001There's more structural. Okay, it is 6:59. Let's go ahead and call this meeting to order with a reminder to silence electronic devices, please. Also reminder that this meeting is both being video and audio recorded. Um, Mr. Laurier, may I get a roll call, please? Yes, chairman. Mr. Paul Alexander here. Dr. Shante Jones here. Mr. Michael Cummings here. Mr. Zack Graham here. Chair Ellen Sabodnik is absent tonight. Thank you, ma'am. All right. Um, can I get a Assuming everyone has reviewed the consent agenda, can I get a motion, a second for the consent agenda, please? Motion to approve the consent agenda. Second. Motion a second. All in favor? Pledge of allegiance. Oh, hey, there we go. Let's do that, too. I'm really trying to move along. Yeah, you are. That's why I was Thank you. All
002right. Well, then Mr. Cummings care. Hey, you're welcome. The pledge of allegiance. All right. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Thank you, sir. Now, consent agenda. All right. Can I get a motion to second again? Move to approve the consent agenda. Okay. A second. Second. Motion a second. All in favor? I. I. Okay. Moving on to superintendent spotlights and announcements, please. Okay. Chairman, we have a full house of spotlights tonight. So, I'm going to ask Dr. Gracer to come forward and get us started um as some of our our students have a seat. Yes, good timing. All right, good evening, Chair Alexander, members of the board. We have
003a pretty awesome spotlight tonight as we approach the end of the school year. So, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did as I was reading about some of these students who've just joined us in the room. Uh, we are going to start with some recognitions around some art contests. And I'm actually talking about I think three different art contests that we had students recognized in all three of them. So we're going to go ahead and start with um the Prince William County's fifth annual Law Day art contest. On May 1st, 2025 at 6 PM, Jacqueline Smith, clerk of the 31st Circuit Court, held the fifth annual law day award ceremony in the atrium of the third floor of the judicial center. The event celebrated students illustration of the theme, the constitution's
004promise, out of out of many one. Several young artists receive recognition and prizes for their work. Clerk Smith's annual art contest integrates civics and artistic expression. The contest provides local students with a unique and interactive platform to illustrate the role of law while encouraging thoughtful civil discourse. So, here are some pictures from that evening. We want to congratulate in fifth place. There we had Hannah from Manasses Park Middle School, seventh grade student, and this was her interpretation of the theme, the Constitution's promise, out of many, one. And that is her with Jacqueline Smith as well. And so, um, Hannah, I believe, is here tonight. So, Hannah, if you want to come on up, why don't you have a seat right here, and we're gonna take a picture. We'll go all together at the end. So,
005you can stay right there with me. All right. Next up, okay, we're going to move on to the Prince William County Youth Art Contest winners. So, we want to say congratulations to Fabiano and Sebastian for winning Prince William County's youth art contest. This was an art contest to help raise awareness about problem gaming and gambling involving youths. Both the winning artists are from Manasses Park City Schools. Their paintings were on the first floor inside of the library for viewing throughout April. Both of the winners were from Manassus Park City Schools. Um, so what you see there is Sebastian in seventh grade. That is called Monster. And then the other one is Boy at Computer. Well, you can probably tell which is which in looking at that. And I don't know if Sebastian or Fabiano's here.
006Yep. Oh, Fabiano's here. And Seb Oh, come on up. Have a seat right here. [Applause] We're still on art. This is great. All right. Next up, the VSBA Regional Spring Network Forums Art Contest. Each spring at the Virginia School Boards Association, the VSBA Regional Spring Networking Forums, an art contest is held to showcase art from the region. Each school division submits elementary, middle, and high school entry. The artwork is judged and artwork selected for first place is shared throughout the year with the membership and spotlighted at the annual convention. So, we do have I'm gonna start with let's see Fabiano's here, right? Okay. Did you also do George Washington? Yes. Okay. So, Fabiano, who we just saw honored in the last contest, Fabiano won two art contests. George Washington. Everybody see George Washington. Fabiano, you
007hold this. And then we also have Emil 11th grade. I don't think Emil's with us, but this is Emil's black and white sketch. And then what you see up on the screen there, we don't have this final submission because we have um Russ in eighth grade. Russell won first place in the middle school category for VSBA art contest. And this is called The Muse Beneath Venus's Echo. I think I said that correctly. So, when you win first place, they actually take your um artwork and they take it on to the state contest. Um so, this will be competing statewide. And I think Do we have Oh, come on up. So, we want to say congratulation to all of our artists. You know, we often talk about how important it is to have um arts and
008music and theater and sports and things in our school that keep our students engaged and balance out the academic demands that we have. Um and I think it's awesome to see how much talent we have out in our schools. So, we want to say congratulations to all of our winners. You guys are going to come up here and we're going to take a picture with Chair Alexander. Congratulations, gather around Mr. Alexander and yes Come on. Do it. Do it. Come on. Okay, you can go on back to wherever you're sitting now. You don't have to stay up here with [Applause] me. Okay, we are going to switch gears now into esports. Uh, V, our varsity esports team recently won the VHSL spring championship for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, one of three games offered under VHSL.
009So, a little bit about esports. Esports refers to structured, organized video game competition similar to traditional sports where students compete in teams and individual matches. The Virginia High School League, VHSL, officially sanctioned esports in 2019 as a pilot program partnering with Play VS, an esports platform. The pilot program focused on games like League of Legends, Smite, and Rocket League. Esports requires a tremendous amount of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity from player from the players to achieve and sustain success. Engaged students perform better in school. Esports has the unique ability to appeal to and engage to a wider audience. For many of our players, esports is the first time they participated in a coached and athletic activity. And so, we are joined by I think I saw the trophy in the picture somewhere out there.
010And we are joined by Coach Carmines, I believe, is here. Coach Lumpkin. And if you guys want to come up and introduce um the people that you brought with you, the students you brought with you, I'd love for you to do that. Come on up. Should I call on Do I have to call on you? Should it be Mr. Lumpkin? Do you want to nominate him to introduce? I have names, but I don't have enough names as you have students. So, you're going to have to tell me the names. And you guys come on up. We're going to take a picture with all of you. Thank you. It's a it's an honor to be here. Um this is a great year for us. Um it's our third year in the program and it's our first
011time bringing home a trophy. So hopefully there are many more to come. Uh let's start with our our team captain of the year, Daniel. Um we are also joined by Dylan. uh the second of three members on our championship team. Unfortunately, Matthew was unable to join us. Um but we also have in attendance Gabriel and Roert who have been very integral members of our other comp uh competing teams. Um we're looking forward to a long period of growth and uh broadening of the of the teams and offerings that we have. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Stay right there. really tall. All right. Ready? One, two, three. Thank you so much. Thank you for introducing me. Okay, next up. All right, now we are going to move on to our Manasses Park High School Future Business
012Leaders of America, FBLA club did it again this year. Out of 36 participants who were sent to regional competitions, 21 qualified for the state event in a variety of categories ranging from assorted flavors of business design to hardcore coding and programming. The state event held in Reston saw six students placing second and fourth place qualifying for national composi competitions whereas seven other students positioned fifth in three distinct categories. So we want to say congratulations to our winners who did a terrific job maintaining the school's excellent reputation within the FBLA community. And we have some pictures here. I don't know if anybody made it from FBLA tonight. Um but Mr. Barbuza, who runs our FBLA club, did submit these pictures um so that you all can see um that once again they performed really well at
013competition this year. So, we want to say congratulations to our [Applause] FBLA. Okay, we're going to keep moving. All right, teacher appreciation. So, staff and teacher appreciation week um was this month in May. that is kind of our biggest recognition for our uh staff members uh throughout the year. And so we decided this year to do something a little bit different. It's really hard to recognize 600 people at once. Um so actually Dr. Saunders decided to let our community start to do some shoutouts for our staff members. And we put out a link um we put it out through social media. We put it out through email and we said, "Hey, if you want to thank a teacher, a staff member, write in a little bit of something and we're going to post it every
014single day of the month throughout May." And the last I checked we had 171 responses which is amazing. And you know what we saw is that we shared it out and at first you have a few people kind of coming in and then people started sharing that out for us. Um and they just started coming in and coming in and I've really enjoyed reading all of them. So these are just a few to put out there. Um we've had everything from teachers to custodial crew to nursing to office staff. We had so many come in in Spanish. Um it was just it's really great to read them. So, if you have a free moment, you want to scroll through our Facebook page, you can look back and see. We've been posting probably about three a
015day, maybe sometimes four, and we're going to save some of these and use them for some of our end of the year activities as well. Okay, next up, we want to recognize our VSBA business honor role. So, VSBA, the Virginia School Boards Association, recognizes businesses on the honor role who partner with school divisions to do some awesome things in our schools. So tonight we're talking about capital caring and we have Lisa Wolf here with us who and well could you come up and introduce is going to come up and introduce um our representative from capital caring and uh say a few words about what they do in our schools. We just came from the CNA graduation is that CN Capstone Capstone presentation. It was excellent. We got to hear about all the work that our
016CNA students are doing in the school. Um some in partnership with Capitol Caring Lisa. Thank you. Um, I I am very pleased tonight to present this honor to Capitol Caring Health for their partnership with our nurse aid program. Manassus Park High School's nurse aid program is what I believe it is certainly the only in Northern Virginia, possibly the only one across the Commonwealth and larger that is a high school program that offers their clinical site as an inpatient hospice facility. And we are able to offer that unique program to our students because of our partnership with Capital Caring Health. And so with us tonight is Mr. Steve Cohen. Dr. Mr. I got it right. Mr. Steve Cohen on behalf of Capital Caring to accept this honor and our gratitude for their partnership. Great. Thank you.
017We do want to present you with this certificate if you'd like to. Yeah, sure. Thank you very much. Um, Steve cone like ice cream cone. So, um, three quick things. First, uh, Capital Caring Health, uh, is the largest not for-profit hospice provider on the East Coast, and we were the first to start the hospice movement in the United States back in 1977. So, we're now in our 48th year, and we love our partnership with Manasses High School and the nursing program, and I can tell you that maybe some of you saw um a news article last week, I think it was that I think was in the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post that said that over the next five years, 40% of nurses are either retiring or leaving the profession. A lot of
018them are boomers like myself who after 30 or 40 years of working, they're retiring. But in any event, we have a nursing shortage in this country. Uh, and it's only going to get worse. And it's hopefully through programs like this that we can turn the tide of that and get more young people interested in the nursing profession so that we can we can continue our mission of caring for people at the end of life. uh regardless of um race, gender, or ability to pay. Uh no one gets a bill and we care for everyone in our service area. They don't even have to be an American citizen. So, and we rely on uh our nursing staff for the vast majority of our clinical care. So, I really appreciate this recognition and honor and thank you
019very much. We didn't do the picture. Sorry. Come on. Yeah. Sure. [Applause] and finally tonight. Um, it's good problem to have when you have so many things to spotlight in an evening. Can't complain about that. Uh, we want to take a moment to recognize our teacher of the year nominees for this year. um they've got about two and a half weeks of school left, so they're out running around preparing for their class tomorrow, but we do plan to recognize them formally at our staff end of the year ceremony as well. Um but I want to take a moment tonight to tell you about our teacher of the year. The Cougar Teacher of the Year nominee and also the Manasses Park City Schools winner for this year was Ally Koigber. Miss Koigberg is doing an outstanding
020job with her students and is an exemplary first grade teacher. Her dedication and passion for her students success are evident in her positive and enthusiastic approach to teaching. Miss Kay is exceptionally kind and consistently goes above and beyond to meet her students and individuals needs, ensuring not only academic progress, but also fostering their growth as well-rounded learners. And these are just little excerpts we took from um some of their letters of recommendation. Next up, from Manasses Park Elementary School, the nominee this year is Danielle Knap. Miss Knop always goes above and beyond for her teachers and her colleagues. In her second year as team lead, she puts in countless hours outside of school and during school, helping her fellow teachers better be able to give meaningful instruction. She is always thinking of new ways to
021accommodate and enrich her students, meeting all of them where they are and guiding them to better understanding across all subject areas. In the middle there from the middle school, we have Kendall Bolt. Kendall has proven to go out of her way not just for students, but for her co-workers as well. She continues to work with those around her to better the science department for her kids. I've worked closely with her and have witnessed how she guides students depending on their needs and wants. She does an exceptional job being the science lead at the middle school. And finally, from Manasses Park High School, Amelia Lily. Miss Lily goes above and beyond in the truest sense of the phrase. She thrives with students of all levels and excels at scaffolding information to help each of her kiddos
022grow. Her love for her students is palpable and Manasses Park High School is lucky to have her and her expertise. She has truly made a difference for our kids. So, we want to say congratulations to all of our teacher of the year nominees this year. And that concludes our spotlight this evening. Super. Last one. Superintendent's announcements. Yes. All right. Yes, chairman. There are superintendent announcements today. I'm going to turn it over to uh Rachel Kirkland, who's our executive director of the Bell uh foundation, and uh she's going to share with the board and the community our uh leadership cohort that we are trying to start up this year. So, um Miss Kirkland, turn it to you. Thank you. All right. Um, Chairman Alexander, um, school board, Dr. Saunders, thank you so much for having me
023this evening. Um, I wanted to, this is an idea that I've had for a very long time, and it's one that's stolen from Manasse City, specifically from, uh, their former associate superintendent, um, the parent leadership cohort. Thank you. Um, parent community leadership cohort. Um it aligns to our strategic plan. Um you know cultivating a positive and purposeful learning environment where students engage. Um but we also need to engage our families, our community. And that really is some of the thinking behind this. Um it is a free 10-month learning experience for parents, guardians, and community members. um that they can come and meet with our content specialists, you know, our leadership here in the division and explore all aspects of a school system um through some engaging sessions where they will get a chance to tap
024into the experience that we have here, learn about how things are done in Virginia, how things are done in Manasses Park, everything from budgeting to curriculum to to governance. Um Mr. Mr. Alexander, you will be getting your invitation to this very shortly. Um, why this matters. I have long felt a need um that there is a need in this community um to put clear, concise information out there to engage people who might be hesitant to step into leadership roles, the PTSO, the school board. Um we have a lack of booster clubs at the high school. Um, my hope is to create a pipeline of informed, empowered community advocates who will come out and support this school system in whatever way they feel comfortable. Um, currently we have about four applicants and two more have contacted
025me. I'm hoping to get a cohort of around 10, but those people, some of them have children in school still, some of them have recent graduates and they just want to give back. Um, this program is open to residents of Manasses Park, people who are invested in our school community, um, with the hope that they will come and serve in some capacity, um, or at least be part of the constructive conversation that exists here in the community surrounding our schools. This is an overview of uh, what our plans are. As I said, it really does kind of engage everything from um special programs to budgeting to governance. September 30th, keep that on your calendar. Um culminating at the end of the year with a May graduation where they will come to be presented to you
026probably as part of a spotlight or um something similar. So, the participants will get a deeper understanding of how schools operate. I think we're very unique here in so many of our people on our school board have a background in education, but from 15 years being on the school board, I can tell you that's not always the case. And rare was it. I think only one person did I ever look out and see come to meetings prior to their appointment. That would have been you, Mr. Alexander. Um, this is another way to to provide them with the back provide people with the background to step into leadership roles. Um it'll help them build connections with school staff, parents, and other community leaders and hopefully will be kind of a springboard to action moving forward uh
027for our schools in our city. I think this is going to help with trust and uh transparency. I I think an informed uh an informed community that can discuss information. We we all know the community forum and Bloom's page all lots of conversations go on online but they don't have a great background of information um at the base of it and this will at least educate some people to kind of get that conversation going. Um, but it will lead to a stronger b uh pool of schoolboard candidates in the future, even potentially city candidates for our office as well as volunteers and leaders in different aspects of the school division. And I think it will just ultimately connect us and the community more together. Um, as I mentioned, we I've had four people apply, two
028have reached out. One of those applicants is actually in the room, so I'm very happy to see you, Dr. Hayford. Um, the application is live right now. It closes June 1st. I've been pushing it out um periodically on my uh Facebook page for Belle. Uh, what you could do to help me is if you could share that knowledge from Belle to your social media um platforms, that would be a huge help to get the word out about this. Um, and of course I am here for any questions that anyone has about the program. And that is what I brought you for today. Thank you, Miss Kirkland. Appreciate your time. Chairman, we have one more um superintendent's announcement, but I'm going to pass that over to you. All right. Thank you, Dr. Sers. Thank you, Mr.
029Kirkland, by the way. So, um this is the time of year where um as we this is the last meeting before graduation where we get to give our represented senior on the board the tassel that only she gets to wear that no other student at Manasses Park gets to wear during graduation. Crystal's been with us for two years. She's this is the last of our our first class. So, um she's been an amazing addition to the board. Um sad to see her go. We know she's going to go on to bigger and better things. Um so Crystal, thank you so much for everything you've done. Do we need to do a photo? We could just handing off. [Applause] Okay, everybody. There we go. It's like you should have mixed that up. [Music] All right. One,
030two, three. It's great. [Applause] All right, moving on to public comments. Yes, Mr. Lori, do we have anyone signed up for public comments? Yes, chairman, Miss Don Hayford. All right. Um, so going into public comment, let me go ahead and read the instructions. Individuals who wish to address the school board during public comments uh should sign at the list maintained at the desk in front of the school board clerk prior to the start of the board meeting. Each person is to provide their name and Manasses Park address or staff job title and work location. Each person is allotted three times minutes to make comments. Um and the board will not give feedback upon your comments uh or questions during the public comment time. Should your comments warn a response, Dr. Shaunis will work with staff
031to address the comments and concerns. uh questions raised and will provide a response in a timely fashion. Thank you. Um good evening members of the board. My name is Dr. Don Hayford and I am a mother of four children in Manasses Park City Schools including Manasses Park Middle School, Manasses Park Elementary School and Cougar Elementary School. Have two at Cougar right now. Um thank you Mr. Alexander for your response to my concerns about attendance policies and excessive absence letters. While I appreciate the explanation of state code and the school status attend platform, I feel the real world burdens these policies place on families were not fully addressed. First, the state's definition of chronic absenteeism, missing 18 days or 10% of the school year sounds alarming, but doesn't necessarily reflect a problem, especially for students with
032strong academic records. I've received excessive absence letters for three of my four children across various school years, even though they all excel in class, read well above grade level, and perform well on standardized tests. Second, the distinction between excused and unexcused absences seems meaningless. Recently, for Take Your Child to Work Day, my son at Manasses Park Elementary was marked unexcused. while the same absences for my other children at Cougar and the middle school were excused. This inconsistency combined with the fact that all absences count toward the same threshold makes the distinction confusing and frustrating for families. Third, requiring doctor's notes after eight absences creates both financial and practical hardships. For families without insurance or facing potential Medicaid cuts, doctor's visits are costly or inaccessible. Parents must also take time off work, often unpaid or using
033precious paid time off, just to get documentation for illnesses that are already communicated to the school. Finally, school status attend claims to be able to integrate with student records and data. This should be used more effectively to include students performance data and personalized notifications and interventions. I have shared these concerns with our state representatives because this is not just a local issue. I urge the board to trust parents, focus interventions on students truly at risk, and review attendance policies and procedures to ensure they support, not penalize families doing their best. Thank you for your time. Thank you, ma'am. Okay. U moving on to new business. Uh student services, cell phone free education. Chairman, I'd like to call forward uh Dr. Marberry and um Mr. Forest to share an update on the cell phone free education.
034Uh we've talked about this earlier in the year and so they're just going to talk about where we are at this point um and share some information about what to expect at uh Manasses Park High School next year. Thank you, Dr. Saunders. Good evening, Chairman Alexander and members of the board. As uh Dr. Saunders just reviewed, Mr. Force and I are pleased to provide an update on uh two different items as we continue to implement necessary steps towards providing a cell phone free education. So, as with everything that we implement, the updates that we will be providing you tonight are really rooted in our strategic plan and our focus tonight will really center with pillar three of creating safe spaces. So, this is kind of an overview of um a timeline of how we've been
035implementing cell phone free education within our school division, but then also um the guidance that's been provided at the state level. So, our focus on providing a cell phone for education initially came from our governor's orders over the summer, this past summer, requiring the implementation of cell phone for education in K12 public schools in Virginia. Student mental health concerns were the main driving factor that was cited for implementing immediate action for cell phone bans within our schools. As you can see presented here, we as a school division have taken immediate action to comply with the executive order by participating in statewide conversations, implementing cell phone and personal electronic device regulations, researching secure cell phone storage options, and also the board has taken action in passing policy to guide how we will address personal electronic devices
036within our schools. As a part of our ongoing conversations, research and data tracking regarding cell phone usage in our schools, we came to realize that a different approach was needed specifically at Manassesburg High School. So, Mr. Force will present in just a few minutes on what the new cell phone procedures will look like and as implementation continues at the start of next school year for the 2526 school year. Um, I wanted to highlight our current regulation as it relates to um, cell phones and earbuds, wireless earbuds and health um, headphones. Um, pictured here is our current JFCRR regulation. And this will be updated to reflect our current expectations at Manasses Park High School where they will join the elementary schools and the middle school with detailed information expecting um that devices will be off and
037away from the beginning of the school day to the end of the school day. So, this will be one update to this regulation that we're working through that I wanted to highlight today. And additionally, uh, we wanted to continue the conversation, um, as it relates to, um, adding some details to our regulation. So, some of the feedback that we received from the board, um, was wanting to really specify a language that spoke to privacy and respect as it related to devices. And so, you'll see here some um, language. Again, this is proposed, but just continuing that conversation of detailing um, expectations for students. on how to appropriately utilize their devices outside of those beginning and end of the school day times. So whether it's during um activities after school, sporting events, um dances, things of
038that nature. Um some feedback that we received was wanting some verbiage to detail the prior uh approval from administration and staff members of when it's appropriate to have permission to take photos and videos of others. And then lastly, certainly there's going to be cases where we have emergency situations. You know, unfortunately, they they happen. And um we also received feedback that it was important to include in our regulations language that spoke to um permission for students in these emergency situations to use their devices. So, if there's a situation where we're requiring first responders, we're reaching out for the support in an emergency situation. We wanted to give um give grace and understanding to students that they would not need to be worried about any type of disciplinary action if they were using their cell phone
039to reach out in emergency situation. So you'll see those two um proposed um additions to the regulation presented there and then we are going to transition now to the focus on the high school. Mr. Forest, thank you. Um so as we looked at some of the regulations and of course the intent behind uh the cell phone policy um a vendor who has u kind of risen to the forefront for a lot of schools um has been Yonder. Yonder first started in the entertainment industry and then has transitioned into schools of just being able to come up with a real solid plan of how can we uh help support our students with keeping those cell phones away um throughout the whole day and not just between the instructional periods. So, um, we're going to try cross
040our fingers that this works. Um, but there is a introductory interview that Yonder, uh, has put together that shows a little bit of their philosophy behind it and then what the school day would look like with the Yonder pouch. If we are able to click Educators around the world are seeing the damaging effects of phones on student engagement, social development, and mental health. Cell phones have been linked to many of the district's recent problems. Texting, tweeting, cases of anxiety and depression, bullying, staging fights, and filming fights. In an effort to crack down on cell phone usage, the district piloted these magnetic locking bags called Yonder. It's an easy solution for a generation in the midst of a mental health crisis. Yonder is the established leader in creating phone free schools. For over 10 years, our
041product and program has allowed students to experience the focus, creativity, and relief that comes from a phone free school day. As students enter school, they place their phone in their assigned yonder pouch. They close and secure their pouch, keeping it with them throughout the day. When leaving school, students tap their pouch on an unlocking base to retrieve their phone. Yonder is used by millions of students every day across 26 countries. Our school partners report having more teaching time in the classroom, improved student safety and wellness, better student engagement, student behavior, and academic performance. Creating Phone-free Schools is a community initiative. Our comprehensive program provides support to our school partners from start to finish with step-by-step guidance, parent communication materials, policy development, and proven expertise to ensure everyone understands the difference a phone-free education can make.
042It's amazing to see kids come to school and not have to worry about that phone going off or them being bullied by someone else on social media. It was kind of um annoying at first, but then I saw like the difference between like my old school and this school. I see more people like interacting rather than being on their phone. Like especially at lunchtime and break time, they are way more engaged. Everyone's happier. It's night and day. I saw kids faces again. [Music] He's okay. Thank you, Matt. long. Oh, he's got All right. So, I'll fast forward here. So, um you got a little bit of that visual aspect of what it'll look like. Actually, today we finalized our order with Yonder. Um in doing so, they have provided quite a few resources for us
043that we'll begin to sort through um some best practices at other schools and how they're implementing it. Um but as you saw in the video, um that students, they'll turn off their phones to place them in the pouch. Um, and then that there's a magnetic lock on that pouch. Um, so that students can put it in their backpacks and they will be able to carry their device with them throughout the whole school day. And then at the end of the day, they will be able to unlock their device or excuse me, the pouch um at the end of the school day to be in order to retrieve their um their electronics or their cell phone, AirPods, whatever the case may be. So, as you can imagine, there's a lot of logistics that will be involved
044with that, especially as we have three different entrances and exit exits to the high school. Um, and so part of that order that we have with Yonder is making sure that we have those unlocking bases for our students um as they come into the into the building and as they exit as well. So, um kind of where are we now and we're developing these policies. We do have a committee of teachers and staff um to help think through the logistics of what we are doing. Um some of the questions that we've encountered and also Yonder has helped us to think through is that what happens if a student does forget their pouch. Um we will have some storage areas in the main office um and with our new dean at the high school um that
045those devices can be stored. Um, if it turns out that the reason why consistently a student does not have a pouch because it's been damaged or it's been lost, um, then there will be a replacement cost for that. Um, and we will work with those families. Um, Yonder has also given us some information on what to look for. Um, we know that this is not a foolproof system. Um, but what happens if students try to access um, their cell phone throughout the day um, and doing so that they damage the yonder pouch? So they've given us some guidelines of what to look for and how to make sure that the pouches that they do work. So we'll be working with communicating with our students and with our families as well on how to take care
046of um their pouches um so that they are not damaged and then what happens if it happens uh during the school day where a student does um unlock their pouch without permission or in the process they end up damaging their pouch as well. So we will follow um our disciplinary consequences a little bit similar to what we have this year um but of course at Yonder Pouch um we'll add a different element into our discipline processes. The question always comes up even now when we have students who uh have their cell phones away during instructional period um what if a parent needs to get a hold of their student? Um, we'll definitely still make the front office available where parents they can call in and we can have our students report to the office to
047speak with their parent or vice versa. If a student needs to get in contact with their parent, um, they'll be able to come to the main office as well. For those students who have either a medical plan or educational plan, um, we do have some special pouches for them as well and we will certainly work with those plans to make sure that we're adhering to um, those policies that are set in place for them. And of course any school emergency, we will continue to follow our protocols um to address any of those things. So what are our next steps? With our order coming in with information that Yonder has given us, we've kind of broken it down into these areas. Um obviously communication with our students, communication with our families is extremely important. So our
0489 through 11th grade uh students will need to know exactly what the expectation is. Um and of course open house will be another great time that we can give visual demonstrations to our families as well. So our committee is looking um at all of these policies and procedures with arrival and with dismissal. Um that is something that we'll also spend a lot of time in August as our staff returns back to the building uh to make sure that we um have a plan that plan fully implemented in place. Um and then the just logistics of the very first day of assigning those pouches. We will start on day one with making sure that our students do have those pouches um and we will address that in their classes on the very first day as well.
049Um one of the things that um Yonder has recommended is to do pouch checks periodically. So you'll you'll increase in frequency in the first couple weeks of school. Um and then we will spot check um randomly different um classrooms um in different periods and different blocks as well um so that students know um exactly what that level of expectation is and also that we can work with our staff um during this process as well. Um, of course going back to that communication piece um over the summer and and before we release from school this uh year, we'll definitely um have information for parents, have information for students on what that will look like and make sure that we update uh any of our handbooks or any of our U policies as well. And that is
050what yonder pouches will look like at Manassa Park High School. Who wants to go first? I can I just have one quick question. Did we do like a pilot or are we just jumping all in? So, um they did give us several of their uh resources to take a look at both the pouches and the unlocking bases. Um and so in some of our leadership teams, some of our department chair meetings, some of our faculty meetings, um uh we've had staff and um take a look at it um and and um visualize what that would exactly look like, what that process might be. Um as far as implementing it with say a set classroom or with a wing of the building, that has not been done. Um but we have shared it with our staff
051to get their feedback. Okay, good. I'm formulating the question. Uh, so, so looking here at the privacy and respect for others, understand fully um, you know, I see taking photos of all school property, just school related activities. Can you kind of talk a little bit about the kind of the I'm thinking things like sporting events, right? Taking photos of sporting events, you know, theater, concerts, all the above kind of would would be covered under this. Um, you know, field trips kind of. Can you talk through kind of the practicality of um you know the necessity, the enforcement, kind of what led you to to go this way? Um can I I'm going to add on to because this is what I I emailed the same question this morning about that. Um that's the one area
052where I know this is a draft like Dr. Marberry said. I personally would like to see some clarification there especially around like you know kids at homecoming court are going to take photos of the homecoming court like that's you know and to think that they're not it's crazy. So like I'd like to try to get a little more structure. I know the sentiment of where that's coming from and what we're trying to get to with that statement. And I just was trying to figure to to Zach's point exactly what were the same exact thing the practice and if I'm addressing your question correctly this so this would be during the instructional day right from the um this policy would go into place when students enter the building for the school day and then when they
053exit. So those sporting events or those activities or concerts, you know, that occur outside of our normal school hours, um students would have obviously access to their cell phones and be able to implement and and use them um you know, for those activities. I think they're referencing the the uh you're referencing photos without prior approval from an administrator or staff. Yes. So I think so that was dived actually from um feedback that we received from the regulation and trying to um find specific language um that was that was a little more uh focused for students. We've definitely had some instances where there have been pictures that have been taken or videos usually with uh the best of intentions but without the consent of the student and so we were trying to find language to address
054that that would be in the regulation. We already have language um to that effect within our code of conduct. So we kind of also elevated it within the regulation to just draw further attention to it. But we certainly can look at providing some more detail to it so that it reads more clearly. I'd be just so that we don't have to you know read well the code of context says bell to bell but here this says like to me if I see district related activities I just think in general that's anything. Yep. So for me it'd be I'd have a higher level of comfort knowing that it's called out in this policy as well that it's a bell-to-bell kind of set of criteria on top of that. Yep. Okay. So I have a question specifically
055around the medical aspects of the pouch how those would work. Um specifically looking at students with type 1 diabetes that use their phone to monitor their uh glucose. It's a great question. Yeah, absolutely. And and as I said, those um students that have a health plan or have a learning plan um their pouches would look a little bit different. So, for example, um especially with a medical plan, they have more of a Velcro than they do with a lock, a magnetic lock. So, it allows easier access um if they do rely upon their device for any kind of health um concerns. Okay. So, there's a lot of trust there as well. Right. So, exactly. Um just thinking ahead um that particular students are breaking that trust uh is there an action plan who uh that
056they would follow so that they still have use when needed but you know so correct. So even right now I mean we obviously have students who um as you gave an example have diabetes or use um some kind of monitor on their cell phone and we have certainly communicated with parents um and if a student needs to you know access their device during in the instructional period um now and it's for that reason um teachers are aware and so that way that they can support that student on the other hand if that student does uh take advantage uh of that um we've had those conversations with student and parent as well. Um so a lot of it is knowing our students right um and um making teachers aware as well um as those students and
057we do that with all of our students with their health plans um or with their learning plans as well that teachers know what those accommodations are um how can we support those accommodations um but yet when um we need to enforce our policies that we're able to do so as well. Okay. Um, so to to Mr. Cummings's point, I've we've looked at Yonder for several years, and I know even from talking with them, they've been clear that this is just to help. This gets you to 90% so that way you can focus on the 10% that are violating the rule because, you know, you're never going to get 100% with any solution. This just makes monitoring the solution more manageable. So, I think it's all good. It's a good expectation to set. Um I I
058there was references in there to taking care of the pouches. I guess what I'm was question related to is since there's a fee associated with loss or with damage um aside obviously, you know, tearing it apart to get to your phone, but are there things like I'm just thinking like, you know, it's in somebody's, you know, baseball, you know, gym bag all day and by the end of the year this thing just is ripe. Like I mean are we are there ways to take care are there thing are these bags being reused like are the seniors turning theirs in and some poor person is going to get that that yonder pouch next year or is they is you know like how is that kind of move? Yeah I I would be a little bit surprised
059that uh a yonder pouch would last the four years and then being able to implement for a fifth year to to someone else. Um so care of the pouch is something we will definitely um with our deployment um talk to our students about um as well and um you know especially while their device is in it. I'm sure they're going to take great care you know of that pouch perhaps once uh with their device is out of it. Um and Yonder does have some recommendations. Um they do recommend if you saw from the video in the picture that there is a little pin u that you push into that helps seal and lock the that magnet. Um, and they do talk about that once it's even empty, it is a good idea to go ahead
060and close that pouch um, so that pin cannot be bent and it does help um, protect the integrity of the pouch. So, um, they do give some recommendations on best ways to take care of their pouch. And one of the conversations that we've had with our committee of staff is like from day one um, you know, how do we label it for students so students clearly know that this is theirs? Um and so that if you're in a class of 25 students that it doesn't get um into some kind of mix or it's easy um for students to be able to claim the pouch that they've been assigned. You just answered my next question. Yes. So we've talked about two different ways. Um you know students they do have an ID card. Um we can
061even print those for them. A temporary one does have a a nice little clear window where you can slide like a business card or you can slide an ID that's in there. Um, so we've talked about doing that from day one and maybe even going a little bit old school as well of teachers having Sharpies and you open up the flap and you write your name on there or you write your student number. Um, so I think you know more ways that we can have students uh kind of claim and make sure that theirs is easily identified. My just from my own personal I was kind of I was going back to when we issue Chromebooks and all the AC adapters started growing legs. Uh so just kind of thinking you know something that's permanently
062marked on there. So even so that siblings don't take the wrong one, those kind of things. So yeah, so that's something early on we talked about maybe identifying it two different ways um through that clear window um that they can put an ID or put some kind of slip of with their name and then also with a Sharpie. Gota and that's it for me. Thank you. Yeah, we'll keep you updated. Thank you. And this is just the high school right for now? Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. Just a couple of additions. Um, first of all, it we I wanted them to get out early with this information um just so we can start that communication process. And I I want to thank uh Dr. Marberry and Mr. Forest for um sharing where they are
063at this point in the process. Really important. I want to thank their team uh at the high school, the teachers, you know, things will only work when the staff is committed and and the people in the in the building are committed to that work. So I want to thank their um teams for really thinking about it and um thinking how we can attack or tackle the problem. And then the last thing I would just share is just a reminder that um you know we have policy uh which the board will direct is is the bell-to-bell policy and you all have adopted that. What we've what we continue to share with you is the regulation at the end of the day. uh the superintendent puts the regulation into place. So, I'll give it an active date,
064but that's uh I felt it was really important to be putting that regulation out there for some feedback and continuing to make sure that it is living and working with us um wherever we are in this process of implementation. So, uh your feedback to Dr. Marberry around the regulation would be uh very helpful. Thank you, Dr. S. All right, moving on to uh student achievement. Okay, I'm going to have Mrs. Mammon and Miss Pster come forward to uh to share some information about our professional learning plan uh for uh the upcoming year. So, uh Mrs. Mammon, off to you. Good evening, Chairman Alexander, members of the board. Um, thank you for the opportunity to share our proposed professional learning plan with you this evening. Before we explore the components of the plan, it's important to
065frame our work within the context of our strategic plan. On this slide, you'll see our three pillars that guide our work here in Manasses Park City Schools. This professional learning plan was intentionally designed to support and reflect each of these three pillars. We'll highlight that alignment in more detail later in the presentation, but we wanted to begin by grounding this work in the division's overall vision. This plan was carefully designed to support the diverse needs across all of our school division in those diverse roles to include to include our teachers, support staff, and administrators. It's designed to strengthen professional capacity of all employees, to provide structured opportunities for professional growth, improve job performance and leadership development, and to reflect our ongoing commitment to collaboration and continuous improvement. It also closely aligns with our efforts to
066recruit and retain highquality educators and team members across the division. Ultimately, this is a plan about supporting our staff so that they can best support our students. At this time, I'll turn it over to Miss Darcy Prister, our professional learning coordinator. She'll walk you through how the plan was developed, how it aligns with our strategic plan, the delivery methods we'll use, and how we'll evaluate its effectiveness moving forward. Miss Pster, good evening. Uh before I dive into the details of the plan, I'd like to take a few moments to share how it was developed. The first step in the process was gathering input by distributing surveys to our instructional and classified staff. Uh in the past, our focus has been primarily to survey our instructional staff. However, as we expand our professional learning efforts, uh
067we broadened our approach to include all staff. We distributed 17 different surveys tailored to individual roles uh to reflect the unique uh responsibilities of these different positions. So this was between teachers, school nurses, bus drivers, food services staff. Uh this approach allowed us to gather more meaningful and role specific feedback. So, some of the questions that we talked about were for uh their specific roles, but we also added questions to uh broader workplace interests such as retirement, planning, benefits, and leadership skills. Once we received results, the raw data was shared with uh uh division leaders and for the first time, we shared a summary of the results uh in a report with all staff. So, if you've not had a chance to see this summary, uh we have linked it in the presentation for you
068tonight as well. Also, a part of this process, uh I met one-on-one with division and school leaders to talk about department and school level needs. Um and then in addition to all of the results and and meeting with each of the the leaders, we reviewed uh the school achievement data, previous professional learning plans from the division um and also examples from surrounding school divisions to ensure that our plan is comprehensive. So once we received input from staff and leadership, we developed criteria to help guide us as we select and develop future professional learning opportunities. Uh so these include alignment with strategic goals, school improvement plans, and student achievement data. We also considered factors such as cost, compliance with state and federal mandates uh and whether learning opportunities would support the growth of our educators. This
069criteria ensures that we are making thoughtful targeted decisions about the opportunities that we are offering. So having shared how these opportunities are selected, you may also be wondering how do uh we fund these opportunities. So we use a combination of federal funds such as titles uh 1, 2, 3, and four which support areas uh such as instructional quality and student um support services. We also use VDOE grant funding such as the L network and school improvement grants and local funding. So with all of these items in place, we're able to offer a range of professional learning opportunities aligned to staff needs and division goals. Some of the topics that uh were included in the plan were identified through feedback uh that we received from the surveys that I mentioned earlier. Um so listed here are
070some examples of professional learning uh that we will be providing. Um, but it's certainly not limited to just the ones listed here. For pillar one, reimagining the school experience, uh, we focus on areas that support strong instructional practices and student support, um, such as differentiated instruction and understanding accommodations and modifications. We'll also focus on data and assessment, helping educators align grading practices and using data effectively. And finally, building collaboration and alignment through technology integration and vertical planning across grade levels and departments. Under pillar two, building community and connection. Uh we will uh strengthen relationships and collaboration at all levels. This includes supporting student and staff well-being through social emotional learning and mental health training. We're also working to improve collaboration at all roles um especially between general education, special education, English language teachers, and instructional
071assistants. And we'll also offer training to enhance how we are engaging our families and our community such as customer service training for classified staff and training sessions on division policy and procedures uh to provide clarity and consistency. For pillar three, creating safe spaces, we'll focus on supporting both the emotional and physical safety uh of our school communities. This includes training in deescalation and conflict resolution. Also support for implementing a multi-tered system of supports also known as MTSS. And we will also offer training on school safety and crisis management protocols uh ensuring that staff is well prepared in case there is the event of an emergency. We're also investing in leadership development to empower educators at all levels to foster safe and uh supportive learning environments. So let's take a look at how these opportunities will
072be delivered to staff. We recognize that adults learn in different ways. So we have a variety of delivery methods that will meet staff where they are and ensure that learning is engaging and relevant to them. So some of this learning will happen through collaborative job embedded experiences such as collaborative learning teams or instructional coaching. We may also have more structured formats such as workshops uh or online or micro credentiing courses. And we will also provide opportunities for reflective and independent learning through book studies and video-based learning. So once our professional learning plan is implemented, it's equally important that we evaluate the effectiveness uh making sure that it is meeting its intended goals. So once a training session has been completed, we will gather immediate feedback through session evaluations and also observe strategies um for how
073these strategies are being applied through classroom walkthroughs. We'll also look at longerterm indicators such as student achievement, teacher retention, and rellicensure data. And we will also use ongoing needs assessments and an annual and an annual report um to guide us and help make adjustments for the future. So another important part of our professional learning process is understanding the requirements for lure renewal. So, according to the Virginia Department of Education, educators who have a 10-year license must earn 270 reertification points. So, learning opportunities are awarded one point per hour of learning with a minimum of five hours required per activity. To support our staff in tracking this progress, we organize these points into three different categories within the division. So we use professional development points which are for instructionally based activities such as workshops or book
074studies. We also use graduate credit for university based or college-based courses and then hours which is for compliance training such as safe schools which is implemented during uh pre-ervice week. And then to further aid our staff in tracking their progress we utilize kickup. This is a professional development management system. This allows us to create a digital catalog of learning opportunities which staff can search for and uh register for different opportunities and then they can also upload certificates for external learning events. So with kickup in place, this better helps us uh be equipped to support our staff in their growth. So I'll now turn the presentation back over to Mrs. M and she'll share our next steps. Thank you, Miss Prester. As we look ahead, we're excited to begin launching this plan through several professional learning
075opportunities already underway for the summer and the start of the next school year. And these includes our summer curriculum work where it will focus on divi developing aligned lessons, assessments, high-quality instructional materials, but at the same time embedding meaningful professional learning throughout the process. Um we'll kick off um our new school year in August with our new teacher orientation where we'll welcome our new educators through a structured orientation designed to help them feel prepared, connected, and ready to be successful in Manasses Park. Um that will be followed by our August pre-ervice week. Um this will be a strong launch to our school year where we'll offer a mix of um divisionwide and school school-based sessions tailored to the unique needs of each school community. Um we'll once again in October have our professional learning academy
076where we'll offer targeted sessions for educators and all staff members across various roles in our school division. Um we'll enter into year three of our teacher leadership academy. This year-long experience aims to grow the capacity of teacher leaders to lead and support schoolwide improvement efforts. And also this year we're launching a course focused on equipping our school leaders with tools and strategies to better serve our multilingual learners. Um, all of these all of these opportunities represent a strong and intentional start to bringing this professional learning plan to life. Um, aligns with our strategic goals and it reaffirms our commitment to investing in the people who are having the biggest impact on our students. Thank you for your continued support of this very important work. Um, I look forward to returning at the next board meeting
077to formally request your approval of our proposed professional learning plan and continuing to move it forward. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. M. Any questions for anyone on the board? All right. Um I I had a couple I always do. Um so um I was looking at the survey um that went out and um when I guess I'm thinking about in next year when we get the the annual report will there be uh kind of like the data within that report that kind of talks about the community involvement is one that really kind of jumped out at me. um the uh supporting the diverse learners with the 504s, IEPs, like really I know that that's so confusing because each kid has their own individual plan and uh so those are some of the things and and
078there's so much risk associated with making sure you're you follow those to the letter. So, I was just those are some of the things I was kind of interested in. And then um on just a side note, um what I what I enjoyed reading out of it were the responses. A lot of the responses, you know, people always say you don't have to always spend money to make people's workplace more fulfilling. Like, you know, getting to, you know, staff to understand the retirement benefits. Like that came up quite a bit in the survey. It kept coming up again and again and again. And so like it was really nice to see that there are things we can do as a district to have a positive impact that actually have a minimal uh cost as well.
079So I just kind of I appreciated all of the information and all the detail um in the in the survey. So and then the last qu point slash this is a little bit of a question um the breakdown in the survey of obviously 50% are teachers. So um you know but I was looking at like.7 of the of the response is it. So but is that 7 100% of that department or is that is you know was it Matt and Rammy like just typing away their all their responses. Uh I mean or is it you know like very busy at that time. I was just because I I I've been on the end of some of these kinds of surveys where I you know you're in a department that represents 1% but you know of
080all of transportation all came back with the same answers they're still only you know a fraction of what the teachers are. So a lot of times their voices get diluted and so are those kind of things factored in like the the weighted amounts that associated with those departments and and kind of the approach that we take. So, I will say um first I would like to commend uh Miss Pster for her work in developing those 17 very tailored surveys to all of the to all of the various roles and um she took was very intentional intentional about wanting to make sure that we got specific feedback for each of those roles. Um understand of course with surveys you you want a 100% um response rate. Um we were we were excited with 50 I think
081always looking to to to grow that. Um, in addition, when we tried to think about the various ways to to get that feedback and so maybe it wasn't just um for some of our groups, I'm going to get the email and do the survey, but Miss Prester took time and and went out and met with the department leads who then in turn were able to have some face-to-face conversations with with their staff and their team in order to get that feedback. Um, so in terms of the data of that, I'll let you answer that one about the the it. But I did I did just want to commend um that was that was really important um as we as we developed this plan. And so I think data and tracking it absolutely here we have
082this and we're going to track um you know what what professional learning we're oper um we're offering the impact that we're seeing and then continue that year-over-year. Thank you. It was a it was it was impressive 52% I think was your response rate. I mean that's a great response rate especially for the first time having done this many different surveys. I was really happy to get that and I hope that we continue that in the future. I know the middle school especially really made sure that they pushed surveys during the faculty meeting and during their uh instructional time um or planning time with with teachers. Um so that was great. So that's something next year that we can take back to schools and say if you can give them a dedicated time to do the
083survey that that was also helpful and I think that it will um naturally drive itself in terms of increasing that participation and getting the feedback because when teachers staff members feel like they're being heard and we're able to provide professional learning that is meeting the needs that they're expressing then I think that they continue to want to be more willing to share that feedback. Thank you. Thank you again. Okay, moving on. Finance. Thank you, M. Mr. Lion come forward and talk about fees. Good evening. Good evening, Chairman Alexander, members of the board. Uh tonight I'm here to uh present our annual update to the fees. Uh here is policy JN. Uh the green shaded areas are the changes or additions and the red shaded areas are the the the deletions. Most of these edits are
084cosmetic uh paralleling uniformity in the uh language and the wording and Other than that, there really aren't any changes uh significant changes to the fees. That concludes my presentation. Very efficient. Thank you, sir. Any questions from the board? All right. I think I'm assuming if anyone has any questions, they can email Mr. L. Yeah, and this is the first reading. Yeah, it's just the first reading. Yes, it'll be on the consent agenda in June. Gotcha. Thank you, sir. Thank you. All right. Okay. Moving right along. Uh we are moving to the action portion of the agenda. Uh Manasses Park City Schools math resource adoption K through five. Invite Mrs. Mayor back again to talk to the board about this action. Good evening again, Chairman Alexander and members of the board. I am here tonight to
085request your approval of KDUm as the adopted math resource for grades K through five. At our last meeting, Miss Christy Graph, our K12 mass specialist, and I presented an overview of the adoption process and shared information about KDUm, the resource that was recommended by the adoption committee. Following that presentation, the resources and related instructional materials were made available for public review, and we invited Manasses Park families and community members to provide feedback. Um, we did not receive any public comments during the review period. So, at this time, I respectfully request that the board take action to approve KDUm as a K5 math resource for Manasses Park City Schools. All right. Thank you, ma'am. Uh, can I get a motion and a second for a vote? I move that the school board of Manasses Park City
086Schools approve KDUm as the K through 5 math adopted resource for school year 2020. Assembly for grade 5 will uh be held at 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Um, Manasses Park Middle School has some announcements and events coming up as well. Uh, Manasses Park Manasses Park Middle School Cougars are blooming awesome. Watch us grow. Uh it's spring concert season and our Manasses Park Middle School bands and cho bands and choirs performed um amazingly at the recent May concerts. Each night our auditorium was packed with parents, family members, and MPMS staff uh celebrating our student performers. Cougar Pride students of the month. Um, Manasses Park uh, middle school recently recognized 30 students as Cougar Pride students of the month for March and April. Um, students received a beautiful certificate, a uh, a student of the month
087lapel pin and an ice cream coupon for a sweet treat during lunch. Later this month, we will recognize our May Cougar Pride students of the month. Uh, staff appreciation week was May 5th through 9th. Um, Manasses Park Middle School sends thanks to all students and parents who helped us celebrate our outstanding staff during staff appreciation week. Your notes and things and treats are much appreciated. Friday, June 6th through sorry, Friday, June 6th, 8th grade uh end of the year ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m. uh in the Manasses Park Middle School uh gymnasium. All 8ighth grade parents are invited to attend this special event. And I have all the announcements for Manasses Park High School. We are nearing the end of the school year, so make sure you finish off with strong grades. Um
088May 23rd is the last day of classes for seniors. Seniors must meet all graduation requirements to participate in senior events and activities. Before I continue, um, we didn't add this on, but the pops concert for the high school is when this Wednesday, May 21st at 700 p.m. in the auditorium at the middle school. So, I just wanted to put that out there. Um, May 29th is the honors assembly at 8:00 a.m. in the high school gym. Seniors must arrive at the middle school auditorium no later than 7:10 a.m. in caps and gowns and appropriate formal attire. Senior parents are invited to attend. The ceremony will also be livereamed on the Manassus Park City School YouTube channel. May 29th, the same day, is the senior walk. It's an option for seniors to walk through Cougar Elementary,
089MPES, and MPMS in their caps and gowns. May 30th, is graduation practice. Um 9:30 a.m. in the middle school auditorium. Inclement weather decision. If the forecast for Saturday predicts severe weather, a decision regarding the location of the ceremony will be made. A text and email will be sent to all senior parents by 8:30 a.m. on Friday, May 30th. If outdoors graduation at Cougar Stadium is canceled, ceremony will move indoors to the high school gym. Only patrons with full color keepsake tickets will be allowed inside the gym or high school building. There are only two tickets per graduate. indoor ceremony will be livereamed on the Manasses Park City School YouTube channel. And May 31st is our graduation ceremony at the Cougar Stadium at 8:30 a.m. pending the weather. Please note the new ceremony start time is
0908:30 a.m. This change is being made with everyone's health and safety in mind due to any heat related issues. A ticket is required for each person entering graduation, including children. Graduation is a rain or shine event. Stadium gates open at 7:00 a.m. Seating is available on home and away bleachers um and on the stadium field. Stadium gates will close at 8:10 a.m. for the processable family market at 4 p.m. Please join us. And June 6th is the last day of school for all students and quarter 4 ends. And that's all the announcements I have. All right. Thank you guys. Um board member moving on to board member comments. Tech, you want to go? Go first. Um, just a huge shout out to all of the art contest winners, all of the esports winners, the FBA
091team, the uh all of the teachers and staff for teacher appreciation. Thank you so much for everything that you do. Um, another shout out and thank you to the Capitol Caring Health uh program and to our teacher of the year, the winner and the nominees. We appreciate you and Miss Kirkland, thank you for that parent leadership cohort. I'm excited to see what is going to become of that. So, thank you for heading that and actually getting that going. Uh, and that is all for me. Oh, and thank you, Crystal. We're going to miss you. Glad you were able to be a part of this for two years. Congratulations. All right. I just want to say a quick uh thank you, Rachel. Um, I really like where this is where your mind is going to really
092include the community, you know, and reach out in just in different ways. So, I really appreciate that. Congratulations to our uh teacher of the year. Uh thank you for Capital Caring. Um basically what what Doc Doc had just mentioned. Um also, um just just kind of a anecdotal notes. Um, thinking about the cell phone policies, um, I keep anecdotal notes from my own. And if you'd love to see that the seventh graders are the highest offenders by a lot. Um, it it's just one of those one of those things. And seeing I know working with the high school, you're going to see some changes. You're going to see, you know, you guys are going to see uh the refusals and just typical student behaviors. exactly what we expect our kids to do because it's new
093and they haven't adapted yet. Um I just say um good luck with that. Um but um I really do want want to see these programs successful. I really appreciate that uh the ideas have been coming out. We're putting a plan into action and I think the biggest thing is um for those you know that may may not know getting the staff buy in. So, I want to say good luck with that. I know you guys have some ideas and enjoy the process. Um, and I want to say thank you for the creativity uh around that. Okay, I'm done. Okay. Um, well, everybody else said most of the thank yous. Um, thank you to you guys to the yonder committee. Again, you're going to have your hands full. I looking forward to it, though. Um, hats
094off to the Adams family production. Yes. You guys forgot them. Great. I didn't. Um and um also to our nursing program. Thank you again for the invite today. Was impressive to see the ladies all the other team, you know, the uh VSBA or was it the VSBA that highlighted uh the women in roofing as well. So, I mean, we're getting all kinds of great PR from your Thank you so much. No, it's too late. I'm sorry. I just wanted to give a shout out and congratulations to all of our students that graduated from Governor's School on Saturday. So, big shout out to them and congratulations to you all. Okay. I believe Mr. Cummings, this is your last is this your last meeting? Yes, this will be my last meeting. So, I just wanted to thank
095you as well for all of the time and people don't understand until they sit in these chairs the commitment associated with sitting on the school board. So, I just wanted to thank you so much for the time and wish you the best. I know you're moving out of the district, but with, you know, hopefully wonderful things in the future for you. I appreciate it. Um, it's been a learning lesson, a huge learning lesson. Um, to understand how divisions work. Um, I've been blessed to work for many divisions, many large, some small. um and the opportunity to serve and learn how things work, the process, the money that it takes, um all the work moving parts. Um just want to say thank you for the opportunity and um I really appreciate um the professional develop uh
096professional relationships, personal relationships that are developed and I want to wish Manasses Park the best. I love to see uh the Cougars um putting their names out there um whether it's in music or esports or CTE. Um finding new ways, different ways to to just continue to bring glory to the to our small district. All right, last uh one. Yeah, congrats to all the seniors. Look forward to seeing everybody upcoming graduation. So, all right. Um moving on to upcoming meetings. We have an upcoming meeting Monday, June 23rd at 7 6:59 p.m. City Hall uh ch board chambers second floor. Um and now I would like to call a 10-minute recess so that way we can move upstairs to go into a closed meeting. Thank you all. Thank you.