Coraggio Consulting
Manassas City School Board Meeting - March 24, 2026

Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Place: Manassas City Public Schools / School Board meeting, Virginia
Length: 2h 29m (video)
Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBt3a0jtdQo

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 2026-10-17. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:00:05] I'll to order the regular meeting of the School Board of the City of Manassas. The time is 6:00 p.m. Please join me for a moment of silence and a Pledge of Allegiance.

[00:00:44] Madam Clerk, could you please call the roll? - Yes, ma'am. - Chair Spall. - Present. - Vice Chair, Dr. Jones. - Here. - Mrs. Sieber. - Here. - Mrs. Steven. - Mrs. Brescia.

[00:01:02] - Present. - Ms. Brown. - Ms. Miles. - Here. - Ms. Breeden. - Here. - Mr. Moon. - Here. - Thank you, Madam Chair, we have a quorum. - Thank you. Newman are there any additions or deletions to our agenda? Yes, we will need to add a closed session to the agenda Madam chair, I move that the school board the city of Manassas approved the public meeting agenda as modified Okay, I have a motion by miss Seabird seconded by miss miles that the

[00:01:39] Public meeting agenda be approved. Is there any discussion seeing and hearing none all those in favor? Please say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? The motion carries now we will hear our superintendent's announcements and spotlights miss radford you have the floor thank you very much chair spall and good evening to all of our members of the board tonight and good evening to everyone that has joined us here this evening and to our viewing audience i'm very pleased to stand before you this evening to present

[00:02:18] several spotlights and we're going to begin with the mcps spelling bee winners we held our school spelling bees in January and I can confidently say we have some phenomenal spellers across the division. These students showcase their ability to link letters together at our division-wide spelling bee on February 13th and at this time I'd like to invite Miss Sarah Weaver who is our coordinator of elective instruction to share more about our participation in the Scripps National Spelling Bee Program. Miss Weaver. Thank you for giving us this

[00:02:58] opportunity to showcase our top spellers for this 25-26 the school year so I'm going to just give the certificates but we thought it would be really important to showcase these kids because they work really really hard the teachers the students and the parents everybody is fully involved in helping these kids get to this spelling bee it's a big deal it's a lot of studying and it's a nervous moment so we're super proud of them and would like to showcase them tonight so if you guys could come up when i call your name we're gonna take a picture with everybody in the

[00:03:32] front so for our top speller for dean elementary we have noor abu care and then our top speller

[00:03:55] for hayden elementary elias martinez johnson and then for baldwin elementary our first place

[00:04:20] speller was axel moosey axel was second place in our division spelling bee and he is a third grader pretty certain right right axel are you in third grade so for the division spelling me came in

[00:04:46] second place in the third grade amazing and next for weems elementary we have emma viegas school board members want to shake your hands super important you guys are big stuff we wish we could spell as good as you guys okay so for round elementary we have our top speller is elena

[00:05:25] Parker and then for Baldwin intermediate school we had Michael Turner and then for Mayfield intermediate school we have Caden Jacobs as our top spellers and

[00:05:57] then for METS middle school we have Noreen Lisko and then I want to brag a second about Noreen so she was METS's first place speller she was our division show division spelling bee first place winner and then she went on to the

[00:06:34] region spelling bee in prince william county and came in second place in the entire region and then is there and then i have a few more that may have come so can you guys come up it's is it benjamin no kenneth okay from weems elementary we had a top three um speller and so he's here tonight so i want to definitely recognize him and this is kenneth in estroza of villa and he was one

[00:07:14] one of our top three spellers at Weems. - Great job. - And then is there anybody else that showed up? Okay, great job you guys. We do wanna take one picture with all of you guys, so if we can just scrunch a little closer,

[00:07:33] just like we did for the division spelling bee.

[00:08:39] - Congratulations spellers, thank you so much. I was there and they spelled some really hard words.

[00:09:00] Next we will highlight the achievements of our Osborne High School career and technical education students, recently competed at the statewide SkillsUSA competition. I'd like to invite Maggie Connors and Esteban Jordan who serve as sponsors for the group to come forward and share more information with us. Mr. Jordan is very nervous.

[00:09:34] Good evening members of the school board. Yes, I prepared some notes because it's not gonna be crazy. My name is Esteban Jordan. I serve as the SkillsUSA advisor and criminal justice teacher at Osborne High School this year we saw a tremendous growth in our skills USA program and club with nearly 30 students joining the club this year an exciting exciting increase from last year looking ahead I am eager to

[00:10:08] continue expanding opportunities by involving other teachers and introducing and additional career-focused experiences for our students. Tonight, I am honored to present the students who represented Oxford High School at the SkillsUSA State Criminal Justice Competition held in Virginia Beach on March 10th, 2026.

[00:10:41] Cortez? Yes, boss. Ashley Fabian Flores, Osma Cosker, Toria Irizarry,

[00:11:19] Saur, Omar Cese, and Isabella Torres.

[00:11:46] I just wanted to let you know that these students began preparing as early as October, dedicating countless hours before and after school. Throughout the journey, they demonstrated remarkable resilience, balancing academic responsibilities, personal challenges, and the demands of the competition.

[00:12:07] Their commitment carried them through both regional and state levels, where they represented our school with pride and professionalism. At this time, I would like to recognize one student in particular. Not that everybody worked greatly, but Isabella Torres, who earned first place in the photography category.

[00:12:29] Her achievement reflects not only her talent and hard work, but also the invaluable guidance of Ms. Connors from the CTE department.

[00:12:45] So Isabella will be competing at nationals in Atlanta this June. While not all our competitors brought home medals or banners in events such as criminal justice or criminal crime scene investigation or job demonstration, every one of them performed at an exceptionally high level.

[00:13:14] They stand among the top competitors in the state, and that in itself is a significant accomplishment. I would like also to extend my sincere gratitude to those who supported and mentored our students.

[00:13:31] From the Manasseh City Police Department, Captain Tara Peri, Master Police Officer T.J. Rodriguez, Miss Destiny Taylor.

[00:14:05] Miss Taylor is a former Osborne graduate, and she's scoring parking enforcement in Manassas City. And from Manassas City Public Schools, she's not here, but Miss Betsy Ingalls Whitaker, she's also not here.

[00:14:30] Miss Chris Taylor, Miss Tara Eason, and Mr. Eric Godwin.

[00:14:54] And you're gonna leave me alone in here? So I just wanted to let you know that their mentorship was instrumental in shaping our student's success.

[00:15:14] So thank you. Sorry, I'm sorry. My boss, Dr. Chapman. So finally, I would like to thank you, members of the school board, for your committed support.

[00:15:45] Because of you, our students are able to explore meaningful career pathways, build valuable relationships with students at the competitions, and envision bright futures for themselves. Thank you for your time and your commitment to our students.

[00:16:34] Okay, we'll give you a second.

[00:16:50] Uh-huh. All good. Everybody's extremely proud of you. Great. Congratulations. Thank you so much for representing us so well. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.

[00:17:11] Godwin. Thank you all for your patience. If our students need to go ahead and skip out, we know it's a school night. You all are welcome to go ahead and leave if you need to. Thank you all for being here tonight.

[00:17:33] All right. For our final spotlight tonight, at our March 10th meeting, we recognized the first group of this year's Impact Award recipients. This evening we are pleased to recognize the remaining recipients for the 25-26 school year. The Impact Award highlights employees across our division who have been nominated by their peers for making a

[00:18:11] meaningful difference in their schools, departments, and the broader MCPS community. These individuals exemplify the belief that all employees are educators and that every role in the division contributes to student success.

[00:18:27] Each recipient will receive a framed copy of their nomination, along with a plant, as a symbol of the continued growth of their impact across Manasseh City Public Schools. Tonight, I will begin with the central office, Pedro Hernandez.

[00:18:46] Mr. Hernandez is recognized for the critical support he provides across the division, ensuring testing and data processes run smoothly.

[00:19:03] He consistently goes above and beyond to assist colleagues, problem-solve challenges, and keep systems moving forward. Known for his positive attitude and willingness to help, he empowers others to succeed in their roles.

[00:19:19] Congratulations to you. From Osborne High School, Mark Whitley. Mr. Whitley is celebrated for his extraordinary commitment to improving school culture and expanding opportunities for students at Osborne High School.

[00:19:41] He has developed impactful programs, including leadership initiatives, speech and debate, and dual enrollment opportunities that benefit hundreds of students. His dedication of time and energy reflects a true passion for student success.

[00:19:56] Congratulations. Also from Osborne High School, Michael Edwards. All right, we congratulate him in his absence.

[00:20:13] They say students thrive under his structure and encouragement, and colleagues value his reliability and willingness to step in and help. Also from Osborne High School, Candace Wells. Okay, Ms. Wells is recognized for her positive attitude and commitment to inspire both students and her colleagues.

[00:20:33] From Alternative Education Program, Bridget Pierce. Ms. Pierce is celebrated for the compassion and encouragement she brings to students and staff each day. She builds trusting relationships and creates a safe space where students feel supported and they feel valued.

[00:20:54] Her work has led to meaningful improvements in student behavior and confidence. Congratulations, Ms. Pierce. From Central Office, Angela Brooks. Congratulations to Ms. Brooks, her consistent follow-up and willingness to help reflect her genuine care for others and their success.

[00:21:19] From the Curriculum and Instruction Department, Shema Bautista. Miss Bautista is recognized for the welcoming and supportive experience she creates for families and young learners entering MCPS. As one of the first points of contact, she ensures students and parents feel valued and at ease. Her enthusiasm and care helps set a positive tone for students beginning their

[00:21:54] educational journey. Congratulations Miss Bautista. I would like to add that she Dr. Newman are football and baseball adversaries. So we congratulate you anyway, right?

[00:22:12] From Baldwin Elementary School, Christine Levine. Intermediate. Oh, I'm sorry. Baldwin Intermediate. I'm so sorry. Baldwin Intermediate School. I'm sorry. Ms. Levine is celebrated for her commitment to high expectations and student success in the classroom. She creates an engaging learning environment where students actively participate and support one another. As a collaborative leader, she strengthens her team and contributes to school-wide improvement at

[00:22:48] Baldwin Intermediate. Congratulations. From Metz Middle School and Jenny Dean Elementary School, Nydia Ziliacs. Ms. Ziliacs is recognized for her leadership and adaptability in ensuring food service operations run smoothly during times of transition. She stepped into additional responsibilities with a positive attitude maintaining consistency and support for students

[00:23:25] and staff her ability to lead problem solve and uplift her team has strengthened overall operations congratulations to you okay now baldwin elementary school dr beatrice zimmerman dr zimmerman is honored for her strong leadership and commitment to building a positive school culture at baldwin elementary she fosters trust through clear communication responsiveness and

[00:24:00] support for both staff and families her leadership has strengthened collaboration and created a culture of care and high expectations congratulations from osborne high school quinn win known as coach q she is a champion for inclusivity in her school she was just recently recognized with osborne high school for their unified champion school status and so we congratulate her in her absence

[00:24:37] And finally, from Osborne High School, Erica Jones. Congratulations to Ms. Jones, who is a problem-solving, has a problem-solving mindset, who strengthens the entire department that she works in, so we wish her well in her absence.

[00:25:01] So we'd like to say congratulations, and thank you to all of our impact recipients for the lasting impression and contributions you continue to make across Manassas City Public Schools.

[00:25:13] Thank you all so much.

[00:25:48] Thank you all so much. Chair Spall, this concludes our Spotlights for tonight. thank you so much Miss Radford now we will move to board committee reports I

[00:26:21] believe that we have a lot of upcoming meetings but no reports currently so at this time we welcome members of the public who wish to speak about services policies and affairs of the city of Manassas public schools because we have an agenda to complete we ask that the comments be limited to three minutes we appreciate the time you've taken to be here and we treat public comments as a public hearing and do not engage in conversation with speakers but the lack of an immediate response to your comments should not be taken as a lack of interest or concern please be respectful when presenting your

[00:26:55] comments hearing and seeing no one signed up I would like to move to the next such item agenda item which is the consent agenda the items are considered routine and may be approved by a single motion unless a board member requests an item to be removed for separate discussion madam chair I move to the school board the city of Manassas approved the consent agenda as presented I have a motion by Miss Seberg seconded by Miss Brown that the School Board of the City of Masses approve the consent agenda as presented

[00:27:34] Is there any discussion all in favor anyone opposed? We will now move to the discussion agenda. The first item is a student achievement math textbook resource adoption Mr. Craig Feller deputy superintendent. Dr. Sarah Burkhead pre-k math coordinator. Miss Elizabeth Susco 7 to 12 math coordinator will provide information about the adoption of new math textbook resources for kindergarten through 12th grade good evening chair Spall vice chair Jones members of the board and dr. Newman tonight we're going to be talking about

[00:28:14] the k-12 mathematics high-quality instructional material resource adoption in just a few minutes you're going to hear from dr. Sarah Burkhead and miss Elizabeth Susco our coordinators for a math here in the division and so the purpose of this presentation is to outline the process the outcomes and the final recommendation of the textbook review committee for k-12 mathematics this work is grounded in mcps's strategic priority of student academic success our goal is to ensure the mcps graduates leave our schools as critical and creative thinkers strong collaborators and

[00:28:52] communicators and contributors to an interconnected global community the adoption of high quality instructional materials supports this goal by reinforcing one of our key pillars creating an inclusive and collaborative learning environment through strong instructional planning and delivery.

[00:29:08] Our approach is guided by several core beliefs. First, that staff support students in reaching their full potential through intentional planning and high quality instruction. Second, that instructional decisions should be grounded in research, best practices, and ongoing data analysis.

[00:29:26] And finally, that student learning should provide meaningful opportunities for critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity, and literacy development. Together these priorities help ensure that instructional resources and practices align with the outcomes we want for our students. High quality instructional materials or HQIM are a key driver of strong instruction.

[00:29:54] Throughout this presentation HQIM will be referred to and this is the guiding requirement for instructional materials such as textbooks deployed to the Virginia Department of Education. HQIM materials are aligned to Virginia's 2023 math standards and include rigorous grade-level tasks along with evidence-based teaching strategies. Because these materials are already well designed, teachers can spend less time creating lessons and more time delivering instruction, checking for understanding, and meeting the needs of every student. In short, HQIM increases consistency, rigor, and instructional quality across classrooms.

[00:30:34] To provide some background for this recommendation, there are several factors that led to the timing of this adoption process. First, Virginia implemented new mathematics standards for standards of learning beginning in the 24-25 school year. In response, we updated our instructional support documents to ensure alignment between the new standards and our current instructional resources. Following the release of the updated standards, the Virginia Department of Education also published its approved list of high-quality instructional materials aligned to these standards.

[00:31:10] and finally the timeline for the adoption process was presented to both the academic committee and the school board last april in 2025 and the work has proceeded according to the established timeline looking ahead the remaining steps in the adoption process follow the timeline previously shared with the board earlier this month the committee's recommendation was presented to the academic committee and following tonight's school board meeting the school board will vote on the committee's recommendation in april if approved the division will move forward with

[00:31:44] purchasing the hqim mathematics resources in may or june and finally in july of 26 mcps will begin launching the implementation plan to support schools and teachers as they prepare to use the newly adopted resources for the 26-27 school year this resource adoption will span seven years and at this time i want to turn it over to dr sarah burkhead who is our pre-k through six math coordinator thank you mr. Rockefeller and welcome dr. Burkhead I hope I said doctor before when I announced you I didn't I apologize I'm still not used to

[00:32:22] the title so I'm Sarah Burkhead I'm the pre-k six math coordinator here in Manassas and the textbook review committees were formed in April of 2025 through a division-wide solicitation of volunteers the committees were composed of diverse stakeholders including representatives from all of our schools classroom teachers ESOL teachers special education teachers math support teachers instructional facilitators and central office staff from August through November these committees met to review all of the state approved instructional resources and narrow the list of potential selections during December and

[00:33:00] January vendor presentations were conducted for the shortlisted publishers in February each committee finalized its recommendation based on rubric evaluations alignment analysis stakeholder feedback and vendor information following the narrowing of the list publishers provided both digital and physical access to materials for public review we collaborated with the MCPS communications department to develop messaging and determine effective communication channels to inform the community the public review period was held from December 1st through January 23rd and information was disseminated

[00:33:37] through social media platforms and the Manassas City Public Schools staff email distribution list to ensure broad awareness community members and staff had continuous digital access to materials throughout the review period and were also provided five opportunities to sign up for in-person review at central office feedback was collected via Google form and paper submissions and reminder communications were sent twice through the review period in total we had four public comments one from a parent and three from staff members who were not

[00:34:09] members of the committee in Manassas City Public Schools in alignment with current research and best practices on mathematics education we believe that mathematics should be taught with students at the center when Elizabeth and I started in this role together almost four years ago we worked with our director of instruction at the time as well as our math support teachers to develop a vision for MCPS mathematics that was aligned with the MCPS instructional priorities to help guide our work we have utilized various supplemental resources shown on this slide to show to support more student

[00:34:48] centered mathematics in our mcps classrooms before we started reviewing materials we created a rubric that aligned to this vision and several of these supplemental supplemental texts in order that the review committees could be supported in reviewing materials members of the review committee were given the opportunity to review the rubric they offered suggestions before we began the review process due to some grade band configuration challenges in manassas city several of the state approved resources were eliminated prior to the formal review process however

[00:35:25] all of the resources that you see on this slide were reviewed by grade level teams committees reviewed the remaining resources for alignment to the qualities of HQ IM as defined collaboratively by each committee as well as alignment to the standards of learning materials were evaluated using the rubric that we created which included criteria related to content and pacing pedagogical approach and presentation of content platform usability and resource navigation teacher support and overall accessibility of the materials following the evaluation process each green band committee reached consensus on their top

[00:36:04] two to three selections and invited these publishers to present publisher presentations were attended by committee members with invitations extended to additional central office staff building administrators and instructional facilitators to broaden the stakeholder input at this time I would like to turn it over to Elizabeth. Good evening, everyone. So as Sarah previously mentioned in this slide below, or slide before, all grade band committees were thoughtful and thorough in their evaluation of

[00:36:38] each resource in the process. After careful review and discussion, Envision Mathematics was selected the HQIM resource for each grade band. All grade level committees, using a consensus protocol, selected Envision as their preferred resource from the narrowed list of finalists. This level of alignment reflects the committee's confidence that the resource best supports our instructional vision and the needs of our students and teachers across the division. Adopting a single K-12 resource provides consistency for our families and coherence across the division. It also supports

[00:37:12] staff by ensuring that all mathematics teachers utilize the same instructional platform and the aligned resource options. The committees were particularly impressed by the quality and depth of differentiated supports within Envision's mathematics. Teacher materials provided multiple strategies for supporting English learners, students of varying readiness levels, and learners who require review, intervention, or extension opportunities.

[00:37:40] Furthermore, our Virginia Standards of Learning references specific mathematical models and strategies, many of which are explicitly embedded in Envision Mathematics. The program also includes a comprehensive assessment system featuring embedded formative assessments as well as diagnostic tools that generate actionable data to inform instruction.

[00:38:03] Mathematics provides extensive on-demand support for our students and our teachers through the Salvis Realize platform, so their digital platform, offering digital tools, personalized learning resources, and professional development designed to boost student success and save teachers time.

[00:38:25] This slide shows examples of Envision's lesson design that support knowledge building and student agency. The K-12 lesson design focuses on student exploration, modeling, and discussion. At the K-8 level, the lessons are broken down into three steps for instructional delivery fitting within the 5E instructional model.

[00:38:46] Problem-based learning directly connects their first step, problem-based learning directly connects to engage and explore, their second step, visual learning with explain and elaborate, and their third step, assess and differentiate with evaluate.

[00:39:03] At the high school level, the lessons are broken down into four steps: explore, understand and apply practice and problem-solving and assess and differentiate throughout all k-12 lessons teachers are provided with questions that focus on each of the eight effective mathematics teaching practices which are established mathematical goals to focus on learning implement tasks that promote reasoning and problem-solving use and connect mathematical representations facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse pose purposeful questions build procedural

[00:39:41] fluency from conceptual understanding, support productive struggle in learning mathematics, and the eighth one, elicit and use evidence of student thinking. In addition, at all levels, there is a connection to the mathematics practices and processes, which are model and discuss, explore and reason, and critique and explain.

[00:40:02] Those practices also support the VDOE mathematics process goals. Each lesson in the resource includes specific information for intervention and enrichment, additional content differentiated by student readiness, and differentiated support for multilingual learners.

[00:40:24] The top right image shows differentiation aligned to lesson content. Throughout the teacher's edition, there are embedded supports and resources indicated for students in need of intervention, those who are on grade level, and those who have demonstrated mastery and are ready for advanced learning.

[00:40:43] In the excerpt above, as an example, These are identified with an I, O, and A for each indication. The bottom left image reflects a middle school example of how intervention and enrichment are embedded into the teacher's edition to support student understanding, and this feature is consistent throughout grade bands.

[00:41:07] For every lesson in the teacher's edition, there is an English language learner support aligned with the WIDA, which stands for World Class Instructional Design and Assessment. Our MCPS educators also have access to a language support handbook, which provides instructional support on topics and lessons that promote language development.

[00:41:27] It includes teaching support for academic vocabulary and more. At the secondary level, the 912 committee also evaluated resources for our elective courses above Algebra II, specifically Probability and Statistics, AP Statistics, and AP Calculus ABBC.

[00:41:49] The review looked at updated editions of our current resources for those content areas, as well as alternative options. This comparative review ensured that the selected resource fully aligned to the course standards, provided a comprehensive range of assessment opportunities, and supported current research-based instructional practices. The committee selected elementary statistics by Pearson for probability and statistics, the practice of statistics by Bedford, Freeman and Wirth Publishing Group and AP Calculus by Cengage. Over the last

[00:42:29] several years the State Department of Education and legislature has legislator have set clear expectations regarding the adoption and use of high quality instructional materials. Given this context we began building a foundation to support the implementation of a new mathematics curriculum resource for the 26-27 school year. Our first step was conducting a comprehensive k-12 mathematics needs assessment. This This assessment allowed us to identify current strengths, areas for growth, and the supports that would be necessary for successful implementation of the new resource.

[00:43:02] Teachers, school administrators, and other mathematics leaders within the buildings from all schools were represented in the assessment. We are currently developing our implementation plan that will include a K-12 systems implementation document. This document will outline expectations for instructional practice, leadership actions, and accountability structures connected to the new materials.

[00:43:25] By aligning materials, leadership and monitoring systems, we are working to ensure consistency and coherence across schools from the start. Professional learning is also a central component of our implementation plan. In collaboration with the Department of Professional Learning, we are designing an intentional year-long plan of implementation that will support teachers and administrators before, during and after rollout.

[00:43:50] Training focuses not only on navigating the new resource, but also on strengthening student-centered instructional practices aligned to the curriculum. This implementation plan will be our start to building out support for years two through seven. Finally, we are leveraging state-provided guidance and resources related to implementation of high-quality instructional materials.

[00:44:10] These resources help reinforce best practices and maintain alignment with state expectations as we prepare for full implementation. Together, these efforts reflect the deliberate and structured approach to an implementation plan, Ensuring that when the new mathematics resources is launched, our teachers, leaders, and system is prepared to support effective and sustainable use.

[00:44:32] For anyone in the MCPS community who is listening tonight or would like to go back, we've provided links to Envision's curriculum review sites, which are included in the uploaded slides within the board docs for public access.

[00:44:48] The sites provide grade band overviews, digital view of the student edition, as well as additional information on Envision's mathematics. School board members, the Envisions Program Overview booklets were passed out to you are available digitally.

[00:45:04] They are the same ones on the review site. Thank you all for your time this evening. And then are there any further questions? - Thank you, Ms. Susco. - To my right, Ms. Seaberg.

[00:45:23] - Thank you, Ms. Susco, Dr. Burkhead, and Mr. Gefeller. I just wanted to thank you for going through the process so diligently, all the time that you spent on this, and I wanna thank the committee as well. Also for the parents and staff members that wrote in additionally about it. I really respect the process and It sounds like we got a winner curriculum here. Thank you. That's bro Yeah, thank you so much for everything that you've done. I just joined a committee so Um, I was in there through this whole process, but I can see that it was very involved So I appreciate all the efforts that went into that and I'm really glad to be part of the committee now

[00:46:03] I wanted I was wondering if you might expand for the families who are listening about the importance of student agency and Why is that relevant as we adopt all of these materials and how the materials will support that and in addition If you can expand a little bit because I know We had a deep discussion But I want to make sure that they hear that this materials will support every learning Every student by need and by strength, so if you can expand a little bit on that sure so

[00:46:39] One of the foundations as Elizabeth mentioned is at all levels and visions is founded upon the students exploration And anytime students are able to explore they inherently have choice And so as soon as we allow students to choose the model that they use our most comfortable with to Choose how they're going to show their thinking or explain what they're doing We're allowing students that ability to think for themselves, to come up with their own methods, to find the methods that work most efficiently for them, and to build foundational knowledge, to build the conceptual understanding that allows them to be successful when next year they've forgotten the thing they memorized yesterday.

[00:47:16] And so I think that really is a foundational part of the Envisions program. Additionally, there are a lot of options that students can access at the upper grades As we decide how much, you know, what students access digitally versus paper pencil, the digital platform, again, as Elizabeth mentioned, has, what's it, the math nerd.

[00:47:38] It's called the virtual nerd, which, for example, is an online set of videos that help students understand content in different ways that are intentionally different than the lesson material. So it gives students that ability to make a choice to go seek out that support. Of course, teachers can also assign that to students, but students don't need to wait for that to be assigned.

[00:47:56] have the opportunity to access those resources as they desire. And then, so as far as the differentiation support, as already mentioned, every lesson in Division has not only the embedded multilingual support for multilingual learners, but also an entire separate book that has independent lessons and additional lessons for every lesson in the program.

[00:48:22] So there's just very strong support for teachers and how to meet the needs that their students have in terms of language. And one of the things that I think we sometimes overlook is anything that is supporting multilingual learners is supporting all of our learners because we're all learning math as a language, right? And so speaking math is how we learn math.

[00:48:40] And so there's just very robust support for that piece of the program. Again, as Elizabeth mentioned, part of the program design after exploration is discussion. And so again, just that deep opportunity for students to speak, which is going to support all of our learners. There is also that intervention on grade level and above differentiation again that is available in every lesson and also as a next step after every embedded assessment so there's just a plethora of materials for teachers and students to access to help with that sort of differentiation and support i'll just also add

[00:49:18] there is within topics or what they call topics but we might know as units or modules you know how every platform does something different resources for families that they can go and learn and help their students at home and be able to access those as well.

[00:49:35] - Thank you so much. To my left, Ms. Miles. - I had a couple questions. I might come up with some more if other people are talking too.

[00:49:52] But the one thing, I have some experience with this curriculum. We are actually using it in the school that I work in. And we use Momentum. Are you gonna be using that or are you gonna get that as well? - So within the resources, we look at getting quotes and look at what the resources are.

[00:50:13] We are still making those decisions about what in terms of looking at budget and what we are putting together as a package in terms of materials that we're going to buy. So that's a decision that we haven't made yet. Okay, and that leads me to the next decision. Will students be getting textbooks or reproducibles?

[00:50:33] I always say that wrong, but the ones that you can use over and over again or the ones that are like leaflets, are they getting that or is all going to be online? again that will depend on kind of budget overall but within their packages when we buy the consumable for the seven years we get that consumable every seven years that's there so that would be incorporated and it would just depend by grade level of what's going to be appropriate as we go through okay and the other thing i know that you mentioned that ESOL component will ESOL teachers

[00:51:11] who push into these classrooms also be trained or are you only training classroom teachers so we are dedicated to training any teacher who touches math so that's definitely included in their training and i know one thing that we really struggled with in this experience that when we started using the program it was very tough because it kind of like we didn't have a lot of training so how i know you talked about the k-12 systems implementation implementation document can you expound on that I know you went over it really quick but just what that means and

[00:51:47] kind of the steps like we're gonna be taking yeah so we're still developing our full program but as part of the envision adoption they provide they provide a three-hour onboarding training that is just like how do you use the platform right how do you access the materials what does a lesson look like where are the different programs and elements that we can assign to students all of that kind of thing and we are still in process working with our representative obviously dependent on whether this is approved right what that looks like how we implement it in Manassas City and so we don't have all of those answers yet we are working with professional learning they know that we

[00:52:26] have you know we need math support at the beginning of the year and I am confident that we will get the resources we need okay thank you and then the last question I know that what about our students our sped students or special needs students how are we going to use this program to help them as well again we're still working on all of our programmatic shifts waiting obviously for final approval however I can say that we had a lot of really positive feedback from the members of the committee who support students with special needs and

[00:53:03] they all felt that again those same envision supports that we talked about right anyone who has a learning difference right regardless of whether it's language related or you know whether they're just not there yet right all of those needs are going to be met by those same tools and so I think you know it's gonna just be a matter of how those are deployed and if we do different training or different supports or directions for our special education teachers to help them access different parts of the platform okay great and I just have one more question I'm thinking manipulatives I know I looked through here and I didn't seem it I saw more online things are we're gonna also have manipulatives that go along with yeah so most of we they do have manipulative

[00:53:41] kits and when we took a look we have all of those things already in division so we are looking at places where there are things that we think we might like to add on and depending again on budget we'll look at those things and make sure that all of our teachers are fully provided with those materials okay thank you that's all I have thank you miss miles miss Brescia thank you for this thank you for all of this I know that one does not just magically appear you resources don't just magically appear there's a whole big long process that goes it goes coming in and then also going out as it rolls out and so I want to thank you for all the work that you've done up to this point and that

[00:54:17] you're going to be doing in the future the word budget keeps coming up so how much do we do we have a budget do we know how much this costs we're currently in the process of getting quotes I mean there's different packages that you can purchase and so you know it's gonna be well in excess of a million dollars but But, you know, we are committed to making sure that our teachers have what they need to instruct our students.

[00:54:40] Just as we did with the benchmark, we purchased, you know, consumables that go along with that. And so, you know, we're going to make sure that in order to implement this in the way that it needs to be implemented to impact students with our math achievement, they're going to have those resources. And this would come out of fund balance, not fund balance, our carryover.

[00:54:58] Well, we're looking at, because it would be a one-time expenditure, we would be looking at either using end-of-the-year funds, so we will make that decision as we get closer to the end of the year, or use it out of our existing fund balance.

[00:55:13] so i'm having flashbacks because we had a new reading curriculum not that long ago and do we and so and that was kind of a bumpy rollout it happened very quickly and it was very very different from what people had been used to before do we anticipate any what issues do we anticipate with implementation here so any implementation is rocky right right i mean that's why there's implementation dip is a is a term we are working very diligently to make sure that doesn't happen but we do know that it's challenging right I think that the

[00:55:51] the plan that we have in place the resources from the state and the fact that our committee thinks this resource is the right choice is going to make that all a lot easier and I it doesn't change the way our math block looks it doesn't change right it's it's the structure that we're putting in and I'm confident that our teachers will be successful I just want to add that the different one of the differences between the the benchmark rollout and this is that we were also implementing at the same time brand new standards the math standards are not going to be brand new because we have worked with those last year and so we're not going to be implementing brand new standards and a

[00:56:28] brand new resource at the same time as we were the literacy so I'm glad you mentioned the standards because they did change halfway through you know they did change with under our old resources and we had to adapt and it's and I'm going to ask this question because it's possible that we're going to have to do this again because we don't you know there are powers that be above us who decide what the standards are so what happens when that happens how do we adapt if we purchase a resource like this and we proceed under the assumption the standards are going to be the way they are for the next seven years but then on year four they change what happens at that point so we anticipate that the state is going to continue on the current plan timeline and and I will say

[00:57:08] that the math the video we math department has been amazing every time we've had a standards change they put out a document that say here's what's changing and that's I mean in the last chain standards change like that was planned our timeline is shifted a year off of the standards implementation this year and they put out a document that said here are the things that changed so we went to those things and we said okay this is covered so we're done or this is missing and so we had the time as a math team to create resources that would support that instruction and fill in those gaps so we got great support from the state and we look absolutely forward to having that happen again should that

[00:57:42] circumstance around. Kind of in the same vein, you know, one of your slides had, you were showcasing some of the supplemental materials that you use, and that one, that's the one. And also thinking back to benchmarks and the benchmark and the literacy implementation, we were not allowed to use a lot of supplemental materials. What is happening to these supplemental materials under this change? We considered these in our process because these are consistent. They will not be

[00:58:18] changing. They're not going anywhere. They are all still aligned. And in fact, figuring out fluency, for example, which is the program that we use to do fluency K-6 is actually one of the authors of that book actually worked on vision. So it actually aligns and is going to be a really nice match for us moving forward. Okay. So if you are currently working with Math Workshop and you like working with Math Workshop, you can keep on using Math Workshop and we don't have the same kind of friction that we had when our supplemental literacy materials went away so that's good news i'm glad to hear that um and i'm glad overall that we are

[00:58:54] we've chosen the same resource to go k-12 because that is feedback that i've heard from folks teaching math that it had been a little choppy so i'm glad to see that um the so you talked a little bit about the extensive uh teacher support that you that the this resource offers how did it differ from the resources that the teacher support resources that were also considered um i mean honestly uh publisher size right i mean better for worse savas is an enormous publisher and that

[00:59:32] therefore they're able to offer incredible support um uh it's a robust program um some of the other and i would say also that it's not that other programs didn't have support their support looked different and the the on-demand the um the fact that it was both digital and print i think really spoke to our committee and the uh speaking of the commitment committee you guys were the ones who

[01:00:02] designed the vision statement or the two of you decide the design wrote the vision statement very good okay i think that's all for me thank you ms presha jones um i just want to say thank you for all the hard work and um working with the committee and coming up with a um textbook and a resource that will be will help benefit the students in manassas city so thank you thank you dr jones um i just have a couple questions

[01:00:38] um have we ever had a k-12 fully aligned system for math that you know of i mean in in the recent past let's just go with from our understanding yeah and i know the adoption before that was not k-12 okay i mean it just sounds pretty exciting so i i just wanted to highlight that um also just to kind of piggyback on what Ms. Brescia said you know on average I'm not trying to make anyone laugh but how long does a normal textbook adaption I mean do do they ever last seven years just to kind of set the stage

[01:01:15] you know I mean I know that we're not making the choice to change but when we have been told we need to change we're making the choice of what we're changing too but as if I put on my old mom hat you know the elementary school used to say oh those school board members just want to change our curriculum all the time. And it took me many years to figure out, you know, we're not driving that boat. We're just hanging on. But, you know, it is a major investment. And so I just would like to do my best to try to set the stage for the future that, you know, we're being told this can

[01:01:52] last for seven years. But I'd like to know if anybody knows, does that ever happen? Okay. Okay. I mean, you know, our current adoption has been. Okay, great. Okay. Well, I appreciate that. It was a blind question I didn't know the answer but I was curious so thank you very much for all the work that you put in and we look forward to this adoption miss miles I have another question actually it's about the choices that you guys made were you perchance happen to talk to another district that may have had great success with it with the you know the demographic that we have was

[01:02:32] there any like references you know because this this is a lot of money that we're spending and we want to make sure it's successful. NASA City Public Schools being in Region 4, our Region 4 Math Supervisor and Math Leaders Committee is a very tight, close-knit committee where we're constantly bouncing off ideas with one another.

[01:02:55] And so when we, all of us are kind of really in the same boat of some purchased last year, some are currently in the same as we are doing it this year, some are just doing a K-6, a 9-12. So really all in various positions, really kind of learning from one another and kind of taking in kind of, I don't want to say the do's and don'ts, but the, you know, if we would have been able to do this over again, here's some advice for you all to kind of look in and do.

[01:03:21] So really kind of leaning on them from their expertise, as well as, you know, this is Sarah and I's first resource adoption, being in the positions that we're in. So even leaning on them for advice just within the process overall. That's awesome. That's great to hear. Cause I think that that's great to kind of get wisdom from someone who's been there, you know, and colleagues are going to be my best friends next year. That's awesome. Well, and I, and I wanted to make sure I said, thank you for all the hard work that you did. Um, in addition to everyone that kind of contributed to making this

[01:03:53] decision. So I really appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you both. All three of you and your teams. Um, so next we have Ms. Sarah Weaver, uh, coordinator of fine arts and libraries and Mr.

[01:04:11] David Keeling coordinator of health physical education and driver education will provide program highlights from across the school division in connection with our strategic plan good evening chair Spall vice chair Jones dr. Newman and esteemed members of the board again my name is Sarah Weaver and I'm the coordinator for the fine arts and libraries David Keeling is I'm going to join me up here after so I will be presenting my portion of the

[01:04:41] presentation and then David will continue with his and then I think it's a good

[01:05:15] presentation guys it's worth the wait it's so big it's just loading

[01:06:02] is there HDMI cord that I could plug into see it now thank you thank you for the opportunity to showcase our content areas this evening through the fine arts music health physical education and libraries we are primarily supporting

[01:06:42] the strategic pillar of inclusive and collaborative learning environment where each student will feel safe and supported in an interactive innovative and equitable learning environment where individual assets are valued and respected this evening we will emphasize student learning experiences and program accomplishments that support their strategic pillar objectives and priorities, while also incorporating additional objectives and core beliefs as pertinent to the outcomes and celebrations that we are presenting.

[01:07:19] We believe our programs educate the whole child through creativity, wellness, and we strive for achievement for all. This evening, I'm pleased to share the highlights for our fine arts program.

[01:07:39] OHS is once again a blue ribbon school, which means that their top performing ensembles received a superior rating at assessment, and it was just confirmed the other day. This means that the teachers are implementing the highest ideals of music education for the students at Osborne High School.

[01:08:00] But this does not just happen. It is a culmination of hours of hard work and dedication from all of our schools and all of our directors who work to prepare our students. In the performing arts, we measure success through our assessment scores, our enrollment numbers, and performance opportunities so that the students learn what a career in the arts would entail.

[01:08:26] This award is a testimony of the hard work. I would like to share some highlights from the band. The Hilton Education Initiative with George Mason University brings famous musicians into schools to work with the students.

[01:08:42] This year, the OHS Jazz Band got to do a master class with the famous Bria Skonberg, who is a New York City trumpeter, singer, and songwriter, and it's shown on the left of the slide. It was amazing to see the students' growth in just one hour from where they started and where they ended after she worked with them on repertoire for an upcoming concert.

[01:09:07] The growth that happens when we extend the walls of the classroom is truly enlightening. OHS received the Voboda Band Program of Honor, which is Mr. Wassum's fifth year, in a row. Mr. Stevens at Mets, his band, came home with a superior rating at assessment just the other day.

[01:09:28] The Mets band will also continue to attend competitions similar to their trip to Hershey Park last year. Overall, we are seeing growth in our band program with the highest number in the fifth and sixth grade over the last four years.

[01:09:44] This growth brought the need for purchasing new instruments to accommodate each student. Through the strong collaborations of Dr. Newman and Mr. Gefeller and our finance department, we eliminated this obstacle so that all students can access the curriculum.

[01:10:02] This growth of band students coming up through our system should be entering OHS in the fall. Next, our choir experiences range from All City to the Disney Candlelight performances and beyond.

[01:10:19] The choir at Osborne High School, under the direction of Miss Shirley Glom, sent in an audition tape to perform at Disney Candlelight and they were accepted. They performed with professional Disney orchestra and choir. It was a memorable experience and a once in a lifetime experience.

[01:10:38] We have added recruitment events to build numbers over the last several years, which has contributed to growth across all schools. The choirs get together to sing the national anthem at the Osborne's first football game. We also have a tenor-based clinician come in and work with our tenor-based vocalists.

[01:10:58] And the OHS choir sings in all elementary schools before the holidays and also invites the other schools to sing with them during their spring concert. Bringing all voices together has been a special gift for our choral students. Also, each year, our students from grades four through 12th grade get to perform at the Hilton Performing Arts Center for their all-city chorus concert.

[01:11:23] Our choir teachers consistently give performance opportunities to our parents and our community. Many of our K4 music teachers have their students perform in sing-along concerts, recorder concerts, literacy, book or choral events, and the Christmas tree lighting, just to name a few.

[01:11:43] Hayden Elementary will have a theater production with acting, singing, and they've also done the backdrops and the set design, which will be coming up this spring. Our orchestra students continue to shine across the division.

[01:11:58] OHS received a superior rating and assessment. Mets earned a solid score of two across the board. And each year, the All City Orchestra brings together musicians in grades six through 12 for a powerful collaboration performance that strengthens both skill and community.

[01:12:18] In addition, our students participate in music competitions at either Hershey Park or Kings Dominion, where they proudly represent MCPS and demonstrate the high quality of our orchestra programs. We are proud of their hard work, their growth, and their dedication of our directors who make these achievements possible.

[01:12:38] We have had growth in the orchestra as well, and the division also purchased instruments accommodate for that growth so that all students can participate. Our guitar program has the largest number of student enrollment which is about 177 students each year at Osborne High School alone. Mrs. Rubach teaches music literacy and expects her students to be there. Her strong expectations and high level of rigor is what has built her program and created talented musicians.

[01:13:12] METS Middle School also has a guitar program and it is their feeder and we also have some elementary schools teaching guitar at the fourth grade level. Guitar classes run from beginning to advanced and honors level and the Rockfest concert which is depicted in this slide is coming up on May 2nd which shows their dedication and culmination of their work. Her students sing, perform, rap, dance, everything and I highly recommend this concert. In our strategic

[01:13:46] plan this slide supports strong family and community partnerships pillar I work closely alongside the Hilton Performing Arts Center education initiative which offers MCPS free opportunities to experience and engage in the arts through in-person and also virtual programming such as field trips backstage tours lecture demonstrations and master classes led by professional artists every community member can experience the arts in meaningful ways. Each year we've averaged about

[01:14:21] 4,500 students who have attended these 10 plus field trip opportunities to this Hilton Performing Arts Center. Images on the slide are from our actual trips this year and other performances this year were Chicka Chicka Boom Boom the musical for our pre-k and kindergarten classes.

[01:14:42] The season opener was Jeremy Jordan, which was a huge hit for our high school choir and theater students who received tickets to the performance and also got to go to a pre-performance Q&A. These are amazing experiences for our students as many students get up close and personal, like the image depicted on the far right for Jammin' on the Job, the students were called up on stage and they got to interact with these performers.

[01:15:11] The students at these events clap along, dance, shout out during call and response time when prompted by the performers and are also fully interactive during these performances. While this may seem like quote unquote fun to most, this teaches our students how to follow a beat, how to hear a rhythm, how to create a pattern, as well as learn concert etiquette.

[01:15:37] It also teaches them to dream about performing one day. The visual art department is working diligently to showcase student artwork. What was once a challenge has now provided multiple opportunities to our students to exhibit their artwork in both the schools and also in our community.

[01:16:00] The Division Art Show exhibits art from grades K through 12 and will be on May 8th at Osborne High School. The Manassas Museum has our exhibit, Artistic Expressions, currently right now on display.

[01:16:16] It was a community collaboration I had alongside the curator, Mary Helen Dalinger, 13 years ago to display student artwork in the community, and it is still going on today. We measure student success in the arts through our enrollment numbers and also exhibit opportunities so that students learn what a career in the visual arts world would entail.

[01:16:40] And then in the bottom right-hand corner of the slide, my position, as I said, also includes the libraries. So when I met with the Manasseh City Library to talk about literacy programming, the conversation quickly spiraled into showing student artwork.

[01:16:57] I asked if we could focus on elementary artwork, and another exhibit was born. Last year was our first year, and we will continue every year. Student artwork is hung from May to August above the Storytime Summer Reading Program area, and I love this because it is a perfect mix of art and literacy for our students.

[01:17:19] Lastly, as many of you know, our Weems student won the VSBA State Award for the Art Contest, and his artwork is depicted in the top middle. MCPS students have many ribbon winners for the last three years in this contest in the elementary program alone.

[01:17:37] We are truly blessed with our art teachers who continue to work hard for their students each day as they build creativity one art show at a time. Our theater program is growing. Two years ago, we added theater to METS Middle School.

[01:17:56] And last year, METS performed their very first show, which is depicted on the far left of this slide. They started with three classes, and now with our growth, they'll add an introduction to tech theater course next year, which will feed into Osborne's technical theater.

[01:18:13] We hope to advertise this to students who not only like theater, but also enjoy building things and designing sets, which is a career in the arts. We have goals for a full schedule of classes at Mets in theater. OHS Theater continues to shine with a performance depicted on this slide, such as Clue or The Wizard of Oz.

[01:18:34] And Mamma Mia is the musical that opens in just a few short weeks on April 16th, 17th, and 18th at Osborne High School Auditorium at 7 p.m. each of those nights. And as mentioned earlier, be on the lookout for Hayden's performance, theater, and musical coming up soon.

[01:18:53] The energy is catching on and we may see more theater in our elementary schools, which is a huge collaboration from students and staff across all contents. And then as mentioned earlier, part of my job now is to do the spelling bees.

[01:19:13] So through the library, each year my team and I host a spelling bee in each of the elementary through middle schools. We find the top three spellers in each school that move to the division spelling bee we find the top speller here in mcps that was celebrated this evening the top spellers at each school go to the region b in prince william county we are thankful for the librarians the classroom teachers and parents who help their students through this process and as i mentioned earlier our very own noreen lisco took second place in the region each year the library supports literacy

[01:19:53] by having readers come into their schools for national young readers week jumpstart read for the Record and Read Across America. Earlier this month, our very own mayor, Michelle Davis Younger, read to each kindergarten class in the library to support the program Jumpstart Read for the Record, which is the world's largest shared reading experience, which unites millions to read the same book on the same day and raise awareness of early literacy. Now in its 20th year this initiative connects caring volunteers with children to read aloud and distribute high

[01:20:31] quality books building foundational literacy skills and home libraries our pre-k program even did the same book so that was really cool to see she our mayor was even joined by governor spanberger at baldwin elementary so that was a nice surprise in the bottom middle of this slide the round elementary librarian jamie simons wrote a grant and received a book donation from the va state organization of delta kappa gamma to his library lastly we support the manassas read event

[01:21:08] where ela and library departments come together to give free books to families here in manassas and once again there would be brand new books both in spanish and in english and we will give them to families here in Manassas while our talented students and music teachers provide entertainment at the event the work that we have accomplished in Manassas City particularly in the library and the visual and performing arts showcases the quality of our workforce and the talent of our students at this time Mr. Kyling will support or will present a similar overview

[01:21:46] related to his role thank you miss weaver all right thank you good evening um i'm david kyling and i proudly serve manassas city in a dual leadership role as assistant principal at balwin intermediate as well as the pre-k health and physical education coordinator tonight i will focus on the work and accomplishments of our health and physical education programs and the teachers i want to briefly highlight where our program was a few years ago and the intentional

[01:22:24] steps we have taken to strengthen it, and the opportunities for our students now as a result. Health and physical education plays an important role in the development of the whole child. Our program supports not only physical fitness, but also teamwork, leadership, mental wellness, safety, and lifelong habits that will help students live healthy and productive lives.

[01:22:46] Over the past several years, we have worked to build more consistent, inclusive, and engaging programs for students at every level, from elementary school through high school. Over the past several years, our health and physical education program has undergone meaningful transformation.

[01:23:03] We began with several challenges, limited staffing, inconsistent programming across schools, and difficulty sustaining initiatives due to turnover. Today, I'm proud to share that many of these challenges have become our areas of real celebration. One of the most significant shifts has been our staffing ratio at the elementary level.

[01:23:22] We have moved from one full-time teacher to two full-time teachers, which has allowed us to expand programming, strengthen relationships with students, and ensure more consistent instruction across all buildings. This investment has made a visible difference in quality of our student experiences.

[01:23:41] We've seen tremendous progress in staff stability. This school year, we've had zero vacancies, 100% staff retention. That level of statistic is rare, and it speaks to the supportive environment we've built and shared in the commitment to our educators.

[01:23:58] A major factor of our work has been expanding inclusive experiences so that every student, regardless of their ability, can participate fully and meaningfully. Our unified physical education program at Osborne High School continues to be a standout example for this commitment.

[01:24:14] Students with and without disabilities learn, collaborate, and build communities together, and the impact on the school culture has been powerful. At the middle school level, we've strengthened our health education curriculum to better align with the state standards and the needs of today's learners.

[01:24:33] The emphasis on wellness, decision-making, and lifelong health is giving students the tools they need to navigate the increasingly complex world. We've expanded elective opportunities, including the Fitness Lifestyle Design course. This class provides students with a personalized approach to fitness, goal setting, overall well-being that extends far beyond the classroom.

[01:25:00] Taken together, these celebrations reflected a department that is stronger, more inclusive, and more aligned with their division's vision of student success. We are proud of the progress we've made and will be even more excited about the opportunities ahead as we continue to build these programs that support health, wellness, and the belonging of every student.

[01:25:22] One of the major improvements was implementing the Unified Physical Education program at the high school level. Unified Physical Education provides an opportunity for all students with and without disabilities to learn, participate, build relationships together all through physical activity.

[01:25:38] This program promoted collaboration, understanding, and respect while ensuring that every student has a meaningful opportunity to participate in physical education. It also closely aligns with the principles of Special Olympics Unified Programming, which focuses on inclusion, teamwork, shared experiences.

[01:25:59] And I'm excited to share the significant achievement that Osborne High School has received. Osborne has been recognized as a Unified Champion School, a designation that highlights our commitment to inclusive learning environments and celebrates the diversity among all our students.

[01:26:17] In 2025, Osborne High School was selected as just one of five schools in Virginia and one of four high schools to receive this honor. This recognition is a testament to the dedicated efforts in promoting inclusive and fostering a sense of belonging for all of our students.

[01:26:33] Alongside with their unified physical education classes is our support through Special Olympics Unified Sports and opportunities such as Under the Lights. This program allows students with and without intellectual disabilities to train and compete together. Unified Sports is much more than just a competition.

[01:26:52] It promotes teamwork, builds friendship, and helps create a school environment where all students feel valued and included. These initiatives encourage students of all abilities to develop leadership skills while working collaboratively to promote a culture of acceptance and respect within their schools.

[01:27:12] The impact of these programs extend far beyond the gymnasium and throughout the whole school engagement activities, students participate in initiatives that build collaboration, strengthen relationships and promote the inclusive school culture throughout the entire school community.

[01:27:29] At the middle school level, we've made significant improvements in the health education is delivered. Students now participate in a structured five-week health rotation which ensures all students receive the same educational experience and instruction aligned with the required curriculum standards.

[01:27:47] These structures allow us to provide consistent instruction in key areas such as personal health, decision-making, wellness, and safety. It also ensures that every student receives the same foundation of knowledge regardless of which teacher they have.

[01:28:02] Providing consistent health education is critical as students navigate the physical, social, emotional changes of the middle school years. At Metz Middle School, we've also expanded the elective opportunities that allow students to take ownership of their personal wellness and fitness.

[01:28:18] One example of this is the Fitness Lifestyle Design course taught by Ms. Rhonda Brown. This course focuses on developing lifelong fitness habits, personal wellness planning, and leadership through health and fitness. Students learn how to set goals, monitor their progress, and design individualized plans that support their own personal health.

[01:28:39] to support learning we've also integrated wristband health monitors into the class during these activities students wear their monitors for immediate feedback on their effort levels helping them track their performance in real time and assess process progress through their personal fitness goals this approach enhances the understanding of the link between physical activity heart rate and fitness while encouraging health ownership another meaningful part of our courses are learners to leaders program through this program eighth grade students partner with hayden elementary pre-k students serving as mentors to the young learners while promoting healthy

[01:29:19] lifestyle habits this partnership allows middle school students to develop the leadership skills while also building relationships with their younger students in the division programs like this help create the connections across grade levels and reinforce the importance of positive role models. Another important component of our middle school program is the weight room program.

[01:29:43] This program expands students' capacity into personal fitness while teaching them how to safely and effectively develop individual workout plans. Students learn how to design workouts based on their personal goals, whether the goal is related to general health, athletic performance, or a personal fitness improvement. At the intermediate level, our health and physical education program continues to expand ways to support both student safety and personal development one of the important initiatives is our human human trafficking awareness education intermediate students learn

[01:30:19] age-appropriate lessons through the collaboration with school counselors these lessons focus on personal safety while recognizing warning signs and understanding how to seek help if a situation does not feel safe schools are uniquely positioned to identify the risk early and a quick equip students with the knowledge that they need to protect themselves and seek support when needed.

[01:30:42] In addition to the safety education, teachers also regularly incorporate cooperative learning structures in their classes. Students work together in their small groups to solve problems, practice skills, and reflect on their learning. These cooperative structures encourage communication, teamwork, and shared responsibilities at a younger age. Teachers also use current events to enhance student engagement and connect classroom learning to the real world.

[01:31:08] An example of this is during the Winter Olympics, students at Mayfield Intermediate expanded topics such as the Winter Olympics and how fitness components, sportsmanship, and teamwork are all connected. Using major sporting events as a learning tool increases students' interest and creates meaningful opportunities within the curriculum.

[01:31:28] These experiences have a significant impact as students become more aware of real-world safety issues, enhance their collaboration of learning skills, and engage more deeply in their learning through real-world connections. Ultimately, these experiences support a cooperative approach to physical education, health, and social development. Significant improvements have become from the elementary level with the addition of our two full-time PE teachers. This change enabled smaller instructional groups, better classroom management, and greater student engagement. It allowed our

[01:32:07] teachers to tailor their instruction to students' developmental levels, improving staff retention and program consistency. Collaboration among our elementary teachers ensures that professional development aligns with the needs of physical education, enhancing instruction across all schools, and this guarantees that students receive engaging, appropriate instruction regardless of the school they go to. Additionally, our second graders will participate in a water safety lesson this spring developing essential skills to promote safety around water environments our program is

[01:32:42] expanded through community or a program also has expanded through community partnerships such as the washington capitals which has promoted physical fitness and reinforced healthy skills finally i like to highlight our gains in the 2024 2025 school year in fitness scores and the amount of students who have are in their healthy fitness zone fitness data shows a clear growth from pre pre-test to post-test across our division. Overall, the percentage of students meeting fitness benchmarks has increased in every category. Several grade levels show particular

[01:33:19] strong gains. Elementary and intermediate demonstrate significant improvements in muscular strength and muscular endurance, with notably increases in your push-ups and curl-ups score. Middle school students saw a small growth in cardiovascular endurance, while the high school students improved both push-ups and curl-ups, muscular strength and muscular endurance. Overall, the All data reflects a positive process in the student's cardiovascular endurance, strength and flexibility, highlighting the importance of consistent instruction and expanding physical education opportunities across all of our schools.

[01:33:57] These improvements are a direct result of our staff's dedication to professional development, collaboration and engaging with all of our students. Health and physical education plays a critical role in preparing our students not only for the school's success but lifelong wellness.

[01:34:15] Through the continued collaboration, innovation, and support, we continue building programs that will engage our students, promote inclusion, and encourage healthy, active lifestyles for every student in our school division. Thank you for the opportunity to share the work happening in health and physical education across all of our schools, and both Ms. Weaver and I are happy to answer any questions you may have.

[01:34:38] Thank you, Mr. Keeley. Do I have questions to my right? Do I have questions to my left? Dr. Jones. Ms. Weaver, I was going to ask you about, did the school system provide instruments? So thank you for the system for taking away the barrier of having to rent or buy an instrument.

[01:34:58] But at what grade do kids go into a band class? Is it fifth or sixth grade? It's in our fifth grade. And at the beginning of our fifth grade, we do like an instrument petting zoo almost so that they get used to the instruments and see and get to pick the one that they would like to choose.

[01:35:14] Okay. So I think it's great work that more kids are going into band. And I remember when the guitar class started with one class. So it's great that there's so many students now. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Dr. Jones. Ms. Miles. So I have a couple questions.

[01:35:30] My son is in the band department or the band. And I just wonder, I'm a band geek, I will say that. I played the clarinet all throughout middle school and high school. And I feel so sad when my kids start in fifth and sixth grade and then they get to seventh and eighth and they just stop.

[01:35:47] Like all my kids did that. And I wonder, do we have that problem? Is that a problem where they start so excited, fifth and sixth grade, and then when they get to seventh and eighth, it's just not, they don't, they're not excited about it anymore. Do you see that often? I think it depends on the student.

[01:36:03] It also changes with their schedule at different schools and the ability to choose electives. As they get older, they either naturally try to choose different things or they continue on with the program. we are working very strongly with all of our teachers to try to build some recruitment activities that maybe could help with that and maybe keep them I know we've worked really hard in the choir because that what we were seeing that in the choir but as fixed itself with our recruitment activities so maybe for the band we will do that as well but it depends and I think the elective choices they dwindle when they get to that level and then they pick back up at

[01:36:43] to high school just because they have more time in their schedule, so yeah, student to student, yeah. - Yeah, I just wondered that, that was a side question, but I think it's awesome that you're providing instruments. So that way, if a student really wants to do it, it's not about money, they're able to.

[01:37:00] And I look forward to seeing the concerts that we have coming up. And then just 177 students that are playing guitar, that I wasn't able to go to the rock concert last time, but I'm gonna make sure that I go to rock fest. So I'm excited about going to that. um and i love how we're giving them opportunities um at the hilton um and even our littlest students are being provided with that and the jeremy jordan a lot of people don't know who he is but i do and yeah so that's really cool um they were able to go see that um and i had a question about the swimming program actually this is for you um so are we providing that for what ages we'll be able

[01:37:39] to do that so this year that'll be second grade and it will be a week in may where all second graders get the same lesson as they come into pe gotcha so they're not going to go to another site no okay mr goodfeller and i looked into that and just logistically we felt like this is our best approach at this time okay so just water safety techniques water safety lifeguard and then also we're going to put in some like river and you know not just pool you know in different uh elements of any to wear around water that's great and i love how you have added a second pe teacher i know as an educator pe teachers are like the superstars of the school in elementary right right so to have

[01:38:19] two now that are this yeah we're like we do all the work no pe teachers are awesome and so that's great that you have two um because i know they have 60 what plus kids in a room at the time or is that how two and a half classes depending on how many classroom right so of course having that second person is great for the classroom management all that I think oh the last thing I wanted to say is about one more thing sorry the age-appropriate lessons about human trafficking I think that's so awesome I know that you know I like how you said it was age-appropriate especially if you're doing at the intermediate school where kids are what 10 and 11 so for parents who are wondering

[01:38:57] what are we actually talking about so I think that's great and then also providing the health lessons at the middle school is great so I can speak as a parent I think that's so great that you're doing that yes so you both are doing awesome thank you thank you miss miles miss pressure thank you so much I just like to note that there are three Sarah's in the room right now this is a great day great day for us the so going and I want to thank you for putting together this presentation for connecting it to our strategic plan all

[01:39:34] that good stuff. Love that. When you were talking, Ms. Weaver, about how we are measuring the success of our arts program, you said, based on our assessment scores and our performance opportunities, and the third one was participation numbers? Our enrollment numbers. Enrollment numbers, okay.

[01:39:52] And you noted for band and for orchestra and for guitar that the numbers were up and the programs were growing, but you omitted choir. How was the choir trajectory? Choir is, as well, exponentially the recruitment you know activities that we put into place have done a great job and so yes they're building they're building across the board in all of our performing arts that's good the growth is good what barriers have we found you kind of to expand on the question that you had like just in general you know we you don't have to buy or rent an instrument for

[01:40:26] example if you travel you if there's any travel do we pay for that as well no all barriers have been removed from all the students there is full 100 percent access to all of our visual and performing arts courses and access across the board very good I'll just note kind of as a side note I had made a little video about a visit I made to Mayfield and that mr. Susan mr. Reid in the comment section which there's like 400 comments where the standout stars of the whole thing everybody loves them so it really makes an impact on how

[01:41:01] students connect with their schools and so I loved they say never read the comments but in that case you can read the comments because they were they were good so the barriers that our students have faced they're not material but they have to do I kind of want to expand on a conversation you two were having a little bit about what makes students drop out of the arts as they or not engage with the arts and what do we think those are and how are we tackling those I don't think there are any barriers all students really love coming to our classes we are very fortunate in

[01:41:38] that sense as I stated earlier I think just as students evolve or grow into different you know friend groups or different opportunities to explore different electives I think that might be the only way they change an elective a lot of their friends groups like sway those things but then eventually I really do think they come back to us especially at the high school level because at the high school level they get to choose so many more electives.

[01:42:06] When I taught there, I had a lot of kids that had chosen theater or performing arts and then in their junior or senior year came to my art class and it was like, where have you been all this time? But they just came back full, didn't skip a beat and they produced fabulous work.

[01:42:22] So at this time, I don't believe there are any barriers. So you mentioned, which of our elementary schools has a guitar program? I'm not aware of. - Kathy Drummond at our Hayden Elementary. She uses the guitars with her fourth grade class and they do guitar concerts.

[01:42:40] She does a great job building the program and then they kind of continue. - So that's teacher discretion. - It's an after school. - It's an after school thing. And so some schools might have it. So Hayden has it, but other schools. - All of our K-4 elementary music teachers do all instrumentation, a lot of percussion, a lot of ORF, they do recorders.

[01:43:03] They, like, Wendy Dunlap at Weems Elementary just sent me a video, and I didn't have time to put it in the presentation this evening, but she was reading books to the kids, and they were performing the sound effects based on different types of instruments, and the variety was huge.

[01:43:22] So they do instrumentation throughout. It just starts for real at the fifth grade level. - Right, but in terms of an after school program, that's up to the teacher at the school. - It's based on their skill or expertise or hobby. - I'll note as you were speaking and you're going through the fine arts, the visual arts, the library, that in other divisions this is like four jobs.

[01:43:47] - Correct. - So thank you for doing all four of them and doing all four of them well. I will say that the field trips that you've coordinated with the Hilton Performing Arts Center I actually have a timely anecdote on that.

[01:44:02] Baldwin Elementary had their career day. They actually had a visual, a set designer and a costume designer who was there presenting, and she had her set pieces there. And she noticed, she was just like, well, these kids who were just here, they really got it, they really understood what a set was and all this kind of stuff.

[01:44:19] And it's because, and I knew this as a second grade parent, our second graders had just gone to see a play at the Hilton Performing Arts Center. And she was so impressed by that, how the students got it so intuitively because as I explained at the last school board meeting, if you've never seen a play, you can have a hard time accessing that and understanding what you're seeing.

[01:44:39] I noted for visual arts showcases, you had noted that it was once a challenge, but is not anymore to showcase our student art. So what did you mean by that? - So I have worked extremely hard to find community venues to display student artwork.

[01:44:55] We now have one for the Osborne High School students. In fact, they have two. they have one at the art factory for off the wall for it's a high school art exhibit and the one that I mentioned at Manassas Museum Jurani coffee house proudly presents our student work and then the elementary students are now at the Manassas City Library so what I've strategically thought through is where could we showcase each level of student artwork here in the community and our community is wonderful and embracing us and giving us these opportunities and so

[01:45:31] that's why it was once an obstacle and now it's really not because we I have found places for all of them to display our work you're very good I do see our student artwork kind of all over the place yeah thank you for your hunting on that kind of going back to my similar question about our elementary school after-school programming the theater program that Hayden has now for sure and is apparently going to be expanding.

[01:45:57] Who coordinates those? - It is led very strongly by Dr. Goldzang, who is a former theater child and has been doing it for 37 years, I believe. So it is kind of a birth child of hers, but Kathy Drummond, as I mentioned earlier, and then my art teacher, Janae Parker, they all collaborate and it's an entire school event.

[01:46:22] The art teacher works with each grade level to produce the set designs, the imagery, you know, last year was Nemo, so each kid produced a fish that moved across the stage, things that moved, the music department sang, they did guitar, they, you know, a bunch of different things, so it's an entire school event and collaboration that teaches them how to work together to produce a product. You kind of hinted that this might be expanding to other schools, can we get more into details? So I've been going to touch base with all of my teachers and so I've been spending at least a half an hour if not more with each of them talking about their focus for the future goals that they would like

[01:47:00] to accomplish things that are working really well in their program room right now and then maybe supports they need from me and in those conversations a lot are talking about doing that in their near future because it's a really cool activity for the whole school I wasn't clear how long have we participated in the script spelling being I have been in this role for four years and I think it was done several years prior to that I did it slightly differently than previously before with doing we take our roadshow David was once my sidekick on

[01:47:38] that so I take a team with me and we do a roadshow we go into each school that has kind of helped them practice the same process that they will do when they go to the Division B also the region B and if they went to the National B it's a very arduous strenuous process for all of us including me who stands right in front of them and stares in the eyeballs when they misspell but I think it is teaching them tenacity and grit and we try to be really positive I see them in the schools when I go into the schools and I tell them I want to see them next

[01:48:17] year so even though it's really hard they know we care about them and want them to continue to try that just because they didn't make it the first time that they have next year. Very good. You know, just before the meeting started, I was speaking with one of our spelling families, and she said the family speaks two languages at home. She's like, actually, it's been really helpful to have the spelling bee because now all of us are practicing our English language spelling, and that's been good for us. So that's great. All right, those are all the questions that I have for you. So thank you for the four jobs that you do for Vanessa City Public schools. Two jobs. Anybody who says the word top-heavy to me, I'm going to make them watch

[01:48:54] this presentation. Anyway, so thank you for all that you explained about the challenges that you've had and how they have evolved and how the celebrations that we have. Let me ask, how long have we had the Unified program? It wasn't clear to me how new this was. The Unified program starting the 23-24 school year. Okay I was not aware it was that new and then we get just a few years later one of the top four high that's incredible and that's why coach Q got an impact award earlier

[01:49:31] today. I did not have that full I did not have that full context. Now I will say that Osborne did have a program to where they supported the students it just wasn't a unified PE class until that school year. And now we're one of the top four high schools correct in the Commonwealth of All right. So let's talk a little bit about the middle school, because I didn't really understand.

[01:49:56] You were very excited about all the new things that are going on at the middle school and how this is an improvement. But I didn't really understand what was there before. So what was going on before that needed to be fixed? So before I came in this role, I came in at the same time as Miss Weaver did in the 22-23 school year. Health was sporadically taught throughout the day or throughout the period.

[01:50:15] It might be 10 minute conversation and then they go on activity. It might be two weeks in between. So that was one of the things that I really wanted to focus on, streamlining and having a set schedule for our students to learn health and hit on all the standards. So that was the big main focus.

[01:50:30] And that was a couple-year process to where we got to the five-week model now, to where our students are in the health classroom learning the basic skills in health. And then when they're in PE, they're focusing on the PE and the education, the fitness side of it. Gotcha. Okay, so it has become a more robust program overall at the middle school.

[01:50:49] Well, that's great. It is a very important topic, a very important time in life. I was a 12-year middle school teacher, and I know those bodies very well. Very good. The human trafficking awareness that we're doing at the intermediate level, I also wasn't clear. How long have we been doing that?

[01:51:05] So that started also three years ago, and that starts at the intermediate level, and then also kind of goes into the middle school level as well. But we started in fifth grade with the age appropriate thing. But this is the third year we'll be doing it. Okay. And it's been successful? Very, yep. Okay. do we have goals that we've set for that and what how do we know it's been successful feedback from the counselors feedback from the parents as well and then also the teachers have been able to open up communication with some of the students who have opened it up to us with some of the challenges they're facing and then we're able to put them in the right position and mostly it's with our school counselors but you can pass on to the counselors you know I was

[01:51:43] talking about my Mayfield video and all the comments in there tick-tock has a a minimum user age of 13. I don't think there's a single child in Mayfield Intermediate that is over the age of 13. You're speaking my language. That's the AP side of my job. Just throwing that out there. You explained the water safety. Okay. So to the fitness results, questions that I had here. I had questions about the participation percentages. So we are in 22, 23, where it's only 70 something percent of our kids are getting tested at all and now we're up to 90 something and

[01:52:18] how do we I can't imagine just not taking a fitness test when I so 22 23 was the first year that I came on as health and PE coordinator so that's where we're at and it's just been hard work through communication with them about the importance of it about professional development we brought in a lot some people from the outside to talk about it's just a collaboration on also with our staff retention like I said all of our staff members came back last year the year before that was a high number and it's just buy-in from all of our teachers to put in the effort and the time and get the students tested and up to the standards that we want now and this year our

[01:52:55] fitness testing that we have pre-test but don't have the post-test because that will start when we come back from spring break gotcha the uh and I did notice in our post-test pre-test that our High schoolers tend to be the worst performers in all of the, except for one.

[01:53:14] There was one where they exceeded, but they tend to be the worst performers in everything. And so can you tell me a little bit about that? So in high schools, their structure is a little different with health and driver education. So they have their two weeks of health and they're out of PE and then they go back in. So it's not a consistent time that they're in PE.

[01:53:31] So I think that plays into it somewhere. They don't have that consistent buildup to it. Because both health and PE are graduation requirements, so they're focusing a lot on those subjects while they're in there. I think that has a lot to do with it. Plus, also, a lot of our high school students, as they're doing it, it's only 9th and 10th grade students that are tested in this.

[01:53:50] So any student that takes the other classes, the elect classes, the unified PE classes, the weight training class, they're not in this thing. We have some of the teachers will do these tests, but they're not in these numbers. It's just our 9th and 10th graders who are also going through our health at the same time. Gotcha. Okay, that is an explanation.

[01:54:06] All right. Thank you for that. That's all the questions I have for you. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Brescia. I just want to thank you both for your dedication to our cause, which is positive, stupid outcomes, but also social, emotional, physical health, and the ways that we value inclusion. So I also want to just say being a blue ribbon school is a really big deal. And so I'd like to extend our congratulations to all the people that make that happen and also say that Rockfest is amazing so thank you both very very nice

[01:54:41] presentation okay we will now move to the action agenda and I oh no how could I we will now move to have mr. Rockefeller the deputy superintendent provide an update on the construction of new Jenny Dean good evening again chair Spall vice chair Jones members of the board and dr. Newman I'd like to provide a brief update on the progress of the new Ginny Dean Elementary School. Despite its the

[01:55:19] impacts of winter weather in January and the continued cold conditions in February, I am pleased to share that the project remains on schedule and on budget. The team has implemented mitigation strategies including extended work hours for certain trades to ensure that we stay aligned with our timeline.

[01:55:38] From a construction standpoint, we are seeing significant progress across both the site and the building. On the site side, the key infrastructure elements continue to move forward. This includes the completion of the loading dock and the dumpster enclosure foundations, as well as the preparation for the installation of the educational greenhouse. The greenhouse, as I've talked about before, is a particularly exciting feature of this project. It is intentionally designed to support hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for students, connecting directly to science standards and and providing opportunities for applied learning

[01:56:16] around plant systems, sustainability, and environmental stewardship. Inside the building, the product is reaching an important transition point. The roofing and steel truss installation has progressed across the upper classroom wings, and work has begun in the gymnasium roof decking.

[01:56:33] As these areas become enclosed, we are now beginning to see interior spaces take shape, with painting underway in classrooms and administrative areas, and the installation of the ceiling grids and lighting is already in progress. Additionally, the mechanical systems are advancing with the final connections being completed and the initial system startups are on the horizon.

[01:56:55] This coordination with utility services has been an important component as we bring the mechanical systems online. Beyond the construction, an important milestone this month has been the early transition planning with school staff. Teams have already begun working through classroom layouts, operational needs, and move-in processes.

[01:57:15] This ensures that the building not only completed on time but will be instructionally ready on day one. Overall the workforce levels have remained steady with approximately 120 to 130 workers on-site daily which continues to support consistent progress towards our major milestones. Just in closing before I show some pictures, the project continues to reflect what we have emphasized throughout the process: a high-quality, instructionally aligned, and community-focused facility. The The features like the greenhouse are not add-ons.

[01:57:47] They are intentional design elements that are bringing learning to life for our students. The product will continue to be delivered responsibly, on time, and on budget. And so with that, I'll just share a few of the pictures. Here's a picture of the cafeteria and gymnasium where the decking is going on the roof.

[01:58:05] The roof trusses are up that we saw. Actually, it's progressed much further than this last picture when I received it. You can just see here just more pictures of kind of the enclosure that's happening over there. A lot of work is happening, as many of you saw just a few weeks ago in the rain and snow.

[01:58:24] You see here is a picture that's happening within one of the hallways. The brickwork is happening. In the classrooms, I mentioned the lighting in the grids that are going up. The painting is already happening in some of the classrooms that we see over at the facility.

[01:58:41] Some of the utilities and utility closets are exciting to see that are going in. Those are becoming online. We've been working very closely, as I said, with the utility companies to make sure that we're able to bring these online. This is going to be part of the hallway where we'll see some of the features that we've talked about with some of the learning components that we have with the dolphins and the learning materials.

[01:59:06] There'll be benches underneath this along the wall. A picture of the outside. This is actually a stairwell to go up to the second floor. If you're on the second floor where the lift is currently, the blue lift is, If you look out, it's a beautiful picture of the Dean Park, and that will remain open once that enclosure happens.

[01:59:26] It'll be windows around there, so as we went up to the second floor, you can look out over to the Dean Park. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Mr. Gefeller. To my left, no questions. Am I right?

[01:59:43] Okay. I'm so proud of us, and I can't hear on time and on budget enough. Thank you. It's my turn. So we will now move to the action agenda.

[01:59:59] Can I get a motion? Chair. I move that the school board of the city of Manassas approve resolution 2026-03-2026 VSBA Honor Roll naming Mike Beatty, Safford Subaru of Manassas, and Lake Manassas Health and Rehabilitation Center to the VSBA 2026 Business Honor Roll.

[02:00:16] We have a motion by Ms. Brescia, seconded by Dr. Jones, that we adopt Resolution 2026-03, which is the 2026 VSBA Business Honor Roll, which nominates Mr. Mike Beatty and three businesses, Stafford Subaru, and Lake Manassas Health and Rehabilitation Center.

[02:00:54] Sorry, it's all right in here. Is there any discussion? all in favor was it seconded yes sorry I got that I didn't write it down it was on the second page guys sorry I could read it all again if you want I don't have to fumble through it okay any discussion all in favor any opposed

[02:01:21] motion carries six zero thank you so do I have a motion for the policy committee or two yes I make a motion that the school board of the city of Vanessa's approve the revisions to policy IGR green as presented second I have a motion by it miss Brown seconded by miss Brescia that the school board of City of Manassas approve revisions to policy IGR grading as presented our policy

[02:02:00] person isn't here yeah I mean we did discuss so is there any further discussion all in favor aye okay any opposed the motion carries 6-0 thanks guys now it's time for dr. Casada or mr. yes okay sorry mr. Kelly to talk to us about the proposed budget good evening chair Spall vice chair Jones members of the board and dr. Newman I do want to before you all move forward with

[02:02:39] a vote on the proposed 2027 budget I do want to bring to your attention a few changes to the slides have taken place since the initial presentation that took place on February 24th in the interest of time I will just highlight those particular slides that changed so we're gonna start with the all funds budget summary so in the initial presentation the line for the capital improvement plan did not include in the in the column for the FY 27 budget the amounts for the bus purchase that we plan that plans to take place in FY 27 it's about three hundred and thirty thousand dollars it was included in the slides for

[02:03:16] the CIP unfortunately that number did not make it to the budget slide here it is updated and this is the properly projected cause for FYI 2027 moving on next slide so on this slide so if you all remember at the previous presentation we had not received the premium rates from our third-party vendor that we work with for our health insurance we have since received the the premiums for next fiscal year and did some analysis and from that we were able to determine that our health insurance our employer contributions for health insurance will

[02:03:54] increase eight hundred and seventeen thousand dollars I want to point out that we have taken on a larger portion of the burden as as we have in similar years in order to ensure that those costs aren't causing a larger burden on the staff here at Vanessa City Schools moving on to the next slide additionally this lot here under quality workforce that last bullet point where the health insurance discounts are for married and couple for married couples who are both employed at MCPS that's a change for us we discussed it at the last work session that took place on the 18th if there are any questions about that for any of the

[02:04:32] citizens or anybody here feel free to go watch that work session we talk in detail about health insurance rates for next for next school year as well as the changes such as the married couples discount that is going to be applied moving forward and you went on and then also at the work session on the 18th we discussed the additional priorities that the school board would like to tackle should there be additional funding provided by the state we have highlighted those additional priorities here on this slide as well as the projected cost for each of those priorities we will revisit these as the

[02:05:08] state continues to do their assessment of their budget and once they once they propose their final budget or approve their final budget we will then come back and have a discussion about which priorities the board would like to move forward with based on that funding and with that I believe that is all of the updates and I will take any questions you may have to my right especially thank you for the bus purchases the new buses we are purchasing are they going to be air-conditioned they will be air-conditioned fully air-conditioned

[02:05:44] for all passengers that is the plan okay miss miles um are we gonna say discussion after he sits down I just wanted to make sure so I don't have a question I'm supposed to thank you I don't forget yes thank you that's it I don't have any questions thank you anyone else I guess I just would like to ask for this page 23 it's not these additional priorities are not limited to state funding I mean there are other if other any other funding came available

[02:06:21] this is the way that we would prioritize them is that there's any funding an additional funding that becomes available that is correct we will consider these priorities including from the city or wherever additional funding may become available okay so the school board held a public hearing on March 10th and a budget work session on March 18th and the schedule summarized proposed the schedule summarized proposed budget amounts in accordance with the Code of Virginia and within the funds allocated by the City Council of Manassas Virginia it's motion and then discussion chair I move that the school board of the city

[02:06:58] of Manassas approved the fiscal year 26 27 budget and CIP as presented in the amount of 175 million eight hundred and two thousand six hundred ninety two dollars and authorize the school board chairman to transmit these schedules to the City Council of Manassas in accordance with school board policy in Virginia state code second okay I have a motion by Miss Brescia seconded by Miss Seberg that the school board of the city of Manassas approved the FY 2627 budget and CIP as presented in the amount of a hundred and seventy five thousand million eight hundred and two thousand six hundred ninety two dollars and authorize the school board chairman to transmit these schedules to the City

[02:07:37] Council of Manassas in accordance with school board policy and Virginia state code is there any discussion miss miles I just have a statement I want to thank the superintendent and staff for the work on this budget and the effort to balance many competing priorities I do want to raise a concern about how we define sufficient support for our students while we have psychologists parent liaisons and support staff in each school presence does not always equal access or impact. We need to better understand whether students' needs are truly being met.

[02:08:08] Looking at these things like wait time, service capacity, and unmet demand, not just staffing levels. Other divisions like Prince William, Prefects County Public Schools are continuing to expand in these areas, reflecting growing student needs. That said, I recognize the financial constraints we are under and that this budget maintains essential services. I will be supporting the budget tonight with the expectation that we continue this conversation and take a closer look at these needs moving forward thank you you miss miles anyone

[02:08:39] else okay all in favor of the budget any opposed the motion carries 6-0 miss Garza we can now move to board member comments and we'll start with miss Breeden um good evening everybody I would first like to start off extending my congratulations to all the impact award recipients as well as the skill

[02:09:12] USA students and the spelling bee winners and I was delighted to hear that the demand of the band and orchestra instruments was met for the fifth and sixth grade cohort of students and to hear that these programs are growing in size as well as starting in just the fourth grade is just amazing to hear and I hope that beyond just Hayden Elementary other elementary schools and intermediate schools can host theater productions to cover to cover that interest for students throughout Manassas City and that staff continue to share and take initiative to share their passions to teach students

[02:09:46] these various avenues of the arts like Dr. Goldson has done with theater. And then I would also like to reflect on the student rep meeting that we had last Wednesday that Ms. Miles and Ms. Stevens were able to attend in a for they presented for various leadership students and they described the role of student representatives and what they do in the community and then hanok and i also reflected on our time serving as well as um just looked over room for improvement for next year to come um what people

[02:10:20] can start working towards in their position whoever gets it next year and i just want to thank miss miles and miss stevens for taking the time out of their teaching schedules to attend and lastly i would like to thank um denise hariver for her generous donation that helped osborne's eco buddies club reached their goal of 1k and i also want to thank everybody else who donated to this organization eagle buddies um essentially pairs um osborne students with students in the special education department and they participate in the annual um unified prom the special olympics that's

[02:11:00] what i was thinking of and they just meet monthly do crafts and create these meaningful connections with special education students and so i really want to thank these hairover and all the other contributors to help meeting their goal for this year and that's all i have for tonight thank you thank you miss breeden mr imun uh good evening everyone i hope everyone is having a great start to their week on april 11th the national honor society is hosting a car wash at the jlc parking lot in osborne it is from 10 a.m to 1 p.m so if anyone wants a good cleaning on their car mark

[02:11:34] your calendars. As well as this, if any of your children are rising seniors, be sure to check out the Senior Summer Kickoff, which will be hosted at Osborne from July 13th to 17th. It'll help out for college prep and work on academic skills for the students. Registration due date is on March 28th, so four days left. Thank you for everyone for coming in. As Ms. Breeden said, congratulations to my peers in SkillsUSA, the Impact Award winners, and our Spelling Bee winners.

[02:12:07] Thank you. - Thank you, Mr. Eamon. Ms. Brescia. - Thank you, Chair. I have two objectives tonight with my comments. First, I will offer my own congratulations to the spotlights we recognized tonight and add a few of my own in order to encourage our kids and the adults who serve them in their achievement.

[02:12:23] And second, I will highlight a particular past event with the intention of enhancing the community's understanding of an engagement with our schools. And I offer this all within my role school board member who works within the strong family and communications a community partnerships pillar of our strategic plan which supports our students academic success first I would like to offer my own congratulations to our impact award winners and the impact that they have every day it matters I appreciate it and you can see the evidence of the success right here in the same meeting the fact that we had such talented spellers for our division spelling bee or that our kids were able to take advantage of something like skills USA and that we even have a number one finisher headed to nationals

[02:13:03] it's very exciting and I would also additionally like to highlight the achievements of our robotics team who won the judges award last weekend and the debate team who play second and super regionals which is exciting given that it's such a young yes it's a fairly new team that we've started to offer so they're doing so well as exciting and second there have been many events since our last school board meeting and I feel like I've been to most of them but I want to highlight one in particular you may recall that Miss Jackson from Baldwin intermediate invited me to observe her CLTs and I did have the honor of joining her and her team for an all-day super CLT in math the fifth grade team met for the first half of the day and the sixth grade team met for the second half of the

[02:13:42] day and what I saw was a productive and positive process that analyzed the students current level of learning and current learning gaps and developed actionable strategies to address those gaps I saw broad enthusiastic participation. Dare I say, I saw a cycle that was working. In fact, Ms. Jackson provided me some data to show that it was working, and she gave me permission to share it. Her sixth graders on Lexia in word study, at the beginning of the year, 69% of those sixth graders were at the foundational level, and now only 29% of them are, so that's incredible growth. In their comprehension,

[02:14:22] 50% of her sixth graders were at the foundational level at the beginning of the year, and now only 34% of them are. And she gave me lots of other numbers with lots of other great details, but that was, all of it shows a lot of growth, and that was very exciting to see.

[02:14:38] And I think it shows us how important it is that we preserve our principal's flexibility with respect to the CLT process. As far as I know, Ms. Jackson is the only principal who does these all-day events, but she does them because they work and are working for her students and they're working for her teams and in fact while I was there some of her team members made reference to the fact that they had been skeptical about this all-day event but that they ultimately found them useful and were glad for them so I wanted to share that I thought that might be useful coming up you can catch me at Jenny Dean tomorrow and Mayfield on Friday for their career day where I will be presenting and reminder that our joint meeting

[02:15:17] with the city council is tomorrow at 5 30 p.m here in that tiny conference room and we have stem night at round at april 7th at 6 p.m and there's an early release on april 8th so in conclusion i hope these remarks have accomplished my dual objectives of creating celebration and providing information i additionally wish everyone a safe and happy spring break and a triumphant easter to all who celebrate thank you miss presha miss seabird thank you chair congratulations to all being honored this evening. We're proud to celebrate your achievements. Last week, many of us had the opportunity to tour the new Jenny Dean Elementary School under construction. I do

[02:15:55] appreciate Mr. Gofeller's monthly reports, but there's nothing like seeing it in person. It was exciting to see the progress that's been made and the thoughtful design of the new building. Thank you to Chair Spall for coordinating our implicit bias training last week. This was an important opportunity for reflection and growth as we continue to strengthen our work as a board.

[02:16:16] Last week, I also attended the VSBA Hot Topics Conference, where I learned about Virginia Departments of Education's Generative AI Advisory Committee recommendations. Key takeaways included the importance of building AI literacy for our students and strengthening schools' cybersecurity.

[02:16:33] Effective cybersecurity efforts center on people, processes, and technology. Today, I had the pleasure of participating in Read Across America with fourth graders at Hayden Elementary. It was the highlight of my day. It was a joy to spend time reading with students and celebrating literacy.

[02:16:52] I also want to recognize Katie Bookwalter and Amanda Klein from Hayden Elementary for their work on an upcoming celebration of innovation on April 23rd. We're all invited. I'll send you guys the flyer. They earned a grant from the Education Foundation to do digital printing.

[02:17:11] So I believe that third and fourth graders are going to be printing out projects. And so we'll get to see that on display at the innovation celebration. Let's see, Ms. Bregia already reminded us all of the joint meeting tomorrow at 5.30, where we're going to present our budget for 26-27.

[02:17:28] And looking ahead to Thursday, I'm excited to visit the Shia Day Innovation Center in Winchester, along with Chair Spall and Ms. Eason. I'm hopeful this visit will spark new ideas and help further inform our vision for expanding CTE programming in Manassas City Public Schools.

[02:17:46] Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Seabourg. Ms. Brown. Thank you, Chair. I want to begin my comments by thanking Manassas City Council Members Thomas Siena and Sonia Vasquez Luna for attending tonight's meeting. Also thank you to Manassas Park Council Member Jesse Amaya for being here tonight.

[02:18:03] Congratulations to the winners of the Spelling Bee and all the students who participate in the School Skills USA and all the Impact Award recipients. You do make a difference. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you to all those who attended the Pancake Dinner hosted by the Education Foundation.

[02:18:19] It was such a success that we are already planning for next year If you want to get involved with the foundation or would you like to know more about us? Please visit us at mcps.edfoundation.org mcpsedfoundation.org Tonight we return the grading scale to where it belongs in the hands of the superintendent and educators This is a win for students and teachers and a clear sign that this board will put students first No matter the politics this is a moment to celebrate as a collective board in that same vein our budget process has been very long and involved

[02:18:57] This was my first time fully participating in this process. So thank you very much for answering all of my questions I am very proud of the efforts made by the cabinet the superintendent and the board to focus on employee Compensation health insurance and support first and support staff pay raises. So thank you everyone And finally, I just want to wish everybody a safe and restful spring break. I know I'm looking forward to my break. Thank you Thank you, Miss Brown Miss miles, I want to first congratulate all our spelling bee winners our Osborne high school skills

[02:19:36] USA participants and I noticed that one gentleman that was in that line. So congratulations to you working with all those women those young ladies excuse me And our Impact Award recipients, we appreciate you, as do your colleagues, and just keep working hard for us.

[02:19:54] I also want to congratulate Osborne for being once again a Blue Ribbon School for the arts, so I think that's such a great honor. I also was recently able to take a tour of the new Jenny Dean. It was a rainy day, and we were walking in puddles of water, but it didn't stop us from going to the top floor and seeing the layout coming together.

[02:20:14] So that was just really great to be able to see it and kind of put a vision on it, seeing the bricks and the walls and the roof. So I'm looking forward to that, seeing the finished product. It also was a great opportunity last Wednesday for Ms. Stevens and I to be on Zoom with students at Osborne who are interested in becoming student representatives.

[02:20:36] And I'm happy to report we have five applications so far, but we're trying to extend the application deadline. So if you're interested in that, get your application completed. Make sure all the things that you need to be done there is completed.

[02:20:54] And I also, I just got an update that my son's SOLs are coming in May. And that means all of you all have SOLs coming soon too. So I want to encourage you. I know we're going to relax for spring break, but that doesn't mean we stop coming to school.

[02:21:10] Make sure you're coming to school. you're on time because these last this last month means so much because your teachers are pushing through trying to get all that information inside of you so that way you're ready to perform well in those SOLs so I just encourage families make sure our students are getting good night rest but I want to wish everyone a wonderful and relaxing spring break I know I'm going to be relaxing on a beach somewhere so I'm excited about that but for all those who celebrate Easter and Good Friday. Happy Easter to you. Thank you. Thank you, Miss

[02:21:46] Miles. Dr. Jones. Well, congratulations once again to all the Manasseh City Spelling Bee winners, to the Osmond High School Skills USA participants, and to the Impact Award recipients. Special thanks to all that attended the meeting tonight, and I encourage all of you to spread the good news of Manasseh City Public Schools. The academic committee did meet on March 11th, and you actually heard the report from the math textbook adoption and resources earlier tonight I attended the Virginia School Board Association hot topic conference last week and the topic was AI so it was good there was some great discussion on cyber security

[02:22:24] how AI fits into the educational technology plans acceptable use policies the inclusion of AI into the computer science standards of learning AI governance and AI toxics so those are some great things that we all need to be talking about in our school system also we are nearing the end of women histories month so i encourage you all to take advantage of the historical sites and the dmv that honor women i recently received an invitation to tour the turning point suffrage memorial in lorton i had not heard of it but we'll be going there in may but the turning point suffrage is located at

[02:23:00] occoquan regional park and this memorial honors the millions of women who fought for the right to vote the memorial commemorates the two million women from every state creed race and nationality who fought for 72 years to win ratification of the 19th amendment to the constitution so women continue to be pioneers in this community as in many communities so i encourage each of you to thank a special woman in your life in your community before the end of the month i also suggest that you tour the jenny dean statue and also take a look at the new school that is being

[02:23:39] built um jenny dean is special to me because that was my first teaching assignment when i came to manassas city and it was a middle school at the time and i also returned to be assistant principal and principal there i also encourage all of you to enjoy your spring break from march 30th to april 3rd i encourage you to come back to enjoy yourself whether you're at home or traveling and come back can be energized and ready for the remaining of the school year thank you thank you dr. Jones for me I want to acknowledge and thank you for the

[02:24:13] reminder but miss Vasquez Luna miss Amaya and mr. Ossina who's left I do apologize you guys kind of came in in the middle but I should have acknowledged you impact awards skills the growing programs spelling bee you know I'm just I'm just bursting with pride for all that we do for our students and you know the ways that they can grow and learn to see spelling bees coming back and the lower grade like drama programs being more full-bodied like they used to be way way back in the day is just a really neat thing I have a prepared statement

[02:24:51] though so as we come to the close of tonight's meeting I do want to take a moment to recognize the incredible work happening every day across Manassas city public schools this year this time of year is always a good opportunity to pause and reflect we've seen meaningful progress in our classrooms students growing teachers innovating and families continuing to support the work in powerful ways to our educators and staff thank you your commitment especially at the this point in the school year does not go unnoticed you continue to show up for our students with energy care and professionalism to our students

[02:25:27] you've worked hard you've earned this break and we hope you take time to rest recharge and enjoy time with family and friends and to our families and community thank you for the partnership you bring to our schools each and every day it truly makes a difference spring break is a chance for all of us to reset and when we return we'll be heading into an important stretch of the school year I know our students and staff will continue to rise to the occasion we're proud of the progress we're making and we remain committed to doing the work necessary to support every student and reaching their full potential I also do want to recognize this board during Women's History Month, a time to reflect on contributions of women who have shaped our history, including the many educators,

[02:26:07] leaders, and role models we are fortunate to have in our very own community. Thank you all for your partnership and support, and have a safe and restful break. With that, do I have a motion to move into closed session? - Chair, I make a motion that the school board of the city of Manassas enter a closed session pursuant to exception from open meeting allowed by section 2.2-3711 part A, paragraph one of the Code of Virginia in 1950 is amended for the following purpose, discussion of personnel matter.

[02:26:39] - Second, can I do it? - Oh, PER S2526-0405, apologies.

[02:26:58] - Thank you. Ms. Brown made a motion seconded by Ms. Miles at the School Board of the City of Manassas in our closed session pursuant to exemptions open meetings allowed by section 2.2 - 3 7 1 1 part a paragraph 1 of the Code of Virginia in 1950 as amended for the following purpose discussion of personnel matter PERS 25 26 - 0405 is there any discussion all in favor aye

[02:27:24] okay the motion passes a 6-0 thank you everyone I have a motion by Seberg seconded by Miss Brown that we return to open session yes all in favor aye any

[02:27:54] discussion 6-0 okay can we get a certification for closed meeting anyone certification for a closed meeting anyone you want me to do it I make a motion that the school board certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by

[02:28:31] Virginia law were discussed and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard discussed or considered. Second. I have a motion by Ms. Miles seconded by Ms. Seberg that the school board certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed and only such business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard discussed or considered is there any discussion all in favor aye the motion passes 6-0

[02:29:07] madam chair I move that the school board meeting adjourn I have a motion by Miss Seaberg seconded by Miss Brown that the school board meeting adjourn is there any discussion all in favor any opposed the motion carries 6-0 thank you everyone

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