001I would like to call this meeting of the Prince William County School Board to order. Uh, approval of the agenda. Okay. A motion is now in order for the approval of the meeting agenda. >> Mr. Blake, >> Mr. Williams. >> I move that the Prince William County School Board approve the meeting agenda. >> Do I have a second? I second. >> Mr. Jesse. A second. Any discussion? Please vote. >> Is it popping up? >> Yeah, we need to do do a hand real quick. >> Just do a hand. >> Vote is five yes, one not present. Two not present at vote. Latif Zarapore, one absent. Tradic. Motion passed. >> Moving on to a motion to enter close session. A mo a motion is in order. Miss Williams. >> Thank you, Mr. Blake. I move that
002pursuant to sections 2.2-3711 and 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia, the Prince William County School Board enter close session for the following reasons. One, to discuss with staff to discuss this with staff the assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body pursuant to section 2.2-371. 2-3711A1 of the Code of Virginia. Two, to review the grievance appeals of employees T26-001 pursuant to section 2.2-3711A1 and 8 of the code of Virginia. Three, to discuss with division council and staff actual or probable litigation and specific legal matters involving staff, students, and other civil litigation involving the school division under sections 2.2-3711A 2-3711A 7 and 8 of the code of Virginia. Four, to discuss the award of a public contract to employees exclusive representative which involves the
003expenditure of public funds and the term or scope of such contract where discussion in open session would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body pursuant to section 2.2-3711A29 and the code of Virginia of the code of Virginia. Five, to discuss with legal counsel and staff specific legal matters related to a federal civil rights complaint pursuant to sections 2.2-3711 A7 and 8 of the Code of Virginia. And six, to discuss and receive briefings by staff members related to the security of school facilities, the safety of persons using such facilities and actions taken to respond to such matters where discussion and open meeting would jeopardize the security of such facilities pursuant to section 2.2-3711A19 2-3711A19 of the code of Virginia. >> Thank you, Miss Williams. Do I have a second? >> Mr.
004Chairman, >> Miss Zagort, >> I second. >> Any discussion? Please vote. It's coming. It's up. You got it pulled up now. No. >> Vote is six yes, one not present at vote Latif, one absent. Tradenic. Motion passed. >> Okay. The Prince William County School Board will now enter close session and return to open session in 1 hour. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] The Prince William County School Board is now returning to open session from close session. A motion is in order for 7.01. 01 close session certification. Miss Williams. >> Thank you, Mr. Blake. I move that pursuant to section 2.2-3712 of the code of Virginia, the close session of Prince William County School Board meeting of se September 17th, 2025 be certified by adopting the following resolution. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Prince
005William County School Board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge, one, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements were discussed in the closed meeting to which the certification resolution applies. And two, only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard and discussed or considered by the school board. >> Thank you, Miss Williams. Do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, Miss Zagger second. Thank you. Any discussion? Please vote. >> Vote is six. Yes. Unanimous. Motion passed. >> Moving on to the close session action items. A motion in order for 8.01. 01. Miss Williams. >> Thank you, Mr. Blake. I move that the Prince County School Board approve the appointments and releases of specific employees as presented in close session. >> Do
006I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, >> Miss Zag, >> second. >> Any discussion? Please vote. Vote is six yes unanimous. Motion passed. >> On our next agenda item is 8.02. A motion is order. Miss Williams. >> Thank you, Mr. Blake. I move that the Prince County School Board uphold the superintendent's recommendation of dismissal in employee case number T26-00001 and further that the chairman at large is authorized to provide a written decision to the employee reflecting the school board's decision. >> Do I have a second? >> M. Oh, she got it. >> Any discussion? Please vote. The vote is six. Yes. Unanimous. Motion passed. >> Thank you. Moving on to the pledge of allegiance. I'd like to invite our student representative, Karina Grover, to lead us in the in the pledge. To the United States
007of America to the stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Yeah. I just want to let everybody know that Dr. Latif is I spoke with him earlier and uh he's sorry for not being able to make it tonight. He's flying back from California after dropping his daughter off at at Stanford. So, um, their flight was delayed and and he won't be landing until later this evening, but he wanted to let everybody, you know, he wish he could be here. All right. Okay. Now, moving on to Thriving Futures Focus. Good evening. Thriving futures focus is the opportunity to highlight the exempl exempl exemplary work being accomplished in our schools that fulfills our vision that every student will graduate with the knowledge, skills and habit of mind necessary to create
008a thriving future for themselves and their community. At each of our meetings, we acknowledge students, staff, and schools who have received state and national honors. The school board is proud to recognize these honores for their positive contributions to Prince William Countyy's public schools. Tonight, the school board will honor our Virginia Junior Academy Science Research Symposium winners and our 2025 Kappy award winners. I would like to introduce Justin Wilt of the PTOIC District to recognize the accomplishments of our students at the Virginia Junior Academy of Science Research Symposium. >> Thank you, Mr. Blake. The VJS, one of the nation's leading juniormies, continues to promote scientific inquiry and innovation, giving our students the platform to shine as future leaders in STEM. The research symposium honors Virginia's brightest young STEM scholars and underscores the vital role of nurturing
009the next generation of science and technology leaders. Congratulations to the PWCS PWCS students who placed in the competition of the high school awards in the fields of physics and astronomy. Congratulations to Unuge Duhal Dimanti Na that's Kevin sorry Kevin Dumatina Agus Khan Cutlon from Forest Park High School and Governor's School at Innovation Park. The students are joined by a regular here the Forest Park High School principal Mr. Martinez and Governor's School Innovation Park principal Dr. Jason Calhoun. Thank you all. >> Thank you Mr. Wilks and congratulations Miss Zagapore of the Miss Agapore of the Cole's District will recognize our next group of superstars. >> Thank you, Mr. Blake. One of the middle school awards in the field of animal and human science. Congratulations to our first place winner, Dean Latif, who attended Benton Middle School
010where he earned the award. Dean now attends Kan High School. Congratulations to Sajila Ahmed from Kan High School who has been selected as the 202526 VJAS editor-inchief. Although she cannot be here this evening, we recognize Rana Latif for earning first place in the VJAS psychology field and for being awarded the Rosco Hughes Genetic Award and the Outstanding Service Award. Rana is a 2025 graduate of Kan High School and the Governor's School at Innovation Park. She now attends Stanford University. These students are joined tonight by Kan principal Dr. Tim Healey. At this time, I would like to invite the administrative coordinator of secondary services secondary science, excuse me, Dr. Jeremy Putt to share a few words on this achievement. >> Thank you, ma'am. Uh, good evening, Mr. Interim Chair and Dr. McDade and members of the
011board. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you tonight. The Virginia Junior Academy of Sciences has been an active member of the National Academy of Sciences for over 80 years. One of the trademark events is an annual STEMbased research competition. Each year over 600 students from across the Commonwealth of Virginia in grades 6 through or 7 through 12 participate in the competition. Students can enter their work individually or as a team in one of 19 categories. Students are required to first submit their research papers to be evaluated. Based on the results of this evaluation, they may be invited to participate in the annual VJAS symposium. If selected to participate in the symposium, these aspiring science scholars are invited to present their research in person. This past June, students from across the Commonwealth gathered gathered at
012Fam College in Fair, Virginia to present their research at the VJAS symposium. At this symposium, students were evaluated on their presentations and that evaluation was combined with the evaluation of their research papers. From this combined evaluation, students were ranked, celebrated, received awards and scholarships. To no one's surprise, supported by the wonderful teachers, families, mentors, and you, the school board, Prince William County Public School students have been recognized as some of the very best science scholars in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and we're very proud of them. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Putt. And congratulations to our students. It's now my privilege to recognize the additional achievements of Kan High School. The Cappies or Critics and Award program for high school theater and journalism is a national program that celebrates and critiques high school theater by training
013student critics and recognizing outstanding student performances, productions, and technical achievements. Congratulations to the following Cappy winners. Best vocalist in a male role, Andrew Serrano Bremer, sophomore, Hadestown Teen Edition. Best supporting actor in a male role in a musical, Jeremiah Gates, Junior, Hades Town, Teen Edition. Best song, Wait for Me, Charles J. Kan, Senior High School, Hadestown Teen Edition. Singers include Maline Bren Burn, uh Jordan Floyd, Jeremiah Gates, Malachi Hinton, Andrew Serrano Bremer, and Clark Staley. These outstanding performers are joined by Principal Dr. Tim Healey, theater director Larry Warintine, and coral director Carrie Staley. At this time, I would like to invite the supervisor of arts, Dr. Anna Marie Bolino, to share a few words on this achievement. >> Good evening, Vice Chair Blake, Dr. McDade, members of the board. As always, I'm delighted to be
014here with you tonight to celebrate the remarkable achievements of Kogan High School's theater arts students through their participation in the Cappies, a critic and arts critic and awards program. The Cappies is an international program that recognizes, celebrates, and provides transformative learning experiences for high school theater and journalism students. The program has grown to become a prestigious platform for student voice, creativity, and excellence. While the National Capital Area Cappy's annual gallet is held in June every year, it's a beautiful celebration of student achievements, the true magic happens in the daily dedication, collaboration, and passion our students bring to their craft. The students we honor tonight exemplify what it means to be committed artists and leaders in their field. Their success is a reflection not only of their talent, but also of the incredible educators who guide
015them. Kogan has an incredible leader and a passionate arts advocate and their principal Dr. Healey. The theater director Lanny Werentine and coral director Carrie Staley provide visionary leadership, coaching, and mentorship that empowers students to grow as artists, collaborators, and confident performers. Right. >> Yeah. Please join me in congratulation congratulating these outstanding performers for their dedication, creativity, and excellence. I'm very proud of them. I know you all are as well. They are a shining example of the exemp exceptional arts education that we strive for here in Prince William County Schools. Congratulations. >> Congratulations to the students and staff of Charles J. Kan Senior High School for their outstanding performances. I just saw McBTH. It was amazing. Um, and I am looking forward to more Cappy nominations from you guys this year. >> Thank you, Miss Zagur.
016And uh, yeah, that was I was there, so I little little caveat, I got to actually um, hand the award off to Andrew right there for the best male vocalist. So, that was real special. at the Kennedy Center and I I really apprec appreciate you guys representing Prince William County out there. So, um now I would like to to invite our honores, friends and family and colleagues here tonight to stand and recogni in recognition of your support for our distinguished guests. So, parent And before we take a few pictures, Superintendent Dr. McDade, would you like to share a few words? >> Sure. Thank you, Mr. Blake. What an incredible evening of recognition. You represent the absolute best of who we are in Prince William County Schools. And I just want to say your accomplishments really
017remind us that education is not just about academics. It's also about cultivating creativity and curiosity, resilience, and responsibility to really contribute to your community and to our world. So, congratulations to each and every one of you. We are PWCS proud. >> Thank you, Dr. McDade. At this time, I would like to request our honores to come forward for a photo with the school board and receive a small token of our appreciation. We will begin with one photo that includes our Virginia Junior Academy of Science Research Symposium winners and then one photo with our Cappy Award winners. So you guys know Blake was like Let us give one more round of applause >> for tonight's thriving future honores. [Applause] All right. Thank you all. Thank you. Now we're moving on to 11.01, adoption of the consent
018agenda. Miss Williams. >> Thank you, Mr. Blake. I move that the Prince William County School Board approve the public meeting consent agenda as recommended. >> Do I have a second? >> Mr. Jesse seconds. Any discussion? Please vote. Why is my >> the vote is six? Yes. Unanimous. Motion passed. >> Thank you. Now we are moving on to 12.01 approval of the acknowledgements and recognitions. Miss Williams. >> Thank you, Mr. Blake. I move that the Prince William County School Board approve the adoption of the acknowledgements and recognitions as recommended. >> Do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, >> Miss Zag for a second. Any discussion? >> No. Please vote. The vote is 6 yes, unanimous. Motion passed. >> Okay, moving on to citizen comment time. Those citizens who have signed up in advance with the
019clerk may address the school board this evening when they are called to the podium. The citizen comment period for regular schoolboard meetings is one hour and citizens may speak on agenda items or other topics gerain to the operations and policies of PWCS. Please use proper decorum and manners while at the podium or you will be asked to step aside. We ask that the audience please be respectful of each speaker and refrain from any clapping, cheering or jeering to avoid disruption of the meeting. If you do not, the board will recess and I will ask the room to be cleared to restore public order. Tonight we have 17 citizens signed up to speak. When I call your name, please come up to the podium and state your name and address for the record. Per policy one
020134. The time allotted for each speaker will be three minutes. I want to call up the first five speakers are Christian Argansson, Marcia Metser, Adam T. Mats, Marty Weaver, and Charlie Hernandez White. Okay. For those who are signing impaired, allow me to repeat myself. Good evening, Dr. McDade, Mr. your interim chairman, board members, and student representatives. My name is Christian Aerson. I'm a junior at Kan High School in ASL3. My address is on file. I wanted to begin by thanking you for the opportunity to allow me to speak here tonight. Notice how you were unable to understand me while I was signing. That is currently the situation that the ASL teacher at Kogan High School is currently experiencing. Mr. Earl Parks is a deaf ASL teacher at Kogan who uses an interpreter for all of
021his school needs. This interpreter is much more than a translation service, but a source of ADA approved communication and a safety net in case of life-threatening emergencies. Just two weeks ago, the students in ASL were informed of the decision to remove the interpreter from the classroom and are currently seeing the real-time effects of it. He's being left out of daily conversations and has no access to important realtime information such as the morning announcements. Under the Americans with Disability Act section 504, all deaf individuals are entitled to realtime interpretation under programs that receive federal funding, which include Princeton County Public Schools. A texttospech keyboard originally designed for stroke patients who are unable to speak was provided by the county and does not meet Mr. Parks' needs. It doesn't work for deaf individuals who can't hear, nor
022does it accurately show what he is thinking. He has had to resort to the old school method of writing down what he wants to say for students, admin, and other faculty in the school. This decision not only raises serious concerns about equity by removing our deaf teachers only source of communication, but is also illegal for not providing a safe and effective alternative. What if the school went on lockdown? How would he keep himself and his students safe from harm? These are real world possibilities that must be considered before removing an interpreter. I and the rest of Kan High School urge you, the PWCS school board, to rectify this change and make right what was made wrong. Restore this decision and restore Mr. parks access to communication, safety, and dignity and bring back the tools that
023everyone needs in order to succeed to launch thriving futures. Thank you so much and have a good night. >> Uh Marcina Medser, >> good evening. Uh Dr. McDade and interim chairman. My name is Mara Meder, address 4618 Easterland, Woodbridge, 22192. I have two daughters at Kogan. I've got one of them with me. Her name is Christa. They are in uh the ASL program at Kan for their um foreign language credit. I'm here tonight to address uh the plan for Prince William County Schools to replace the qualified interpreter with computer technology. Our students at Kan are extremely fortunate to have a deaf teacher teaching um ASL in the authentic version of ASL. Since our teacher does not use English as a primary language, a qualified interpreter is necessary, essential for them to effectively learn. ASL is
024a complex visual language requiring precise hand movements, facial expressions, body language, and timing. Where real-time interaction provides substance, a computer cannot capture these details the way a human interpreter can. Additionally, the computer provides no reflection through voice that complements these critical expressions. The computer reads aloud in a monotone. Over the past few weeks, during the computer trial period, my daughters report feeling disconnected from their teacher as they're forced to focus on a screen rather than engaging directly with the teacher. The artificial computer it voice is overwhelmingly distraction that disrupts their concentration. If you are unaware, it's a keyboard that has no feedback. Mr. Parks does not understand or excuse me, he does not see or get feedback if a word is misspelled. Effective learning requires human concentration and communication. Removing the interpreter removes the humanity
025from the classroom, creates an artificial barrier between the teacher and the students. Imagine if this was a different foreign language class, a Spanish teacher, likely bilingual in both English and Spanish. This allows a teacher to communicate effectively real time translating her words. Imagine the same teacher um in Spanish one class that is strictly Spanish speaking. they are not able to communicate effectively. The only solution to providing a bilingual interpreter to the classroom would be effective. I ask that you apply the same logic to the ASL classroom. I urge the board to prioritize student learning outcomes and maintain qualified human interpreter to ensure our children can achieve their full academic potential in the ASL classroom. Thank you for your time this evening. Adam Mats. >> Good evening. My name is Adam Mathers. Address is 11715 Howitzer
026Lane in Woodbridge. I'm also here for the ASL program at Kan. My daughter's a junior there. She's an ASL 3. Uh, you know, going back to a couple of years ago, for those that remember the ASL teacher that used to be there, the stuff that these kids had to be put through with that person was untenable. Mr. Parks has been a breath of fresh air. And I'll say that, you know, as far as the interpreter goes, I've emailed a number of people. I've gotten responses from several. I appreciate all those, but every response that I've gotten from everybody on the school board or at the school has been centered around it being a personnel issue with him. I've not gotten really anything substantive from anybody about how this impacts students and student learning. And as
027somebody that works for the federal government, have been around a number of people that have hearing issues and have used ASL interpreters, the difference, the day-to-day difference in the in the timeliness going from a text to speech issue or MS Teams for those that use it versus an interpreter, it's it's worlds worlds apart. And so to try to get him to use that in a in a brief time period like a class hour and change versus a real-time response you're going to get from an interpreter, it's it's almost a a useless class at that point. So just urge everyone here to reconsider it. Um you're hearing from a few of us here that feel strongly about it. That's across the board with the students and the parents uh at the at the ASL program. Thank
028you very much. Marty Weaver. >> Marty Weaver. Aacoin. No surprise. I absolutely support our president, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and of course, science about the care and education of our precious children. I support our parental rights and responsibilities for our minor children. Families are the guard guardians of the family, not schools, not teachers, not school boards, not counselors. Schools can't seem to accomplish their mission of teaching basic information which is necessary to go on to critical thinking skills. Yet students of all ages are encouraged by a system to be making lifealtering irreversible decisions. They are doing this decisionmaking with little to no life experiences but a lot of input from adults with suspect agendas and social media. The other group with all of the letters that keep changing talk about evidence-based best practices and
029science. Whose evidence and whose best practices? Who does science what does science say? XX equals female XY equals male. XY cannot be changed to XX nor the reverse. And if someone's thinking doesn't match their body, then maybe their brains need to be fixed, not multi mutilate their bodies inside and out to look like what they think they want. Sort of. And now that person is sterile. I guess that is one way to control the population. Is this an assault on reproduction? Biology deniers, anatomy deniers, genetics deniers, physiology deniers. This offensive propaganda that is directed towards our vulnerable children needs to stop in our schools, in our society. We need to stop enabling the craziness. We want good things for all of our children. And as such, we can't allow the majority to be harmed by
030the mental issues manifested by a very few. We can't allow very small, vocal, and sometimes militant minorities delusions to dominate at the expense of mental health of the majority. Quoting Dr. Paul McHugh of John's Hopkins Medal School of Medicine. Transgenderism is the only mental illness demanding that the rest of society adopt the patients delusions as a part of the patients treatment. Practicing make believe belongs in the theater department or creative writing course. Taxpayers will have to pay for your defense of this nonsense. And lastly, let's say I believe in Charlie Kirk and his non-violent approach who was assassinated last Wednesday. Charlie White and the next five people could come up. Um, Samantha Spiddle, Benjamin Guy, Julianne Fiser, Jessica Char, and Tiffany Port. >> Hello and good evening, members of the board. My name is Charlie
031Hernandez White, and my address is on file. As a non-binary student in Prince County, policy 738 helps me to feel as though I can be my authentic self at school without fear of judgment. The ability to use my preferred name and pronouns freely is something I'm incredibly grateful for. Incredibly, as I actively see the staff at my school trying to use them, and when I they mess up, I don't feel afraid to say, "Hey, could you please say they" instead of she? I even remember when I had first begun using my preferred name and pronouns in sixth grade. I was so scared to tell my teachers and classmates that my name was Charlie, but the moment I did, they were incredibly supportive. You know, I want to be a teacher and a big part of
032that is because of how caring the princely and county community is. The experiences I've had here made me want to be a part of teaching the next generation and I doubt that I would have discovered my love for teaching without policy 738. Thank you and please continue to acknowledge the identities of all students because we need school to be a safe place for all. Samantha Spittle. >> Hi, I'm Samantha Spittle. Address on file. I'm a parent of a sophomore. I am here because Mr. Parks, the ASL teacher at Kan High School, has had his in-person interpreter replaced with the device as the primary form of comm communication. And you've already heard a lot of great feedback on that tonight. Um, even though it's under a trial period, it's my understanding that the ADA office made
033the decision. And while the interpreter will remain until the end of September, the long-term plan is uncertain. I appreciate that the Kan administration has shared that they're working with M Mr. Parks and will be evaluating the process based on he and the students feedback. Because of this, my hope is that my words are not needed tonight and that those can be heard from them and decisions can be made to benefit Mr. Parks and the students. Um, but I also believe it's important to keep a spotlight on systems change. The s sudden shift highlights how important it is to ensure that feedback is truly heard and that support is based on what actually works for students and teachers, not on the bare minimum. At the September 4th open house, families saw the device in action. It
034was presented professionally, but the difference compared to a live interpreter was stark. This is not just about technology. It's about connection. Typing or a mechanical voice cannot carry tone, inflection, emotion, or cultural context. Rearch research confirms no device can replicate what a qualified interpreter provides, especially in ASL where meaning goes beyond literal words. And the irony cannot be ignored. While Prince William County and the governor are removing cell phones from classrooms to strengthen communication and connection, it appears that the ADA office has chosen to remove a human interpreter and replace that connection with a device. These two messages do not align. I acknowledge that these devices serve an important purpose for people with speech limitations. They have value, but using them to replace an interpreter for a deaf teacher is not equitable. It risks becoming
035autism, the belief that spoken or written language is superior to sign language and that deaf individuals must adapt to systems designed for hearing people instead of receiving the support they truly need. Mr. Parks is, to my knowledge, the only deaf native ASL speaker in this county. As a secondyear teacher, he should feel confident to share his needs without fear of job risk or being told to work with less, which is perhap which perhaps he is. His students, especially beginners, rely on both authentic exposure to ASL and the dynamic between the teacher and the interpreter. Please keep both options available and let this trial be about what is most effective, not just what is cheapest. Thank you, Benjamin. Guy. >> Good evening. My name is Benjamin Guy. My address is on file with the clerk. I'm
036here to speak about a critical issue that affects not only the rights of our educators, but the quality of education and safety for our students. I want to raise a concern about a possible decision to remove the sign language interpreter for a deaf teacher who instructs American Sign Language. I understand that this educator has been provided with the texttospech tool and been directed to use Microsoft Teams for student interaction. While I appreciate the use of technology, this change may not be an effective or reasonable accommodation. The effectiveness of communication in an ASL classroom is not about one-way transfer of words. It's about dynamic, fluid, and visually based exchange. An interpreter is not just a translator. They are a vital conduit for real- time interaction, clarification, and the nuance of human connection that is essential for
037both teaching and learning. A properly trained language interpreter includes in their work the intended meaning, nuances, tone, and cultural context of the message. A texttospech tool and chat application are simply not a substitute for this. This change puts the teacher at a significant professional disadvantage and compromises the educational experience for every student in that classroom as well as the communication and inclusion of other faculty members. Beyond the classroom, there's an even more serious concern, that of safety. I'm led to understand that there are no visual indicators in this teacher's classroom to notify them of an emergency, such as a need to evacuate or shelter in place due to a fire or active shooter. Being dependent on a team's message or an untrained and unqualified faculty or student to interpret and communicate an announcement is unacceptable
038and is contradictory to Prince William County School's policy regarding translators and interpreters. I understand that a message may be sent to the teacher using Microsoft Teams, but as we all know, constantly monitoring technology for messages while monitoring students classroom behaviors and communicating the importance of eye contact, facial expression, those that are necessary for ASL, would be difficult for anyone to manage and could lead to delayed safety communication that increases the risk to our faculty and students. I'm also led to believe that currently the role of alarm is being handled by the live interpreter. A flashing light or other form of immediate, tactile, or visual alert is not a convenience. It is a mandatory life-saving measure that is required by law and common sense. Without it, the safety of our students is at risk. >> Thank
039you, >> Julianne Fischer. Good evening. My name is Julianne Fischer. address 13401 Classic Oaks Court here in Manasses. This is my daughter Maddie Fischer uh who is a sophomore at Kogan High School. Um I like others here tonight and I'm delighted at the turnout are here to talk about um the American Sign Language uh program at Kan. Um she is in her second year of ASL with her teacher Mr. Parks who is deaf and she has learned a tremendous amount uh during her time there with him in ASL1 last year. and I'm here tonight to express my and obviously other famil family's concerns regarding the removal of interpreters from classrooms of deaf teachers in Prince William County, including Mr. Parks' interpreter. The idea that the replacement of his interpreter with a texttospech software is a
040reasonable accommodation for this is, I'll be honest with you, not even comparable as having an in-person real-time interpreter. This change will significantly alter the dynamics of the learning environment in the classroom as he is now expected to do the following. He will need to sign what he wants to say and wants to teach, then type out what he has just signed on the computer, wait for the computer to transfer the text to speech, and then repeat the process. This does not allow the students to see the signs as a concept as the concept is being taught, and I feel will result in students having a harder time learning how to put everything together. Especially in ASL1, if a student wants to ask a question, they must type their question, then wait for Mr. parks to
041read it, then sign his response, then type his response, and then wait for the text to to be spoken. This exchange, which would take seconds with an interpreter, will now take minutes and I suspect will result in only a fraction of material being taught despite Mr. Parks' best efforts. This change will particularly affect ASL1 um classes as they have no back no background to build upon regarding ASL as a language and will affect the upper levels as well as they learn more challenging concepts. I'm very disappointed in Prince County school system for even considering this change. It seems like one of those situations where it sounded really good on paper, but no one thought about the real world impacts. I feel that students, parents, and teachers affected by this decision are owed an explanation as
042to why this change occurred. And I'm hoping that somebody with some common sense will take notice and that this decision will be reconsidered to allow Mr. Parks to continue to have the resources he needs to be an effective teacher at Kan and to be a part of the community because right now he's not. And it's an absolute shame that this has happened. Thank you, >> Jessica Sh. >> Good evening, members of the board. I wasn't able to make the first board meeting, but I want to take a moment to share how appreciative I am of Prince William County Public Schools proving its commitment to foster a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all of our students. So, thank you for maintain maintaining policy 738. Tonight, I'd like to talk about social media, specifically Prince William
043County social media. Um, on Facebook, Prince William County Schools has 69,000 followers. Um, PWCS News has 12,000 followers. And on the ticky, you guys only have 2,000 followers. So, you have to up your game on that one. um altogether that's more than 83,000 people following across the three platforms. So these channels are a direct and reliable way to keep the parents, students and community members connected. These social media accounts strengthen relationships and share updates and celebrate achievements. Absolute beautiful videography on it. Um they encourage community engagement. They're doing a great job. However, um September is suicide awareness month and while Prince William County Schools does have a page on their site with resources, not a single post has been made on any of those social media pages. Um th this would highlight the supports for
044mental health or discuss suicide awareness. That's 83,000 followers and that's a missed opportunity to connect families with life-saving resources. This could have included videos such as learning the warning signs or conversation starters. It could have been sharing one of the many resources from the National Alliance on Mental Illness or information about Hazel Health, which is a teleaalth service that we have here in Prince William County. Each post would have been a chance to show families that Prince William County schools are serious about mental health and suicide prevention. But the good news is it's never too late to start sharing. So this is a very easy ask and it's a powerful opportunity. By prior prioritizing social media outreach around suicide awareness month, Prince County schools can demonstrate care for our students and provide resources that may
045truly save lives. I urge the board to make this a priority and begin a discussion and a plan of action um about ways that we can use social media to help keep families informed about suicide prevention. Thank you very much. Thank you. Tiffany Fort. >> My name is Tiffany Fort and my address is on file. Good evening and thank you for making this um opportunity available to address um topics of uh issues. I am a junior at Kogan High School in ASL 3. I have had two ASL teachers, the current one being Mr. Parks. I have a question for you. Would you trust a 13-year-old to manage an emergency? As with previous uh speakers and I'm sure many after me, um I am speaking on the current situation in ASL at Kogan. Um as has
046been said, the interpreter is being um Mr. Parks' interpreter is being denied and we have been given the accommodations of uh technology of Microsoft Teams and the text to speech keyboard. With this, I would like you to consider this scenario. You're an ASL1 student about 13 or 14 years old, and you have just learned how to spell your name. Not much more. All of a sudden, the school goes on lockdown. Notice being given through the PA system. According to an emergency procedures paper that we were given just yesterday, I believe you are now in charge of notifying Mr. Parks of the situation as he cannot hear the PA. The lights have to be turned off. You're scared and you're responsible for keeping yourself, your teacher, and the other students safe through broken or non-existent communication.
047Without an interpreter, mistakes can easily be made and lives would be at would be at risk with this um lack of communication. Now you're an ASL 2 student. You can express slightly more advanced ideas, but your signing isn't amazing yet. Your receptive skills aren't perfect either, but you can grasp basic ideas and have a general conversation. You're sitting in class when the student next to you starts having a medical emergency. But dep whatever emergency a seizure low blood sugar fainting panic attack whatever it may be dep um the teacher would need to call the nurse or 911 depending a a counselor um but without an interpreter Mr. Parks and the students cannot communicate with each other or with emergency services about what is going on. Mr. Parks cannot communicate without typing words out on his
048computer and having that delay of typing versus understanding. That is not effective communication. That is delayed communication and is extremely likely to risk someone's life. Removing access to an interpreter in our classroom creates many issues and I've only touched on one. Um, but there are many others that >> Thank you. The next five speakers are Cameron Barber, Amy Guy, Josie Miller, Carl Gretton, and Jeffrey Lofrren. Hello, my name is Cameron Barber. I'm a junior at Kogan High School. I've been taking American Sign Language for three years. And for the past year and a half, we've had an amazing teacher named Mr. Parks. Mr. Parks is deaf and communicates 100% using sign language. For the time he's been at our school, he's had an interpreter to bridge the communication gap both between his level one students,
049as well as other teachers, administrators, and students that do not take ASL. Recently, we learned Mr. Parks is having his interpreter taken away because the PWCS ADA board has decided he doesn't need it. The issue here is you are forcing Mr. Parks into a position where he has to communicate, oh goodness. Where he has to communicate without using what is in a way his voice. Imagine being told you're not allowed to speak anymore and you're only allowed to type. Wouldn't you be angry? Others speaking about this topic have signed their intros. Could you understand them? I'm going to assume the answer is no. This is what it will feel like to anyone who tries to speak to Mr. Parks from now on. You are creating a communication gap that will be difficult to bridge. Now,
050I know he has been given a way to communicate using Microsoft Teams. But by having him type, us students in his class are using are are losing our exposure to the language. In both the Spanish and French classes that Prince William County offers, by the second and third levels of their classes, students are expected to speak fully in their respective language in order to learn more effectively. We will no longer have that option. Watching videos simply won't be enough to keep us to the up to the speed we need to be at to stay successful in our curriculum. And our grades will start to slip because what we're learning is basically an extension of English. In Mr. Park's class, we learned about autism. Autism is a belief that deaf people should assimilate with the hearing
051world. As a result of this, many deaf children are forced to learn spoken language rather than ASL for the benefit of others. Does this sound familiar? This decision at its core is autism. We love having Mr. Parks as a teacher, and it would be devastating if we lose him next year because of this. I urge you to think about the effects this decision could have not only on Mr. Parks, but on his students and his fellow teachers. I hope that a decision can be made that benefits these people rather than hurting them. Thank you for your time and I hope you have a wonderful evening. >> Amy Guy. >> Hello, my name is Amy Guy and my address is on file. I'm giving my time to my daughter who is a student at Kogan High
052School. >> Hello, my name is Elizabeth Guy and I'm a sophomore at Kogan High School. I second my father >> your time. You had you gotta do you gotta speak or you can read what she has to say. Yes, >> that's great. >> All right. Hello, my name is Elizabeth Guy and I am a sophomore at Kan High School. I second my father's comments regarding Prince William County School's decision to remove the ASL interpreter from my classroom at Kan High School. But I believe it's crucial to not only hear a parents perspective on this issue, but that of a students as well. I know that there are a few of my classmates speaking on this issue tonight and I thank them for doing so. As a student, I understand the importance of my education and
053my safety and due to this decision, I do not believe that either of these points are being protected. Addressing the safety issue, it has come to my attention today through a paper I was given by school staff that in the threat of an emergency, it will be communicated to my teacher through Microsoft Teams or by the students and staff that are not qualified in ASL. that includes PA announcements signaling these emergencies. As a student who has seen the number of emergencies that happen in schools, I am scared that adults of the county think this is a proper way of handling these situations that happen so frequently. Addressing the education issue, seeing my teacher try to communicate with us through text has damaged my ability to learn as he cannot see what he is typing and
054cannot hear what comes out. So he has resorted to signing the information, proceeding to type the information into a word document for those who can't understand. This has made instruction time much longer and harmed the face-to-face interactions needed to properly learn ASL. This is autism. Thank you. >> Josie Miller. >> Good evening. My name is Josie Miller. My address is on file with the clerk. I'm a junior at Kan High School in the ASL 3 class. I'm here tonight to discuss the fact, like many others, that the deaf ASL teacher at my school has made a request for the accommodation of an interpreter that was granted without issue last year and again this year, but was abruptly changed with no warning. Prince William County is offering the least accommodation required to be legally compliant, which
055is directly opposed to what they promote. Aside from the cruelty of removing a reasonable and already awarded accommodation, removing a hearing adult from the classroom is a safety issue and negatively affects the teacher's ability to effectively manage the classroom. Above these core issues of denying a reasonable accommodation and issues with safety and classroom management, I'd like to talk briefly about the message you're sending. The HR department just won an award for the message of inclusivity with the you belong here campaign. This initiative supposedly fosters a culture of belonging. But what I want to know is for who? It claims to instill the five pillars of belonging, making sure everyone feels valued, included, engaged, welcomed, and supported. But is that really true? Because if you meant it, you would know that removing an interpreter doesn't just
056force a deaf teacher to replan his entire teaching style or question his ability to manage his class or keep us safe, but it very specifically isolates him from his school community and from being a fully contributing member of the staff. You are excluding him from the school culture and social aspect of the school. How does he fully participate in staff meetings, in planning meetings, at pep rallies or assemblies? Thinking technology is enough for learning and completely ignoring everything else is the definition of autism. It's discrimination at its core, even if you are legally compliant. What message do you think you're sending to us as students who have just learned so much about the discrimination of deaf people? What message are you sending to people who aren't even involved in this? That it's okay to discriminate
057if it's legally compliant. that anyone working here or planning to work here should expect a fight if they have a disability. That deaf students who have interpreters in class will have to be on their own once they're in the real world. If it's a priority to make sure that we the students ourselves see of ourselves reflected in the staff, who does that apply to? Are we only wanting to reflect students race and religion or should students with disabilities be able to see themselves reflected in staff too? >> Thank you, >> Carl. Greetings. And then the last two people, Hina and Assari and Reena Sap, could come up. Good evening. I'm Carl Gretton of the Gainesville District. Happy Constitution Day. The Virginia Education Association is calling for stronger financial controls of the Prince William Education Association,
058PeeWee, following a sharp drop in the local union's cash reser reserves from 1.4 4 million to just 63,000 in two years. Dr. Latif, the Prince William County School Board Chairman, told Inside Nova, the news was very concerning and as a betrayal of trust at the most basic level. A letter from Va Va President Carol Bower shared anonymously with the PTOIC local news outlines concern from a recent internal review. The report shows PeeWee is spending $53,000 more each month than it brings in and has accumulated $692,000 in credit card charges over a 20month period. Talk about waste, fraud, and abuse. Images obtained from PTO PTOAC local news show supplies and personal items once housed inside the union office discarded in a dumpster outside the building. Gainesville District School Board member Jennifer Wall told PTOIC local news
059that she is troubled by the situation and believes union members deserve transparency and accountability. What has this county of Prince William County come to? Union members will probably make more make more money now because they do not need to pay union fees to a possibly defunct PeeWee. Democrats have yelled with their hair on fire regarding high costs of eggs and gasoline. Su Has says he is working to lower prices. Unfortunately, he is too late because Republicans have already accomplished this. Do not worry, union members. Republicans will help you solve your problems. Fortunately, non-members are protected by the Virginia right to work law and the victory for non-UN government employees prohibiting forced union dues in the public sector. Peewee members with a good sense to heed these warnings can resign and revoke their dues and check
060off authorization through a wise school board. You would have refused to act as a collection agent for the union. Thank you. >> Jeffrey Lren. >> Good evening. I'm Jeff Lofrren. I'm a parent to two pretty rad kids here in Prince William County. So, um, I want to thank you to the board, uh, for your tireless dedication to our students and for championing the values that make our community strong. We see every day your commitment to fostering an environment where every child feels safe, supported, and ready to learn. And frankly, I see that commitment in here. These kids standing up for their teacher. Um, beyond that though, our shared commitment to education must extend beyond this room. We can't ask our schools to do more with less. So tonight, I'm going to urge every person in
061this room, every person who's watching at home, pick up your phone, send an email, contact your national and local representatives, and ask them, demand that they fully fund our schools. This is more than a simple request for money. It's a promise. It's a promise to the next generation that we will provide them with a safe and good education equipped with the resources they need to thrive. Let us work together to fulfill that promise. Thank you. Hannah, sorry. Right. Thank you to the school board for letting me come back. I hope you didn't miss me. I was here last time, too. Uh, Superintendent McDade, I put these pop culture references in for you. And my address is on file. Uh, I just want to stop and say I was really impressed with the products of Prince
062William County schools over here. Wow, they're doing their own little political activism here. I'm part of the DSA if you guys are interested. So, let me know. But I came here to uh talk about the cell phone policy, which I'm kind of conflicted about. As a substitute teacher last year, if you had asked me about it, I would have said off with their heads for every cell phone violation. But this year, uh, as we currently descend into fascism in this country, I'm concerned that their last lifeline is the cell phone. And I know that it's their responsibility to not get to that. I think it's the fourth strike is where they lose their cell phone and their parents have to come get it. I don't know. I haven't gotten to that point. I've only ever
063asked the kids to put their phones away, please, and then they still don't. But, you know, what are you going to do? But if they get disappeared off of school premises, then they don't have their cell phone. And that's like the last line of defense for them. And I feel concerned that we're not I mean, we talk about safety and safety for kids in school. And so, I'm like, they might need their cell phones. And some of them can't speak English very well. They use their cell phone as a translation tool. And I know the school laptops are good, but they're really not good. I had one student tell me she swapped out her laptop four times this year, and it's only the fourth week of school, the third week of school. I don't know
064what day the week school started, but anyway, I was just going to say that that's what my concern is now because I don't want to talk about anything anything too random. But anyway, I'm really impressed with these kids over here. I think they should have written my speech for me. Thank you. >> Thank you, Reena Sap. >> Hi. Uh, good evening. I'm Reena Stat. My address is on file with the board. Good evening, Superintendent McDade, members of the board. Um, as an engineering nerd and anLLL robotics coach here in P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P PWCS, it warms my heart to see all those amazing uh students achieving such high science awards. Um, I don't know if my kids will ever
065be there because they tend to have other interests, but it's great to see it here. Um, I'm also very impressed with the activism of these students that came to uh talk in support of their teacher. Um, I wanted to say thank you to you all for keeping Prince William County equitable and inclusive for all students by standing strong with 738-5. And my I'm a little ahead. I know it was voted in today, October 13th through 17th. You voted to recognize National School Lunch Week. Um, my daughter strongly requests that you bring back Minow Zones. I have encouraged her to reach out to PWCS nutrition. I said, "You draft something. I'll help you email it." But I wanted to get that on your radar because if we don't hear back from nutrition, I may be back
066asking for the mini calzone. She says it was the best lunch option that is somehow not here this year. So, thank you for your time. >> Thank you. And uh before we before we go on, I just want to say that um I wanted to let everybody know that Dr. McDade is one of Northern Virginia's magazine's 50 most influential people of 2025. And I just wanted to share that with everybody. So you can clap and cheer right now. It's okay. Congratulations, Dr. McDade. Thank you for your representation and for your team and everything you guys do for our community. We really appreciate it. Thank you. Moving on to 14.01, the proposed sale of VPSA bonds for the fall of 2025. A motion. >> Mr. uh Vice Chair Blake. I move that the Prince County School
067Board Authorize the completion and submission of the application to the Virginia Public School Authority, also known as VPSA, for the fall 2025 standalone bond sale in the amount of $15 million to finance certain capital improvement projects for school purposes. B. Authorize the superintendent or such other officer as she may designate to submit such documentation as required by VPSA. C. request for the board of county supervisors to authorize the application for a fall 2025 BPSA bond sale and to take such other actions as may be necessary to complete the bond sale and Direct that this resolution shall become effective immediately. >> Do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, >> Miss Zagur second. >> Second. Any discussion? Miss Wall, >> I uh love to see that we look like we are spending less money than we
068thought we were going to be spending. So, I think this is great. I want to commend the team for working to um reinforce the principle of good budgeting. So, thank you for the reduction in cost for our CIP. I appreciate it. >> Thank you, Miss Wall. Please vote. The vote is six. Yes, unanimous. Motion passed. >> Thank you. Now we move on to our student representative time. Tonight we welcome Karina Grover from Charles J. Kogan High School. Miss Grover, you have the floor. >> Thank you so much. Hello and good evening to the incredible PWCS community, esteemed members of the school board and our superintendent, Dr. McDade. My name is Karina Grover and I am a senior at Kan High School. Tonight marks my first time on the DAS as a student representative and I
069couldn't be more excited. I look forward to representing students in the best way possible and I'm eager for us to ignite meaningful change together this year. Before I continue my remarks, I would like to pause and ask everyone to join me in a moment of silence to honor the victims, families, and heroes of the September 11th tragedy. Thank you. While I was not alive during 9/11, I believe it is important that students continue to learn about this tragedy. Understanding the impact it has on our nation helps us honor the lives lost, recognize the resilience of our communities, and carry forward the values of unity and compassion. Next, I want to recognize the accomplishments of our student voice committees, a countywide program implemented by Dr. McDade herself. This year, we officially have SVC's in all middle
070and high schools across PWCS. That is such a huge milestone because it means students now have the opportunity to impact schools countywide. Last year, Woodbridge High School opened the very first SBC center, a space where students can share feedback on both school and county issues. This year, Patriot High School is now working on creating their own SBC center as well. Having dedicated spaces like this, where students know their voices will be heard is so important to improving our schools and ensuring PWCS continues to grow stronger with student input. Additionally, many SBC's are having their first meetings, starting off the school year strong by discussing topics such as AI in schools and counseling experiences. There are a lot of good conversations happening at these meetings. I am so excited to see what we all accomplish this
071year. I would also like to highlight the creation of the girls flag football in PWCS. As a big football fan, go Bengals. I was so excited to hear that this program was being implemented. While I may not have the skills or the mindset of a football player myself, I'm thrilled to see my peers out on the field and to finally see girls represented in the sport. Best of luck to all teams this year. As for cell phones, of course, we are seeing mixed reviews across the county. On the positive side, Woodbridge High School is now averaging only about 10 cell phones confiscated per day, which is a huge accomplishment considering they have nearly 2,900 students. Gaysville High School has also reported encouraging results, sharing that students are adjusting to the new phone policy fairly well.
072However, countywide, some challenges still remain. Students at some schools are reporting that teachers and administrators are becoming more lenient with enforcement, which raises questions about consistency around the county. Along with cell phones, technology continues to be a major topic of discussion, especially school laptops. Many students have reported frustration with their performance and reliability. Often waiting for laptops to load takes up valuable class time, causing students to lose meaningful learning opportunities. Meanwhile, Gainesville High School, which currently uses iPads, has reported very positive results. Students there say that devices run faster and with fewer issues compared to the laptops used at other schools. Across the county, students have expressed that they would appreciate access to iPads. For example, students in the CFPA program at Kan High School noted that iPads would be beneficial that would help them
073with recording, editing, and preparing auditions, which are tools that support their academic and artistic success. It's also worth noting that many middle school students already have iPads, which have made their learning more efficient and accessible, showing how beneficial these devices can be for high school students. I suggest that PWCS expand the iPad pilot to more high schools as it has already shown clear benefits compared to laptops. Furthermore, I want to address the issue of website blocking. I take AP comparative government, a class where we study and compare the governments of six countries around the world. It's such an interesting class and I'm really curious about how other governments function. Recently, I had to do a project on different governments and needed images for my presentation. However, when I tried to search for pictures of the
0742020 Russian election, many images were blocked. When I searched for information about Nigeria's government, I only found a few results, and often it was just maps, not information about the government itself. It doesn't make sense why PWCS would block tools and resources that are essential for educational success. Students need access to accurate information and materials to fully engage in their learning. Additionally, these blocks make it harder for teachers to teach. Shout out to Miss Watts for adapting to these challenges even though she shouldn't have to. The student voice bill of rights states in article 2.4A that students can request access to sites to support their learning. PWCS should honor this by allowing students to request access to the websites they truly need. A simple online system where students can request unblocking and adults can review
075and track those requests would be efficient and safe. This would ensure that both students and teachers have the tools they need for meaningful learning while keeping their internet safety in mind. Next, I would like to highlight PWCS's new automatic math acceleration policy for students in grades 5 through 8. This policy is designed to make sure every student has access to rigorous math instruction that prepares them for success in high school and beyond. What really stands out to me is that the policy recognizes that test scores do not define a student. Teacher recommendations, student interest, and parent input are all considered when placing students in advanced math. While I'm no longer in middle school, I think back to when I was, and I know how much I would have appreciated and benefited from the chance to
076take advanced math, even if I didn't receive the perfect score. This is the step in a right direction for students. I also want to speak on the updated PWCS attendance policy. PWCS makes it clear that attending school regularly is essential for students to reach their full potential. This policy not only reinforces Virginia's attendance law, but also emphasizes the shared responsibility of schools, families, and students to make attendance a priority. For example, at Kogan High School, an administrator started a zero absence incentive to encourage students to come to school. Each week about 20 students who had perfect attendance are recognized and receive rewards like free snacks, a free ticket to a sports game, and my personal favorite, a pass to skip the lunch line. Hilton High School does something similar, except they get to choose a
077gift card. Activities like this engage students and demonstrate how schools can turn attendance into something motivating for students. And I just received an email. I was selected for this week. So, yay, free lunch. Now, I would like to speak about an issue that I've become aware of and that I want to inform PWCS about. A concern has been raised regarding the American Sign Language Program. A deaf ASL teacher whom students consistently describe as an outstanding educator previously had access to an interpreter interpreter. Recently, however, that support was removed, claiming that he does not require one. Both the teacher and many of his students disagree. Despite these hardships, students have advocated for what they believe in by creating petitions, collecting statements from their peers, and reaching out to administration to resolve this issue. This is advocacy
078and action. And I'm proud to see students stand up for what they believe in. Now, it is your turn, PWCS. Students have done their part. Now, we ask you to do yours. Show students that their voices are heard, that they have power, and that PWCS truly values both its educators and its learners. Thank you so much for this opportunity to speak. I know this was over four minutes, but I want every student to know that your student representatives are here to support you. Please continue advocating for what you believe in and never hesitate to share your concerns with us. Together, we can make sure student voices are heard in PWCS. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. >> And now we move on to superintendence time. Dr. McDade, the floor is yours. Thank you so much,
079Vice Chairman Blake. I am proud to begin my time by announcing that the National Merit Scholarship Corporation has selected six PWCS students as 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program semi finalist. A semi-finalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the students earlier performance on the 2024 PSAT National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. These students now have the chance to continue in the competition for thousands of National Merit Scholarships, which are collectively worth nearly 26 million and will be awarded in the spring of 2026. Congratulations to Luke Davis and Alexander Guushi of Battlefield High School, Rebecca Clark from Sidi Hilton High School, Julianne Lim from Charles J. Kogan Senior High School, Benjamin Fu from Gainesville High
080School, and Luke Pomfrret from Patriot High School. We plan to honor our National Merit semi-finalists at a school board meeting later this fall. And I want to also personally invite our families to attend the back to school nights and the many school-based events and activities throughout this school year as family and community engagement is one of our key commitments. I also encourage families to get involved in one of our school advisory councils and to complete the survey for vision 2030. We are currently developing our next four-year strategic plan. We're sunsetting vision 2025 and launching vision 2030 and your voice matters and we want to hear from you. You can find a copy of the survey on our website at pwcs.edu. Also be on the lookout for two-way communication from our teachers that is translated directly
081through school status. Last year, this tool brought us together and provided the greatest opportunity to improve communication in support of student achievement. By the end of the 2425 school year, our staff made over 2 million calls, sent over 5 million emails, and delivered over 8 million text messages. Since the integration of school status, staff members sent over 30 million messages to our families. This increase in communication better supports our students, families, and communities. In recognition of suicide prevention month, I want to remind our community of mental health teleaalth support as an available resource to our parents and guardians for their children. This is available to every student in Prince William County schools free of charge. This initiative provides access to Hazel Health which is a wellestablished teleaalth provider and again it is at no cost.
082Our partnership reflects the growing need for accessible mental health support especially for young people facing anxiety, depression and stress. Their service provides critical support to families who may not have access to other resources and can ensure students are assisted quickly. To take advantage of these services, parents or guardians must first opt in via parent view to share their child's information with Hazel Health to qualify for the free services and then initiate services by registering with Haz Hazel Health. PWCS is committed to ensuring that all students have access to the mental health resources they need to thrive in a positive climate and culture. Speaking of a positive learning environment, I would like to welcome all PWCS students and families to our family engagement series town hall event at Unity Braxton Middle School from 6:00 p.m. to
0837:00 p.m. on September 25th. The focus for this event will be the cell phone free education policy. This town hall will ensure understanding of the policy's implementation, provide a platform for families to ask questions and share feedback, and highlight resources and strategies to support healthy device use at home and school. Um, we will have uh partners that'll be present um and resource tables at this event. So, we welcome you to join us and you also can join virtually by registering on our PWCS uh website. When the division is working together and effectively communicating as a unified school system with common objectives, goals, and vision, the outcome is success for every student. Thank you to everyone who has worked so diligently to get this school year off to a successful start. And as we approach the
084midpoint of the first quarter, I encourage families to check in on your child's progress through parent view and with your child's teacher. As a reminder, schools and offices are closed on Tuesday, September 23rd in observance of Rashashana. Mr. Vice Chairman, that concludes the superintendence report. >> Thank you, Dr. McDade. Man, 8 million emails, huh? Wow, that's a lot. But we are moving on to committee updates. And tonight we have one committee update from Miss Wall for the internal audit committee. Miss Wall, the floor is yours. >> Thank you. Um the internal audit committee met um last time we got together which was September 3rd and we um received a status update of audit activities including audit and engagement reports completed since our last meeting um which included some school audits and other things. Um we
085received an activities in progress follow-up and started our discussion of the um plan planning process for our new um strategic plan or I guess our input for our a new audit plan sorry for the next year. Um we were the audit committee reported that they were able to audit 23 offices and schools this year. Five of those were turnover audits meaning the new leadership either a new principal or a new financial specialist at the schools. And um we have a lot of good things coming up with the audit committee. I don't know if there are any questions from board members, but it was pretty routine and we have more things coming up in our next meeting. >> Okay, super. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Wall. That takes us to board matters and we started
086with Justin last time, so we'll start with Lisa, Miss Zagapore. >> Thank you, Mr. Blake. I want to thank the students from Kan and the parents who came out to talk. Um I appreciate the um the information you gave the uh view points of view you gave. On this day, September 17th, we observe Constitution Day, which commemorates the signing of the US Constitution in 1787. This day is officially known as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, recognizing both the historical signing of our document and all who have become US citizens, whether by birth or by naturalization. The preamble begins, "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote for the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to
087ourselves and our posterity. do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. We recognize Constitution Day for a few reasons. We are commemorating a historic moment. This day marks the conclusion of the constitutional convention in Philadelphia where 39 delegates signed the document that that established a new government framework for a young nation. We're celebrating this as the supreme law of the land. The US Constitution establishes the principle that the government's power becomes from we the people and created a system of checks and balances to prevent the concentration of power in any single branch. It's also our civic education. A 2004 federal law was passed mandating that all publicly funded educational institutions and federal agencies provide an educational program on the history and the US Constitution on this day. And it is an
088effort to promote civic literacy and engagement among citizens. The Constitution is more than a historical document. It is an enduring framework, a living guide, and the protector of our individual rights. The Bill of Rights protects our fundamental liberties such as freedom of speech, religion, and press. These protections are the foundations of our free society. The Constitution is the legal means by which we, the people, ensure that the government serves its vital purposes without violating our rights. Our found founding fathers who collaborated and debated the constitution into life felt strongly about an educated public to carry on the mantle of democracy. James Madison said quote a well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people. Adams wrote quote liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people. Thomas Jefferson wrote quote educate and inform
089the whole mass of people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. Ben Franklin was a champion for education and founded the Academy of Philadelphia, which is now the University of Pennsylvania. He advocated for studying a broad series of subjects and emphasized practical learning, critical thinking, lifelong learning, and that education was essential to a flourishing society. He was an advocate for public education for all, and he taught his own daughter, Sally. He founded public schools and public libraries. And as a teen, he wrote under the pen name Silence Duggood, who was a witty, outspoken widowerower mother to express his thoughts on society, including those related to women, showing his leanings toward educational opportunities for all. I leave you with this quote of silence do good. Quote, "Without freedom of thought, there
090can be no such thing as wisdom, and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech, which is the right of every man, as far as by it he does not hurt or control another, the right of another, and this is the only check it ought to suffer, and the only bounds it ought to know." >> Thank you, Mr. M. Williams. >> Thank you, Vice Chair Blake. Um uh I am excited as the school year is underway. It seems to be this general undercurrent of everyone um making the best of their school year. I also want to say happy constitution day and um as someone who has always championed student voice. you, the students in the audience who spoke, our student representative continuously fill my heart with joy and and my mind with the
091knowledge that we are producing um amazing students who are going to be prepared for their future and who know how to use their voice and feel comfortable doing it, which I get chills every time. So, thank you for coming. Um I just want to during my board matters night just kind of say some general things feedback that I've heard um from being in buildings and back to school nights. I haven't been to a lot because I'm still robotics parent coach. I feel like I live at the middle school um and other things. But um the some common themes that I'm hearing are that we're having tech issues with laptops, Wi-Fi connections, the ability to load apps, things of that nature. Um, I I bring this up because I think it's important that we share this
092information, but I also think it's important that we recognize that while we have an amazing staff for it, which I know for a fact because I talk to them all the time, there are also overlaying or other issues, Wi-Fi in general is acting a little funny. Um, the device issues, I bring this up because I think it's important we continue to have these conversations. uh not to say that they're a negative to our division because I feel like a lot of times when people go to speak up they're hesitant because they feel like it's a criticism, people will get in trouble or someone's not doing their job and that's not always the case. So I just want to say thank you to the individuals and the students who do express that and the fact that
093they are comfortable um because there's always a lot of layers to an issue and sometimes we only hear one side and it makes it difficult really to kind of see it as a holistic issue. So I want to say thank you for that. Um, it also brings me to the bus app. There are a few schools that are piloting it. The bus app is we didn't make it. We're doing the best that we can. I know that we had an amazing transportation department. We really do. Um, but I just ask for everyone to have patience because one of the things that I know as a parent and as a board member, but specifically as a parent is there's a problem and I'm like, "Oh, we have to fix it." Because every other area in our
094lives, it's very easy to do. So, in a large school division, sometimes things are out of our control. But that doesn't mean we don't know or we don't want to hear. So, I just want to acknowledge the fact that I know I've been hearing it. I know our transportation department has been hearing it and we're doing the best that we can with something that is not necessarily our product. In other news, um to highlight on what our student representative was saying and it is constitution day, please take time to understand how our systems work and overlap. Um I was hearing a lot of critique about SOS. That is a Virginia Department of Education thing, but you're welcome as our community to also reach out to them. So, I just want to emphasize that as a
095community, we should all be using our voice at each correct level to express what we need to think that education will be better for our families and communities. Um, and with that 14 seconds, so I would just like to say, um, I hope everyone attends their back to school night, parents, guardians, other adults, please stay involved in your students academic progress at all levels. We want to see you and we want to share in the experience of community. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Williams. Miss Wall, >> thank you, Mr. Blake. Congrats to the six semi- finalists for the num squat award. That's what we called it in the 80s. I don't know if we still call it that, the num squat award. Um, congratulations and good luck going forward. Um, Bull Run Middle had their
096first football game last night in the rain. It was awesome. Um, sadly they lost in overtime, but they had lots of spirit and it was really fun. Um, I'm looking forward to the Unity Braxton town hall on September 25th. I would like to know what families think and I would like to hear what their concerns are and help work through that. Um, I too am hearing tech issues at some of my, you know, with some of the tech. So, good luck to the tech team as we continue to work through some of those challenges. I'm also hearing that the transportation issue seem to be coming under control. Um, I would be interested in an afteraction analysis of kind of what happened this year as compared to um, last year, which I remember was pretty awesome.
097Um, okay, let's see. I think that's my small items. I wish to address three main items tonight. Um, first item one, happy Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. We were all on the same wavelength so far. That's pretty cool. Um, today is the day. It is Constitution Day commemorating the signing of the US Constitution in 1787, an event that laid the foundation for our government and protected our rights. As a public servant and recovering lawyer, this reminds me of my duty to uphold liberty, representative government, and the rule of law. It also reinforces my role as a model of civic engagement and respectful political dialogue while advocating for your children's futures. Looking ahead, July 4th, 2026, we will celebrate 250 years of American independence. A remarkable milestone. I respectfully request that our school division form a
098commemoration committee to organize learning experiences and provide resources for educators similar to our 911 Patriot Day Commission that we did a couple years back. Yeah, maybe Mr. Wil and I can collaborate on this again. Um, item number two, National Security Officer Appreciation Week, which is happening right now. Our Prince William County schools benefit from a dedicated team of security officers who help keep our schools safe. PWCS prioritize prioritizes safety through trained personnel, smart technology, and proactive planning. Regular emergency drills and trained staff ensure swift responses. Families can learn crisis codes for added readiness. Safety technology like digital check-ins and alert platforms enable real-time monitoring with law enforcement. The Say Something program empowers students and staff to anonymously report concerns. And please do say something if you know something. School security officers, community safety officers, and
099school resource officers maintain a visible responsive presence across our 100 campuses. I encourage you to make take a moment when you're in schools to thank these professionals who work daily to ensure our schools are secure. and I really do appreciate all that they do. Item three, civic virtue and respectful discourse. I urge our division to enforce professional behavior and social media policies that are on our books um that uphold civic virtue and model respectful discourse. Our schools must maintain must remain places of learning, respect, and civic responsibility, not arenas for political extremism. We have a duty to uphold the safety and dignity of our learning spaces. As public leaders, we must lead with courage and clarity. If anyone endorses murder or violence as justified, I urge swift action per our policies. On a personal note,
100I advocate increasing speech and debate programs. I've advocated in the past. In high school, speech and debate taught me critical thinking, careful listening, and respect for differing opinions. All essential skills so much needed in the world. We must teach students to reject threats, harassment, and violence as means to settle disagreements. In times of tragedy, I'm going to continue. Okay. In times of tragedy, we look to voices of wisdom. Alexander Schultzen, who endured great struggles and witnessed the consequences of violence and lies in the former Soviet Union, said, "The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. One word of truth outweighs the world. May these words remind us of the importance of truth, moral courage, and compassion as we navigate the coming days ahead." Thank you, and good night.
101>> Thank you, Miss Wall. Mr. Jesse, >> thank you. Uh this will be hopefully pretty short. I as most of you know my wife has been in the hospital in and out. Everything is going well. So uh I have not attended a lot of events this year. But what I do want to say is a couple things. Uh as a board member or as a supervisors, we cannot meet with three people and discuss any potential what do we want to do programs. uh that's against the policy here in the state of Virginia. So we have to if I want something I have to call uh around and talk to people. So what I'm going to be doing is asking our board members to consider a couple things. The number one thing is we need to
102hold a boundary hearing. We have two elementary schools that are coming online and there is no boundary hearing yet for those schools. So why it's because we as board member has not sat down and set a date. We need to set a date for boundary hearing for the new Woodbridge Elementary School and Aquan Elementary School. Uh you were talking Miss uh Williams was talking about IT issues. I do think we have some significant IT issues. So again, I'm willing if somebody else, another two members to sit and let's have that put on the agenda as something that we can discuss to see what we can do about it. Uh transportation, I asked last meeting, but I again will say we have a good transportation department, but something went wrong this year and we need to
103have a discussion about that. So with those two things, the three things, uh I will yield my time. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Mr. Will. If you would have started with me, I would have yielded my time, but now I'm talking. So uh want to thank the families for coming out tonight. I want to thank the students for advocacy uh and being out here to speak on behalf of your teacher and your program and your class. Thank you for being here tonight. The last couple weeks I've had the pleasure of going to two back to school nights of middle schools, PTOIC Shores and PTOIC Middle. Tomorrow is Graham Park. I'll be there. Mary Williams had a science night. I also had the pleasure of being part um of a really um maybe monumental or
104historic um Forest Park High School at before their football game. uh the coral teacher there orchestrated and had um over 500 students from 13 schools come out and sing the national anthem. So I thought that was pretty cool um for that. Um, but anyways, I was thinking Karina was like, I wasn't born when 911 happened. And then I thought about my colleague, Miss Wall, and I when we work together to create that committee um to commemorate or I guess honor remembrance of the 20th anniversary of 911. Um, and you know, circumspect on this, but I will say in memory of this, you know, I I think a lot of us in the room, minus the students, all remember where we were when the planes hit or the Pentagon was hit. Um, I remember I was
105a senior in high school. And, uh, I still remember I was in a math class. We had a substitute teacher. That was back in the day when the TVs, you were lucky to have one in the corner of the room and it was big bulky TV and I remember it being turned on. Um, but then, you know, seeing going back and seeing a lot of the footage in the last couple days and seeing that it's it's crazy to think that we've gone this many years since that event. And it's important that our students, Karina, and all our kids here from Kan and other students across this county remember this event because as I posted on Facebook um night there was um a tragic assassination um and thinking of another assassination that occurred at doorstep in
106Minnesota. I thought about 911 as a time when, you know, we as a nation actually came together in unity with a shared purpose after those attacks. And I use a quote that I posted, but it's something I, you know, at the time I didn't really like George W. Bush, but I've he's grown on me over the years. um and some of the things that have occurred. But um but this quote that he said um sticks with me and still resonates with me. You know, terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. And that sticks with me now because I feel like as people have said now, you know, our country I feel is more divided and more polarized than ever. And you know, it makes
107me think of a time going back that many years ago when we were united. We weren't Democrats. We weren't Republicans. We weren't, you know, whatever you want to be your label, independent, reform party, I don't care, libertarian, but we were Americans. We came together and uh I just want to reflect on that, especially during the times we're living in right now. >> Thank you, Mr. Wall. >> All right. Well, it's my turn. So, the beginning of the uh school year is always one of my my favorite times as a school board member. And over the past few weeks, I've been out at our schools, visiting classrooms, shaking hands, and wishing our students and teachers a strong start to the school year. I continued my annual tradition of visiting every school in the district in the
108Neapco district including King Enterprise Bair and Dell City to say welcome back in person. And I also had the privilege of attending several back to school events including Garfield High School's back to school night Hampton's and Beville's sixth grade back to school nights. and the energy in those hallways and the pride from those students and parents remind reminds me of why we do this work. And outside of the classroom, I had the honor of joining my colleague down here this weekend, Mr. Wilks, at his uh breast cancer awareness. His his what was it called? The pink >> pretty and pink breast cancer awareness. It was great. I got to see him sing. They had a this eighth grade rock band preventing the period 8. They are serious. Look, I was telling you. So, they did.
109Look them up on YouTube. Check them out. They're going to be, you know, the next thing coming out of Prince William. They It was really good. And um good job. Good job, Justin. And it was a great reminder of how our schools are deeply connected with the broader community. And I also want to just take this moment also to thank our principles, teachers, and staff for their hospitality and incredible work they've done to ensure the smooth opening of our schools this year. And I also want to brag about Garfield. And the graduation rate is now at 92.1%. And across Prince William County, we're also the so scores are on the rise like Dr. said in Dr. They said in the last meeting, you know, in all of our core subject areas at every grade level,
110elementary, middle, and high school, there is just seeing significant increases and progress. And this progress shows that when we invest in our students and support our educators, we see results. So, thank you guys. And speaking of uh student achievement, I also want to recognize my Garfield Red Wolves girls flag football team. They were one of the four schools from Prince William County chosen to kick off the comm at the commander practice facility yesterday. And this is another historic moment for our students. A huge step forward and expanding opportunities for girls in athletics. So it was good. I know we had like 60 girls try out at Garfield for 25 spots. So yeah, it was good. But we cannot stop here. Like like you've heard before, our strategic plan 2030 is underway and historically communities like
111mine have been underrepresented in that process. So I want to personally invite every parent, grandparent, caregiver, and student in the Neapco district to take part in the community meetings and the surveys. Your voice matters and they will help shape the future of Prince William County Public Schools. And finally, this Friday night at DG Garfield High School season opener, we have a veterans appreciation night and um by Red Wolves are taking on Battlefield. So I I invite Miss Wall to come down here to Dale City Friday and come and wear your school colors and help us honor our veterans while cheering and on our students and what we will be sure to be an exciting game. And um together, let's just keep pushing forward for our kids, every child, every school, every day. Thank you. There
112being nothing further to come before this board, I now declare this meeting ajourned.