the parents and our

[00:18:25] families. It is about helping families have a peace of mind knowing that their child will be able to participate in a school event and not feel left out because of financial resources. Another liaison described the work that she did in September saying this month one of our students caught the attention of her teacher due to being noticeably distracted and unmotivated in class. After further follow-up we discovered that the family was struggling with food insecurity and lacked adequate clothing. The student's mother is a single parent with limited income barely able to cover rent and groceries. As a result the student now receives food to take home every

[00:19:01] Friday and I was able to provide a referral to women giving back where the family received clothing for both the student and her siblings. Again, there are more examples up on the screen and these are just several examples of hundreds of stories that show how important our family liaisons are to our school community. Now we'll transition to Family Academy. So the Family Academy is a key initiative within the Division of Family and Community Engagement. It's designed to provide families with the knowledge, resources, and tools needed to support their children's

[00:19:36] academic success. Recognizing that strong family-school partnerships leads to positive student outcomes, the Academy offers online learning sessions that empower our families, enhance communication, and address key topics that impact student achievement. Through a series of online workshops, families gain deeper insight into the school division, strengthen connections with educators, and become effective advocates for their child's success.

[00:20:03] Our sessions are offered online at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, and interestingly enough, our lunch sessions are the ones that are most attended. As you can see on the slide, we have included all sessions for the remainder of the year, and it is important to note that all sessions are recorded, and we have a digital catalog of each session on the LCPS website for our families to refer back to at their leisure.

[00:20:30] This initiative reinforces the division's commitment to engaging families as partners in education, ensuring that our parents have access to the information and tools they need to help their children thrive. So the next slide is about the data. So the first two Family Academy sessions generated strong positive outcomes, with all the respondents reporting that they felt more engaged with LCPS after participating.

[00:20:55] that. We saw this. We were very excited. Families also unanimously agreed or strongly agreed that the sessions provided valuable information and tools to support their child's academic success, demonstrating that the content is meeting real needs. Likewise, 100% of the respondents expressed interest in attending future sessions, showing strong momentum and enthusiasm for continued learning opportunities. The visual data reflects this consistency with all responses falling into the agree or strongly agree categories and the strongest rating of 71%

[00:21:34] focused on the usefulness of academic support tools provided. Overall, these results show that Family Academy is building trust and strengthening school and home connections and guiding future content based on authentic family needs. And our next Family Academy session is actually tomorrow so we would love to invite everyone to join us at 12 o'clock or 6 o'clock to learn about next level transitions. So moving into multilingual services another component to our work within FACE is supporting multilingual services to promote family engagement with all parents

[00:22:10] regardless of language or background. 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 the division, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, Vietnamese, and Urdu.

[00:22:34] 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.

[00:22:52] We have a virtual remote interpretation platform that allows the school staff member to connect with an interpreter online, on-screen, on-demand. Additionally, we have a dial-in phone interpretation system called LanguageLine which is available to support over 200 languages and available for any LCPS staff member to access.

[00:23:12] As our Loudoun County demographics have changed over the years, we have continued to see an increase in demand for multilingual services. You can see that we average around 2,000 requests for written translation and nearly 4,000 requests for spoken interpretation each year. This does not include the thousands of calls through language line and virtual remote interpretation.

[00:23:32] So far this year, we have supported nearly 900 translation requests and 1,300 spoken interpretation requests. 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. This slide introduces the two models the Division of Family and Community Engagement uses to provide student-centered supports in LCPS. On the left is our Community Schools Approach. This is an LCPS-led program

[00:24:09] that brings together academics, family engagement, and community resources to support students and families. The focus is on coordinating services within the school to meet the needs of the whole child on the right is the communities in schools they are different this is a national program currently operating in two of our schools communities and schools places a full-time coordinator in each building to work directly with students families and staff the coordinator identifies needs connect students to supports and helps track progress over time both models share the same purpose which is to make sure students have the resources and the

[00:24:47] support they need to be successful. In the next few slides we're going to provide a clearer and closer look at how these approaches are working in LCPS and the early impact that we are seeing in each school. The LCPS Community School Initiative is a framework that supports academic achievement of our students by focusing on four main pillars: integrated student supports and basic needs resources, expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities, meaningful family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership practices. Community school models exist around the country to support our most vulnerable students

[00:25:27] in a wraparound holistic and supportive manner. By providing intentional supports and resources for students and families with the partnership and help of our community agencies, community schools provide a space where every child can succeed. The community school initiatives supports Sully, Guilford, Forest Grove, Rolling Ridge, Sugar Land, and Sterling Elementary Schools. In September of 2024, LCPS received a $377,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Education to support our community schools initiative. These funds were used to hire a community school coordinator to

[00:26:04] lead and champion this work in two of our community schools. Our community schools coordinator position is fully school-based and splits her time evenly between Guilford and Sully Elementary Schools. Rosanna Nguyen was hired in April of 2025 as our community school coordinator and really hit the running, strengthening the family engagement and student support efforts within both schools.

[00:26:26] Ms. Nguyen conducted a family needs assessment at both schools to hear directly from parents about their wishes, wants, and needs. As a result, we launched 10 new after-school enrichment programs, six at Guilford and four at Sully. After-school programs include opportunities like drama club, running club, soccer league, art club, choir, and green beans planting club.

[00:26:47] In addition, Ms. Nguyen has partnered with Club Deportivo Sterling to launch a four-school futsal league. This provides students at Sully, Guilford, Rolling Ridge, and Sterling Elementary Schools the opportunity to compete against each other in an indoor soccer tournament building character and leadership.

[00:27:06] Another highlight of the community school work is the increase in parent involvement. Sully Elementary School's parent-teacher organization has quadrupled in size this year, growing from 4 to 16 members. Sully and Guilford have also partnered with Sterling Middle School and Loudoun Literacy Council to offer literacy courses to parents of our LCPS students.

[00:27:26] Our community schools have strengthened partnerships with community organizations, such as Reston Bible Church, Loudoun Fire and Rescue, and Asurion, and are continuing to partner with Sterling Community Center to expand after-school and extracurricular leadership opportunities for our students. Ms. Nguyen has also partnered with the EL FACE Department to offer a Parents as Educational Partners program at both schools to educate parents on navigating the U.S. school system and understanding best practices for supporting their child's learning and engagement within their schools.

[00:28:00] This slide shows some pictures from the community school efforts at both Guilford and Sully Elementary Schools. The pictures show the Guilford versus Sully Futsal game, our Heroes for Hornets School Supplies Drive with Loudoun Fire and Rescue, the Sully Futsal team, the Guilford Drama Club, the Guilford Green Beans Club, and the Sully Let Me Run Club.

[00:28:27] Communities in Schools is the nationally recognized evidence-based initiative that helps students stay engaged and connected by coordinating academic and non-academic supports. In LCPS, this work is made possible through our partnership with the Loudoun Education Foundation, Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, Communities and Schools Nova, and several grant partners who have invested in expanding opportunities for our students.

[00:28:54] Communities and Schools uses a relationship-based model with trained coordinators placed in schools. Seneca Ridge Middle School has one coordinator, and Dominion High School has two. And coordinators work every day as part of the school community. A core strength of communities and schools in LCPS is how tightly the coordinators collaborate with school leadership, the unified mental health teams, and family liaisons.

[00:29:19] They have conducted a needs assessment, aligned resources, and they make sure that the supports complement the strong systems already in place. This keeps the services coordinated and ensures that students and families experience a seamless network of support.

[00:29:35] This is the first year for our communities in schools implementation in LCPS, and both schools have already offered a wide range of programming and these activities reflect what CIS Communities in Schools brings to our schools in partnership with existing LCPS teams We have lunch bunches advisory groups affinity groups Lean in girls which builds communication skills and confidence and peer connection amongst our female students Backpack Buddies. They have engaged with Amazon, who has donated additional food support for our

[00:30:09] families during the holiday break. We have Adulting 101, which supports students in balancing school, sports, jobs, and responsibility. One of my personal favorites is Homework with Hoops, which blends academic support with structured recreation to really encourage participation and school connectedness we have advisory periods and push-in support that brings targeted assistance directly into classes for the students communities and schools strengthens the excellent work already happening in lcps by adding additional coordination partnership capacity

[00:30:46] and opportunities for students and this collaboration enhances what our schools and our unified mental health teams, family liaisons, and staff already do so well, allowing us to offer even more touch points in programs and connections for our students and families.

[00:31:05] This slide highlights two important partnership efforts led by the Division of Family and Community Engagement that strengthen connections between our schools and the broader community. On the left, to my left, the Interfaith Luncheon recognizes the many faith-based partners who support our schools throughout the year.

[00:31:23] These organizations work closely with principals, family liaisons, and staff to provide food, clothing, household items, mentoring opportunities, and seasonal supports for students and families. The luncheon celebrates their collaboration and acknowledges the meaningful role they play in helping students feel supported and connected.

[00:31:41] In the center, we have the School Business Partnership Executive Council, which serves as a bridge between LCPS and local businesses. Through this council, we create shared opportunities, elevate partnerships across our division, and match businesses with schools in ways that support academic enrichment, workforce exposure, and school-based initiatives.

[00:32:02] On the right, our broader partnerships work includes coordinating the annual School Business Partnership Awards, where we recognize impactful collaborations that make a difference for our students and families. These partnerships span a wide range of contributions, including career exploration, financial literacy support, resource drives, and volunteer engagement.

[00:32:25] Together, these interfaith and business partnerships strengthen school communities by expanding opportunities, connecting students and families to additional supports, and celebrating the generosity and commitment of our community partners. We have a lot to share.

[00:32:44] Our next one is our FACE teacher cohort, and we are happy to share the momentum from our inaugural FACE teacher cohort, our first division-wide professional learning experience dedicated specifically to family and community engagement. And the energy from our educators has been inspiring.

[00:33:03] The cohort equips educators with tools and frameworks and strategies to strengthen school-home connections and engage families as partners in learning. We are grateful that the EL FACE team is partnering with us. The amazing Sarah Acompo, EL Supervisor in Family and Community Engagement, is co-facilitating these sessions with me.

[00:33:24] Together, we serve as two champions for FACE as a strategy to support student outcomes. And Sarah's experience with multilingual learners enriches the learning for all participants. The cohort brings together educators from across the division to collaborate, share ideas, develop capstone projects aligned to the FACE framework.

[00:33:43] Each cohort member is required to design a capstone project that addresses a specific family or community engagement need in their school. It involves families in meaningful ways and aligns to the FACE framework and the dual capacity framework to strengthen student learning and belonging and academic growth.

[00:34:03] Participants receive targeted resources, capstone guidance, and support from a growing FACE community network. and we look forward to seeing their capstone projects take shape in schools across the division to deepen family partnerships and strengthen student outcomes.

[00:34:23] The launch session exceeded expectations and educator feedback highlights both the value of learning and the excitement to apply these practical tools. 100% of participants agree that the sessions strengthen their understanding of how to build strong family partnerships.

[00:34:42] I will say in some of these quotes, you get to see and get a glimpse of what the teachers and the educators think of this cohort. I feel empowered to take back what I've learned to my school. Seeing how data connects to family engagement was powerful. And they also emphasize the strength of collaboration.

[00:35:00] It builds trust, deepens learning, and strengthens the home and school connection. This inaugural cohort is already beginning building capacity and strengthening relationships across LCPS. And as educators develop and launch their capstone projects throughout the year, we look forward to seeing the meaningful community-centered work that will unfold in our schools.

[00:35:25] So this last one is the face story. And these photos capture more than just moments. They tell the story of the relationships we are building, the families we are supporting, and the partnerships we are forging to create a school division where every student and every family feel seen, valued and empowered. In just a year and a half as a division we have worked with intention and urgency to lay the foundation for a comprehensive research-based and data-driven approach to family and community engagement. From

[00:36:01] 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.

[00:36:16] Through Family Academy, we provide parents with tools and knowledge to support their student success, while our school visits allow us to engage directly with educators, families, and students to strengthen relationships and understand community needs firsthand.

[00:36:32] Our community events from the Interfaith Luncheon, the School Business Partnership Executive Council Awards, Together in Remembrance, which happens in May, to the first responders event that happens in June, we bring people together to celebrate, to honor, and to uplift one another.

[00:36:50] 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. Our collaboration with ELFACE has been particularly meaningful, helping us deepen our understanding of the diverse needs within our school system, ensuring that language culture are never a barrier to student engagement. And yet, and yet, this is just the beginning.

[00:37:19] There are still voices to hear, partnerships to build, and communities to connect with. These photos offer a glimpse into who we are as a team that listens and learns and acts. A family and community engagement division committed to building bridges between schools, families, and the community. 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 children's education.

[00:37:50] And now we will stop for any questions you may have. Well, Ms. Dawson and Ms. Boyes, that's a lot of work in a year and a half. And it's really comprehensive and holistic. And, I mean, I've always been a huge proponent of parent engagement.

[00:38:09] And, I mean, it's one of the most important things for student outcomes and to bring people in and work all together for the betterment of everybody so nicely done I mean I don't remember ever hearing anything so structured so board members any other questions comments yes Mr. Griffiths thank you Madam Chair I'm just curious for the face budget like do you have the numbers regarding you know having the family liaisons the language services that sort

[00:38:46] of thing do you have a budget um can you give us the number for the budget and i had two more questions after that i can get those numbers to you oh so you don't do you have the cost uh per family served now or do you want to get that to me as well i'm not sure i understand your question well the families that you serve you know generally you know what does it cost to work with each family i think that that depends um on the family needs and and it's month to month what those

[00:39:21] specific needs are and last grant funding I saw that there was grant funding in the presentation so do you specifically rely on grant funding to cover this can you give me more of an idea we do have some funding from LCPS but we are fortunate to have some grant funding that also helps support our initiatives okay so you'll just work on the numbers for me just let me know what the face budget is and I could send you an email on that we can absolutely do

[00:39:58] thanks Miss Chandler thank you madam chair and thank you for the presentation I guess as a little bit of a follow-up to mrs. Griffiths question how much would you say at the school level of the initiatives that our parent liaisons are working on how much is supported by community donations and support thank you for that question I well I don't have a specific dollar amount that I can give view, I would say that our reliance on community support is huge. We really could not do the work

[00:40:35] that we do for family liaisons without the support of the community. So often we are making referrals to the existing resources within Loudoun County. We try our best not to recreate the wheel. There are so many amazing non-profit organizations, faith-based organizations, government-supported agencies throughout our county that we really work collaboratively with and refer families to them.

[00:40:59] We have very generous parents and family members and businesses within LCPS who will oftentimes reach out to schools and ask, what are your needs? Do you have a child who we can support with XYZ, whatever it is that they may need? Our PTOs and our PTAs are extremely supportive as well.

[00:41:18] So while I can't give you a specific number, I would just say that the support of our communities is very generous and very much appreciated as well. So it's integral, really, to the success of our parent liaisons. Thank you for that. And then I have been contemplating a great deal how much things have changed in our region over the course of this year with the economic instability that has been impacting many of the people who live in our county.

[00:41:45] Have you seen a demand in the need for services this year? Yes, 100%. I've heard from a number of family liaisons at different schools across the county in different areas, that they are hearing requests from families who they've never interacted with before, some families who are maybe hesitant to reach out because they've never experienced the financial need before, and they don't necessarily know where to turn or really even feel comfortable with making an ask.

[00:42:13] So we absolutely have heard an increase from multiple family liaisons of new families looking for additional support, and we're just continuing to do our best in making referrals to our partners and ensuring that the needs are met. Thank you for that information. I've heard nothing but amazing things about school liaisons and I mean even from like getting uber gift certificates for families who can't make IEP team meetings to wheelchair jackets to like just facilitating

[00:42:45] all those kinds of things that you don't normally think of. So I know they're always asking how they can help their community and how they can help their schools. Yes, Mrs. Griffiths, and then I'm going to move on. Okay, it's my last question. What organizations, what faith-based organizations do you currently work with? And I do want to add that I have worked with some great liaisons at some of my schools, so if they're part of this group, I really appreciate that. But if you could just tell me what faith-based organizations you work with. Thank you. I'll start off and then have

[00:43:23] Sarah fill in. We have over 50 faith-based organizations that we partner with, and we do have the list because we've reached out to all of the faith-based partners that work with our family liaisons and extended the invitation to our interfaith luncheon. So we do have about 50, over 50, that support and work collaboratively with us. Yeah, and I would just add on to what Ms. Dawson said, the support from our faith-based communities is across faiths, across denominations, across the county, in all areas, and they are also integral support members for our family

[00:44:01] liaisons and the work that they do, so we're very grateful for that. The ways that our faith-based partners support is all of the above. They help families with food, clothing, utilities, I mean, just a variety of furniture, bedding, just a variety of needs and supports, so we're very fortunate to have a large number of supporters across the nominations and faiths thank you I'll just send an email just to follow up thank you um mr.

[00:44:30] enough thank you madam chair and thank you so much this is always an exciting presentation and I'm so grateful and I echo what chairman field said I almost feel like I should like roll out the red carpet or bow down when I'm in my schools to the family liaisons because they really are the heart of the school community and they deeply know all the children not even just the children that they serve. They're engaging with the community at large. And so huge shout out to you all that do this work, that are doing this work in this time because the needs are really high. And I'm just thrilled to see this teacher cohort launch because personally I'm a little bit jealous that I didn't

[00:45:10] have this when I was a teacher because teachers are doing so much. Their plates are so full. But sense of belonging is something that we've talked about all year. And yes, you can do that in your classroom but it really does extend to those basic needs and beyond and every teacher knows that and wants that but to have this support network I can't even imagine how this would have strengthened my teaching especially in a title one school and to know all the resources that are available to be connected to so I applaud this effort I hope it continues to grow and I'm just I'm thrilled to see this work is happening not only to support our families by extension but I think the deeper work of supporting our educators to be empowered

[00:45:48] to do this hard work. So I so appreciate both of you and all the many conversations that we've had about supporting these outreach programs to our school, and it is very impressive. So thank you. Dr. Rasheed. Thank you, Chair, and thank you for this awesome presentation.

[00:46:06] You know, you guys really bring it to life, and we sit here on the dais, and we look at you guys, and you bring it to us, and it just brings a smile on our face. I wanted to ask, do you guys ever encounter any type of challenges? and if so what would some of those be and if we can help you in any way we can as a school board to further your cause and to further this to come to more fruition as it is sure so I think that the challenges that I see from the team that I work with is just as individual family needs that can be challenging sometime I mean again as I mentioned there's we're just so lucky in Loudoun

[00:46:45] County to have amazing partners and community non-profit organizations but every now and then There's just a unique situation for a family that maybe doesn't necessarily fit into the box of one of our bigger nonprofit associations. So sometimes that can be challenging.

[00:47:01] I will say that family liaisons are extremely resourceful. And they generally can find an answer through collaborating with one another, messaging one another, and asking, hey, have you ever had this situation before? Have you encountered this? Is there a resource that you may recommend to me? Reaching out to parents within the community.

[00:47:18] So they're resourceful and oftentimes can find those answers. But, yeah, I mean, there are just some challenges that we see for families that can be tough, generally speaking. Things like housing is just really tough for many of our families, having affordable housing opportunities in Loudoun County.

[00:47:38] Sometimes transportation can be a challenge, not transportation to school, but transportation to doctor's appointments or to access these community resources if they live in one part of the county and need to go to another. So that can be challenging sometime. I would say that as a board, we would appreciate any time that you're in your schools, just stopping by and talking to the family liaisons and asking about their specific needs.

[00:48:01] It does look a little bit different sometimes from school to school, just based on the population of students and families that they are serving. But they would love to see you and be appreciated for their work. So anytime that you're visiting and would like to chat. As Ms. Chernoff said, they're very familiar with the needs of their own particular communities.

[00:48:20] So they're really plugged into what's going on in their schools and their local community. So thank you for your support. Thank you. Mr. Strafi. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you so much for the presentation. And I'll also echo, you know, I appreciate how much time you spent featuring our family liaisons and their impact is deeply felt across the community and definitely here.

[00:48:40] So thank you. I have some questions about the communities in schools coordinator? I know we have one, and that is funded by a grant fully, or do we have more? And if you can just elaborate for us, how transformative has that position, that resource, or that person been to family liaisons, to the principals, and to the families?

[00:49:04] If you can just give us more context. So with our communities in schools, we have one coordinator at Seneca Ridge, We have two coordinators at Dominion High School. And so those coordinators, the first thing they did, basically their first day on the job, was they met with the principal and they did a comprehensive needs assessment and reviewed all of the information from the school, whether it was the school improvement plan, they asked questions of the principal, the leadership team, the unified mental health team, what are the things that you need and how might we fill in the gap.

[00:49:40] Once they got that information, then they created an individualized school plan that was based on that specific needs assessment so that services and support that they were providing were not overlapping with the other services but in some capacity adding some additional support or filling in a gap or a need that was identified by the group that's where we got for the communities and schools where we got for example the homework and hoops because they really try to connect the academic component with the relationship piece to create

[00:50:17] that sense of connectedness so that they can increase you know attendance and grades and things like that so we've only they came in I think in July for the communities in schools so it took some time to develop that after they did the needs assessment to create that plan so in the first just the first few months those are the things that they've been working on and then the community schools? Yeah so I understand that it's somewhat confusing when there's communities in schools and then community schools to very similar names very similar work but the community schools

[00:50:55] effort is community schools are a national effort to provide wraparound supportive services for students and families holistically and so our effort for community schools within Loudoun County has been around for several years. We just were able to hire our coordinator Ms. Nguyen who I mentioned earlier with the help of the VDOE funding and she just started in April so similarly she is just really gotten stuff off the ground running with some of the programming that she is supporting and I'm really excited to have her position in that school because I in these two schools because I think that having someone really dedicated to the community schools work day in and

[00:51:34] day out and that is her responsibility to really move the community school framework forward and all the four pillars of supporting students and academic achievements I think it's really going to make a difference you know regarding outcomes as you can imagine with with state grant funding we have a lot of reporting that we have to do so we do have some data that we'd be happy to share as far as our quarterly reports that we shared with the VDOE as far as her outcomes and some of the numbers of you know attendance and that sort of thing that is is being driven forward with the community schools work thank

[00:52:06] you so much thank you any other no great work thank you so much appreciate y'all okay and we'll move on to 4.02 department of teaching and learning mathematics support and placement presented by mr. neil slevin assistant superintendent for teaching and learning and i'm going to have him

[00:52:30] go ahead and introduce the rest of his team that's coming with him good afternoon chair mansfield dr spence of the board miss dawson is a tough act to follow you get neil slevin you get Neil's seven in math going from a heart to math a mighty team here joining us tonight so we do look forward to sharing with you some information around what is happening in the world of mathematics in our classrooms

[00:53:09] in LCPS as well as some updates we're making to our placement process based on our own reflection as well as some work happening down in the General Assembly in Richmond and I have a great team to talk us through that. We are connected of course to the LCPS strategic plan for excellence, where we are enabling core academic excellence by providing rigorous instructions for all our students, and also expanding opportunities for multiple accessible pathways to success through diverse programming. And as you likely know, the math pathway is something that our parents and families think a lot about in Loudoun, and so it's important

[00:53:44] that we do that as well. We'll start with introductions, and we are very fortunate to be joined by two school teachers and supports to talk a little bit about what's happening in our schools as well as how our teachers are supported and our team will give you an update on what's happening when it comes to acceleration in mathematics in Loudoun and then we are looking forward to any questions or dialogue or feedback from the board. So we'll start with introductions and then Ms. Kenny will kick us off. Good evening, Jeff Ransley, Director of Teaching and Learning K-12. Good evening, I'm Juliet Kenny. I am the K-12 math supervisor and I'm joined today by two of

[00:54:24] our math teachers. Good evening, my name is Danielle Botish. I am the math resource teacher serving at Sparksdale Middle School. - Good evening, my name is Gabrielle Moses and I'm a fourth grade teacher at Cardinal Ridge Elementary School.

[00:54:42] - All right, well good afternoon everybody and thank you so much for the opportunity to share updates on mathematics instruction and support across Loudoun County Public Schools. I'm joined today by two of our outstanding educators who will help illustrate the impact of our work.

[00:55:03] I want to begin with the foundation of our math classrooms which is Math Workshop. This is the instructional model we actively promote across our schools. It reflects the characteristics we value most in math classes and the practices we are working closely with teachers to implement and refine.

[00:55:22] These math workshop characteristics are aligned with the LCPS instructional framework, particularly in its emphasis on student-centered learning. Students are the ones who are doing the math. Students are talking. Students are communicating, collaborating, making choices, and the teacher is the facilitator of learning.

[00:55:41] These are the foundation of high-quality math instruction and they guide our professional learning, our coaching, and school-based supports. So to share what this looks like in practice, I'd like to invite Gabrielle Moses, fourth grade teacher at Cardinal Ridge Elementary, to speak about her experience in implementing Math Workshop in her classroom.

[00:56:01] I love getting to use Math Workshop in my classroom. As a teacher, I always appreciate flexibility and being able to meet the diverse needs of the scholars that I serve. I like the ability that you see on the picture there to use math tasks that have a low floor and a high ceiling, so I can reach my learners who are struggling, but also push forward my learners who are excelling in the topics.

[00:56:25] Math Workshop gives me the flexibility to reach each scholar where they are at. It gives engaging experiences, but also allows us to push curriculum forward. I like to have the structures in Math Workshop where I can do a math task, which is what you see up there where we're working through a task the students are working independently and I'm circulating and guiding them but I can also do it in such a way where there is a mini lesson and then small groups so when I'm noticing that my scholars need that more direct support from me I'm able to give them that and still have them have the flexibility to be working on their

[00:57:00] level where they are at. I have been gifted to work with both the EL and SPED populations and those populations are really able to excel through the math workshop where they can access tasks where they're at and still be pushed forward. Thank you, Gabrielle. So as we continue to strengthen math instruction across LCPS, I'd like to highlight the staffing supports that are making a meaningful impact in our schools. Currently, we have nine elementary and five middle school math

[00:57:39] resource teachers through the Department of Teaching and Learning. In addition, as principals and school leaders are seeing the value of these roles and the need for more targeted math support, we are seeing more school-funded math interventionist positions. Later this evening, during the ONE LCPS spotlight, you will have an opportunity to hear about the work of Freedom High School's math interventionist and the impact that his role has had on student academic progress. This year we have been bringing together the school-based math interventionists into our math department meetings every month to provide professional development and opportunities

[00:58:18] for collaboration and to ensure alignment in our intervention and supports across schools. Beyond staffing, we do offer ongoing professional learning and mathematics support for instructional leaders and teachers in our schools.

[00:58:33] We have opportunities to share with our elementary math contacts, our middle school subject area lead teachers and our high school department chairs, instructional coaches and technology facilitators, and school-based administrators as well. We really prioritize our time visiting schools and teams and teachers to provide more personalized support and professional learning.

[00:58:55] And so now I'd like to turn it over to Danielle Botish, one of our math resource teachers from Department of Teaching and Learning, who is based at Smarts Mill Middle School. and she'll be sharing about her role as a math resource teacher and how it has impacted math achievement and instructional practices at her school. Thank you, Ms. Kennedy. Through my role as a math resource teacher at Smarts Mill, I split my time between two equally important areas, that's providing direct student intervention and teacher coaching, and it's through this approach that we're able to see significant student growth as captured in part by these math SLL scores on

[00:59:33] display. These scores are following students from their sixth grade year in Math 6 at Smarts Mill to their eighth grade pre-algebra SOLs. During the student intervention, I utilized the Bridges intervention program to work on filling identified learning gaps in students who are identified for tier two and three intervention. This is really about meeting students where they are and building that pathway to meeting their grade level goals. In these small groups, we're focusing on building the conceptual understanding, the real whys of math, and building that student confidence. In the Bridges program, we utilize purposeful hands-on manipulatives, problem-solving graphic organizers,

[01:00:11] engaging games, all side-by-side with the teacher and other students. At the middle school level, we're especially mindful and intentional about connecting these foundational skills and strategies to those grade-level standards that they're seeing in their math classroom every day. At SMARTS, we're able to provide this intervention through a variety of structures, including math lab, pushing into math classrooms, and during student resource blocks, and it really becomes an all-hands-on deck approach. When it comes to the other half of my role, I've been coaching teachers in best math instructional practices, the primary goal being to fully implement the math workshop model, which

[01:00:48] was described for you earlier. To do this, I've been bringing teachers through short targeted coaching cycles where they can receive bite-sized professional development on a highlighted component, utilize resources to plan and collaborate, and then implement and refine their practices through group reflection. All throughout this process, I am providing continuous feedback and support through classroom observations, co-teaching, and modeling.

[01:01:12] And as a math resource teacher at Smartsmill, I'm able to provide the sustained learning that's tailored to the very unique needs of both the students and the staff of our school. Okay, now we will shift to a major priority for us this year, which is the adoption and rollout of our new math instructional resources.

[01:01:33] We introduced new core instructional resources and digital practice and skill-building tools for all K-12 math courses. You do have access to a reference document that lists out all of the math resources that have been adopted for each grade level and course.

[01:01:51] This transition to new resources has involved extensive planning and communication, professional development, and collaboration with schools to really ensure a successful implementation. We've partnered with our resource vendors to provide ongoing professional development and office hours.

[01:02:09] We've been working with elementary teachers on model lessons. Math Space has been visiting all middle and high schools over the course of the first quarter. We've provided vendor training for instructional coaches and technology facilitators, administrators, and our math leads.

[01:02:25] We've been also hosting quarterly secondary collaborative learning teams, or CLTs, where representatives from each middle and high school have an opportunity to come together to collaborate on curriculum resources. We held a required professional development session back in August during our county-wide PD day with options to participate early during our June kickoff or even asynchronously.

[01:02:50] The reference document of the instructional resource rollout outlines the different ways in which we have provided support over the months of implementation so far. I'll now turn it back over to Gabrielle to share about her experiences with new resources as a classroom teacher.

[01:03:06] Thank you, Juliette. So I have loved having MAGMA Math and KITM as resources this year. Now, having gone through one full quarter with them, it's been really great to see the growth in my scholars in using these resources. So KITM is set up in a way where the scholars have different activities that they work through throughout the lesson. And that fits perfectly with Math Workshop, because what I'm able to do is break up those activities into the different components of Math Workshop. So sometimes an activity might be used as a math task, like I talked about. Other times I might say, go do it on your own. I'm going to pull a group back

[01:03:42] with me and we're working on a different kinem activity. So that has been really great with how it has seamlessly integrated itself into the math workshop that we as LCPS teachers have been trained in. Magma is our online component and I love magma math because to me it's not just a screen that the students are looking at and mindlessly solving problems or just clicking through in their own world, it really turns that computer screen into a piece of paper and they are able to write, draw, show out their thinking. That's the whole point of MAGMA. And especially

[01:04:19] in the elementary school realm, it is really important that our scholars are showing their thinking and are reasoning through their math. We use MAGMA math in my classroom on Fridays as MAGMA Fridays and it has this mode that the scholars love called live mode and it shows their work up on the board as good calculations. And they are just trying their best to get their work shown as good calculations. And it is not just my high achieving scholars who get to see their work on the board. In fact, most of the times it is my scholars who are lumped into that

[01:04:55] lower achieving or lower scoring range who show their work on the board and get it up because they're the ones who are used to having to problem solve. So it's pushing my higher scholars staff to be like, wait a minute, I can show my work, I can show my thinking, and it's driving everyone forward. Additionally, Magma Math has a feature called Lava that I know families have been utilizing a lot at home, where AI can see the work that the scholars are doing and can identify for them errors that they are making. And I know being in fourth grade, a lot of families, I'm in the midst of family conferences, have said, this is the first time I don't know what they're doing

[01:05:32] in math. This is where their math exceeds what I remember. And so they've been utilizing LAVA to help them support their students at home. So overall, MAGMA Math and KITM really align with the LCPS instructional framework, with our math workshop framework, and have been pushing the scholars forward in their learning. And now Danielle will share her school's experience with the new resources at the middle school level. As a trusted resource at Smarts Mill, teachers have been very comfortable sharing their honest feedback with me. And teachers this year

[01:06:07] have found a lot of value with both the MassSpace school visits and the secondary CLT meetings. During the MassSpace visits, our team has had a great deal of success collaborating school-wide to develop a list of questions that we can ask in person to our MassSpace vendors that they have had a chance to preview ahead of time. In each of the visits, teachers have been building each other's capacity by showing their favorite highlight of what the vendor has showed them that day and whatever jumped out to them as being helpful within the program. One highlight from MassSpace that has been shared from both teachers and students alike has been Milo. If you've heard

[01:06:44] about him, he is our AI dog embedded in MassSpace. And in Milo, students can treat that like a chat bot where they can ask questions, be directed to a variety of different supports, such as video help, a different section in a textbook chapter, or worked examples. The tool is designed to guide students step-by-step without giving away the answers, and this early feedback indicates very positive feedback to this personalized learning assistant. Teachers are even able to pull those transcripts to find out what students are asking Milo so that they can address those more personally with students that might be struggling. In addition to those vendor visits,

[01:07:20] teachers have shared very positive feedback about the secondary CLT meetings. The teachers I've talked to have found the time to collaborate with others that teach the same content area or grade level very supportive, and they come back invigorated and ready to try out different ideas about how to best utilize the resources in their classrooms.

[01:07:44] In addition to our general roll-out support, we've also been collaborating with the special education and English learners departments to ensure that all teachers are equipped with the knowledge to be able to use the new math resources effectively. Our professional development sessions were open to all of our special education and EL and we even provided a separate PD just for our special education second year teacher cohort.

[01:08:09] The EL facilitators and specialists have been active collaborators with our department working on instructional practices and resource alignment. The picture on this slide is from our high rigor, high support PD this fall, which was a joint PD led by EL, professional learning, and the math office, where we embedded math space tasks into learning ways to better support our English learners.

[01:08:34] This session received such positive feedback, we are excited to be hosting another session come January. Additionally, we've been working closely with the specialized instructional facilitators as well as EL teachers and specialists on our math curriculum guides to be able to enhance our student-centered support section and professional development offerings.

[01:08:58] As we've been implementing these new math resources, focus groups have been instrumental in shaping our rollout. These focus groups have been an opportunity for teachers across the county to talk directly to our vendors, often joined by members of their product and technical team, as well as our LCPS software specialist.

[01:09:19] Teachers have been able to share strengths and successes, as well as challenges and barriers. Feedback from teachers has been then leading to platform improvements and stronger partnerships. These are quotes from a couple teachers who are involved in a focus group about their experience and Gabrielle has also been a part of one of our focus groups so I'll turn it over to her to share about her experience thank you Juliet so I am in the focus group for magma math and the magma math vendor has been very receptive to our needs as a county in a way that was surprising to me one example of this is when I make an assignment in magma math if I wanted to share it with my

[01:09:59] team they used to have to scroll through every single magma math assignment that was out there to try and find the one that I made. And it was a pain and it led to disconnections and miscommunications. When this was brought up to MAGMA Math, two weeks later when I logged in to share an assignment, it said create school. I typed in Cardinal Ridge. Now there is a Cardinal Ridge folder where my team just clicks on Cardinal Ridge and they can find exactly what they need to make sure that we are all in alignment with our teaching. And that is just one example of how responsive MAGMA Math has been. It's also been nice to be a part of the focus group to be able

[01:10:34] to share information from the vendor with Loudoun County and with my school. We have shared a lot of the ways we're using MAGMA math and they have told us ways that we can be better utilizing it or they've been like, wow, we didn't know people were using it that way. We should strengthen that feature.

[01:10:50] So overall, the communication has been great. And now I'm going to move forward to the next part of our presentation on acceleration and mathematics.

[01:11:06] So as Mr. Slevin mentioned in our introduction, there has been a lot of discussion about acceleration in mathematics both at the state level and internally within LCPS. A lot of that is centered on House Bill 2686, which passed earlier this summer, which has now been moved into a discussion about a policy in LCPS, a proposed policy, policy 5140.

[01:11:29] So House Bill 2686 says that all school divisions must develop policies outlining criteria for students in grades five through eight who meet certain eligibility to accelerate in and math, and LCPS has proposed a draft policy of that, very closely aligned with the VSBA model policy.

[01:11:46] We shared that as an information item at the November 5th Curriculum and Instruction Committee, and that policy is currently out for community input and feedback through November 21st. We are fortunate in LCPS to have a very long and established track record of supporting acceleration in mathematics, and there is a reference document, the LCPS math course selection information guide that Ms. Kenny is going to review in greater detail a little bit later in this presentation.

[01:12:13] But LCPS has traditionally supported this with a very robust set of information for parents and the community. And we're continuing to gather information around our current math acceleration processes. So we have conducted some focus groups of teachers, counselors, and administrators to gain greater insight into this.

[01:12:31] And also have some scheduled some meetings with our community advisory committees to also share our current information get feedback from our families around their experiences with math course selection and placement. So here are the key requirements of House Bill 2686 all of which are contained in the policy that we have proposed. The first one is automatic enrollment for students who have scored in the upper in the state upper quartile and grade-level end-of-year standards of learning math assessments they are required to be accelerated into the next grade of math.

[01:13:06] there's also an option for parental opt-out so parents who have the desire to not have their child accelerate may opt out of the automatic enrollment we're also required to offer multiple pathways for acceleration and that can look in many different ways mainly that we are not basing acceleration just on any one component but also give recommendations or also give weight to teacher and parent recommendations to student preferences to grades other standardized tests portfolios or observations and also that acceleration doesn't just happen at one point that we offer students multiple opportunities to accelerate in different grade levels and finally the law

[01:13:43] requires a notification to parents annually about these enrollment criteria and the opt-out process also to talk about the importance of middle school math and the impact that has on the math high school course sequence and also to share with parents what available math courses are available for their child in that grade and in future grades as well as part of the implementation of House Bill 2686, students who score in the top 25% statewide on their grade level SOL, like Mr. Brownsley said, would be

[01:14:19] automatically enrolled in an accelerated math course. So this table here represents the score ranges from this past spring of students who qualified for automatic accelerated placement. So for example, a student who is currently in 7th grade, if they scored a 440 or higher on their math 6 SOL this past spring, then they were automatically enrolled into pre-algebra or math 8. Parents did have the option to opt out. And it is important to note that every year these numbers may shift slightly based on student performance

[01:14:54] across the state. We do currently follow a pretty comprehensive math course selection process. We We consider a range of data points already, including assessment results, teacher recommendations, family input, and student goals.

[01:15:11] So you do have access to our current math course selection information document, which outlines multiple pathways for acceleration, including opportunities for students to take Algebra I in middle school. We've been gathering feedback on this document from teachers, counselors, and administrators.

[01:15:27] And as Mr. Roundsley shared, over the next few months, we'll be sharing this document with community stakeholders to gather feedback and to ensure that the process is transparent and responsive to student needs. This graph here shows the LCPS middle school students who are enrolled in accelerated math courses this year.

[01:15:48] The 55.8% shown in blue represents the percentage of students enrolled in an accelerated math course prior to the house bill based on our current course selection process. The 3.7% in orange shows the additional students were enrolled based on the house bill over the course of the summer. So what this means is that of the total number of middle school students who are in accelerated math courses within LCPS, 93% were accelerated from the current processes that we already have in place.

[01:16:21] The math department has been actively working to support teachers and students through accelerated math courses. So for teachers, there are a variety of ways that we provide support.

[01:16:36] As shared earlier, we have been providing ongoing professional learning on the new resources. Our MathSpace trainer has visited every single middle school throughout the first quarter to provide that personalized support and training. MathSpace also has an adaptive digital resource for students.

[01:16:55] This resource provides support and content where students may have gaps. And alternatively, it can also adapt grade-level standards to meet students where they are in their learning. Our curriculum unit guides provide a daily lesson sequence to support teachers with their planning, including a section on student-centered supports.

[01:17:17] An example of this can be seen here on this slide. This section specifically highlights content and provides lessons and resources for students who have accelerated and may need additional support during that transition.

[01:17:33] And additionally, those quarterly secondary CLTs mentioned earlier have been an opportunity for collaboration with teachers around the county on resources to best support students. Our math office also offers cohorts to support teachers with additional licensure certifications to increase the capacity of teachers.

[01:17:52] For instance, we offer a Praxis prep course for Algebra I, and we'll also be offering one for the middle school math Praxis this year. We also host a K-8 math specialist cohort in collaboration with George Mason University that Danielle is a part of. And then coming soon this summer, we are creating a math summer boost program that will provide middle school students with an asynchronous opportunity to dive into math content over the summer in preparation for the math course that they are taking in the fall.

[01:18:23] We're really looking forward to rolling this out as a summer support for our students. So at this time, we are happy to hear any feedback that you have or answer any questions you might have. On the screen we have a few areas and while we're happy to answer any questions but areas we'd love to discuss further such as the current level of staffing and supports for supporting math in our schools, anything you might be hearing from teachers in our community around our new resources and any supports that they need.

[01:18:56] As Juliet talked about acceleration, it also brings to mind the need for perhaps some greater differentiation of math instruction in our elementary schools to prepare students for acceleration and also just any thoughts you might have around the pathways available to students and any additional courses or opportunities you may like to see but again happy to answer any questions but these are some areas where we would love some additional feedback and focus. Thank you for your presentation I think Dr. Deans has her hands right Dr. Deans. I don't think it's a question it was just so impressive to know that we had already elevated those

[01:19:34] students to the advanced classes before the bill the house bill came out and I think that's a testament to Loughton County Public Schools in general but especially in that math area thank you dr. Deans anybody else yes Lauren and then dr. Rashid sorry miss Chernoff and then dr. Rashid I'm cool with it thank you madam chair and thanks for the presentation and I know we had this in CNI a lot of this information so I appreciate it but I did just want to share some feedback from schools I feel very encouraged by how acquainted the

[01:20:13] students are with the programs when we go in and we see the workbooks out and kids are working around the room I will walk up to kids and ask them like tell me what you're working on like this is magma and this is what it does and this is lava and this is kid on and they know what's going on they know how to use the tools and it's clear that the teachers are being very intentional about where those tools you know should go so it was exciting to hear you talk about your classroom and I thank you both for being here in terms of staffing models I think every single school wants math support every single person whether that is they have high needs with math or whether they have tier one kids who

[01:20:50] need that extra push you spoke about it you know from all the way up we need to push all of our learners and I think that tier one area is something that I'm hearing lots and lots over about coaches in multiple areas but just don't those kids deserve that growth too is the question that I get asked so I will leave that with you but obviously math support now that we have it in certain buildings is definitely the word is out so I appreciate you tonight Dr. Rasheed thank you chair and thank you for this proud moment to see you know the numbers and everything was so well organized and I did notice that when you guys talk

[01:21:30] you guys read and I noticed that you did not read and I thought that was quite impressive other than that I think is it's great your experiences are phenomenal I just had one question about what do you do when a when there's a student that does the opposite and really excels is there a process that the student can go through is any resources available for that student I'm just very curious so I'll start generally from a course election process we do work very closely with our gifted office in terms of meeting the needs of our gifted learners and so it'll start with a conversation a consultation at the

[01:22:06] school level in terms of what what are some ways and strategies that a teacher could put in place to make sure their students learning needs are being met ranging from that all the way to course placement and what else can we give access to this student but in terms of the day-to-day support for our gifted learners or advanced math students I don't want to put anyone on the spot but I guess I am yeah we collaborate a lot with a gifted office actually most recently we worked on a project in putting together fifth grade acceleration documents to be able to support teachers with students in fifth

[01:22:44] grade classes who might be ready for that next push I think that part of that too is as students as we go through the course selection process if there are students who are on in that path we work very closely with gifted with we have a process in place that we follow including things with our we have like a pre-algebra readiness assessment and there's there's just we follow a process where there's a multiple data points that we're looking at in order to just be able to make a recommendation for a student to that will best support where

[01:23:20] they are in their learning. Thank you. Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm just curious, did we lower the threshold at all? I believe you used to have a score of 500 is that right or am i wrong there mrs griffis i think you're talking about like the sols is that what you're talking about oh i'm sorry okay so that's that's going to be different that's going to be different and that's legislative that that's a different yeah i apologize

[01:23:52] thank you but it is a problem i get you um so i'm wondering about okay so i'm the assistive technology queen i guess as far as people are concerned right here but um so part of i'm concerned about pathways for kids part of it is having access and something that I know is not being utilized as much as we could use it is EquatIO and so I know that Mr. Bouguet has been talking with you guys but you know in talking with other math teachers they don't even know that it's there they don't know it can

[01:24:29] be used for chemistry they don't know any of the rest of that how can because I would like to see more kids be able to get into those advanced pathways and to be quite honest like my my son who could barely do basic math facts in seventh grade now he's taking discrete math and everything because we were able to help him afterwards with his dyslexia and dyscalculia and he uses these assistive technology kinds of things and they do help him in college to be computer programming and straight A's so and it's you know accelerated math so it can be done and

[01:25:05] so I'm just wondering how you guys are going to work towards that. Yeah thank you for that question Equatio is a powerful tool I remember using it as well we do we kind of did a review of all of the different trainings that we have provided and we have offered trainings on Equatio both at our county-wide PD days and at our meetings where we have our math leads with our subject area lead teachers and our high school department chairs we've worked with specialized instructional facilitators in putting those presentations together and our CIFs have actually been the ones who have presented that at some of our

[01:25:42] countywide PD days and as we were reviewing and looking through all of the different trainings that we have provided we also realized you know an area that we could improve upon that is having something like an asynchronous course available that more teachers will be able to access because we might offer a training on it but not everybody might attend and it's important for us to be able to get that information out to everybody so I know right now one of the things that we are working on is creating that asynchronous course for it but we would also love to gather any feedback on ways that or suggestions that you have on how to get that information out because it really truly is a great tool.

[01:26:20] We have been working with our secondary vendor with our math space vendor and Chris recently on how to support teachers in making our math space resource be more accessible for all students. So that is a conversation that is being had and our vendors are aware of and trying to see how they can best improve their platform to be able to meet all of the guidelines.

[01:26:45] But it is something that's on our radar of a way that we can try to improve and have more people be able to understand the functionalities of it and how they can best use that. Yeah, I think it's really important because, I mean, we had it with reading as well, right?

[01:27:03] So let's use read-write gold. Use your speech-to-text. We are in text-to-speech. We're more, I mean, with our phones and things, people dictate all the time. Use speech-to-text, text-to-speech. But they're not quite used to doing that for math. And now we have a program you can really do that with.

[01:27:20] And that will also give you the right way. It's not all messed up when it reads it back to you. So people are becoming more apt with it, and they don't, for reading and writing, they don't, it's more natural now, but for math, it's just not.

[01:27:36] And I just don't know if even just giving it asynchronous is really going to push that lever as much as we probably should. So that's just my feedback for my last two months in office. Anybody else?

[01:27:54] No. Okay. I think we appreciate y'all. Thank you for all your work. Okay. and then i guess it is time for um a recess uh i guess the board huh oh yeah vice chair donahue why don't you go ahead and do your disclosure thank you madam chair as a member of the loudon county school board i make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding employee salaries the budget and or health insurance and any other discussion that may include or affect salary and benefits for lcps

[01:28:33] employees specifically my spouse my minor children and i are enrolled in lcps health insurance that may be affected by any potential changes to employee salaries the budget and or health insurance additionally my sister-in-law is an lcps employee who does not reside with me and is not dependent on me these subjects include thousands of employees while in excess of the statutory three employees whose interest may be affected of which my spouse my minor children my sister-in-law and i am included i can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest this disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Vice Chair Donohue. And with that, the school board will now recess for dinner

[01:29:10] and reconvene at 630. Thank you. All right.

[02:01:48] Good evening. The board is coming out of recess at this time. We will continue with Veteran Day's recognition. Today, I join my fellow school board members and our more than 100 Loudoun County Public Schools as we recognize Veterans Day, honoring all who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

[02:02:15] This day honors with deep respect the courage, dedication, and sacrifice of the men and women who protect our freedoms. Our schools have a long tradition of celebrating and remembering our veteran community members, many of whom are parents, grandparents, neighbors, and even alumni and staff who have served with pride.

[02:02:37] As we observe this day, we must ensure that our students learn about and honor these heroes, who are our leaders in history and shining examples of the values of service, gratitude, and community. We must also ensure that our students understand that our duty to our veterans does not end when their military service concludes. It is my hope and wish for our students and staff that we all can live and embody the values that our veterans exemplify every single day. And now,

[02:03:12] Will you please, actually, before we do that, I'm going to go ahead and introduce the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem. The Pledge of Allegiance and Anthem will be presented by the Loudoun County High School Chamber Choir, which is an audition mixed choir with students in grades 10 through 12, conducted by Dr. Willis Rosenfeld.

[02:03:36] The Chamber Choir is the main public performing group for the LCHS Choir, with regular performances at assemblies, retirement homes, theater elementary schools, and other local events. With Dr. Rosenfeld, they have won awards for performances in New York City, Chicago, and Orlando.

[02:03:54] Most recently, they joined with the music programs at Heritage, Tuscarora, and Riverside High Schools to present the first Leesburg High School collaborative concert. Now, will everybody please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.

[02:06:44] Move on to item nine, recognitions, one LCPS spotlight, inclusive math practices at Freedom High School, presented by Tanya Brown, principal of Freedom High School, and I will allow her to introduce the rest of her staff who is coming to present with her.

[02:07:08] Thank you for being here. Thank you. Good evening, members of the school board and Dr. Spence. My name is Tanya Brown, principal at Freedom High School. It's okay. I am joined tonight by two of my illustrious staff members, Regina Greer, she is the math department chair, and Sean Atkins, our school-based math interventionist.

[02:07:34] Tonight, we are proud to spotlight our school's focused collaborative work to improve the inclusive math practices. After a deep dive into our SOL data, the critical need to close the achievement gap for our students with special needs and our EL learners or English learner students was very apparent.

[02:07:58] In response to the data, a strategic plan was developed. The plan included aligning our instructional practices within math CLTs, strengthening our co-teaching practices, and provided targeted interventions for our students.

[02:08:14] The focus was and remains to be on teachers' actions that promote and produce equitable outcomes for all students. With the new school year, we remain committed to sustaining the momentum in our math department and also extending these effective strategies and structures and staff collaboration across all content areas to ensure all students who attend Freedom High School are being challenged, supported, and achieving at high levels.

[02:08:47] I will now ask Ms. Greer to come up and talk more about the initial data and the plan that was developed and put into action to lead to our students' success. Good evening, members of the board.

[02:09:06] My name is Regina Greer, and I serve as the Mathematics Department Chair at Freedom High School. It is a privilege to speak with you tonight on behalf of my department and to share the successes we have achieved as a team. Before I outline the actions we implemented, I want to begin with the data that prompted our response.

[02:09:24] In the 2022-2023 school year, our math SOL pass rate for all students was 79%. However, a closer look revealed a significant gap. Students with disabilities passed at 53% and English learners at just 31%.

[02:09:43] While we saw slight improvements in the 2023-2024 school year, 81% overall, with 56% of students with disabilities and 46 percent for English learners, the disparity remained substantial.

[02:10:00] This data made it clear that we needed a focused, collaborative response to ensure equitable outcomes for all learners. Tonight I'll share the strategic actions we implemented to close these gaps and the impact those actions had on student achievement.

[02:10:17] Our work began with shifting instructional messaging and cultivating student agency. reframed communication around sol assessments to foster a growth mindset and encourage student confidence and ownership of learning starting with the 2024 2025 school year and continuing this school year our department increased the number of teachers assigned to sol courses ensuring more students had access to high quality math instruction our collaborative learning teams

[02:10:52] worked diligently to align instructional practices develop common assessments and implement a shared google drive for collaboration in which each teacher's files were accessible by all members allowing for consistent instructional practices and collaboration across the classrooms this consistency was especially critical for our special education co-teachers who rotated between classrooms assuring that instruction was aligned across all SOL classes.

[02:11:25] During collaborative meetings, teams focused on diversifying questioning formats in classroom tasks to promote critical thinking, increase cognitive demand, and deepen student engagement with mathematical concepts. As a result, we enhanced the rigor of our assessments by incorporating varied questioning techniques and technology-enhanced items, helping students become familiar with the expectation of the SOL exams.

[02:11:52] Through the support of our divisional instructional coach and our EL department chair, we strengthen co-teaching practices and instructional support to better meet the diverse needs of our learners. Recognizing the importance of preparation, we launched after-school SOL review sessions beginning nine weeks before the SOL. These sessions were inclusive and strategically communicated to all students and their parents with additional outreach to our students with disabilities and our EL populations. Finally, we introduced a school-based math interventionist

[02:12:26] role who provided targeted support and collaborated closely with teachers to address specific learning needs and enhance student achievement, particularly for our students with disabilities and English learners. The collective efforts of our math teachers, special education co-teachers, instructional coaches, math interventionists, EL staff, all contributed to the remarkable growth we witnessed this past school year and we are proud of these strides and the students of our students and our staff have made thank you for giving me this opportunity to highlight the collaborative efforts and the successes of our team at this point I'd like to turn it over to my colleague mr. Adkins

[02:13:04] freedoms math interventionist who will share more about the actions he implemented thank you for the opportunity to allow me to share the things that I implemented as the math interventionist at freedom high school first I worked with 10th through 12th grade students on SOL preparation for the December testing window. This was done by pulling students during their study hall blocks and working with them from early October until their test date in December. I did a skill-by-skill

[02:13:42] breakdown and included ways to utilize Desmos to ensure they could use it effectively during their testing. We have already improved on this during the current school year by testing the 11 seniors that were in need of a math SOL verified credit for graduation and of those 11 students that tested, seven of those students already have their verified credit, leaving us with only four remaining seniors that need a verified credit for graduation. Second, I communicated with each of the collaborative learning teams to ensure that I was working on topics that they felt was a need

[02:14:19] for their students to be successful in the classroom. I also communicated with parents to let them know what the plan was for me working with their students as well as keeping them up to on their students progress. Third, I created and monitored student growth and progress using the MTSS system in Phoenix.

[02:14:41] I created and monitored progress of 115 intervention plans for students during the 24-25 school year. I worked closely with our CLTs to ensure that we were working with the students that were in need of the most tier three interventions and support.

[02:15:01] We established our why, looking at the data the 22-23 and 23-24 school year this slide shows just how much the supports we have put in place have impacted our results within our student population in just this three-year span we have gone from 79 percent to a 91 percentage overall pass rate that's an increase of 12 percentage points but more importantly in our subpopulations our students with disabilities have gone from 53

[02:15:36] to an 83 percentage point that is an increase of 28 percentage points and with our el students we have gone from a 31 percent to a 71 73 percentage points an increase of an astounding 42 percentage points in a three-year window this was due to a lot of collaboration across the department and how we can improve as a department and the proof of its effectiveness is reflected in these numbers I know we will not rest on our laurels and continue to look for ways to continue this improvement, but do certainly feel that we are on the right track.

[02:16:15] We are very proud of the collective efforts and the results that truly reflect the effectiveness of the hard work that was put into place. Thank you so much. Thank you.

[02:16:33] Is that okay? Thank you so much for this presentation. We appreciate it. It's really good. The data points are really amazing. Do we have anything broken out for 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th?

[02:16:51] Or is that just not something... Math is a little harder because you can have different SOLs, right? Yes. It really is fantastic.

[02:17:18] Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Madam Chair. I had the privilege of visiting Freedom last week. It was wonderful to be out. And I have one question. Can we clone you all is my question. Because this is insane, like, in such a great way. I haven't seen numbers like this.

[02:17:33] And it's really exciting. And I hope it catches fire. because you guys have unlocked the formula, and it sounds like it's a lot of hard work, as it often is. So thank you. Hats off, and hopefully we can spread the word. Appreciate you. Mr. Atkin, could you say one more time what your process was?

[02:17:52] You said something about it, your process. You looked at all the data. You brought the kids in from October to then, and could you give me a little bit more, like how many people you worked with them, or did you work them personally, or do we have people in the back? Well, I actually, yes, I pulled all of the kids personally. We had 48 kids, 48 students last year that we had targeted for accreditation to get the verified credit in math. So I created an 18 session breakdown of the 18 topics that tend to give

[02:18:28] the students the most difficulty. And in each of those 18 study hall blocks, we focused on one particular skill all the way up until their test date in December. So was this small group or was this one-to-one, one-to-three, one-to-five? It was very small group depending on when their study hall blocks were. I mean it really hinged on how many students had study halls during each particular block but typically the sizes were anywhere from four to eight so it really gave me a chance to really focus and isolate on the specific skills. So but it was you as a teacher you didn't like

[02:19:03] focus on computer programming or computer programs or anything i created a lot of the stuff individually like i created stuff based on i'm a digital hoarder so i have a lot of stuff that i've used over the years so i pulled up stuff that i had from way back and just focused on each the specific skills were my intent was to make sure that we targeted specific topics that i know would benefit them when they tested in december and we knocked it out of the park in december it was it was amazing so I continued that trend into the spring as well which has also minimized this

[02:19:40] year the number of students that I have to pull to get that verified credit this year we only have 32 so it's a decrease of 16 students that I'm pulling this year to work with because we got ahead of the game a little bit last year kind of put yourself out of a job but that's a good thing right maybe maybe no that's that's amazing because I mean it really does show that the teacher is the most important and that individualized instruction and to look at the data and figure out what is where they're having the most struggles and then the small groups you can give them that that attention i think that's one of the keys so i appreciate you yeah and i will

[02:20:20] say too the the collaboration within our department is amazing i've been there 13 years and relying on what the teachers are seeing in the classroom really allows me to focus on exactly what our students need so i know all of our all of our teachers really really well and so it allows me to get important information so that i know where to focus my energy and what skills to work on with those kiddos so so it's building trust with the teachers as well and building trust with the kids yes absolutely i mean i do feel like building the trust with the kids the kids are giving up their study hall block to come work with me and the fact that they always want to

[02:20:58] come work with me even this year when we came back this year they're like mr atkins when are we going to start and I'm like as soon as we get as soon as we get the ball rolling out you guys will come see me so the fact that they want to come see me when it's not necessarily a requirement during their study hall block that means a lot to me I feel like that is that is where you get the student engagement is they want to come work for you so congratulations okay from that we go to

[02:21:36] our student school board representative comment and tonight we have Tilly May Thompson who is a senior at Independence High School. She has served her community through SCA for three years and this year she's the student council president. Tilly May has a positive impact on the Independence community through participating in Indy Relay for Life, a volunteer fundraising event to bring the community together to fight cancer. I can't talk today. And Indy Serbs, a service organization

[02:22:09] dedicated to feeding and aiding our community. Tilly May serves as the Morgan's message president, advocating for athletes' mental health. She played varsity field hockey at Independence for four seasons. She also volunteers with the Unified Sports and Best Buddies programs. She strives to ensure that independence is an inclusive place for all students. Tilly May also works at part-time at Montessori of Chantilly Casa de Bambini as a teacher for preschool students. As a member of the National Honor Society, Tilly May plans to pursue a career in animal science after high

[02:22:47] school. Ms. Thompson, the floor is yours. Thank you. Good evening, Chair Manson, members of the board, and Dr. Spence, and distinguished guests. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this evening to join you on the board to learn more about the issues our school division is facing.

[02:23:06] First, as a student representative of Independence High School, I would like to begin by extending my deepest gratitude to all the veterans and their families. Their courage, sacrifice, and service has safeguarded the freedoms that allow us to gather here together today. Independence is proud to be recognized as a Purple Star Award school, which allows our ongoing commitment to supporting military families and honor those who have served our nation. At Independence, the core values of service, integrity, and unity is also a guide to everything we do. These values are reflected in the many clubs and organizations that dedicate their time to helping others and strengthening

[02:23:40] our school community. Programs such as peer plan events such as our recent Unity Day to promote inclusion, understanding, and respect, which truly define what it means to be an Independence Tiger. Our students have demonstrated the spirit of service that defines our school with our senior class of 2025 contributing over 37,000 volunteer hours during their time at Independence.

[02:24:03] A plethora of Indy service organizations, including our many honor societies, Indy Serves, Sources of Strength, Relay for Life, and many more, help serve our community with everything from tutoring to food assistance. This is a remarkable achievement that speaks to the heart of our student body.

[02:24:19] The commitment to service and inclusion at Indy isn't limited to the student body. Our counseling department, recognized with the RAM designation, continues to provide exceptional support for student academic, emotional, and social needs. The staff at Independence High School supports our students inside and outside of the classroom, from coming in early and staying late to ensure their students understand concepts, to attending sporting and performing art events to cheer them on. However, as we celebrate these strengths, we also recognize the serious challenges facing us and schools across the nation. The increase in school shootings and acts of violence

[02:24:54] has affected students everywhere, not only physically, but also emotionally. Like many students and families, I worry about safety within our schools, but I also feel encouraged by the steps LCPS has taken to protect us and to create a secure learning environment.

[02:25:11] I want to thank the board for the measures already in place and for continuing to prioritize student safety. But as we look ahead, I hope we can continue to explore new and proactive ways to strengthen security while maintaining the welcoming and supportive atmosphere that defines our schools. For example, expanding certain policies, such as the clear bag requirement, to all athletic events, not just football games, could be one way to promote consistency and add another layer of precaution.

[02:25:35] Of course, that is only one suggestion, but it represents the type of thoughtful, preventative approach that helps everyone feel safer. Additionally, one important part of that safety effort is the presence of school resource officers, or SROs. I know that at elementary school levels, SROs are currently shared between schools, spending certain days at one school and other days at another.

[02:25:56] While this model provides some support, I believe it's worth exploring whether having full-time SROs at every elementary school can enhance safety, consistency, and peace of mind for students, staff, and families. At Independence High School, we are committed to excellence not only in academics, but in service, compassion, and care for one another.

[02:26:13] With the continued support of this board and our community, I'm confident that we can keep building schools that are safe, inclusive, and united. Thank you for your time and your dedication to the students and families of Loudoun County.

[02:26:30] - Thank you, Ms. Thompson, for being here and for your comments. All right, and we will now move on to the superintendent's report presented by Dr. Aaron Spence, our superintendent. Dr. Spence. Excuse me. Thank you, Madam Chair. It's my pleasure to share some good news from around the school division this evening, starting with Riverside High School transformed into a culinary showcase on Monday, November 3rd as LCPS hosted its...

[02:26:59] I don't know what's going on with that mic there. Sorry. Yeah, let's try yours. There we go. Thank you.

[02:27:15] Riverside High School transformed into a culinary showcase on Monday, November 3rd as LCPS hosted its second annual food show. More than 460 attendees including student staff, food service vendors, and community partners showed up at this event which served up more than 30 mouth-watering recipe ideas from breakfast bites to savory lunch creations and even some dish dishes crafted by LCPS students. The food show highlighted the new fresh direction of school meals and provided an opportunity for LCPS students and community members to help shape what's served in our schools. Next, the 12 Loudoun County Public

[02:27:52] Schools you see here have been designated as Purple Star Schools by the Virginia Department of Education and the Virginia Council on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children for this school year. This year's LCPS Purple Star honorees include seven schools earning the designation for the first time, four schools being recognized for the second time in one school, Trailside Middle School, earning this recognition for the third time.

[02:28:17] The Purple Star designation recognizes the school's outstanding support for military-connected students and families, and they are among the 288 schools across the Commonwealth to receive the designation this year, which remains valid for three years. An additional 13 LCPS schools have earned the Purple Star distinction in previous years, reflecting the division's ongoing commitment to serving our military families.

[02:28:41] During a pep rally on Friday, Stonebridge senior Camila Cordero was honored with the prestigious Purple Heart Impact Leadership Award. Camila is one of only seven students statewide to receive this award. Presented in partnership with the Virginia Department of Education and the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Impact Award recognizes military-connected students for leadership, resilience, and service.

[02:29:06] For the past four years, Camila has been an active member of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Explorer Program, which provides students with hands-on experience and service-oriented careers. And she's also served as co-president of Stonebridge's Purple Star Ambassadors Club, which supports Stonebridge's military-connected students.

[02:29:25] She's credited her experience in these programs with helping her grow her leadership skills. Amelia's family joined her on Friday as she received the award, including her father, who was originally scheduled for deployment that day. She shared that she plans to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and become a canine handler in the same military branch in which her father serves.

[02:29:48] This evening, we'd like to recognize Lovitzville Elementary School for being named the National Thinking Maps Spotlight School for October. Lovitzville is in its first year of piloting Thinking Maps, which is a school-wide approach to help students visualize their thinking, organize ideas, and strengthen their understanding across grade levels and subjects.

[02:30:08] Through the partnership, teachers are building a shared language for learning that empowers students to think critically, communicate effectively, and gain confidence in their learning abilities. Congratulations to Principal Dan Lanney, the Lovettsville Elementary staff, and students for leading the way and creating classrooms where our learners are thinking deeply and growing confidently towards success for a lifetime. Next, the Parkview High School Marching Band recently took center stage, performing the National Anthem before a Washington Wizards game at Capital One Arena. Thanks to Director of Bands Claude Legrand's ongoing connection with the wizards the band has received annual invitations

[02:30:46] since 2022 he shared that students love the experience which offers a glimpse into a professional performance environment and a chance to have a bit of fun speaking of bands the lightridge high school marching band the marching storm has been invited to participate in the 2027 london new year's day parade the london parade is one of the city's most celebrated annual events drawing an estimated 500 000 spectators along its route through the west end of london The parade will also be broadcast live across the U.S. on the PBS network, offering Light Ridge a unique opportunity to shine on an international stage.

[02:31:21] Congratulations to Light Ridge on receiving this invitation. We also want to shout out North Star Principal Stacey Ahrens-Mendenberg, English Teacher Emily Barbara, Instructional Coach Cinda Douglas, and Director of School Counseling DeRoyhab.

[02:31:37] The team was honored last month at the National Alternative Education Association Conference as part of the Exemplary Practices Cohort. For the past year, the North Star staff have actively participated in this cohort, which focuses on reflecting upon and implementing key practices designed to strengthen nontraditional education.

[02:31:56] Each month, Ms. Ahrens-Mendenberg and Director of School Counseling David Royhab engage in virtual discussions with peers nationwide, sharing insights and strategies to enhance leadership and student support. This collaboration has helped the North Star team refine their practices and foster holistic support systems as they build a more inclusive and responsive environment for their students.

[02:32:18] Next up, we're very excited to announce that LCPS Division Counsel Wes Allen has been named a Leader in the Law by Virginia Lawyers Weekly. This is an honor recognizing attorneys who set a high standard in the legal profession.

[02:32:35] Mr. Allen has served as LCPS Division Counsel for nearly two years and also contributes as Director-at-Large for the Fairfax Bar Association and as an active member of Virginia School Boards Association's Council of School Attorneys. He's a former co-director of the Oliver Hill Samuel Tucker Pre-Law Institute, a week-long program introducing high school students to the legal field.

[02:32:55] And additionally, he serves on the board of trustees and is currently the chair emeritus for Destination Imagination, a global nonprofit empowering youth to imagine, collaborate, and innovate. Congratulations again to Mr. Allen for this recognition. Finally this evening, I'd like to highlight the Empowered English Learner Family Conference hosted by the Division of English Learners, Family, and Community Engagement Office.

[02:33:25] During this conference, which will be held this Saturday from 10 to 1.30 right here in the administration building, families will be able to attend interactive sessions led by LCPS staff and community partners and learn about valuable community resources. In addition, food trucks, child care, and multilingual interpreters will make this an event for everyone to enjoy.

[02:33:46] We look forward to seeing many of you here as we learn and grow together. and Madam Chair that concludes my report. Thank you Dr. Spence. Ms. Chernoff would like to say something. My children would like to know if the results of the food show and the rating will be released to the public because they have a very clear favorite and they want to know if it won.

[02:34:14] I will take that as an inquiry and get you a response. Thank you. Perk of the job. Perk of the job. There it is. All right. It should be an information item for next one. Next time.

[02:34:32] i will pass that suggestion along to miss willoughby all right uh our procedures for public comment thank you for engaging with the school board through the public comment process the school board welcomes comments from louisville county residents and believes that strong community engagement and outreach are important components of a successful school system speakers must limit to the comments to the time allotted based on the number of speakers and the agenda this evening all speakers have been allotted three minutes each for public comment please be advised that speakers who missed their time slot will not be called at a later time decorum and civility all audience members shall maintain civility decorum and respect

[02:35:11] for the functioning and the dignity of the school board at all times please remain seated unless arriving departing speaking at the podium or during a break violations of civility decorum and respect include shouting heckling cheering applause or other noise which disrupts or delays the meeting obstructing speakers from being able to see the school board and vice versa interrupting speakers attempting to speak when not called to do so by the chair and approaching a speaker otherwise attempting to intimidate disparage or distract a speaker staff member or other meeting attendees speakers should refrain from vulgarity obscenities defamation profanity or other like breaches of respect nor may target speakers target criticize or attack individual

[02:35:51] students and or individual division employees during public comment as a reminder school board policy 2520 states speakers may not target criticize or attack individual students during public comment speakers must communicate those concerns to their school principal or an appropriate school official the school board request that comments on an individual student or employee related matter not be shared at public meetings where the disclosure could violate applicable confidentiality requirements I do want to take a moment to clarify a few things as I've explained previously speakers can personally identify a student or

[02:36:26] employee without stating a student's or employee's names. That is personally identifiable information is any information that a reasonable person can link together to pinpoint an individual student or employee and where that individual student or employee is known to others in their school and surrounding community based on the context that is shared. The school board welcomes you to share your concerns but ask that to the extent you have prepared your remarks that target, criticize, or attack any individual students or employees you generalize such remarks to ensure compliance with board policy. For an example, comments that target, criticize, or attack a student or an employee

[02:37:04] or a student or an employee from a specific named school or a student or an employee with any characteristics where the information would personally identify that student or employee to others in the school or broader LCPS community would violate school board policy. However, comments that discuss general concerns with students or employees at schools and do not target, criticize, or attack an individual identifiable student or employee are permissible.

[02:37:37] Under school board policy, I, as a school board chair, am charged with the responsibility to maintain order during school board meetings. Accordingly, when reasonable, I will warn of breaches of decorum, civility, and respect and ask speakers to redirect their comments prior to possibly discontinuing individual speaking privileges or taking other actions to preserve the civility decorum and orderly conduct of the meeting. Such action includes calling a recess in order to maintain and or restore order. If speakers fail to comply with board policy regarding public participation, you will receive a warning and request to redirect or generalize your comments.

[02:38:14] Should you fail to redirect or generalize your comments after that warning, you may be asked to yield the microphone, at which time you should yield the microphone as well as the floor and take your seat, and I will then call the next speaker. To the extent necessary, I will also warn of breaches of decorum, civility, and respect from attendees prior to taking other actions to preserve the orderly conduct of the meeting. Speakers should face the dais and direct their comments to the school board. Per school board policy 2520, members of the school board will not answer questions or respond directly to the public during the public comment period.

[02:38:47] Violations of decorum or civility by any meeting attendee may result in the chair directing staff to remove the attendee from the remainder of the meeting. Repeated or persistent violations of decorum or civility by the audience may result in, on the decision of the chair, public comment being tabled until a later point in the meeting's agenda, limiting the number of attendees in the meeting room during public comment for safety reasons, or the public comment period ending for the evening.

[02:39:14] copies of materials for board members should be given to the public information officer in the media box at the back of the boardroom before the start of the meeting. Please provide 12 copies of the materials. Under no circumstances may a speaker approach the dais. The public is reminded that access to school board meetings is available through LCPS-TV on Comcast Channel 18 and 1070 HD and Verizon Fios Channel 43. The live stream of the meeting may be viewed on the website.

[02:39:43] We look forward to hearing your comments. And we will now start with our virtual public comments, starting with Kate Mayers, followed by Kelly Rosner. Good evening, school board members and Dr. Spence. My name is Kate Mayers. I have a fifth grader at Pinebrook, a seventh grader at Willard, and a 10th grader at Light Ridge High School.

[02:40:03] Soon, you will be provided with survey results from the Department of Support Services concerning middle and high school students affected by the 2026-27 attendance zone changes. I am respectfully asking the board to please look at the recommendation from the staff in consultation with the Department of School Leadership and please approve it.

[02:40:22] All three of my children were affected by this rezone, and only two were able to be surveyed. My children are in supportive and caring environments and want to remain at their current schools. Specifically, my current 10th grader wants to continue at Light Ridge High School for 11th and 12th grade.

[02:40:39] My current 7th grader at Willard Middle School wants to finish there for 8th grade. We appreciate you reviewing this and approving the recommendation. Doing so will allow all of the children, including my own, to enjoy this current school year and not continue to feel stressed about next year's arrangements.

[02:40:56] Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Kelly Rosner, followed by Emily Moscotti. Good evening. My name is Kelly Rosner, and I have a ninth grader at Light Ridge High School and a fifth grader at Pinebrook Elementary.

[02:41:13] Back in June, the board made a decision to rezone Dulles South Zone 12.6 from Willard Lightridge to Gumspring John Champ. I believe that on December 2nd, the board will have an opportunity to approve the exception requests from the surveys that went out. I'm here in an effort to be proactive and ask the board to please approve these requests.

[02:41:31] My son wants to stay at Lightridge, where he was on the freshman football team and is currently trying out for the freshman basketball team. He's a good student and wants to graduate with the students he's known since kindergarten. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and this is our village that got broken.

[02:41:48] These are the parents and the families that we carpool with and volunteer with for events. Please take this into consideration. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Emily Muscati, and then we'll continue with in-person. Good evening.

[02:42:05] My name is Emily Muscati, and I'm speaking as a parent of two soon-to-be-three students at LCPS. I currently have one student at Ashburn Elementary School. I am requesting LCPS provides clarification to parents about a new district-wide policy regarding elementary student report card comments.

[02:42:21] Last night when I opened my student's elementary school report card, I was surprised to notice that instead of the usual personalized feedback in the report card comment section, there was language explaining what a report card is. After communicating with other parents at our elementary school and other elementary schools in the district, it seems to be standard language.

[02:42:39] I am requesting LCPS clarifies if standard language will apply to all future report cards or only the fall report card because we have our one fall parent-teacher conference. I did not receive communication from our school or LCPS about this change prior to receiving my student's report card.

[02:42:56] What is most important, if this is a new policy, I am respectfully requesting LCPS reconsider this. Our school explained today that the change is due to providing consistent information about school-wide updates and resources across the district. I believe report cards are not the place for district-wide announcements. Instead, they serve the purpose of providing individual student feedback.

[02:43:16] The 2027 LCPS Strategic Plan for Excellence lists community engagement as one of the four main goals. Parents receiving written, personalized feedback about our students in the elementary report card comments supports that goal. While I completely understand wanting to alleviate our teachers' workloads, and I truly appreciate all of the hard work and time our teachers and staff put into teaching our students, I am requesting LCPS finds another administrative task to eliminate rather than the report card comments.

[02:43:43] Additionally, without the feedback on quarterly report cards, it seems LCPS is expecting staff to reach out to parents for feedback, which seems to be more of a time-consuming task for them. As a parent, I would appreciate this feedback, but I would like to know how this will be communicated and how regularly.

[02:44:00] In my experience, the report card comments are the only written personalized feedback parents may get about our students all year. While we have our fall conference, it is usually less than 15 minutes and it is all verbal. We receive classroom newsletters and weekly emails, which generally apply to every student in the classroom.

[02:44:17] As a parent, I find it very helpful to read the report card comments and compare each quarter's new comments to the previous comments to monitor my students' progress. Please reconsider this change and reinstate elementary school personalized report card comments for each student. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

[02:44:33] Thank you. We'll continue with our in-person with Chris Countryman. Good evening.

[02:44:54] I'd like to begin by extending congratulations to the re-elected school board members that are here. Your commitment to public education and your willingness to serve our students, staff, and community is deeply appreciated, and we look forward to continuing to work together to strengthen our schools and support the people who make them thrive.

[02:45:13] To those board members who will be completing their terms this year, we want to sincerely thank you for your service. Your leadership and dedication have helped guide our district through both challenges and successes. We encourage you to finish your term strong. Your contributions make a difference every day and your experience continues to shape the direction of our schools.

[02:45:38] As we look ahead, LEA is preparing for our own important step forward, our ratification election to approve the tentative agreement reached since the last school board meeting. The election will take place from November 17th to November 21st. This is a time for our members to have their voices heard and to take an active role in shaping our collective future. We are hopeful that this process will reaffirm our shared commitment to collaboration, respect, and progress for everyone who works in and supports our schools. We still have much work to do and I look forward to making

[02:46:14] a difference together thank you and with that um we will end public comment um i would suggest we just continue on and not take a break that we normally do okay so we will move to item 13 information items 13.01 special education advisory committee quarterly update update presented by

[02:46:40] shanaz khan our seac chair welcome miss khan good evening chair mansfield vice chair donahue School Board members and Dr. Spence. I'm Shanaz Khan, Chair of the Special Education Advisory Committee, and thank you for giving us the opportunity to present our SEAC quarterly updates. Next slide please. As you all know, SEAC operates under the Virginia regulations governing special education programs for

[02:47:19] children with disabilities. These regulations outline our responsibility to advise, review, and support the division's efforts to meet the needs of of students with disabilities. Next slide, please.

[02:47:34] I'd like to begin by introducing our SEAC leadership. I'm joined tonight by our Vice Chair of Planning, Catherine Moran, and our amazing past chair, Liz Crotty. Our officers dedicate so much of their time to make sure that each and every one of our presentations provides meaningful resources for our families.

[02:47:56] And of course, none of this could be possible without our liaisons, Dr. Paige Carter, Carrie LaBelle, and Melinda Mansfield. Their partnership has been instrumental in helping us move important initiatives forward.

[02:48:14] Next slide, please. Before sharing our updates, I wanna take a moment to thank several individuals who've really made a difference in our work this year. Dr. Paige Carter and Ms. Nakia Purnell for their ongoing support and insight, especially during our meetings.

[02:48:33] they're really very supportive, very collaborative, and we come in with one perspective and they'll tell us no, we can't do it. So yeah, so seriously though, we really appreciate everything. Dr. Kim Jones and Ms. Kristen Lovell, who honestly, I wish I could clone and have them for myself because they've made each and every one of our meetings run so smoothly.

[02:48:59] I've been here for so long and I've seen when they weren't here and to where now they're here to support us and that is how SEAC is running so smoothly. To Ms. Tedra Richardson, who always takes the time to listen to our concerns and provides all perspective to us.

[02:49:17] And we couldn't, anytime we have any concerns, she takes the time to listen to us. And to our special education supervisors who consistently show up to our subcommittee meetings and help us problem solve collaboratively.

[02:49:32] A special thank you to Ms. Carrie LaBelle for her fierce advocacy and her deep knowledge of special education and to our school board members, Dr. Spence and LCPS staff for supporting initiatives like our inclusive playgrounds and the transition centers, which are really making a difference for our family.

[02:49:53] Next slide, please. Currently, SEAC has a full membership with 21 voting members and PTA/PTO representation from 57 schools. There are still a few schools without SEAC reps, So I'll be probably reaching out to see if you can help us fill that gap.

[02:50:14] Oh, no, sorry, I'm still on the other side. Our executive committee meets monthly and we have four active subcommittees that also meet regularly. These subcommittees are where the important work truly happens.

[02:50:30] We have our policy and compliance subcommittee, our meaningful inclusion subcommittee, specialized reading and math, and of course the transition subcommittee. Next slide, please. This is a copy of our presentation for the school year.

[02:50:48] We began the school year with a strong kickoff meeting with remarks from Dr. Spence and Ms. Richardson, followed by a meet and greet with Dr. Carter. One of the most memorable moments from that evening was Dr. Spence's message about belonging, the idea that every student should feel valued and included.

[02:51:06] That theme continues to guide our priorities this year. Next slide, please. Our next SEAC meeting is tomorrow, and we will be hosting our special education resource fair.

[02:51:22] This is an amazing opportunity for the community to come meet representatives from various LCPS programs and services and learn about the different resources available within LCPS.

[02:51:38] We ended last year with one of our most meaningful events, the SEAC ceremony. This is obviously one of our personal favorites, and we do purposely end the year with this event. From 354 nominations, and that's just a handful of us going through it, we recognize 204 awardees.

[02:52:02] These were teachers, staff, and students who embody the spirit of inclusion and collaboration. It has truly become one of the most anticipated events each year, and we often receive messages in February Asking when the nomination forms will be out and we used to have our CX ceremony in here in this boardroom And we grew out of it and now we're asking to have a school that has two levels so that we can accommodate So that's really one of our and we really encourage everyone to please come next year. Next slide, please

[02:52:42] Unfortunately, we could not have the 24/25 CX survey analyzed in time for this quarterly report But we expect to present that analysis in our next quarterly update. Next slide. So this was my short list of priorities this year.

[02:53:02] Looking ahead, SEAC has identified several key areas of focus this year. Our SOL standards of learning. With the recent increase in cut scores, students will need higher scores to pass.

[02:53:19] We're seeking clarity on how these changes may impact credit accommodations, retakes, and SOL accommodations for students with disabilities. No, I'm sorry, that's a long list, I'm still going.

[02:53:37] Discipline data, we continue to see a significant gap between students with disabilities and their gen ed peers when it comes to suspension rates and refers to law enforcement. SEAC believes it's important to take a closer look how behavioral assessments are being done, how our interventional plans are being written, and whether staff have the support they need to make these systems work for our students. Program growth. We currently have well over 300 program classrooms with 37 more already budgeted. As those programs grow, we as

[02:54:14] they continue to grow, we think it's important to look at whether our current can fully support that expansion adding more specialized instructional facilitators would help provide coaching and support to our program teachers especially our new teachers making sure this there is consistency across all classrooms training for teacher assistants and substitutes this has been a SEAC ask for many years it is especially important for our students with significant needs our teachers receive training and we really feel our

[02:54:52] TAs BAs and substitutes need training when they're interacting with our students with disabilities access to specials we continue to hear that some students don't have access to specials such as PE art music and library as we know these specials are important because they foster physical and mental health, teach essential life skills and support academic performance. SEAC believes all students should have opportunities to participate whether it's in their gen ed setting or whether it's an adaptive setting and we will

[02:55:29] continue to look at solutions such as maybe looking at schools looking at their master schedules at the beginning of school years and how they can incorporate our students needs. Reading and math interventions, we're exploring evidence-based reading and math interventions for our significantly delayed students, including how new technology and AI tools could help adapt materials for our students.

[02:55:58] The current curriculum doesn't meet the needs for our students. As much as we look at those curriculums and we've seen how it's providing -- we saw wonderful presentations these past today and before but our significantly delayed students can't access that and then I just want to relay how important it is because somebody did spend that time with my son and the other day we were out at a store and he looks at the sign and he's reading and goes Black Friday deals and I'm like oh my god and then he looks at me and goes what's that and so he's

[02:56:35] able to read he's able to make the connections and we are able to have a conversation so it's very important to see what kind of programs we can have for those students I didn't add this on the list but since this has been part of our discussion inclusive playgrounds first of all I really want to thank everybody who I really truly appreciate all the hard work and the thoughtful planning that has gone into this initiative. I saw last night I was watching the way the plans

[02:57:11] were described how it was looking the description it was all very mean meaningful and thoughtful and we really do appreciate that our students will have access to these inclusive playgrounds. Our request is to consider adding a piece of equipment that's already been successfully incorporated at Rosalie Carter Sully Elementary and Lowe's Island and basically it's a rocker style apparatus that allows a wheelchair to roll directly into it causing a rocking like a safe inclusion inclusive motion we'd

[02:57:51] love to see at least these placed strategically across the district and once they're placed across the district maybe then we could incorporate or or incorporate our MD programs and assign them to these schools. So then they stay at these schools, maybe possible solution.

[02:58:12] Making sure where we are, okay. Transition services. Again, seriously, wanna thank each and every one of you and all who have put so much time and effort and thought into how we're gonna make this happen.

[02:58:32] just creating this transition center and the independent living labs. It is so meaningful for our students with disabilities who are now gonna have extra support when it comes to workplace living skills, independent living skills that they haven't had before.

[02:58:49] They haven't had this consistent method of attaining those. Our committee, our transition subcommittee was able to actually visit the site today.

[02:59:05] we went and we visited the transition site. And again, just seeing how each piece has been thought of so carefully from the bus loops and us being able to look at, can all the buses come through? Can they make the turns? Can they not?

[02:59:20] This whole, this site was just, it was incredible. And I really thank you all for moving with that initiative. We'll continue to review policies and that impact students with disabilities and SEAC continues to support maintaining access to the virtual academies at both the elementary and secondary levels as it provides important flexibility and learning options for students who may benefit from an alternative setting.

[02:59:50] In closing, SEAC remains deeply committed to ensuring that every student with a disability in Loudoun County has access to high-quality, inclusive education, one that promotes belonging, independence, and success. On behalf of the entire committee, I want to thank the school board, Dr. Spence, and LCPS leadership for your continued partnership and support.

[03:00:14] Thank you for your time and for your dedication to our students and families, and we will miss those board members who will be rolling off this year. I'm happy to take any questions. Thank you, Ms. Kahn. Board members, do you have any questions or comments?

[03:00:34] Really, none. Nothing. No, we appreciate the partnership with you and the close relationship that we have had. Throughout the last two years throughout with all the board members I mean I was close to y'all beforehand, but I think everybody on this board has felt a good connection with SEAC And I and I know that that will continue throughout because I think that's where the magic happens And I do want to give a big shout out to you chair Mansfield for all your support I mean this goes way back to when we were on SEAC and together and when you know

[03:01:12] watching your advocacy and watching every like just being part of seeing what you've done for our students and each and every one of you really thank you and we appreciate it okay moving on to our next item um 13.02 department of business and financial services fy25 county fund balance request presented by sharon willoughby our chief financial officer miss willoughby good evening

[03:01:49] Similar to this time last year, staff has brought forward an item for school board consideration and approval to request funds out of the county's FY25 year-end fund balance. In board docs, there was a short list of seven items that I will briefly go through.

[03:02:10] The first six items total $4.7 million that would be funding to our school operating fund. The six items include $650,000 to support funding for ongoing placements related to the Child Services Act and special education.

[03:02:30] There's $2 million that is requested for computer devices and equipment to support purchases that have long lead times to ensure that we have them for summer. There are two line items that total $831,000 that is related to school furniture replacement.

[03:02:47] And it's a variety of cafeteria tables at certain schools to student chairs as well as library furniture. So various furniture at schools across our division. Then there's a line item for $250,000 to replace the gas and diesel fuel station that is out in Western Loudoun.

[03:03:10] And then the last item for our school operating fund is $960,000 to replace eight maintenance service trucks that have extended past their life cycle. So again, those six items total $4,691,000 specifically. The seventh item is requesting $12,800,000 of funding to go into our health self-insurance fund to help bring our reserves up to that 10% minimum threshold.

[03:03:38] So all combined, the request is $17,491,000. And again, this is for the school board's consideration and approval at the next meeting. This would be after the school board took action and assuming that the item was approved, then this item would go to the county board of supervisors for their action.

[03:04:03] They would look at this or they would take this up during their meetings in December and January. and we would expect to see what the final outcome would be in January and I'd be happy to take any questions. School Board members do you have any questions? No? Can I get a thumbs up for this to go to consent for the next school board meeting? Okay that will go to action for the December 2nd 2025 school board meeting. Our next item is 13.03 HRTD collective bargaining agreement presented by

[03:04:42] Lisa Boland, our Chief Human Resources Officer. Ms. Boland.

[03:05:12] Good evening. Sorry, you went a little quicker than I anticipated. I'm sorry. Okay, my apologies. So, good evening. Tonight, as Chair Mansfield stated, I will be providing a brief update on the collective bargaining process between Loudoun County Public Schools and the Loudoun Education Association. This update is intended to give an overview of where we are in the process, what has been accomplished to date,

[03:05:45] and what the next steps will be. As this remains an active process, pending ratification by both parties, I'll keep the public discussion at a very high level. Based on the timeline provided by the union, we know that the board is meeting tonight before the union has begun its ratification process with its members. It is therefore essential that we avoid any comments or discussions that could be interpreted as influencing or interfering with that process. Therefore, more detailed information will be shared with the board in a discreet manner so as to uphold the confidentiality

[03:06:22] of the union's and LCPS's negotiations and to respect the integrity of the union's internal ratification process with its members. I'll walk through three key areas this evening. First, a brief look at the negotiation timeline. Second, an overview of the tentative agreements that were reached and finally the next steps leading to ratification by both the union and the school board. Again the goal is to provide transparency about the process while maintaining the integrity of the formal ratification procedures still underway. The timeline on the next slide shows

[03:07:02] how we progressed from the start of negotiations this spring to the tentative agreements reached in late October. Negotiations officially began on April 8th of this year under the terms of the collective bargaining resolution, the parties reached what's called an automatic impasse on October 1st, triggering the mediation process. Mediation began on October 16th, and I'm pleased to report that through that process, tentative agreements were reached on October 29th. Both

[03:07:35] parties now have until December 1st to complete the ratification process. This timeline represents a collaborative effort and a commitment with both teams to reach an agreement that reflects the interests of our employees while maintaining the operational and financial priorities of the division. The tentative agreements cover a three-year term. They would start on July 1st,

[03:08:06] 2026 if ratified and run through June 30th, 2029. Each agreement includes articles addressing wages and benefits safety due process and union release time along with provisions specific to each unit for the certified unit those unique provisions include planning time and unencumbered lunches and for non-certified they include duty-free lunches and breaks collectively these articles create a foundation that balances employee rights and working conditions with the division's

[03:08:45] responsibility to effectively manage schools and resources. The final portion of tonight's presentation focuses on next steps and the parallel ratification processes that will occur over the next coming weeks. The Loudoun Education Association has informed the division that it will partner with a third-party vendor to present the tentative agreements for ratification to both its certified and non-certified members during the week of November 17th. On our side, the division

[03:09:21] will advance the tentative agreements through the school board's ratification process beginning with tonight's information item and followed by an action item scheduled for November 24th. Both bodies, the union and the school board, must complete their ratification votes by December 1st required under the collective bargaining resolution. If both parties ratify, the agreements will take effect July 1st, 2026. Between now and then, we will begin internal planning to ensure implementation is smooth and well

[03:09:59] coordinated across departments and that training is appropriate. And that concludes my presentation for this evening. Thank you, Ms. Boland. We'll move on to 13.04 student services committee deletion of policy 8-19 dismissal during the school day and vice chair Jonohue do you want to talk a little bit about this and introduce the rest certainly thank you madam chair so policy 8-19 which you might gather from the way that it has been numbered is has

[03:10:37] been around for a while and the provisions of that policy have been essentially subsumed into a different policy policy 8140 on student attendance requirements and procedures and the accompanying regulation in light of the fact that the provisions of policy 8-19 have been subsumed into these other into this other policy and regulation we discussed within the Student Services Committee the proposal to just delete policy 8-19 as it appears to now be obsolete and that was the recommendation of the committee which is which we are

[03:11:15] now presenting to the full board for its consideration. I would defer to Ms. Richardson if there is any additional background information that would be helpful. Thank You Vice Chair Donahue you did a fabulous job it was absolutely a clerical error in the fall of 2023 on the behalf of staff when we created the new policy 8140 to also request the action that 8-119 be deleted thank you board members do you have any questions seeing none may I have a thumbs up for this to go to consent for the December 2nd school board meeting okay that will

[03:11:55] go to consent for the December 2nd 2025 school board meeting 13.05 student services committee revision of policy 8155 school assignment vice chair Donahue do you want to do the honors here absolutely thank you madam chair so policy 8155 is the policy the official title of this of this policy is school assignment it is commonly commonly known also as the special permission policy because it does outline the the policy procedure for requesting and and being

[03:12:32] approved for or appealing from decisions denying requests for special permission this policy through student services we reviewed it last year and made some fairly significant changes and indicated at the time that we were not done with it but we wanted to see how our our changes how they how they affected the district when they went into effect on January 1st of 2025 so now that we have a full season of special permission application and reviews and appeals

[03:13:09] under our belts we wanted to go forward with proposing some additional changes and to the special permission it will to the policy to the school assignment policy but in particular to the special permission process we're recommending a number of changes and I have also submitted some changes to my colleagues in writing just during during the dinner break I'm sorry which are not it's on for information we're not voting on anything tonight just to have something

[03:13:48] in writing to discuss but prior to discussing specific changes I anticipate that Ms. Richardson and Mr. Dolson may have some information to present to the full board regarding the implementation of our previous changes to 8155.

[03:14:07] Thank you, Vice Chair Donohue. Certainly, as the board will recall, our special permission window closed on April 30th of 2025, and at that time, the Student Services Committee had requested that staff bring a presentation back so that the board members could really assess the impact of the changes that were made last fall.

[03:14:30] So the policy has been before the Student Services Committee on June 5th, August 21st, October 6th, October 16th, and November 6th, just last week. And so we do have changes that are hot off the press.

[03:14:46] I am joined by my highly esteemed colleague, the Director of Student Services, Mr. Kirk Dolson, and he's going to give a summary by line of the substantive changes and then really it's going to be up for discussion as staff.

[03:15:03] As we discussed last week, I think the main concern that we had with the most recent revisions is the changing of the timeline simply because as a board you are considering the rezoning for 18 elementary schools and the time needed on the back end after you adopt those changes on December 16th that it would take staff in DDI and in planning services to make within our student information system. So that process could possibly shorten the window in January and we're also proposing, you're considering a proposal of shortening the window from April

[03:15:41] 30th to March 31st. I think that's one of the bigger cautions that we have as staff, but certainly it is the will of the board and we're excited for this conversation this evening so i will now hand it over to mr dulcet i just want to i think that we decided not to do that when we went back and listened to the audio thank you chair mansfield sorry when we went back and listened to the audio i don't know that we've closed the loop but if we feel coming out of committee that that loop has been closed then then that staff concern has been addressed the other

[03:16:18] thing i want to mention is vice chair donahue who's also chair donahue on that on that committee Yes, her thing these would be amendments since it didn't it wasn't voted out of committee is that that's your understanding too, right? But these are amendments to be for the neck for action for next yes, okay, and if I may I all I wanted to point out one other Wrinkle which is that the the red line version that is currently posted on board docs for tonight's meeting I believe is the same one it is the same one that we reviewed at the beginning of our student services meeting last week and

[03:16:53] Does not is it updated? Okay. Sorry. Sorry. I When I looked at it this morning, it was good evening Chair Mansfield vice chair Donahue Dr. Spence and the board It is my pleasure to stand before you sit before you I should say and share with you the updates That you all have shepherded through for policy 8155. I do want to just take this opportunity to say thank you I've had the opportunity to sit in rooms with each of you individually as a team

[03:17:30] but really talk through this policy and I just want to compliment all of you as nine individuals this is one area where I see you all working together as a full board instituting a policy with in my opinion effectiveness but also consistency across nine individual bodies when you come together as as team so even though this is a very difficult policy to revise to in some cases implement you all have done a phenomenal job at putting forward ideas putting

[03:18:08] forward changes and implementing those ideas consistently so I just wanted to say that from a constituents perspective but also a former principals perspective, thank you for doing what you're doing. I'm going to go over very, very high-level highlights of what you all have changed, and then certainly we'll be able to answer any questions that you might have. So the first thing that we decided to change within this policy was using the term base capacity in section A, at the very beginning of the policy, to align with language that our planning office had requested us to use. In section B, lines 50 through 82, and I do a

[03:18:47] I'm speaking from the run line version that Ms. Donahue referenced earlier. In lines 50 through 82, we better define what instructional suitability is. The addition of section D in lines 125 through 160 now provides guidance on how school boundary changes and rezoning processes may impact this specific policy and special permission and instructional suitability.

[03:19:21] Clarification on the application requirements is also located in section E. It should be noted that this section also provides date ranges that Ms. Richardson referenced that we may need to consider changing or revising as you all see fit.

[03:19:40] Lines 319 through 362 offer updates to the special permission process timeline. In lines 274 through 287, we further, and this is a lot of the committee, the committee's work in the past two meetings, we further define the principal's responsibility and ability to warn that special permission may be rescinded in, I apologize, we also remove the reference to ninth grade

[03:20:18] in accordance with updated VHSL rules. So, overall, the changes have been made to really clarify how one applies for and then how one renews applications for special permission and instructional suitability.

[03:20:39] And I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. - So, just to give a little background on those timelines, it was really hard to find school board members in July to sit on appeals committee And so I just, I was hoping that we could not do that by raising the, by pushing back the date.

[03:21:15] However, unforeseen consequences always happen with policies and pushing things back. And it even, so as the board members work through this, this summer, you're going to have to really, like somebody's, y'all are going to have to come together and figure out for July appeals so do you guys the other thing that was really important to me was the the administrative appeals and the ability for for students to be

[03:21:52] for families to be able to do that if there was a possible principal rescission as well as there was another one too so and if and if they were denied a special permission so if I also any more questions or discussions or concerns and vice or Donna here do you want to go through your your proposed maybe amendments I would be happy to do that madam chair I don't know if you want to

[03:22:29] deal with any other questions or comments on other issues first board members do you have any questions yes mrs. Griffiths thank you madam chair I'm still reviewing I mean it's ten pages I'm still reviewing and I just received and suggestions so it's very hard for me to forgive me put this all together right now I had my own issues with the with the permissions as far as I mean you had mentioned the rezoning but what having it at April 30th I think was a

[03:23:05] problem because of unforeseen circumstances so I still feel like this needs a lot of work I want to take the time to really scrutinize what Miss Donahue has said has sent to us I don't know if anybody else got a chance to look at the suggestions yet so I think we're all a little behind I think so this I don't know what kind of discussion we're gonna have about this today because I really think we need to look at everything and it's 10 pages I know it's it's for information today so you have until our next school board meeting it's

[03:23:43] put on action and then which is in december so you have a little bit of time yeah and i can put forward i guess amendments and we're following which one we're following the one so what so just to be clear because i know you're right it is confusing it is 10 pages and we have been working on it for over a year and a half so um so to clarify the red line that's on board docs right now is what we're working from. Yeah, I think I'm on it. And then Vice Chair Donna Hughes is

[03:24:18] giving us her proposed amendments for action. It would be working from here. Okay. Okay. And then that would be in December. I do think it's very important to make this policy readable for parents.

[03:24:34] I think a lot of parents are not able to comprehend this policy, and those are the complaints I've been getting. But also, you know, going back to the rezoning, my issue with the permissions and rezoning, we're sending kids back to Seldon's.

[03:24:55] They were doing permissions every year to stay at Seldon's, but then you have some that want to stay at Stuart Weller, even though they're zoned for Seldon's now. So then they're going to have to do permissions every year. I don't know how we can avoid issues like that when we rezone and people go back and then people want to stay.

[03:25:16] And also rezoning for Dominion Trail was discussed. And not a huge high capacity in Dominion Trail, but there could be some students that want to stay that'll be fine with Stuart Weller but want to stay at Dominion and they're going to have to do permissions as well so I know you're taking this all into consideration and I just wanted to let you know that I'm trying to comprehend all of it trying to figure it out so I'm glad we're having the discussion today thank you you know Mrs. Griffiths

[03:25:56] I think also that Mr. Dolson or Mrs. Richardson might be, might, I'm not going to tell you anything, but they might give you the opportunity to discuss more with you for better clarity. Absolutely. And Ms. Griffiths, to your point, just to note your specific question quandary that you proposed. Lines 125 through 144 is our attempt at sort of resolving that concern because that was

[03:26:30] a concern that we discussed during committee, which was what to do when attendance zones or boundary changes occur. I requested that the committee come to consensus on something that could be replicated from an elementary attendance zone as well as a secondary attendance zone.

[03:26:51] they're very different but your point is well taken and we did discuss that so I would certainly ask for the board to look at lines 125 through 144 and provide us feedback on our attempt at sort of taking a stab at that that exact issue. Board members do you have any other discussions about this particular thing before Vice Chair Donahue? Okay go ahead Ms. LaBelle. These particular lines that Mr. Dolson's referring to, 125 through 144, one of the comments or one of the considerations

[03:27:28] that we had when we were deliberating on this particular problem or issue was, you know, what do we do? So we thought it out very carefully, and it was a big conundrum when we were sitting on it, but I think that this will eventually be the answer, because eventually we're going to have to have something that will carry us through the next few years. I mean, we can't be changing this every year. So we were looking for verbiage and actions that would actually take us to a point

[03:28:05] where it'd be consistent. So I think that that's something you might want to keep in mind when you're reading through this. Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. Also, I wasn't sure, did you implement SEAC in here you did okay all their changes all their suggestions or all of the suggestions that we received were considered yes thank you okay vice-chair Donahue thank you very much madam chair and thank you

[03:28:44] to my colleagues I meant to have proposed language to you much earlier than tonight I apologize for that but I did I did send an email to you all earlier this evening and I have I have asked if it can be added to board docs so that it will be available for public review in advance of any further consideration my proposed changes there's I would say kind of a three categories one is just some formatting like some minor formatting issues on

[03:29:21] lines 304 to 317 of the red line what the but I wanted to start substantively with lines 227 to 248 so this is in section e which deals specifically with special permission and under this section of other factors for special permission there are there are several references to special permission and instructional suitability and when we discussed this in committee I I agree

[03:29:57] that we need to the issues that we're addressing in these lines we need to address as to both transfers on the basis of instructional suitability and transfers on the basis of special permission but when I was rereading this policy in preparation for tonight it struck me as not fitting to have the references to instructional suitability transfers in this section because this entire section is focused entirely on special permission and so one of my suggestions would be that this language related to instructional suitability be

[03:30:35] moved up to the preceding section talking about instructional suitability. So that was one of the larger substantive suggestions and then my other significant and substantive suggestion is regarding applications for special permission which I'm proposing that we should no longer call special permission that we should change it to out-of-zone transfers or out-of-zone

[03:31:05] attendance and I apologize I lost my own place in my notes but I have suggested starting on line 162 of the red line version I am suggesting that we rewrite that first paragraph so that it would now read out of zone attendance and transfers out of zone transfers are disfavored but may be approved in limited exceptional circumstances out of zone transfers will not be automatically approved granted or guaranteed in any year that paragraph

[03:31:44] would then go on to a part one which currently reads application requirements for special permission I would suggest that we strike that and have Part 1 read a parent or legal guardian may request an out-of-zone transfer for their student to attend an out-of-zone school subject to the following conditions I would further suggest that after that number one right now it reads sub a starts an appropriate new application must be submitted I would suggest that we add that we change that to now being Part B we add a new Part A that says the

[03:32:19] requested out of zone school is not projected to be over-enrolled that we the the subsections that currently appear on lines 170 through 189 of the red line version I would propose that we keep all of those they would be re-lettered now to be B through E and then I am suggesting that we add another subsection after the current end there which is currently on 189 of the current red line. I would suggest that we add a new subsection F that would read all

[03:32:56] applications for out-of-zone attendance transfers must identify one of the following grounds for the request. Such applications shall include upon submission specific details and shall be accompanied by appropriate documentation supporting the request. Then we would have right now I'm proposing four subcategories which include student experiencing or are undergoing physical, social, or emotional adjustment difficulties, as documented by licensed mental health professionals currently treating the student.

[03:33:28] Two, child care issues, which would otherwise result in significant hardship, providing appropriate supervision to the student or a minor child within the student's household. Third category, if the student has been the victim of a crime, whether reported or not, or the victim of discrimination or harassment, all as defined under Virginia law.

[03:33:48] And fourth category, other extenuating circumstances not set forth above taking into account demonstrated hardship and educational needs of the student. So that is those are my proposals. I know it's a lot to talk about in specifics but I I have said before in previously in my committee and in this in this forum with my fellow members that one of my desires pretty much since getting on the board was to rein in special

[03:34:22] permission of what I think we should be calling out-of-zone transfers and really give it a lot more clear structure and definition of what is or is not or may be appropriate. So I'm open to discussion. If people don't like these categories or think they're too strict or think they're not strict enough, I welcome that conversation. But I strongly believe that we need to state clearly in this policy that that there has to be a reason that it's not just we're not just saying yes anyone

[03:34:58] can ask for special permission for no reason at all but there needs to be a reason and that it needs to be considered as the exception not the rule so you and I are going to disagree on this out of zone transfer and attendance I think that means something else I think you might if you're not going to do special permission I think you need to I think we need to think of other wording out of zone for me means like so like you have a zone that's going towards well out of zone can also mean going to Fairfax or something else like that but out of zone can also be I'm not going to

[03:35:35] be in the Freedom District or I'm not going to be in the in the Independence or whatever going through that route and I think that first I don't I'm not gonna I think that there needs to be different wording there's probably a reason that it was special permission and not out of zone transfer attendance i probably i do not agree first of all i wish you had brought this to the committee and we could have had a workshop or something on your request for all of these

[03:36:07] categories um i don't i'm not one to i think at this point you're gonna i think we should wait a year before you do that but um that's to the will of the board um any other discussion yes Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to try and get across my point. I have listened to all the meetings. It feels really clunky to me still right now, like we're kind of working

[03:36:44] through the mud. And part of the reason I feel that way is I sort of feel like we're trying to take a really, I'm going to use your word, Mr. Dolson, from one of the meetings, sort of a little bit of a convoluted process that has been adapted over time to meet the growing needs of a county and serve it at different purposes when we were building a lot of schools and enrollment was spiking and now enrollments going down so we're trying to kind of morph this policy to fit into something that just doesn't seem to feel like it works to me and that we're even in the conversation tonight it feels

[03:37:19] very much like we're not having clarity in terms of where we want to go and I I really respect the work of the committee because it's, you took on a lot of new nuances and I'm grateful for that work and I am in no way trying to undermine that because I think you set us up nicely for a next round of processes as we are up against a very clear deadline here in January.

[03:37:45] If we had all the time in the world, it might be different. And just after being on this board for two years and seeing just how complex and a little bit inconsistent, I feel this has become, I'm pretty concerned about the web that it's created.

[03:38:00] And a couple of those things have been mentioned tonight. One is an attempt to rezone, which is a massive undertaking that we are all, I think, united and committed to and feel is very necessary. So I personally have a struggle and I see the new language. I think that that will help, but I also think it can put stress on our families when we're like, well, you can go there, but if there's rezone, then you're going to get bounced back. And I just, I feel more stress about that than laying down some clear boundaries. And additionally, something that is in my mind is the conversation that you all had about special education programming and where we're trying to

[03:38:40] expand some of those and make sure that people have access to the programs in their zoned area and that they might actually get bumped from their zoned school because of the way this process works. so that was concerning to me and the third thing that we are committed to taking on is CTE five-year expansion and that requires space every school I'm in people are asking am I going to get this program is this going to be a space well if enrollment is unstable because of the special permission process which in my opinion it does create that we are really up against it in terms

[03:39:12] of making sound decisions to serve that process so all of that combined has had me reflecting on this. Also, I agree with Ms. Donahue on a lot of areas. I think that, you know, there do need to be certain reasons, but I don't think that we can do that in haste. And I was hopeful that last year's policy changes were a good step forward, and I felt like they were, but I was really disappointed to see that the numbers haven't moved that much. Didn't really discourage anybody. And so that piece, I just feel like these incremental adjustments time after time are not really

[03:39:50] getting us where we need to go. So I'm going to say the thing that I feel like maybe doesn't want to be said out loud, but I feel like it's time for us as a board to have this conversation. I am uncomfortable with what this has created in terms of being able to serve the best needs of our students. I think that was the intention in the beginning, and I think it's gone sideways in certain areas. And so what I'd like to do, and again, I am actually favorable to most of these changes that you have put in the red line. I could get on board. So I would like to propose

[03:40:27] that we look at this process in a whole new way and we think about modifying. So rather than continuing to modify the system that no longer aligns with where we are, I mean really and what our goals are going forward, I would be amenable to adopting these changes that you have worked so hard on for months as a placeholder for the next year. And Ms. Donahue, I really, really appreciate that you're moving in a direction of having categories and documentation and people reviewing

[03:41:03] that. My only issue with taking this to action in December is that this is, if we made this shift to taking basically a huge step towards not having special permission for even schools that are not 90%, just special permission in general, that's going to require a lot of feedback from our community because this is a sensitive topic. And there's a lot of fear about where kids go to school and wanting to make sure that you maintain that continuity. We hear it in rezoning. We hear

[03:41:38] it now. So I would like to turn this portion of special permission. I really like the idea of instructional suitability. I think it's great. I think it makes sense. I think we can take it beyond special education it would apply across maybe said categories that would need a lot of work hashing out that would need staff that would need the multiple advisory committees chiming in I mean we need to do this right if we're really going to do that and then potentially move towards a new policy that's called instructional suitability and that's the means for school

[03:42:14] reassignment I know that's a lot to take in and I know it's a different direction than the direction that we've been in but either we're going to continue down this path to nitpick and make all these slight changes and continue I think to slam our heads up against the wall in frustration each year or we're going to do something different and I genuinely believe in my heart of hearts that our schools are wonderful been 97 out of 100 of them wanted to get to 100 by today so I could say that

[03:42:49] on the mic but we have wonderful schools I believe in our schools I believe in our people and I believe that people are doing what's best for students and I want that to be the reigning sentiment in Loudoun County. Thank you. Yes, Ms. Griffith. I just want to say one more thing. Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. And I just wanted to reiterate, I'm with you I think I'm pretty much most of it. I just wanted to reiterate I brought up SEAC before. My concern was also special ed students

[03:43:26] that are rezoned from a school that they are used to and they don't like change and they get rezoned um that's a real big problem when you have kids um or students rather uh used to a school used to a teacher used to an assistant and then they're told oh you got to rezone and they're thrown into school they know nothing about um so that's an issue for me uh because i don't you know You don't know if the new school will work out, the child will be able to make the changes.

[03:43:58] So you sort of touched on that a little bit, Ms. Chernoff. So I just wanted to put that out there again. That's why I had asked about SEAC and their changes because, you know, you're going to get a lot of people that don't want to change schools or they're going to want permissions for that too.

[03:44:18] So anyway, thank you so much. Actually, I think the thing that really changes for special education, of get that programs get kicked out is what we did with their preschool head start what we did with dual language those are the things that kicked out our special programs not necessarily special permission miss Chandler um thank you for this discussion just in in general I it this policy is one that I have struggled with in all of my time on the board and I have found myself fluctuating

[03:44:57] fluctuating and being open to change. And also, I guess I'll admit one of the greatest surprises for me is that I came in with a very strong opinion against special permission. And through some of the processes that we've gone through in terms of appeals, I have come to see there are certain circumstances where it has a value. I know this will surprise no one because this is conversation that we've had thanks for entertaining me over the course of our

[03:45:35] time on the board together but it's very important to me to understand how we got from the start to this place where we are now and so I would appreciate as we continue on this conversation if I could have a copy of the policy the first policy if we have a record of that I notice it dates back to 1970 which is actually older than me right right it's older than me um so i i would and i would really like to know what the historical context is for how this came into being so that we can really assess whether or

[03:46:14] not perhaps yes perhaps no this is the direction that we envision for the future of our county so thank you thank you Ms. Chandler any other questions or discussion I will say like we've been doing this for a year and a half almost two years we've gotten a lot of input from SEAC MSAC we've gotten teacher principal this was not done just willy-nilly at all there was a lot of

[03:46:50] feedback and there was a lot of feedback from our constituents so to make to say that something that this we should get a lot of feedback we have gotten a lot of feedback Ms. Chernoff. I understand what you're saying and I wasn't implying that and I apologize if that was how it was perceived but what I'm saying is if we move in the direction of creating a new policy instruction called instructional suitability which would be the avenue for school reassignment that with categories and how which would kind of absorb I think some of what Vice Chair Donahue has proposed in her

[03:47:27] email and in her proposed possible amendments, those things specifically would be new. And I think that if we were to, if I'm really asking the board if that's a direction that we would want to consider, if we want to continue going down this path of just, you know, where we are is where we are, if that's the will of the board, that's the will of the board. I'm putting something new on the table. I'm saying, is there an opportunity here to pivot, to look at the historical context, to see if this policy serves us, to see if this process is really serving us, and over the next year or so develop something that's really solid really clear and has nice

[03:48:05] protocol and has the feedback for the categories for the exceptions because certainly of course there are certain students that cannot you know need that shift and I want to honor that I just think that the idea of switching to instructional suitability being the means for special permission and I will just say not even special permission school reassignment would be a big shift for us in my mind I would see it that way so I would want to make sure that if we decided to do a new policy that we would ensure that this is a long well-thought-out process with lots and lots of feedback so not to undermine the

[03:48:41] feedback of where we are I'm talking about a totally new path any other yes Mr. Chandler thank you madam chair I will say I agree with Ms. Chernoff on this issue I do believe if we're going to make a giant change like something that is a substantive shift in policy from what we have done for clearly 56 years or whatever, that it's going to take a significant conversation with the community because it won't be successful if we don't develop the support of the community.

[03:49:20] Any other discussion? Seeing none, can I get a thumbs up for those to go to consent?

[03:49:38] Okay. So thank you, Mr. Dolson and Ms. Richardson. Thank you very much. And we will continue this conversation on December 2nd at the Ness School Board meeting. 13.06 Department of Support Services. Current middle school students affected by 2026 and 2027. Attendance zone changes. Policy 8160 survey results for certain rising grade 8 students presented by Kevin Lewis.

[03:50:11] Chief Operations Officer, and is Ms. Tate here too? Oh, okay. Ms. Tate. Thank you, Ms. Mansfield. Ms. Tate is here and will rescue me if I need to be rescued.

[03:50:30] So tonight we bring to you the item, as you recall, in June of this year, you adopted the attendance zone changes for secondary schools in the Dulles South area, And that included Gumsprings Middle School, John Champ High School, J. Michael Lunsford Middle School, Freedom High School, Willard Middle School, and Light Ridge High School.

[03:50:51] And according to policy 8160, the school board allows students that are at the middle school level in current grade 7 or rising 8th graders to let the board know that they would choose to stay at their existing school rather than move to those schools.

[03:51:08] About halfway down on the chart or on an item, you'll see the chart that shows that the students that were currently zoned from Gum Springs that were moving to J. Michael Lunsford, 66 students, current seventh graders, were surveyed.

[03:51:24] 21 have elected to request the board to allow them to stay. And likewise, from Willard to Gum Springs, 37 were surveyed and 16 elected to request to stay. So you have a total of 37 students that would like to stay at their current high schools.

[03:51:41] I will say that Willard and Gum Springs are both slightly overcrowded. We have spoken to Principal Deal, in particular at Gum Springs Middle School, and she's perfectly fine with and ready to accommodate those students. And because of that, we, from support services, in partnership with our friends in teaching, learning, school leadership are recommended that the board approve that and allow those children to stay do we need to make a i mean is there a recommendation here you recommended to stay i don't

[03:52:17] really see a recommendation do we need to make a motion or anything for those kids to stay or can we do we have to vote on that yeah well this is an information item so we bring it back for action and um but there's a potential we can just put it on consent yes right absolutely i'm looking for i'm looking for the uh i don't see you know where it says bolded recommendation i'm looking too i don't i think we omitted that so i apologize for that essentially the recommendation would be for the school board to approve the staff recommendation to allow the students to stay at their current assigned middle school okay it looks like there's more to it that the loudon county school board

[03:52:57] approved their exception request received for certain current grade seven students to remain at their 2025-2026 middle school for grade eight there will be no lcps bus transportation provided transportation to and from for these accepted students will be the responsibility of their parent guardian for the student's final year of middle school is that correct okay yes ma'am we forgot the headings apologize for that just wanted to be sure um board members you have any discussion yes uh mrs griffiths thank you madam chair can you give me the numbers again so you

[03:53:32] said you surveyed these students and they we'd be voting on them to stay so what's the what's the total number again if you don't mind I I zoned out for a second so we surveyed all the seventh graders the current seventh graders that will be in the eighth grade next year and choose to stay and finish their eighth grade year at their middle school we surveyed a total of 100 or 103 parents / students responded to the survey which equates to 45% of the total number of students. Of those, 37 have elected to stay at their current school. 16 would be staying

[03:54:09] at Willard and 21 would be staying at Gum Springs. Okay, I just wanted to run those numbers in my head if I think about consent at all. So thank you so much. Ms. Chandler. Thank you. Mr. Lewis, when it comes to the way the surveys work, does every impacted family receive a survey?

[03:54:36] Those in the seventh grade only, but yes. In the attendance zones, that'll be moving. Yes, Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Chair Mansfield. I also just want to refresh my memory from when we voted on this because this was part of the amendment that I made to the staff plan that we did not propose this.

[03:55:00] I mean, we were clear that if we were going to propose this, that we felt confident that even if every single student said yes, that we would probably be able to do it. So this being lower than that, I feel very comfortable doing this. And I think it would be bad practice to dangle a carrot and then pull it away, so to speak.

[03:55:19] So I just wanted to refresh our memory that we, I wouldn't have put that forward if I felt like it was going to be a no to those families. And so is that, am I remembering that correctly? Yes, ma'am. Okay. So if that reassures you at all, Ms. Griffiths. Any other?

[03:55:36] Yes. Vice Chair Donahue. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Lewis I have some follow-up questions to Ms. Chandler's question about the families when they're being surveyed How are they contacted? How many times are they contacted and if there is no response?

[03:55:54] after first attempt to contact or third or 17th do we you know what efforts do we make to try and get if any to get a response those occasions are handed to Mrs. Tate's office I'm gonna ask her to explain the details of that so I don't misrepresent that thank you miss Donahue we surveyed the families so we emailed the parent one parent two contacts of their student records so the email of record with the students we emailed them initially on

[03:56:32] October 14th the survey ran through 11:59 p.m. on November 3 we had three additional contacts with those emails if we had not received a survey response at those points in time so we did multiple contacts that way we also relayed the information about the survey through communication with help from the communications office that the survey would be forthcoming if families did not respond and that was part of the email when we sent the survey link that was

[03:57:10] done through permission click or no it was not it was actually done with our Razzie office I'm sorry permission click was last time we relayed that if we did not receive a response that it would be anticipated that their child would attend the school that they were zoned to attend beginning next fall thank you miss Tate and just one more follow-up have there been any subsequent to the survey closing have there been any families who did not respond but between

[03:57:45] then and now have reached out to be like oh wait no my kid does want to go to this other school does that ever happen yes ma'am we have and yes ma'am it does and what do we do when those families reach out to say we have relayed that the survey period has ended and barring any intervention from you the board to extend to those who missed the deadline they would need to request

[03:58:19] I'm sorry to say special permission so would you would you have the information available to you right now how many families specifically related to our information item 13.06 how many families have reached out since the survey closed out of that group we've had about six families contact us and they have students at various grade levels some are the high school item coming to you and some have middle some have both I could

[03:58:55] not at this moment in time tell you how many at each grade but we can provide that if you would like thank you it is a little concerning that only 45% out of it was were completed but you can't I mean it it's kind of hard when you have contacted them over and over again and tried i'm going to interject mr um we do and we understand sometimes there are multiple children in the family and six you know one might be coming into

[03:59:31] sixth grade and one is going to eighth grade and i think families recognize that that they would have children at two different schools in middle school if those um if they're trying to finish that continuity at the middle school level thank you um yes ms chandler um may i ask a follow-up question um is that percentage typical over time i mean have we seen this similar result in past boundary change processes this is actually a higher percentage response rate than we typically do have

[04:00:03] thanks for that okay any more questions board members you want to put this on consent yes you can always take anything off of consent and then it'll be put put on information if you change your mind action sorry action that's right okay um thank you madam chair um i you know i i

[04:00:42] don't like the families have disruption but i i'm feeling like if we did a survey um and you had a lot of people that had the option to stay or to to go um i think that's acceptable um and as miss donahue asked if there is an issue and we get people coming out of the woodwork that are not happy with this we can pull it off consent so I'm for consent thank you great this will be going on consent for December 2nd okay next one is high

[04:01:20] school 13.07 I'm not gonna read the whole thing mr. Lewis we can just go ahead and thank you madam chair so this is a very similar story with the same timeline and information with the exception of the policy essentially addresses a focus on current grade 10 grade 10 students that will be rising juniors the seniors are typically stay in that normal process by policy so we surveyed the the 10th graders you'll see that in the chart the bottom chart the policy also allows us to survey ninth graders and during that process when we

[04:01:59] did the adoption this school board asked us to survey the ninth graders as well which is why we had two tables so the top table is the current ninth graders you see there are 79 students that would like to stay at their current school and of the current 10th graders there are 62 so again we have looked at the schools we have space in the schools and we recommend that the school board approve this the students stay as requested that's interesting that more ninth graders want to stay in the tenth graders that's kind of funny to me um board members do

[04:02:37] you have any uh any other questions or discussion can we go ahead and put this on consent yeah mr straffi that would be put on consent for our next uh board meeting thank you uh mr lewis and miss tate okay 13.08 status of the equity committee presented by dr linda deans chair of the equity committee dr deans thank you madam chair um we went through the evolution of the equity committee

[04:03:16] and dr bergen went through the evolution and then presented the two policies that would be that would impact the equity committee so may i sort of briefly go through the it is um my understanding that the school board created the equity committee as an ad hoc committee in 2019. It established the Equity Committee to conduct an equity audit, research current LPCS

[04:03:51] practices, and policies related to equity, and present recommendations. At its inception, the Equity Committee consisted of three school board members and community members, with one director of equity serving as a staff liaison. Then, during 2021, the school board voted to reconceptualize or designate the equity committee as a select committee. As a select committee, the equity committee maintained the same membership structure as it had when it was

[04:04:30] created as an ad hoc committee, and the school board determined that this select committee would have an indefinite end date. So that sort of left things up in the air. From 2021 through prep through the present time, the equity committee has remained as a select committee of the school board. It has continued with a structure of three board members and community members with appointments and nominations for membership made on an annual basis. During my tenure as a chair of

[04:05:08] the equity committee over the past two years, I have had challenges specifically with being able to hold productive meetings. For instance, we've had multiple meetings where a quorum was not reached or maintained and where meetings were otherwise sparsely attended. Even when I was told that if two of the three equity committee, three, if two of the three school board members were

[04:05:39] present, that I could move forward, that is not what the history said we could do. So we continue to struggle with moving forward. The Equity Committee came up with a list of priorities that they wanted to explore, but we didn't have a way to do that because currently what the Equity Committee wanted to do was being done by DEIA Department. So given that select committees by

[04:06:16] definition under policy 2310 exists to examine and report on a specific issue, there is a sense that the equity committee has achieved the purpose for which it was created such that the charge to examine and report on one specific issue is no longer applicable. All that is to say there's a feeling that there's more potential for the Equity Committee to have productive discussions

[04:06:51] and meetings and impact in a form other than as either a ad hoc committee or a select committee. As we met last Thursday, we had the members of the Equity Committee to actually give their thoughts after Dr. Bergen explained to them the differences between these committees and the creation of the new committee structure policy 3030. Therefore, questions and comments

[04:07:29] from the committee, Dr. Bergen was able to answer those. So that's where we are. The equity committee is not functional in its present designation. In the two years that I've been on the equity a committee. It's been meetings, and then guest speakers, and then it has taken many different

[04:08:04] formats, but nothing that the committee wants to work on. They could sit and listen to the Jewish community or any community. We also had a gentleman from Martin Luther King's day, yada, yada, And they could listen, but those were just listening experiences, not action experiences.

[04:08:31] And so the committee members want to have the committee in a format that they can take action. So in terms of next steps, and based on the discussion and input received by the equity committee this past Thursday night,

[04:08:50] I'd like to bring this matter back as an action item at the school board's December 2nd meeting with the recommendation that the school board dissolve the equity committee as a select committee and ask that the superintendent establish an equity council and designate it as a school division administrative council pursuant to policy 3030.

[04:09:21] Questions, comments? Wait, I think the the policy is named what? It's the 30. I'm sorry. What? No, no, no. It's I think administrative. The superintendent at 30. Someone look it up for me, please. What is it named?

[04:09:43] the entire school division administrative advisory committees such as the school business partnership executive council and the head start policy council okay so and this was established in october of 2025 so we didn't have this opportunity before okay so this the school division administrative advisory committee is the is the name of that policy right okay okay that's what I just wanted to know yeah yes mr. Struffy okay thank you madam

[04:10:15] chair thank you dr. Deans as well so in committee as dr. Deans alluded to we we discussed the three different paths that we could take as the equity committee and it was very clear from the beginning that having a standing committee of the board was not going to be the the way you know the the sentiment within the committee for a bunch of reasons one of them primary one being that it would not be able to allow meaningful community representation if you look at the history of the equity committee and the reasons that brought on that select

[04:10:53] committee that was an important element I think what's what was important I think if you saw some of the comments in and the discussion in the equity committee there were a few notes and check boxes that were important to committee members based on what I was able to gather and one is one was institutionalizing the work of equity and the work of that committee right and driving the work I think that was making sure that equity was no longer an afterthought in our division again going back to some of the reasons why this select committee was formed formed another one as I mentioned already was

[04:11:30] making sure that we have an avenue for meaningful community representation so when we discussed for example the difference between the advisory committee and the Administrative Advisory Committee, or that council, there were questions around how will communities' voices continue to be heard, right?

[04:11:48] And so both of those checked the box, right? We got through a bunch of questions around that. And then cementing accountability for the work in the division, right? And that accountability for that work was very important, I think, to committee members. Another one that Dr. Deans touched on was this clarity or the focus of the work of equity in education or in the division that I think we were, you know, it wouldn't be unfair to say that we were lacking in the last two years, right?

[04:12:22] And so making sure that that work doesn't lose its relevance or doesn't stagnate. And so there are a few other things that I can mention that I took note of. There was a desire by members of the current equity committee to see more engagement and alignment with the school-level equity leaders.

[04:12:44] So equity leads, student ambassadors, alongside other interested community partners, right? And one of the things that I brought up in committee was, you know, just having more teachers be a part of those discussions, right?

[04:12:59] The teachers that are driving the work of equity across our schools, whether you look at bias or you look at resource inequities in our schools, all of that, I think, you know, I just felt in the last few years, we may have been missing those voices as well. And then there's this desire to have diverse representation, but more importantly, I think you would see this thread in the community members of the people that were part of those discussions making sure that they're fully supportive of the work, right?

[04:13:28] So, like, having differing opinions, but people that actually are committed to the work of equity, right? If you, you know, come to a baseball game, as one committee member put it, like, don't ask for a hockey game, right? You're coming to do that work.

[04:13:44] that you know just just repeating some of the comments I want to be fair to the committee members and hopefully I don't misrepresent their comments and then one thing one thread that was very clear to me was also and this is the last point I'll mention that there was this desire to empower what we have as a very strong and experienced and even passionate DEIA team to drive that work and I I also feel that the administrative committee would be able to do that most effectively and I I wish that we would have had more we would have been able to see more of that ability for DEIA to drive that work in the existing structure but I think we'll be able to have that and so for me the

[04:14:24] administrate it was a I kept going back and forth around advisory versus administrative but I really feel that both of them check most of the boxes but I think the administrative committee would take the work home thank you mr.

[04:14:39] Streffy any other questions yes mrs. Griffiths thank you madam chair regarding the equity committee if it becomes an advisory committee or an administrative advisory committee under the superintendent I feel like it would have a life of its own and each of those committees only requires one school board member as liaison and I'm talking about policy 3030 I think MSAC does make this promote proposed committee somewhat repetitive we do have MSAC where

[04:15:15] we do have equity ambassadors we do have community members already so I'm feeling like this makes it repetitive I mentioned in previous meetings that there's really no reason to create another advisory committee or administrative committee I would like the people of Loudoun County to know for transparency we'd already lost the HRTD committee authority to collective bargaining and now we will give away even more authority to the superintendent we were elected to make decisions not to give away decision-making these

[04:15:51] committees by design should provide accountability and transparency to the school board and the public if this committee reports only and my understanding is it only reports to the superintendent with the school board liaison it removes the oversight and creates a body that can influence decisions without direct accountability to the elected board or or to parents for the sake of transparency and trust any advisory committee or administrative committee should remain under the clear authority of the school board not the superintendent also these new committees will not have this new committee

[04:16:30] rather will not have public meetings so how would will the public know what's going on what's happening you'll have some community members but I don't think it'll be fully public the super and I believe the superintendent can have meetings and conversations and step with staff anytime it's not a good route to take at this time and I'm talking more so for you know policy 3030 that I feel like we're giving up oversight to create an administrative or an advisory Committee. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. Dr. Deans? I think making it an administrative

[04:17:10] advisory council would give the superintendent more accountability for equity. Of course, he's going to work it through his staff, but we would be able to go directly to the superintendent when things were not seen as equitable. And I think that rather than create it under the boards such as MSAC, then such as some of the others, I think that's the reason

[04:17:46] it has not been productive over the past five years. Thank you, Dr. Deans. Dr. Rasheed. Thank you, Chair. I think that MSAC is its own entity, and I echo Dr. Deans' sentiments in having this being under the superintendent, I think it would provide actually more independence in and of itself. And definitely having more accountability for the superintendent, it will definitely help out. So I agree with Dr. Deans' sentiments. I look forward for this to

[04:18:19] happen. Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. Most companies, I think also school divisions, They have what is called the Equal Opportunity Department. I had asked Ms. Boland if we had one of those, and she had said no.

[04:18:39] So most places, most companies have an Equal Opportunity Department where any equity issues would come up. So I'm curious to know why we don't have one of those already. And I do see MSAC as repetitive, but I'm curious to know about equal opportunity department and why we don't have one when most companies and most, a lot of school divisions have one.

[04:19:08] So if somebody can answer that question for me, I'd appreciate it. I think that might have been, Ms. Boland, have you had this conversation with Mrs. Griffiths before?

[04:19:29] So I have informed Mrs. Griffiths that we do not have a department or a team that specifically supports an equal opportunity type committee. That equal opportunity efforts are spread throughout many teams within the HRTD department.

[04:19:55] It's in staffing, it's in our benefits department in regards to the ADA benefits. An equal opportunity is spread throughout, so it's not a specific team or a committee.

[04:20:11] And I did have an opportunity to look at other school divisions, surrounding school divisions, and could not find another one where they had a dedicated department or team that oversaw only equal opportunity.

[04:20:26] Thank you, Ms. Bullen. Dr. Spence, could you give us a little bit more understanding of the administrative committee and the potential vision for the equity there?

[04:20:46] Yes. So probably needed to separate the conversation from that question a little bit, because the conversation currently is a recommendation, as I understand it, from a conversation that was held with the existing school board equity committee and the feedback that the existing school board equity committee gave, as I understand it, in conversation with Dr. Deans and Mr. Streffy and my staff.

[04:21:18] it was there was a strong preference for members of the existing committee as there was a discussion about what do we go with this committee now a strong preference to leverage the structure that the boards provided in its conversation through policy excuse me through regulation 3030 about an administrative advisory committee so that's a that part of it so i think the vision for that is coming from the existing members of the current committee um so to be clear about that i just want to know that we have that decision right that we have a decision point and you have what would be your and i can what would be the vision yeah so then that's the second part that's i just want

[04:21:55] to separate the first part say sort of like the vision or the the objective seems to be coming from the existing committee now as far as how administrative advisory committees work as i've kind of explained before that we already have an existing structure for this right so you have the school business partnership executive council which is a committee of school and business partners who work with our administrative staff they support us in efforts like the school business partnership recognition that we do through the business partnership breakfast they support our efforts from job for a day they support our efforts with the workforce summit and so they

[04:22:33] provide us advice and counsel and guidance and support on our efforts to develop a stronger workforce kind of pathway model here in LCPS. The model that's in the regulation is that we have a appointed liaison from the school board, which is really an effort to help the school board stay informed about work that's happening at the administrative level. Not every advisory that we have is that model. I have a student advisory I meet with on a regular basis. We just met with

[04:23:09] them wonderful meeting it's not a school board it's not contemplated in this regulation it's just an advisory committee that I have as a superintendent and that quite frankly from an administrative perspective I really have the authority to just form an advisory committee if I feel like I want to meet with people and have conversations with them about what's happening in the district if I wanted to just create an equity advisory committee I certainly could I could do it tomorrow and I could decide who was on it and I could have my team my equity team meeting with them and having a conversation about equity and our work administratively, right?

[04:23:44] There's nothing prohibiting me from doing that. And again, this conversation sort of stems from your existing equity committee looking for a different structure and their feedback being, we like that structure because it allows us to work directly with the superintendent, with the DEIA team to continue to further the objectives of equity work in the division, which was kind of the original intent.

[04:24:10] And I think they want to still have school board member engagement, and that's why they're asking for that regulatory model, right, to have school board member engagement. That's kind of where the accountability is, I would think, is that school board liaison person there. I think that person, right, has the opportunity to see what that conversation looks like, how that work is going, and bring that information back to the board through committee reports and conversations with your colleagues, which is, I believe, in our discussions about the school board committee structure and the subsequent decision by the board to have us create a regulation around an advisory committee

[04:24:47] was your intent, to continue to have that structure so that in some instances there would be an appropriate time to ask for a school board member to liaise to a committee. And so, you know, I mean, I wasn't saying all that stuff earlier to sort of, like, flaunt any kind of authority.

[04:25:04] Like, it's just normal in administrative operations that I would seek out advice from our stakeholders, right? And that's not about not being public or transparent. We talk about things all the time that are matters that we discuss in these different groups and organizations as a matter of course, you know?

[04:25:24] And so to your specific question, then what would the vision be? I think our vision would be to take the original committee's sort of purpose which was to look at issues of equity with a lens of things like disproportionality and fairness and ensure that we're furthering our objectives with regards to equity and access, but that we have a structure that is supported directly by staff, worked on at the administrative level with a board member to support our work

[04:26:01] and bring that information about how we're continuing to make progress in that area back to this school board. I'd like to go on the record that I think it's very unfair that the school board doesn't have a liaison to the student advisory council. I'm just going to let you know. Okay. Let's Ms. LaBelle and then Ms. Chernoff and then we'll move on. Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a couple of questions and a thought or maybe two thoughts. We'll see. Right now what I'm hearing and correct

[04:26:37] me if I'm wrong. The equity committee was established to do work on DEI and bring it into the system, correct? And what I thought I heard you say is that the committee feels that they have succeeded in that, but they don't have any other authority to do anything else within the equity committee except that one thing. I also heard and had previously to hearing this in the board here

[04:27:11] today, MSAC does a lot of things that the equity committee already does. Would it be possible, there's the question, would it be possible to bring the unfinished or the new work that you want to see equity do, dissolve the equity committee because they don't have any authority to do that but put it into the msac committee because i think that the two committees are

[04:27:46] overlapping to start with and that way you just have one committee that could be working on some of these initiatives that they would have the authority to work on would that be a solution i don't think that the equity committee and msac are the work on the same things i'm thinking about the things the new things that they want to bring forward i don't know i think there might be some overlap there that's what i'm asking miss williams do you want to dr williams do you want to dr alice williams got to be more specific i'm sorry i'm my i'm a little tired now we're getting

[04:28:26] to nine o'clock dr alice williams do you want to weigh in a little bit yes or dr spence no just before she did um i would i just want to go back to again in terms of this conversation it's really i think the administration has to step back from the conversation it's really about what does the equity current equity committee want in its recommendations to this board right so miss miss labelle's question is not really an administrative question really it's does the

[04:29:00] current equity committee want to fold into msac and um at least from the conversations i heard i didn't think that was what was discussed okay um can so really the as i'm hearing dr spends we really just need to make a decision on whether uh we want to agree to the equity committee recommendations okay all right all right well then um let's move this on to um so the recommendation could you read the recommendation one more time and then we'll move on to um our next items

[04:29:38] because I'm assuming this is not going to be going on consent. In terms of the next steps, and based on the discussion and input received at the November 6, 2025 Equity Committee meeting, I'd like to bring this matter back as an action item at the school board's December 2nd meeting with the recommendation that the school board dissolve the equity committee as a select committee

[04:30:14] and ask that the superintendent establish an equity council and designate it as a school division administrative committee pursuant to policy 3030. Okay, so that's the recommendation.

[04:30:31] I'm assuming it's not going to go on consent, so we'll just put it on action for December 2nd. Okay, let's move on to item 14, closed meeting. Vice Chair Donahue, do you have a motion? Yes, I do. Thank you, Madam Chair.

[04:30:48] I move that the Loudoun County School Board recess this public meeting and enter into a closed meeting pursuant to Section 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia for the following. Consultation with legal counsel employed by or retained by the school board pertaining to actual litigation related to a former public employee requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel and briefings by staff members pertaining to actual litigation where such consultation or briefing in open meeting would adversely affect the negotiation or litigating position of the public body as authorized by section 2.2-3711 sub-A sub-7 of the Code of Virginia and consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding a specific legal matter related to a former public employee

[04:31:28] as authorized by section 2.2-3711 sub-A sub-8 of the Code of Virginia and discussion of the award of a public contract involving the expenditure of public funds and discussion of the terms or scope of such contract where discussion in an open session would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body as authorized by section 2.2-3711 sub-A sub-29 of the Code of Virginia.

[04:31:55] I have a Vice Chair Donahue has made a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Oh, who said it? Ms. LaBelle, you second? Okay. It's been properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board go into closed session. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we'll go ahead and take a vote if I can find my finger.

[04:32:16] Thank you. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That vote passes unanimously.

[04:32:33] The board is now in closed session.

[05:30:25] Meeting, Vice Chair Donohue, do you have a motion? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the closed meeting be adjourned, that the Loudoun County School Board reconvene its public meeting, and that the minutes of the public meeting reflect that no formal action was taken in the closed meeting. Vice Chair Donohue has made a motion to adjourn the closed meeting. Do I have a second?

[05:30:41] Second. Okay, I don't know which one it was, but all right. Ms. Chandler seconded. It's been probably moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board adjourned this closed meeting. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we will go ahead and vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote.

[05:31:08] Okay. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously. Vice Chair Donahue, do you have another motion to certify the closed meeting? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the following resolution certifying the closed meeting be adopted and reflected in the minutes of this public meeting.

[05:31:30] Resolution number one six dash two five slash two six whereas the Loudoun County School Board has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote in an accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and whereas section two point two dash three seven one two sub d of the code of Virginia requires a certification by the school board That such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law now therefore be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge one only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification applies and to only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard discussed or

[05:32:10] considered by the Loudoun County School Board. I have a motion by Vice Chair Donahue. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Chernoff. It's been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Seeing none we will go ahead and vote. Clerk please open the vote. Board members please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display your vote. That motion passes unanimously. Vice Chair Donahue, do you have another motion? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Last one. I move that the school board

[05:32:49] authorize the chair to execute documents pertaining to the litigation as discussed in the closed session. I have a motion by Vice Chair Donahue. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Chernoff. Clerk, would you mind clearing the board? Thank you. Is there any discussion? Seeing no discussion clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes unanimously we will thank you everyone we'll now vote can I get a thumbs up for board member comment

[05:33:27] and committee reports no okay we're skipping them it looks like skipping them skip okay we're moving on to new business do we have any new business seeing no more new business to discuss the November 11th 2025 Lowndes County school board meeting is now adjourned just a reminder this was the only school board member meeting scheduled for November and we hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving our next meeting will be on December 2nd please drive home safely

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