001Alawite County School Board's in session. Mr. Chair, I move that the closed meeting was conducted in conformity with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act as required by section 2.2-3712D 2-3712D of the Code of Virginia and certify that only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements were discussed and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed or considered. Second. We got a motion and a second. Any discussion? Hearing none. Madam clerk, Mr. Collic. Yes. Mr. Cunningham? Yes. Mrs. Perkins? Yes. Mr. Worster. Yes. And Mr. Marsh. Yes. Motion passes. And Mr. Vice Chair, would everyone please stand for a moment of silence in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
002and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, sir. Good evening. Come on. Good evening. We got a full house. All right. It's April 10th, 2025. We're here tonight in Westside Elementary School for our regular monthly schoolboard meeting. Um, we've got a pretty fa pretty booked agenda this evening, but while I have a full house, I'm going to give a shameless plug and a thank you. Windsor Towns Council, Mr. Gibby Dowy, are you still here? I think he might have dipped out. Uh, but he was up here trying to promote the Windsor Rurin Club in the pigpicking. April. Let's see. Fourth Tuesday of April. That's the 20. Help me out somebody. What day is that? 24th. 24th of April. Alawite or Windsor Ronin
003Club pig picking. So contact your local Winsel town councilman and they can help you out. 24 24 April. All right. That's my shameless plug. Let's uh roll right into Alawite achievers. Mrs. breaks. Good evening. The vision for White County Schools is to create a learning environment that will enable every child to discover his or her unique gifts and talents. And the aisle of white achievers section of our board meeting gives us an opportunity to recognize and celebrate our students and staff for their unique talents and gifts. And we have a lot of groups to recognize because our students and staff have been doing some great things. Um, let me give my little spiel on how this works because I didn't get a chance to do that individually. But when I call your name, if you
004will come forward, Dr. Coleman will be standing over here. He'll have a pin for you. You've already gotten your certificate. Bring your certificate. Get your Isisle of White Achievers pin. And then you're going to stand in front of the table here facing the board members so they get to see you. When we're done reading about oop, excuse me, your group and all the achieve uh the accomplishments, we're going to have you turn around and go to the backdrop to get a nice group photo. And that is the perfect time if you have any family members who just might want to capture this in a photo. That is the time family can come on down get a quick picture uh with your uh child in front of the backdrop and then we'll move on to the
005next group. So, we are starting with Well, can somebody switch this over to my presentation? Well, you know what? While they're doing that, I'm going to keep moving on, but we're There we go. Thank you kindly. We're starting with Beta. Students from across the division participated in the Virginia Beta and Junior Beta Convention recently. I of White County Schools was well represented at the event and brought home numerous awards. Tonight, we're recognizing students from four schools. All winners are eligible to compete at the the national level, which will take place in Orlando, Florida, June 27th through 29th. All first place winners. So, we are going to start with the Mighty Bulldogs at Carsville Elementary. And I'm going to call out the names of the students who competed and placed from Carsville. For visual arts, fiber
006arts, third place, Tristan Bradshaw. And come on up if you're here. Very good, Tristan. And Tristan, it's always tough being first, but you stand right there and your colleagues will I know your colleagues will join you. Visual arts drawing third place on site. Drawing third place, Stuart Lewis. Visual arts recycled art third place, Charlotte Smith. Visual arts handdrawn anime second place. And visual arts accessory design second place and poetry and poetry second place, Miranda Ward. And we want to also recognize their coaches, Lynn Taplan and Sonia Bradshaw. Y'all will come up as well. There you go, Miranda. There's your pin. Very good, sweetheart. And we'll get Miss Taplan and Miss Bradshaw up here as well to join you. And congratulations to Carsville on such an outstanding job at the beta convention. Nice work. Okay. So,
007we're we're going to now have you move over to the backdrop and that nicely dressed gentleman, Mr. David Elliot, is going to take your photo. And family members, if you're here, that is your opportunity to come on down and get a photo as well. All right, there's still family, I think, taking pictures. Are there still family? Are we good? Okay, are we good? Oh, okay. Congrat There we go. One more family photo. Congratulations, Carsville. Nicely done. [Applause] Moving on to our Hornets from Windsor Elementary School. Club Trading Pin. Third place, Tanner Lynville, Brently Privet. Yep. Keep Bryce Dulan, Matteline Dempsey, Dustin Harrison, and Aubrey [Applause] Driggers. For engineering, we have another team. Third place, Lennox Weaver, Cassie Smith, Reed Juckkins, Adam Rogers, and Grayson Spazeri. Spiri quilting second place, Ava East. Sculpture second place, Talon
008[Applause] White. We got a lot. Pottery. Second place, Lana [Applause] Horn. Three-dimensional design. Second place, Emer Emerson Futrell and Payton Ambrose. There we go. Mixed media. Second place, Harper [Applause] Kale. Fifth grade, health, PE, academic test. First place, Tanner [Applause] Lynville. Tanner's already up here. Very good. Thank you, Tanner. Uh, let's see. Drawing first place, Ember [Applause] Bingham, Living Literature, first place. And this is a team. Georgia Oliver, Kaylee Pitman, Caroline Brown, Leah Snelling, Abby Demer, Olivia Lynville, Mason Dowy, Sawyer Bradshaw, Izzy Jones, Aninsley Wills, Jane Goodrich, and Aubrey [Applause] Driggers. Woodworking first place and best in show visual arts, Camden Seard. All right, Candon. I think Building Trades is going to write his name down. Um, performing arts vocalist and premier performer, Lily Morin, and their coach, Judy Post. Is Judy here? No. Do
009we have other Do we have other coaches that are here with us that I might have? Uh, come on down, coaches. [Applause] All right, very good. We want to congratulate you guys, Windsor Elementary. You did an amazing job. Thank you so much for being here tonight. We're going to get you all over here on the right with your coaches and Mr. Elliot's going to get a nice group picture. And once again, family members, this is your time. Hop up and get a photo if you'd like. Uh, okay. Yeah. Hold your Yep. There you go. Hold your certificates down so they can see your face. All right, we still got a few parents. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on. Windsor Elementary. We got to give every parent their opportunity here. While you're posed, are we good, parents?
010All right. Thank you, Windsor Elementary. Great work. All right. Now, our Titans from Georgie Tyler Middle School, they had a big group as well. Technology, third place. We've got a team here of Silus Selby, McKinley Douglas, Paxton Rogers, and Amelia [Applause] Spencer. Two-dimensional design. Third place, Elelliana Hodkiss, Austin Manning, Marissa Laneir, and Aya Weaver. [Applause] spelling eighth grade third place, Madison [Applause] Lacy. And this next one, I'm just This fascinates me. On-site cake decorating. Third place, Caitlyn Taylor. That congratulations on that, [Applause] Caitlyn. Any competition where you can like eat your mistakes, that's great. I love that. Recyclable art third place Edward Zappa and also healthy seventh grade second place Edward Zafa. Congratulations Edward. Um computer science principal second place Silus Selby who Silus is already up front. Thank you. Science sixth grade second place
011McKinley Douglas in science 8th grade second place Riley Lawrence social studies sixth grade second place Ibrahim Ibrahim [Applause] Sika computer science principles first place and sculpture First place, Justin [Applause] Moore. Coaches for this wonderful team, Sarah Bachmann, and assistant coaches April Griffith, Christina Parsons, and Jennifer Rickman. And I know we have some of them with us tonight. Come on down, [Applause] ladies. Awesome. We want to congratulate Georgie Tyler on such a great showing at Beta Convention. Nice work. And we're going to have you come over here and get a photo with Mr. Elliot. [Applause] All right. All right. Any family members? We got a few pictures happening. We all good? We all good? Okay. Oh, wait. Two in the back. Sorry. Okay. Thumbs up. Thank you very much. Congratulations, George [Applause] Tyler. And our Dukes
012from Windsor High School placing at Beta Convention, cake decorating. Once again, third place, Kimmy Fidley. [Applause] Ninth grade math, third place, Lily Anson. And Lily is at a soccer game. I found out cuz mom is here really was here really quick. Mixed media third place, Ryan Stevens. Social studies, 10th grade, second place, Braden Harris. [Applause] Spanish 12th grade second place Daniela Graawiki Cardennis robotic showcase senior first place and this was a team event. The team of Grayson Davis, Ryan Stevens, Dylan Stone, Zack Sharp, and Brock [Applause] Rogers. Let's see. Sculpture first place, Jacob [Applause] Moore. Spanish 11th grade first place, Stephanie Jacome Sggera. Congratulations. Apparel Design first place, Mary MK [Applause] Emerson, and Jayla Finch, who was selected as a premier performer senior dancer. Jayla here. Congratulations. They are coached by Jennifer Davis. Miss Davis,
013if you'll come up as well. Yay. And Windsor High Beta also qualified during the leadership summit in October to compete at nationals for collaboration, connection, and lead outside the box competition. So, great work, Windsor Beta. Very good. Thank you so much. All right, we'll have you guys go over to the backdrop for a photo. And while they're getting their picture taken, we're getting ready to move into um um athletics. Oops. Why am I missing? I went too quick. The winds are high up there. So, let me just make a a comment because you might see that attendance for some of the upper grades like middle school and high school's a little light and you're going to see that for athletics as well. And that's because these kids are probably at a game. Um they're not
014here because there's a game going on. Their schedules are extremely busy. They're juggling a lot of activities. So, trust me uh when I say that it's they're not just sitting back watching us tonight. They're they're out there um at the soccer field or uh on the baseball field, softball, but we want to recognize them anyhow. So, we are going to start with Windsor High School and we want to recognize the Windsor High School wrestling team. Excuse me. Windsor High had two students advanced to the state tournament in Bristol. We want to congratulate Kaden Posey and Bryce May for an outstanding [Applause] season. And we want to recognize their coach, Mr. Sumner Bradshaw. Coach [Applause] Bradshaw. And great work, Coach. And great work, Bryce. Congratulate. Oh, wait. Who am I? Kaden. We're Kayen. I'm so sorry.
015Kayen, I'm so sorry. Bryce is at soccer. Kaden's here. Congratulations. Thank you. We're gonna get your picture over there. My apologies, Kaden. All right. Now, we're going to move on to Smith High. And we're going to start with indoor track at Smith High. Once again, some of these students are um doing outdoor track and they had probably their hardest workout today according to coach. So, we have a few of them with us um tonight. So, going to state competition from Spiffle High for indoor track, Anika Erid, Meline Barry, Simone KS, and if you're here, just come on up. Grace Dodson, Emma Hatimer, Jules Jones, Messiah Mobley, Dion Bo, Nathaniel Condit, I know we have the next two, Caleb Greer, and Logan Greer, Clay Holloway, Xavon Knight, Euan, Cucha, and I'm Did I say that right?
016Euan, I apologize. And he placed first in region 4A in um the thousand meter run. Congratulations. Kenya Martin, he placed eighth at the state meet. Justin Pinnock, he placed eighth in the states. Dalon Webster, sixth place in the 55 meter hurdles at the state and eighth place in 4x200 meter relay at the state. Zy Zyron Wells eighth place at states and they are all coached by Steve Shepard and Robert McCoy. And oh, Coach Shepard's already here. Thank you. Congratulations. [Applause] And the way you know their track is they came up here so fast. So we'll get your picture. I was still calling Coach Shepard's name. And he was already here. All right. So they'll get a photo. Family members, please jump in as well if you would like to come get a photo. And while
017they're doing that, let me I'm going to turn around a minute and let me ask, do we have anybody from the Smith High wrestling team? Okay. I didn't think so, unless they came in late, but I'm going to go ahead and read the names off of those who went to states for Smithville High wrestling. Zack Fuller, Doc Peterson, Blaine Reynolds, Nan Harden, who placed first in the region, Taquan Boykins, who placed first in the region, and they are coached by Brandon Boris. So, we want to congratulate the wrestlers. Thank you. [Applause] And now our last group of athletes is the Smithville High School swim team. Uh the team finished third overall for the boys and girls boys and girls team in the region and they sent 18 swimmers to state competition. And those swimmers are
018Matteline Barry, Rowan Black, Skyler Bloodgood, Miles Boseman's, Aiden Bird, Ethan Kajano, L. Colette, Braxton Drooing, Ethan Drooing, Colin Hicks, Reagan Hulich, Juliana Jones, Ava Cortica Critikica, Evelyn Porter, Jake Rudy, Will Rudy, Elizabeth Shelton, and Brianna Wallace. and they are coached by Kristen Jones and Tanya [Applause] Blunt and our coaches are on their way. This was definitely a big group to have qualify for state. So, congratulations swimmers and we're very proud of you. Great work. We'll have you get a photo over here. All right, while they're wrapping up, we are going to move along to our seniors of the month. We're going to first start with Windsor High. And I I do need to make a quick announcement. Um, we usually have plaques for our seniors of the month through no fault of our own. Want
019to make that clear. They are not here tonight. So, we will make sure they get their plaques. We do have a lovely certificate for them in the meantime, but we do apologize, although it's not our fault. Um, and you will get them as soon as they are delivered. Shortly after spring break, I imagine. All right. So, Dr. Dr. Coleman, do you mind grabbing the certificate for our first one? Senior of the month for April from Windsor High School is Pearl Anderson. So, come on up, Pearl. All right. And let me read Pearl's nomination while she's standing up here. Pearl exemplifies unwavering determination, strong leadership, and a deep passion for helping others. Her dedication to academics and service is evident in her leadership roles within beta club and student government as well as her involvement in
020the superintendent student advisory board. Beyond school, she actively engages with her community, volunteering through her church and mentoring younger students. What sets Pearl apart is her ability to connect with people from all backgrounds and her drive to make meaningful contributions. She not only excels academically, but also uplifts those around her. Her commitment to advocacy is reflected in her effort efforts to improve school policies, assist with budgeting decisions and implement new programs, demonstrating a forward-thinking and proactive mindset. Pearl's passion for working with children is evident through her volunteer work, babysitting, and shadowing a speech language pathologist, reinforcing her dedication to a future career in helping others communicate effectively. Balancing rigorous academics, leadership responsibilities, and community service while maintaining a strong ethic of loyalty and dependability. dependability, pardon me. Pearl is a truly deserving nominee. Quote, "Pearl
021is one of the most generous students at Windsor High School. She takes time to get to know others and actively listens to what they have to say. She welcomes everyone with her big heart and a ready smile and is the type of person that makes one want to be a better person. She is hardworking and strives for perfection in all she undertakes. It was a joy to teach her." And that's from Deb Manowway, chemistry teacher. Pearl plans to attend Longwood University to become a speech language pathologist. Congratulations, Pearl. Very proud of you. Can I have you over there? Mr. Elliot will get your photo. And once again, any family members that would like to join. Oh, please. Yes. Oh. [Music] One more. Perfect. Thank you, Pearl. Congratulations once again. And now our senior of the
022month for April from Smithville High School is Katie Galahhorn. Katie is an outstanding student leader at Smithville High School. Known for her dedication, kindness, and unwavering commitment to excellence. She is an active and engaged member of her school community, demonstrating leadership both in the classroom and on the athletic field. As captain of the girls varsity volleyball team, secretary of the Spanish Honor Society, and a member of the Beta Club, Katie leads by example, inspiring her peers through hard work and determination. She challenges herself academically by taking dual enrollment and AP courses, consistently striving for excellence. As a member of the National Honor Society, she upholds the highest standards of scholarship service and leadership. Beyond academics and athletics, Katie is deeply involved in mentoring and supporting others. She assists classmates with difficult math concepts and never
023hesitates to lend a helping hand to peers or staff members. Her participation on the KidWin team highlights her creativity, perseverance, and ability to collaborate effectively. Katie's impact extends beyond the school walls. She's an active member of her church where she leads youth services and directs praise and worship service worship, excuse me, during the main church program each Sunday. Her dedication to her faith and community reflects her selflessness and passion for making a difference. Katie is well-mannered, funny, and kind. A true role model for those around her. She takes pride in everything she does and gives 100% to every endeavor. Smithville High School is fortunate to have such a shining star in its community. Quote, "Beyond her own academic success, Katie Gallah Horn is an invaluable resource to her peers. She frequently assists classmates by explaining
024difficult concepts, offering encouragement, and fostering a collaborative learning environment. Her kindness and patience make her a natural leader in the classroom. And her efforts have undoubtedly contributed to the success of those around her. And that's from AP Calculus teacher Jason Henderson. Katie plans to attend Tidewater Community College for two years and transfer to Virginia Tech to major in civil engineering. Congratulations, Katie. [Applause] Everybody, you go over there to the backdrop. Family feel free to get a photo and or hop in the photo. And as they are doing that, I want to say this is going to conclude is of White Achievers. I want to thank all the ones that were recognized tonight and the family members and friends that came out to support them. And before I go sit down, we need to let Hardy
025Elementary know that they can bring their ion instruction group in. So, if someone can run to room three and let them know. Anybody? Anyone? Okay, we'll get them. They're coming. Thank you guys very much. Thank you so much. [Music] This is just Thank you so I start. Good evening. My name is Mason Skinner. I'm a fourth grade beta student at Hardy Elementary. My name is Jackson Gray. Tonight we have a gift for you. You will each be receiving a beta pin that we created. My name is Asa Parker. We here to share with you our beta pin in which we brought to the beta state convention. Includes the four bills of beta. The middle words line the word beta and the theme is radiate. To plan this project, we started by creating a brain dump
026of our ideas and making our own designs on Canva. After that, we had the chance to combine our divine combine our designs into one and had the chance to work with Mr. Stafford to finalize the design. Made a few more edits and figured out what would be needed to make our pen come to life, such as the type of paint. After our many plans and drafts, we sent our final design to a company so that our pins could be made. We then took our pins to the Beta State Convention where we were able to network and trade with our peers from around the state. Unfortunately, our pin design did not place because of the many other cool and amazing designs. However, ours will forever be in Hardy and Beta's history. Canva was a really fun
027program to use while doing this project. It helped my ideas become reality. Networking with my peers helped me become more social and appreciate the time people take to do even the smallest things. Even if you don't come out on top, don't stop trying and continue to make others feel good about what they did. This project helped my understanding of digital design by creating different drafts and designs and combining the dresses into my peers to create one. Do you have any questions for us tonight? I got one for you. You I went to the beta convention at the H. We were in Hampton and I saw a bunch of these on the display. Were they selling them? No. No. Yeah, I believe they were not. They were not. Just are we trading them with other other
028stools? Yes. That's pretty awesome. That's pretty awesome. You guys did a good job. Thank you. Thanks for sharing. You're welcome. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] That's cool. That was cool. All right, I think that'll roll us into item 122, which is United Way. Miss Chavis, she not here. Mrs. Chavis from United Way. Okay. Well, we'll move forward and maybe maybe she's running late. Okay. Well, then we'll go to Western Tidewater Community Services Board. I'm sorry. Is someone controlling this for me? What's coming? Mr. Cooper Rider's coming back. We'll get it figured out. We're not going to feed you to the wolves. Oh, maybe I'm able to to move it. Okay. It just pulled it up. Perfect. I just go here. Wonderful. Thank you so much. Good evening. My name is Samantha Leo. Um I am from Western
029Tidewater Community Services Board. I am the clinical services supervisor at our Isisle of White Counseling Center. And I'm very excited and honored to be able to have the opportunity to speak to you all today and share more about who we are and what we do for the community. Uh we have some pretty unique programs that we offer throughout our catchment area. And many of these programs and services target youth and their families both inside and outside of schools. Some of the programs I want to highlight include case management services, outpatient therapy, medication management. We have our children's crisis stabilization unit or bridges, the extended community crisis stabilization program or ECCS and the youth substance abuse intensive outpatient program. All of which can be accessed through any of our locations. And we have many, many other
030programs and services, but if I went through them all, um I would burn up your whole agenda time. Um so I just wanted to highlight a few. Um, and we operate out of three main hubs. We have our SUFFK location, our Franklin location, and then of course our very own Isisle of White Counseling Center. So, what is Western Tidewater Community Services Board? uh we are the single point of entry and leading authority in mental health and developmental services in our catches which is Franklin SuffK is of White and Southampton County. We are located our Isle of White Counseling Center right here in the heart of the Isisle of White community off of South Church Street uh behind the Hardies next to the Food Lion if that's helpful. Um which makes us accessible and connected to
031the people that we serve. And our space really is more than just an office. It's really a center for healing, learning, and growth. And the way that we do that is by offering a wide range of services and groups hosted out of our specific location. Those include things like case management for adult and children. Case management provides both long and short-term rehabilitation services which is designed to link individuals with care options as well as monitor and advocate for them throughout that care system. We also offer mental health outpatient therapy also for children, adults as well as families and couples and we offer that both in-person and teleaalth options. We have clinicians who specialize in children and families as well as neurode divergence. Uh we have of course our is of white school intervention program or
032skip um which I will highlight a little bit more in a moment as we are at the school board meeting. Um and we have a lot of children and family services as I highlighted previously through case management, mental health outpatient um as well as some of the groups that we offer which I will mention in a moment. Uh medication management and we host a weekly cohort um our nurturing parenting program which is going on right now. It's a 10-week cohort for families. Um, as well as a monthly group called Coffee with a Clinician where the whole community is invited to our center or sometimes an identified space in the community to discuss various mental health topics and really just engage in good conversation with our therapists in a low pressure environment. And of course, we
033have some coffee and just kind of sip and and have good conversation. some of our features. Um, our counseling center, we recently moved into our new location um, back in December and it really was thoughtfully designed to support a wide range of client needs. Um, so I wanted to highlight a few of those key features which include a child's treatment room uh, with an adjacent observation space. We also have a sensory room to support regulation and comfort. We have a dedicated child-friendly waiting area. We have both small and large conference spaces which we use for meetings and group sessions. And our agency offers con the convenience of same day access to services and they are on site at our white counseling center every Wednesday. And as I stated, I wanted to highlight our school intervention
034program. Um, being that we are at the school board meeting. Um, this initiative was created to support students who may be facing academic, behavioral, emotional, or social difficulties. Excuse me. Through this initiative, we partner closely with school staff, families, and the students themselves to help understand underlying concerns and create personalized plans for support. Through this, we have been able to develop strong relationships with the staff at our schools as well as many of the guidance counselors at I'll call it our non-skip schools. Um, we have met with guidance and social workers from both schools that we are currently working in as well as the ones that we're not. Um, and we have been able to have really great discussions about how we can support their students as well. Um, Skip is currently in four of
035the schools in Isisle of White. We are in Westside Elementary. We are in Smithfield Middle School, Smithfield High School, and Windsor High School. So really what sets the skip services apart from those offered directly out of our counseling center is that they're delivered directly within the school setting. So they're seamlessly integrated into the students daily schedule. This approach we found really helps eliminate common barriers like transportation afterchool scheduling conflicts and additionally it really promotes a stronger collaboration between the school students and their families which we find ultimately fosters a more coordinated and supportive environment for overall student success. Um, and we really have been able to support the needs of the students and their families as well as the staff and the needs of the school as a whole. And we really we do that
036again just really through open communication, support and ongoing collaboration. Um, so what you get through skip services, it's comprised of two core service areas which is case management and outpatient therapy. Um, our staff also facilitates connections to additional mental health services when appropriate. We also offer in times of crisis, we're able to provide immediate support, including deescalation um, and we can offer access to relevant resources to ensure the safety of everybody involved in that situation. when a referral to Skip can assist, while it can help with mental health concerns, it's not just limited to those needs. So, you can see there's um it's that this is a very short list. There's um a much more comprehensive list um but the program really supports students facing a wide range of challenges. So, it does include a
037lot of these um but is certainly not limited to um economic or housing instability, the loss of a loved one, um persistent behavioral concerns, truency, academic issues. Um there lots of different um things beyond the mental health realm that our staff is able to assist students with. And we know obviously that skip is not in every school. we're in for um and while it is our ultimate desire to expand that program, I I do want to highlight how we really have been able to support and have a presence in all of the schools through those relationships with guidance um and through and being able to offer our various programs and services and resources. Um this has really allowed us to be a great support for individuals, children, and their families in the community. Um and
038going forward, um our purpose is really just to keep expanding on that and to keep partnering with the community in any way that we can. Um our biggest mission is support and collaboration to, you know, get these things um out there and and make them accessible to everybody. So, in closing, I just want to thank you all for your time and attention. Your commitment to the well-being and success of the students and community uh makes a lasting difference. And I believe that together we are building a stronger, more supportive environment where every student and family has the opportunity to thrive. So, thank you all for your time. Does anybody have any questions for me? I do. I do. Sure. Thanks. Thanks, Miss Leo. Leo, Leo, thanks, Miss Leo, for for coming out. I believe it
039was a couple months ago, there were a couple ladies that came up here and spoke uh during Somebody's nodding their heads during citizen comments and and I asked about it, and I don't know who reached out to you, but I'm glad you're here tonight. Thank you. Um, one of the things that has become I've learned over my last couple two and a half years here is that uh more and more of our young adults need counseling. Absolutely. I don't know why, but it just seems to be a reality. Uh, and I've learned that our guidance counselors often do things that are above and beyond what a guidance counselor is supposed to be doing. So, when I caught wind of the services that you folks offer, I was I was excited. Um, anything that we can
040do to alleviate some of that load from our guidance counselors and teachers, I think, is a good thing. Um, for the listening audience, if you could entertain me and talk through a few questions that I think I know the answer to, but Sure. Um, I want to make sure that people watching aren't under the assumption that we are pulling their children in and giving them mental health counseling at schools. Oh, sure. Without their awareness. So, could you kind of talk us through the referral process, how that would work? Absolutely. Sure. So when students um students come to the skip program in a couple of different ways. I mean one of those ways being through same day access. So that would mean the parent is bringing the child in and once they have an assessment if
041they are attending one of the schools that we're present in they will offer that as a program and so then in turn we would be seeing the child at school. The second way they can come into the skip program is through the school directly. So typically that happens when a teacher or a guidance counselor or administration sees a student and thinks, "Okay, I think this might be a good candidate for the skip program." And the school is reaching out to the parent directly to get that consent. And then once that consent is received, the school fills out a referral form and gives it to one of our staff in the program. Once we receive that referral, we then call the parents to also get that consent and then we go ahead and pass that referral
042on to our scheduling team who calls the parents and gets them scheduled for an assessment with their child and the child does not receive any services until that assessment is completed with the parent. So definitely nothing going on um prior to those consent pieces falling into place. Appreciate you clearing that up. Sure. Um, so you said that we're you're in four schools. If if someone gets referred from a non one of the non-s skip schools, you guys can still offer services. Absolutely. So we have our child case management program which runs directly out of our center. So they would likely get put if they were getting case management, they would um funnel into that program more of a community-based case management. So that case manager could come to the home um they could come to
043the office and then we have our mental health outpatient program. So they would just be assigned to a counselor um out of our location and they would be offered inerson or teleaalth services. Anybody else? Dr. Kramer. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I too thank uh Western Tidewater and their leadership uh and the executive director. I'm getting his title wrong. Mr. Rogers is also here. Uh, thank you. And to staff, thank you for the support and all that you're doing in our schools. And I had the pleasure of meeting with uh, Miss Leo in my office. And, uh, I forget your colleague who was with you that day. Miss Lambert, right here. Miss Lambert, I'm sorry, Miss Lambert. Good to see you again. Uh, and they shared uh, the extensive list of all the supports they
044provide. I think you got to one of the really important questions, Mr. chair and that is nothing occurs without the support and consent of parents. Absolutely. And I think it's a huge luxury that those supports are offered in our schools so that parents do not have to then go to the services at the end of the day or pull the child out of school. So the services and the supports they're offering us that are occurring during the school day is a huge I think convenience to many of the families and children who need those additional supports. So, can't thank you all enough. Miss Lambert, Miss Leo, Mr. Rogers, uh, executive director and staff. Thanks for all that you're doing for our schools. Absolutely. And thank you so much for having me. Thank you. [Applause] All
045right, that takes us to uh, Mr. Chair. Yes. This is she had a signal in the family from United Way. That's okay. Got it. All right. Citizen comments. Do we have anyone signed up to speak? Okay. In accordance to policy BDDH-E, presentation of information on any subject will be concluded at the discretion of the board. No person will be recognized to speak more than once. Citizens scheduled on the agenda to speak will be permitted four minutes maximum time for their presentation. Delegations will be requested to limit their speakers to two. Persons speaking are asked to be specific. State the issues for the board's consideration and attach a copy of your prepared remarks. If you have prepared remarks, they should be given to the board clerk. Please do not approach the board members. Any matter relating
046to specific students will be heard by the school board only in a closed meeting and have Joanne. Is it Ato? I'm sorry. It's all right. My last name went from Orchant to Aceto. It doesn't Aceto. Okay. Okay. Thank you for allowing me to speak with you today. I'm Joey Norchantto and I work with Egleston Services which is a 70year-old nonprofit in the Hampton Roads area. We um support individuals who have disabilities as well as veterans, provide employment services, day and residential options, a clubhouse for brain injury survivors and case management for adults with brain injury. We also have several businesses and government contracts which offer employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. And in 2024, we supported 1,800 people. This past year through funding through DAR, we've been able to expand our brain injury case management
047services to Isa White, Sussex, Southampton, City of Franklin, and the Emporia area. It is for persons who are over 18. So, think of some of your high school students who are aging out, who are older, and they might be eligible for our our free case management services. In Virginia, upwards of 15,000 people either are born with or sustain a brain injury every year, and they wait upwards of a year for services. This could be persons who have had a stroke, been exposed to toxins, multiple concussions, shaken baby syndrome, had an aneurysm. The list goes on and on as to how you may sustain a brain injury. With case management, we provide guidance, education, and empowerment by linking individuals with community resources, setting up services, and serving as liaons with other providers like the Tidewater Community
048Service CSB. We assist people in finding housing, transportation, employment, health care, legal aid, financial assistance, and above all socialization with others because many persons with brain injuries feel extremely isolated. They are socially isolated. Under our program, case management is again no fee for persons over 18. The case manager can meet with people virtually or in person and they work together to assess the person's needs and develop a plan for so that they can achieve some personal goals. Brain injury case management propos it promotes self- advocacy and independence by supporting people with brain injuries to make their own decisions. Another service which might be of interest to the school board is through our clubhouse model. Many of our brain injury survivors like to speak to others and tell their stories and particularly to reach out to
049teens and to talk to them about the dangers of driving while you're really really tired and what can happen or a motorcycle accident because you didn't wear a helmet. And if they could get back those 10 seconds of a bad decision, many of them probably would. But they we go to high schools, we talk with students, we can do it virtually, we can do it in person, and it really is empowering, not only for the survivors to tell their story, but for students to hear what can happen. So again, our case management services is for persons 18 and over. You might know people in your community. There might be students that we could get information to through your guidance programs. I'm going to leave information here. I'll get my notes to the clerk. I didn't
050know I was supposed to send them. I apologize for that. It's okay. Um, and I thank you for your time. Thank you, ma'am. Appreciate you coming out. Anyone else signed up to speak? No, sir. Anyone out there that wants to speak? Going once, going twice. Okay, we good. You need to take five. Good. Let's take five minutes, please. All right, we're back at it. Student leaison, I'll go first. All right. So, first I want to shout out my uh state forensics team or school forensics team for going to states. Um March 29th we had three place in the um uh in the top three. One was Pearl Anderson. Um and she did she placed third for um for serious duo. Um, next I would like to shout out our blood drive that we did last
051Friday um for beta. It was a huge success with um I think we I think we were over our uh expected amount. So that was that was very good to hear. Um this week was our spirit week. So um we had a lot of participation and fun um doing that. Um, and then I would like to get y'all to save the date for May 17th. That is uh semester two of um of theater and we're doing we're doing Beetlejuice again. Um, so really? Yes. So, what was the date? May 17th. And then lastly, I would like to shout out uh Dr. Kramer and Dr. Coleman and uh and his team yesterday for coming out to the bathrooms. I can say I can say that um the one that I asked him about by fourth block
052there was soap in there. So awesome. So thank you all for your patience and cooperations and your willingness to fix them. Thank you. That'll work. Thanks for holding us to account, Connor. Now you know who you work for. So Connor, I I think you should give your fellow Beta Club members a shout out for supporting with the car wash. Was it last weekend or weekend before last? The one that you weren't at. Yes, sir. That was also March 29th. Yeah, we have we have a lot of participation in um the volunteering um because that goes to the fundraising. So, or that is fundraising so we can go to nationals in Orlando. So, kind of a special shout out to Miss Davis. I went I met her out there in front of the Napa. It was
053hot and she was out there orchestrating the cars through the car wash and delegate locksman came by. So, it was pretty cool. Always. Yeah, she's always out there with us supporting us. She's great. Cameron, uh, next week is spring break. Uh, like Connor, we also had a spirit week days this week. On Monday, it was country versus country club, which is just like wear a country outfit or dress up like you're going to a country club. Tuesday was rhyme without a reason. Wednesday was tropical day, so you just wear vacation attire. Thursday, throwback Thursday, and then Friday, tomorrow, is going to be teachers versus students. Aside from that, this month we also saw the roll out of the weapons detection systems at Smithfield. Um, this was on the week of the 17th when they first
054got implemented. That's what I have down here. And reactions mostly from students at first were kind of negative, but as we've had them longer, people are starting to adjust and get used to them more. It's going to be interesting to see how uh ne not next week, but the week after spring break things go because it's after spring break when they're going to do them at the back where the buses are and at the front at the same time. But as of right now, people are they're they're doing better with them. Uh for some announcements, our debate team won first overall at super regionals for class super region 4AB and they're going to states uh April 26th at JMU. uh the same FBLA team that I talked about at the last meeting they placed fourth
055at states and they're going to nationals. Other than those two, additionally last month, uh Mr. Floyd passed away. He was a teacher at Smithfield High School. Um he was a history teacher who taught government and world history 1, but he was mostly known for being a debate coach. He helped to train up multiple like a handful of state championship debaters. and he was a coach until late in 2023 when he had to step down because of health complications. A candle lit vigil was held for him in the parking lot on March 27th along with the celebration of life service in the auditorium on April 3rd. To honor his memory, last week students and staff were orange. His impact and legacy will be with the students and his memory still carries on. That's all I have
056to say. Thanks, Cameron. Thank you as well, Cameron. We appreciate that thorough update and our hearts and thoughts are certainly with the Smithfield High family and uh with Mr. Floyd's family. All right. Anything else? All right. I know you kids got school tomorrow, so when you get ready, you It's Friday before spring break. Make sure you get a full school day. It's the last day. It is pep rally schedule, though. So, we get I think when you guys come back, you're going to have a new track. Isn't that right? Yeah. Weather permitting. Hope the caveat on behalf of Dr. Coleman. Weather permitting. Both schools. I won't hold you to it, but I am excited to see the new tracks. I know they're long awaited. It will happen before you graduate. Thank you. You kids stay
057safe. Thank you. Okay, what do we got? 151 sped plan. Good evening. Tonight, the annual plan is back up this time for approval and I'm here to answer any questions that you guys might have. Any major changes from what we saw last month? No. Okay. Comments from the board, questions? Let's move forward then. Can we get a motion? Mr. Chair, I move to approve the 2526 special education annual plan as presented. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any comments? Madame Clerk. Mr. Collic. Yes. Mr. Cunningham. Yes. Mrs. Perkins, yes. Mr. Worooster, yes. And Mr. Marsh, yes. Motion passes. Ma'am, go forth and do good things. Thank you. 152 is our gifted plan. It's another action item. Good evening. Good evening. Um, you have the the gifted plan. Um, it is up for second
058read tonight and approval. So, if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer. Any major changes from last month? No. Good comments, questions from the board. Um, I had one thing on here. I'm trying to find it. Um, it was you had the 90 days to get the testing. Yes. Um, there was no deadline or timeline on implementation or um, communication with parents. Do we have any way to to kind of put in like a timeline once testing is finished? I know once so we have a metric to um we don't but that is definitely something that we can look at. Um I know once Miss Smith gets everything done she gets everything compiled on the profile sheet and um sometimes it's just waiting on the getting with the administrator or myself to get signatures
059before she sends stuff out. But I can definitely work with her to come up with a timeline once she gets done and to make sure I'm available and so that way we can kind of expedite that letting the parents know process. For sure. Yeah, I would like something solid just so that we have expectations in place. Absolutely. Yep. Good. Anything else? All right. Somebody want to make make a motion? Mr. Chair, I move to approve the gifted plan for 2025 2026 as presented. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any comments hearing? None. Madam clerk. Mr. Collic. Yes. Mr. Cunningham? Yes. Mrs. Perkins? Yes. Mr. Worster? Yes. And Mr. Marsh? Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you. [Music] Mrs. Briggs, we have a resolution. Yes. And I know this is on the agenda. I'm
060not going to read the resolution, but April is month of the military child and uh we uh certainly support our military families and we are doing several things especially this month in support of them. Um I know we've got um the Navy band is playing at Hardy Elementary tomorrow and we have other events happening throughout our schools where they're recognizing the students. But I wanted to share with you one thing we're doing in particular. At your seat, at your desk there, you should see a purple pin. You know, yesterday was purple up day where we encourage everybody to wear purple in support of military kids. And we have created these pins. These are going to be distributed to every student who has a parent currently serving in the military at all of our schools. and
061we'll continue that going forward. When we have new students coming in and enrolling and they have a parent active duty, they will get one of these pens. Um, this will help them identify other students who have family members just like them who are in the military and we are sharing them with you. I know many of you are retired military. We are also providing these to staff who um are former military and any staff members who have a spouse, child or grandchild currently active duty. So we want to let our military community know that we see them, we hear them, we support them, and let the children of those military families know that as well. So, um, in addition, in the fall, we celebrated Carsville Elementary, who was our first school to get Purple Star
062recognition. I am excited to tell you that we are applying for divisionwide uh, recognition for Purple Star. All of our schools are working on their application. We'll submit that over the summer, and I think that closes at the end of September. So, I'm hoping in the fall I can come back and tell you that we are one of the few Purple Star divisions in Virginia. What does that mean exactly? It's it shows you show that you have supports in place for military families, especially for students. um peer transition teams where when students are coming to a new school, they have students that can show them around that can be a buddy for them if they have questions. Uh it's things with special needs children, making sure we have resources available on our website. And one
063of the things I I tell folks is a lot of what you're doing, if you're doing it for all students, you're doing it for military students as well. So we put resources out there for families of special needs children. And that's going to include our military families as well. But we do have a web page dedicated to military families with specific resources that when they're they find out they're going to be moving to Alaw White County schools or county, they can go there to see what resources might they need. We do have a liaison out of um Norfick Naval Shipyard that is our military liaison that we work closely with and she has been working with our schools for supports through their their military uh families. Some of our schools have a military family life
064counselor that is something that we can apply for and have at no charge to us uh to have them there to support military families. We also have an anchor for life program which is kind of that peerto uh peer support team and so we do have that at some of our schools as well. So, it's just kind of like a it is uh kind of a a an easy identifier for families that that school or that division has supports in place for military families. They're aware of the special needs that military families have. It kind of eases their mind a little bit. And if you've ever wondered why purple is associated so much with military, it's because it is a combination of colors from all the branches of the military combined. Yep. Cool. So, so
065I'm asking if you would please approve this resolution tonight and we're going to use this for our purple star application. I would uh ad So, Navy guy, I'll I'll do another shameless plug. the Harry Truman strike group, the aircraft carrier strike group is currently deployed. Um, you can turn on the news and see that they're in the Red Sea. They just got extended. When they get back, they will have done at least seven months. And out of that strike group, there's probably 10,000 or so service members. Wow. I can guarantee you we've got students that have parents in that guda. Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. All right, enough of that. Thank you, sir. Thank you, ma'am. Somebody want to make a motion? I'll do that one. That one makes me a little mushy to be honest with
066you. It really does. All right. I move to approve the resolution in support of military children and families as presented. Seconded. Any discussion? Madame clerk. Mr. Collic. Yes. Mr. Cunningham? Yes. Mrs. Perkins? Yes. Mr. Worster? Yes. And Mr. Marsh? Yes. Motion passes. Moving right along. 161. Grow your own grant. Okay, ladies. Mr. Coopriter. Okay. Thank you. All right. So, we are both very excited to share with you about the Grow Our Own program um for White Lake County Schools. Uh you've heard a little bit about it uh last month in Dr. Kramer's superintendent update and then there's been some social media post about it. So you might have a little bit of an overview, but our goal tonight is to provide you with a background of where this started and kind of where we are
067in the process and then also next steps that are coming. Um so first we'll share this uh process really started back in November of 2021. Um that was when the United States Department of Labor approved K through 12 um occupation as being a position that can um be covered under an apprenticeship. So when you think about apprenticeship, you typically think of the trades. Um and so uh you know thinking about welding, building trades, that sort of thing. Um but in 2021, they approved uh education to be a position where you can earn and learn at the same time, which is really important. Um as many of you might know, teachers going through typical traditional educational programs um typically have to uh avoid working during their student teaching period. that's, you know, anywhere from 18 to
06812 weeks, um, while also paying for a college education. So, it really puts a, um, a hardship on an individual who wants to be a teacher. Um, so they can't work part-time job because they're working full-time as a teacher, but not getting paid for that. Um, and so then in 2022, Governor Yncan actually um, brought together a task um, for us that talked about addressing teacher shortages in Virginia. um and VDOE um reached out to apply for a grant through the Department of Labor in order to receive $1.78 million to launch grow your own apprenticeship programs in education in Virginia. Um and with those grants, initially school divisions would apply uh directly to Virginia Department of Education to receive that money. They were the fiscal agent. They were responsible for the staffing that it required
069to build those programs. And for a division of our size, um we know that taking on a grant and being the fiscal agent and being the um really putting together all of those pieces to be able to staff that is very difficult. So most recently, um in July of 2024, VOE launched a program that allows universities like ODU, who is our partner, to be the fiscal agent, but then to partner with us in order to provide the talent. And so in that situation, ODU, which was what we're entering into now, um is our fiscal agent of this program and we get to benefit from our relationship with them. Um so to talk a little bit about the goals of growing your own um it's a teacher registered apprenticeship program, they reference it as TRAP. Um
070but it creates a nocost highquality pathway to the profession for homegrown talent. Um, it also creates a partnership-driven teacher preparation pathways to address critical shortage vacancies. Um, it allows candidates to earn and learn. Like I referenced, these individuals will be working full-time, getting job embedded experience with us and also being under the guidance of a strong mentor. And they we recognize that this also um increases retention and teacher effectiveness when they're able to not just learn in college and then start in work and see kind of the reality of what it looks like to to practically try some of those strategies in the classroom, but they're able to see those things happening in the classroom every day while they are in the doing the coursework. So again, we are partnering with ODU. um ODU is
071agreeing to accept talent from our school division. So we went through a application process um where any individual who was an a pair professional or an instructional assistant with us who held an associates degree could apply to um receive a bachelor's degree for free through a partnership with ODU. Um it's no cost uh you know no there no textbooks there's no tuition no technology fees everything is 100% covered uh ODU did require that all of our candidates apply for any PEL or teach grants so any kind of government assistance that they might be able to receive because of their financial situation. Um they did require them to go through the FASA program but it will be no cost to them and there's no student loans. um and they will finish this coursework by 2027. So
072June 30th of 2027 uh we will have five teachers um who will have completed this program that started out as pair of professionals for us. Um and ODU has been wonderful to collaborate with. They have a great point person um that's been very responsive to all of our questions as we navigate this and it's been such a wonderful like we talked for years about wanting to to do grow your own. We knew that it was the best thing. we just didn't have the the human resource capacity to kind of put that all together. So, it's been wonderful to have them really take over the logistical side of that and the financial side and for us to really focus on supporting the pair of professionals as they enter into this program. So, we've agreed to to
073produce that talent with them. Um, we are going to provide mentor teachers of record. So, uh, our teachers will actually, so teachers who are licensed and are mentor teachers will get paid $2,000 per a candidate that they mentor. Um, so they'll get paid extra to supervise um, and provide feedback to that candidate or that apprentice. Um, and then we are of course required to do some reporting to VDOE on the success of the program. So, some highlights for us. Uh, ODU for Alive White specifically, uh, ODU received enough funds from the Virginia Department of Education to support 45 a teacher apprentices. Um, and of those 45, five of those selected were from Isle of White. Uh, there were eight other school divisions that we were competing against for spots. So, we were really fortunate being
074a small division that we really got um about the equivalent of every other division like Chesapeake and Suffach to be able to to include our candidates. Um they've already gone through a transcript audit. So, they're any transcripts they had prior to course what they've coursework that they've done has already been assessed. They've attended an advisor session with their ODU global adviser and they'll begin coursework this May during the May master. They'll take course work all summer and then continue through practicums and coursework over the next two years. Um, and we have our apprentices that you were introduced to at our last meeting, but just to highlight them again because it's something I this is like the one of the most rewarding days of my career as an HR director was to notify these individuals of
075this. Um, but we have Claudia Sheieler uh at Smithfield Middle School who is going into the field of special education. She's currently a special education IIA. Uh Caitlyn Jones is is partnered there with her um teacher right now in the classroom that she serves as a pair professional. She's currently serving as a special education IA but is going into elementary education. Um in the top right we have Heather Jordan who is a first and second grade IIA for us at Windsor Elementary who is going to be going into elementary education. Lexis Brinkley which was the only candidate that wasn't yet finalized at our last meeting. Uh but she is a first and second grade IIA with us at Windsor Elementary that is also going into elementary education. And then um Riley Holding in that group
076picture in the bottom to the left of the screen um with Mr. Brennan, she is a special education IIA at Carolton um and is going into sped in special education as well. And Miss Street's going to take over for the next part. Yes. So looking ahead, um there are three grants within the BDOE grow your own and we applied for as the one that Miss Sullivan mentioned, but we also have the second grant um which we are anxiously awaiting to hear if we received but we did um apply for that and if we are awarded that could be $37,000 um 347 as you can see there. But what this does is this allows us to kind of go before and um work with our CTE um little sprouts program. So the students who are in
077Miss Julie Branch's class who we know um are taking that passion towards education, we are going to work with them um and support them in getting their associates degree. These are high school students. Yes. So, we're really building that pipeline to it. We know that this is a passion. When we have CTE signing day, we do the little slippers program that allows them to come back to our division. But this is allowing them to really go right from the classroom into Poly Camp to get the associates degree that they need and then go into that IIA position, which will then eventually be supported through that bachelor's program. So, it's a really nice pipeline and we're hoping to have an estimate of 15 students annually. It's outstanding. It's exciting. So, if you get what I won't
078say if when these teachers are are licensed, what's their obligation or commitment? Uh to teach three years in Isle of White. Okay. Great. That's awesome. Yeah. Any other questions? Right. Thank you. It's exciting. Thanks for sharing that. Absolutely. Child nutrition. Good evening, Chairman Marsh, Dr. Kramer, board members, and others in attendance. Um, we're excited to present to you all this evening. I hope you enjoyed your dinner earlier and so we're going to go through some slides with you and then give you the opportunity to ask us questions. So the first slide Mr. Ruffin's going to share with you about all the work we've been doing. All right, let's talk about nutrition. The child nutrition department feeds breakfast and lunch options daily. I'm sorry. The child nutrition department feeds students breakfast and lunch option daily that
079are full compon components with the USDA. We are fully credited. We are we are following the new guidelines to eliminate the seven dyes from foods using the guidelines from the USDA and the VDOE. We are continuing to decrease the amount of sugar in all products using the new USDA guidelines. We're collaborating closely with the school nurses to ensure all dietary restrictions and food allergies are monitored and followed for students. Students are required to choose various meal components to have a complete reimburseable meal. We are using fresh foods and vegetables on the lines daily. And I want to circle back to the um item about the seven dyes. Um we just attended, we were very fortunate to be invited to um the signing with the governor and we're working closely, Mr. Ruffin just went to a
080meeting today in Richmond where the food companies already looking at how they're going to take those dyes out of products. So they're already ahead of that step. We have until 2027 to do that, but our food companies, our resources are already looking at that. So, I did want to share that with you. May I ask a quick question, Mr. Chair? And just to give our own um elected leaders a a shout out that was introduced by the bill, a governor uh excuse me, it was Delegate Emily Jordan, who's our delegate right here in Olive White County. Very good. Wanted to give her that shout out. Senator, excuse me. Senator Senator Jordan. Yes. Thank you. All right. So, moving on. the results of our FPAR. I know you all heard this for many months about FPAR,
081FP, FPAR. Um, we went through this in February. It was four days. Um, Dr. Kramer had the opportunity to meet with their committee from the Department of Education, Dr. Coleman. We went through a pre-review with FPAR. They went over all the steps. There were many things that had to be uploaded. Um, Mr. Ruffin spent days by the copier uploading all of these documents for them. They also interviewed two of our principles from Carolton and from Windsor High School. They did school visits. They spent um the entire day at Carolton. They did breakfast and lunch. Excuse me. No, they did they did lunch with Carolton. They did breakfast and lunch with Windsor High School. And they looked at everything from the meal components that were on a child's tray to were they given opportunities. Did we
082have water available for the students? Because that's one thing we have to have is a water cooler or a water fountain in every school. Were the sanization sanitary? Um you know, all of those things. Were the temperatures regulated? Were there temperature readings on the freezers and the refrigerators? There's so many components go into looking at that. And so, um, we really were pleased with the results. We do still have some work to do. We know that as you all know we just brought child nutrition back in July and we were under that company before and so we were missing some components I'll talk about in some later slides that we know we still have to work on and we've corrected but we'll have that data for them next year. So some things we're working on
083is serving portions um making sure students take the appropriate portion making sure students know what they need to take. It's wonderful if you go into the high schools and you know kids don't always want that apple or that juice but the the staff at the all the high schools are very good about saying make sure you grab your fruit, make sure you grab your vegetable and having that with them. Recordkeeping is very important. We have to keep financial records, audits on what's coming into the kitchens, what's going out of the kitchens, that's called production records. and then inventories what we're getting from PET and Richmond restaurant and our produce providers. We're also focusing on professional development. These staff had not had professional development in years. So Mr. Ruffin and I have done many sessions with
084them this year on professional development and we'll continue to do that. And I'm excited Mr. Ruffin was his expertise. As you all saw earlier tonight, we'll be doing a lot of scratch cooking sessions with our staff this summer. So, we are going to be going more and more back to those of you here and those of you listening, more scratch options. I can't say if the rolls are coming back on the line like they used to be years ago, but we're really looking at that. And then looking at our equipment audits, um, our equipment was in terrible disrepair. Uh, new things had not been purchased or had not been maintained. So, for example, we have to update and make sure all of our hood vents are up to code and up to standards. All of
085the gates, if you go to Smithville High School or Windsor High School, the gates that come down, they had not been serviced in years. So, we have to go back and do those things to ensure we are in compliance with not only the state and USDA, but with the health department. So, we're working through all those things and we're learning so much. All right. So, what are we doing? Um, look at this number. I think this is really, really good. So, the number of meals served. So, our breakfast breakfast sales have increased 17% over last year. If you want to compare our chicken best biscuit, it's pretty dag on close to a Chick-fil-A um biscuit or some other competitors in the area. Um my niece loves a chicken biscuit, my nephew loves the sausage. Um
086lunch, we've increased our sales by 6% across the division, and we're very, very excited about that. We're offering a variety of options at breakfast and lunch. Um, and we're just having students try more and more thing, trying to encourage their taste buds to go back to eating other things than just pizza five days a week. Mr. Ruffin, how are we saving money? So, we're saving money through first uh, USDA commodities. We get a commodities every year from the USDA where we can use those free products into our um, into our meals. So, these products are come fresh from DoD and it also comes through the USDA like our um roasted chicken. Uh some of the items that you all had today were um USDA products. Um the other way we can do is by keeping
087records. Um, previously we were keeping all of the records to make sure that we stayed in compliance with everything and that the stock, the inventory, as you see, inventory records and production records, all of those things are part of the things that we're going to help uh with our savings. Um, previously they had stock in their schools for $20,000. So now we got it down. So, they're working week by week to make sure we're um saving money. Um we're increased revenue. Yep. I want you to do that one too, but increasing the revenue through uh through new innovative products. So, we have started a kiosk out in Smithville High School where we're doing a um iced coffee and we were eventually going to do what you all had the noodle bar. Uh we've started ice
088cream at our high schools. They were not getting ice creams at the high school previously and we started new menu items. Um we do have the salad bar that's back um at the high schools and the middle schools. Um, we are doing ser self-s serve at our secondary schools as well. And if you see in this picture, this is actually a picture at Windsor High School of their self-service salad bar. And I have to say the kiosk at at Smithville High School, the coffee bar is the brainchild of Mr. Ruffin. If you come in Smithville High School in the morning when all the kids are getting there, the line is wrapped around the kiosk for them to get their mocha coffee or their vanilla coffee. Miss Whitlo's son's in line. They like the whipped cream,
089the caramel, and it's just wonderful to see. And when he first brought ice cream back to the high school, the kids were like, "Where'd you get that?" It was like, you know, the best thing they'd ever seen. So, it's really, really nice to see kids enjoying ice cream in school and iced coffee. And our hope is that when with bringing that in, they'll get to school a little quicker because they want ice coffee at school and they're not in that drive-thru line getting that coffee. So, we're really excited about that. And the sales have been wonderful. We've actually had um our sales for breakfast have actually been up at Smithville High School since that kiosk has been open. So we're it's been a win-win for us. So the benefits to child nutrition be being back
090in house. We're able, as Mr. Ruffin said earlier, to closely monitor our products that are purchased. We're able to go in, we're able to look at production records. We're able to go and sit in a school and monitor what came in today, what came in last week. um were able to regulate the nutritional components of meals. When staff does orders, Mr. Ruffin goes through, compares it to the menu. You don't need that, you need this. Um we did student focus groups to see what kids really wanted from the secondary level. From that came more fresh fruit. From that came a lot of the coffee bar items, donuts. We're still working on a yogurt parfait um that they want. And what else was it? They wanted muffins. They want muffins. So, we're still working on those
091things, but we want to hear from kids. What was it they wanted? Staff feel valued. Um, Mr. Ruffin and I see every building at least once a week. We go in, we talk to them. I'll put my hair up, I'll go back there, I'll serve. I was back washing dishes one day. Mr. Ruffin was back there running pizzas the other day. We are in it because we want staff to understand as leaders, if we ask them to do it, we're going to be willing to do that as well. We ensure that all of our meals are nutritionally nutritionally balanced. Um, we've gone through that equipment audit, so now we know what's going to limp through another year. What we've really got to prepare for for moving forward next year. We've been able to purchase a
092food service van um to transport food. It could be that we were shorted hot dogs at Georgie Tyler and Smithville High School has more. Mr. Ruffin gets in that white van, heads on down, and takes those hot dogs. And then all of our freezers are equipped with alarms that notify us if they're going down. One night about two months ago, we got a notification that Smithville High Schools was going out. Mr. Ruffin went up there, helped get the milk straight, and we moved on. The other day, um, John Smith text and said, "Hey, your cooler's going down at Georgie Tyler. They've been in and out of the cooler." Because the Richmond restaurant truck had been there. So, we're able to really monitor and make sure we're not losing product. So, what's next? um incorporating our
093farm-toschool concept in our kitchens, you know, bringing more of the land labs, lettuce in, tomatoes in. We're very excited about that. Next year, providing more scratch cooking for our staff, for our students. Um I actually signed up today, I haven't told Mr. Ruffins, so I'll say this on camera. Um we've actually signed I've signed us up to host several scratch cooking sessions in Isle of White this summer. Um so that they can the folks from Chef Ann and um the VOE will come in and host scratch sessions. And so we will all learn about how to make better quality products that are made right in house and not processed. We're going to continue to increase our staff development opportunities. We're going to continue to apply for those grants. I love to write a good grant.
094And we're going to continue to be visibles in our kitchens and cafeterias because we want our staff to see us. We want the students to see us. They'll stop Mark and go, "Mr. Mark, hey, can we get this on the line? Hey, can we have this? How about this?" And we want to listen to people and hear their needs. So before we move on to our video, which highlights our folks, which is why we're here, I want to give you the opportunity to ask us any questions. I don't so much I don't so much have a question as I do a statement. Well, we are. When you start doing these scratch programs, I'm your guinea pig if you need one. Mr. Ruffin has that note, Mr. Won. It's obvious that we've got the right people.
095Thank you. In the right spots, and it's it's certainly obvious that you have found your groove, both of you. Um, you said that the staff hadn't had professional development training in years. That blows my mind. Um, I'm confident you have a plan in place. Who Who's the trainer? How does that happen? We have well some is BDOE and some is you know videos we get and then I'll do some of it after something I've learned Mr. Ruffin does some of it so we're trying to work together and then watching um videos we have online different things like that so it's kind of a conglomeration but I will what I will share chairman Marsh is yesterday we had our DT meeting and that's our director's meeting and a PD that Dr. Kramer has us do and
096I chose as my word for the year um discipline and what I have learned with being this job is that I have to learn and I've really grown this year because I came into this with lots of instructional knowledge lots of knowledge about students and behaviors but I didn't I learned to cook from my granny but I didn't really have a huge background in child nutrition. I've learned so much not only from taking nutritional classes online and what VDOE has offered, but also this gentleman right here. He'll say something and now I'm like, "Yeah, have it." Blah blah blah blah blah. So, it's it's learning together and it's a team and that's what it's all about and that's what we have to do to grow and be successful is work through this together and that's
097what we're trying to do. Yes, sir. Uh, have y'all thought about going to Fort Lee? Uh, the quartermaster school, culinary arts, uh, for all of the services is at Fort Lee. And I know that because I was a quartermaster officer and a food service officer. Okay. So, uh, if you coordinate with someone, they have a liaison down there, I'm sure. uh they'll probably give you a tour of the facility and you know, who knows? I mean, somebody may say, "Hey, this is great. I'd like to go into uh the military and become a uh chef." Because they don't have cooks, they have chefs. Uh also, some of the uh culinary arts schools in this area, I think it's one in uh Newport News. I mean, it's a lot of opportunities out out here for uh
098for training and uh also I mean, you know, our culinary arts uh CTE program is awesome, too. Have uh I'm sure you've been working with uh the chef. Yes, we've we've talked with Chef Horn about various things and one of them was hopefully next year we can work with him with some of his um third-year students doing some practicum work with us and doing some like internships working over in our kitchens is what we're hoping for. Okay. It's I'm just saying it's you know like they used to say think outside the box. Absolutely. A lot of opportunities out here. Jump on it. Thank you. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all, congratulations for the wonderful successes you have attained this year and thanks both of you, Mr. Ruff
099and Miss Couch for the great presentation. It was not lost on me the audacious comparison you made between your chicken biscuits and Chick-fil-A. That is quite bold. I love the confidence here. Two quick things. Uh the group we see here, I had a chance uh Mr. chair and members of the board to meet with the entire food services team and I'm going to actually uh make that statement later on in my superintendent update and they are so incredibly pleased to be back in house and they couldn't say enough about the leadership of Mrs. Couch and Mr. Ruffin. So kudos to you all there as well. the other group and the most important group, the group that I would like us to reconvene and I think we've discussed getting that group back together and you know
100who I'm talking about, our students and actually Mr. Um Ethan Whitlo was a part of that group and brought a group of students together a few years ago and they are blatantly honest and I'd like uh the two of you uh and myself to find time before the end of the year to bring that group of students back because I'd love to hear their um updates, their recommendations, and their input on where we are. So let's do that as well. But absolutely. And I just I guess I'll have to have iced coffee, right, Miss Whitler? Very good. Very good. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, sir. All right. Any other questions before we show you the video? Before we do the slide, I would like to say I would like the opportunity that y'all given to
101me. And Miss Couch said all these good things about me, but I'm back at the house. I don't do this. I've learned so much from her with all of those things and I appreciate everything you've done for me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you. All right. We're going to show you a video. And this is by David Elliot, too, by the way. This is not by us. Well, we are the cafeteria team. We have an amazing group of women and and a gentleman that works back here um just to make sure that our kids come in and they're fed nutritious meals um every day that they have a choice of what they would like to eat um or as much choice as they can have. Here at our school, our main
102goal is to feed our babies and make sure they're happy. We try to make their day start off as positive as possible. So when they come in here, we could be their first contact. We want it to be positive for them and make them smile. That helps their day get along better and that makes us feel good. You know, when kids come in, some kids are very hungry. And if you're hungry, you're not going to concentrate throughout the day. Some children, this could be their only meal that they receive during any given day. We don't know that, but being that we have standards we have to follow, we make sure that they get that meal because we don't know if we're going to see them the next time to make sure that they get another
103one. So, they are required to have 2 ounces of grain and they are required to have half a cup of fruit or vegetable and they are required 2 oz of meat meat alternative. As you can see with my size up, we have to make sure we follow our guidelines. So, it's a lot of rules we follow, but that's what we here to do. Um, so typically as my job, I come in, I come through and I check everything, make sure all our equipment is on, u make sure everything is working so that we can run efficiently through the day. When we first get in, we have to check all our temperatures to make sure all our equipment is still working like we love it. Um, then we normally kind of jump into um setting up
104for breakfast service, make sure that we have everything that the children need. So once the doors open at 7:10, we're ready to go um with breakfast. Presentation means a lot to us. So we try to make sure that we have pretty displays for them because kids, they they eat with their eyes, not what you tell them. They have to see it to appreciate it. We raise up the doors and the kids will come in and the tops will be off and then they'll have their choices of entre that they would like to choose from. But they do have choices. That's why you have to have the two hot items and then your cold items because it has to be a offer versus serve. What would you like? Do you want that or do you want
105this? They have to have that choice, but we'll let them pick the one that they want instead of us saying, "Well, baby, just take this." No, they have to say, "No, I don't want that." Sometimes we'll have students come through and they they rel, oh, I don't eat this this vegetable, but then they're maybe it's not a fruit choice that they want, but they know they have to choose one. And then so they'll say, "Well, I'll get this vegetable." And they'll take it back to their table. And sometimes the next time they come back and be like, "Oh my gosh, that broccoli was so good." Sometimes some students may not have seen a certain type of fruit as frequently, uh, like a plum. So sometimes they're like, "Oh, well, what's this?" And, "Oh, it's a
106plum." Like, "Oh, I've never had one of those." And so they'll take a plum and then, you know, like, "Wow, those plums are really good." So I think it does promote them choosing different options that they even because they feel like they have a choice. And we all know when kids have a choice, when they have a choice, they might choose exactly what you wanted in the shoes in the first place. I started outsourcing when I first came to the counter. And it's a totally different vibe. It's way better than what I was used to because they actually got the guidelines for us to really follow. It seems more homey. It seems less business being in-house. They really care. They're really concerned about the the the kids and also the employees. It is it's family.
107Now, when you think cafeteria, you just think ladies behind the line just putting food on your plate, but it's so much more than that. It's it's a lot that goes into making sure that our kids have all the components that they need. We get to see the children every day and we get to see their smiles. Whether they come in here in a bad day and they ask us for a hug just to make them smile and say, "Oh, it's going to be okay." You know, we can talk to them like that. So, it's good. And that makes them smile and they're not crying when they leave. It it is definitely very very important part of the school. [Music] [Applause] Thank you for the opportunity to let us come and share what we're doing. And
108we hope your dinner was great tonight, too. Thank you. All right, CTE, back again. Back again. Um, I'm here to provide you with some program updates from our CTE programs. So, we recently held our reverse job fair and I had the opportunity to see Mr. Worster and Miss Perkins. So, thank you for coming out. Um, we did it a little bit different this year. If you remember last year, we were at the Smithfield Center and we had business partners come to the center and the kids were in different stations. Um, we asked for feedback from our business partners and while they enjoyed that, they had asked that they would see the kids in their spaces. A lot of them have never been out to their our buildings before. Um, so we tried it different and
109this year students showcased in their CTE program and business partners, we had over 40 business partners between Windsor High School and Smithville High School come out and see students during certain times. So, a lot of the comments we heard were, "Oh my gosh, didn't know this was here. These are beautiful spaces. We can't wait to partner with you." So, that's what we wanted. Um, students had cover letters and resumeumés available so that business partners could just grab them. They passed off business cards. They set up meetings um and future employment opportunities. The Smithville Rotary last year provided honorariums to students who receive jobs and they're doing that again this year. Um we were able to get um also our CTE signing day which right now is going to be as you see on May 21st.
110So we'll make sure you guys have all the information for that. Last year we had over 19 students that received job opportunities from this event. And then this was just some of the comments we did ask for their feedback that we received. Um my favorite I love all of them but my favorite is students displayed pride in their work and trade speaking about their skills and experience with assurance. And that's what we want. We want the, you know, the strong work ethic, the great soft skills. We hear that a lot from our business partners. we just want to make sure they're off their phones, that they can get there on time, and that they're hard workers. So, that was great to see that they're already seeing that um within our students. Um we also have
111a new um program, our PCT program, which is our patient care technician. So, we already had our CNA program um and you know, that's level one and two. So after our students complete and get certified in CNA, they will then now move on to PCT. We currently have six students as you see their names on the screen and they have all been officially certified as PCT students. So those are our first six students. Um and now they're going to move on to possibly getting their EKG and their phabbotomy. So there's a possibility of them walking out of this program of course with their CNA that they had from the years prior but their PCT, EKG and phbotomy and that is all covered by us. Um there will be a ribbon cutting for that. So you
112will get information on that as well in case you haven't seen that beautiful space. Um, for the past couple years, we've been working on making sure our middle school students are aware of our CTE programs. Um, and these three um, business partners that you see on the screen have been instrumental in helping us build this pathway. So, at SMS and GTMS, and I just a quick plug to Miss Joiner and Miss Finch who have been instrumental in this as well. um they are really giving our middle schoolers a little taste of every CTE program in addition to their curriculum of technology as well. So students have the idea of a virtual welder, they have little healthc care units like learning how to do CPR. So not only do they get to see it through their
113middle school tours, which they had this week, but they're also getting a little bit of knowledge prior to selecting that in high school. Um, ODU, as you see, is one of our business partners. Go, they are the ones that help support the renovation of our labs at both Smithville Middle School and GTMS, which you'll see in just a moment. And then our Hampton Workforce Council has been a wonderful partner of really connecting us to these opportunities to provide us with grants and funding. So, this is all the funding has been through grants. And this is the after of these beautiful spaces. Um, and you're going to see a video, but I just wanted to stop and ask if you had any questions. I I know you have a video coming, but have you thought about
114calling WHRO to do something like they did with the AL lab? Certainly something we can do. Absolutely. So, I I I I had the chance to walk through this and the welding lab and the makers lab and u last week with one of our supervisors and Mrs. Gets, Dr. Coleman, I've never been over there. Blown away. We got to let people know what's out there. Yeah. I And I think u you know, it's probably one of the advantages of of WHRO. I mean, they're we have Mr. Elliot who does amazing work. But I think what they're able to do is have us featured throughout the region. Um because often I'll hear people say, "Hey, I saw you again." I don't see it too often, but they see us because periodically they will show snippets of
115the of the videos on WHRO doing commercials. Um so certainly um I think we can reach out to them and they've got the platform. We don't they do. They do. And really we already have the videos. So maybe we just sort of share that with them and have them uh play them. So the video and this is another one of David's creation. Thank you, David. Um is you'll um hear and see both GTMS and SMS's new labs that are helping with creating that CTE pathway. You are in our newly renovated um tech lab which has been an amazing opportunity for us. This is a big step forward for us because it's continuing that pipeline that they've been working so hard. When you go into the high school engineering and um manufacturing classes, they are in
116a real world setting. They're getting into a lab into what a maker space looks like into what a professional space looks like and mimicking it is not the same as experiencing it. And so when we were still in classroom tables going to computer stations that weren't ideal for them working in those conditions. The originally the space was set up more like a computer lab. The focus was solely robotics um and computer science. So by taking protruding islands really limited our space and our ability to run um the large level robotics like rovers and sparrows and even running vex competition mats. So before I would have to do like a theoretical approach up here and teach and then let them go and have to go back and kind of help as we went versus for some
117of our more complicated scale especially when we're using some of the design software. Now I actually can teach to a whole group in a real life setting and we can be working and still access everybody's uh visual points. So before we were very locked into what we were doing. Right now it's a working space, but because everything's mobile, I can move everything aside and create a bigger open space for drone races, for robots, for um you know, mimicking a offshore simulator if I wanted to. So, it just opens the doors for what is possible versus before nothing could be moved. We've even incorporated in our other rooms, we've built um mobile storage cabinets underneath all of the counters so that we can store materials properly um and allow more of a safe space for our
118students to work. Um especially with our increasing in class size and interest. You can go to each station, they're working on something different and they have the move the room to work on something different. The way the setup was before, my computer guys were basically at their tables while everybody else is out working. Um, so it just lets everybody feel a part of the community and what they're working on without having to interfere with another person's learning. Um, we've been blessed as a county to um really incorporate CTE into the middle school over the last 2 years to allow kind of uh follow their interest in learning pathways. So we can incorporate more of our CTE programs and introduction to those that we see in high school. All of our students now, sixth, 7th, and
119eighth grade in the county will have an opportunity to get to experience an introduction to those. So when they're going into choosing their classes for either manufacturing or computer science or welding, they have a better idea of what it's going to take to be successful on that path and really choose what classes so they're not wasting time at high school figuring out. They can go ahead and start the classes that they really want to be in. How do you guys like the new space? I love it. I think this is the best school ever. It's so nice. Best science or technology teacher I've ever had. Oh, well, thank you. Thank you. Are you guys looking forward to robotics now? Yeah. Well, there you have it. CTE and STEM education classes are really important, especially at
120the middle school level because it's that real world tangibility that they have. They learn a lot in theory and keep hearing, well, this is going to be important. This is going to be important. Um, but they lack that concrete like how does this affect my life? And whether they end up going into engineering or computer coding, they're still learning basic skills. How to be safe and professional in an environment, how to manage project management time, how to turn things in deadline wise, um managing materials, managing space, everything in a career that they're going to need. It's taught in here. I just we're really excited to finally have it up and running. You know, um we're appreciative of the support we've gotten. Um, you know, every year we do a little bit different, so you guys
121can come in next year and I might have it look a little different, but I have the flexibility to do that now to base uh to meet the needs of our kids and what we're doing. We are really thankful for what we've been given this year. Um, I just can't wait to see how we're able to expand um over the next couple years. [Music] What what block is that? What do we call it? You're in our newly renovated. Say it again. I'm sorry. In the middle school, what do we call in that block? So, there's there's different levels. There's innovations and innovation in inventions and innovations. And then there's tech. Um, and then they have the engineering course, too. So, they teach all blocks just like a middle school class. They have three blocks. So
122you can go all day every day if you'd like to go see them. Yeah, it's good. It's pretty. And what's great is what's now at Smithville Middle School and Smithville High School is the same at is what is at GTMS and Windsor High School. So we have now created the same thing on both sides of the county. Whereas before some some parts were lacking. Yeah. So kudos to you. when when my daughter was in elementary at Windsor, she was a big part of the she participated in the kid wind and at that time Mrs. Smith said she wasn't sure if we were going to be able to get it over. So, yeah, kudos to you. Thank you. Thank you. finance. She does. You have a video, too? Yes. Okay, awesome. It's all about numbers. Uh,
123good evening. Um, I'll be brief. Um, I think the main thing you want to hear is that the financials, everything is pretty much in line with the budget. Um, with the exception of the health care fund, which we've been monitoring closely. Um, we've got, you know, three more months or I guess less than three now. But, um, if the health care fund follows exactly what happened in March and we get that in April, May, and June, then the shortfall will probably be about, uh, less than 100,000. um if claims would go back up, you know, we're we're looking at a little bit more of a shortfall. Um but claims are still at about 33% higher than last year. So, we are going to exceed the budget there, but on both sides, you know, on the
124revenue and expenses um because the employer and employee contributions going into that fund um were much higher than budgeted as well. Any questions? if you could talk a little bit about the cafeteria fund uh kind of overlapping agenda items. I know that we have a a outstanding meal debt and then I noticed in the consent agenda that someone actually donated money to cover some of the meal debt. So I I don't know who some of WSOR High School's meal debt was paid. Who who specifically had their meal debt paid? And how is that going to be distributed amongst the students? Um the amount of the donation we receive, we will allocate it accordingly um across to the the seniors. Okay. Um so whatever proportion you know that each of them has of the total we'll
125go ahead and and pay off that you know respective portion. Okay. So some may still owe after the donation if they have an excessive amount. Okay. Yeah. We figured that's the most fairest way to allocate it proportionately. Um the the food service or or child nutrition fund is showing currently there's a a deficit year to date. But a couple things to keep in mind. One is we're basically a month behind on revenue. So the revenue for for March doesn't get posted until April. Um and that runs as you can see here it was 241,000 in the month of March. So getting a like amount then brings that deficit down you know by 240,000. Um and the other thing too is they are still in the process of getting their inventory system set up. So once
126that is set up that's going to reduce the expenses because now it'll be posting to an inventory account and you only expense what you use each month. So, I think everything will will work itself out once we get it all in there. Understood. Grant funds look pretty good. Any concerns there? Not at all. Um, we are up to date on all of our reimbursement requests. They're done monthly. Um, as you know, the teacher quality partnership, that grant ended in February, but we had drawn down sufficient funds to cover the expenses we incurred. So, we didn't spend money that we're not going to get reimbursed for. Correct. Good. Have we heard anything else about that or is it just as far as we know it's done? As far as we know, it's done. Okay. And then
127may may I just say that just in the event that people are hearing different things, some of the federal TQP grants were extended, some at the uh higher ed level, but ours we were just in touch with um USDE probably a week and a half ago. We received notice that still ours has been terminated. Okay. Y um and just as a reminder, all in when does that expire? Uh we have until next June. So June 30th of 2026 to spend all of it. Okay. So everybody who's currently working and compensated under that has until next June. Okay. [Music] Um there's a couple onesie twzies I pulled out of the check register. Uh What what did we It says uh Riverside Assessments Psych testing for $3,800. Yes. What is that? Um it's for um special ed.
128I don't know that I know all the exact details of it. Um it's actually they say it's the Spanish version of um for a an assessment testing um which is an educational and psychological evaluation used to determine the idea um a eligibility. Okay. Then we bought a vehicle. What did we buy? We bought 40 $40,994. That was on your big ticket items. Yes, it's a pickup truck for operations and it replaces another truck. Okay. Which experienced engine failure. Nice. Anybody else? As always, we appreciate your hard work, ma'am. It's been my pleasure. Thank you. Dr. Coleman, board chair, school board members, operations. I do not have a video. This is shared. Just look at the email. You got it. It shared with you. Just look at the email. You got it. It's on the It's
129on board docs. Yeah. Yes. Okay. All right. I'll just speak to it. No. All right. Just moving forward. What we're going to do is just go over some of the um I can work it from here. Thank you, D. We're going to go over the projects that were going on during spring break. A lot of times you think that um everyone is on break during spring break vacation, but there's a lot of different projects that are going on at the school and I just want to make everyone aware of it because some of the items as mentioned earlier tonight with the track and different things of that nature is going to require that the community works with us and um you know just try to avoid different places. So we're just going to go through
130it. The first one will be at Carlton Elementary School. uh this project will be JRC will be moving forward with the installation of the dry wells. These are the catch basins for condensation for the HVAC. Now dry wells, just FYI, these are the underground structures designed to collect and dispose of unwanted water such as rainwater or cond uh condensation based off of the HVAC system. The catch basins um are the surface level drains that collect the water from the HVAC. There are 10 of them around Carolton at this time. So during spring break, one of the first projects will be JRC out at the site drilling the holes, drilling the pits for the dry wells. Next, the also the JRC staff will be on site working throughout the building as part of the preparation process.
131They'll be going room to room and they'll be marking floors. Behind the scenes, there have been a lot of conversation with the principal with uh Dr. Steph Johnson and um staff members concerning storage items and storage of all of the materials and all of the personal items from the teachers at Carolton. Um, at this time, uh, JRC will be coming in and marking off each and every classroom, letting the staff know what side of the classroom they can keep, uh, let's just say boxes and different containers on. So, everything will be uh taken care of. Personal items still will be asked to take home, but those other items in the classroom, desk, chairs, there's going to be an area in the classroom where those items can be stored. So, that also will be going on
132at Carolton Elementary. Next is the upgrading of all lighting in the cafeteria at Windsor Elementary. This is something that already occurred at Carsville Elementary and now we're moving forward uh with Windsor Elementary. Now Windsor Elementary has not seen a significant upgrade since the school was built in 1998. Now over the years, the Lightning have become outdated and now we're looking at renovating that and moving forward. Now, the best part about this project that this is a $20,000 project and it will cost the schools maybe $1,400 to $1,600. Reason why, once again, we have a certified electrician on staff and that will be his primary um job over the break, changing out all of those lights. And then after that, we'll be moving to Carlton to try to do the same thing at Carlton Elementary School.
133Also, as long as we have these assets on um on staff, we will continue to move forward with them. Next is the deep acid cleaning of all bathrooms and sealing of the bathroom floors. Now, a deep acid clean followed by sealing can significantly improve the hygiene by eliminating odors and um historic, let's just say historical bacteria that is in some of the restrooms. So, what we were looking at doing is this over the summer. So, we tried it out at Windsor High School over one of the weekends and it worked uh it worked greatly. So, what we want to do is continue to move forward with this, but we're going to do it over spring break throughout the division. So, acid on all of the floors, acid clean on all the floors, and then sealing
134those floors also. All right. Next is a boiler replacement for Smithville High School Auditorium. this will take place. Uh this became an issue in January uh when we uh received the parts. We just received the parts, so we're going to move forward on that. Then it's the replacement of the faulty water heater at Smithville Middle School. Once again, we just received the parts and this is the perfect time to do it with no students there. Then there's the big item, the milling and paving of the tracks at both Windsor High School and Smithfield High School are scheduled to take place over spring break. In addition, the track reservicing process will follow with the timeline weather dependent. Weather dependent. Um, just as a forecast, we're looking at next week. The it's supposed to rain two of
135those days. And as you already know with the overlay, you cannot lay down the overlay on the paving until you have a clear 7-day window for that. So depending upon what the weather do as stated earlier there might be after spring break we could have two new tracks but it definitely will be done before June 13th. What is the temperature requirement Dr. Coleman? It can't be below it cannot below 50° and um yeah just came below 50° and um the how high it is it doesn't really matter. It can go up to whatever temperature you like but just cannot drop below 50 degrees and it cannot rain at all. I would imagine that's just as frustrating for the people doing the work as it is for West. Absolutely. What we had to do is we
136open up a window from April 4th to April 21st to April 23rd. And they literally have to tag their schedules to do nothing but just wait for this to open up so they can actually do the job. So it slows them down as well as um you know anticipation for them. So during spring break, we're asking that all community members stay off all tracks at this time. Next is the replacement of the skylights and coating of all material metal material roofing at Windsor Haskell. Um this will stop all of the continued leaks that have been occurring in the foyer and the media center. Uh they will be fixed. It's a two-day project. This will occur. Then it's the complete roof replacement scheduled for the section of Smithville High School, Smithville Middle School connecting Smithville High
137School, spanning from the front elevator area to the gym hallway. This will be a seven to a 10day project. So this one will run a little bit outside of the scope of spring break, but will be going on the entire time. So hopefully seven days, but it might run to 10 days. All right. Next is the full repair and relamping of the stadium lighting at Smithville High School fields is underway now. Including this replacement is 63 stadium lights and three damaged ballast. The project will significantly improve field visibility, safety, energy efficiency, and evening events. And now, Mr. Cooper, if you can show those pictures, Mr. Elliot, I just wanted to pinpoint the stadium. These are pictures of the stadium and um each and every individual. This is Smithville High School, but Windsor High School looks
138the same way. That is a beautiful field. This did not look that way all six months ago. And this is the field that we're going to be looking at for probably at the minimum the next 10 to 15 years. And that's what we did last year with the CIP funds. But I really wanted to pinpoint this. I had a lot of community members coming up to me. Uh soccer parents ex um just talking to me about the happiness that they had seeing that the soccer field is completed this way and now with all of the light replacements, this is going to look beautiful under the under the night sky. So that's something that we can really take pride in. So I really wanted to pinpoint that and it was a CIP from last year. So
139really worked out. And you got ABM's doing the maintenance on that field. ABM is doing the maintenance on the field at this time. Coach Dulan, the uh the AD also assists greatly with the with the scheduling of what needs to occur at what time. He really takes it seriously. But yes, thank you. Now, next is the Smithville High School tennis courts. You already know that Windsor High School tennis courts have already been um prepared and already been renovated. Now, Smithville High School tennis courts, there's a drainage issue that has to be uh fixed that that needs to be fixed before we actually start the process of renovating the courts. Um what we're going to do is revert the utility lines was um was routed across the existing tenant cores. Now, over time, the area has
140expended has experienced ground settling issues which have resulted in the formation of those sink holes that you see on that one side of the court. So, we're going to reroute all sewer lines around the tennis courts to ensure that doesn't occur again. So, over spring break, what you will see is the sewer lines being rerouted. And after that, that's when we'll get to the renovation of the court itself. So, it's a little bit different than what we had to do at Windsor, but once again over spring break. All right. Next is the installation of a PA system in the new patient care center, the area that we had a chance to visit. And of course, this is a classroom that didn't have a PA system and um it's needed for hearing all the communication throughout
141the school. So, that will be installed. Um and then of course the uh didn't have a chance to uh update the phase one upgrading of exterior cameras at Windsor Elementary School. That will not occur until the week after. So that's not a spring break project. And then lastly, Carsville Windsor Carlton Elementary School phase one of cafeteria gymnasium projector. Now many of our elementary schools, including Carsville, Windsor, and Carlton lack a dedicated space equipped for large group meetings or presentations involving students, staff, and families. The cafeteria and gymnasium areas serve as the primary gathering spaces in those buildings. Um yet they were not outfitted for the necessary audiovisisual equipment and that's what's being installed in these schools right now to ensure that all schools are equal in that um in that perception. All right. And that
142is all the projects that will be going on during spring break. So it will be very busy around here. Uh be a lot of individuals still working during spring break. You've been busy, Doc. Yes, it's pretty busy. And I just wanted to inform the board of one more incident to just reinforce some other items on our CIP. At 1:20 p.m., transportation received a call um from one of the buses experiencing mechanical issues. Um the bus was uh broke down. It had a mechanical failure on the JRB bridge on the Carolton side. Um, now the bus was returning from Marina's Museum. It was a field trip. Uh, had 28 students and two teachers from Carolton Elementary School. Now, um, Carolton Elementary School was made aware of the matter, dispatch SRO, everyone handled it professionally, went out
143to the scene, and then of course we finally got the bus off. I just want to really emphasize this is the reason why new buses are on the CIP. So that was a 20 minute 25 minute field trip across the JRB and 20 minute back. And if you remember correctly, it was a discussion about charter buses and why Mr. Fe and myself kept saying when you go out of a 60 mile range, you're probably going to need charter buses to go any further because if we start running our buses up and down the roads of that nature, anything could occur. Well, this is a prime example. If a bus breaks down on the JRB bridge, what has to occur is we have to shut the bridge down. Um, you cannot allow those students to get
144off of the bus with the traffic and different things of that nature. So, it turns into a lot bigger situation than you can think of. And that's what we thought we were going to have to do until the uh the bus did manage to get to safety off of the bridge. So, just keep that in mind. You know, the reason why we asked for the things that we do. Do you know what broke? I do not at this time, but I will definitely talk to Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Fe, and I can find out the exact reason for the breakdown on the bus. Never a dull moment. All right, and that is it. If there's any no questions, have a good spring break, docs. Obviously, you're going to be jumping jumping hoops and juggling balls. Thank
145you. I think you're up, Doc Kramer. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good evening, everyone. We will start as we normally do with the acknowledgements of the March Isisle award recipients. So as you see there, thank you Mr. Coot Rider and Mr. Elliot. So top left, the Inspire Isle Award was presented to Q Daddy's Restaurant here in Smithfield for all of their support of our schools. Top right. The Succeed Award was presented to the Smithfield High cheer coach Tara Davis and Smithfield High cheerleaders Leila Kinley Haley and Kamani for working with special needs students to teach them cheers for the Tri Rivers basketball game. And bottom left, the lead award was presented to the Isle Reed volunteers who support our students at Hardy Elementary in the area of literacy. I think there were about 37 of
146those individuals who come into Hardy and work with individual students as needed. And bottom right, the empower award was presented to the James River Mechanical Company for donating pipe to the welding program. And they have promised to continue donating um piping to our welding program as needed. So we greatly appreciate them as well. So, congratulations to our very deserving March Isisle Award recipients and a round of applause for all of these deserving recipients. Moving right along and I'm going to actually uh revise and abbreviate some of these comments because they were spoken to earlier. Uh so, the child nutrition team, I again had the privilege of meeting with the child nutrition department and all of its members on March 31st. uh pleasure meeting with that wonderful group of child nutrition team members. I thank them
147for their support and continue to do so for all that they do for our students and we would not be able to have school without these awesome people. And as I for mentioned they are very pleased to be a part of Isa White and the Isa White family again and not have to support our students and staff through the contracting service that they had. So, I think kudos to you board members for supporting us bringing them back in house. Student advisory board. On March 27th, I met with the superintendent student advisory board uh council members. You saw a few of them here this evening. One of them was our student of the month. Uh it is always a pleasure to meet with this group of talented students. Their active engagement, informed recommendations, and their willingness
148to share ideas and to learn from one another is greatly valued and appreciated. uh they really allow me as superintendent to know what is occurring in our schools from the students perspective and I think everyone will agree with me on the importance of including our students voices in our decisions. Uh won't say very much about the CTE reverse job fair that was mentioned earlier but the second annual career uh and technical education CTE reverse job fair was held on March 26th and 27th. Again, thank you for the board members who were able to come out and support that. Uh, Vice Chair Worster and board member Perkins. Next, transportation barbecue social. The Isa White uh culinary arts program hosted a barbecue social lunch at Turner and 10 for the transportation department on March 26 to show
149support for all that our drivers, mechanics, and transportation department office staff do for our schools. Thank you, culinary arts students and staff for recognizing our hardworking transportation department members for all that they do. Next, our IMTA lab school governing board meeting. The Isle Maritime Trades Academy or IMTA representatives from Isa White County Schools, Camp Community College, Old Dominion University, and Newport News Huntington Engles industry shipyard organizations represent the IMTA board members and staff who met on March 31st at the Camp Community College Smith Midfield location. The IMTA board members and staff discussed the status of the Isle Maritime Trades Academy and the work needed to ensure that we have a successful implementation of the program for this coming school year. Uh the program will launch officially this fall. Uh and again that group is there
150and uh Chair Marsh is a member of that and was at all the meetings and unfortunately wasn't able to be at this meeting but he is our board representative for that group as one of our board members as well. our new teacher cohort on Tuesday, April 8th. It was a pleasure having the opportunity to meet with our new teachers who engaged in reflective discussions and hands-on activities designed to deepen their instructional toolkit. The session highlighted practical techniques that support student engagement, differentiation, and classroom management, leaving teachers feeling inspired and better equipped to implement impactful practices in their classrooms. We have some very talented new teachers in our schools and I thank them for all that they do for our students and um we know that you will bring more of those individuals into the school
151division next year, Mrs. Sullivan. Right. And purple up for military kids. Again, I won't say as much as I was going to say because Mrs. uh Briggs shared some really great information earlier. on yesterday uh Wednesday, April 9th across the Commonwealth, the V, uh Commonwealth of Virginia, uh was the day of purple up for military kids. And we encouraged the entire school community, teachers, principles, students, parents, bus drivers, and other staff to wear purple. And you see staff from around the division in their purple to show support for our military students and to show appreciation for their strength and sacrifices. Purple represents, as Mrs. Brig stated earlier, the colors of the branches of all of the uh branches uh blend it. And here in Isa White County, we are proud to be home to Air
152Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, National Guard, and Reserve families. And as you gentlemen and lady of the school board know much better than I do, that the entire military family makes a sacrifice when a parent serves our country. So, thank you all who wore purple to show support for our military students. And last but not least, visit with the lead program. Just today, April 10th, I had the privilege of helping Mrs. Street recognize our Isle Lead principal pipeline cohort members for preparing teacher leaders to become the next generation of school administrators and/or teacher leaders. As part of their development, uh, cohort members are actively mentoring new teachers, providing guidance, support, and a strong foundation for professional growth. Through this dual role of learner and leader, participants are building essential leadership skills while fostering
153a culture of collaboration and excellence across their schools. And they received beautiful plaques that were made in-house by our students at Smithfield High School. Again, congratulations is lead principal pipeline cohort members. And on a final note, I wish everyone a safe and restful spring break. That concludes the superintendent's update, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Dr. Kramer. Pending other comments, we'll just move forward. Everybody good? Yep. All right. 18.1 action item. No. All right. information personnel report. Yes, sir. Mr. Chair, I move to approve the personnel report and addendum as presented, a copy of which can be obtained from the school board clerk. Second. Motion and a second. Any discussion? hearing none. Madam clerk, Mr. Collic, yes. Mr. Cunningham, yes. Mrs. Perkins, yes. Mr. Worster, yes. And Mr. Marsh, yes. Motion passes. 182. Mr. Chair, I move
154to approve the superintendent's recommendation to reallocate one support position type to another support position type for fiscal year 26. Second. Motion and a second. Any discussion? Hearing none. Madame clerk. Mr. Collic. Yes. Mr. Cunningham? Yes. Mrs. Perkins? Yes. Mr. Worooster? Yes. And Mr. Marsh? Yes. Motion passes. 191. The consent agenda. Mr. Chair, I move to approve the consent agenda as attached and presented. Second. We have a motion and a second. Um, where is it at? Donation memo. Got it. Please bear with me while I rattle this off. Uh, donations this month, Delta Graphic donated two $50 gift cards. It's for our ABCD employee recognition program. MRH Contracting donated $50 gift card. Just incorporated Byron Throne. Three signate rings for the elementary, middle, and high school teachers of the year. Uh nice the Ann Boyer team.
155So professional B boutique of Alawite County Citizens donated 2783 to the 2025 senior class meal debt at Windsor High. And then the Windsor Food Lion donated Valentine sets for the kids at Windsor Elementary. Thank you all for the donations and contributions. Madame Clerk, Mr. Collic, yes. Mr. Cunningham, yes. Mrs. Perkins, yes. Mr. Worster, yes. And Mr. Marsh, yes. Motion passes. 20.1 is regulation forformational. Sullivan. Uh, yes. So, um, justformational on page four of the regulation. And the only update that has been made um prior to March, um employees that passed away in service and those retiring in service were paid out for their leave the same. Um and that payout is $30 a day uh per a sick leave. um unless you are a 12-month employee that has vacation leave. And with that, you can
156you can acrue and maintain up to 30 days and you get paid out at your hourly rate for those vacation days if you retire. Um but your sick leave is the same in that it's $30 a day up to $250 a day. So it's a max of $7,500. And so the adjustment made is that that is the same for retirees, but if there is an employee who um passes away or during service that their sick leave will be paid out at the hourly rate of that employee, but it's still a maximum of $7,500, which allows us to still budget appropriately. Um the difference for treating for the reason for treating that differently is the difference between being able to prepare and make a choice about leaving your position um with your making that decision about
157how you utilize that sick leave before you leave. if we have many retirees will make a choice about whether they would re rather take the time prior to retiring or to get that check lump sum at the end where someone who passes in service does not have the opportunity to make that choice or their beneficiaries. And so um we felt that that was a good way to support our employees families um in the unfortunate situation that that occurs. But the cap allows us to still budget appropriately for that. Right. comments. Thank you, ma'am, for putting that together and the explanation. Okay, we're getting close, people. 211 board comments. Who wants to go first? Not even nine o'clock. Come on. Yeah, I'll go ahead and go. I just want to build on uh what Miss Street
158was talking about the CTE program or the PCT PCT students. Um today I was actually afforded the opportunity of teaching the EKG program. And let me tell you, those students catch on quick. They're on the ball. The only thing I would have to say to them if they were listening or listen after this is recorded, do not second guessess yourself. They have the tools in the toolbox to identify the portions of a rhythm, determine if it's normal or abnormal, and then make an interpretation. I was very impressed, and I'm very glad that I got to spend the hour and a half with them today that I did going over EKGs and interpretations. Thank you, sir. Anybody else? No. Go ahead. Well, I have to correct something I said earlier. It's no longer Fort Lee. It
159is now Fort Greg Adams. When I was talking about the Military Culinary Arts School, it's Fort Greg Adams in Petersburg, Virginia. Uh also I just uh it was touching uh on the 3rd of April I attended the uh celebration of life for uh Mr. uh Floyd and uh very touching ceremony. Uh he will be missed greatly. It's all I have. Thank you. Thank you sir. Miss Perkins. Uh, the only thing I'll add is that I attended my first CEP, Southeastern Cooperative Education Program and Governor School for the Arts board meetings a couple weeks ago with Dr. Kramer. Uh, both were very eyeopening experiences. I've read about CEP, listening to it, seen it up close and personal. Few close session meetings we've had since then. It's uh I tip my hat to the sees folks. So,
160I'll just leave it at that. And then the Governor School for the Arts. Uh Doc, thanks for introducing me to the director of that program. I look forward to getting down there and taking a tour. And it's another one of those things I think a lot of people just don't really know about. It's a It's a pretty neat opportunity and we're fortunate to have it. That's all I got. Anybody else? All right. Appreciate everybody's support and uh have a good spring break.