1
00:11:35,519 --> 00:11:42,959
City County School Board. May I have a
member certify close session?

2
00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:45,920
» Madame Chair, I certify that to the best
of each member's knowledge, the

3
00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:49,600
Williamsburg James City County School
Board, while in closed session,

4
00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:53,760
discussed only public matters business.
business matters lawfully exempt from

5
00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:58,800
open meeting requirements as stated in
Virginia law and that only such public

6
00:11:56,079 --> 00:12:03,120
matters as were identified in the motion
convening the closed meeting were heard

7
00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:05,839
discussed or considered.
>> Thank you Mrs. Hunley. May I have a

8
00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:10,000
second
>> second?

9
00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:11,360
» Thank you Mr. Hosang. Miss
>> Mrs. Hunley

10
00:12:10,959 --> 00:12:13,680
» I.
>> Mr. Riffle

11
00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:14,880
» I
>> Dr. Fasos.

12
00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:16,079
» Hi.
>> Miss Chen.

13
00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:17,279
» Hi.
>> Mr. Hodgees.

14
00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:18,639
» Hi.
>> Mr. Hosang.

15
00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:24,000
» Hi.
>> Mrs. Honor

16
00:12:19,519 --> 00:12:28,240
» I we will move on to item 3.03 approval
of the agenda. May I have a motion?

17
00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,720
» Madam Chair, I move to approve the
agenda as presented.

18
00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,079
» Thank you, Mrs. Chen. May I have a
second?

19
00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:36,639
» Second.
>> Thank you, Mrs. Hunley. Miss,

20
00:12:35,839 --> 00:12:38,160
» Miss Chen,
>> I

21
00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,519
» Mr. Hodgees,
>> I

22
00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:40,880
» Mr. Hosing,
>> I

23
00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,079
» Mrs. Hunley,
>> I

24
00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,600
» Mr. Ripple,
>> I

25
00:12:42,399 --> 00:12:47,279
» Dr. Kassos, hi
>> Mrs. Donner,

26
00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:53,639
» I. We will now move on to our pledge of
allegiance and minute of silence. Uh

27
00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:53,639
please stand if you are able.

28
00:12:55,600 --> 00:13:06,519
» I pledge algiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the

29
00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:06,519
republic for it stands nationy

30
00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:13,160
for all. Please remain standing for a
moment of silence.

31
00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:19,959
Thank you.

32
00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:29,680
We will move now to item 4.01,
uh, announcements and the superintendent

33
00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:34,399
report. Dr. Kever.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the

34
00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:37,600
board, community members. Pleased to
share a couple of items with you this

35
00:13:35,839 --> 00:13:42,959
evening. First thing I wanted to talk
about was reading with a hero. uh the

36
00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:49,920
reading with a hero program. WJCC
participated with the NAACP, the WJCA,

37
00:13:47,279 --> 00:13:54,240
Divine 9, and Barnes & Noble uh to be a
part of this community literacy event on

38
00:13:52,079 --> 00:13:59,600
Saturday. Elementary age students were
invited for story time with local heroes

39
00:13:57,199 --> 00:14:03,839
and left with a new free book. Uh as
I've said repeatedly, literacy is a

40
00:14:01,839 --> 00:14:09,519
communitywide conversation and we're
excited to build and extend programming

41
00:14:05,839 --> 00:14:14,800
like this across the city and county.
wanted to extend the challenge for all

42
00:14:11,839 --> 00:14:18,800
of our community folks to join our PTAs.
Our parent teacher association or at the

43
00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:24,399
secondary and high school level parent
teacher student association uh is and

44
00:14:21,519 --> 00:14:29,760
meets on a monthly basis as a council
PTAC uh and that group is composed of

45
00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:34,000
leaders from each of our building PTAs.
Uh we meet regularly to talk about

46
00:14:31,519 --> 00:14:38,480
division and PTA goals and initiatives.
New this year, we are dedicating time

47
00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:42,160
and space to extend collaboration
between PTA officers and their

48
00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:46,000
principles. Our first conversation was
earlier this month, and we're looking

49
00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:50,160
forward to our continued partnership. As
I mentioned in our last meeting, and

50
00:14:47,519 --> 00:14:55,199
we'll mention again, I hope that I can
challenge members of our community to

51
00:14:52,079 --> 00:15:00,240
join one or more PTAs.
Information on the joining process is

52
00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:04,639
available on our website. There are a
few tables that remain for our evening

53
00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:08,800
on the lawn celebration. We act, we
suggest you act now to reserve yours. It

54
00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:12,560
helps support the WJCC schools
foundation. Proceeds directly benefit

55
00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:16,240
our students and teachers most
significantly through innovative

56
00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:20,959
learning grants. That event is scheduled
to take place on October the 1st. And

57
00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:25,760
finally, I just wanted to mention
briefly that the fall sports season is

58
00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:29,440
certainly out and in swing. I had a
chance on Friday evening to spend time

59
00:15:27,279 --> 00:15:33,920
at the Warhill Jamestown football game
and last night took in a volleyball

60
00:15:30,959 --> 00:15:37,920
match between Lafayette and Jamestown. I
I did want to note that recently we

61
00:15:36,079 --> 00:15:42,720
shared communication with our high
school families regarding uh the need

62
00:15:40,399 --> 00:15:47,040
for our students to celebrate their
school and celebrate their teams in a

63
00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:51,360
positive manner. I've been made aware of
some issues where uh students visit

64
00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:56,560
other campuses uh perhaps under the
opaces of supporting their school uh but

65
00:15:53,759 --> 00:16:00,000
but leave behind remnants of their visit
uh that's could be considered vandalism

66
00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:03,199
could be considered trespassing and I
want to encourage our young people to

67
00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:06,079
make strong decisions. So encourage
families to take a look at that

68
00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:10,000
communication and certainly want to
support our students and student

69
00:16:07,759 --> 00:16:15,120
athletes. U Madam Chair that concludes
my report this evening.

70
00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:18,399
» Thank you so much Dr. Kever. Miss Chen.
Well, um, Dr. Cer,

71
00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:24,639
» sorry, Miss Chin, I apologize.
>> That's okay. Um, but since we both sit,

72
00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:29,440
um, on the WJCC Schools Foundation, um,
I promised them that on behalf of our

73
00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:32,560
WJCC Schools Foundation, I wanted to
make sure that you all know about the

74
00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:37,199
upcoming evening on the lawn event
October 1st. Um, it will be at the

75
00:16:35,199 --> 00:16:41,199
William Mary School of Business. The
event brings together community members,

76
00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:46,480
leaders, educators, business partners,
parents, friends of WJCC to support our

77
00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:50,720
students and teachers. So, our board
along with Dr. Kever have already

78
00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:55,600
reserved a table. We will be there in
attendance and we hope to see our city

79
00:16:53,199 --> 00:17:01,360
and county leaders there supporting with
their presence as well. Um, and any of

80
00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:06,079
you here or anybody listening, um, if
you can't make the event, uh, there are

81
00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:09,839
lots of ways to support our WJCC Schools
Foundation. I think we can all get

82
00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:15,839
behind being very generous to support
our teachers. The, um, the foundation,

83
00:17:13,120 --> 00:17:20,400
um, gives out innovative grants as well
as supporting the the supply uh, shop so

84
00:17:18,959 --> 00:17:26,480
that teachers don't have to spend their
own money on supplies. Um, and they also

85
00:17:23,439 --> 00:17:30,559
have lots of fun um, spirit events where
they partner with local restaurants. So,

86
00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:36,720
you can look out for those. I get those
flyers and peach jar as a parent of a

87
00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:42,880
WJCC student. So, I just want to highly
encourage participation in that. Um, my

88
00:17:39,919 --> 00:17:48,240
second quick announcement is um, as a
member on our special education advisory

89
00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:53,600
committee, just wanted to say a quick
welcome. will be um officially voting on

90
00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:57,520
our new members. But um just wanted to
say that those meetings are monthly and

91
00:17:55,520 --> 00:18:03,840
they are not just um open for our
members but also um for any students,

92
00:18:00,799 --> 00:18:08,799
families, teachers, anybody who is
interested in learning about special

93
00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:13,120
education advocacy and um touching base
with our central office leaders. Um as

94
00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:17,200
well as there's always a school board
member there. So um if that is something

95
00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:22,840
you're interested in, you can contact
Dr. Bowmaster. You can join us via Zoom

96
00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:22,840
or in person.

97
00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:29,760
» Thank you so much. Are there any other
members that have a report from any of

98
00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:33,600
their committees?
>> I know those are just getting started.

99
00:18:31,679 --> 00:18:38,080
So looking forward to those as the year
progresses. Uh we will meet move into

100
00:18:35,919 --> 00:18:45,880
our next set of items. Um our
information discussion uh 5.01

101
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:45,880
our presentation for WHRO.

102
00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:55,840
Madame Chair, Dr. Kever, members of the
board, thank you for allowing me to

103
00:18:54,080 --> 00:19:00,960
speak with you tonight. Uh, my name is
Bert Schmidt. I'm the president and CEO

104
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:05,919
of WHRO. With me is Elmer Seward, my
vice president of education. So, if you

105
00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:10,480
got the hard questions, he's here to
help me out. Um, before we get into the

106
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:16,160
report, I do want to thank Mr. Riffle.
Mr. Riffle is the current chair of the

107
00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:20,320
21 school division group that we call
Heretta, the Hampton Roads Educational

108
00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:23,840
Telecommunications Association. So
Randy, thank you for for all your

109
00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:29,520
efforts. Uh and little do you know what
you're about to get into. Thank you. Um

110
00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:32,240
I come to you tonight if you don't know
because you're one of the 21 school

111
00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:37,760
divisions that literally own the
broadcast license to WHRO. We are the

112
00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:42,320
only media company in the entire country
owned by collaboration of K12 school

113
00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:46,160
divisions. We work with all the school
divisions with superintendent,

114
00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:51,280
schoolboard members, and many of the
cabinet level folks to do things once

115
00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:56,799
for teachers and students rather than 21
times. We save taxpayers money and at

116
00:19:53,919 --> 00:20:01,280
the same time improve the services for
children regardless of zip code is the

117
00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:07,679
model from day one when we were founded
in 1961 as home room one which is what

118
00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:11,520
WHRO stands for home room one so it's
core to to who we are each year we

119
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:15,919
provide you an impact statement you
should have one of these with you um I

120
00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:20,559
am not going to go through the whole
thing but uh in preparation for this

121
00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:23,520
meeting we have created a video that
does summarize

122
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:29,039
this customized report that is
customized to the division. But with

123
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:34,000
that, I'll ask that they play the video.
>> WHO stands out as the nation's sole

124
00:20:31,919 --> 00:20:39,200
public media station owned by a
collaboration of 21 school divisions.

125
00:20:37,039 --> 00:20:44,240
This distinctive ownership model places
education at the heart of our mission,

126
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:49,039
influencing every aspect of our work.
Our team of educators is committed to

127
00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:54,159
offering students, teachers, and
families innovative, free, highquality

128
00:20:51,760 --> 00:21:00,400
programs and services.
One key service that WHRO offers is E

129
00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:06,240
Media VA, Virginia's leading digital
content repository. With nearly 100,000

130
00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:12,240
free top quality instructional
resources, E Media VA provides educators

131
00:21:09,679 --> 00:21:18,559
and students with videos, interactive
tools, games, lesson plans, images, and

132
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:23,919
more. This platform is designed to
enhance personalized learning and make

133
00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:29,200
classroom experiences more engaging. For
our youngest learners, WHRO offers

134
00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:34,559
exciting educational activities to spark
their imagination. Our Education vans

135
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:39,600
visit elementary schools with programs
tailored to Virginia's standards of

136
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:44,799
learning covering literacy, numeracy,
scientific investigation, and

137
00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:48,880
technology. We also support parents and
caregivers, ensuring children are

138
00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:55,039
prepared for kindergarten and set up for
success in their early school years. For

139
00:21:51,520 --> 00:22:01,760
secondary educators, WHRO provides a
catalog of 30 awardwinning customizable

140
00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:05,760
online courses and digital resources.
These mediarich

141
00:22:03,679 --> 00:22:10,320
aligned courses are designed to
integrate seamlessly with various

142
00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:15,440
learning management systems. They offer
flexibility for face-to-face, flipped,

143
00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:20,480
blended, and fully online teaching
environments, enriching lessons with

144
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:25,120
engaging content.
At WHO, we celebrate students

145
00:22:23,039 --> 00:22:30,000
achievements through competitions that
showcase their talents. The Great

146
00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:34,880
Computer Challenge, for example, gather
school teams from across the region at

147
00:22:32,159 --> 00:22:39,760
Old Dominion University to tackle real
world technology problems.

148
00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:45,360
Another highlight is the Town Bank
Regional Spelling Bee, where middle

149
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:49,760
school champions compete at WHRO Studio
for a chance to advance to the scripts

150
00:22:47,679 --> 00:22:55,039
National Spelling Bee. The local
competition is recorded and aired on

151
00:22:51,919 --> 00:22:59,280
WHRO each April.
Elementary students also have an

152
00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:04,559
opportunity to shine through our PBS
Kids Writers Contest. This competition

153
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:09,200
invites young writers to craft and
illustrate their original stories,

154
00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:13,600
fostering creativity and critical
thinking.

155
00:23:11,039 --> 00:23:17,919
Our student advisory board reflects our
commitment to student engagement. This

156
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:23,026
group of high school students offers
feedback on WHRO's content and has

157
00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:28,720
opportunities to create their own
[music] influencing our online courses

158
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:32,480
and e media VA resources.
We're equally devoted to supporting

159
00:23:30,559 --> 00:23:37,600
educators through our professional
development programs. Our workshops and

160
00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:42,240
training sessions provide teachers with
cuttingedge strategies and tools,

161
00:23:39,919 --> 00:23:47,919
empowering them to inspire and guide
their students effectively.

162
00:23:44,559 --> 00:23:52,799
Visit WHO's education web page to learn
more about how these amazing free

163
00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:58,559
materials, programs, and resources can
benefit you. At WHRO Public Media, we're

164
00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:03,039
proud to partner with our local school
divisions and the Virginia Department of

165
00:24:00,799 --> 00:24:08,720
Education to shape the future of
education, one student at a time.

166
00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:13,440
» Again, the impact statement we provide
you is customized to the division. So it

167
00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:17,360
has usage and the only thing it doesn't
has usage wise are the courses because

168
00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:21,120
we build the courses and then give them
to you and then they're in your learning

169
00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:25,600
management system. So your folks would
have to give you that together. Um as

170
00:24:23,279 --> 00:24:29,600
schoolboard members Oh before that uh
hopefully you know that we have an

171
00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:32,799
office here in town on Richmond Road. If
you ever need office space that's not a

172
00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:35,919
school building for some reason you need
to get out of a school building just

173
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:41,039
give us a call. You're more than welcome
to use that space um being that we have

174
00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:45,039
this office here in town. Um, as
schoolboard members, you care about the

175
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:51,039
money, the finances. On page 13 of the
report, it summarizes uh the financial

176
00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:56,799
relationship. You invest in WHRO last
school year about $3 per student and

177
00:24:54,480 --> 00:25:02,480
received savings of value of over a
million half dollars. It's a 37 to1

178
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:06,960
return on your investment.
And with that, I'm happy to take any

179
00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:10,320
questions.
>> Thank you so much, Mr. Schmidt and uh

180
00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:13,600
Mr.
Uh Randy, do you have anything as the

181
00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:17,840
chair? And
>> of course, I could say a lot. At first,

182
00:25:15,679 --> 00:25:21,840
if you haven't visited WRO's like
location, I think it's just a great

183
00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:24,880
place to see like a community of 21
school divisions hanging out and

184
00:25:23,279 --> 00:25:27,679
building public media like PBS and all
those type of things that come to your

185
00:25:25,919 --> 00:25:30,240
TV. It was a really cool experience to
see that and I think it's there are

186
00:25:29,039 --> 00:25:33,840
opportunities for the public to see
sometimes. I I don't know, maybe I'm

187
00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:37,840
speaking for you all. Okay, great. They
can come visit. Um it's pretty sweet. U

188
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:41,840
I just want to say thank you to both of
you all for being here and especially to

189
00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:45,840
you u for for your your work and and
efforts. I know you are retiring after

190
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:50,320
this year. So I just wanted to thank you
for your your hard work as a um you the

191
00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:54,159
president and the person has led this
organization but people like Elmer and I

192
00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:56,960
wouldn't be able to do it without all of
us together. So thank you.

193
00:25:55,279 --> 00:26:01,120
» It has been an honor and my pleasure to
work with the division for 20 years now

194
00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:05,039
and so I really appreciate the
relationship. I mean, when I got in town

195
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:08,480
20 years ago, I tried to have people in
Williamsburg come to Norfol to be

196
00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:11,919
interviewed and nobody would. So, we
opened up that office about 17 years

197
00:26:10,559 --> 00:26:15,600
ago, and it's worked out great for us.
We do a lot of broadcasting out of there

198
00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:19,520
and have lots of meetings as well. So,
it's been a great pleasure to work with

199
00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:22,720
so many people over the last 20 years
from the division. So, thanks to all of

200
00:26:21,679 --> 00:26:26,840
you.
>> Thank you so much.

201
00:26:23,679 --> 00:26:26,840
» Take care.

202
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:43,000
» We will go to our our next agenda item
which is uh 6.01

203
00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:43,000
spotlight on our kindergarten

204
00:26:43,279 --> 00:26:48,400
» kindergarten orientation model.
>> Yes, ma'am. Madam Chair, it's we have a

205
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:52,720
video that we'd like to share. It's my
pleasure to indicate that our

206
00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:56,640
kindergarten orientation model expanded
from three schools to six schools this

207
00:26:54,480 --> 00:27:00,880
year. We believe it's helping students
start school with confidence. As the

208
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:04,320
school year continues, families and
staff will be asked to share their

209
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:09,120
experiences and feedback through a
survey that will give us some indication

210
00:27:06,799 --> 00:27:12,799
of how we can continue to improve that
model. Let's hear from families and

211
00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:16,559
staff about how that model supports
developing relationships and helps

212
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:19,440
teachers get to know each child in their
classroom.

213
00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:24,000
» It's an important transition. I mean,
it's a milestone. I look back to my own

214
00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:28,000
children um and that [music] transition
to kindergarten. It's a time when kids

215
00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:30,400
become more independent. Um, and they
also get welcomed to be part of a

216
00:27:29,279 --> 00:27:34,559
community. And so it's [music] really
exciting for us as a school system to

217
00:27:31,919 --> 00:27:37,279
welcome kids and their families in so
they have a really positive experience

218
00:27:35,919 --> 00:27:42,400
with our school system and our school
community. We work together to create a

219
00:27:39,919 --> 00:27:46,480
community for the children. And so this
model allows us to really do [music]

220
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:50,080
that from the first day of school so
that moving forward they they're well

221
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:55,679
taken care of.
>> When I first learned about it, I was

222
00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:58,240
confused a little bit because I didn't
understand. and I had three other kids

223
00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:02,320
that go through kindergarten the
oldfashioned way. So when I was

224
00:28:00,799 --> 00:28:05,600
introduced to that one, I was just
confused on how it's going to work, like

225
00:28:04,679 --> 00:28:09,840
[music] how you really going to know
these kids after these days. We collect

226
00:28:07,919 --> 00:28:13,849
all of the kindergarteners together and
it is an all hands-on deck approach. So,

227
00:28:12,159 --> 00:28:17,679
in addition to the classroom teachers,
[music] there's the teacher assistants

228
00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:23,120
and the um school counselors, our um
even our speech and language

229
00:28:19,279 --> 00:28:27,120
pathologists, um OT, PT. Um every person
that does not have a classroom at the

230
00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:31,679
start of the year is supporting
kindergarten. We were able to assess

231
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:35,600
their letter sound knowledge, alphabet
knowledge, um some number sense, [music]

232
00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:39,520
some beginning number sense knowledge,
and also we got to gauge their maturity

233
00:28:37,919 --> 00:28:43,979
levels and how they interacted [music]
with each other. It was a wonderful

234
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:47,360
experience because we were each as
[music] teachers able to get to know

235
00:28:45,679 --> 00:28:52,159
every single student that came to our
kindergarten. So during the school year,

236
00:28:50,159 --> 00:28:56,399
we still have those connections and
those relationships. So even though a

237
00:28:54,159 --> 00:28:59,360
student may not be in my class for the
year, [music]

238
00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:03,760
we still have a relationship. I'm still
able to check in on them. They know that

239
00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:07,200
they have an additional safe person in
the building to trust and to communicate

240
00:29:06,559 --> 00:29:10,480
with.
>> Um, she enjoyed it actually. She got a

241
00:29:09,279 --> 00:29:14,640
chance to meet all the teachers. Made
her feel comfortable because she got to

242
00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:18,399
see all the teachers beforehand and
really get to know them before coming in

243
00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:22,960
because you know they're five, some
four, some six and when they come in

244
00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:25,200
they see all these faces already. So I
think it gives them a sense of

245
00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:29,279
comfortability. [music]
We were able to really make um balanced

246
00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:33,360
classes last year which helped
academically, it helped behaviorally, it

247
00:29:31,039 --> 00:29:38,240
helped socially, which is so important.
But we also got to know our students and

248
00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:42,159
I think forged even stronger
relationships with the families. Being

249
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:46,480
that they're coming to kindergarten, I
think it's very scary for them. It's a

250
00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:50,320
new adjustment and I think doing that
doing it that way help them be

251
00:29:47,919 --> 00:29:52,960
confident, help them grow, too. Because
when you're confident, you grow. You're

252
00:29:51,679 --> 00:29:56,559
willing to learn. You want to come to
school. So, it's it's a big stepping

253
00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:59,440
stone for them coming from preschool.
>> Once the students did join our

254
00:29:58,159 --> 00:30:04,159
classrooms, because they were so
familiar with the environment, it's like

255
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:07,600
almost like a second nature to them now.
Yes, we're still learning routines and

256
00:30:05,679 --> 00:30:11,679
procedures, but they're just so much
more comfortable in the class. We're

257
00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:18,240
able to get to know the whole child.
We're able to use observations and use

258
00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:22,799
data to inform our classroom placements.
And [music] that's really exciting and

259
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:28,399
really special. I think families will
truly benefit from this experience. We

260
00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:34,039
had so much positive feedback come from
families [music] about how this

261
00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:34,039
benefited their child.

262
00:30:34,559 --> 00:30:41,039
» Madam Chair, I would like to note that
the [clears throat] VSBA has um also

263
00:30:39,679 --> 00:30:44,320
given us an opportunity to talk about
our kindergarten orientation model at

264
00:30:42,799 --> 00:30:47,520
their annual convention. And so we look
forward to sharing that with other

265
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:51,919
school divisions and we'll come back to
the school board uh in and likely

266
00:30:49,919 --> 00:30:55,440
January to talk more about what does
2728 look like.

267
00:30:53,840 --> 00:31:00,559
» Thank you Dr. Kever. It's wonderful to
see that expanded from the pilot schools

268
00:30:58,399 --> 00:31:04,320
last year and what we learned from them
uh to our next three elementary schools

269
00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:07,919
and I look forward to being able to have
that across the division and love and

270
00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:11,520
love that we're getting to share our
innovation here uh with the other school

271
00:31:09,919 --> 00:31:16,799
division. So, thank you and thank you to
all of those uh all those kindergarten

272
00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:22,399
teachers who were willing to try
something new and uh made this pilot a

273
00:31:20,399 --> 00:31:24,080
success these these first two years.
Thank you.

274
00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:30,480
» Thank you.
>> Uh we'll move on to our next agenda item

275
00:31:27,279 --> 00:31:33,440
7.01 citizens comments. Mr. Riffle,
>> thank you madam chair. Is at this point

276
00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:36,399
in our meeting where citizens are
invited to address the board. Those

277
00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:39,600
citizens desiring to speak have
submitted speaker cards to the clerk

278
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:43,360
prior to the start of this meeting.
These speakers are asked to come to the

279
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,919
podium when their name are called, state
their names for the record, and direct

280
00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:49,360
their comments directly to the chair of
the board. It is the board's interest

281
00:31:47,679 --> 00:31:53,120
and desire that all comments are heard
and respected. Hence, the citizens are

282
00:31:51,679 --> 00:31:56,000
asked not to engage in applauding,
verbal outbursts, or any audible

283
00:31:54,559 --> 00:31:59,440
demonstrations during speaker
presentations. Personnel matters are not

284
00:31:58,159 --> 00:32:02,080
considered in public meetings.
Therefore, the board request that all

285
00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:06,559
speakers refrain from making reference
to specific individuals in any form or

286
00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:09,600
fashion. Though the board does not
respond to your comments, your comments

287
00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:13,039
are heard and appreciated. Each speaker
is allocated two minutes to make their

288
00:32:11,039 --> 00:32:16,399
presentation. Board ask they respect
this time liotation. Also, please be

289
00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:20,000
reminded that no time may be yielded to
another speaker. Your acceptance and

290
00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:23,919
adherence to these guidelines will be
greatly appreciated. Thank you, Madam

291
00:32:21,919 --> 00:32:28,640
Chair, and my directions are concluded.
>> Thank you so much, Mr. Riffle.

292
00:32:25,919 --> 00:32:33,720
» The first speaker is Jamila Walker. The
next speaker is Hope Donnelly. Please be

293
00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:33,720
ready after them.

294
00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:45,279
Um, good evening, Madame Chair Donner,
members of the school board, and Dr.

295
00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:50,000
Kever. I'd like to briefly address the
request to do away with diversity. Every

296
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:54,559
child deserves to be celebrated,
including those with differences. We

297
00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:59,120
celebrate gifted children, students with
disabilities, military children, and

298
00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:02,720
others for who they are. So, I have to
ask, is it really our plan to disregard

299
00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:08,159
these children because of their
differences? And I have one final ask on

300
00:33:05,679 --> 00:33:11,679
this topic. Please stop using famous
black people and people of color as a

301
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:17,200
measure for what you want us to act
like. Our children are individuals and

302
00:33:14,159 --> 00:33:21,279
they deserve to be valued as such. Now,
the reason I'm here tonight is to talk

303
00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:25,039
about our students with disabilities.
Right now, our students with

304
00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:30,640
disabilities have so pass rates below
50%. Some may believe that is simply

305
00:33:28,559 --> 00:33:35,120
what we should expect, but that couldn't
be further from the truth. Students with

306
00:33:33,039 --> 00:33:38,960
disabilities are capable of learning and
doing the work, but because of their

307
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:43,120
learning differences, they require
specially designed instruction to

308
00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:47,760
succeed. I appreciate the district's
professional development efforts and the

309
00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:52,080
hiring of an SDI coach, but we do need
to take it further. Give General

310
00:33:49,919 --> 00:33:57,120
education and special education teachers
protected time to collaborate and plan

311
00:33:54,399 --> 00:34:01,760
together. Ensure we have trained support
for assist of technology. Provide

312
00:33:59,679 --> 00:34:05,919
ongoing professional development for
everyone working with students with

313
00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:10,720
disabilities. And most importantly,
change the perception of disability.

314
00:34:08,399 --> 00:34:14,720
They are capable. They can learn. They
are worth it. Having a child with a

315
00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:18,960
disability gives you a strength you
never knew you had. As parents, we

316
00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:23,599
believe in our children so deeply that
sometimes people think we're out of our

317
00:34:20,879 --> 00:34:28,320
minds, but we believe in them anyway.
and I'm simply asking you to believe in

318
00:34:25,919 --> 00:34:32,320
them, too. Thank you. Thank you so much,
Mrs. Walker.

319
00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:37,839
» Our next speaker is Hope Donnelly, and
the speaker after that is David Herbst.

320
00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:42,879
Please be ready.
>> Good evening. Um, my name is Hope

321
00:34:39,839 --> 00:34:47,839
Donnelly. I'm a former AP art teacher,
um, mostly for Title One and Renaissance

322
00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:53,040
Schools in Florida. Um, I'm here in
opposition of the current redistricting

323
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:57,520
plan. As a small business owner and a
creative consultant, I have experience

324
00:34:54,960 --> 00:35:00,480
with largecale city planning, mobility
studies, placemaking, historic

325
00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:04,560
preservation, and public art
installation boards for the city of

326
00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:09,359
Tampa. And I'm a mother of two, a first
grader and a sixth grader. Um, and I did

327
00:35:07,359 --> 00:35:14,320
two years of research before moving to
Virginia with my family, including the

328
00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:19,760
neighborhoods and the schools um that we
could move to and chose Kings Point,

329
00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:25,920
which is slated to be moved from Matthew
Whley to Laurel Lane. So, on an

330
00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:30,400
individual level, I am opposed to this
as well as on a district level. During

331
00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:33,280
the last redistricting, um my
understanding is that the Kings Point

332
00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:36,720
neighborhood fought to be zoned for
Matthew Whley. And one of the main

333
00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:40,880
discussions was the number of families
who prefer biking as well as the ease of

334
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:45,280
traveling from Kings Point to Matthew
Whley versus Laurel Lane. And especially

335
00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:52,160
when the Colonial Parkway will be
completed, it makes more sense to cross

336
00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:56,480
199 for a bike path to get to our school
than it does to travel along 199. kids

337
00:35:54,880 --> 00:36:00,400
will and families will no longer have
this mobility option.

338
00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:04,000
During this past year that I've lived
here, I've also participated in the

339
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:08,400
studies, emailed the board uh with
questions and concerns, and reviewed the

340
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:12,560
charts and demographics of schools with
the proposed changes compared to if

341
00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:16,160
there were no changes. I believe that
the negative changes to diversity,

342
00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:20,160
economic dispersement, and
disproportionate number of students with

343
00:36:18,079 --> 00:36:24,160
special services dramatically outweighs
the idea of keeping children together

344
00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:28,960
from K through 12, altering the bus
routes and the forecast number of

345
00:36:25,839 --> 00:36:32,960
students, which can't totally agree with
based on the areas of development that

346
00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:38,160
are possible and the areas that are not
possible. Some may disagree, but without

347
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:41,839
the appropriate studies and additional
information, we are not making an

348
00:36:39,839 --> 00:36:44,880
informed decision at this time.
>> Thank you so much, Mrs. Don.

349
00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:49,599
» You have comments, you may leave them
with the clerk. Our next speaker is

350
00:36:47,359 --> 00:36:54,960
David Herbst. The next person after them
is Brier Anderson. Please come to the

351
00:36:51,599 --> 00:36:58,880
end of the row so you can be ready.
>> Good evening. My name is David Herbst.

352
00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:03,440
I'm a federal technologist and data
architect, a veteran, and a concerned

353
00:37:01,119 --> 00:37:10,320
WJCC parent.
The history maps before you tonight

354
00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:15,599
cannot be recreated with WJCC data. That
is not an opinion. That is a forensic

355
00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:21,920
technical fact. The FOYA contained that
I reviewed 228 files, 16 shape files.

356
00:37:19,599 --> 00:37:27,599
Everyone delivered with zero geographic
features, no data dictionary, no

357
00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:32,720
methodology to create the maps, and the
fields needed to verify the boundary

358
00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:37,920
decisions were deleted three days before
the foyer was provided.

359
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:42,640
That's documented in WJCC's own
timestamped audit logs of the data. Of

360
00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:48,960
the six guiding principles this board
has adopted, not one not one can in can

361
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:54,560
be independently verified from the
WJCC's data records or how the guiding

362
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:59,200
principles were applied or whether they
were even applied at all.

363
00:37:57,440 --> 00:38:02,200
That data was either deleted or
withheld.

364
00:38:02,240 --> 00:38:09,599
You're being asked to accept
recommendation for boundaries the public

365
00:38:06,079 --> 00:38:17,760
cannot audit, verify, or challenge.
That's in violation of Virginia 2.237.04

366
00:38:13,359 --> 00:38:23,359
Virginia Public Records Act 42.1-76.
I submitted eight forensic findings to

367
00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:29,200
the superintendent on August 31st. No
WJCC employee has explained my data

368
00:38:27,119 --> 00:38:34,320
findings, the data deletions, the empty
shape files or identified on the legal

369
00:38:31,599 --> 00:38:39,200
basis of withholding the empty capacity
data. No WJCC employee has identified

370
00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:43,760
which guiding principle that data
supports. And the superintendent has

371
00:38:42,720 --> 00:38:49,280
chosen to proceed with his
recommendation without addressing a

372
00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:54,480
single forensic fact of missing data.
I'm asking this board to halt this

373
00:38:51,839 --> 00:38:58,480
process immediately and investigate my
findings and provide the WJCC public

374
00:38:57,599 --> 00:39:01,119
with answers.
>> Thank you, Mr. H.

375
00:38:59,599 --> 00:39:07,920
» Thank you.
>> Next speaker is is it Brier Anderson?

376
00:39:04,720 --> 00:39:11,280
and then Ryland Guio is after them.
Please come to the end of the row so you

377
00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:15,920
don't have to walk over people. Thank
you.

378
00:39:13,359 --> 00:39:19,839
» Hi, good evening. My name is Brier
Anderson and I live in the Kings Point

379
00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:23,680
neighborhood. I'm a parent at Matthew
Why Elementary School, a former teacher

380
00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:27,760
and have the privilege of serving on the
PTA executive board at Matthew Whley.

381
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:31,520
Tonight, I want to speak not just as a
parent, but as someone who has seen

382
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:36,240
firsthand how a strong school community
is built. For years, Kingspoint families

383
00:39:34,079 --> 00:39:40,400
have provided leadership, volunteers,
and helped fund raise almost $50,000 a

384
00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:45,359
year to support every student at
Matthew. Those efforts make possible

385
00:39:43,119 --> 00:39:49,440
free school supplies, a field trip for
every student, student support programs,

386
00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:53,040
teacher appreciation, and community
events that strengthen our entire

387
00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:57,200
school. Like the title one night I just
came from, not just one neighborhood.

388
00:39:55,599 --> 00:40:01,599
That is why I'm concerned about the
proposed redistricting. Our schools do

389
00:39:59,839 --> 00:40:05,280
not all begin with equal footing. Some
serve higher concentrations of students

390
00:40:03,359 --> 00:40:09,359
with greater needs, while others benefit
from long-established community

391
00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:12,880
partnerships, volunteer networks, and
family engagement that expand

392
00:40:11,119 --> 00:40:16,880
opportunities and support student
success.

393
00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:21,760
Redistricting is an opportunity not only
to balance enrollment, but to strengthen

394
00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:25,200
every school community. As proposed,
these maps would increase the

395
00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:29,680
concentration of economically
disadvantaged students at schools that

396
00:40:27,839 --> 00:40:32,880
already serve higher proportions of
students with greater needs. While

397
00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:36,079
making some of the division's wealthiest
schools even more economically

398
00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:40,240
advantaged, they would reduce
socioeconomic and racial diversity at

399
00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:43,920
schools like Matthew Ay and James River
Elementary by removing neighborhoods

400
00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:48,079
that have long contributed to the
school's community and support systems.

401
00:40:46,079 --> 00:40:52,400
Rather than using redistricting to
narrow existing disparities, these

402
00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:57,440
changes risk reinforcing them by
concentrating both student need and

403
00:40:55,040 --> 00:41:02,880
community resources in ways that leave
schools on increasingly unequal footing.

404
00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:06,960
King's Point is just one example, but it
illustrates the larger principle. Every

405
00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:10,800
boundary decision affects more than
enrollment numbers. It shapes

406
00:41:08,720 --> 00:41:15,680
educational opportunity, community
support, and the conditions that help

407
00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:21,040
students succeed. We are asking the
board and Dr. Kever to ensure a map

408
00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:27,680
advances educational equity.
>> Thank you. Next speaker is Ryan Go.

409
00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:32,200
Sorry if I'm saying it wrong.
Next person after them is Molen Roberts.

410
00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:39,440
» Good evening. My name is Brenn Gio. I'm
a Kings Point resident. I'm also one of

411
00:41:37,119 --> 00:41:43,359
the co-founders of WJCC Redistricting
Advocacy Group. Many of here tonight.

412
00:41:41,680 --> 00:41:46,960
I'm also a mom of a seventh grade
student who receives special education

413
00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:50,880
services. I'm asking the board to
consider a critical question as you

414
00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:54,560
evaluate these redistricting maps. What
will the impact be on students with

415
00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:59,040
disabilities? We already know there are
significant challenges within special

416
00:41:56,160 --> 00:42:02,240
education in WJCC. Families have raised
concerns about specially designed

417
00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:06,640
instruction, transparency, the
district's response to data and

418
00:42:03,839 --> 00:42:10,800
accountability. As well, SDI has not yet
been implemented across all classes.

419
00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:16,400
While JCC currently has the capacity to
pro to provide co-eing in only about 50%

420
00:42:13,599 --> 00:42:20,720
of inclusion classes, the academic data
makes this even more important. The

421
00:42:18,240 --> 00:42:25,920
Virginia Department of Education's 2425
data on WJCC includes a specific metric

422
00:42:23,599 --> 00:42:29,680
examining the gap in proficiency rates
between children with IEPs and all

423
00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:33,599
students against grade level academic
achievement standards. Under that

424
00:42:31,599 --> 00:42:39,200
measure, the divor division performance
reported for children with IEPs was 35%

425
00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:45,280
in fourth grade English reading, 43% in
eighth grade, and 39% in high school. In

426
00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:50,800
math, it was 38% in fourth grade, 47% in
eighth grade, and 24% in high school.

427
00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:55,280
None of the grade levels shown met the
state standard. As a parent of a child

428
00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:58,960
receiving special education services,
these numbers aren't just statistics to

429
00:42:57,040 --> 00:43:03,680
me. They represent children who are
already facing academic gap and who

430
00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:07,760
depend on consistent appropriate
supports to be successful. So, when we

431
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:11,040
redraw boundaries, we need to know what
happens to those supports. Will students

432
00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:15,040
have access to the specialized
instruction in inclusion, co-eing,

433
00:43:13,359 --> 00:43:19,040
staffing, and services identified in
their IEPs? Will some schools experience

434
00:43:17,359 --> 00:43:22,800
a greater concentration of students with
significant needs without the staffing

435
00:43:20,560 --> 00:43:25,839
and resources to support them? And what
happens to students who depend on

436
00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:30,160
consistency and already struggle with
transitions? Before approving any map, I

437
00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:34,079
am asking the board to conduct and
release a school by school equity impact

438
00:43:32,319 --> 00:43:38,000
analysis that includes special
education. It should examine IEP

439
00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:42,240
populations, staffing and service
capacity, inclusion and co-eing, student

440
00:43:40,079 --> 00:43:46,720
outcomes and discipline, and identify
how each proposed map would affect these

441
00:43:44,319 --> 00:43:50,800
factors. Our students with disabilities
cannot be an afterthought in this

442
00:43:48,240 --> 00:43:54,000
process. If equity is truly the goal,
special education needs to be part of

443
00:43:52,319 --> 00:43:56,000
the equity analysis from the beginning.
>> Thank you. [music]

444
00:43:55,750 --> 00:44:02,440
[bell]
>> Next speaker is Meline Roberts and after

445
00:43:58,720 --> 00:44:02,440
them is Jennifer Arie.

446
00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:09,359
So close. It's Melanie.
>> Sorry.

447
00:44:06,240 --> 00:44:14,000
» It's okay. My name is Melanie Roberts. I
have one student who's graduated already

448
00:44:11,359 --> 00:44:19,359
from WJCC and one who is currently
attending. I am here today to speak on

449
00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:23,680
behalf of changing school names that
honor enslavers.

450
00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:28,960
For the last two years, you've heard
everything there is to know about James

451
00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:35,920
Blair and have preferred to focus on his
good attributes and consider his role as

452
00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:42,400
an enslaver as a flaw.
Holding men, women, and children in

453
00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:49,119
bondage, forcing their work, profiting
from it, renting people out as though

454
00:44:45,359 --> 00:44:58,400
they were machinery or cattle is not a
flaw. It was the plan.

455
00:44:53,760 --> 00:45:05,520
That was always James Blair's plan. And
it including hunting down anyone who

456
00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:12,160
defied it. Just look up S. Cooper or
Solomon or any of the other people who

457
00:45:09,200 --> 00:45:20,079
self-liberated that the Blair family
continued to hunt down. Remember,

458
00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:26,640
that was their plan after all, not a
flaw. It was a plan that was rigorously

459
00:45:23,599 --> 00:45:33,520
enforced. And yet, this board continues
to sit up here and all but order

460
00:45:30,160 --> 00:45:39,760
children to walk into a building with
his name on it.

461
00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:45,920
Shame on you.
This community will not rest until every

462
00:45:42,960 --> 00:45:53,760
enslaver's name has been removed from a
public school building. Dignity for

463
00:45:50,240 --> 00:45:57,920
every student begins with the name on
the building.

464
00:45:55,119 --> 00:46:06,520
» Thank you, Mrs. Roberts.
>> Next speaker is Jennifer Arie. After

465
00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:06,520
them is Laura Bil. Please be ready.

466
00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:15,520
Hello, my name is Jennifer Arie and I
have one child at Laurel Lane Elementary

467
00:46:13,200 --> 00:46:21,839
and one at Berkeley Middle School. I
love this community and I served as the

468
00:46:18,480 --> 00:46:25,920
Laurel Lane PTA president for four years
where I observed how an influx of new

469
00:46:23,839 --> 00:46:33,040
families from a more economically
advantaged community transformed the PTA

470
00:46:29,680 --> 00:46:38,560
by enabling us to have a budget from of
about $6,000. I can't even imagine

471
00:46:35,839 --> 00:46:45,680
having $50,000
um to 20,000 about 20,000. With these

472
00:46:43,119 --> 00:46:50,240
extra funds, we were a able to provide
grants for all of the grade levels,

473
00:46:47,599 --> 00:46:54,400
centers, and special education, as well
as providing schoolwide celebrations,

474
00:46:52,319 --> 00:46:59,520
and rewards such as free books for every
student at each book fair.

475
00:46:57,599 --> 00:47:05,280
I would I would love to spend the
remainder of my two minutes going over

476
00:47:02,560 --> 00:47:08,960
how the stat the statistics of how the
new boundaries will decrease our

477
00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:14,079
economic and racial diversity in our
schools, which it will,

478
00:47:11,839 --> 00:47:20,400
but I'm hoping my other fellow community
members will

479
00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:24,400
will cover that. My children who wanted
to come but aren't feeling well today

480
00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:29,599
have asked me to plead with the school
board because despite the redistricting

481
00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:33,920
emphasis on neighborhood schools and
children going to school with their

482
00:47:31,040 --> 00:47:39,359
friends all K through 12 that is not the
case. If you super in impose the school

483
00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:44,720
level maps, you'll find there is a
section of Laurel Lane Elementary School

484
00:47:41,440 --> 00:47:49,760
students who who not only are separated
from their friends in middle from in

485
00:47:47,119 --> 00:47:55,520
middle school and high school, but will
now have to drive past this very school

486
00:47:52,720 --> 00:47:59,520
to get to their new middle school. And
that

487
00:47:57,520 --> 00:48:04,560
if you're in this car line, you know
it's a maddening long car line in a

488
00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:10,119
single lane road. And now we're gonna
have to drive through that to get to

489
00:48:06,800 --> 00:48:10,119
James Blair.

490
00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:16,160
At the request of my
>> Thank you so much, Miss Sarnney. If you

491
00:48:14,800 --> 00:48:18,960
have comments that you want to leave,
you can give them to the clerk or email

492
00:48:17,599 --> 00:48:24,160
them to her.
>> Our next speaker is Laura Blile. And the

493
00:48:21,760 --> 00:48:26,880
next person after that is Joe Bailey.
>> It's Bllye.

494
00:48:25,280 --> 00:48:32,480
» Yeah, it's a little hard to read. Sorry.
>> It's It's okay. I'm sorry. Good evening.

495
00:48:29,520 --> 00:48:37,599
I'm Laura Bllye. My daughter is a junior
at Lafayette and my family lives in the

496
00:48:34,800 --> 00:48:41,760
Poeton district. I'm here tonight
because I'm concerned that the proposed

497
00:48:39,520 --> 00:48:46,640
redistricting maps are not just moving
attendance lines. They risk increasing

498
00:48:44,319 --> 00:48:52,319
the separation that already exists among
our schools. We already have significant

499
00:48:49,599 --> 00:48:57,280
socioeconomic differences among our
three high schools. About 22% of

500
00:48:55,280 --> 00:49:03,760
Jamestown's students are economically
disadvantaged compared with about 30% at

501
00:49:00,079 --> 00:49:09,200
Lafayette and 36% at Warhill. That
disparity already exists. Redistricting

502
00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:13,440
should be an opportunity to reduce it,
not to draw new boundaries that make our

503
00:49:11,359 --> 00:49:17,760
schools even more economically and
demographically separated.

504
00:49:15,760 --> 00:49:21,599
If the result of our redistricting plan
is greater separation among our

505
00:49:19,680 --> 00:49:27,440
students, that should not simply be
accepted as an unfortunate side effect.

506
00:49:24,960 --> 00:49:32,880
It should be a reason to reconsider the
plan. I understand that the division has

507
00:49:30,480 --> 00:49:37,680
to consider capacity, transportation,
geography, and feeder patterns. But if

508
00:49:35,520 --> 00:49:41,119
we can measure all of those things, we
can also measure what a proposed map

509
00:49:39,520 --> 00:49:46,720
does to the demographic and
socioeconomic composition of each

510
00:49:43,359 --> 00:49:51,520
school. And we should because when a map
makes a less diverse school less diverse

511
00:49:49,440 --> 00:49:55,359
and a more diverse school more
concentrated, we aren't simply

512
00:49:53,440 --> 00:50:00,800
reflecting the residential patterns of
our community. We are using school

513
00:49:57,680 --> 00:50:05,200
boundaries to reinforce them. That is a
choice. Our children benefit from going

514
00:50:03,359 --> 00:50:09,119
to school with people whose lives,
backgrounds, and experiences are

515
00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:12,960
different from their own. That is part
of preparing them to live and work in a

516
00:50:11,119 --> 00:50:18,400
world that will not be divided neatly
into attendance zones. So before

517
00:50:15,680 --> 00:50:23,040
adopting any map, I am asking this board
to look what one more measure. Does this

518
00:50:20,880 --> 00:50:27,920
map bring our students together or does
it separate them further? If the answer

519
00:50:25,839 --> 00:50:33,520
is that it separates them further, then
we can and should draw a better map.

520
00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:39,200
» Thank you, Miss BL.
>> Thank you. Our next speaker is Joe

521
00:50:35,359 --> 00:50:42,640
Bailey, followed by Karen Beager. Be
Eagle Sal.

522
00:50:41,280 --> 00:50:47,040
If you come more than once, I can I can
get it right. I promise.

523
00:50:44,800 --> 00:50:52,240
Good evening. Um, my name is Joe Bailey
and I am a Kings Point resident and a

524
00:50:49,040 --> 00:50:55,440
WJCC parent. I'm here to speak about the
redistricting.

525
00:50:53,839 --> 00:50:58,880
Um, I'd like to use Kings Point and
Matthew Whley as an example of the

526
00:50:57,200 --> 00:51:02,960
broader questions I hope the board will
consider throughout this process. Our

527
00:51:01,200 --> 00:51:08,000
request is not simply that King's Point
remain at Matthew Whale. Our request is

528
00:51:05,280 --> 00:51:12,640
that every proposed boundary change be
evaluated for whether it actually

529
00:51:09,760 --> 00:51:17,119
advances educational equity. Under the
proposed map, Matthew Whale would serve

530
00:51:14,720 --> 00:51:22,240
a higher concentration of economically
disadvantaged students. That raises an

531
00:51:19,520 --> 00:51:26,720
important question. If another boundary
configuration could meet the division's

532
00:51:24,240 --> 00:51:31,280
goals for capacity, transportation, and
enrollment while creating a more

533
00:51:28,960 --> 00:51:38,240
balanced student population, why
wouldn't that option be fully explored?

534
00:51:34,800 --> 00:51:41,920
For my family, Matthew Wh.
My daughter's three older brothers all

535
00:51:40,079 --> 00:51:46,240
attended Matthew Wh. And between them,
our family has been part of this

536
00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:50,079
community for 13 years. We love the
school, its teachers, and the community

537
00:51:48,000 --> 00:51:54,559
that surrounds it. We purchased our home
with this school district specifically

538
00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:58,559
in mind. Now, while my daughter is only
in her second year of elementary school,

539
00:51:56,319 --> 00:52:02,640
that decision is being taken away with
no meaningful consideration of a

540
00:52:00,480 --> 00:52:07,359
transition or phase out for families
already enrolled.

541
00:52:05,599 --> 00:52:11,920
Many Kings Point students can walk or
bike to Matthew Whley. And while Laura

542
00:52:09,280 --> 00:52:17,520
Lane may be a smaller similar distance
on a map, it is primar primarily a car

543
00:52:15,040 --> 00:52:21,440
dependent trip. Those differences do
matter.

544
00:52:19,119 --> 00:52:25,200
King's point is just one example, but it
illustrates the larger principle. Every

545
00:52:23,440 --> 00:52:30,079
boundary decision has consequences
beyond enrollment numbers. We ask that

546
00:52:27,280 --> 00:52:34,160
the board look at full impact of these
proposals and whether it actually

547
00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:37,680
improves educational opportunity and
serves students and families better.

548
00:52:36,240 --> 00:52:42,640
Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Bailey.

549
00:52:40,160 --> 00:52:49,440
» Next speaker is Karen Beagle. After that
is Alexandra Josie.

550
00:52:44,960 --> 00:52:53,680
» It's Karen Burke. Sorry,
>> I read the last name right. So,

551
00:52:51,280 --> 00:52:59,760
» yeah, there you go. Um, I'm Karen
Bergle. I'm a 36y year resident of

552
00:52:56,880 --> 00:53:05,280
Robert's district. I'm here to ask you
once again to reconsider changing the

553
00:53:02,160 --> 00:53:12,559
name of James Blair Middle School. James
Blair was notorious as the man who

554
00:53:09,680 --> 00:53:18,240
institutionalized child slavery in
Virginia.

555
00:53:14,480 --> 00:53:24,960
names have a special power. And to me,
the question is really just very simple.

556
00:53:21,680 --> 00:53:33,520
When I first heard this
um concern brought up by another

557
00:53:29,119 --> 00:53:39,599
citizen, her words were that no child
should have to attend a school named for

558
00:53:36,319 --> 00:53:45,200
his ancestors in slaver.
And that's exactly what we are asking

559
00:53:42,800 --> 00:53:50,160
some students at James Player to do
today.

560
00:53:47,599 --> 00:53:54,640
I'll be happy to come every month so
that Mr. Ripple can get my name right,

561
00:53:52,880 --> 00:54:01,839
but I'm going to have the same message
every time. Please, it's never too late

562
00:53:58,400 --> 00:54:05,760
to make the right decision, and it's
always the right time to make the right

563
00:54:04,079 --> 00:54:09,240
decision. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Miss Bzel.

564
00:54:09,680 --> 00:54:18,480
Alexander Josie is next. Professor
Alexander Josie

565
00:54:14,720 --> 00:54:22,800
after them is McKenzie Israel Thumbl.
>> Good evening. My name is Dr. Alex Josie.

566
00:54:20,720 --> 00:54:28,000
I am a public policy professor at
William and Mary and I am a parent of

567
00:54:25,839 --> 00:54:32,559
three kids, two at Clareboard Baker and
one at James Blair. I'm talking to you

568
00:54:30,720 --> 00:54:38,319
tonight about my expertise which is
called social network analysis. We study

569
00:54:35,839 --> 00:54:44,079
relationships that we, you know, as
people form and their impacts on bigger

570
00:54:41,359 --> 00:54:48,800
societal outcomes. Um, I have two
studies that I want to talk to you

571
00:54:45,599 --> 00:54:55,040
about. And the bottom line is that by
concentrating need in certain schools,

572
00:54:51,839 --> 00:54:59,040
we are going to end up with bad
long-term outcomes in terms of economic

573
00:54:57,280 --> 00:55:05,599
mobility. So the two studies, one of
them is a large N study from Harvard and

574
00:55:02,480 --> 00:55:10,559
it shows that the connections that we
make, the social capital that we um gain

575
00:55:08,400 --> 00:55:15,119
by our relationships with others,
specifically something called economic

576
00:55:12,640 --> 00:55:19,040
connectedness. This is when low
socioeconomic people and high

577
00:55:16,640 --> 00:55:24,160
socioeconomic people form connections.
It is the number one indicator of

578
00:55:21,200 --> 00:55:28,400
economic mobility. They controlled for
all kinds of things that affect economic

579
00:55:26,079 --> 00:55:34,160
mobility. And just that connectedness
that comes from relationships between

580
00:55:31,680 --> 00:55:38,160
people of different economic classes is
the number one indicator.

581
00:55:36,319 --> 00:55:42,480
The second study looks is a little bit
more case study focused. It digs into

582
00:55:40,319 --> 00:55:48,799
the mechanisms and it looks at both
racial and um economic disparities and

583
00:55:46,640 --> 00:55:53,359
it shows that kind of the mechanism. The
reason we see this is that when we're

584
00:55:51,040 --> 00:55:57,680
friends with others who are not like us,
it kind of it um shows us the

585
00:55:55,599 --> 00:56:01,839
possibilities of what we can do. And so
when you have a low socioeconomic person

586
00:55:59,599 --> 00:56:05,200
and a high socioeconomic person as
friends, you can see different

587
00:56:03,599 --> 00:56:09,040
possibilities just in regular
conversations.

588
00:56:06,960 --> 00:56:12,960
The report concludes by saying the
number one thing we can do is by

589
00:56:10,720 --> 00:56:18,240
creating local policies that bring
together these kinds of diverse

590
00:56:15,440 --> 00:56:22,559
audiences. School is a great way to make
friends. My friends have lots of my

591
00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:28,240
friends. My students Oh, my family has
great friends through schooling. Thank

592
00:56:24,880 --> 00:56:35,880
you, Miss I'll drop the reports off.
>> Um the next speaker is McKenzie Israel

593
00:56:30,559 --> 00:56:35,880
Thumbl followed by David Rudd Ross.

594
00:56:41,599 --> 00:56:47,119
Members of the school board, I am
grateful for the opportunity to speak

595
00:56:44,799 --> 00:56:50,880
tonight. I am a parent of two Matthew
children who are zoned to remain there.

596
00:56:49,280 --> 00:56:54,880
I'm also a faculty member at William and
Mary and a survey researcher. Along with

597
00:56:53,200 --> 00:56:59,280
a group of parents concerned with how
this process has unfolded, I fielded a

598
00:56:56,880 --> 00:57:03,599
survey to WJCC teachers and staff to
gather their views. Through reaching out

599
00:57:01,280 --> 00:57:08,799
to contacts and PTAs, 50 teachers and
staff members responded. Their opinions

600
00:57:05,920 --> 00:57:11,839
are illuminating. Overall, 80% of
respondents said they expect the

601
00:57:10,160 --> 00:57:16,880
division will worsen as a result of
these maps. Fewer than 10% said they

602
00:57:14,480 --> 00:57:21,359
expect the division will improve. Among
teachers and staff at Title One schools,

603
00:57:18,880 --> 00:57:27,760
87% said that they expect their school's
quality to decrease compared to 44% at

604
00:57:24,240 --> 00:57:31,520
non-title one schools. Similarly, 60% at
title one schools said the new maps make

605
00:57:29,839 --> 00:57:35,839
it more likely they will consider
leaving their current position compared

606
00:57:33,680 --> 00:57:39,920
to only 20% of teachers and staff at
non-title one schools. Many of the

607
00:57:38,240 --> 00:57:44,319
respondents indicated their frustration
with the process, noting they were met

608
00:57:41,760 --> 00:57:48,240
with silence from WJCC leadership when
they sought to communicate concerns.

609
00:57:46,400 --> 00:57:53,040
Several said they were afraid to speak
out publicly. WJCC schools have

610
00:57:51,040 --> 00:57:56,400
long-standing problems with equity.
Families and community groups like the

611
00:57:54,720 --> 00:58:00,079
village have raised these concerns time
and again and the response has been

612
00:57:58,079 --> 00:58:04,000
underwhelming. These maps will
concentrate need at a handful of schools

613
00:58:02,240 --> 00:58:08,240
and the division seems to be asking us
to trust that resources will shift

614
00:58:05,920 --> 00:58:12,720
accordingly. I see little reason to
trust that the resources will come as

615
00:58:10,240 --> 00:58:18,480
the initial presentations of these maps
ignored the increased segregation they

616
00:58:14,799 --> 00:58:22,799
create. We need a concrete plan, not a
promise that one will come after the

617
00:58:20,400 --> 00:58:26,319
maps are approved. I urge you not to
approve these maps until there's a

618
00:58:24,319 --> 00:58:30,960
school-by-school equity impact analysis
and a clear detailed plan to ensure that

619
00:58:28,319 --> 00:58:35,680
every child at every school receives a
highquality education. Thank you. Thank

620
00:58:33,839 --> 00:58:41,720
you, Mr. Israel TR.
>> Our next speaker is David Red Ross

621
00:58:37,520 --> 00:58:41,720
followed by Steven Mains.

622
00:58:46,880 --> 00:58:52,559
» Thank you for the opportunity to provide
input on the school redistricting

623
00:58:50,079 --> 00:58:56,799
process. I'm a parent of two children
currently in the WJCC system. I'm asking

624
00:58:55,200 --> 00:59:00,400
that you not approve the redistricting
map without addressing the demographic

625
00:58:58,400 --> 00:59:04,319
change that will come about. Both the
May and August maps produce significant

626
00:59:02,480 --> 00:59:07,520
shifts in demographics of need at all
three levels. And in some cases, schools

627
00:59:06,240 --> 00:59:11,680
currently serving greater needs
populations are tasked with taking on a

628
00:59:09,839 --> 00:59:14,799
further increase in needs, whether in
terms of percentage of school

629
00:59:12,960 --> 00:59:18,640
population, the absolute number of
students with greater needs, or both.

630
00:59:16,960 --> 00:59:22,559
This is a particular concern at schools
already struggling to meet standards.

631
00:59:20,960 --> 00:59:27,280
Demographic change sadly was not
addressed initially with the May draft

632
00:59:24,400 --> 00:59:30,799
map and town halls. Spreadsheet data was
only provided after the fact and with

633
00:59:29,280 --> 00:59:35,440
the August map and September steering
committee presentation, but without

634
00:59:32,640 --> 00:59:40,240
useful analysis or discussion
with student population projections and

635
00:59:37,760 --> 00:59:44,079
a known resourcing matrix. The board and
community can and should see what the

636
00:59:42,240 --> 00:59:48,559
staffing and resourcing impact is to
representative students with additional

637
00:59:46,079 --> 00:59:52,480
needs at each school. Information such
as how does their classroom ratio

638
00:59:50,240 --> 00:59:56,960
improve or degrade? How does special
education staffing in a building change

639
00:59:54,400 --> 01:00:01,599
versus the new school population? What
does English language learning staffing

640
00:59:58,559 --> 01:00:04,799
now look like? Without this context, the
school board would be making a decision

641
01:00:02,960 --> 01:00:09,119
with only a partial view of the cost and
benefits. Thank you.

642
01:00:06,240 --> 01:00:13,119
» Thank you, Mr. Ross. Our next speaker,
Stephen Mains, followed by Matthew

643
01:00:11,040 --> 01:00:17,760
Haynes.
>> Madam Chairman, board members, Dr.

644
01:00:15,280 --> 01:00:22,319
Kever, I'm Dr. Steven Mains, a James
City County resident and son and brother

645
01:00:19,760 --> 01:00:26,480
of teachers. Uh, in the September
briefing on the so results, I'm sorry to

646
01:00:24,480 --> 01:00:31,200
say that that they were down. Reading,
math, history plateaued at unaccess

647
01:00:28,880 --> 01:00:36,960
unacceptable levels while science and
writing fell. pass rates remain below

648
01:00:33,920 --> 01:00:41,680
prepandemic uh state averages and York
County still outperforms us in reading,

649
01:00:38,880 --> 01:00:46,079
math, and science while spending less.
Dr. Kever said that these patterns

650
01:00:44,240 --> 01:00:52,559
cannot become permanent, but I would
submit that six years of flat or down uh

651
01:00:49,599 --> 01:00:57,359
scores is permanent. It's time for a new
approach. In 2013, Mississippi ranked

652
01:00:55,280 --> 01:01:04,079
49th in the nation on fourth grade
reading. Uh and as of now, they've risen

653
01:00:59,920 --> 01:01:07,920
to ninth. uh adjusted for poverty and
demographics, Mississippi is the is

654
01:01:05,920 --> 01:01:12,559
first in the country in fourth grade
reading and math. And it's black fourth

655
01:01:10,400 --> 01:01:18,960
graders rank third in the nation.
Hispanic fourth graders rank first. Uh

656
01:01:15,839 --> 01:01:24,240
Mississippi did not uh spend a lot of
money. They did four things with

657
01:01:21,119 --> 01:01:27,520
discipline. Uh phonics, job embedded
coaching, early screening and

658
01:01:25,760 --> 01:01:32,480
intervention, and an end to promoting
third graders who cannot read. This

659
01:01:30,000 --> 01:01:37,520
division already has pieces of that in
in place. What we lack is a coherent

660
01:01:35,200 --> 01:01:44,400
divisionwide K through3 science of
reading program uh that uh that they are

661
01:01:41,680 --> 01:01:48,319
executing. I respectfully ask this board
to direct the administration to develop

662
01:01:46,160 --> 01:01:52,720
a written plan for implementing at the
semester break a plan consisting of

663
01:01:50,960 --> 01:01:57,280
phonics-based curriculum, trained
coaches for every elementary school,

664
01:01:55,280 --> 01:02:01,440
universal early screening and mandated
intervention in a third grade reading

665
01:01:58,880 --> 01:02:06,400
gate. Set the timeline, report progress
in public, and no excuses.

666
01:02:04,319 --> 01:02:12,079
We cannot stagger another year in this
plateau. We need to fix it now. We need

667
01:02:09,280 --> 01:02:15,599
a program that took the estate from 49th
to 9th and we need it today. Thank you

668
01:02:14,720 --> 01:02:21,119
very much.
>> Thank you, Dr. M.

669
01:02:18,799 --> 01:02:27,440
» Our next speaker is Matthew Haynes,
followed by C. Hannes, which you should

670
01:02:24,480 --> 01:02:31,119
put your full first name next time, but
I will allow you to come. Just kidding.

671
01:02:29,599 --> 01:02:35,839
You You always can come. It's how it
works.

672
01:02:33,040 --> 01:02:38,720
» Good evening. My name is Matt Haynes and
I live in the Kings Point neighborhood.

673
01:02:37,440 --> 01:02:42,160
I am here tonight to speak to the
planned redistricting effort that is

674
01:02:40,079 --> 01:02:46,160
currently underway. As the parent of
three children who have attended or

675
01:02:43,760 --> 01:02:50,480
still attend WJCC schools, I would like
to vocalize my support for the current

676
01:02:47,680 --> 01:02:54,160
redistricting initiative.
With the decrease in federal education

677
01:02:52,160 --> 01:02:58,000
funding and cuts to SNAP benefits that
will reduce funding for free and reduced

678
01:02:56,079 --> 01:03:01,359
lunches, I appreciate that the board is
assessing organizational and operational

679
01:02:59,760 --> 01:03:05,839
changes that will allow the district to
rep prioritize existing funding and

680
01:03:03,680 --> 01:03:10,720
leverage existing facilities to provide
equitable and high quality education to

681
01:03:07,599 --> 01:03:17,599
all WJCC school students. Thank you.
>> Thank you so much, Mr. Haynes.

682
01:03:13,280 --> 01:03:20,599
» C Hannes, if you're here,
After

683
01:03:24,799 --> 01:03:32,839
Mr. Haynes is Megan Steinman
Stein Men.

684
01:03:35,119 --> 01:03:43,520
I'm Chuck Haynes and I live in Kings
Point. U education of our children is

685
01:03:41,280 --> 01:03:49,599
probably the most important government
responsibility we have in every

686
01:03:47,280 --> 01:03:54,880
increasing demand
and we're always short on resources. So

687
01:03:52,400 --> 01:04:01,200
I commend you on your regististering
solution. I think the best thing all of

688
01:03:57,440 --> 01:04:05,119
us can do is to support. Thank you.
>> Thank you Mr. Haynes.

689
01:04:03,280 --> 01:04:08,680
» Next speaker is Megan Steinman followed
by Quinn EMTT.

690
01:04:10,079 --> 01:04:16,480
» Good evening members of the school
board. Um my name is Megan Steinman. I'm

691
01:04:13,680 --> 01:04:20,079
a resident of the city of Williamsburg.
I have two children who attend Matthew

692
01:04:18,240 --> 01:04:24,240
Whley Elementary School. And for
context, my children are not currently

693
01:04:21,760 --> 01:04:28,319
affected by the proposed elementary
school redistricting, but have been

694
01:04:26,240 --> 01:04:32,240
redistricted for Berkeley to James Blair
for the middle school. And you should

695
01:04:30,319 --> 01:04:37,119
absolutely consider changing the name of
that middle school.

696
01:04:34,880 --> 01:04:40,880
My comments tonight are simple. The way
the maps are currently drawn could lead

697
01:04:38,960 --> 01:04:44,319
to negative outcomes for our students if
they are not met with adequate

698
01:04:42,559 --> 01:04:48,480
resources.
They have the potential to deepen

699
01:04:46,079 --> 01:04:52,160
opportunity gaps across schools, create
unequal teacher workloads, and

700
01:04:50,240 --> 01:04:57,359
concentrate students with higher needs
in certain schools.

701
01:04:55,280 --> 01:05:01,920
They can have long-term effects for kids
across their lifespans. Everything from

702
01:05:00,079 --> 01:05:06,559
whether they graduate high school to
college attainment to their ability to

703
01:05:03,680 --> 01:05:11,839
get a good job. The board should
consider and make a plan for investing

704
01:05:09,039 --> 01:05:16,640
in these resources. things like hiring
more staff to lower the studenttoteer

705
01:05:14,000 --> 01:05:21,520
ratios in the schools that would be most
impacted by these new maps or the board

706
01:05:19,680 --> 01:05:25,359
needs to consider redrawing them all
together.

707
01:05:23,359 --> 01:05:28,960
As you consider this decision, I ask you
to not only think about how to most

708
01:05:27,280 --> 01:05:33,520
efficiently utilize the building space
we have, but to think about how to

709
01:05:31,280 --> 01:05:37,839
ensure that every school has the
resources they need to give every child

710
01:05:35,520 --> 01:05:40,000
in our community a fair chance. Thank
you.

711
01:05:38,559 --> 01:05:42,960
» Thank you. So, thank you so much, Mr.
Steman.

712
01:05:40,880 --> 01:05:47,480
» Our next speaker is Quinn EMTT, followed
by Jacqueline Bridgeworth Williams.

713
01:05:50,960 --> 01:05:58,640
» Good evening. Uh, my name is Quinn EMTT.
I'm a WJCC alumnist, actually alumnest

714
01:05:56,000 --> 01:06:03,839
of this school, uh, and parent of three
curtain students. Um, I have sought

715
01:06:01,520 --> 01:06:08,160
since the beginning of this process to
not only use your own math, uh, the math

716
01:06:06,160 --> 01:06:13,119
you've actually shared with us, uh, to
shape my arguments that this process

717
01:06:09,920 --> 01:06:18,000
does not only, uh, fail to achieve the
desired outcomes for long-term building

718
01:06:15,680 --> 01:06:21,520
utilization, but fails to do so while
unnecessarily adversely affecting

719
01:06:19,760 --> 01:06:27,359
students and families who are already
disadvantaged in a district with many

720
01:06:24,160 --> 01:06:31,680
existing issues and disparities. Um
there's a pattern I keep finding going

721
01:06:29,520 --> 01:06:36,319
through everything. Um which is that as
a gentleman before noticed much of the

722
01:06:33,599 --> 01:06:41,200
data arrives to us at least uh very late
or after the fact or after a decision uh

723
01:06:38,880 --> 01:06:47,920
it was meant to inform if we receive it
at all. Um there's one exception uh and

724
01:06:44,400 --> 01:06:52,079
it's why I'm here. Your road map lists u
this next bit under the phrase your own

725
01:06:49,760 --> 01:06:55,680
slide defines as prior to the school
board vote which again is supposed to be

726
01:06:53,520 --> 01:07:00,960
October 20th which is anticipate
potential impacts on title one based on

727
01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:05,760
proposed map configurations which the
end of the quote um on September 1st the

728
01:07:04,000 --> 01:07:10,400
recommendation itself included a title
one slide and staff said uh I'll

729
01:07:08,319 --> 01:07:14,880
paraphrase here uh that as economically
disadvantaged students shift so will the

730
01:07:12,559 --> 01:07:20,480
resources to support them which is
Uh I agree with that. Uh that is the

731
01:07:17,119 --> 01:07:25,200
point. Um but redistricting brings this
not division no additional federal

732
01:07:23,200 --> 01:07:30,319
dollars. That money follows how many
low-income children live here, not which

733
01:07:27,839 --> 01:07:34,480
building they sit in. Um so seven of our
nine elementary schools already receive

734
01:07:32,160 --> 01:07:37,440
title one. Uh by the economically
disadvantaged table in that same

735
01:07:35,920 --> 01:07:42,799
recommendation, those seven schools
would hold about 130 more economically

736
01:07:40,559 --> 01:07:47,359
disadvantaged children uh than they do
today. about 10% more. Uh the two

737
01:07:45,359 --> 01:07:52,960
schools that received no title one, Mata
and Stonehouse, go down by about 120. Uh

738
01:07:51,200 --> 01:07:56,640
but divisionwide the total stays flat.
So Moka's enrollment goes up by about 68

739
01:07:55,200 --> 01:07:59,839
students low income.
>> Thank you so much, Mr. EMTT.

740
01:07:58,640 --> 01:08:05,760
» If you have anything you'd like to
share, you can leave it with the clerk.

741
01:08:04,400 --> 01:08:11,319
» Our next speaker is Jacqueline
Bridgeworth Williams, followed by Andrew

742
01:08:08,319 --> 01:08:11,319
Huckabe.

743
01:08:13,359 --> 01:08:20,000
Good evening board members,
Superintendent Kever, and Madame Chair.

744
01:08:17,759 --> 01:08:25,199
I'm Jack Wimbridge, Forth Williams,
founder and executive director of the

745
01:08:21,839 --> 01:08:33,319
Village Initiative, a local 5013C, where
our center focus is social justice and

746
01:08:27,839 --> 01:08:33,319
educational equity in WJCC schools.

747
01:08:36,000 --> 01:08:43,600
First, I have three points I'd like to
make. First, redistricting. The proposed

748
01:08:40,640 --> 01:08:48,640
maps raise serious concerns that
existing disparities and inequities in

749
01:08:45,920 --> 01:08:55,679
our schools may be exacerbated beyond
redistricting. Our community wants to

750
01:08:51,440 --> 01:09:01,520
know what special solutions, resources,
and measurable supports will be put in

751
01:08:58,400 --> 01:09:08,080
place to address these inequities.
Moving students by itself does not close

752
01:09:05,279 --> 01:09:13,040
the opportunity or the achievement gaps
that have ex existed here since uh prior

753
01:09:11,199 --> 01:09:18,319
to integration.
Second, James Blair. I continue to stand

754
01:09:15,920 --> 01:09:23,679
in solidarity with those calling for the
removal of James Blair's names from our

755
01:09:21,040 --> 01:09:28,640
school. James Blair has a place in
history and that history should be

756
01:09:25,839 --> 01:09:35,120
taught truthfully. But the name of an
enslaver does not have to remain on our

757
01:09:32,799 --> 01:09:42,960
schools where our children learn and
grow. Child slavery was horrific.

758
01:09:39,839 --> 01:09:48,719
We cannot acknowledge that history while
ignoring the impact and the symbols it

759
01:09:45,920 --> 01:09:54,800
continues to have and how it impacts our
descendants and our community. We can

760
01:09:51,759 --> 01:10:00,880
tell the history without honoring the
name. Third, accountability. Our

761
01:09:58,239 --> 01:10:07,760
children deserve more than promises.
They deserve action, transparency, and

762
01:10:04,159 --> 01:10:12,400
measurable progress. WJCC has an
opportunity to be a beacon of hope, an

763
01:10:10,239 --> 01:10:18,000
example for our children and our young
people. We can do better. We must do

764
01:10:15,520 --> 01:10:20,800
better. And our children deserve better.
>> Thank you, Mrs. Williams.

765
01:10:19,199 --> 01:10:26,960
» Thank you so much.
>> Our next speaker is Andrew Huckabe,

766
01:10:23,199 --> 01:10:26,960
followed by Amy Quirk.

767
01:10:28,640 --> 01:10:36,960
Hello, my name is Andrew Huckabe. I am a
former student of WJCC and I know you've

768
01:10:34,239 --> 01:10:40,880
heard everything about the issues with
the new map. So, I'm not going to repeat

769
01:10:38,800 --> 01:10:45,520
that. But I am going to say that this
board has been in possession of these

770
01:10:42,640 --> 01:10:50,080
maps and they have seen the demographics
and the shift in demographics and I

771
01:10:48,159 --> 01:10:53,840
think there should be a call to action
because these numbers have been seen.

772
01:10:52,239 --> 01:11:00,239
But it seems like action has not been
taken. and maybe we can all admit that

773
01:10:57,120 --> 01:11:03,760
we've been wrong and rethink these
drawings and everything about them.

774
01:11:02,800 --> 01:11:07,360
Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Huckabe.

775
01:11:05,440 --> 01:11:11,159
» Our next speaker is Amy Quirk, followed
by Rachel Tritner.

776
01:11:11,679 --> 01:11:17,679
» Good evening, superintendent, members of
the school board. My name is Amy Quirk.

777
01:11:15,360 --> 01:11:21,760
I have two children that attend WJCC
schools and I'm a member of the village

778
01:11:19,280 --> 01:11:25,600
initiative. Um, I'm here tonight um
because I have significant concerns

779
01:11:23,760 --> 01:11:29,520
about the inequities across our schools.
And I want to be really clear, these are

780
01:11:27,199 --> 01:11:33,280
long-standing inequities. The village
has been around for 10 years coming to

781
01:11:31,679 --> 01:11:38,159
schoolboard meetings talking about these
inequities. Um, and so it certainly does

782
01:11:36,000 --> 01:11:42,560
feel more urgent that we're um
considering redistricting maps that um

783
01:11:40,719 --> 01:11:46,640
will exacerbate these inequities at
elementary, middle, and high school

784
01:11:44,159 --> 01:11:51,360
levels across our schools. And I'm
concerned that um if these masks go

785
01:11:49,199 --> 01:11:58,560
forward, we don't have a strong track
record of um funding our schools um with

786
01:11:55,679 --> 01:12:02,880
equity in mind. Um so I'm here to urge
you to do one of two things. One, it's

787
01:12:00,640 --> 01:12:07,199
not too late to reconsider these maps.
It's a good um teaching moment for all

788
01:12:04,719 --> 01:12:12,080
our students is that we can take a pause
and say maybe there's a better way to do

789
01:12:08,800 --> 01:12:15,760
this. Um and alternatively, or not even
alternatively, no matter what maps go

790
01:12:13,520 --> 01:12:19,280
forward, we need a bold plan to address
long-standing inequities. And this plan

791
01:12:17,600 --> 01:12:25,199
should have been in place a long time
ago. Um such a plan um should include

792
01:12:22,400 --> 01:12:29,520
student teacher ratios of 15 to1 in
schools and classrooms with the highest

793
01:12:26,880 --> 01:12:33,920
needs and the most classroom complexity.
Our current ratio at James River is 19

794
01:12:31,760 --> 01:12:39,199
to1. Research suggests that will not
move the needle on our deep achievement

795
01:12:35,920 --> 01:12:43,360
gaps. Um secondly, we should revisit the
funding formula that provides additional

796
01:12:40,880 --> 01:12:47,600
funding to to schools per economically
disadvantaged student. This funding

797
01:12:44,960 --> 01:12:53,199
formula was introduced in fiscal year um
2022. And I would like to ask if that um

798
01:12:50,960 --> 01:12:57,360
formula has been revisited since that
year and does it need to be revised to

799
01:12:55,280 --> 01:13:01,040
improve outcomes? Has that is that was
that enough funding to actually um

800
01:12:59,199 --> 01:13:05,840
change anything? and how will
redistricting um be should it be revised

801
01:13:04,000 --> 01:13:11,199
because redistricting will generate more
cumulative disadvantage and reduce PTA

802
01:13:08,080 --> 01:13:15,120
support in some schools. Thirdly, I
don't understand why a dual language

803
01:13:12,719 --> 01:13:18,080
learner program has not been piloted 10
years ago at James River and Mass.

804
01:13:16,960 --> 01:13:21,600
» Thank you, Dr. Core.
>> And fund the restorative center as

805
01:13:19,679 --> 01:13:28,679
promised.
>> Thank you. Rachel Titler is next

806
01:13:24,800 --> 01:13:28,679
followed by Sarah Ren.

807
01:13:29,199 --> 01:13:36,080
Good evening, school board members. Um I
my name is Rachel Tritler. I've lived in

808
01:13:34,159 --> 01:13:40,800
Williamsburg for 13 years. I'm a Matthew
why parent and have been generally quite

809
01:13:38,400 --> 01:13:46,560
happy with um my school experience. But
I'm incredibly disappointed, frustrated,

810
01:13:44,000 --> 01:13:51,199
frankly sad, um at the choice that this
board has made in redistricting in a way

811
01:13:48,960 --> 01:13:56,320
that allocates the exact same student
population in such an inequitable way.

812
01:13:54,080 --> 01:14:02,000
Um it's hard for me to find a reasonable
explanation that a group of people that

813
01:13:58,560 --> 01:14:08,000
has been tasked or even elected to look
out for the um equity of all students in

814
01:14:05,360 --> 01:14:12,719
WJCC schools to make a choice that
increases disparity. Um that removes

815
01:14:10,640 --> 01:14:18,320
families with higher economic resources
from a handful of schools that already

816
01:14:15,120 --> 01:14:22,800
have higher um percentages of
economically disadvantaged students. Uh

817
01:14:20,960 --> 01:14:26,560
we're moving in the wrong direction. As
many have commented tonight, there is no

818
01:14:24,880 --> 01:14:30,960
reason that a school should see an
increase of nine or 12 percentage points

819
01:14:29,440 --> 01:14:34,640
in the percent of economically
disadvantaged students when other

820
01:14:32,719 --> 01:14:41,840
schools stay the same or significantly
decrease in those same factors. Um the

821
01:14:38,000 --> 01:14:46,880
board will be hardpressed to make up for
the removal of volunteer and economic

822
01:14:44,480 --> 01:14:50,640
contributions with this increase in
disparity using district resources.

823
01:14:49,120 --> 01:14:54,239
You're making your job harder. You're
making the students job harder. You're

824
01:14:52,239 --> 01:14:58,800
making the teachers job harder. And we
should and can do better. I hope that

825
01:14:56,800 --> 01:15:03,040
you hear the range of comments that you
have heard tonight in this same vein as

826
01:15:00,800 --> 01:15:07,600
so much more than the discomfort that
I'm sure you're expecting will come from

827
01:15:04,719 --> 01:15:13,679
any redistricting process. It is a
community that is upset about a choice

828
01:15:10,080 --> 01:15:18,239
to move in the opposite direction of
community building, of equality for all

829
01:15:16,480 --> 01:15:22,400
students. And if you do move forward
with this choice, we need to see a much

830
01:15:19,920 --> 01:15:27,440
more robust plan of how you aim to
fulfill your duty to look out for the

831
01:15:24,239 --> 01:15:32,320
equity of all students um and promote
learning outcomes at all levels. Um

832
01:15:30,320 --> 01:15:37,120
please reconsider. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Kitler.

833
01:15:34,719 --> 01:15:40,679
» Next speaker is Sarah Ren followed by
David Ren.

834
01:15:43,840 --> 01:15:54,719
» Hi, I'm Sarah Raiden. Um, I'm a student
of Matthew Wh. I don't want to do the

835
01:15:51,280 --> 01:15:59,920
redistricting because I'll miss all of
my friends in [snorts]

836
01:15:56,800 --> 01:16:04,400
Matthew Wh.
>> Thank you so much, Miss Raiden.

837
01:16:02,560 --> 01:16:08,600
» Our next speaker is David Raiden,
followed by Zachary Raiden.

838
01:16:16,800 --> 01:16:24,719
Hello, my name is David. Oops. Way down
here. My name is David Braden. Uh we my

839
01:16:23,040 --> 01:16:29,840
family lives in the Holly Hills
neighborhood um just about five six

840
01:16:27,120 --> 01:16:34,400
minutes away from this uh school. And
with the proposed redistricting map uh

841
01:16:32,400 --> 01:16:39,920
sending us instead of Berkeley to James
Blair, that increases the commute time

842
01:16:36,800 --> 01:16:44,560
for my kids uh to 12 minutes uh from
about the five to six minutes it took us

843
01:16:41,840 --> 01:16:49,280
just to come down this road. As well as
the you know bike lanes that are being

844
01:16:47,040 --> 01:16:53,679
worked on here. Uh my son currently
loves biking to Matthew Willie where he

845
01:16:51,440 --> 01:16:59,120
currently attends. Was excited to bike
to middle school and that would take

846
01:16:55,679 --> 01:17:02,640
away that opportunity. Uh besides all
the disparity in the test scores and

847
01:17:01,440 --> 01:17:07,600
everything else that's been discussed
already here tonight, uh I just

848
01:17:04,880 --> 01:17:12,080
encourage the board to consider other
options. Think outside the box. For

849
01:17:09,520 --> 01:17:16,960
example, at Matthew Willy, currently
there's a huge athletic field of which

850
01:17:14,719 --> 01:17:23,199
the children are not allowed to fully
use for recess. Uh they don't use it for

851
01:17:20,159 --> 01:17:27,840
PE. It's not being used. There's raw
land that's there. uh that could be a

852
01:17:26,159 --> 01:17:33,600
place where trailers could temporarily
go for the pre kindergarten uh which is

853
01:17:30,800 --> 01:17:38,320
essentially a big part of why this
redistricting is being discussed in the

854
01:17:35,920 --> 01:17:43,520
first place. While there's plenty of
room to build uh secondary outbuildings

855
01:17:40,880 --> 01:17:47,280
at Matthew. I know that from Matthew
Willy, but I don't know all the other

856
01:17:45,679 --> 01:17:51,760
schools. I haven't visited all the
schools in this district, but perhaps

857
01:17:49,520 --> 01:17:57,520
there's similar land that's available in
those school yards, in those areas to

858
01:17:55,840 --> 01:18:04,159
think about a better long-term plan
instead of a shortsided thing that might

859
01:18:00,239 --> 01:18:06,239
create more hassle as some of the other
people have said in the future. Thank

860
01:18:05,600 --> 01:18:09,920
you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Raiden.

861
01:18:07,760 --> 01:18:18,320
» And this is Zachary.
>> Um, hi, I'm a student of Matthew and you

862
01:18:15,600 --> 01:18:24,480
do the redistricting. Then once I go to
middle school, then I won't be with any

863
01:18:21,679 --> 01:18:29,120
of my friends and
um I just basically won't know anyone.

864
01:18:28,080 --> 01:18:34,400
Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Raven.

865
01:18:30,880 --> 01:18:39,880
» The next speaker is Jennifer Raiden
and the person after that is Jake

866
01:18:36,320 --> 01:18:39,880
Lambert Lambert.

867
01:18:41,520 --> 01:18:49,679
» Hi, my name is Jennifer Raiden. I'm also
a mom of two Matthew Ellie students that

868
01:18:47,120 --> 01:18:53,840
you just heard from. I'm here to express
my strong opposition to the currently

869
01:18:52,000 --> 01:18:58,800
proposed school attendance zone
redistricting areas. The current

870
01:18:56,320 --> 01:19:03,920
proposals raise serious concerns for our
community and our students. The main

871
01:19:01,520 --> 01:19:08,640
concern that others have already raised
is the equity and diversity. The

872
01:19:06,080 --> 01:19:13,520
proposed maps risk creating wider
economic and academic disparities

873
01:19:10,800 --> 01:19:16,719
between schools rather than fostering
balanced and inclusive learning

874
01:19:15,199 --> 01:19:21,679
environments.
This proposed redistricting also impacts

875
01:19:19,280 --> 01:19:27,360
student well-being. Many students have
formed strong connections with peers in

876
01:19:24,880 --> 01:19:32,400
the schools that they currently attend
and this creates stress and anxiety for

877
01:19:30,480 --> 01:19:37,679
children who are navigating critical
developmental years.

878
01:19:34,640 --> 01:19:42,480
Um, I also am really opposed to the
additional length and distance that many

879
01:19:40,320 --> 01:19:48,400
of us will have to now travel nearly
double from our existing schools that we

880
01:19:45,440 --> 01:19:52,320
are districted for. Um, so I would
really like you all to strongly

881
01:19:50,000 --> 01:19:56,239
reconsider the redistricting proposal
and look outside the box for other

882
01:19:54,400 --> 01:20:00,400
alternatives to better serve our
students. Thank you.

883
01:19:57,600 --> 01:20:05,719
» Thank you, Mrs. Raen. Our next speaker
is Jake Lambert, followed by Renee

884
01:20:02,719 --> 01:20:05,719
Vogghan.

885
01:20:09,199 --> 01:20:15,120
Good evening, Madame Chair and members
of the board. Uh, thank you for your

886
01:20:12,960 --> 01:20:19,040
time tonight. My name is Jake Lambert
and I'm the father of two Matthew why

887
01:20:16,800 --> 01:20:23,520
students. I want to talk about what
redistricting does to equity across the

888
01:20:21,360 --> 01:20:28,400
division. Looking at the demographic
projections, several schools including

889
01:20:25,520 --> 01:20:33,199
Matthew Whley, James River, James Blair
Middle, and Lafayette High, will see

890
01:20:30,320 --> 01:20:37,600
meaningful increas increases in their
share of economically disadvantaged

891
01:20:35,199 --> 01:20:41,280
students under this proposal. James
River's English language learner

892
01:20:39,199 --> 01:20:47,040
population, already the highest in the
division, grows further. At James Blair,

893
01:20:44,320 --> 01:20:50,159
the increases of in economically
disadvantaged students appears large

894
01:20:48,800 --> 01:20:55,280
enough to exceed the steering
committee's own stated goal of keeping

895
01:20:52,400 --> 01:20:59,600
only singledigit shifts and under 10
percentage points, a threshold the

896
01:20:57,440 --> 01:21:03,360
committee set for itself and one of the
only places in the map where the

897
01:21:01,040 --> 01:21:06,480
threshold seems to be broken. I
understand the division has real

898
01:21:04,719 --> 01:21:11,440
long-standing problems with building
utilization and bus routes. Those are

899
01:21:08,880 --> 01:21:15,199
legitimate constraints. But what is
missing is the other half of the

900
01:21:12,880 --> 01:21:19,920
equation, a funding plan that matches
these shifts. There's no staffing ratio

901
01:21:18,000 --> 01:21:23,840
commitment, no dollar figure, no
resource allocation tied specifically to

902
01:21:21,920 --> 01:21:28,080
the schools now absorbing more students
in poverty, more English language

903
01:21:26,080 --> 01:21:32,320
learners, and more students who need
additional support. The district's own

904
01:21:30,640 --> 01:21:36,960
transition roadmap doesn't begin
staffing planning until December after

905
01:21:34,560 --> 01:21:40,960
family notifications and two months
after the board is set to vote on maps

906
01:21:38,719 --> 01:21:45,440
in October. Whatever that planning
covers, it isn't published equity

907
01:21:43,520 --> 01:21:49,520
specific funding commitment and none
exists today. I understand that funding

908
01:21:47,360 --> 01:21:53,679
is fluid based on a number of factors,
but it seems necessary to present at

909
01:21:51,360 --> 01:21:57,440
minimum a proposed funding and staffing
plan along with the overall vote on

910
01:21:55,440 --> 01:22:03,199
redistricting. you're being asked to
approve where the need goes before

911
01:21:59,679 --> 01:22:07,199
you've seen a plan meeting it.
One more thing that is worth noting, the

912
01:22:05,360 --> 01:22:10,560
James City County Board of Supervisors
voted to terminate the joint school

913
01:22:08,800 --> 01:22:13,520
contract with Williamsburg after the
city studied operating its own school

914
01:22:12,400 --> 01:22:17,679
system.
>> Thank you, Mr. Lambert.

915
01:22:16,400 --> 01:22:22,000
» Any additional comments can be left with
the clerk. Um, Renee, sorry, I cannot

916
01:22:20,560 --> 01:22:27,159
pronounce your last name, but Von.
>> Von. Okay, you're next. and your last

917
01:22:24,159 --> 01:22:27,159
speaker.

918
01:22:27,920 --> 01:22:33,840
» Members of the board, my name is Renee
Vaughn. I'm a community member. I'm also

919
01:22:31,840 --> 01:22:37,280
the mother of a 5-year-old
kindergartener who unfortunately is not

920
01:22:35,600 --> 01:22:41,600
currently attending kindergarten in the
county. Um, we're having to pay another

921
01:22:39,120 --> 01:22:44,400
year of private school tuition in large
part basically because of the

922
01:22:42,800 --> 01:22:47,679
redistricting issue because we felt
uncomfortable putting him into James

923
01:22:46,159 --> 01:22:51,520
River Elementary and then potentially
having to pull him and move him to a

924
01:22:49,360 --> 01:22:56,159
different school to Laurel Lane the
following year. Uh, I just I I didn't

925
01:22:54,639 --> 01:22:59,600
get to prepare remarks in advance or
practice them, so I won't be as eloquent

926
01:22:57,600 --> 01:23:03,199
as some of your other speakers. Um, but
I just wanted to share with you that

927
01:23:01,040 --> 01:23:07,840
when my husband and I moved to Virginia
a few years ago, we were very excited,

928
01:23:05,679 --> 01:23:12,560
enthusiastic to participate in the
public school community here. Um, we

929
01:23:10,239 --> 01:23:16,800
were however taken aback uh when we
started talking to community members and

930
01:23:15,120 --> 01:23:19,679
telling people, oh, you know, we're
James River parents, we live in

931
01:23:18,159 --> 01:23:23,920
Kingsville.
If it is, if you're not aware, there is

932
01:23:22,400 --> 01:23:28,639
whether a warranted or unwanted
stereotype already out there about James

933
01:23:26,719 --> 01:23:33,040
River Elementary School. We were very
taken aback by the reactions we got when

934
01:23:31,520 --> 01:23:37,600
we said we were going to be a James
River family. Um, and they were

935
01:23:35,520 --> 01:23:41,520
predominantly negative reactions.
However, when we talked to our own

936
01:23:39,600 --> 01:23:46,400
community members in Kings Mill, they
were incredibly supportive, incredibly

937
01:23:43,679 --> 01:23:50,320
enthusiastic, went on and on about how
wonderful the faculty is, how wonderful

938
01:23:48,320 --> 01:23:53,920
the teachers are, what a wonderful
experience their children are having

939
01:23:51,760 --> 01:23:58,080
there. And so, we were very excited at
the thought of being able to support

940
01:23:56,239 --> 01:24:03,760
James River Elementary with both our
time and our money when our son was old

941
01:24:00,480 --> 01:24:09,679
enough. To my point, um during today's
meeting, I actually received a message

942
01:24:06,800 --> 01:24:14,080
um discussing the fact that the uh all
of the PTA administration for James

943
01:24:12,400 --> 01:24:19,920
River Elementary will be moving to
Laurel Lane next year if you sustain the

944
01:24:16,560 --> 01:24:24,000
proposed map uh for redistricting. So,
they are currently trying to figure out

945
01:24:21,520 --> 01:24:27,760
how to implement strategies and actions
that can be sustainable when all of them

946
01:24:26,080 --> 01:24:32,880
leave.
uh the budget or the amount of money

947
01:24:29,679 --> 01:24:37,920
that they've taken in is roughly 10% of
what other schools.

948
01:24:33,920 --> 01:24:42,320
» Thank you, Miss Vaughn. Thank you.
>> That concludes the speakers for tonight.

949
01:24:40,880 --> 01:24:47,960
» Thank you to all of our speakers who
came out this evening. We're going to

950
01:24:43,840 --> 01:24:47,960
stand in a fivem minute recess.

951
01:33:15,120 --> 01:33:22,080
I will now reconvene this meeting of the
Williamsburg James City County School

952
01:33:18,719 --> 01:33:28,560
Board. We will go on to our next um set
of action items. Uh act number eight,

953
01:33:25,520 --> 01:33:32,880
the consent agenda. Um on the consent
agenda this evening is 8.01, 01 approval

954
01:33:31,280 --> 01:33:37,920
of financial report and monthly bills
and payroll June 2026

955
01:33:35,600 --> 01:33:41,760
8.02 approval of financial report and
monthly bills and payroll April August

956
01:33:40,239 --> 01:33:46,239
2026
8.03 approval of minutes from work

957
01:33:43,840 --> 01:33:54,560
session at 9126
8.04 approval of resolution R-9-26

958
01:33:50,719 --> 01:34:02,400
bullying prevention month item 8.05 5
approval approval of resolution R-20-26

959
01:33:58,719 --> 01:34:07,600
National School Lunch Week. Item 8.06
approval of revisions to policy AE

960
01:34:05,120 --> 01:34:14,960
school division goals and objectives.
8.07 approval of creation of policy EA

961
01:34:11,280 --> 01:34:20,320
Aad use of school buses. 8.08 approval
of revisions to policy I A instructional

962
01:34:17,679 --> 01:34:26,800
goals and objectives.
8.09 09 approval of revisions to policy

963
01:34:23,440 --> 01:34:34,400
IG A teaching about drugs, alcohol, and
tobacco. 8.10, approval of revisions to

964
01:34:30,480 --> 01:34:41,440
policy IG AJ, driver education.
Item 8.11, approval of revisions to

965
01:34:37,440 --> 01:34:46,239
policy IIA, instructional materials.
Item 8.12,

966
01:34:43,440 --> 01:34:51,040
approval of creation of policy IK,
academic planning and course selection.

967
01:34:48,960 --> 01:34:58,080
Item 8.13,
approval of a creation of policy ILBC,

968
01:34:55,120 --> 01:35:02,400
College Board School Day Program. And
item 8.14, approval of release from

969
01:35:00,480 --> 01:35:06,880
compulsory attendance case number
R262705.

970
01:35:05,360 --> 01:35:11,280
May
um does anyone want to remove anything

971
01:35:09,199 --> 01:35:15,840
from the consent agenda? If not, can I
have a motion to approve?

972
01:35:13,679 --> 01:35:20,239
» Madam Chair, I move to approve the
consent agenda as presented. Thank you,

973
01:35:18,159 --> 01:35:24,719
Mrs. Hunley. May I have a second?
>> Second.

974
01:35:20,960 --> 01:35:27,280
» Thank you, Mr. Hosang. Miss Aller,
>> Mrs. Hunley, I.

975
01:35:26,239 --> 01:35:28,960
» Mr. Riffle,
>> I.

976
01:35:27,840 --> 01:35:30,239
» Dr. Kvassos,
>> I.

977
01:35:29,440 --> 01:35:31,600
» Miss Chen,
>> I.

978
01:35:30,639 --> 01:35:33,040
» Mr. Hodgees,
>> I.

979
01:35:31,920 --> 01:35:34,400
» Mr. Hosang,
>> I.

980
01:35:33,520 --> 01:35:40,159
» Mrs. Donner,
>> I. We'll now move on to our action

981
01:35:36,639 --> 01:35:44,960
items. Item 9.01, approval personnel
actions. May I have a motion?

982
01:35:43,199 --> 01:35:47,679
» Madam Chair, I move to approve personnel
actions as presented.

983
01:35:46,159 --> 01:35:48,960
» Thank you, Mrs. Chen. May I have a
second?

984
01:35:48,080 --> 01:35:52,719
» Second, Madam Chair.
>> Thank you, Mr. Riffle. Miss Holler.

985
01:35:51,920 --> 01:35:54,080
» Miss Chen,
>> I.

986
01:35:53,120 --> 01:35:55,520
» Mr. Hodgees,
>> I.

987
01:35:54,400 --> 01:35:56,880
» Mr. Hosang,
>> I.

988
01:35:56,000 --> 01:35:58,000
» Mrs. Hunley,
>> I.

989
01:35:57,199 --> 01:35:59,199
» Mr. Riffle,
>> I

990
01:35:58,320 --> 01:36:00,400
» Dr. Kvassos,
>> hi.

991
01:35:59,520 --> 01:36:03,679
» Mrs. Donner,
>> I.

992
01:36:01,120 --> 01:36:08,239
» Item 9.02, approval of minutes from
regular meeting on 81826.

993
01:36:06,560 --> 01:36:11,679
May I have a motion?
>> Madam Chair, I move to approve the

994
01:36:09,920 --> 01:36:15,120
minutes from the regular meeting on
81826.

995
01:36:13,760 --> 01:36:21,000
» Thank you, Mrs. Hunley. May I have a
second?

996
01:36:15,679 --> 01:36:21,000
» One second. Thank you. Dr. Kavazos, Miss

997
01:36:21,040 --> 01:36:23,120
» Mrs. Hunley.
>> Hi,

998
01:36:22,239 --> 01:36:25,120
» Mr. Riffle.
>> Hi,

999
01:36:24,159 --> 01:36:26,239
» Dr. Kavasos.
>> Hi,

1000
01:36:25,520 --> 01:36:27,520
» Miss Chen.
>> Hi,

1001
01:36:26,719 --> 01:36:28,880
» Mr. Hodes.
>> Hi,

1002
01:36:27,920 --> 01:36:30,080
» Mr. Hosang.
>> Hi,

1003
01:36:29,280 --> 01:36:34,480
» Mrs. Donner.
>> I'll abstain. I watched the meeting, but

1004
01:36:31,920 --> 01:36:39,920
I was not in attendance. Uh, we'll move
down to 9.03, approval of fiscal year

1005
01:36:37,600 --> 01:36:43,840
2026 year end financial report and
proposed commitments of the fund

1006
01:36:42,000 --> 01:36:49,840
balance.
May I have a motion? Madam Chair, I move

1007
01:36:46,480 --> 01:36:55,040
to approve the fiscal year 2026 year-end
financial report as proposed commitment

1008
01:36:52,480 --> 01:36:59,119
of the year end fund balance to the
healthc care reserve fund.

1009
01:36:57,199 --> 01:37:00,560
» Thank you, Mrs. Hunley. Is there a
second?

1010
01:36:59,600 --> 01:37:05,840
» Second, madam chair.
>> All right. Any discussion?

1011
01:37:03,040 --> 01:37:07,119
All right, Miss
>> Mrs. Hunley.

1012
01:37:06,800 --> 01:37:08,320
» I.
>> Mr. Riffle,

1013
01:37:08,000 --> 01:37:10,400
» I
>> Dr. Kasos.

1014
01:37:09,520 --> 01:37:11,920
» Hi,
>> Miss Chen.

1015
01:37:11,440 --> 01:37:13,040
» I
>> Mr. Hodgees.

1016
01:37:12,719 --> 01:37:14,400
» Hi,
>> Mr. Hosang.

1017
01:37:14,000 --> 01:37:21,280
» Hi,
>> Mrs. Donner. I we'll go on to item 9.04,

1018
01:37:18,080 --> 01:37:24,719
approval of the 2026 2027 textbox
textbook selection and adoption

1019
01:37:23,040 --> 01:37:30,239
proposal. May I have a motion?
>> Madam Chair, I move to approve the 2026

1020
01:37:27,440 --> 01:37:32,960
2027 textbook selection and adoption
proposal as presented.

1021
01:37:31,600 --> 01:37:33,920
» Thank you, Mr. Hosang. May we have a
second?

1022
01:37:33,199 --> 01:37:38,400
» I second.
>> Thank you, Miss Chen. Any discussion?

1023
01:37:36,800 --> 01:37:39,840
Seeing none, Miss Aller.
>> Mr. Hosang,

1024
01:37:39,440 --> 01:37:40,960
» I.
>> Mrs. Hunley,

1025
01:37:40,719 --> 01:37:42,080
» I.
>> Mr. Ripple,

1026
01:37:41,679 --> 01:37:43,360
» hi.
>> Dr. Kvassos,

1027
01:37:42,960 --> 01:37:45,119
» hi.
>> Miss Chen,

1028
01:37:43,920 --> 01:37:46,239
» hi. Mr. Hodes.
>> Hi,

1029
01:37:45,440 --> 01:37:51,040
» Mrs. Donner.
>> I item 9.05, approval of request to

1030
01:37:49,520 --> 01:37:58,320
modify and extend construction
management services for two preK centers

1031
01:37:53,520 --> 01:38:04,880
to Mcdana Voliard Pek MBP. May I have a
motion? Madam Chair, I move to approve

1032
01:38:01,360 --> 01:38:12,880
the to modify and extend the contract
for construction management services for

1033
01:38:07,280 --> 01:38:17,719
two preK centers to Mcdow Ballard Peek
MBP for the cost of $263,840.

1034
01:38:17,920 --> 01:38:21,280
» Thank you, Mrs. Hunley. May I have a
second?

1035
01:38:20,320 --> 01:38:26,159
» Second.
>> Thank you, Dr. Kavazos. Any discussion?

1036
01:38:24,719 --> 01:38:27,360
Seeing none, Miss Aller.
>> Mrs. Hunley.

1037
01:38:26,960 --> 01:38:28,560
» Hi,
>> Mr. Riffle.

1038
01:38:28,159 --> 01:38:29,920
» Hi,
>> Dr. Kavasos.

1039
01:38:29,520 --> 01:38:31,119
» Hi,
>> Miss Chen.

1040
01:38:30,719 --> 01:38:32,320
» Hi,
>> Mr. Hodes.

1041
01:38:31,920 --> 01:38:33,679
» Hi,
>> Mr. Hosang.

1042
01:38:33,360 --> 01:38:35,520
» I
>> Mrs. Donner,

1043
01:38:34,560 --> 01:38:40,639
» I. [clears throat]
>> Item 9.06, approval of calendar year

1044
01:38:37,920 --> 01:38:44,880
2027 schoolboard meeting dates. They
have a motion.

1045
01:38:42,719 --> 01:38:49,600
» Madam Chair, I recommend move the
approval of the proposed school board

1046
01:38:46,800 --> 01:38:52,320
meeting scheduled for calendar year 2027
as presented.

1047
01:38:50,719 --> 01:38:53,440
» Thank you, Mrs. Hunley. May I have a
second?

1048
01:38:52,719 --> 01:38:58,960
» Second.
>> Thank you, Mr. Hodgeges. Any discussion?

1049
01:38:56,400 --> 01:39:00,159
Seeing none, Miss Aller.
>> Mrs. Hunley.

1050
01:38:59,760 --> 01:39:01,520
» Hi,
>> Mr. Riffle.

1051
01:39:01,040 --> 01:39:02,960
» Hi,
>> Dr. Kabasos.

1052
01:39:02,560 --> 01:39:04,159
» Hi,
>> Miss Chen.

1053
01:39:03,760 --> 01:39:05,360
» Hi,
>> Mr. Hodgeges.

1054
01:39:04,960 --> 01:39:06,560
» Hi,
>> Mr. Hosang.

1055
01:39:06,239 --> 01:39:10,800
» Hi,
>> Mrs. Donner.

1056
01:39:07,520 --> 01:39:15,600
» I We move on to our next session section
information discussion items. The first

1057
01:39:12,480 --> 01:39:19,760
is 10.01 annual recruitment and launch
report.

1058
01:39:17,280 --> 01:39:24,000
» Madam Chair, administration is excited
to present this evening an annual

1059
01:39:21,360 --> 01:39:28,800
recruitment and launch report. our chief
human resources officer, Emily Haywood,

1060
01:39:25,840 --> 01:39:31,679
and our chief strategy officer, Elena
Trot, will take us through this

1061
01:39:29,920 --> 01:39:35,600
presentation. We're excited to share
with you the amazing work that's

1062
01:39:32,960 --> 01:39:39,280
happening across the division. Emily,
good evening, Madam Chair, Dr. Kever,

1063
01:39:37,440 --> 01:39:43,440
and members of the board. Tonight, we
are pleased to share a recruitment and

1064
01:39:40,800 --> 01:39:47,040
launch annual report. This presentation
reflects the collaborative work of human

1065
01:39:45,119 --> 01:39:50,560
resources and organizational development
to attract, support, and retain

1066
01:39:48,800 --> 01:39:53,560
high-quality employees across the
division.

1067
01:39:54,239 --> 01:40:00,320
Utilizing an FTE neutral approach, we
strategically reorganized the human

1068
01:39:58,480 --> 01:40:04,000
resources department to better support
recruitment, onboarding, employee

1069
01:40:02,560 --> 01:40:08,000
engagement, and operational
effectiveness. Two talent acquisition

1070
01:40:06,560 --> 01:40:11,600
coordinators with educational
backgrounds now provide focused

1071
01:40:09,679 --> 01:40:15,920
recruitment support for elementary and
secondary schools. Their experience

1072
01:40:14,080 --> 01:40:20,159
allows them to better understand school
needs and strengthen candidate

1073
01:40:17,360 --> 01:40:23,840
engagement. We also added an employee
experience coordinator dedicated to

1074
01:40:22,000 --> 01:40:28,239
onboarding, employee support, and
retention initiatives. A former human

1075
01:40:26,560 --> 01:40:32,800
resources coordinator position was
realigned to a new human resources

1076
01:40:30,320 --> 01:40:37,760
operations coordinator role to focus
specifically on operational staffing

1077
01:40:34,960 --> 01:40:42,080
needs. Finally, we transitioned an
administrative position into an HR data

1078
01:40:40,000 --> 01:40:46,639
analyst role, improving our ability to
leverage workforce data and make more

1079
01:40:44,239 --> 01:40:50,880
informed decisions. Together, these
changes are designed to shift HR from a

1080
01:40:48,880 --> 01:40:55,960
transactional model to a more strategic
and service service focused approach.

1081
01:40:56,400 --> 01:41:02,560
One of our primary measures of success
is ensuring schools begin the year fully

1082
01:41:00,320 --> 01:41:07,600
staffed. This year, we open school with
99.6% of teaching positions filled with

1083
01:41:05,679 --> 01:41:11,840
only four teaching vacancies division
divisionwide.

1084
01:41:09,119 --> 01:41:16,800
Support staff reached 95.3% and
administrator staffing reached 99%.

1085
01:41:14,880 --> 01:41:20,000
This result these results reflect
improvements over the last year and

1086
01:41:18,400 --> 01:41:23,480
demonstrate the effectiveness of our
recruitment efforts.

1087
01:41:24,080 --> 01:41:30,239
Retention remains one of our most
important workforce indicators. Our

1088
01:41:28,080 --> 01:41:33,760
target is 90% retention and we have
showed continued improvement among

1089
01:41:31,920 --> 01:41:38,400
teachers and support staff and retain
nearly 90% of our administrators. It is

1090
01:41:36,880 --> 01:41:42,000
important to note that each year a
certain amount of turnover happens

1091
01:41:39,760 --> 01:41:46,480
through relocations, retirements, and
family needs, not factors related to

1092
01:41:44,159 --> 01:41:50,159
working for WJCC.
These results suggest our retention

1093
01:41:48,239 --> 01:41:56,199
strategies are having a positive effect
while also highlighting opportunities to

1094
01:41:52,080 --> 01:41:56,199
further support staff retention.

1095
01:41:58,239 --> 01:42:04,080
Our teaching workforce continues to
demonstrate a strong commitment to

1096
01:42:01,840 --> 01:42:09,040
professional growth and excellence. We
currently employ 48 National Board

1097
01:42:06,480 --> 01:42:14,320
certified teachers and more than 640
teachers with a master's degree or

1098
01:42:10,719 --> 01:42:18,400
higher. This year we hired 141 teachers
and nearly 18% of those hires

1099
01:42:16,480 --> 01:42:22,080
contributed to increasing workforce
diversity.

1100
01:42:19,920 --> 01:42:27,360
17 of our new hires came from support
staff transitioning to teaching which is

1101
01:42:24,159 --> 01:42:31,360
an important grow your own strategy. 22
of our new teachers are working on lure

1102
01:42:29,520 --> 01:42:35,840
through alternative routes as associate
teachers. These numbers reflect both the

1103
01:42:34,080 --> 01:42:39,719
quality of our current staff and our
strong recruitment results.

1104
01:42:40,639 --> 01:42:46,400
We launched a new recruitment campaign
called Purpose Starts Here to create a

1105
01:42:44,560 --> 01:42:50,960
unified brand message across all
recruitment platforms. In addition to

1106
01:42:48,880 --> 01:42:54,800
digital recruitment efforts, we piloted
community-based advertising initiatives

1107
01:42:52,960 --> 01:42:58,960
to reach potential candidates in new
ways. This approach strengthen

1108
01:42:57,280 --> 01:43:05,560
strengthens awareness of employment
opportunities and helps position WJCC as

1109
01:43:01,760 --> 01:43:05,560
an employer of choice.

1110
01:43:07,119 --> 01:43:13,600
Our redesign careers website provides
candidates with a more engaging and

1111
01:43:10,960 --> 01:43:18,320
informative experience. Applicants can
quickly access information about career

1112
01:43:15,679 --> 01:43:23,040
opportunities, benefits, certification
pathways, resources that highlight our

1113
01:43:20,800 --> 01:43:27,280
area, and support programs available to
staff. This website serves as an

1114
01:43:25,600 --> 01:43:33,880
important recruitment tool and helps
candidates better understand what makes

1115
01:43:29,119 --> 01:43:33,880
WJCC a great place to work.

1116
01:43:35,360 --> 01:43:41,760
We expanded access to benefits
information for both prospective and

1117
01:43:39,280 --> 01:43:46,080
current employees. Employees now have a
centralized location for reviewing

1118
01:43:43,520 --> 01:43:50,400
benefit guides, videos, planning tools,
and detailed plan information, improving

1119
01:43:48,639 --> 01:43:53,520
transparency, and helping prospective
and current employees making informed

1120
01:43:52,239 --> 01:43:57,760
choices.
This year we also continued access to

1121
01:43:55,520 --> 01:44:03,800
our onetoone benefit coaches with over
224 employees taking advantage of

1122
01:44:00,159 --> 01:44:03,800
individual appointments.

1123
01:44:05,520 --> 01:44:11,920
This year represents the second phase of
our three-year compensation study

1124
01:44:09,360 --> 01:44:15,840
implementation. We continued adjustments
to teacher compensation and salary

1125
01:44:13,920 --> 01:44:20,239
progression while maintaining alignment
with recommendations from the study. We

1126
01:44:18,400 --> 01:44:25,520
made further adjustments to placement in
titles in the unified scale and provided

1127
01:44:22,560 --> 01:44:29,360
across the board adjustments to stipens.
Year three will provide an opportunity

1128
01:44:27,440 --> 01:44:33,760
to fully implement the study and
position us to better maintain our

1129
01:44:31,119 --> 01:44:38,080
scales moving forward. As a reminder,
the average teacher increase was 5.2%

1130
01:44:36,320 --> 01:44:43,119
for teachers with a bachelor's degree
and 6.7% for teachers with a master's

1131
01:44:40,880 --> 01:44:47,960
degree. These changes support
recruitment, retention, and market

1132
01:44:44,960 --> 01:44:47,960
competitiveness.

1133
01:44:49,679 --> 01:44:55,679
Employee wellness remains a key
component of employee engagement and

1134
01:44:53,119 --> 01:44:59,440
retention. We established a divisionwide
wellness team with representatives from

1135
01:44:57,360 --> 01:45:02,960
each school, expanded events throughout
the year with challenges and

1136
01:45:00,800 --> 01:45:07,360
initiatives, enhanced our former
benefits fair into a wellness event, and

1137
01:45:05,520 --> 01:45:11,840
launched a new wellness resource through
the vitality website and app. These

1138
01:45:10,239 --> 01:45:17,639
efforts reflect our commitment to
support to supporting employees both

1139
01:45:13,760 --> 01:45:17,639
personally and professionally.

1140
01:45:18,800 --> 01:45:26,000
We continue to modernize HR operations
through technology and process redesign.

1141
01:45:24,000 --> 01:45:30,639
New digital workflows, applicant
tracking, records management systems,

1142
01:45:28,639 --> 01:45:33,920
contract delivery, and substitute
management tools have improved

1143
01:45:32,159 --> 01:45:38,400
efficiency while creating a better
experience for both applicants and

1144
01:45:35,920 --> 01:45:44,679
employees. These changes reduce
administrative burden and increase

1145
01:45:40,080 --> 01:45:44,679
accountability across HR processes.

1146
01:45:46,239 --> 01:45:52,000
Student teachers represent one of our
most important future recruitment

1147
01:45:49,679 --> 01:45:55,600
pipelines. This year, we expanded
university partnerships and currently

1148
01:45:53,840 --> 01:46:02,000
have student teachers from William and
Mary, JMU, CNU, ODU, and Longwood. We

1149
01:45:59,520 --> 01:46:06,400
conducted student teacher orientation,
enhanced technology support with

1150
01:46:03,840 --> 01:46:11,119
laptops, provided mileage assistance,
and developed incentives to encourage

1151
01:46:08,400 --> 01:46:14,320
student teachers to join WJCC upon
graduation.

1152
01:46:12,639 --> 01:46:19,560
These investments improve the student
teacher experience and future hiring

1153
01:46:16,560 --> 01:46:19,560
outcomes.

1154
01:46:20,719 --> 01:46:27,840
Our teachers for tomorrow program helps
cultivate future educators directly from

1155
01:46:25,119 --> 01:46:32,400
our student population. Students gain
college credit, real world classroom

1156
01:46:30,000 --> 01:46:36,320
experience, industry credentials, and a
clear pathway to entering the

1157
01:46:34,000 --> 01:46:40,239
profession. This year, we strengthened
incentives and employment opportunities

1158
01:46:38,239 --> 01:46:45,920
designed to encourage participants to
return to WJCC as future educators. This

1159
01:46:44,000 --> 01:46:49,480
is one of our most promising long-term
workforce strategies.

1160
01:46:50,960 --> 01:46:56,000
The recruiting and retention
accomplishments highlighted today

1161
01:46:54,159 --> 01:47:00,400
represent the collective efforts of our
supportive schoolboard, school leaders,

1162
01:46:58,400 --> 01:47:04,320
human resources staff, and division
employees. Together, we have

1163
01:47:02,320 --> 01:47:08,320
strengthened our recruitment pipeline,
improved employee support systems,

1164
01:47:06,480 --> 01:47:12,400
expanded wellness initiatives, and
implemented strategic organizational

1165
01:47:10,320 --> 01:47:16,719
changes that position us for continued
success. While there is still important

1166
01:47:14,719 --> 01:47:21,119
work ahead, these results demonstrate
meaningful progress toward attracting,

1167
01:47:19,040 --> 01:47:25,199
developing, and retaining exceptional
employees who support student

1168
01:47:22,639 --> 01:47:31,480
achievement. I am now going to turn to
Elena Trot, chief strategy officer, to

1169
01:47:27,280 --> 01:47:31,480
tell you more about our launch program.

1170
01:47:32,080 --> 01:47:40,719
Good evening. In the spring of 2023, we
enlisted the help of four dedicated lead

1171
01:47:38,639 --> 01:47:46,719
mentors from across our schools. I'd
like to honor them tonight. Alisa Smith,

1172
01:47:43,360 --> 01:47:51,440
Lindseay Ambrose, Abigail Neely, and Amy
Zerovi. These four ladies helped to

1173
01:47:49,280 --> 01:47:56,800
design a comprehensive induction and
mentoring program to strengthen teacher

1174
01:47:53,440 --> 01:48:00,880
recruitment and retention in WJCC.
Guided by authentic feedback from new

1175
01:47:58,880 --> 01:48:06,000
teachers, mentors, and administrators,
we kicked off WJCC's launch program in

1176
01:48:03,840 --> 01:48:10,320
the fall of 2023.
Since then, it has evolved into a model

1177
01:48:08,159 --> 01:48:14,400
of inspiration for other new teacher
programs across the Commonwealth.

1178
01:48:12,560 --> 01:48:18,719
Tonight I am pleased to share an update
on launch and its growth from a new

1179
01:48:16,400 --> 01:48:23,119
teacher mentoring initiative into a
coordinated system of onboarding,

1180
01:48:21,199 --> 01:48:28,320
mentoring, professional learning and
lensure support.

1181
01:48:25,760 --> 01:48:32,719
Designed for teachers by teachers,
launch is anchored by the program's

1182
01:48:30,400 --> 01:48:37,600
goals that reflect what new educators
need to begin well and continue growing.

1183
01:48:35,760 --> 01:48:43,520
First is belonging. We want each
educator to feel connected to WJCC and

1184
01:48:40,719 --> 01:48:48,159
welcomed into our community. Second, we
build competency through personalized

1185
01:48:45,679 --> 01:48:52,639
mentoring and professional learning. And
third, we support autonomy by helping

1186
01:48:50,320 --> 01:48:58,560
educators recognize their strengths,
make sound professional decisions, and

1187
01:48:54,880 --> 01:49:02,639
build a sustainable career within WJCC.
Together, these goals promote a gradual

1188
01:49:00,800 --> 01:49:07,679
release of teachers entering the
profession and developing their

1189
01:49:04,400 --> 01:49:11,639
craftsmanship as educators both in and
outside of the classroom.

1190
01:49:13,600 --> 01:49:20,320
Launch is informed and aligned to the
Virginia Board of Education's guidelines

1191
01:49:17,840 --> 01:49:24,560
for mentor teacher programs.
Additionally, as active members of the

1192
01:49:22,159 --> 01:49:29,520
Reach Virginia network, a consortium of
47 school divisions and 10 university

1193
01:49:27,280 --> 01:49:33,600
partners across the state, we have
continued to enhance our program through

1194
01:49:31,520 --> 01:49:37,679
training and shared problem solving with
other practitioners focused on preparing

1195
01:49:35,760 --> 01:49:41,920
the next generation of teachers for
success.

1196
01:49:39,440 --> 01:49:46,320
Our new teacher mentor program advisory
includes diverse perspective, including

1197
01:49:44,320 --> 01:49:51,440
our school board representative, Mrs.
Hunley, higher education and I teach

1198
01:49:49,280 --> 01:49:55,199
Virginia partners, school-based
administrators, lead mentors, novice

1199
01:49:53,760 --> 01:49:59,360
teachers, and members of the
organizational development, human

1200
01:49:57,199 --> 01:50:03,440
resources, student services, and
teaching and learning departments at

1201
01:50:00,880 --> 01:50:07,840
central support. The advisory meets
three times a year to review new teacher

1202
01:50:05,600 --> 01:50:11,920
data, feedback, and recommendations for
continuous improvement.

1203
01:50:10,239 --> 01:50:15,679
Just as we expect our teachers to
embrace the whole learner in their

1204
01:50:13,520 --> 01:50:19,119
classroom, we've designed Launch to
strategically meet the holistic needs of

1205
01:50:17,520 --> 01:50:22,719
our adult learners entering the
profession.

1206
01:50:20,719 --> 01:50:27,520
Components of the program address
teachers needs for instructional,

1207
01:50:25,280 --> 01:50:32,639
institutional, physical, and emotional
supports. Speaking of emotional

1208
01:50:29,840 --> 01:50:36,880
supports, we know the first year teacher
can often the we know the first year of

1209
01:50:35,119 --> 01:50:41,280
teaching can often feel like a roller
coaster as evidenced by this line graph

1210
01:50:39,440 --> 01:50:45,920
from the new teacher center on the
phases of firstear teachers attitudes

1211
01:50:43,360 --> 01:50:50,159
towards teaching. With this research in
mind, we have strategically designed a

1212
01:50:48,000 --> 01:50:54,480
timely, human- centered approach to
anticipating our new teachers needs at

1213
01:50:52,320 --> 01:50:58,480
specific points in the school year and
intentionally normalized these emotions

1214
01:50:56,560 --> 01:51:02,960
so they understand they are not alone
and we're here to support them for the

1215
01:51:00,159 --> 01:51:07,600
entire journey. Our program is a
balanced approach to sheltering our new

1216
01:51:05,520 --> 01:51:12,320
teachers by simplifying the job so that
it's manageable while they improve their

1217
01:51:09,920 --> 01:51:15,520
craft and developing their effectiveness
through mentoring, coaching,

1218
01:51:13,760 --> 01:51:19,440
professional learning, and a gradual
release of autonomy.

1219
01:51:17,760 --> 01:51:24,159
From the very beginning, we want our new
teachers to feel part of the WJCC family

1220
01:51:22,159 --> 01:51:28,239
and have a clear understanding of what
they can expect throughout the induction

1221
01:51:26,080 --> 01:51:31,760
process. Once they are hired, they
receive an onboarding checklist that

1222
01:51:29,920 --> 01:51:36,239
outlines essential tasks they must
complete and provides the point of

1223
01:51:33,600 --> 01:51:40,719
contact for each task. Next, they attend
a 4-hour pre-boarding session where they

1224
01:51:38,560 --> 01:51:44,719
receive information from human resources
and payroll, obtain their laptops and an

1225
01:51:43,280 --> 01:51:48,800
introductory training from our
instructional technology team, and learn

1226
01:51:47,199 --> 01:51:53,920
about the launch program and the
supports available to them. Next, they

1227
01:51:51,840 --> 01:51:56,800
attend school launch day, a full day
opportunity for them to tour their

1228
01:51:55,440 --> 01:52:00,960
buildings, meet with their school
leadership teams, have lunch with their

1229
01:51:58,960 --> 01:52:05,520
mentor, and even get assistance with
setting up their classrooms. During that

1230
01:52:03,440 --> 01:52:09,280
time, they form initial relationships
with the other new teachers who are

1231
01:52:07,199 --> 01:52:13,040
joining their school faculty. Those
budding bonds are special to witness

1232
01:52:11,440 --> 01:52:18,719
when they come to the division launch
day the next day.

1233
01:52:16,639 --> 01:52:22,320
At division launch day, Dr. Kever
facilitates a community building welcome

1234
01:52:20,719 --> 01:52:26,480
session to set the tone for the
family-like culture we strive to foster

1235
01:52:24,239 --> 01:52:29,840
here. Next, they spend time with their
teaching and learning coordinators,

1236
01:52:28,000 --> 01:52:33,760
discussing all things curriculum,
instruction, and assessment. It's then

1237
01:52:32,159 --> 01:52:38,080
that they begin to form relationships
with new educators from other schools

1238
01:52:36,080 --> 01:52:42,400
who have similar teaching assignments as
them. The day concludes with an ice

1239
01:52:40,560 --> 01:52:46,239
cream debrief with their principles, a
sweet conversation, and final check-in

1240
01:52:44,480 --> 01:52:50,800
before pre-ervice week officially
begins. We also offer a bonus session

1241
01:52:48,960 --> 01:52:55,199
for our elementary educators that
includes a deep dive into our benchmark

1242
01:52:52,719 --> 01:52:58,639
advance and KDUm math curriculum so they
have everything they need to be ready to

1243
01:52:56,960 --> 01:53:03,440
collaborate with their colleagues on the
first unit. It's important to note that

1244
01:53:01,119 --> 01:53:08,000
we provide summer pay compensation for
all of the days that I just outlined.

1245
01:53:06,239 --> 01:53:11,920
Once the school year begins, our lead
mentors take it from there, hosting

1246
01:53:09,920 --> 01:53:16,159
monthly pull-in support sessions,
monitoring our mentor mentee pairings,

1247
01:53:14,000 --> 01:53:20,400
and managing requests for coaching
cycles and personalized professional

1248
01:53:18,480 --> 01:53:24,719
learning days. An opportunity for our
new teachers to get a substitute for the

1249
01:53:22,719 --> 01:53:30,239
day so they can observe other rockstar
teachers in action. At the division

1250
01:53:27,440 --> 01:53:35,760
level, we also host a series of tier 2
professional development sessions for

1251
01:53:31,840 --> 01:53:41,520
teachers for specific target audiences.
This year we have 148 new teachers

1252
01:53:39,119 --> 01:53:46,400
attending our pull-in support sessions
and receiving one-on-one mentors. As you

1253
01:53:44,719 --> 01:53:49,920
may notice, this number is slightly
higher than the number Mrs. Haywood

1254
01:53:48,080 --> 01:53:54,320
shared earlier because it includes both
classroom teachers, school counselors,

1255
01:53:51,679 --> 01:54:01,599
and related service providers. Within
our 2026 cohort, we have 18 elementary

1256
01:53:58,239 --> 01:54:07,199
teachers and 36 secondary teachers who
will attend our first launch and learn

1257
01:54:03,920 --> 01:54:11,520
tomorrow. in an which is an indistrict
program consisting of five half-day

1258
01:54:09,440 --> 01:54:16,480
sessions specifically designed for
firstear gener general education

1259
01:54:13,679 --> 01:54:20,480
teachers. It's fun to watch these cohort
members develop their own mini learning

1260
01:54:18,400 --> 01:54:24,960
community with other educators in the
same stage of their teaching careers.

1261
01:54:23,040 --> 01:54:29,199
The sessions cover topics such as
student engagement, classroom

1262
01:54:26,639 --> 01:54:33,920
management, technology integration,
collegialism, and managing their own

1263
01:54:31,280 --> 01:54:39,440
well-being. Parallel to Launch and Learn
is RISE, our tier 2 program designed for

1264
01:54:36,560 --> 01:54:43,679
special education teachers. Our RISE one
cohort will have 12 teachers this year

1265
01:54:41,679 --> 01:54:48,239
in their first three years of teaching
and our RISE 2 cohort will have 24

1266
01:54:46,159 --> 01:54:53,280
teachers who have more than three years
of experience in special education but

1267
01:54:50,719 --> 01:54:58,159
are new to the division. We also use
RISE 2 for our year 2 teachers who may

1268
01:54:55,840 --> 01:55:02,080
need some follow-up supports. And
finally, this year we'll have 20

1269
01:54:59,920 --> 01:55:06,880
participants in William and Mary's CERN
Novice Teacher Academy. This program is

1270
01:55:04,800 --> 01:55:11,119
for second and thirdyear teachers who
are new to the division or have been

1271
01:55:08,960 --> 01:55:14,880
recommended by their principal. The
novice teacher academy affords these

1272
01:55:13,199 --> 01:55:19,440
teachers with the opportunity to connect
with other new teachers from across the

1273
01:55:16,960 --> 01:55:24,320
region and receive ongoing mentorship
from a master teacher in the field.

1274
01:55:21,679 --> 01:55:28,800
We're proud to have five of our very own
educators serving as master teachers in

1275
01:55:26,880 --> 01:55:34,000
the CERN novice teacher academy this
year. And finally, as participating

1276
01:55:31,599 --> 01:55:38,000
divisions with the as a participating
division with the I teach Virginia

1277
01:55:35,840 --> 01:55:42,000
program, we've been able to offer our
novice educators coming into the

1278
01:55:39,920 --> 01:55:47,599
profession through alternative pathways
with a lowcost self-paced option for

1279
01:55:45,040 --> 01:55:52,719
obtaining lensure. And even better,
using our tuition assistance program

1280
01:55:49,599 --> 01:55:56,800
benefits, these participants can receive
100%

1281
01:55:54,239 --> 01:56:02,320
return on their investment through this
lensure only program after three years

1282
01:55:59,440 --> 01:56:06,080
of service to WJCC schools. The
reimbursement schedule is broken up over

1283
01:56:04,400 --> 01:56:10,960
the course of the three years so they
have benchmarks to meet along the way as

1284
01:56:08,159 --> 01:56:15,280
they obtain their renewable license.
Because the I teach program has rolling

1285
01:56:13,040 --> 01:56:19,520
enrollment. This has also been a viable
option for recruiting mid-year hires to

1286
01:56:17,760 --> 01:56:23,440
fill vacancies.
We also offer passage preparation

1287
01:56:21,599 --> 01:56:27,520
licenses to our employees who are
studying to take the practice

1288
01:56:24,880 --> 01:56:31,119
assessments free of charge. And finally,
we know that starting a new career and

1289
01:56:29,440 --> 01:56:35,360
balancing work life demands is
difficult. So this year we've started

1290
01:56:33,360 --> 01:56:40,800
quarterly advising sessions with all
provisionally licensed teachers to serve

1291
01:56:38,000 --> 01:56:45,440
as compassionate accountability partners
to support them in completing their

1292
01:56:42,480 --> 01:56:50,000
required coursework for lensure. And ju
just as an awareness so far since we've

1293
01:56:47,679 --> 01:56:55,119
joined as an I teach division we've had
34 employees who have received tuition

1294
01:56:53,119 --> 01:57:00,719
assistance reimbursement through that
program.

1295
01:56:57,840 --> 01:57:04,960
So how effective is the launch program?
Let's take a look. Each year in the

1296
01:57:02,880 --> 01:57:08,880
fall, we conduct an onboarding survey
for all of our new teachers, both novice

1297
01:57:07,119 --> 01:57:13,199
and experienced, to gather their
feedback. We wait until 30 days have

1298
01:57:11,440 --> 01:57:17,040
passed and they've been acclimated to
their new schools, students, and

1299
01:57:15,119 --> 01:57:22,719
classrooms to ensure their feedback is
informed by their actual experiences in

1300
01:57:19,840 --> 01:57:27,920
the field. So that the survey actually
is going out today for our new cohort

1301
01:57:25,040 --> 01:57:33,040
members uh that joined us uh a month
ago. But here you can see the onboarding

1302
01:57:30,560 --> 01:57:36,960
survey data from last year's cohort.
This question asked them to rate the

1303
01:57:34,800 --> 01:57:41,679
level of support they received from each
component of the launch program using a

1304
01:57:39,199 --> 01:57:46,080
fivepoint liyker scale. The lighter
shade blue represents a more favorable

1305
01:57:44,000 --> 01:57:49,920
response. But I think it's important to
note that the highest ratings came from

1306
01:57:48,239 --> 01:57:55,840
the support they received from their
school's lead mentors and individual

1307
01:57:52,560 --> 01:58:00,480
mentors. A testament to our people being
our greatest resource. And I also want

1308
01:57:58,480 --> 01:58:05,760
to thank you board members for investing
in those mentor teacher stipen increases

1309
01:58:02,960 --> 01:58:10,800
over the past few years.
This question, the launch onboarding

1310
01:58:08,400 --> 01:58:18,320
process has made me feel welcomed and
valued. Had a weighted score of 4.4 with

1311
01:58:14,639 --> 01:58:23,440
91 uh respondents agreeing or strongly
agreeing which is evidence that our

1312
01:58:20,639 --> 01:58:28,960
belonging goal is working.
this question. How did your onboarding

1313
01:58:25,679 --> 01:58:33,760
experience with WJCC compare to previous
onboarding experiences in other school

1314
01:58:31,360 --> 01:58:38,159
divisions? This question was only asked
of teachers who had experience but were

1315
01:58:35,920 --> 01:58:43,599
new to the division. With a weighted
score of 4.12

1316
01:58:40,480 --> 01:58:48,719
and 47% of respondents saying that our
program was much more favorable, we are

1317
01:58:46,480 --> 01:58:54,719
proud to put our competition behind us
and put our new teachers first.

1318
01:58:51,920 --> 01:58:59,280
We also conduct end ofear surveys in May
for both our mentors and mentees. This

1319
01:58:57,440 --> 01:59:04,159
data represents our new teachers
perceptions of their experiences with

1320
01:59:01,520 --> 01:59:09,920
their mentors. With a weighted score of
4.43 again at the end of the year, our

1321
01:59:07,840 --> 01:59:14,840
mentors have done a phenomenal job with
supporting our new teachers along the

1322
01:59:11,840 --> 01:59:14,840
way.

1323
01:59:15,840 --> 01:59:23,679
This question, how satisfied were you
with the support you received from your

1324
01:59:20,880 --> 01:59:28,560
school's lead mentor? Again, shows the
value of our lead mentors in

1325
01:59:25,599 --> 01:59:32,800
facilitating sitebased supports. And
this series of statements with a

1326
01:59:30,000 --> 01:59:37,360
weighted score of 4.32
also indicates that the majority of new

1327
01:59:35,119 --> 01:59:41,760
teachers felt welcomed, supported, and
understood by their building

1328
01:59:39,119 --> 01:59:47,199
administrators throughout the year. And
finally, when asked what their plans

1329
01:59:44,000 --> 01:59:52,800
were for the 2627 school year, last
year's cohort, 82% of the respondents

1330
01:59:50,400 --> 01:59:57,360
who completed the survey shared that
they planned on returning to teach at

1331
01:59:54,880 --> 02:00:02,480
the same school this school year. The
eight respondents who selected another

1332
01:59:59,760 --> 02:00:07,760
option noted one or more of the
following reasons why they would not be

1333
02:00:04,560 --> 02:00:13,599
returning. One was an increase in salary
to another school division. Seven noted

1334
02:00:11,040 --> 02:00:20,159
personal reasons such as a relocation,
family or illness. One noted inadequate

1335
02:00:17,119 --> 02:00:25,199
support and two noted difficulties with
student discipline. In all, however,

1336
02:00:23,360 --> 02:00:30,880
last year's cohort provided
overwhelmingly positive feedback about

1337
02:00:27,520 --> 02:00:34,639
their experiences in the launch program.
In a spirit of continuous improvement,

1338
02:00:32,800 --> 02:00:40,239
we have planned several enhancements for
the 2627 school year, including

1339
02:00:38,000 --> 02:00:44,960
collaboration between the organizational
development specialists and our two new

1340
02:00:42,800 --> 02:00:49,119
talent acquisition coordinators, all
three recent teachers transitioning out

1341
02:00:47,360 --> 02:00:54,000
of the classroom to support our new
teachers entering into the classroom.

1342
02:00:51,599 --> 02:00:58,560
They'll be working on triaging lensure
needs and tiered supports for new

1343
02:00:55,840 --> 02:01:01,920
teachers. We also are revising our
launch and learn curriculum to ensure

1344
02:01:00,320 --> 02:01:07,119
alignment with teacher performance
evaluation standards and professional

1345
02:01:04,480 --> 02:01:11,520
development on co-eing structures and
balanced learning. We're expanding our

1346
02:01:09,520 --> 02:01:16,159
year 2 teacher supports to include
coaching cycles and learning walks. And

1347
02:01:14,159 --> 02:01:20,880
we offered an in-person option for
mentor training which we provided in

1348
02:01:18,480 --> 02:01:25,520
August which allows our mentors choice
in how and when they receive training on

1349
02:01:23,199 --> 02:01:28,960
coaching and mentoring.
In closing, launch has evolved

1350
02:01:27,199 --> 02:01:33,920
substantially since its initial
development in 2023. It now connects

1351
02:01:32,080 --> 02:01:38,480
recruitment, onboarding, mentoring,
lenture, professional learning, and

1352
02:01:35,840 --> 02:01:44,719
retention in a more coherent experience
for new educators. The survey results

1353
02:01:41,360 --> 02:01:49,520
show strong levels of welcome, mentor
support, and intent to remain at the

1354
02:01:47,199 --> 02:01:54,639
same school. We will continue to listen
to participants and adjust the program

1355
02:01:51,679 --> 02:01:58,800
as needed for our educators. Thank you
for our your continued support of our

1356
02:01:56,880 --> 02:02:02,000
new educators. I'm happy to answer any
questions.

1357
02:02:00,400 --> 02:02:07,199
» Thank you both for that thorough
presentation. Uh it's wonderful to see

1358
02:02:04,719 --> 02:02:12,639
the supports that our new teachers are
receiving and understanding how those

1359
02:02:09,599 --> 02:02:16,880
first few days or uh weeks can be really
challenging. So, thank you for sharing

1360
02:02:14,400 --> 02:02:22,080
that as well as um being getting more
creative about how we uh work with our

1361
02:02:20,000 --> 02:02:26,239
new teachers and student teachers and
expanding our programs. Um, any comments

1362
02:02:24,320 --> 02:02:30,880
from the board? Yes, Mrs. Hunley.
>> So, I have been most excited because I

1363
02:02:28,480 --> 02:02:36,159
started with them in 2023. And I'm not
trying to be the poster schoolboard

1364
02:02:33,280 --> 02:02:41,040
person for the launch program, but they
never shied away from any results. They

1365
02:02:38,639 --> 02:02:45,760
got on surveys. They always went to get
better. Whatever they said, they said

1366
02:02:43,599 --> 02:02:52,000
how they would already start working.
How can we make that better? Um, I was

1367
02:02:48,480 --> 02:02:57,679
super excited that um, Miss Chin and I
got to go to all 16 schools and our the

1368
02:02:55,679 --> 02:03:01,119
principles knew we were going to talk to
new staff and that wasn't just the

1369
02:02:59,199 --> 02:03:06,320
teachers. It could be cafeteria, it
could be um, custodial. Everybody was

1370
02:03:04,239 --> 02:03:10,239
just so happy and thrilled with their
mentors, how things were going. We did

1371
02:03:08,719 --> 02:03:15,599
tell them we're gonna come back for a
checkup because, you know, in the

1372
02:03:12,480 --> 02:03:19,920
beginning it is easy. So, um, but we
but, uh, one young man, a high school

1373
02:03:18,000 --> 02:03:23,119
teacher, we had to kind of like push him
back in the classroom because he was so

1374
02:03:21,360 --> 02:03:28,719
excited and we're like, "You got kids in
there. You you need to go back in

1375
02:03:24,800 --> 02:03:33,520
there." But, um, also for me, everybody
knows whenever this report was done. Um,

1376
02:03:31,520 --> 02:03:41,040
so, Miss Haywood, uh, I was very
impressed with the 17% diverse staff at,

1377
02:03:37,040 --> 02:03:48,080
you know, being at the initial, uh, new
teacher thing with Miss Chin. men,

1378
02:03:43,920 --> 02:03:52,560
women, uh new teachers, uh seasoned
teachers, some teachers came out of

1379
02:03:49,679 --> 02:03:58,080
retirement. Um that diversity is also
needed. You don't want all new and in

1380
02:03:55,840 --> 02:04:03,280
the buildings the teach the the
principles were saying that the new

1381
02:04:00,159 --> 02:04:09,280
people brought energy and even more
excitingly there is an art to teaching

1382
02:04:06,560 --> 02:04:13,280
and there are there are people that have
never taught never had a student

1383
02:04:11,440 --> 02:04:18,080
teaching experience that were doing
amazing things and their principles were

1384
02:04:15,760 --> 02:04:21,520
just just saying you got to come back
later and see what they're doing and I

1385
02:04:20,080 --> 02:04:28,880
think the thing that touched my heart
the best was that um I know that I saw

1386
02:04:25,119 --> 02:04:34,239
five of my former colleagues children
who are now teaching for the first year

1387
02:04:31,280 --> 02:04:40,000
and I don't know if you all know that
when you you know with the way you know

1388
02:04:36,960 --> 02:04:44,400
teachers teaching is going now with all
the opportunities kids can go into and

1389
02:04:42,560 --> 02:04:49,040
to watch a parent go through what
they've gone through and then the child

1390
02:04:46,239 --> 02:04:55,360
say I want to be a teacher that's that's
that's huge and that I I did notice I'm

1391
02:04:52,960 --> 02:05:01,920
like, "Wow, isn't that awesome um to
have them here." So, I just commend you

1392
02:04:58,480 --> 02:05:06,880
all. It it's um it has definitely
evolved and it's only going to get

1393
02:05:03,840 --> 02:05:12,400
better and I'm excited to touch base
with those teachers later on to see um

1394
02:05:10,480 --> 02:05:17,280
I'm sure the enthusiasm will still be
there, but I know whatever inks they

1395
02:05:14,800 --> 02:05:22,080
have, your team's going to work it out.
So, thank you.

1396
02:05:19,599 --> 02:05:25,040
Any
any other board members having comments?

1397
02:05:23,679 --> 02:05:28,960
Yes, Mr. Hodes.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, the saying

1398
02:05:27,199 --> 02:05:33,040
goes, I believe you only get one chance
to make a good first impression and by

1399
02:05:31,360 --> 02:05:35,920
the looks of things, it seems like we're
doing a really good job with that with

1400
02:05:34,320 --> 02:05:39,599
our new teachers. So, just kudos to
everybody involved in the program and um

1401
02:05:38,400 --> 02:05:45,480
I look forward to seeing how it
continues to grow here in the future.

1402
02:05:41,840 --> 02:05:45,480
» Thank you, Mr. Hodgees.

1403
02:05:45,840 --> 02:05:52,000
» See no other comments. Thank you so much
for that presentation and all that

1404
02:05:49,679 --> 02:05:57,360
you're doing to support.
We'll move on to our next action item

1405
02:05:54,159 --> 02:06:02,080
10.02, elevate 28 strategic updates. Is
that truly 50 slides?

1406
02:06:00,096 --> 02:06:06,639
[laughter]
>> I'm proud of the work that we're doing.

1407
02:06:04,159 --> 02:06:11,199
Madam Chair, [laughter]
>> the way I heard it, y'all do it anyway.

1408
02:06:09,360 --> 02:06:16,880
We we initially had had this
presentation slated for September the

1409
02:06:13,760 --> 02:06:21,840
1st and because of a number of other
items on the work session agenda, we

1410
02:06:19,360 --> 02:06:25,840
shifted it to this evening and I look
forward to sharing in detail all of the

1411
02:06:24,480 --> 02:06:29,520
fantastic things that are happening
relative to Elevate 28.

1412
02:06:27,520 --> 02:06:32,880
» We love that. Anybody need anything
before we go into this? [laughter]

1413
02:06:31,280 --> 02:06:35,280
» We want to make sure there's full
attention.

1414
02:06:33,840 --> 02:06:39,760
» Take your time, Dr. Kever. We don't want
to miss a thing.

1415
02:06:38,079 --> 02:06:43,599
Thank you. I just I tease.
>> Yes, ma'am. [laughter]

1416
02:06:40,800 --> 02:06:47,360
As as you will recall, in May and June,
our team provided strategic updates on

1417
02:06:45,440 --> 02:06:50,000
several of the strategic initiatives we
implemented over the course of the

1418
02:06:48,719 --> 02:06:54,079
school year. The purpose of those
presentations was to provide a year in

1419
02:06:52,000 --> 02:06:58,000
review and celebrate the collective work
accomplished towards our strategic

1420
02:06:56,000 --> 02:07:03,360
priorities. Tonight, several members of
our leadership team will share the 2526

1421
02:07:01,440 --> 02:07:08,480
quantitative data related to key
performance indicators or KPIs outlined

1422
02:07:06,000 --> 02:07:12,400
in our plan. These are the metrics that
were previously adopted by the board to

1423
02:07:10,560 --> 02:07:16,880
measure how well we're achieving our
supporting priorities. These indicators

1424
02:07:14,800 --> 02:07:21,280
not only reflect where we stand today,
but also help us guide decisions as we

1425
02:07:19,199 --> 02:07:24,960
continue to raise the bar over the last
two years of the strategic planning

1426
02:07:22,960 --> 02:07:28,719
cycle. In addition to reviewing our
progress, you'll also hear about some of

1427
02:07:27,280 --> 02:07:32,560
the strategic initiatives we will
prioritize this particular school year

1428
02:07:30,960 --> 02:07:37,679
initiatives designed to enhance safety
and security, support and engage our

1429
02:07:35,440 --> 02:07:41,199
staff and community, and ensure every
student has the resources and

1430
02:07:39,040 --> 02:07:44,400
opportunities to thrive. I'm proud of
the work that our team has done and the

1431
02:07:42,639 --> 02:07:49,520
focus that they maintain on what matters
most, student success. With that, I will

1432
02:07:47,199 --> 02:07:53,199
turn it over to Elena Trot, our chief
strategy officer, to begin the

1433
02:07:51,199 --> 02:07:56,239
presentation. Welcome, Elena. Thank you,
Dr. Kever. And again, good evening,

1434
02:07:55,040 --> 02:08:00,000
chair, daughter, and schoolboard
members. Throughout tonight's

1435
02:07:58,000 --> 02:08:04,239
presentation, you'll see what we've
colorcoded. You'll see that we've

1436
02:08:01,840 --> 02:08:10,159
colorcoded the year-over-year change in
each KPI. Before we get started, I want

1437
02:08:06,960 --> 02:08:15,280
to clarify that a change shown in green
represents progress toward the KPI

1438
02:08:12,560 --> 02:08:20,320
target. And while a change shown in
orange indicates movement away from the

1439
02:08:17,760 --> 02:08:24,960
target, not too many of those. Our first
update this evening will focus on our

1440
02:08:22,400 --> 02:08:28,560
fully integrated approach to safety. One
that protects the physical environment

1441
02:08:26,800 --> 02:08:33,280
while also supporting the social,
emotional, and mental well-being of our

1442
02:08:30,960 --> 02:08:37,440
students. There are seven key
performance indicators that help us

1443
02:08:35,280 --> 02:08:42,719
measure this priority. These include
data relative to the implementation of

1444
02:08:39,840 --> 02:08:47,440
safety and security recommendations,
uh, student perceptions of belonging,

1445
02:08:44,880 --> 02:08:51,440
school counseling services, suspension
rates, attendance rates, and

1446
02:08:49,520 --> 02:08:56,000
participation in the school healthy
initiative program. I've got an all-star

1447
02:08:53,840 --> 02:09:03,639
lineup behind me. So, we're going to
start with Mr. Brian Weaver, followed by

1448
02:08:58,239 --> 02:09:03,639
Mrs. Jessica Walter and Dr. Adam Brown.

1449
02:09:06,239 --> 02:09:12,480
Good evening.
>> Our first KP KPI related to safety and

1450
02:09:10,320 --> 02:09:18,400
security is to implement the identified
safety recommendations from the 2022

1451
02:09:15,360 --> 02:09:22,079
threat risk vulnerability assessment. So
far, we have completed 54% of the

1452
02:09:20,480 --> 02:09:25,280
recommendations with many others
currently in progress and nearing

1453
02:09:23,760 --> 02:09:28,480
completion.
Because several of the recommendations

1454
02:09:26,800 --> 02:09:32,159
are being implemented in phases and can
take several years to complete, we

1455
02:09:30,320 --> 02:09:36,639
anticipate seeing a more substantial
increase as 2028 nears.

1456
02:09:34,939 --> 02:09:40,480
[snorts]
We will continue our progress this year

1457
02:09:38,400 --> 02:09:44,320
by debriefing the live reunification
drill that was conducted in July and

1458
02:09:42,400 --> 02:09:48,560
implementing next step recommendations
before conducting the next drill. We

1459
02:09:46,800 --> 02:09:52,960
will also continue installing loading
dock cameras at all schools, updating

1460
02:09:50,800 --> 02:09:57,440
universal signage on school properties,
and posting campus speed limit signs.

1461
02:09:55,520 --> 02:10:01,440
Additionally, we will begin the RFP
process to conduct another threat risk

1462
02:09:59,360 --> 02:10:06,159
or vulnerability assessment in the
spring of 2027. These updates, combined

1463
02:10:04,480 --> 02:10:12,520
with staff training and feedback on
recurring drills, will enhance our

1464
02:10:07,840 --> 02:10:12,520
safety processes across all campuses.

1465
02:10:14,800 --> 02:10:21,199
» Good evening.
Our goal for KPI 2.3 is to ensure school

1466
02:10:19,679 --> 02:10:25,599
counselors spend the majority of their
day providing direct services to our

1467
02:10:23,040 --> 02:10:28,960
students. Due to an interruption and
service for the platform used to track

1468
02:10:27,360 --> 02:10:32,880
school counseling hours, we were unable
to collect year-long data related to the

1469
02:10:31,040 --> 02:10:35,920
percent of hours. However, as an
alternative, school counselors were

1470
02:10:34,400 --> 02:10:40,480
asked to report the number of students
on their case load who received direct

1471
02:10:38,000 --> 02:10:45,760
counseling services last school year. In
total, 98.7% of all students in grades

1472
02:10:43,599 --> 02:10:51,119
preK through 12 received direct
counseling services last school year.

1473
02:10:47,920 --> 02:10:55,440
The variance of 1.3% represents some
students enrolled um in certain programs

1474
02:10:53,920 --> 02:11:00,079
at the restorative center or bright
beginnings who were not reported as

1475
02:10:57,360 --> 02:11:04,639
having received those direct services or
students who are full-time virtual or

1476
02:11:02,880 --> 02:11:10,239
privately placed in an alternate
setting. Of that total, 975 students

1477
02:11:08,239 --> 02:11:13,920
across the division participated in
small groupoup counseling sessions.

1478
02:11:12,239 --> 02:11:16,800
While that number declined slightly from
the previous year, our work with

1479
02:11:15,440 --> 02:11:20,960
counselors has helped us better
understand some of the barriers that can

1480
02:11:18,639 --> 02:11:25,599
make these tier 2 supports difficult to
access. One challenge we're seeing

1481
02:11:23,520 --> 02:11:29,760
across all levels is finding time within
the school day. Each level has its own

1482
02:11:27,840 --> 02:11:33,520
unique scheduling complexities and
changes to master schedules and

1483
02:11:31,440 --> 02:11:37,280
instructional requirements have created
some additional constraints. We're

1484
02:11:35,679 --> 02:11:41,280
working directly with counselors and
school leaders to identify the specific

1485
02:11:39,280 --> 02:11:46,320
barriers within each building and find
practical ways to reduce them.

1486
02:11:44,560 --> 02:11:50,239
As we look ahead to this school year,
our focus is on strengthening a

1487
02:11:48,400 --> 02:11:54,320
coordinated system of school counseling
and student supports across the

1488
02:11:51,760 --> 02:11:58,159
division. A significant step forward is
the addition of a coordinator of school

1489
02:11:56,239 --> 02:12:02,320
counseling and student supports who will
provide dedicated leadership to school

1490
02:11:59,840 --> 02:12:07,040
counselors across all levels and support
across departments in creating and

1491
02:12:04,239 --> 02:12:11,280
implementing additional student supports
in alignment with the superintendent's

1492
02:12:08,880 --> 02:12:15,920
transition plan. We will continue our
work in designing a graduate action

1493
02:12:13,599 --> 02:12:20,800
planning process to help students
intentionally prepare for life after

1494
02:12:18,079 --> 02:12:24,880
high school. We'll also conduct student
mental health focus groups with students

1495
02:12:22,800 --> 02:12:30,400
and adults to better understand needs
and identify opportunities to strengthen

1496
02:12:27,679 --> 02:12:35,040
support. Finally, we're continuing to
build staff capacity to support student

1497
02:12:32,800 --> 02:12:39,360
needs by hosting 12 youth mental health
first aid trainings, strengthening our

1498
02:12:37,360 --> 02:12:44,159
school-based mental health teams, and
creating PLC opportunities for

1499
02:12:41,679 --> 02:12:49,599
elementary counselors focused on
classroom counseling.

1500
02:12:47,599 --> 02:12:53,920
There are also several pieces of new
legislation that impact the work of our

1501
02:12:51,840 --> 02:12:58,560
school counseling teams this year. At
the high school level, new requirements

1502
02:12:56,079 --> 02:13:02,719
expand our role in post-secary planning
through financial aid workshops, SAT

1503
02:13:00,719 --> 02:13:08,239
school day, and required communication
with families about course requests. New

1504
02:13:05,840 --> 02:13:11,599
legislation also strengthens our role in
student mental health, including

1505
02:13:09,920 --> 02:13:16,079
coordinating supports for students
returning to school following treatment

1506
02:13:13,679 --> 02:13:20,079
in a mental health facility and ensuring
students have access to culturally

1507
02:13:17,760 --> 02:13:24,159
responsive mental health supports.
Collectively, these changes reinforce

1508
02:13:22,400 --> 02:13:28,480
the important role counselors play in
helping students successfully navigate

1509
02:13:26,159 --> 02:13:32,119
both their academic journey and their
overall well-being.

1510
02:13:36,639 --> 02:13:43,520
KPI 2.4 monitors the percentage of
behavioral referrals that result in a

1511
02:13:41,199 --> 02:13:48,079
student's suspension from school. This
year's data indicates a 23.8% suspension

1512
02:13:46,320 --> 02:13:51,760
rate which is slightly improved from the
baseline.

1513
02:13:50,159 --> 02:13:55,040
We are committed to reducing the use of
out of school suspension and to achieve

1514
02:13:53,599 --> 02:13:58,960
this we know that supporting student
behavior starts with having the right

1515
02:13:56,560 --> 02:14:02,880
people in place. We've onboarded three
new behavior specialists, bringing our

1516
02:14:00,639 --> 02:14:07,199
total to six, along with nine elementary
behavioral pair professionals. Starting

1517
02:14:05,599 --> 02:14:11,119
in October, we'll begin meeting monthly
with principles to review discipline

1518
02:14:08,800 --> 02:14:15,840
data talks and work through necessary
supports. We're also strengthening our

1519
02:14:13,360 --> 02:14:19,199
supports around our students. Our mentor
mentoring program design team recently

1520
02:14:17,679 --> 02:14:23,280
held a second meeting to look at an
official roll out for divisionwide

1521
02:14:21,119 --> 02:14:27,360
mentoring. Additionally, we're re
reimagining our student assistance plan

1522
02:14:25,199 --> 02:14:31,360
process to better meet the needs of our
students across the division. We

1523
02:14:29,760 --> 02:14:35,440
continue to focus on students returning
from long-term suspension. And finally,

1524
02:14:33,599 --> 02:14:38,560
we have a team exploring alternatives to
suspension for our elementary age

1525
02:14:36,960 --> 02:14:42,719
students and looking at non-traditional
pathways for them. We're looking also to

1526
02:14:41,199 --> 02:14:47,440
redesign our alternative classroom
setting program that are offered at the

1527
02:14:44,320 --> 02:14:52,880
middle and high school levels.
KPI 2.5 has two indicators. The first is

1528
02:14:50,960 --> 02:14:56,639
related to the average daily attendance
percentage and the second is related to

1529
02:14:54,960 --> 02:15:02,960
the percentage of students identified as
chronically absent. Our target is at 95%

1530
02:15:00,159 --> 02:15:07,599
daily attendance rate and a 3% decrease
in chronic absenteeism by 2028. I'm

1531
02:15:06,079 --> 02:15:12,239
happy to report that we made gains on
both indicators last school year.

1532
02:15:10,400 --> 02:15:16,079
Improving attendance takes all of us and
will continue that work and has been

1533
02:15:14,560 --> 02:15:19,360
making a difference in the neighborhoods
where our students have higher levels of

1534
02:15:17,760 --> 02:15:22,719
absenteeism.
We are maintaining our second

1535
02:15:20,960 --> 02:15:26,560
multid-disiplinary team meeting each
month so we can respond to student needs

1536
02:15:24,800 --> 02:15:30,400
quickly along with offering a virtual
options to make it easier for parents to

1537
02:15:28,239 --> 02:15:34,800
take part. We continue to track
attendance improvement plans and synergy

1538
02:15:32,639 --> 02:15:38,079
and continue to hold conferences for
students before the school year starts

1539
02:15:36,639 --> 02:15:42,400
who are chronically absent the year
before. What's new this year is a

1540
02:15:40,560 --> 02:15:45,920
student activities KPI or key
performance indicator. We've established

1541
02:15:44,159 --> 02:15:50,000
a work group to design a process to
promote extracurricular activities at

1542
02:15:47,520 --> 02:15:54,000
each school. monitor student engagement
and participation and connect students

1543
02:15:52,000 --> 02:15:56,960
with opportunities to get involved. We
know students who feel connected to

1544
02:15:55,360 --> 02:16:03,000
school are more likely to be there and
we look forward to collecting baseline

1545
02:15:58,320 --> 02:16:03,000
data for this new KPI this year.

1546
02:16:05,040 --> 02:16:13,440
KPI 2.6 seeks to measure student
perceptions of our learning environment.

1547
02:16:11,520 --> 02:16:18,719
We want students to feel heard,
supported, and belonging. Our goal is

1548
02:16:16,000 --> 02:16:22,960
for 90% of students to affirm that their
school provides a safe, healthy, and

1549
02:16:20,400 --> 02:16:27,840
well-maintained positive environment.
Data for this KPI is collected through

1550
02:16:25,119 --> 02:16:32,479
the Elevate 28 stakeholder survey. And
this data uh was conducted last fall, so

1551
02:16:30,880 --> 02:16:38,479
we're almost a year out from when this
data has uh been collected. We are

1552
02:16:35,439 --> 02:16:43,040
conducting that survey again next month.
Statements from the survey that measure

1553
02:16:40,240 --> 02:16:48,399
student perceptions include, I feel safe
at school. My school is well-maintained

1554
02:16:46,000 --> 02:16:53,200
and overall my school is a good place
for learning. The percentages shown here

1555
02:16:51,120 --> 02:16:59,599
represent those students who rated these
statements a three standing for agree or

1556
02:16:56,639 --> 02:17:05,120
a four representing strongly agree.
Overall, we saw increased affirmations

1557
02:17:02,080 --> 02:17:09,760
on all three indicators and an overall
improvement of 4.7

1558
02:17:07,679 --> 02:17:15,840
percentage points. This is my favorite
slide in the entire presentation.

1559
02:17:13,200 --> 02:17:19,760
To enhance belonging, we continue to
create more intentional opportunities

1560
02:17:17,599 --> 02:17:24,719
for students to feel connected, valued,
and empowered within our school. We'll

1561
02:17:22,160 --> 02:17:28,880
once again host the student voices tour,
giving students across the division

1562
02:17:27,040 --> 02:17:33,760
opportunities to share directly with
division leaders about their experiences

1563
02:17:30,960 --> 02:17:38,080
and ideas. We're also expanding student
leadership development experiences by

1564
02:17:36,319 --> 02:17:43,120
increasing the number of students from
each high school on the Superintendent

1565
02:17:40,240 --> 02:17:47,200
Student Advisory Council to 14.
Continuing to send high school students

1566
02:17:45,120 --> 02:17:53,200
to the Virginia Center for Inclusive
Communities Summer Connections Institute

1567
02:17:50,080 --> 02:17:57,920
and the VHSL leadership conference.
Hosting in district student leadership

1568
02:17:55,519 --> 02:18:02,960
workshops for elementary, middle, and
high school students. and providing

1569
02:18:00,160 --> 02:18:08,160
opportunities for SEA adviserss to
collaborate and attend advisor

1570
02:18:05,280 --> 02:18:12,719
workshops. We are also hosting three
captains council meetings bringing

1571
02:18:10,240 --> 02:18:17,679
together the athletic co- captains from
all three high schools to sh to create a

1572
02:18:15,280 --> 02:18:22,960
shared vision for sportsmanship and
leadership. We'll also host our second

1573
02:18:20,399 --> 02:18:27,519
leadership connect day, which allows
students to shadow leaders throughout

1574
02:18:25,040 --> 02:18:31,920
our community and learn firsthand about
leadership in action. Finally, we're

1575
02:18:30,000 --> 02:18:36,319
exploring additional internship
experiences within the school division

1576
02:18:34,319 --> 02:18:43,080
to provide students with opportunities
to develop real world skills while

1577
02:18:38,559 --> 02:18:43,080
contributing to our school community.

1578
02:18:45,280 --> 02:18:53,120
Finally, in this supporting priority,
KPI 2.7 seeks to ensure that 95% of our

1579
02:18:50,800 --> 02:18:57,679
elementary students participate in a
SHIP sponsored activity. We have met our

1580
02:18:55,599 --> 02:19:00,639
established KPI and we attribute this
increase in participation this year or

1581
02:18:59,359 --> 02:19:04,160
last year due to the SHIP's
collaboration with the Department of

1582
02:19:02,559 --> 02:19:07,200
Special Education to adapt the
curriculum to access more self-contained

1583
02:19:05,920 --> 02:19:10,559
programming within our elementary
schools.

1584
02:19:08,880 --> 02:19:13,519
Looking ahead, our SHIP team will
continue to look at ways in which a

1585
02:19:11,920 --> 02:19:16,960
healthy balance of movement within the
classroom can be achieved. And we know

1586
02:19:15,519 --> 02:19:20,319
students learn and behave best when they
have chances to move. So, we're

1587
02:19:18,240 --> 02:19:23,519
expanding non- tech incentives for
classroom behavior through movement

1588
02:19:21,760 --> 02:19:26,639
activities and games. These
opportunities will continue to enhance

1589
02:19:24,880 --> 02:19:30,639
our alignment and focus on implementing
our division's wellness policy. We'll

1590
02:19:29,200 --> 02:19:33,840
also train our elementary pair
professionals on in-class movement

1591
02:19:32,319 --> 02:19:38,319
strategy so they can build these breaks
into the day and help students reset and

1592
02:19:35,679 --> 02:19:41,599
refocus. We're also continuing our work
with special education teams to adapt

1593
02:19:40,080 --> 02:19:45,359
SHIP programming for students in our
self-contained elementary classroom so

1594
02:19:43,280 --> 02:19:49,760
every student can take part in a way
that fits their needs.

1595
02:19:48,000 --> 02:19:53,200
We'd like to pause at this time to see
if our team can help answer any

1596
02:19:51,439 --> 02:19:58,240
questions that you may have about safety
and security.

1597
02:19:55,040 --> 02:20:01,240
» Thank you so much. Opening it up for
questions.

1598
02:20:02,240 --> 02:20:08,960
Um
I don't know if I want to open this can

1599
02:20:05,200 --> 02:20:14,399
of worms. Um the with some of the
student behavior, will we get a more

1600
02:20:11,760 --> 02:20:19,920
in-depth conversation about how that's
kind of splitting out in terms of

1601
02:20:16,640 --> 02:20:22,720
suspension rates?
>> Yes, we can provide that to you. I don't

1602
02:20:21,520 --> 02:20:26,680
have it available currently, but we can
get that to you.

1603
02:20:23,280 --> 02:20:26,680
» Okay. Thank you.

1604
02:20:28,479 --> 02:20:36,640
» Any other questions?
>> Okay,

1605
02:20:33,680 --> 02:20:40,800
part two. The aim of our human capital
and positive culture supporting priority

1606
02:20:38,800 --> 02:20:44,319
is to recruit and retain an exemplary
workforce by creating an environment

1607
02:20:42,560 --> 02:20:48,880
where transparency and trust are the
norm. There are five key performance

1608
02:20:47,040 --> 02:20:53,120
indicators that help us measure this
priority, including the percentage of

1609
02:20:51,439 --> 02:20:57,439
personnel hired by the first day of
school, annual employee retention rates,

1610
02:20:55,600 --> 02:21:02,000
our salary ranking compared to
neighborhood divisions, employee

1611
02:20:59,359 --> 02:21:05,920
perceptions of WJCC being a supportive
work environment, and professional

1612
02:21:03,840 --> 02:21:11,720
learning opportunities. Miss Emily
Haywood will now share some updates

1613
02:21:07,920 --> 02:21:11,720
related to this priority.

1614
02:21:18,560 --> 02:21:26,720
While our goal is always to be 100%
staff, to begin the 2627 school year, we

1615
02:21:23,760 --> 02:21:31,359
were just four teachers short or 99.6%
staff for classroom teachers. While

1616
02:21:29,200 --> 02:21:36,880
teachers are a critical for focus of our
workforce, we were also extremely well

1617
02:21:33,520 --> 02:21:41,680
staffed for support positions at 95.3%
and we were at 99% staff for

1618
02:21:39,200 --> 02:21:45,520
administrators. Our teachers and support
employee fill rate is higher than it's

1619
02:21:43,200 --> 02:21:49,840
been in the past three years. While our
administrator rate is under 100%, all

1620
02:21:47,760 --> 02:21:54,319
building administrator positions were
filled at 100% and the one opening was a

1621
02:21:52,640 --> 02:21:58,280
central support position that was being
reviewed prior to recruiting.

1622
02:21:59,200 --> 02:22:05,600
We want our employees to grow and be
supported in their career paths and to

1623
02:22:02,880 --> 02:22:11,200
maintain commitment to WJCC.
To begin the year, we retained 87% of

1624
02:22:08,000 --> 02:22:16,560
our teachers, 81.9% of our support
staff, and 89.4% of our administrators.

1625
02:22:14,800 --> 02:22:20,479
We have continued to make progress on
retention of teachers and support. These

1626
02:22:18,800 --> 02:22:25,840
are all increases from our previous
year's retention rate. Our administrator

1627
02:22:23,120 --> 02:22:30,160
retention did decline slightly. Out of
the out of the 10 total departures, two

1628
02:22:28,560 --> 02:22:33,359
were due to retirements, two were
position changes, and six took

1629
02:22:31,760 --> 02:22:36,359
promotional opportunities at other
organizations.

1630
02:22:38,240 --> 02:22:44,800
By June 2028, our goal is for WJCC to
lead the region in salaries for

1631
02:22:43,280 --> 02:22:49,840
teachers, support staff, and
administrators. Competitive competitive

1632
02:22:48,000 --> 02:22:54,479
pay is critical because when we invest
in our people, we invest directly in our

1633
02:22:51,840 --> 02:22:58,640
student success. We have made progress,
but we know there's more work to do.

1634
02:22:56,640 --> 02:23:03,600
Currently, our teachers rank four out of
six divisions in starting salary. Our

1635
02:23:01,200 --> 02:23:08,240
entry level support staff, custodians,
cafeteria workers rank second in the

1636
02:23:06,160 --> 02:23:13,280
region and our administrators are third
out of six. These numbers remind us why

1637
02:23:10,960 --> 02:23:17,600
this goal matters. To attract and retain
the very best talent at every level, we

1638
02:23:15,439 --> 02:23:24,359
must continue to move forward so that
WJC is not just competitive but the

1639
02:23:20,319 --> 02:23:24,359
clear leader in our region.

1640
02:23:25,600 --> 02:23:31,920
This year we will seek to implement the
third and final year of the compensation

1641
02:23:29,359 --> 02:23:35,760
studies recommendations. Additionally,
we will be seeking input from stipen

1642
02:23:33,840 --> 02:23:40,319
holders to evaluate placement within the
stipen framework. We will continue to

1643
02:23:38,399 --> 02:23:44,240
focus on wellness initiatives with the
launch of our vitality app, wellness

1644
02:23:42,720 --> 02:23:47,359
committee, and ongoing wellness
activities.

1645
02:23:45,760 --> 02:23:51,359
In the area of recruitment, we've
scheduled a February alternative

1646
02:23:49,040 --> 02:23:55,120
pathways night and job fairs, including
a VIP teachers event where we will where

1647
02:23:53,600 --> 02:23:59,359
we will invite our student teacher
candidates to meet and greet with our

1648
02:23:56,960 --> 02:24:03,760
principles, a Saturday job fair in
March. We are also reshaping how we

1649
02:24:02,000 --> 02:24:08,000
recruit support staff with targeted
recruitments. These efforts will help us

1650
02:24:06,160 --> 02:24:12,200
attract and retain the highquality
employees our students deserve.

1651
02:24:16,880 --> 02:24:26,800
KPI 3.4 measures perceptions of WJCC
schools being a supportive work

1652
02:24:24,000 --> 02:24:31,040
environment. Data for this KPI is
collected through the Elevate 28

1653
02:24:28,720 --> 02:24:35,760
stakeholder survey which again was
conducted about a year ago last fall. We

1654
02:24:33,920 --> 02:24:40,640
will conduct that survey again next
month. Statements from the survey that

1655
02:24:38,080 --> 02:24:45,200
measure employee perceptions included,
the administrators in this school care

1656
02:24:42,720 --> 02:24:50,720
about staff well-being. I feel supported
by teachers and staff in this school.

1657
02:24:47,760 --> 02:24:55,600
Overall, my school is a good place to
work and a good place to learn. This

1658
02:24:53,600 --> 02:25:01,280
percentages shown here represent those
who rated these statements a four agree

1659
02:24:58,240 --> 02:25:06,479
or a uh I'm sorry a three agree or a
four strongly agree with a combined

1660
02:25:03,920 --> 02:25:12,479
average of 85.3%
representing a 5.7 percentage point

1661
02:25:09,359 --> 02:25:16,640
decline from the 24 survey. That change
is important for us to acknowledge and

1662
02:25:14,960 --> 02:25:21,200
understand.
Rather than waiting until this year's

1663
02:25:18,800 --> 02:25:24,640
Elevate 28 stakeholder survey, we
followed up in the spring with an

1664
02:25:22,640 --> 02:25:29,040
open-ended employee survey that asked
staff to share their wins, wishes, and

1665
02:25:26,800 --> 02:25:33,680
wonders. This gave employees an
opportunity to move beyond a rating

1666
02:25:30,880 --> 02:25:38,800
scale and provide more specific feedback
about what's working well, where they

1667
02:25:36,080 --> 02:25:42,960
see opportunities for improvement, and
what they would like us to consider

1668
02:25:40,479 --> 02:25:48,240
moving forward. What we heard through
this survey gave us important context

1669
02:25:45,600 --> 02:25:53,200
behind the numbers. Among the wins,
employees highlighted collaboration and

1670
02:25:50,479 --> 02:25:57,200
teamwork, student academic growth,
increased communication and

1671
02:25:54,880 --> 02:26:01,439
transparency, student voice, and
positive school cultures. When asked

1672
02:25:59,760 --> 02:26:06,160
about their wishes, some of the
strongest themes centered on competitive

1673
02:26:03,680 --> 02:26:10,960
compensation and retention, additional
planning time and workload management,

1674
02:26:08,640 --> 02:26:15,120
increased support for special education
and student behavioral and mental health

1675
02:26:12,880 --> 02:26:19,600
needs, and continued attention to
staffing. And through their wonders,

1676
02:26:17,439 --> 02:26:22,640
employees reinforced the importance of
continued communication and

1677
02:26:21,120 --> 02:26:27,200
transparency,
but also raised an important question.

1678
02:26:25,120 --> 02:26:31,359
How is our feedback influencing
decisions? They want to see greater

1679
02:26:29,280 --> 02:26:35,520
visibility into how their voice
translate into action. It's also

1680
02:26:33,920 --> 02:26:41,280
important to note that these categories
weren't mutually exclusive. Some topics

1681
02:26:38,160 --> 02:26:45,200
surfaced as wins, wishes, and wonders.
For example, employees recognized

1682
02:26:43,359 --> 02:26:49,520
improvements in communication and
transparency as a win while also

1683
02:26:47,680 --> 02:26:54,560
expressing a desire for continued
improvement and asking how decisions are

1684
02:26:51,920 --> 02:26:58,640
made and communicated. This tells us
that progress is being recognized, but

1685
02:26:56,800 --> 02:27:03,280
there is still an expectation that we
continue to build on that progress.

1686
02:27:01,040 --> 02:27:07,680
We've also disagregated this feedback at
the school level and individual school

1687
02:27:05,600 --> 02:27:11,840
data has been provided to principles who
were recently appointed to new school

1688
02:27:10,080 --> 02:27:16,000
buildings, giving them an additional
source of employee voice as they get to

1689
02:27:14,160 --> 02:27:20,160
know their new school communities and
identify areas of strength and

1690
02:27:17,520 --> 02:27:24,880
opportunity. All of this provides an
important baseline as we prepare to

1691
02:27:22,240 --> 02:27:28,720
administer the Elevate 28 stakeholder
survey again next month. We'll be

1692
02:27:27,040 --> 02:27:32,960
looking closely at whether employee
perceptions have shifted and where there

1693
02:27:31,359 --> 02:27:37,200
are additional opportunities to
strengthen that support well-being and

1694
02:27:34,960 --> 02:27:41,600
connection. Maintaining a positive
workplace culture requires ongoing

1695
02:27:39,359 --> 02:27:46,160
attention and will continue using
employee feedback to inform both our

1696
02:27:43,840 --> 02:27:51,600
division level efforts and the work
occurring within individual schools. The

1697
02:27:49,600 --> 02:27:56,080
feedback we've received directly informs
our employee engagement priorities this

1698
02:27:53,760 --> 02:28:00,160
year with a focus on strengthening voice
connection communication and

1699
02:27:57,600 --> 02:28:04,720
recognition. At the school level, every
school will have three school-based

1700
02:28:02,160 --> 02:28:08,880
advisory groups and host monthly staff
meetings, creating more consistent

1701
02:28:06,880 --> 02:28:12,640
opportunities for employees to provide
input, engage with school leadership,

1702
02:28:11,200 --> 02:28:17,040
and be recognized for their
contributions throughout the year. The

1703
02:28:15,200 --> 02:28:21,600
addition of our employee experience
coordinator will also help to open lines

1704
02:28:19,439 --> 02:28:26,560
of communication between employees and
human resources and promote employee

1705
02:28:24,160 --> 02:28:31,760
wellness and morale efforts. And through
our new helping hands initiative, Dr.

1706
02:28:29,200 --> 02:28:36,560
Kever has set the expectation that every
central support employee will spend time

1707
02:28:34,560 --> 02:28:41,840
working alongside colleagues in our
schools at least two days this year,

1708
02:28:39,520 --> 02:28:46,000
increasing our visibility in schools
while also helping central support staff

1709
02:28:44,240 --> 02:28:50,720
stay connected to the day-to-day
experiences of the employees and

1710
02:28:48,240 --> 02:28:55,680
students we serve. Finally, we're
expanding how we celebrate our employees

1711
02:28:53,280 --> 02:29:00,399
from enhanced recognition for National
Board Certified Teachers and other staff

1712
02:28:58,240 --> 02:29:06,960
accomplishments to divisionwide
recognition and a new Oscars ceremony

1713
02:29:04,160 --> 02:29:11,680
celebrating our operations services
employees. Next June, we're being more

1714
02:29:09,680 --> 02:29:18,800
intentional with ensuring our employees
feel heard, connected, and valued.

1715
02:29:15,439 --> 02:29:22,880
KPI 3.5 measures employee participation
in meaningful growth professional growth

1716
02:29:21,359 --> 02:29:28,399
opportunities. And we're pleased to
share that we have exceeded our goal of

1717
02:29:24,880 --> 02:29:32,000
95% with 96.7%
of our team members engaging in

1718
02:29:30,240 --> 02:29:36,080
professional development related to
their work. Within professional

1719
02:29:34,000 --> 02:29:40,080
development, our focus this year is on
improving the quality of our learning

1720
02:29:37,760 --> 02:29:44,479
experiences while continuing to build
leadership capacity. We're strengthening

1721
02:29:42,560 --> 02:29:49,680
how we evaluate professional learning
through a new facilitator and presenter

1722
02:29:46,720 --> 02:29:54,160
evaluation tool as well as a revised
session evaluation survey developed with

1723
02:29:52,479 --> 02:29:58,800
input from our professional learning
focus group last year. Additionally,

1724
02:29:57,040 --> 02:30:02,720
with the launch of our new profile of an
empowered learner, we're building

1725
02:30:00,399 --> 02:30:07,439
capacity to engage students by hosting
an Elevate Ed conference for our

1726
02:30:05,120 --> 02:30:11,280
secondary teachers this spring and
embedding strategies that develop the

1727
02:30:09,359 --> 02:30:16,000
five attributes into our professional
learning corner publication. Our teacher

1728
02:30:13,920 --> 02:30:21,760
learn leadership and cognitive coaching
cohorts will reach 160 educators as we

1729
02:30:19,359 --> 02:30:26,960
empower them with strategies to lead,
mentor, and develop others. And this

1730
02:30:24,560 --> 02:30:31,600
winter, we'll host our third Pathways to
Leadership listening tour, where we will

1731
02:30:29,520 --> 02:30:36,560
visit schools to meet with aspiring
leaders to learn more about them, their

1732
02:30:34,319 --> 02:30:41,359
goals, and their pathways for obtaining
an administrative endorsement. Finally,

1733
02:30:39,359 --> 02:30:45,920
we're exploring new partnerships,
including the possibility of a reading

1734
02:30:43,280 --> 02:30:49,280
specialist degree cohort to continue
creating meaningful pathways for

1735
02:30:47,680 --> 02:30:52,640
professional growth within our
organization.

1736
02:30:50,880 --> 02:30:57,680
We're also focused on ensuring
professional growth uh to our in beyond

1737
02:30:55,280 --> 02:31:03,200
our instructional staff through parah
pathways which is the new parapro exam.

1738
02:31:01,280 --> 02:31:07,359
We'll continue offering assessment
preparation and on-site administration

1739
02:31:05,600 --> 02:31:11,920
to help paraprofessionals pursue
additional credentials and pay

1740
02:31:08,960 --> 02:31:15,680
advancement. Pending title 2A funding.
We also hope to establish

1741
02:31:13,359 --> 02:31:20,000
paraprofessional lead mentors to provide
more structured peer support. And more

1742
02:31:18,160 --> 02:31:24,399
broadly, we're expanding professional
development for non-instructional

1743
02:31:21,920 --> 02:31:28,160
employees and strengthening onboarding
for our support staff so that all

1744
02:31:26,319 --> 02:31:32,960
employees have the tools and connections
they need to be successful. And finally,

1745
02:31:30,800 --> 02:31:37,920
we're continuing to improve the systems
behind the professional learning by

1746
02:31:34,960 --> 02:31:42,160
digitizing our pro process for
conference and travel requests, making

1747
02:31:40,080 --> 02:31:45,920
it simpler and more efficient for
employees to request these

1748
02:31:43,840 --> 02:31:49,600
opportunities. We're going to pause here
to see if you have any questions for

1749
02:31:47,520 --> 02:31:53,920
human
capital and positive culture.

1750
02:31:52,399 --> 02:31:58,960
Thank you so much for everything that
you've walked through here. Uh questions

1751
02:31:56,880 --> 02:32:05,439
from the board
or comments.

1752
02:32:01,760 --> 02:32:10,399
I don't have a question, but I I
appreciate seeing the orange that we're

1753
02:32:07,680 --> 02:32:15,120
not hiding anything and I know that
we're going to um turn that orange to

1754
02:32:12,960 --> 02:32:22,040
green, but I do appreciate the
transparency putting those orange

1755
02:32:17,200 --> 02:32:22,040
numbers up there. Thank you.

1756
02:32:27,040 --> 02:32:30,760
» Any other questions?

1757
02:32:32,319 --> 02:32:37,760
All right. Third quarter. Here we go.
Here we go.

1758
02:32:35,680 --> 02:32:42,000
» Communications and engagement. The aim
of this priority is to cultivate a

1759
02:32:40,240 --> 02:32:46,640
culture of open and effective
communication to inform and engage all

1760
02:32:44,479 --> 02:32:50,160
stakeholders. There are four key
performance indicators that help us

1761
02:32:48,399 --> 02:32:54,800
measure this priority, including the
number of communications that highlight

1762
02:32:52,080 --> 02:32:59,439
student and staff success, division
news, family participation in division

1763
02:32:57,520 --> 02:33:03,600
sponsored events, volunteer
participation, and community

1764
02:33:01,280 --> 02:33:08,200
partnerships. Mrs. Cara Wall will now
share updates related to this priority.

1765
02:33:09,120 --> 02:33:14,319
» Thank you and good evening. This
indicator reflects the number of

1766
02:33:12,240 --> 02:33:18,720
communications we share, including
newsletters, press releases, website

1767
02:33:16,240 --> 02:33:22,640
stories, and social media posts. Each
item aims to celebrate student and staff

1768
02:33:20,800 --> 02:33:26,880
success or share important school
division news. Our year-over-year growth

1769
02:33:25,359 --> 02:33:30,880
reflects not only the efforts of the
communications team, but also the

1770
02:33:28,880 --> 02:33:35,040
support of school leaders and staff who
are actively sharing stories from their

1771
02:33:32,720 --> 02:33:40,160
classrooms and buildings. While we
remain ahead of the 15% growth target

1772
02:33:37,439 --> 02:33:44,640
set for 2028, we will use this momentum
to further refine our storytelling,

1773
02:33:42,240 --> 02:33:48,479
enhance transparency, and engage our
community in the success of our students

1774
02:33:46,399 --> 02:33:51,479
and schools to sustain this level of
output.

1775
02:33:51,680 --> 02:33:56,560
We saw growth in attendance at
engagement events we hosted, which

1776
02:33:55,280 --> 02:34:00,800
continues to be driven by our
kindergarten registration family fest in

1777
02:33:58,319 --> 02:34:04,399
April. And while aggregated participant
satisfaction dips slightly across our

1778
02:34:02,800 --> 02:34:08,800
events over the year, we're still
pleased to report that nearly all

1779
02:34:06,080 --> 02:34:14,840
attendees receive content and resources
that meet their expectations through our

1780
02:34:11,280 --> 02:34:14,840
engagement events.

1781
02:34:14,880 --> 02:34:22,240
Prior to last year, we did not deploy a
formalized data collection process to

1782
02:34:19,120 --> 02:34:26,399
tally volunteers impact in totality.
This baseline data represents our new

1783
02:34:24,240 --> 02:34:30,399
monitoring program through Raptor that
took effect late last fall and

1784
02:34:28,319 --> 02:34:34,960
represents our volunteers support of our
classrooms, schools, and division

1785
02:34:32,319 --> 02:34:42,160
initiatives across the last school year.
During the 2526 school year, 1,294

1786
02:34:39,040 --> 02:34:47,760
individuals tallied 10,69
volunteer hours. A dollar amount can't

1787
02:34:45,359 --> 02:34:51,680
fully quantify a volunteers's worth and
contribution to our schools, but it does

1788
02:34:49,840 --> 02:34:56,160
represent one measure of their impact on
our system. Independent Sector, a

1789
02:34:54,479 --> 02:35:00,479
national organization representing the
nonprofit and philanthropic sector, and

1790
02:34:58,800 --> 02:35:06,319
the University of Maryland together
estimate the value of a volunteer hour

1791
02:35:02,640 --> 02:35:13,399
in Virginia is worth $36.99.
Meaning the value of WJCC's volunteers

1792
02:35:08,720 --> 02:35:13,399
last year is more than $392,000.

1793
02:35:14,800 --> 02:35:20,880
We are also pleased to report that the
number of formal business and community

1794
02:35:18,800 --> 02:35:26,800
organization partnerships increased by
70% representing 48 new partners each of

1795
02:35:24,880 --> 02:35:30,520
which contribute to student learning for
which we are deeply grateful.

1796
02:35:31,280 --> 02:35:37,120
This year we're investing more
intentionally in school-based engagement

1797
02:35:35,280 --> 02:35:40,800
by increasing stipens for our
school-based digital communications

1798
02:35:38,800 --> 02:35:44,720
liaison and family and community
engagement liaison.

1799
02:35:42,880 --> 02:35:48,240
We're also conducting school-based needs
assessments to better understand the

1800
02:35:46,160 --> 02:35:51,600
unique engagement needs of each school
and more intentionally connect them with

1801
02:35:50,080 --> 02:35:56,240
resources that support their school
success plans. We're also strengthening

1802
02:35:54,160 --> 02:36:00,319
the partnerships that support our
schools. A new community literacy

1803
02:35:58,720 --> 02:36:04,560
collaborative will bring together
external partners who have expressed a

1804
02:36:02,640 --> 02:36:08,960
desire for a more coordinated approach
to supporting literacy. In addition,

1805
02:36:07,040 --> 02:36:13,040
we'll expand opportunities for community
members to volunteer in our schools and

1806
02:36:11,439 --> 02:36:17,520
host a legislative breakfast to
strengthen relationships with our local

1807
02:36:14,640 --> 02:36:22,080
and state policy makers. And finally,
we're continuing to strengthen how we

1808
02:36:19,200 --> 02:36:25,600
communicate and tell the WJCC story.
That includes elevating student voices

1809
02:36:24,080 --> 02:36:31,520
through our digital communications and
publications while also personalizing

1810
02:36:28,720 --> 02:36:35,439
our employee internet insider so
employees can more easily find and

1811
02:36:33,439 --> 02:36:39,359
access information that is most relevant
to them.

1812
02:36:37,760 --> 02:36:43,399
We'll be happy to pause again for any
questions related to this priority.

1813
02:36:43,439 --> 02:36:51,680
» I have a question for you, ma'am.
>> Um there was 1,294 individuals. How many

1814
02:36:48,640 --> 02:36:55,520
of those folks made a contribution to
literacy programs?

1815
02:36:54,000 --> 02:36:59,200
» I can get the information to you. I
don't have it readily available in front

1816
02:36:56,880 --> 02:37:03,200
of me. That represents engagement at
schools in individual programs as well

1817
02:37:01,359 --> 02:37:07,200
as divisionwide initiatives.
>> Big number, small number in between.

1818
02:37:05,439 --> 02:37:12,520
» I wouldn't want to quantify it without
having the data in front of me.

1819
02:37:09,520 --> 02:37:12,520
» Okay.

1820
02:37:16,720 --> 02:37:21,399
What other comments are out there?

1821
02:37:22,399 --> 02:37:27,520
I'm pleased to see the number of
partnerships that have been that have

1822
02:37:26,080 --> 02:37:31,520
increased between businesses and
community organizations.

1823
02:37:29,680 --> 02:37:37,120
I think especially as we've been
rebounding from COVID where people got

1824
02:37:34,560 --> 02:37:43,120
disengaged from our schools just
nationwide. This is great to see that we

1825
02:37:39,760 --> 02:37:48,080
had such a uh a huge increase and I know
that there's a lot of work that's being

1826
02:37:44,800 --> 02:37:51,880
done um to be intentional about that.
So, it's wonderful to see.

1827
02:37:52,399 --> 02:38:00,479
I also say that I I try to stay off of
social media, but I do enjoy the WJCC

1828
02:37:58,399 --> 02:38:04,640
posts and every now and then I see
familiar faces of students that I know.

1829
02:38:02,880 --> 02:38:09,920
So it's I think it's those are some of
the fun joyful things that are on social

1830
02:38:07,439 --> 02:38:17,399
media. So thank you for all of the
engagement around that as well.

1831
02:38:13,840 --> 02:38:17,399
Great. Any questions?

1832
02:38:18,080 --> 02:38:24,160
Fourth quarter.
>> Fourth quarter indeed.

1833
02:38:21,840 --> 02:38:30,000
The aim of our organizational efficiency
and effectiveness supporting priority is

1834
02:38:26,880 --> 02:38:34,319
to optimize just that by establishing
and strengthening processes and systems.

1835
02:38:32,640 --> 02:38:37,920
There are seven key performance
indicators that help us measure this

1836
02:38:36,000 --> 02:38:43,040
priority, including the percentage of
budget reversion funds, the number of

1837
02:38:40,319 --> 02:38:47,200
vendors who are paid electronically, the
percentage of capital improvement

1838
02:38:44,720 --> 02:38:53,359
projects completed on time and within
budget, the meanantime to repair

1839
02:38:50,000 --> 02:38:58,240
maintenance work orders, our bus ontime
rate, the average time that our network

1840
02:38:55,760 --> 02:39:02,560
is accessible and operational, and the
average repair time for all division

1841
02:39:00,240 --> 02:39:07,439
issued computing devices.
Mrs. Renee Ewing, Mr. Marcella Snipes,

1842
02:39:05,200 --> 02:39:11,800
and Mr. Brian Landers will now share
updates related to this priority.

1843
02:39:14,479 --> 02:39:20,960
Our financial goal remains to keep
budget reversion at or below 2.5%

1844
02:39:19,040 --> 02:39:24,800
annually, ensuring that funds are
directed where they are most needed.

1845
02:39:22,800 --> 02:39:29,280
This year, we improved our percentage of
reversion funds to 2.2%, showing a

1846
02:39:27,600 --> 02:39:36,800
slight improvement on this indicator
from fiscal year 25.

1847
02:39:33,040 --> 02:39:43,359
KPI 5.2 focuses on transitioning toward
100% electronic vendor payments by 2028.

1848
02:39:40,640 --> 02:39:48,560
Initiated in 2024, we are pleased to
report that 90% of all eligible vendors

1849
02:39:45,920 --> 02:39:55,160
are now paid electronically. This is an
increase of 26 percentage points,

1850
02:39:50,560 --> 02:39:55,160
getting us even closer to our goal.

1851
02:39:56,240 --> 02:40:02,000
Within budget and finance, much of our
work this year is focused on modernizing

1852
02:40:00,319 --> 02:40:06,720
processes and making routine
transactions easier and more efficient

1853
02:40:04,000 --> 02:40:11,040
for both employees and schools. That
includes implementing a new fundraising

1854
02:40:08,720 --> 02:40:15,040
management platform, digitizing the
approval process for contracts and

1855
02:40:13,040 --> 02:40:19,760
agreements, and transitioning from
employee self-service to the new

1856
02:40:16,960 --> 02:40:24,080
employee access platform, which will
also allow us to digitize employee

1857
02:40:21,840 --> 02:40:28,880
reimbursements, reducing paperwork, and
streamlining the process from submission

1858
02:40:26,080 --> 02:40:33,280
through payment. Finally, within child
nutrition services, we'll conduct a

1859
02:40:30,880 --> 02:40:37,680
community eligibility provision analysis
to better understand the feasibility and

1860
02:40:35,520 --> 02:40:42,640
financial implications of expanding
access to meals at no cost to students.

1861
02:40:40,800 --> 02:40:46,560
Collectively, these efforts are about
improving efficiency behind the scenes

1862
02:40:44,960 --> 02:40:51,880
while creating simpler, more
user-friendly processes for the people

1863
02:40:48,560 --> 02:40:51,880
we serve.

1864
02:40:58,399 --> 02:41:06,800
It's a little quiet in here. So, in
honor of football season is fourth and

1865
02:41:02,560 --> 02:41:11,520
one. Got one to go. Uh measuring the
timeliness and stewardship of our

1866
02:41:08,399 --> 02:41:17,120
capital improvement projects are KPI 5.3
and 5.4 respectively. I'm pleased to

1867
02:41:14,160 --> 02:41:23,840
share that 100% of our CIP projects were
completed on time and nearly 88% did not

1868
02:41:20,640 --> 02:41:28,640
exceed 10% of the allocated budget. It's
important to note that there were 13

1869
02:41:26,000 --> 02:41:34,960
projects in 202425
and only eight projects in 202526,

1870
02:41:32,479 --> 02:41:37,960
thus impacting the denominator for this
indicator.

1871
02:41:38,080 --> 02:41:46,000
KPI 5.5 focuses on meantime repair
maintenance work orders.

1872
02:41:44,080 --> 02:41:49,120
We did see an increase in our meantime
repair maintenance work orders this

1873
02:41:47,520 --> 02:41:53,600
year.
This was driven largely by staffing

1874
02:41:50,960 --> 02:41:58,640
vacancies in two critical trades,
electrical and carpentry, which reduced

1875
02:41:56,160 --> 02:42:03,359
our capacity to complete work orders as
quickly as we would have liked. Filling

1876
02:42:01,439 --> 02:42:06,640
and stabilizing those positions will be
an important will be important to

1877
02:42:04,800 --> 02:42:10,399
improving response times and moving
forward.

1878
02:42:08,240 --> 02:42:15,920
Because the type of assets being
repaired vary, the time to receive parts

1879
02:42:13,280 --> 02:42:20,960
is dependent on supply chains and some
work orders require the use of external

1880
02:42:18,160 --> 02:42:26,399
contractors. Please note there is no
industry standard for meantime repair.

1881
02:42:24,000 --> 02:42:32,319
However, our operations team is striving
to ensure maintenance response times are

1882
02:42:29,200 --> 02:42:36,880
at or below seven days, ensuring that
the building issues are resolved quickly

1883
02:42:34,640 --> 02:42:40,200
and learning environments remain safe
and functional.

1884
02:42:41,920 --> 02:42:48,880
The staffing challenge also points
directly to one of our priorities. As we

1885
02:42:46,399 --> 02:42:53,359
look ahead, we're exploring new ways to
build a stronger pipeline into our

1886
02:42:50,720 --> 02:42:58,000
operational areas, including growing
your own opportunities,

1887
02:42:55,600 --> 02:43:02,319
student internships, and entry-level
maintenance assistance positions that

1888
02:43:00,080 --> 02:43:07,760
can introduce individuals to careers in
the steel trades. Beyond staffing, our

1889
02:43:05,840 --> 02:43:12,240
focus in operations continues to be
maintaining and improving the facilities

1890
02:43:10,000 --> 02:43:17,359
and services that support students every
day. that in includes continued

1891
02:43:14,960 --> 02:43:22,080
investments in child nutrition services,
completing construction of our two new

1892
02:43:19,280 --> 02:43:26,880
prek centers, and advancing a number of
capital improvement plan projects across

1893
02:43:24,000 --> 02:43:30,880
the division from HVAC and roofing
replacements to storm water repairs,

1894
02:43:29,439 --> 02:43:35,200
painting, and other facility
improvements. Together, these efforts

1895
02:43:33,840 --> 02:43:40,160
are focused on strengthening our
operational capacity while continuing to

1896
02:43:37,760 --> 02:43:47,279
invest in safe, functional, and
wellmaintained learning environments.

1897
02:43:44,160 --> 02:43:51,760
KPI 5.6 measures the percentage of buses
that arrive no later than 10 minutes

1898
02:43:49,120 --> 02:43:55,520
after the school's dismissal time. We're
pleased to see meaningful improvements

1899
02:43:53,359 --> 02:44:01,920
in our transportation performance with
on-time bus arrival rates increasing by

1900
02:43:58,160 --> 02:44:05,600
6.6 percentage points last year. We
attribute much of that improvement to

1901
02:44:03,840 --> 02:44:10,319
our success in recruiting and hiring
additional bus drivers. Increasing our

1902
02:44:07,920 --> 02:44:15,840
driver capacity allowed us to more
consistently cover routes, re reduce

1903
02:44:13,120 --> 02:44:20,640
disruptions, and ultimately provide more
reliable transportation for our students

1904
02:44:17,920 --> 02:44:24,960
and families. This is a great example of
how investments in our workforce

1905
02:44:22,479 --> 02:44:29,040
translate directly into improved service
for students.

1906
02:44:27,439 --> 02:44:33,680
Building on that progress, our
transportation team is focused this year

1907
02:44:31,279 --> 02:44:38,080
on using data more intentionally to
improve both reliability and the student

1908
02:44:36,399 --> 02:44:46,000
experience.
We are monitoring and making adjustments

1909
02:44:41,520 --> 02:44:49,920
to improve our on-time AM rates as well.
We're enhancing our Zonar on time

1910
02:44:48,000 --> 02:44:54,560
dashboard and establishing a monthly
review of transportation data at the

1911
02:44:52,080 --> 02:44:59,279
central support level so we can identify
trends and respond more proactively.

1912
02:44:57,359 --> 02:45:04,880
We'll also take a closer look at
individual routes where student needs

1913
02:45:01,520 --> 02:45:09,120
may require additional supports.
At the same time, there is a significant

1914
02:45:07,359 --> 02:45:14,479
planning underway for the future
transportation.

1915
02:45:11,359 --> 02:45:18,479
will design for the future.
Transportation will design new routes to

1916
02:45:16,479 --> 02:45:24,000
support the opening of our two preschool
centers and begin the extensive routing

1917
02:45:20,800 --> 02:45:29,600
work required for the WJCC United
Transition. I'm available to answer any

1918
02:45:26,399 --> 02:45:34,279
questions if you'd like.
>> All right,

1919
02:45:31,279 --> 02:45:34,279
questions.

1920
02:45:38,160 --> 02:45:46,560
I have a fourth quarter question.
We do have one more person. So,

1921
02:45:44,479 --> 02:45:50,399
» yeah, it's Mr. Riffle. Thank you.
>> Great work.

1922
02:45:47,520 --> 02:45:56,399
» Thank you, Mr. [laughter]
>> Everyone has been behind me and beside

1923
02:45:52,160 --> 02:46:02,160
me, and now I'm handing it off as I'm
>> see a touchdown here. Yeah,

1924
02:45:59,359 --> 02:46:07,680
» we're almost at the goal.
KPI 5.7 measures the average time the

1925
02:46:05,359 --> 02:46:12,080
network is accessible and operational.
Our technology infrastructure

1926
02:46:10,160 --> 02:46:16,960
continues to perform at a high standard
with a 99.45%

1927
02:46:14,240 --> 02:46:21,680
uptime across the division, ensuring
reliable access to digital learning and

1928
02:46:19,520 --> 02:46:27,600
operations.
5.8 monitors the average repair time for

1929
02:46:24,560 --> 02:46:34,399
all divisionisssued computing devices.
Last school year, we were able to reduce

1930
02:46:29,840 --> 02:46:40,640
that time from 4.9 days to 4.7 days,
continuing to meet the target of less

1931
02:46:36,640 --> 02:46:47,279
than five days for this indicator.
KPI 2.2 is related to network security.

1932
02:46:44,720 --> 02:46:51,920
Our aim is to always prevent any
attempted data breaches and we were we

1933
02:46:50,000 --> 02:46:58,399
are pleased to report that we had no
successful breaches during the 202526

1934
02:46:55,279 --> 02:47:03,760
school year. Our
technology priorities this this year

1935
02:47:01,040 --> 02:47:08,560
center around three areas. Making better
use of our data, strengthening digital

1936
02:47:06,240 --> 02:47:13,680
safety, and improving the systems that
our employees use every day. We're

1937
02:47:11,439 --> 02:47:18,080
expanding Synergy's data analytics
capabilities to provide stronger

1938
02:47:15,680 --> 02:47:23,279
progress monitoring at both school and
division levels. We're also enhancing

1939
02:47:21,200 --> 02:47:28,000
Lightseed to give teachers greater
classroom management capabilities and

1940
02:47:26,000 --> 02:47:33,840
amilies more visibility into their
students technology use while continuing

1941
02:47:30,880 --> 02:47:37,840
our broader analysis of screen time and
purposeful instructional technology

1942
02:47:36,000 --> 02:47:41,200
integration.
Behind the scenes, we're strengthening

1943
02:47:39,520 --> 02:47:45,279
network security through enhanced
Microsoft tools and continuing

1944
02:47:43,520 --> 02:47:50,800
improvements in Ununice with a
particular focus on accessibility and

1945
02:47:47,920 --> 02:47:55,279
data integration across systems.
Finally, a new employee data workg group

1946
02:47:53,359 --> 02:48:00,800
will bring departments together to
examine how we collect, access, and use

1947
02:47:58,160 --> 02:48:05,840
employee data, helping us create more
efficient and interconnected data

1948
02:48:02,720 --> 02:48:11,520
systems across the division.
And we'll pause here for any questions

1949
02:48:08,319 --> 02:48:14,960
in this area.
>> Well,

1950
02:48:13,040 --> 02:48:21,920
appreciate that we haven't had any data
breaches. I have tried to I didn't say

1951
02:48:18,319 --> 02:48:26,960
that I have tried access from abroad and
shut down in all different ways. So,

1952
02:48:24,800 --> 02:48:32,800
appreciate all that that has been done
and everything that we learned um from

1953
02:48:29,439 --> 02:48:36,160
the one incident.
>> Madam Chair, this concludes the

1954
02:48:34,240 --> 02:48:40,080
strategic updates for our supporting
priorities. We look forward to sharing

1955
02:48:37,920 --> 02:48:43,920
additional updates on our key priority
of academic achievement, college and

1956
02:48:42,000 --> 02:48:51,200
career readiness, and educational equity
with you at the October 6 school board.

1957
02:48:46,960 --> 02:48:51,200
» Thank you so much, Miss Trot.

1958
02:48:51,439 --> 02:48:59,279
Um, you know, when it's this is the uh
I'm trying to get my football. Are we at

1959
02:48:57,920 --> 02:49:01,520
We're not even at the two. We're at the
kind of the fourth quarter.

1960
02:49:00,240 --> 02:49:04,720
» I believe this would be considered
overtime, Madam Chair.

1961
02:49:02,560 --> 02:49:10,000
» We're at overtime. [laughter]
>> Yes. Because we have um I mean we have

1962
02:49:07,760 --> 02:49:14,000
the exciting superintendent's
recommendation. We've got a review

1963
02:49:12,160 --> 02:49:18,960
advisory committee appointments. We've
got a lot. Stay tuned in the audience.

1964
02:49:17,200 --> 02:49:24,760
We are going to take a break for the
people and we will return. We will stand

1965
02:49:21,520 --> 02:49:24,760
in recess.

1966
02:57:17,040 --> 02:57:24,160
convene this meeting of the Williamsburg
James City County School Board. I would

1967
02:57:22,000 --> 02:57:30,423
love to just say thank you. We still
have six people in the audience

1968
02:57:26,560 --> 02:57:32,442
» live. So, true and
>> [laughter]

1969
02:57:32,960 --> 02:57:37,520
» real but really appreciate it and we
know we have a ton of people who are

1970
02:57:36,000 --> 02:57:42,720
still watching at home or watching the
replay but just want to thank you all

1971
02:57:39,600 --> 02:57:49,520
for uh hanging in there with us. We will
move on to our next action item or sorry

1972
02:57:46,479 --> 02:57:53,720
proposed agenda items 11.01 review
advisory committee appointments.

1973
02:57:54,000 --> 02:57:59,200
Madam Chair, that's an opportunity. We
did talk about it in closed session, but

1974
02:57:57,439 --> 02:58:02,640
it's an opportunity just as an agenda
item for the board to have this in front

1975
02:58:00,960 --> 02:58:07,120
of you. We will ask you to take action
on those appointments when we get back

1976
02:58:04,160 --> 02:58:12,600
together again on October the 6th.
>> Thank you. Is there any discussion or

1977
02:58:08,720 --> 02:58:12,600
questions from board members?

1978
02:58:13,600 --> 02:58:21,600
Okay, we will move on to 11.02,
superintendent's recommendation for

1979
02:58:18,560 --> 02:58:26,800
school division redistricting.
Good evening, Madame Chair, members of

1980
02:58:23,439 --> 02:58:29,600
the board, and members of our community.
Tonight, I'm going to present my

1981
02:58:28,160 --> 02:58:34,800
recommendation regarding attendance
boundaries for the 2728

1982
02:58:32,080 --> 02:58:39,279
school year. Before I do so, I want to
review the circumstances that has made

1983
02:58:37,200 --> 02:58:43,359
this work necessary.
I want to go over the process to develop

1984
02:58:41,359 --> 02:58:47,040
the proposed maps, the feedback received
from our community, and the unanimous

1985
02:58:44,960 --> 02:58:50,880
recommendation of the redistricting
steering committee. I'll then describe

1986
02:58:48,880 --> 02:58:54,720
the independent review that I conducted
and explain both my boundary

1987
02:58:52,560 --> 02:59:00,000
recommendation and the commitments I
believe must go with it. I recognize

1988
02:58:57,439 --> 02:59:05,600
that redistricting is not simply a
technical exercise. In fact, it's a very

1989
02:59:02,319 --> 02:59:11,279
human one. Attendance boundaries affects
students, families, employees,

1990
02:59:08,960 --> 02:59:16,000
neighborhoods, and school communities in
deeply personal ways. That reality has

1991
02:59:14,160 --> 02:59:20,560
remained at the forefront throughout
this process.

1992
02:59:17,600 --> 02:59:25,520
On the personal side, when I was a
student in seventh grade, I learned that

1993
02:59:23,760 --> 02:59:29,040
I would be redistricted in junior high.
I spent junior high in seventh and

1994
02:59:26,960 --> 02:59:33,439
eighth grade in one building, moved to a
second junior high for 9th grade, and

1995
02:59:31,279 --> 02:59:38,640
then back to a different high school for
my high school years 10 through 12. I

1996
02:59:35,920 --> 02:59:43,760
know the impact on redistricting that it
has on a family, on a community, and I

1997
02:59:41,680 --> 02:59:47,760
have approached that work incredibly
thoughtfully. Although we recognize the

1998
02:59:46,319 --> 02:59:52,479
personal connections that people have to
their schools, we must also consider the

1999
02:59:49,520 --> 02:59:56,800
needs of the school division as a whole.
Following several years of discussion

2000
02:59:54,479 --> 03:00:01,120
with our funding partners, we reached an
agreement to construct two dedicated pre

2001
02:59:59,520 --> 03:00:07,120
kindergarten or bright beginning
centers. Together, these centers will

2002
03:00:03,520 --> 03:00:11,680
allow WJCC to serve approximately 100
additional pre kindergarten students

2003
03:00:09,359 --> 03:00:16,560
while providing our youngest learners
with spaces designed specifically for

2004
03:00:14,160 --> 03:00:21,680
them. Moving bright beginnings out of
five elementary schools will also create

2005
03:00:19,359 --> 03:00:26,640
additional classrooms within those
buildings. That gives us an opportunity

2006
03:00:23,920 --> 03:00:31,040
to address overcrowding, serve more
students within our permanent buildings,

2007
03:00:28,399 --> 03:00:36,160
use available space more effectively,
and improve feeder alignment across all

2008
03:00:33,680 --> 03:00:40,319
three levels. An adjustment like that
allows us to consider a comprehensive

2009
03:00:38,479 --> 03:00:45,840
systemic approach to boundaries and zone
alignment, addressing yearslong

2010
03:00:42,960 --> 03:00:50,720
fracture. from my perspective of cohorts
across various levels. We've used this

2011
03:00:48,960 --> 03:00:55,520
slide throughout the process to
illustrate projected elementary

2012
03:00:52,479 --> 03:01:01,439
enrollment beginning in 2027 compared
with each building's capacity.

2013
03:00:59,040 --> 03:01:06,640
The five schools outlined in pink are
current host of our bright beginnings

2014
03:01:03,680 --> 03:01:12,399
program. Each school except DJ Monagu
Elementary is projected to have

2015
03:01:08,240 --> 03:01:17,120
significant vacant space through 2035
under our current attendance zones.

2016
03:01:15,359 --> 03:01:21,600
Stonehouse is already operating above
its permanent building capacity and uses

2017
03:01:19,439 --> 03:01:25,600
classroom trailers. Enrollment there is
projected to continue to grow as

2018
03:01:23,520 --> 03:01:30,960
approved residential developments come
online. DJ James River Elementary and

2019
03:01:28,479 --> 03:01:35,600
Matthew Why also operate at high
utilization levels and use classroom

2020
03:01:33,439 --> 03:01:41,439
trailers. At those schools, there is
limited physical space uh to contain our

2021
03:01:38,720 --> 03:01:46,080
ability to potentially uh reduce class
size or add additional teachers. The

2022
03:01:44,160 --> 03:01:50,319
central issue to me is particularly
clear. The division will have available

2023
03:01:48,240 --> 03:01:55,640
classroom space, but it will not be
located where student enrollment is

2024
03:01:52,160 --> 03:01:55,640
currently concentrated.

2025
03:01:55,760 --> 03:02:02,080
The divergence in capacity versus
projected utilization at the secondary

2026
03:01:59,359 --> 03:02:07,680
level is seen across this slide both in
27, 2030 and 2035. Across the projection

2027
03:02:05,840 --> 03:02:12,000
year, some schools retain available
capacity while others approach or exceed

2028
03:02:09,840 --> 03:02:16,319
their permanent building capacity. The
projections reinforce why we cannot

2029
03:02:14,000 --> 03:02:19,920
consider elementary boundaries alone.
Changes at one level move through the

2030
03:02:18,000 --> 03:02:25,200
system and affect middle school and high
school enrollment over time. Our current

2031
03:02:23,520 --> 03:02:29,600
boundaries also produce several
fragmented feeder pattern systems. In

2032
03:02:27,359 --> 03:02:33,279
some cases, relatively small groups of
students separate from most of their

2033
03:02:31,200 --> 03:02:38,800
classmates when they transition to the
next level. This visual shows that

2034
03:02:35,520 --> 03:02:43,439
overall pattern. The next slide uh
illustrates what what it can mean for

2035
03:02:40,880 --> 03:02:48,800
students from one particular elementary
school. Clare Bird Baker currently

2036
03:02:45,439 --> 03:02:53,359
serves more than three of our excuse me,
students from Clare Bird Baker currently

2037
03:02:51,520 --> 03:02:57,200
move to three of our four middle
schools. Those middle schools then send

2038
03:02:55,520 --> 03:03:01,840
students to two or three of the high
schools. These splits can be incredibly

2039
03:02:59,840 --> 03:03:05,840
difficult for small groups of students.
They also make it harder for schools to

2040
03:03:03,680 --> 03:03:11,439
build consistent academic programming,
mentoring activities, and tr transition

2041
03:03:08,479 --> 03:03:14,800
supports across grade levels. Improved
feeder alignment will allow more

2042
03:03:13,120 --> 03:03:20,479
students to move forward with a
meaningful cohort of classmates.

2043
03:03:18,640 --> 03:03:25,200
Recognizing these challenges, the school
board administration, our consulting

2044
03:03:23,279 --> 03:03:29,359
partner of MGT, and the redistricting
steering committee have worked on this

2045
03:03:26,880 --> 03:03:33,040
project for nearly two years. The
committee's work was guided by six

2046
03:03:31,279 --> 03:03:37,840
principles which we have talked about
previously. Those principles helped

2047
03:03:35,040 --> 03:03:43,920
organize the work, but they also created
uh push and pulls as we've discussed at

2048
03:03:40,560 --> 03:03:48,240
quite a length.
The steering committee presented its

2049
03:03:45,439 --> 03:03:52,319
first draft maps in May and revised maps
in August. Following each release, the

2050
03:03:50,479 --> 03:03:57,200
division invited the community to review
the maps and provide feedback. The

2051
03:03:55,040 --> 03:04:02,640
committee used the feedback to consider
particular boundaries, assess possible

2052
03:03:59,840 --> 03:04:06,960
alternatives, and evaluate proposed
changes how they would affect the entire

2053
03:04:04,800 --> 03:04:10,960
system.
The division offered three online

2054
03:04:08,640 --> 03:04:16,160
surveys at key points in the process.
Nearly 6,800 students, employees, and

2055
03:04:14,080 --> 03:04:21,520
family members participated in the first
survey, which occurred in November of

2056
03:04:18,080 --> 03:04:26,319
2025. The two map specific surveys
generated more than 3100s responses.

2057
03:04:24,640 --> 03:04:29,920
Community members had the opportunity to
participate through information

2058
03:04:27,520 --> 03:04:33,600
sessions, schoolboard meetings,
individual correspondents, neighborhood

2059
03:04:31,840 --> 03:04:38,720
meetings, and direct conversations with
members of the board, administration,

2060
03:04:35,520 --> 03:04:42,800
and myself. The feedback was extensive,
but it wasn't uniform. Different

2061
03:04:40,800 --> 03:04:47,439
communities often expressed competing
priorities and preferences for how we

2062
03:04:45,200 --> 03:04:52,080
move forward.
After reviewing the August survey

2063
03:04:49,279 --> 03:04:55,920
results and evaluating possible changes,
the steering committee reported on

2064
03:04:53,760 --> 03:04:59,040
September 1st that it could not make
another boundary adjustment that

2065
03:04:57,359 --> 03:05:02,880
meaningfully advanced one guiding
principle without compromising others.

2066
03:05:01,520 --> 03:05:07,920
The committee therefore voted
unanimously to recommend its August maps

2067
03:05:05,600 --> 03:05:11,520
with no further boundary changes. They
made that recommendation to me as

2068
03:05:09,359 --> 03:05:15,520
superintendent. That unanimous
recommendation was significant, but it

2069
03:05:13,920 --> 03:05:19,200
did not conclude the decision-making
process. It then became my

2070
03:05:17,520 --> 03:05:23,359
responsibility to review the committee's
work independently and determine what

2071
03:05:21,840 --> 03:05:29,120
recommendation I believe should be
presented to the school board.

2072
03:05:26,800 --> 03:05:33,520
My responsibility was not simply to
accept and transmit the committee's

2073
03:05:31,120 --> 03:05:38,000
recommendation. It was to examine the
recommendation, consider the full body

2074
03:05:35,920 --> 03:05:42,479
of information, and determine what I
believe best served the entire school

2075
03:05:39,760 --> 03:05:46,319
division. That required balance
balancing multiple and sometimes

2076
03:05:44,319 --> 03:05:51,680
competing considerations.
Current and future building utilization,

2077
03:05:48,640 --> 03:05:57,680
class sizes, student supports, student
safety, proximity, transportation,

2078
03:05:55,359 --> 03:06:02,560
feeder pattern continuity, our capital
investment program, and the long-term

2079
03:05:59,840 --> 03:06:07,760
sustainability of the school division.
No map can maximize every single

2080
03:06:05,439 --> 03:06:12,880
consideration. A boundary change that
might benefit one neighborhood can

2081
03:06:09,920 --> 03:06:17,200
affect enrollment, transportation, or
feeder alignment elsewhere. My task was

2082
03:06:15,760 --> 03:06:21,279
to determine whether the committee's
recommendation achieved a reasonable and

2083
03:06:19,200 --> 03:06:24,279
sustainable balance across the school
division.

2084
03:06:26,479 --> 03:06:34,399
As I noted, the division received
extensive community feedback. I have

2085
03:06:31,279 --> 03:06:38,720
read every single survey response. I've
also reviewed the presentation and

2086
03:06:36,000 --> 03:06:43,200
analysis provided by MGT and the
steering committee along with emails,

2087
03:06:40,720 --> 03:06:47,600
letters, questions, and proposals
submitted by members of this community.

2088
03:06:45,520 --> 03:06:51,600
That review reinforced the tension
amongst the guiding principles and the

2089
03:06:49,680 --> 03:06:56,080
challenge of this work. Different
communities understandably placed

2090
03:06:53,840 --> 03:07:02,479
different weight on proximity,
continuity, capacity, transportation,

2091
03:06:59,279 --> 03:07:06,720
and minimizing change. Again, I took my
responsibility seriously to consider

2092
03:07:04,479 --> 03:07:13,479
those various perspectives while keeping
the needs of current and future students

2093
03:07:09,040 --> 03:07:13,479
at the very center of the decision.

2094
03:07:14,720 --> 03:07:21,120
I've also reviewed an extensive amount
of data, our enrollment trend data and

2095
03:07:18,960 --> 03:07:26,000
projections, feeder pattern projection
as cohorts move from one level to the

2096
03:07:23,120 --> 03:07:31,200
next, but also what areas and where
those areas of cohorts remain together

2097
03:07:28,399 --> 03:07:35,120
for their entire K12 career. I reviewed
anticipated impact numbers and

2098
03:07:32,960 --> 03:07:39,200
understand the feelings of change that
our families may have with students

2099
03:07:37,520 --> 03:07:44,080
proposed to move schools within the
level they currently attend and those

2100
03:07:41,120 --> 03:07:49,120
who may level up to a different school.
I've reviewed and approved I have

2101
03:07:46,720 --> 03:07:54,240
reviewed approved and projected
residential development, the complexity

2102
03:07:51,520 --> 03:07:58,960
of our physical locations relative to
schools in this community and the

2103
03:07:56,960 --> 03:08:03,439
attendance zones in relation to those
school locations. I've also examined

2104
03:08:01,600 --> 03:08:08,080
individual group and neighborhood
requests. In many cases, those requests,

2105
03:08:06,319 --> 03:08:13,200
as I've mentioned, have conflicted with
one another or produced additional

2106
03:08:10,560 --> 03:08:19,040
impacts elsewhere.
Attendance zones uh operate as one

2107
03:08:16,000 --> 03:08:23,080
system. As such, no single request can
be evaluated in isolation.

2108
03:08:24,080 --> 03:08:29,600
Two distinct areas of feedback I've
heard throughout related to building

2109
03:08:28,240 --> 03:08:35,279
utilization.
>> Does this work consider future

2110
03:08:32,319 --> 03:08:39,359
residential development? Yes, approved
developments are absolutely incorporated

2111
03:08:37,200 --> 03:08:44,640
in the projections, much of which is
connected to the upper county. Whereas

2112
03:08:41,520 --> 03:08:48,240
Stonehouse is projected to be at 131%
utilization in 2035 under current

2113
03:08:46,880 --> 03:08:55,120
boundaries, the committee's
recommendation predicts Stonehouse at

2114
03:08:50,399 --> 03:09:00,560
100% in the very last year, 2035.
Why do some schools experience wider

2115
03:08:57,040 --> 03:09:04,160
variance from 27 to 35 than others? It
goes back to residential forecasting,

2116
03:09:02,479 --> 03:09:08,880
goes back to future development, birth
rates, enrollment rates, all play a part

2117
03:09:06,560 --> 03:09:13,680
of that equation. Jamestown is projected
to open at 103% utilization under the

2118
03:09:11,520 --> 03:09:17,680
committee's recommended map, nearly the
rate it opened at in this past school

2119
03:09:15,359 --> 03:09:22,240
year. That region of our school division
is projected to experience a decline in

2120
03:09:20,080 --> 03:09:27,920
school age population, yielding a
projected 77% utilization in 2035.

2121
03:09:26,080 --> 03:09:34,160
Expanding the attendance area to have
higher utilization in 2035 would further

2122
03:09:30,960 --> 03:09:38,399
drive the 2027 utilization higher.
Shrinking the attendance area to have a

2123
03:09:36,240 --> 03:09:43,840
lower utilization would further reduce
the utilization in 2035. The recommended

2124
03:09:41,439 --> 03:09:48,319
maps do not produce identical
utilization at every school in every

2125
03:09:45,840 --> 03:09:52,960
year. They provide a reasonable balance
across schools projection years and the

2126
03:09:50,880 --> 03:09:57,760
other guiding principles.
The committee recommendation also

2127
03:09:54,800 --> 03:10:01,359
improves feeder pattern alignment at the
elementary to middle school transition.

2128
03:09:59,439 --> 03:10:05,680
It eliminates several small cohort
splits. James Blair, for example, would

2129
03:10:04,080 --> 03:10:10,399
receive students from three elementary
schools rather than six. This creates

2130
03:10:08,640 --> 03:10:14,720
better and stronger opportunities for
vertical planning and articulation,

2131
03:10:12,640 --> 03:10:19,439
student mentoring, program alignment,
and more intentional transitions between

2132
03:10:16,880 --> 03:10:24,160
schools. The same improvement is evident
from middle to high. The recommend the

2133
03:10:22,160 --> 03:10:29,760
recommendation from the committee does
not eliminate every single split, but it

2134
03:10:27,439 --> 03:10:34,080
significantly reduces the fragmentation
within our current feeder system and

2135
03:10:31,760 --> 03:10:41,120
allows more students to transition with
meaningful groups of classmates.

2136
03:10:38,080 --> 03:10:44,560
As a result, after completing my review,
I recommend that the school board adopt

2137
03:10:42,960 --> 03:10:48,560
the redistricting steering committee's
August maps without any additional

2138
03:10:46,399 --> 03:10:51,760
boundary changes. This is my
recommendation reached after

2139
03:10:50,000 --> 03:10:55,760
independently reviewing the committee's
work, the underlying data, the community

2140
03:10:54,000 --> 03:11:00,479
feedback, and the alternatives
presented. I sincerely recognize that

2141
03:10:58,720 --> 03:11:05,040
this recommendation will disappoint some
families and communities, and I do not

2142
03:11:02,479 --> 03:11:08,960
minimize that impact. I concluded,
however, that additional boundary

2143
03:11:06,560 --> 03:11:13,279
changes would shift impacts from one
school or community to another without

2144
03:11:11,439 --> 03:11:17,840
improving the overall balance or
long-term effectiveness of the proposed

2145
03:11:15,359 --> 03:11:21,840
attendance zones. For those reasons, I
believe the recommended maps represent

2146
03:11:19,680 --> 03:11:25,520
the most responsible divisionwide
solution.

2147
03:11:23,840 --> 03:11:29,520
Our recommendation also includes a
transition option for members of the

2148
03:11:27,279 --> 03:11:33,520
class of 2028 whose high school
assignment would change. Those students

2149
03:11:31,920 --> 03:11:37,439
would be permitted to attend either
their currently assigned high school or

2150
03:11:35,760 --> 03:11:43,200
the high school assigned under the new
boundaries. WJCC would provide

2151
03:11:40,319 --> 03:11:49,200
transportation for either option. Of the
87 students who responded to our initial

2152
03:11:45,680 --> 03:11:53,680
outreach, 73 or approximately 84%
indicated they would prefer to remain at

2153
03:11:51,279 --> 03:11:57,840
their current high school. 27 of those
students indicated that they would need

2154
03:11:55,279 --> 03:12:02,160
daily division transportation and 16
indicated that they would need support

2155
03:11:59,600 --> 03:12:06,479
for extracurricular transportation.
Senior year carries important academic,

2156
03:12:04,479 --> 03:12:11,120
extracurricular, and re relational
considerations. This option recognizes

2157
03:12:09,040 --> 03:12:16,880
those circumstances while also allowing
the new attendance zones to take effect.

2158
03:12:15,200 --> 03:12:21,840
With my recommendation, I want to
underscore an important commitment.

2159
03:12:19,279 --> 03:12:26,960
Staffing and student supports must
follow students. I want to say that one

2160
03:12:24,240 --> 03:12:31,600
more time. Staffing and student supports
must follow students. When enrollment

2161
03:12:29,760 --> 03:12:36,080
changes because of redistricting, the
needs of our students do not remain at

2162
03:12:33,520 --> 03:12:39,760
their former schools. We must adjust
staffing and resources based on the

2163
03:12:37,920 --> 03:12:43,760
students enrolled in each building and
the services that they require. Subject

2164
03:12:42,319 --> 03:12:47,920
to the school board's approval of the
attendance zones and through the annual

2165
03:12:45,680 --> 03:12:52,800
budgeting process. I will direct the
development of the 2728 staffing plan to

2166
03:12:50,960 --> 03:12:57,439
account for school enrollment and
economic need continuity of

2167
03:12:55,040 --> 03:13:02,399
interventions and tiered supports
services for English learners and the

2168
03:12:59,439 --> 03:13:07,279
requirements contained in students IEPs.
We will also consider the needs that a

2169
03:13:04,640 --> 03:13:12,240
standard formula may not fully capture,
including student success supports,

2170
03:13:09,920 --> 03:13:17,080
behavioral resources, administrative
capacity, and school operating

2171
03:13:14,080 --> 03:13:17,080
resources.

2172
03:13:18,160 --> 03:13:24,479
More specifically, this table displays
elementary class size targets and caps.

2173
03:13:22,880 --> 03:13:28,640
This table is published in our budget
book and outlines our practice to staff

2174
03:13:26,319 --> 03:13:33,840
and allocate resources across buildings
to meet each child's needs. Our staffing

2175
03:13:31,279 --> 03:13:38,720
model has long been built on a tiered
approach, lowering the studenttoteer

2176
03:13:36,080 --> 03:13:42,720
ratio at schools with larger populations
of students receiving free or reduced

2177
03:13:40,800 --> 03:13:48,160
price meals. As students from
economically disadvantaged backgrounds

2178
03:13:44,560 --> 03:13:53,600
may shift, so too will resources to
support their needs.

2179
03:13:51,120 --> 03:13:58,319
Similarly, our staffing at the secondary
schools is based on the corresponding

2180
03:13:56,000 --> 03:14:01,760
class- size targets also related to free
and reduced price meals.

2181
03:14:01,920 --> 03:14:08,000
In addition, federal funding through
Title One recognizes that schools may

2182
03:14:05,760 --> 03:14:11,760
have different levels of student need.
Title One Part A provides supplemental

2183
03:14:10,000 --> 03:14:16,080
resources to schools with higher numbers
or percentages of students from

2184
03:14:13,520 --> 03:14:20,000
economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Schools may qualify for schoolwide

2185
03:14:17,840 --> 03:14:23,840
program or targeted assistance.
Resources can be used for additional

2186
03:14:21,840 --> 03:14:28,319
instructional supports, staff
interventions, and family engagements.

2187
03:14:26,399 --> 03:14:32,560
As the numbers shift across our
buildings, so too will the resources we

2188
03:14:30,399 --> 03:14:36,880
allocate through title one andor the
operating budget.

2189
03:14:34,880 --> 03:14:43,200
Independent of redistricting, staffing
allocations and resources follow need.

2190
03:14:39,760 --> 03:14:48,080
ML or English learners have have English
language proficiency levels ranging from

2191
03:14:45,279 --> 03:14:52,720
a one to a six. As shown on this chart,
a student's level is determined by the

2192
03:14:49,840 --> 03:14:58,319
WEDA screener when they first enroll or
by their annual WEDA access assessment.

2193
03:14:56,239 --> 03:15:02,640
Instructional models vary based on each
student's level, including sheltered

2194
03:15:00,080 --> 03:15:06,200
instruction, in-class support, and pull
out class resources.

2195
03:15:07,760 --> 03:15:14,880
In May of 2024, the general assembly
adopted a revised staffing model for

2196
03:15:12,479 --> 03:15:19,760
English learners. As a result of that,
WJCC increased its LEAP staffing

2197
03:15:17,600 --> 03:15:24,800
allocation to meet student need across
language levels. WJCC will continue to

2198
03:15:22,640 --> 03:15:30,000
follow these staffing requirements,
though the school where the students are

2199
03:15:26,560 --> 03:15:34,479
served may shift. As such, the staffing
may shift.

2200
03:15:32,239 --> 03:15:38,080
As we talked about last time when we
met, special education staffing is

2201
03:15:36,399 --> 03:15:42,160
determined through case load points
models that accounts for both students

2202
03:15:40,160 --> 03:15:46,000
disability and the level of service
required. Consequently, two schools with

2203
03:15:44,800 --> 03:15:50,399
the same number of students with
disabilities may require different

2204
03:15:48,080 --> 03:15:54,800
staffing allocations. The determining
factor is not simply how many students

2205
03:15:52,319 --> 03:16:00,239
are enrolled, but what services those
IEPs require. The IEP remains the

2206
03:15:57,920 --> 03:16:04,239
governing document for each student. As
enrollment changes, staffing will be

2207
03:16:02,399 --> 03:16:10,239
adjusted to ensure that required
services continue without interruption.

2208
03:16:08,800 --> 03:16:13,520
Tonight, I'm presenting my proposed
attendance zones to the school board.

2209
03:16:12,160 --> 03:16:18,239
The school board will hold a public
hearing at its October 6th work session

2210
03:16:16,000 --> 03:16:21,920
providing additional formal opportunity
for community comment. The school board

2211
03:16:20,319 --> 03:16:26,720
is scheduled to act on the proposed
attendance zones on October 20th with

2212
03:16:25,359 --> 03:16:31,040
with respect to the board's
decision-making authority. At the same

2213
03:16:28,880 --> 03:16:35,520
time, its responsible implementation
administratively cannot wait until after

2214
03:16:33,279 --> 03:16:39,840
the vote. Uh the board and community
received an initial presentation on the

2215
03:16:37,439 --> 03:16:44,399
WJCC United transition roadmap on
September 1st and the next update will

2216
03:16:41,920 --> 03:16:48,080
occur on October the 6th. If the board
approves the attendance zones as

2217
03:16:46,000 --> 03:16:53,359
recommended, we'll move into a detailed
implementation involving staffing,

2218
03:16:50,640 --> 03:16:58,000
transportation, student transitions,
school culture, family communication,

2219
03:16:55,600 --> 03:17:03,439
and program continuity. That work will
continue throughout this school year and

2220
03:17:00,239 --> 03:17:07,840
be beyond the opening of the 2728
school year.

2221
03:17:06,399 --> 03:17:11,600
I recognize some members of the
community will disagree with my recommen

2222
03:17:09,680 --> 03:17:15,439
recommendation. I respect that
disagreement and appreciate the time

2223
03:17:13,200 --> 03:17:20,720
people have taken to study the maps,
participate in surveys, attend meetings,

2224
03:17:18,000 --> 03:17:24,479
and communicate with us directly. I take
my responsibility seriously in terms of

2225
03:17:22,880 --> 03:17:28,960
making a recommendation to the board
based on the needs of the entire school

2226
03:17:26,479 --> 03:17:34,239
division including every school level
both in the in immediate and long term.

2227
03:17:32,160 --> 03:17:39,359
I believe this recommendation addresses
our most significant capacity imbalances

2228
03:17:37,120 --> 03:17:43,840
improves feeder pattern continuity and
makes effective use of the facilities

2229
03:17:41,279 --> 03:17:47,200
our community has provided. If the
school board approves the attendance

2230
03:17:45,200 --> 03:17:51,359
zone, our focus will turn fully to
implementation and the people affected

2231
03:17:49,200 --> 03:17:55,439
by these changes. We will approach that
work with transparency, careful

2232
03:17:53,680 --> 03:17:59,840
planning, and a commitment to supporting
students, families, and employees

2233
03:17:57,439 --> 03:18:04,479
throughout. Whenever our student
wherever our students attend school,

2234
03:18:01,840 --> 03:18:08,640
they deserve to be welcomed, supported,
and challenged.

2235
03:18:06,399 --> 03:18:13,439
You have my word and pledged. That's
what will occur. Ladies and gentlemen of

2236
03:18:10,960 --> 03:18:20,359
the board, thank you. Thank you so much,
Dr. Kever. I will open it up to any

2237
03:18:16,319 --> 03:18:20,359
comments or questions from

2238
03:18:23,760 --> 03:18:30,160
» Yes, M.
>> Um, so I just hope that uh the viewing

2239
03:18:27,520 --> 03:18:34,960
public will try to embrace the
possibility of something great that's

2240
03:18:32,239 --> 03:18:42,560
going to happen through these changes.
And um I'm just not wired to receive all

2241
03:18:38,880 --> 03:18:46,080
of the things that will
that have been brought forth that will

2242
03:18:44,000 --> 03:18:51,600
potentially go wrong because I have seen
the implementation transition plan and I

2243
03:18:48,960 --> 03:18:57,279
have faith that that will address a lot
of the um questions that the public may

2244
03:18:54,560 --> 03:19:01,920
have. Um
I also know that um we've heard some new

2245
03:19:00,319 --> 03:19:07,279
things tonight and we'll continue to
have hear new things and I'm quite sure

2246
03:19:04,160 --> 03:19:12,640
the impleation implementation
transition folk are um are getting on

2247
03:19:10,080 --> 03:19:16,000
that as well. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs.
Hley.

2248
03:19:14,319 --> 03:19:20,479
» Yes, Mr. Hodgees.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um maybe it's

2249
03:19:18,479 --> 03:19:27,439
too early to answer this question and my
apologies if that is the case, but um at

2250
03:19:24,399 --> 03:19:33,840
the last work session, we got um we got
a United WJCC United transition um kind

2251
03:19:31,120 --> 03:19:38,960
of layout. Um I'm just kind of curious
what um the October 6 presentation, what

2252
03:19:36,960 --> 03:19:42,479
do you expect to show there that maybe
we didn't see at the last one and what

2253
03:19:40,640 --> 03:19:46,720
sorts of things that the community can
expect to see during that?

2254
03:19:43,920 --> 03:19:50,479
» Yes, sir. Thank you. At the the last
presentation we did, we tried to break

2255
03:19:48,319 --> 03:19:56,080
down the the transition into various
phases and what you'll see on October

2256
03:19:53,040 --> 03:20:02,960
6th is the awareness phase being flushed
out in in more detail. Uh, I think it's

2257
03:20:00,720 --> 03:20:07,040
I think it's important for for me to
restate and and I' I've said this in

2258
03:20:05,279 --> 03:20:12,800
some public settings. I've said this
when I first got hired. Um, my goal for

2259
03:20:09,920 --> 03:20:15,680
WJCC is not just to have good schools.
My my goal is for us to have great

2260
03:20:14,319 --> 03:20:20,560
schools and for this to be a premier
school division. So, the steps that we

2261
03:20:17,680 --> 03:20:25,200
take between now and October 6th and now
in August of 2027, I believe will

2262
03:20:23,200 --> 03:20:28,880
position us to become a premier school
division. So, you're going to hear more

2263
03:20:26,560 --> 03:20:32,319
about the awareness phase and and
understanding what happens as we move

2264
03:20:31,120 --> 03:20:37,560
into that phase when we get together
again on October 6th.

2265
03:20:33,920 --> 03:20:37,560
» Wonderful. Thank you.

2266
03:20:38,160 --> 03:20:46,560
» Other questions? Yes, Mr. Ruffalo.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I just thank

2267
03:20:43,279 --> 03:20:51,920
you, Dr. Kever, for sharing your your
knowledge and and your perspective on

2268
03:20:49,279 --> 03:20:55,920
the maps. I just wanted to kind of maybe
kind of reiterate some points that

2269
03:20:53,680 --> 03:20:59,680
already been spoken, but this is like
the first time the board really gets to

2270
03:20:57,920 --> 03:21:02,880
see kind of all the work and what we
didn't know like your decision until

2271
03:21:01,359 --> 03:21:07,680
tonight, right? It's not like we have
meetings beyond the meetings you see.

2272
03:21:05,359 --> 03:21:12,640
Um, so now it's like kind of the crucial
month. It's it's prime time where people

2273
03:21:10,319 --> 03:21:16,800
get to kind of tell us the last minute
like what the thoughts are. So I just

2274
03:21:15,200 --> 03:21:22,399
want to welcome people to our public
sessions. Um, and our inboxes are open

2275
03:21:19,600 --> 03:21:25,520
to that type of response. We really, you
know, we're not taking your feedback and

2276
03:21:24,239 --> 03:21:30,160
doing nothing with it, but there's a
point in which we want to know, but

2277
03:21:28,160 --> 03:21:35,680
there's a part we've done a lot of work
to get here. It's not unnecessarily

2278
03:21:33,200 --> 03:21:40,000
useless. It's just it's good to know the
growing pains and and and then what is

2279
03:21:37,920 --> 03:21:44,720
an actual pain, you know, so depending
on your situation. So, I just wanted to

2280
03:21:42,479 --> 03:21:47,920
speak to some of the
things asked of us tonight. I think

2281
03:21:46,080 --> 03:21:52,479
there is a need for us to have a bit
more of an equity based plan um when it

2282
03:21:50,479 --> 03:21:55,680
comes to schools. I think is it's a bit
tough for I mean I I've seen the

2283
03:21:54,000 --> 03:22:00,319
presentations and I can I can't really
articulate you know to individual as

2284
03:21:57,760 --> 03:22:04,319
they ask me besides saying like trust me
right that's like a scary conversation

2285
03:22:02,239 --> 03:22:08,399
to have as a whatever people believe in
government or not but I do I work in

2286
03:22:06,160 --> 03:22:13,439
public service and I like policy and
this is fun for me but I would I would

2287
03:22:10,720 --> 03:22:16,800
ask for that type of presentation to be
even given before the public comment

2288
03:22:15,200 --> 03:22:19,600
like the United road map I think there
was a lot of people commenting tonight

2289
03:22:18,000 --> 03:22:22,640
that didn't have understanding of where
we were in the process

2290
03:22:21,120 --> 03:22:26,640
And that one might be important to do
before the public comment just just so

2291
03:22:25,200 --> 03:22:29,520
we have a chance to cover as much as we
can. I don't know if people want to

2292
03:22:27,520 --> 03:22:32,720
watch these fun long episodes at the
school board meeting, but you know all

2293
03:22:31,040 --> 03:22:36,399
this is available on the website. It's
not like it's not easy to find and there

2294
03:22:35,279 --> 03:22:40,160
are going to be critiques everywhere
about how the process works. So um that

2295
03:22:38,720 --> 03:22:44,479
would be my recommendation is having at
least the United presentation given

2296
03:22:42,479 --> 03:22:47,439
before the public hearing so that you
know it's going to be a long one but

2297
03:22:45,600 --> 03:22:52,880
it's worth hearing again. it'll be our
fourth time or maybe our third time

2298
03:22:49,439 --> 03:22:57,120
after we have our joint meeting that
moment. So, um yes, that that's my

2299
03:22:55,359 --> 03:23:01,840
recommendation. I just I just want to
ask a bit more and I know it's a lot to

2300
03:22:59,200 --> 03:23:05,920
kind of come out but the plan is the
bold plan is really something I think we

2301
03:23:03,840 --> 03:23:10,319
all kind of understand a bit as members
and we can kind of see a larger vision

2302
03:23:07,520 --> 03:23:14,319
for 12,000 people but it's a bit tougher
to kind of have a side park conversation

2303
03:23:12,479 --> 03:23:18,560
with a neighbor about you know I don't
think we're going to get there even with

2304
03:23:15,439 --> 03:23:22,800
FAQs or whatever else but um that's how
can we make it digestible for people who

2305
03:23:20,080 --> 03:23:25,120
are just tuning in you know so
>> thank you

2306
03:23:25,520 --> 03:23:32,640
other comments.
>> I mean, I think I'll just say that what

2307
03:23:30,720 --> 03:23:35,840
I'm hearing from the public and I think
as board members, each of us has gone

2308
03:23:34,640 --> 03:23:40,800
through this in our own way. It's it's
the classic change curve of, you know,

2309
03:23:38,800 --> 03:23:46,239
as as you're going through the denial of
we really redistricting, going through

2310
03:23:43,439 --> 03:23:50,640
the anger and blame portion of it. Uh
the fear and bargaining, well, can you

2311
03:23:48,080 --> 03:23:54,000
just make this change? Um, and then that
depression piece of I can't believe

2312
03:23:52,479 --> 03:23:58,640
they're doing this. This is going to be
awful. Um, and so I think I personally

2313
03:23:56,720 --> 03:24:04,720
understand that change curve and had to
go through my own change curve and you

2314
03:24:02,000 --> 03:24:08,399
know, but with that change curve and you
can cycle a little bit, but at some

2315
03:24:06,560 --> 03:24:13,600
point, you know, we start getting to the
exploration of what could this look

2316
03:24:10,560 --> 03:24:19,279
like? Um, and that decision of okay, we
could make this work and then being

2317
03:24:15,520 --> 03:24:23,760
bought in. And so um one of the
challenges I would put to the viewing

2318
03:24:21,279 --> 03:24:30,800
public is that as you have raised
concerns um what things should this

2319
03:24:27,760 --> 03:24:36,640
should this go forward as is and what
kinds of things could you do as an

2320
03:24:33,840 --> 03:24:41,120
individual as a parent to start to kind
of mitigate what you think are places

2321
03:24:39,200 --> 03:24:44,640
where we need support you know I've
heard a lot about PTAs you know well

2322
03:24:43,439 --> 03:24:48,800
just because you go to a different
school doesn't mean that you can't

2323
03:24:46,000 --> 03:24:53,120
support the PTA from which you came. Um
there's lots of you know when we talk

2324
03:24:50,880 --> 03:24:58,080
about the socioeconomics that was
brought up. Um I always ask the question

2325
03:24:55,520 --> 03:25:02,319
of who's in your back seat when you talk
about those interconnectedness. Um how

2326
03:25:00,319 --> 03:25:08,640
diverse is your back seat and what are
you doing to proactively of reach out

2327
03:25:05,359 --> 03:25:13,359
and and have those um those connections
with families that are different from

2328
03:25:10,160 --> 03:25:19,520
yours. And so I think there's
there are things that as individuals

2329
03:25:15,920 --> 03:25:25,200
people can step into to really um
embrace this and make this successful

2330
03:25:22,720 --> 03:25:29,600
across the division. We're a board of
seven and so we are contemplating this

2331
03:25:27,359 --> 03:25:34,560
and thank Dr. Kever for the information
and for all the public comment and we

2332
03:25:32,080 --> 03:25:38,479
have two more of
options for public comment as well as

2333
03:25:36,239 --> 03:25:42,319
our email list as Mr. Riffle said. Um
but then also thinking of the how could

2334
03:25:41,040 --> 03:25:47,439
you make this work and how could you
contribute to making this successful for

2335
03:25:44,399 --> 03:25:53,200
all students? Uh because if it's one of
those situations where kind of sitting

2336
03:25:51,040 --> 03:25:58,080
in the back and I told you so or I told
them so um that doesn't that doesn't

2337
03:25:56,399 --> 03:26:01,279
bode well for anybody's child or
anybody's student. So how can we come

2338
03:25:59,840 --> 03:26:08,160
together as a community to make this
really successful? That's my comment.

2339
03:26:05,840 --> 03:26:11,680
All right.
Yes, please.

2340
03:26:09,680 --> 03:26:18,000
» Um,
thank you, Dr. Kever. Um, I know that um

2341
03:26:15,040 --> 03:26:24,239
this has been a a long process and I
know that um your recommendation came

2342
03:26:20,080 --> 03:26:28,080
with um the utmost fidelity and and
reading every single one of those

2343
03:26:26,000 --> 03:26:33,040
comments. I know that we have had
extensive conversations um some hard

2344
03:26:30,560 --> 03:26:39,279
conversations around the redistricting
efforts. So, um just want to reiterate

2345
03:26:37,120 --> 03:26:45,200
um that
um you know,

2346
03:26:42,479 --> 03:26:49,760
Mr. Hosen and I we we kind of were on
the we were board members kind of part

2347
03:26:47,359 --> 03:26:58,640
of the committee as well. And so I think
it's important to reiterate again um

2348
03:26:53,600 --> 03:27:04,640
that our committee was comprised of uh a
diverse group of community

2349
03:27:01,439 --> 03:27:10,479
representation and expertise in both the
city and the county and that committee

2350
03:27:07,520 --> 03:27:16,080
came together and we spent many hours.
We were very focused on educational

2351
03:27:13,200 --> 03:27:22,080
equity, academic and opportunity,
growth, students, you know, these were

2352
03:27:18,640 --> 03:27:29,040
all things that we had conversations
in addition to those guiding principles.

2353
03:27:25,040 --> 03:27:34,720
Um, and student and staff safety was at
the top in terms of like utilization.

2354
03:27:32,239 --> 03:27:41,840
Um, so I think it's important for that
just to be said over and over in terms

2355
03:27:38,800 --> 03:27:49,760
of trying to encourage positivity and
trust around the process. Um,

2356
03:27:45,920 --> 03:27:57,120
I think a huge challenge is that
our schools are built

2357
03:27:53,760 --> 03:28:02,720
in various locations across a very large
area. Um, and again, these are all

2358
03:27:59,680 --> 03:28:07,439
things that have been said and repeated,
but um, since, you know, we're on the

2359
03:28:05,520 --> 03:28:13,279
topic, I think it's important to just
continue to reemphasize that these were

2360
03:28:10,880 --> 03:28:18,800
huge challenges for the committee. And I
imagine when Dr. Kever did his

2361
03:28:15,680 --> 03:28:25,520
independent review, um, you know, that
was all part of a divisionwide holistic

2362
03:28:22,160 --> 03:28:29,520
approach to this process. Um, another
huge challenge is our neighborhoods and

2363
03:28:27,840 --> 03:28:33,200
where our students live and the
diversity of our students is not

2364
03:28:31,279 --> 03:28:39,520
socioeconomically diverse. Our
neighborhoods are not. And so that also

2365
03:28:36,080 --> 03:28:46,399
presents a huge challenge in trying to
balance um the guiding principles set

2366
03:28:42,640 --> 03:28:53,600
forth for this process. Um so I would
just repeat that educational equity

2367
03:28:49,359 --> 03:29:00,720
um is was a priority the committee is a
priority of our board is a key priority

2368
03:28:57,200 --> 03:29:06,800
of our strategic plan. Um and that
equity across the division um continues

2369
03:29:03,760 --> 03:29:13,359
to be what drives our work um to make
sure that every student can succeed. Um,

2370
03:29:10,399 --> 03:29:19,920
so just wanted to make sure that that
was expressed and appreciation for um,

2371
03:29:17,600 --> 03:29:26,040
Dr. Hver's recommendation tonight. Thank
you so much, Mrs. Ch.

2372
03:29:22,560 --> 03:29:26,040
Any other comments?

2373
03:29:26,239 --> 03:29:34,960
» Well, uh, we look forward to to the
public hearing on October 6th um, and

2374
03:29:32,640 --> 03:29:40,160
your continued comments from the
community and we will take your

2375
03:29:36,880 --> 03:29:46,319
recommendation under advisement.
We will move on to our next uh agenda

2376
03:29:43,520 --> 03:29:51,840
item 12.01
board member comments.

2377
03:29:48,960 --> 03:29:57,040
I think this is triple overtime.
Who wants to start? I'll start with Mr.

2378
03:29:54,960 --> 03:29:59,359
Hodgees who I gave him a hard time last
time.

2379
03:29:57,920 --> 03:30:03,120
» Madam Chair, you took my joke. I was
going to open with a double triple

2380
03:30:01,040 --> 03:30:07,520
overtime joke, so you beat me to the
punch.

2381
03:30:04,800 --> 03:30:11,439
Um, with the school year well underway
at this point, um, I want to start by

2382
03:30:09,920 --> 03:30:16,160
saying that I hope that our students and
staff are finding their groove both in

2383
03:30:13,760 --> 03:30:20,560
and out of the classroom. Personally, I
find this time of year very exciting.

2384
03:30:18,399 --> 03:30:25,120
You can start to feel a slight crisp in
the air out at night, you know, not so

2385
03:30:22,720 --> 03:30:29,359
much during the day. Um, fall sports
have kicked in at high school, college,

2386
03:30:27,279 --> 03:30:36,160
and the pros, and there's a sense of new
opportunities and experiences every day.

2387
03:30:33,040 --> 03:30:41,359
And new opportunities and experiences
can be scary. Trust me, I dealt with

2388
03:30:39,279 --> 03:30:46,720
anxiety disorders for a good chunk of my
childhood and all of my adult life. I

2389
03:30:43,760 --> 03:30:52,399
still do. The anxious mind hates nothing
more than the unknown. So, the prospect

2390
03:30:49,920 --> 03:30:57,840
of something new or unfamiliar and the
fear and uncertainty that comes with it

2391
03:30:54,960 --> 03:31:02,239
is nothing new to me. And I say that
because having done a lot of therapy

2392
03:31:00,239 --> 03:31:07,520
sessions in my day, I've become pretty
adept in sensing anxiety in both myself

2393
03:31:04,880 --> 03:31:12,160
and others. It's not the superpower I
wanted, but it's the one that I got. But

2394
03:31:10,319 --> 03:31:15,359
it doesn't take a heightened sense to
recognize that there are still chunks of

2395
03:31:13,680 --> 03:31:20,239
our community that are feeling a lot of
anxiety over the proposed redistricting.

2396
03:31:17,680 --> 03:31:25,200
Case in point, by my account, we had 22
citizens come out tonight speaking in

2397
03:31:22,160 --> 03:31:28,720
opposition to it. And so I want to share
a lesson that I've learned in therapy.

2398
03:31:27,120 --> 03:31:32,239
Not just because I think it could apply
here, but because it's one of the most

2399
03:31:30,239 --> 03:31:37,359
valuable lessons I have learned from my
years of therapy. And it's this.

2400
03:31:35,200 --> 03:31:41,840
Catastrophizing about the future tends
to lead to distorted expectations. And

2401
03:31:39,920 --> 03:31:46,560
the thing you were fearing is almost
never as bad as you were expecting. And

2402
03:31:44,399 --> 03:31:50,239
I don't say that to say that these maps
are perfect. There is no such thing as a

2403
03:31:48,720 --> 03:31:54,479
perfect set of maps when it comes to
redistricting. Like it's been said a

2404
03:31:52,560 --> 03:31:59,279
million times before, there are too many
factors to juggle to please everybody.

2405
03:31:57,200 --> 03:32:04,319
And with and those with concerns are
valid in their desire to express those

2406
03:32:01,359 --> 03:32:08,560
concerns. But what I am saying is this.
With change, there are often tremendous

2407
03:32:06,800 --> 03:32:12,720
opportunities for growth that we might
not see at first and previously wouldn't

2408
03:32:10,960 --> 03:32:16,720
have thought possible. And with that,
Madam Chair, I conclude my remarks.

2409
03:32:14,880 --> 03:32:21,359
» Thank you so much, Mr. Hodgees.
Appreciate you bringing that perspective

2410
03:32:18,319 --> 03:32:27,120
in. Dr.
Yes, ma'am. Um, there were a couple um

2411
03:32:24,000 --> 03:32:32,479
comments tonight about literacy. So,
staying with my theme of literacy, I

2412
03:32:29,840 --> 03:32:36,319
just want to make a few comments. Um,
reading is a critical skill in learning

2413
03:32:34,479 --> 03:32:42,880
and proficiency needs to be accomplished
by the third grade. In general, the WJCC

2414
03:32:40,000 --> 03:32:49,520
so overall pass rates for reading for
all students declined declined over the

2415
03:32:45,920 --> 03:32:55,920
past 14 years from a high of 94% in 2011
to 2012 to the present level of 78% for

2416
03:32:52,960 --> 03:33:00,399
the most recent school year from 20 2025
2026.

2417
03:32:57,680 --> 03:33:08,319
In particular, the WJCC grade three
reading so test rate for 2526 school

2418
03:33:04,080 --> 03:33:14,479
year was 70.2% 2% which was a 3.5
increase from the 66.7% pass rate from

2419
03:33:11,040 --> 03:33:18,560
the previous year.
The nine elementary

2420
03:33:16,560 --> 03:33:23,920
third grade students performance on the
reading so tests this year ranged from

2421
03:33:21,439 --> 03:33:27,920
42 to 89%.
Seven elementary schools increased their

2422
03:33:25,760 --> 03:33:32,399
scores from the previous school year and
two schools decreased their score from

2423
03:33:29,600 --> 03:33:39,279
the previous academic year. Most notable
improvement was a Matthew Wy was Matthew

2424
03:33:35,279 --> 03:33:45,120
why which increased their score by 19%.
Contrarily James River Elementary had a

2425
03:33:41,760 --> 03:33:50,880
14% decrease in their pass rate from the
previous year. The pass rates for the

2426
03:33:48,080 --> 03:33:55,120
remaining seven schools ranged from 66
to 76%.

2427
03:33:53,520 --> 03:34:00,239
Stonehouse Elementary School had the
highest pass rate with 89% and James

2428
03:33:57,760 --> 03:34:04,120
River Elementary had the lowest pass
rate of 42%.

2429
03:34:04,479 --> 03:34:14,160
823 third graders took the SO test this
year and with a pass rate of 70%, 578

2430
03:34:10,960 --> 03:34:18,479
students passed the test and 245 did
not. Given that I am not a reading

2431
03:34:17,120 --> 03:34:23,840
specialist and do not know all the
nuances of the so test, I don't know if

2432
03:34:21,520 --> 03:34:28,000
these 245 students will have a different
trajectory of performance in their

2433
03:34:25,359 --> 03:34:32,560
future academic endeavors. However, I
would suggest that having passed the

2434
03:34:29,279 --> 03:34:35,520
test was a meaningful accomplishment.
with the results of the of the

2435
03:34:33,840 --> 03:34:40,960
division's academic performance on the
so the superintendent stated these

2436
03:34:38,479 --> 03:34:45,200
results are not where we need them to be
and those patterns cannot become

2437
03:34:42,960 --> 03:34:50,640
permanent conditions
WJCC school chairman said some pass

2438
03:34:48,560 --> 03:34:54,080
rates aren't just aren't just a
reflection of what's happening in

2439
03:34:51,840 --> 03:34:59,359
classrooms but what families are able to
provide kids academic-wise after school

2440
03:34:57,439 --> 03:35:03,520
she asked community members watching the
meeting how they can think of after

2441
03:35:01,680 --> 03:35:07,000
school programs for students needing
additional help.

2442
03:35:07,120 --> 03:35:15,120
She commented, "Some kids are privileged
enough to get extra help outside from a

2443
03:35:12,319 --> 03:35:19,840
a variety of places. And how do we help
support some of those other children?"

2444
03:35:18,080 --> 03:35:23,359
I attended a volunteer recruitment
program last night at a different school

2445
03:35:21,600 --> 03:35:28,800
division and had a lengthy conversation
with the group leaders. They commented

2446
03:35:25,760 --> 03:35:34,080
on a particular elementary school which
had a minority demographic

2447
03:35:31,200 --> 03:35:40,800
and they had improved their so reading
scores for the third graders at that

2448
03:35:36,399 --> 03:35:45,439
school from 29 to 79% in two years which
is an incredible achievement. They felt

2449
03:35:43,760 --> 03:35:49,120
the major contributors to the rapid
increase in scores included the use of

2450
03:35:47,040 --> 03:35:53,760
the University of Florida literary
institute reading program or newfly for

2451
03:35:51,680 --> 03:35:59,040
30 minutes in combination with benchmark
for 30 minutes. They discontinued

2452
03:35:56,880 --> 03:36:03,279
discontinued the use of digital devices
for grade one through the first half of

2453
03:36:01,120 --> 03:36:07,359
the second grade. Balance testing was
accomplished three times a year and

2454
03:36:05,600 --> 03:36:13,120
there is a consensus that a third grade
gate was a viable option as a method of

2455
03:36:10,479 --> 03:36:16,960
accountability. In other words, if the
student did not pass the third grade so

2456
03:36:15,279 --> 03:36:21,600
reading test, they would not be advanced
to the fourth grade.

2457
03:36:19,600 --> 03:36:25,600
Thank you.
>> Thank you so much, Dr. Kasa.

2458
03:36:24,239 --> 03:36:30,479
Mrs. Hun,
>> I just want to thank Miss Chin for being

2459
03:36:27,520 --> 03:36:35,840
my bopsy twin for we spent 15 hours
together in schools and I know I stole

2460
03:36:32,960 --> 03:36:40,160
her thunder, so I apologize. Um, but a
lot of the teachers would say, "Oh, we

2461
03:36:37,600 --> 03:36:45,120
saw you and you and they commented on
and you're the one with the camera." But

2462
03:36:42,080 --> 03:36:52,720
I wanted to do a shout out to Emma
Hartley and um, Miss Donner did mention

2463
03:36:48,800 --> 03:36:58,880
in her comments about the WJCC
videos that are out. She has that nice

2464
03:36:55,920 --> 03:37:04,399
camera and she has taken some phenomenal
pictures and I enjoy going and seeing

2465
03:37:02,720 --> 03:37:08,399
all the different schools. I think she
picks a different school and just

2466
03:37:06,160 --> 03:37:15,040
captures all these beautiful moments.
So, it's nice to have another keeper of

2467
03:37:11,279 --> 03:37:20,080
the stories out there. And also, um,
there are things on Instagram. I don't

2468
03:37:16,880 --> 03:37:24,720
get on Instagram much, but they have
hilarious things on Instagram that the

2469
03:37:22,560 --> 03:37:30,319
different schools have put out, and I
love the ship ones. Ship, I mean, I'm

2470
03:37:27,520 --> 03:37:34,479
always hungry after looking at all the
things that they're doing with the

2471
03:37:31,600 --> 03:37:40,080
children. So, um, If you haven't had a
chance to get on social media in that

2472
03:37:37,520 --> 03:37:44,880
way just to get another glimpse of
glimpse of what's going on in schools um

2473
03:37:42,560 --> 03:37:50,800
do that and Lafayette High School has on
Wednesday it's called what did you learn

2474
03:37:46,640 --> 03:37:54,880
Wednesday and Mr. Townson has he just
randomly stops high school students and

2475
03:37:52,960 --> 03:38:00,560
said what did you learn and then he
gives them a follow-up question. So, the

2476
03:37:58,000 --> 03:38:05,600
thing I love is what I'm seeing on
social media is exactly what we see when

2477
03:38:03,279 --> 03:38:12,160
we're in the schools. It mirrors what is
really happening. And um it it's just

2478
03:38:08,960 --> 03:38:17,120
exciting and it it it if you want to be
excited about what's going on in WJC and

2479
03:38:14,720 --> 03:38:20,960
not anxious about it, I encourage you to
to just click on some of those videos.

2480
03:38:19,920 --> 03:38:24,960
Thank you, Madam Chair.
>> Thank you so much, Mrs. H. We'll go to

2481
03:38:23,520 --> 03:38:29,760
you, Mr. Hosn.
>> Yes, Madam Chair. [clears throat] I'll

2482
03:38:27,279 --> 03:38:34,080
keep it uh short since we're in the
third or fourth over time I think right

2483
03:38:31,279 --> 03:38:39,520
now. Um at the last meeting I raised an
issue regarding some contracts that we

2484
03:38:36,000 --> 03:38:43,040
had uh previously approved uh with some
my issue was some documents that we

2485
03:38:41,120 --> 03:38:46,319
didn't have uh regarding those and I
just want to thank uh Dr. Kever and the

2486
03:38:44,720 --> 03:38:50,720
administration for providing those
documents to us showing that those

2487
03:38:48,560 --> 03:38:53,920
contracts were extended uh for this
school year. So there should be no

2488
03:38:52,319 --> 03:38:58,319
issues with us going forward with those.
I just want to make sure that the public

2489
03:38:55,600 --> 03:39:01,680
and the board if they didn't see that uh
were are aware of that at this time.

2490
03:39:00,640 --> 03:39:03,920
» Thank you so much for that
clarification, Mr. H.

2491
03:39:02,720 --> 03:39:10,800
» No problem. Thank you.
>> Uh uh Mrs. Chen.

2492
03:39:07,760 --> 03:39:17,840
» Um Mrs. Hunley, you can always steal my
thunder. I tell everybody you are our

2493
03:39:13,200 --> 03:39:22,319
MVP. Um is that right? So yeah, MVP. I'm
very tired right now. So yes, you are

2494
03:39:19,600 --> 03:39:27,680
our most valuable player. uh you bring
light and positivity um and it was an

2495
03:39:25,359 --> 03:39:33,520
honor and a privilege, probably the
highlight of my year um and my board

2496
03:39:30,479 --> 03:39:40,560
work to visit all four all 16 schools
with you in four days and um you know as

2497
03:39:38,399 --> 03:39:48,319
I go into my last year next year I hope
we can do it again. So let's do it

2498
03:39:43,279 --> 03:39:54,080
again. Um it was wonderful to welcome um
our teachers and new staff and to say

2499
03:39:50,720 --> 03:40:00,479
hello and to make good on our promise to
try to shake as many of those new staff

2500
03:39:56,880 --> 03:40:06,560
hands as possible. Um and my takeaway
from that was that all of our schools

2501
03:40:03,359 --> 03:40:12,080
are incredible places for kids to learn
and grow. Um,

2502
03:40:09,680 --> 03:40:18,239
I don't think people realize sometimes
how lucky they are to have this

2503
03:40:15,120 --> 03:40:26,720
community um and to have our schools and
to have the people here um who are

2504
03:40:22,000 --> 03:40:34,000
working um endlessly um till all hours
of the night. Dr. Cooper, I'm not sure

2505
03:40:29,200 --> 03:40:40,000
if you ever sleep, but um all of our
teachers were prepared. They were

2506
03:40:36,080 --> 03:40:44,640
encouraging. Um, and we met teachers and
staff who went to WJCC schools and

2507
03:40:42,640 --> 03:40:49,920
several teachers who have parents who
work in WJCC and who also work at the

2508
03:40:47,040 --> 03:40:54,080
College of Boyment Mary. So, that just
felt really full circle and encouraging

2509
03:40:52,000 --> 03:40:59,840
to see young people choosing a
profession in teaching

2510
03:40:56,640 --> 03:41:05,520
um, and committing to that. Um, I had
one quick comment to make in reflection

2511
03:41:02,640 --> 03:41:10,239
on the slides that you shared, Dr.
I didn't say it earlier because it

2512
03:41:07,439 --> 03:41:17,439
wasn't related to our board vote for the
boundary lines, but as we continue to

2513
03:41:14,319 --> 03:41:22,080
um present to the public monthly a more
detailed transition plan, um it was

2514
03:41:20,479 --> 03:41:28,800
mentioned tonight. It was interesting.
There were some research articles

2515
03:41:24,640 --> 03:41:36,880
mentioned regarding um
social sort of uh social interactions

2516
03:41:33,040 --> 03:41:40,080
for children as well as um educational
research, longtime education research

2517
03:41:38,560 --> 03:41:46,960
around
classroom size and the ratios and the

2518
03:41:44,399 --> 03:41:52,399
need for, you know, pretty aggressive
class sizes like a 1 to 15 even to to

2519
03:41:49,680 --> 03:41:57,920
see academic change in literacy and math
and things like that. So, that's just a

2520
03:41:54,560 --> 03:42:02,399
curious of mine. I'm wondering um it's
not something that needs to be discussed

2521
03:42:00,160 --> 03:42:08,560
anytime soon. It would be something that
maybe we could think about during

2522
03:42:05,359 --> 03:42:12,640
staffing or budgetary or just looking at
research-based evidentiary things that

2523
03:42:10,560 --> 03:42:16,399
are out there that have worked. um and
also neighboring divisions who have done

2524
03:42:14,399 --> 03:42:21,439
similar sort of aggressive approaches
and that would fall within the board's

2525
03:42:18,880 --> 03:42:26,800
purview of budget and staffing and that
would be on administration to make those

2526
03:42:23,920 --> 03:42:31,840
recommendations that they deem best. Um,
and then the last thing I'll say, um, is

2527
03:42:29,920 --> 03:42:35,920
I I have done a lot of reflecting, so I
did prepare some just a brief comment.

2528
03:42:34,000 --> 03:42:41,120
Um, and I'll just reiterate, and I've
said this many times, we are one big

2529
03:42:39,120 --> 03:42:46,479
neighborhood, and we should treat each
other with love and respect as neighbors

2530
03:42:43,760 --> 03:42:51,760
to support the success of every child.
So, as we go into this next month where

2531
03:42:48,960 --> 03:42:59,439
it is now up to our board to make a vote
and to ensure that um we can get as much

2532
03:42:55,920 --> 03:43:02,800
public support as possible. Um all of us
are serving because we want to be

2533
03:43:00,880 --> 03:43:07,760
better. We want to do better for our
students from preK all the way to 12th

2534
03:43:05,359 --> 03:43:12,640
grade. And all of this is being driven
by exciting two new preK centers that we

2535
03:43:10,640 --> 03:43:17,520
are all excited to go for that ribbon
cutting ceremony very soon. So, we're

2536
03:43:15,520 --> 03:43:23,120
opening the pre-K centers. It's the
beginning of a new era for our

2537
03:43:19,199 --> 03:43:29,920
collective WJCC neighborhood. Um, and it
can only be successful when we all can

2538
03:43:26,640 --> 03:43:34,880
support a very ambitious vision for
change for our community. As was already

2539
03:43:32,560 --> 03:43:39,840
stated tonight and as we all can
experience and as a parent who has gone

2540
03:43:37,199 --> 03:43:44,960
through the process of K through 12 in
WJCC and have another one coming up, we

2541
03:43:42,960 --> 03:43:52,080
have longstanding
disparities in our community. So that I

2542
03:43:48,720 --> 03:43:56,560
recognize and and I do believe we as a
board in our administration, we are

2543
03:43:54,399 --> 03:44:02,319
trying to
foster that change in academic

2544
03:43:59,760 --> 03:44:06,479
achievement and opportunities for our
students. So, I want to encourage our

2545
03:44:04,479 --> 03:44:11,120
community to be invested with us as we
prepare for these changes and I want our

2546
03:44:09,439 --> 03:44:16,880
community to trust the process and
believe and invest in the possibilities.

2547
03:44:15,199 --> 03:44:21,279
» Thank you so much, Mrs. Chen. Mr.
Riffle,

2548
03:44:19,120 --> 03:44:27,040
» I don't have much else to add besides
what I said earlier. Um, besides that, I

2549
03:44:24,880 --> 03:44:31,199
heard this this analogy I've ever said
probably correctly, but um, someone

2550
03:44:29,359 --> 03:44:35,439
mentioned that education is like a tree,
especially things like redistricting. We

2551
03:44:33,520 --> 03:44:40,080
all know trees by the way they look.
Like I know my favorite tree is the

2552
03:44:36,960 --> 03:44:46,640
eastern red bud and they grow beautiful
purple flowers, not red. Um, but a tree

2553
03:44:44,800 --> 03:44:51,359
also has roots and there's things you
just can't see. But the idea is that you

2554
03:44:49,520 --> 03:44:55,359
can trust a tree. you can trust that
it's going to grow both ways, the fruit

2555
03:44:53,520 --> 03:44:58,880
side and the root side. And
redistricting is part of that. There's a

2556
03:44:56,720 --> 03:45:02,560
lot of things that you cannot display in
a presentation. You there's a lot of

2557
03:45:00,239 --> 03:45:07,279
things you can't do or ask staff to do
in this format. Like there's just things

2558
03:45:04,239 --> 03:45:11,840
that has to happen in group settings in
each building within families. Um and I

2559
03:45:10,319 --> 03:45:16,640
think I think we're all here that we
trust that narrative. Um, and so I trust

2560
03:45:14,720 --> 03:45:20,399
the roots of our cis school system just
as much as I trust the the beautiful

2561
03:45:18,399 --> 03:45:24,000
leaves and trees and as they fall off
this year, it's something I thought was

2562
03:45:22,000 --> 03:45:28,640
kind of symbolic and kind of meaningful.
So, um, but there's a lot that goes on

2563
03:45:26,319 --> 03:45:32,880
to run a school system. This is it's not
seven people sitting up here directing

2564
03:45:30,800 --> 03:45:37,120
every day. Like I step into a school
building maybe once or twice a month.

2565
03:45:34,960 --> 03:45:41,040
Like the people do this every day and
it's not us. Our job is to oversee it

2566
03:45:39,199 --> 03:45:43,840
and we have very specific powers
described to us in the Virginia

2567
03:45:42,239 --> 03:45:48,479
Constitution of what we can and cannot
do individually or how it works as a

2568
03:45:46,239 --> 03:45:53,439
team. I think we exercise those as much
as often and possible u mostly in

2569
03:45:51,199 --> 03:45:57,760
through the budget is our big big big
lever. So I'm excited for the public

2570
03:45:55,520 --> 03:46:02,160
comments. I'm a big believer in doing
that and hearing people. Um but there is

2571
03:46:00,800 --> 03:46:06,000
a point in which we have to make a
decision and I don't think we're going

2572
03:46:03,520 --> 03:46:10,160
to slow this down as much as people want
us to. there's a lot to mle over um and

2573
03:46:08,640 --> 03:46:13,760
it's exciting to be able to have all the
the full picture now at this point with

2574
03:46:11,520 --> 03:46:19,040
Dr. Kever's recommendation. So,
>> thank you, Madam Chair.

2575
03:46:15,199 --> 03:46:27,359
» Thank you so much, Mr. Riffle. Um
I have I I think I've there's one thing

2576
03:46:23,520 --> 03:46:30,960
I do want to correct on the record. Um I
thank you Dr.

2577
03:46:28,640 --> 03:46:36,800
for talking about literacy and um I just
wanted to make sure the viewing public

2578
03:46:32,720 --> 03:46:41,040
um remembers that back in March of 2024.
Um it one of our speakers said that we

2579
03:46:39,279 --> 03:46:45,680
didn't have a that we weren't doing
science of reading and we actually did

2580
03:46:43,279 --> 03:46:51,920
vote on that as a board on March 5th of
2024 and that was implemented in the

2581
03:46:48,160 --> 03:46:57,520
2425 school year. And if you go back to
last month's presentation or last last

2582
03:46:55,760 --> 03:47:01,680
uh work session's presentation, we did
know that from that implementation it's

2583
03:46:59,439 --> 03:47:06,000
starting to to tick up. So I think it's
just such an important thing that as Dr.

2584
03:47:03,439 --> 03:47:10,479
Kavasos talked about where he saw it
down in Newport News it was UFly and and

2585
03:47:08,479 --> 03:47:14,960
benchmark advantage and that's what we
also um purchased here. So I think be

2586
03:47:13,600 --> 03:47:19,199
being able to bring those learnings
forward and I know the viewing audience

2587
03:47:16,800 --> 03:47:23,920
doesn't remember all of the votes that
we take but I do think it's just

2588
03:47:21,199 --> 03:47:27,840
important to remind everyone that um we
do we have implemented science of

2589
03:47:26,319 --> 03:47:33,600
reading and that was required by the
state of Virginia in 2024. I think when

2590
03:47:30,640 --> 03:47:38,080
you look at places like Mississippi
they've been doing it over a decade

2591
03:47:36,000 --> 03:47:43,120
longer than we have. And so when you
look at those those increases and gains

2592
03:47:41,040 --> 03:47:47,680
that they've had to u that they've
gotten uh you know we're about 15 years

2593
03:47:45,920 --> 03:47:56,000
behind at this stage from a state of
Virginia. Um and so really thinking

2594
03:47:51,680 --> 03:47:59,439
through how do we uh how do we support
literacy

2595
03:47:57,680 --> 03:48:03,840
within the classrooms? But as Dr.
Kavasos and I are both on the same page

2596
03:48:01,120 --> 03:48:11,120
of after the school bell because we can
only do so much bell to bell. Uh with

2597
03:48:06,880 --> 03:48:17,279
that we will go on to 13.01 upcoming
events. Um

2598
03:48:13,920 --> 03:48:22,800
the VSBA legislative
advocacy conference on uh my gosh I'm

2599
03:48:20,160 --> 03:48:27,439
tired too. September 17th, all day
starting at 9:00 am at the Double Tree

2600
03:48:24,399 --> 03:48:32,239
by Hilton Charlottesville, 990 Hilton
Heights Road, Charlottesville, Virginia.

2601
03:48:30,000 --> 03:48:36,800
Policy Committee meeting on September
18th at 11:30 a.m. That will be

2602
03:48:34,319 --> 03:48:42,479
virtually via Zoom. And then an evening
on the lawn benefiting the WJCC Schools

2603
03:48:39,359 --> 03:48:47,040
Foundation on October 1st, 5:30 p.m. at
the Raymond A. Mason School of Business,

2604
03:48:44,479 --> 03:48:51,279
101 Ucrop Way, Williamsburg, Virginia. I
will put in one last plug. Please go and

2605
03:48:49,279 --> 03:48:56,960
buy your tickets for a table. It is a
lovely event. Our um item 3.02 upcoming

2606
03:48:55,439 --> 03:49:00,960
meetings.
Our work session action items with the

2607
03:48:59,279 --> 03:49:06,960
redistricting public hearing will be on
October 6, 2026. Uh please note that

2608
03:49:04,319 --> 03:49:12,800
this is a time and location change. We
will call to order and close session at

2609
03:49:08,960 --> 03:49:18,399
5:00 pm in room 300 here at Berkeley. Uh
the we will open we have open session at

2610
03:49:15,439 --> 03:49:24,640
5:30m in the auditorium here at Berkeley
Middle School. So the um closed sessions

2611
03:49:22,239 --> 03:49:30,880
at 5 and then the public hearing will be
part of the open meeting open session at

2612
03:49:27,040 --> 03:49:36,319
5:30 p.m. Uh we have a joint meeting on
October 9th at 8:30 a.m. with city

2613
03:49:34,080 --> 03:49:41,359
council and board of supervisors. That
is at Legacy Hall uh in New Town. And

2614
03:49:39,600 --> 03:49:47,600
then our regular board meeting will be
October 20th. Call to order in close

2615
03:49:44,160 --> 03:49:52,160
session at 6 PM in room 200. And then
open sessions at 6:30 p.m. in the

2616
03:49:49,600 --> 03:49:57,560
auditorium at Berkeley Middle School.
With that, this meeting is adjourned at

2617
03:49:54,560 --> 03:49:57,560
10:14