001We're going to go ahead and come to order, and at this time we'll entertain a motion to return to open session. Mr. Chair, I move that we reconvene in open session and adopt certification of closed session. Second. It's been moved and seconded that we reconvene in open session and adopt certification of closed session. Madam Secretary. Whereas the Dinwiddie County School Board has convened a closed session on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote. in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and whereas paragraph 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by the school board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law now therefore be it resolved that the Dinwiddie County School Board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge Only such
002business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered by the school board. Dr. Elaine J. Pearson, District 1. I certify. Dwayne G. Walker, District 2. I certify. Barbara T. Pittman, District 3. I certify. Mary M. Benjamin, District 4. I certify. Jason L. Brown II, District 5. I certify. All have certified, Mr. Chairman. Thank you madam secretary, can I invite you all to join us now for the Pledge of Allegiance Thank you madam clerk do we have any amendments to the agenda There are no amendments to the agenda this evening. Okay at this time. We'll entertain a motion to adopt the agenda as presented Mr. Chairman, I move to adopt the agenda as presented It's been moved and seconded that we adopt the agenda as presented all in
003favor say aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? motion carries All right. It's time to consider the personnel list We have a motion It has been moved and seconded that we approve the personnel list as it was presented to us today in closed session. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? The motion carries. Dr. Weston. Yes, I would like to introduce two, well, one new face and one not so new face to us, but new positions, new places. First, I'd like to introduce Mr. Lloyd Page, if you would stand, please. Mr. Page is going to be the new principal at Sutherland Elementary School. Let me just tell you a little bit about him. He has been in Nottoway School since 2005. Is that correct? He has done a lot of things in
004Nottoway. He was an athletic director and a lead teacher. He was the head wrestling coach. He was the assistant football coach, weightlifting coordinator. He was the department chair. And so he did a lot of things there. History was his major, I believe, which we love. We love history majors. He has a bachelor's degree in arts, excuse me, bachelor of arts degree in history and secondary education from Bethany College. He has a master of arts in education administration from Western Governors University. And he's finishing his second master's degree, as if that wasn't enough, in business administration. So that's amazing. In his free time, I guess he got that degree, and he's going to be finished that next, this month. Jim, this month. But for the past eight years, he's been the principal of Crewe Primary School,
005where he's done some amazing things. I've seen a lot of photographs and lots of different costumes, is all I'm going to say. But I think he's going to bring a lot of fun and a lot of wisdom. It's a very high-performing school, and I'm very glad he said yes to our offer to come join our team. So, Mr. Page. And I believe he has his daughter. Hi, Ellie. It's nice of you to join us and let you have your dad join our team. So we're so glad to have you. Thank you. Yes. This is not so new face, but in a new place. I'd like to introduce, reintroduce to you, Mr. Frankie Crowder. And I couldn't find, when did you come to Dinwiddie County? 1977. 2001, yes. He said 1977. Ms. Pittman was your first?
006Everybody has some relationship with Ms. Pittman. Yes, in some way. So 2001, so you've been with us 25 years. Amazing. That's great. So Mr. Crowder. has his undergrad degree in health and physical education. And he got that at Mississippi State University. He has a master's degree from the University of Kansas in education leadership and administration. He's worked as an assistant principal. He was at the middle school and most recently at Southside Elementary School. He has done a lot of things. He has lots of certifications. If you know anything about Frankie, he's very quick to volunteer and to be a part of anything that you want him to be a part of. He loves to learn and try new things. He's involved in a lot of things in the community. He will stand in for the
007coach on the... Tennis team, I understand that as well. And so we're just so happy. He was also recognized as the 2024-25 VAESP National Outstanding Assistant Principal Award finalist. So we're very proud of him for that. But now his new job. We're so glad he said yes. He is going to be the grants and finance coordinator here with us at the school board office. And we're so, so happy that he's agreed to do that. So we look forward to it with all his background in Title I. We know he's going to bring a lot to the table. So we're very excited. Would you like to introduce your family? Or reintroduce. We all know your family. My wife, Carly. Yes. And my daughter, Alex. Yes, and plays on our tennis team. So we're just so happy
008that you said yes. So congratulations. Absolutely. That's it for tonight. Excellent. Thank you, Dr. Wesson. Student matters. Mr. Chair, I move that we honor the parents' request and release students REL-05-26-4, student REL-05-26-5. student REL-05-26-6 from compulsory school attendance based on religious exemption. Second. All right it has been moved and seconded that we release these students REL-05-26-45 and 6 from compulsory education based on religious exemption. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? The motion carries. Thank you. We have some policy to review. Yes, Dr. Clay. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. So this afternoon, I am presenting to you updates to policy IKFA, which will need your approval. And I'm also going to talk about regulations for IKFA, which are new. So basically, Policy IKFA, the purpose of this policy is to provide a
009pathway for students who have demonstrated mastery of course content but have not passed the corresponding SOL test. So our current policy had not been updated since 2019, and it needed a little work. So basically, we adopted or we put in here from VSBA what they have as the policy. adding a little bit of information about who the review panel would be. But the policy I am presenting to you this evening is truly straight from VSBA. We just needed to update it to make sure we had exactly what we needed to have there. So when you look at that, you will see how students are eligible for the locally awarded verified credit, a little bit of information about that review panel, which... We're going to get a little more into that with the regulation, but you'll
010see the review panel must be comprised of at least three educators. And for us, we have put in here, it will be a Dinwiddie High School administrator, a Dinwiddie High School counselor, and a member of the division leadership team. And there are some choices there for that. And there could be more than three members. So if the high school wanted a teacher to be a part of that team, they could certainly do that. It gives a little information about what that review panel will review. And then based on the evidence they review, the options they will have to either award the verified credit, deny the verified credit, or suggest participation in a remedial program and retest. And that could happen during summer school. Really depends. on the situation for the student. So the policy is
011pretty straightforward. And again, wording comes directly from the SBA. Okay, so I would like us to look at the regulation. I won't go through all of that, but you know, the policy is kind of the broader piece, right? And the regulation has a little more detail in it to help that high school team determine when locally awarded verified credits occur. And so this regulation starts with some definitions of locally awarded verified credits, special permission, and credit accommodations. And I would like to add there was a team that came together to work on this regulation that included Ms. McMinn, Ms. Wynn, the high school principal, Ms. Bailey, Dr. Gibbs from the high school, Mr. Hall, who is the lead counselor there, Mary Peters, our director of exceptional education, and Carly Woolfolk, our director of secondary. So
012there was a team that came together for this. because we did need that regulation. So this gets into a little more of the criteria for students. You'll see there the range they have to score in on the SOL test and what that team will look at as far as criteria. Then it lays out that review panel process, and we didn't have this before. So when there's nothing in place, people do things lots of different ways. So it's important always that... We're setting people up for success with kind of some guidance. So you'll see there's a process for this review panel. They'll convene twice a year. This talks through what they will look at, you know, other grades and coursework from the course to determine if the student will be awarded the local verified credit. It
013talks specifically to students with disabilities, which is important because when you read the regulation, students without a disability can only receive one locally awarded verified credit towards their diploma. Students with a disability may receive more than one locally awarded verified credit if that is a need. So in the regulation, you will see that a student with a disability could receive that credit in English, science, history, and math. They can receive more than one. So there's a difference there that's laid out. After that process, there's some information about the special permission, which is a little different. And again, that definition is at the top there. But those criteria for the special permission are laid out there. One difference would be that panel can determine when there's a locally awarded verified credit. Special permission, that panel still
014convenes, which may be the IEP team, but then once they make that decision, we do have to send that special permission off to the Virginia Department of Education for final permission. So that is one difference there. And if there's anything specific you want me to go over in that regulation, I'm more than happy to do that. Again, the regulation this evening does not need your approval. It is the policy, but we thought it was important to let you know there is now a regulation whereas before there was not. So questions about the policy or the regulation? regulation before now? Is this a state mandated? This is something that happens across the state. Yes, ma'am. I just think sometimes the policy is in place and you have a team just kind of working through that practice
015in their building. But again, where there's not something from the division in place. This group may do it one way, 10 years later it may get done a different way. So I always say it's important that we're leaving our legacy, meaning let's set everybody up for success so it's laid out how that process should look. So this is still a last resort though, right? Absolutely. We still want students to pass the SOL test, 100%. That is what we want. Sometimes that's not what occurs. And so in lieu of that just one test, some students may need a different opportunity. But again, for a student without a disability, there's only one credit that can be acquired that way. it's a little different for a student with a disability. Yes, so in the regulation that is laid
016out it's 375 to 399. Yeah, so those criteria are there. To be eligible for that credit, they must pass the high school course. So they have to show mastery of content, right? And that review panel is going to look at it. It could be a portfolio. It could be other assessments they've taken. That's when the teacher may need to be a part of the panel. They must have taken the SOL test at least twice because, again, that's their preference is that they pass that. And then that score range is laid out there, Ms. Pittman. And they have to demonstrate achievement in the academic content through the process described below. And then that panel process is there. Yes, absolutely. I think it's a good idea that they come. I mean, it may be more work. I
017don't know. But I think it's good when you have your policy there because it keeps down, you know, when people come and want no questions, then you have it right there to show them. And I think this is a good thing. I'm thinking, you know, for this. We should have had it a while, I think. Thank you. Any other questions? You need approval of this policy. Approval of the policy, yes. Can I ask one more question? Yes. Dr. Clay, when you talk about presenting the portfolio and all that kind of stuff, are any arrangements made during the school year to make sure that the student is keeping that information available so that it doesn't have to be recreated? That's a good question. So it would be up to the teacher to be able to present
018the evidence of mastery of content. So a portfolio could be one way. That's one example I gave, just depending on what the test is. It could just be assessments they've taken. For teachers, a lot of their work sometimes is in Canvas. So there should be, that record should be there for whatever they've had to present in class. But that's a great question. It wouldn't be up to the student to keep up with that. it would be up to the teacher to present that mastery of content work. We do tests now, don't we? They do some kind of test. And the scores are within that range or it just doesn't? The SOL test, right. You're correct. So right now, they are, you know, the student would take an SOL test so we would know that range
019to meet that criteria from that. But there are other assessments also, Ms. Benjamin, that students would take, you know, for unit tests or common assessments or things of that nature that could also show mastery of content if we need to go through this process for a student. You had mentioned that there are exceptions for our students with disabilities, but are there any other exceptions for our English learners students when it comes to their SOL test scores and what have you? Because I don't think we're offering those in their home language, right? Are those still in English? They're still in English. Specific to this policy, no. I mean, I know when Ms. Brooks may have to help me with that. When they first come to us, there are some exemptions, I think, for SOL testing. But
020when it comes to diploma status, where they would fall in this policy would be any other student with a diploma has the opportunity for one locally awarded verified credit. So am I reading the policy or the regulation? There's two there. So the one that's a little bit longer that says review panel process, that's the regulation. So the regulation says only one credit for an advanced diploma. Can they use more than one credit for a lesser diploma? No, it's for any diploma. It's only one. Unless they're a student with a disability, then they have option for more than one. Okay. But that one credit can be applied to an advanced studies diploma? It can be, yes. How many types of diplomas? So we have applied studies diploma, we have a standard diploma, we have advanced diploma.
021Good questions. Any other questions? I'm not aware of that, but I can check on that. I feel like every student should be earning one of those three diploma types. They can. There could be other options for a student with an IEP, depending on that IEP team and what they decide they need. Any other questions? Sometimes you'll help me learn as well through your questions. Yes, she is. If there are no other questions, we'll entertain a motion to approve this policy. Mr. Chair, I move that we approve the policy. It's been moved and seconded that we approve the IKFA policy. Did I say that right? Yes. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you so much. Motion carries. Thank you, Dr. Clay. Now we have some superintendent matters. Yes, we're going to have
022Ms. Woolfolk and Ms. Valentine are going to come and share the environmental literacy plan. Good afternoon. We have actually been working on this plan for quite some time now. But this is the final product that we have come to present to you tonight. More just as an awareness and how this whole plan was put together. And we've been doing a lot of work around this. This is one piece of a bigger puzzle. We've been working on our science curriculum. We have been working on what does it look like to be a Dinwiddie graduate and how to be civic-minded and coming in with that also comes into how do you take care of your community and your environment. And so the vision for us would be that every Dinwiddie student graduates understanding the local land and
023water and how to protect that, having the knowledge and skills and motivation to be environmentally responsible with the decisions that they're making to make our community more sustainable. And so within that plan, it's not only science knowledge. So later in the plan, you'll see the different pieces that we plan to work and embed into the science curriculum so that it's not an and, it's just a more of a cohesive part to working toward a well-rounded student. Understanding, you know. excess to clean air and water and green spaces and how important that is. Our community is very diverse. And so whether you live in the more urban areas and how do you create green spaces within that in contrast to best management practices in our farmland towards the south and making sure that all of those
024practices work cohesively to protect our water. A lot of times teachers don't realize our school communities. are great places and learning spaces. And so bringing the outdoors and taking students to connect some of those things together are also really important and things that we're going to be embedding into our curriculum. And then how do you advocate and learn about those careers that are really dedicated towards stewardship and protecting our land? So many people don't realize that Dinwiddie is pretty unique. You always think about the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which is a part of that James River watershed. But we're also part of another major majority is in the Chowan watershed, which is more into the North Carolina Sound. And so it's a great teaching opportunity for students to be able to use like. Topographic maps and
025trace the different waterfalls and go into those waterways And that leads us into what is a MIWI. And so our plan outlines what a MIWI is, which is a meaningful watershed education experience, to make sure that all of our students, regardless of their grade level, have some type of hands-on component as it relates to their science goals. So our plan is, you know, touching on our agricultural heritage. We looked specifically at not only science integration, but math. history in English integrations, and we outlined some of our community partnerships. So within AMIWI, the state has us to make sure that we are identifying. Our local challenges, environmental challenges, having some outdoor hands-on investigation, drawing some different conclusions, and then putting a plan to action. And so that's really important for our students to realize that they
026can have an impact in their community and that they have an active part in doing so. So I'll let Shanira talk through the rest of that. Good afternoon. So I'll talk to you a little bit about the K-12 grade level learning. experiences as it relates to our environmental literacy plan. And so we've scaled this to be as we should approach everything right now from a K-12 perspective, thinking about also how this impacts students after graduation. So when we hunker down and look at K through two, we will focus on sensing and wondering. We overall have some things that are already in place that support our environmental literacy plan and the types of experiences we want students to be immersed in. But then we also embedded some pieces that we have not yet started to embark
027upon but that we want to explore. So those include the kindergarten ag days that Ms. Woolfolk and Ms. Clary already spearhead along with some of the Dinwiddie High School staff. Also schoolyard exploration experiences, nature journals. Also looking from a three through five perspective, we want them to start to begin to investigate. This comes down to alignment. We always use the example from a science perspective when we talk about alignment. If the standard calls for investigation, then a simple worksheet on, you know. properties of matter or phases of matter is not actual investigation, but how are we getting students actively immersed in the experience. So some things that we do, the 4H Butterfly Project, during the last school board meeting you saw Ms. Bishop present to you about some of those awesome experiences that our students
028embark on that really get them again immersed in science. Also you see there S. WCD soil workshops, and you're probably wondering another acronym, what does that stand for? That means soil and water conservation district. Also the Jamestown field trips that we take. And then the DWR habitat ed, which is the Department of Wildlife Resources. When we start to look at six through eight and nine through 12, we look at going a little deeper, analyzing and connecting. We think about then those PBA, project-based assessment-driven investigations. Another huge piece would be Virginia State University Sustainable Agriculture and also Stream Water Quality Labs. And then lastly for 9-3-12, Acting and Leading. Like how can our students then take the baton and go out into the community and start to share what they've learned and really activate it? We
029look at the Environmental Science MeWe Experiences, partnership with James River and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, as well as research internships, and then of course Future Farmers of America. and 4-H service. So overall, we're looking at environmental literacy is not a single course or a field trip. It's the K-12 journey. When we think back to when we were little and in school, Earth Day was a huge thing, right, that we celebrated. But it's not just about that one day during the year. We want, especially at the elementary level, for students to understand no matter how little, how young you are. how, you know, in a sense you are, you play a big part in taking care of your earth, taking care of your environment, taking care of your community. How can you be a part of
030going green and sustaining it? But then, as Ms. Woolfolk said, how do you then begin to think about how this can impact you career-wise and college-wise and ultimately making, you know, your backyard and your school, your classroom, and having it come to life? As I alluded to just now, we look at community partners and resources, and everything that we do, our community partners are huge. They're very important. We want to use them as kind of our liaison, if you will, our conduit between home and school, and make sure that they know that this is a community endeavor. That supports the in weedy County as a whole so DCPS does not pursue Environmental literacy alone a strong partner network amplifies our work and connects students to the world beyond school So a couple of those that
031are listed there include the Appomattox River Soil and water conservation district and we look at the watershed education as a whole soil health water quality You also have Chesapeake Bay Foundation where we get into the MeWe programming and teacher training. And I'll just go ahead and list the rest there. Dinwiddie 4-H, the Virginia Cooperative Extension that we know is huge that our students love. Friends of the Laura Appomattox, Virginia State University, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. the James River Association that I mentioned earlier, our VCU Rice River Centers, which is right there in Charles City. That is awesome. I've been there myself. And the Virginia Department of Forestry and Project Learning Tree. Ms. Woolfolk and Ms. Clary, for example, do a phenomenal job with work-based learning and our internships and shadowing opportunities. And this is
032another way to kind of cast the net farther to give our students more hands-on and engaging experiences. Thank you. So then we think about our overall implementation timeline. When we look at year one. We are distributing and introducing our environmental literacy plan to all staff. We want you all to also know that this is not just an us partnership. Like we've reached out to teachers, they provided feedback, gave us some wonders, some suggestions for improvement. Also audit our existing environmental experiences division wide and confirm those partnerships with all of those acronyms that I've already mentioned to you and then designate an environmental literacy coordinator. We rely heavily. on one particular teacher at the high school level who teaches environmental science, who's been a great partner with us. to help us think about things and see
033them from a full scope. In year two, we look at embarking on deepening and expanding these experiences. We want to ensure at least one MeWe-aligned experience per grade band. We want to launch a middle school project-based assessment, environmental pilots, and we want to develop shared outdoor learning protocols. You'll see a theme here. We want to get students outside. We want them to get dirty. We want them to put their hands in the soil. We want them to, again, bring science, especially environmental science, alive in their classrooms and outside. We want to expand field experiences and the access for those across all schools. And then finally, in year three. Looking from an equity and alignment lens, we want to ensure equitable field experience access for all of our schools. We want to align grade level guides
034with updated Virginia standards of learning and review and revise our environmental literacy plan with community input. We know that our stakeholders, their voice is important as well. And lastly, highlight green career paths for all students. And we leave you with students who know Dinwiddie's land, history, and watersheds. That's our ultimate goal. They will understand that they live in a county where two great watersheds meet and that their choices as citizens, farmers, scientists, voters, and neighbors will shape the health of those systems for generations to come. Thank you. So the last of, yes, last but certainly not least, we have members of our high school dream team here to talk to us about class of 2026 to provide some highlights for us as we prepare for graduation. Dream team, part of the dream team here. Carla,
035yes. Jamie, yes, of course. It takes a village. I feel like everyone needs to go. Well, good evening, and I'm very, very grateful to serve alongside of everyone you see here and so many others at Dewanee High School. I often compare a student graduating to like chutes and ladders because everyone starts and finishes, but there's multiple pathways and different ways in order to get there, whether it be credit accommodation or special permission or substitute tests. all of those pieces. It's not just passing your class and passing us a well. It's a very detailed process to graduate from high school. But we're here to celebrate. I will say that what you're going to see here is preliminary. We graduated a student today, actually. And when he finished today... It was real tears and it was down
036to not an SOL test, but a work-based learning assessment. That certification is needed towards graduation. That is an assessment that is available in Spanish as well. So, and that was, I mean, he just embraced, I think, all of us. I didn't ask for a pass or nothing. We just celebrated all the hard work that he has done. So, I forgot I have to click here because I'll keep talking. Y'all know I get a little passionate about the generals. So again, these are some preliminary projections, our total graduates of 313. Then you'll see a breakdown between our advanced studies diploma and our standard diploma. We just recently graduated 18 students with their associate's degrees from Richer Blaine prior to them graduating from high school. our GED recipients, and then our career study certificates earned through Bright
037Point Community College. So, and it's, this is still, I feel, such a surface view of, as Tuck says, all the things, all the time that our students do. We, I mean, it's just incredible the opportunities they have at the high school and through our partnerships and what they're prepared to do that truly can't be captured in a number. These are some pictures from. students was it nice chilly day very hot that day but you would not know it because they were so so excited and happy to celebrate their own accomplishments as well okay so this is our 3e breakdown and of course these are preliminary we truly work with students until the day of graduation. So sometimes we have this seniors last day, kind of an unofficial once they're done, but truly they are working
038up until the last day of school. 12 students have indicated their enlistment, 160 in employment, and 143 enrolling in a post-secondary learning setting. CTE credentials and industry licensures. 535. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to give a round of applause, but anybody can clap at any point. That is a lot. That is a lot. Our work-based learning experiences for just seniors. So getting some of these numbers is a little difficult because we have to extract them from all of our students, mainly juniors and seniors with work-based learning experiences. That number. I mean, I would say school-wide last year, we weren't at 94 at the end of the year. And just seniors this school year, we bypassed what our entire school did. A lot of that leadership, as you'll see over here beside us, too. So
039CTE Signing Day, truly an incredible event. They are signing to walk into employment where there's pay time off, insurance, all of the things that we're striving for our students to have. Our workforce ready diploma seal 84 CTE medals you know when we had our three hour long senior ceremony the other night You know for me the time I know went by quick, but we have a lot to celebrate So it's almost a good bad problem to have it was just so much to celebrate and you look back What could I cut back nothing we wanted to add more? But a large part of it was awarding the medals to And then seniors earning, just seniors, earning two or more CTE credentials was 163. That's two or more. So it's truly incredible preliminary stats. You can
040only go up from here. These are some of the pictures from our CTE signing day. So you have students that were going into the cosmetology field or the student, the longer hair, she's going to be a carpenter at Tyndall. I mean, just Wayne Cook Electric, it was just their signing contracts that have numbers on them of salaries and benefits and the whole package. And it was truly, truly incredible. I was often asking about work from my own home while I was there because these are... These are ready to roll students who are anxious to work in their trade and in their field. So it's pretty incredible. This is from what I said the other night, these are the students to be nice to because they could be taking care of us. in moments where we're
041not feeling well. So that's not the time you say, remember Miss Bailey when you? I didn't want that to happen. So we were really nice this night. But no, our nurse aid pinning ceremony was just the other night. We had 14 students from the high school to be, to receive their pin. And it truly was. I mean, watching the relationship with their teacher, Erlani, too, was just incredible. But it was an excellent evening. Academic and financial achievements, you know, to tell you $750,000 in scholarships, that's a low number. That does not include any athletic signing and things like that. That's why we put the plus sign there. This is just in scholarships awarded, not everything. So I would say clearly we're well over a million dollars in financial and academic achievements in terms of. Their
042college careers and things like that. Huge number. I mean, huge number. Collegiate sports signing days, we had 11 students. I think it was with football alone on that evening, the level of scholarship was over $500,000. Just with one group of athletes. I just remember that figure. I think it was $504,000. That's not included in the $750,000 either. 82 seniors who have earned three or more college credits through dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment. I mean, and that's, I know that number is going to be higher. Again, we took, we have students in 10th grade now that are taking dual enrollment classes. So we had to extract the seniors just from that. So huge. I mean, huge there. For advanced placement and AP courses, 55. Early college scholars, 34. Now what this is, these are only seniors.
043These are students who did not choose to finish their associate's degree, but still have, is it how many credits? 15 or more. That's I knew that was 15 or more to be considered an early college scholar. So that is that's an incredible number on top of the 18. That's separate from the 18 that graduated with their associate's degree. 24 students with honors recognition. So that's the GPA of a three. No, four, three points. 4.0. Sorry, I should have wrote all my notes down. We just finished one award ceremony. That is a 4.0 for the honors to get the gold cord or higher, which is incredible. These are some pictures from our signing days. We had two signed with wrestling, the four at the top right are baseball, and then football down at the bottom. These
044moments are incredible. The students to watch them, they're just so proud of themselves. I need to go back to the scholarship slide because we jokingly say Marcus Williams probably has 699,000 of the same. It was his party. It was his party at Senior Academic, at the Achievement Awards. He got every scholarship. But to see his pride, to walk to the stage, I was like, I would just pay a lot of money to feel how he feels right now. It was awesome. Of course, we want to make sure to say thank you. A lot of our numbers that you saw here are because of our partnerships and we're all expanding. I will say that the work that... I'll call it the Carly Clary team over here, do in terms of reaching out to the community and
045building our partnerships. We were speaking today with someone from Cracker Barrel who wants to connect with the high school, you know, catering events and all of those things. So it's constant. But you can see we have. Lots of sponsorships at Fort Lee. We're building a relationship with them. Bon Secours, some of the ones that you don't see here, but some of the ones that have been steady in terms of the support they've given with work-based learning opportunities are listed here. They keep saying, oh, and this, and this. Every day I feel like it's growing, which is great. We do have a student that is graduating this year will attend Project Search. Tomorrow we have a Project Search graduation, but those were students from last year. But he will be attending Project Search next year, and
046that is also housed on Fort Lee. So it was a very special moment. They don't know that they've been accepted. It's a very competitive program to get into, but Alex was one of our students who were accepted into that. And last but not least. This is your graduating class of 2026. Maybe not all represented there, but the work that goes into, and the love, truly, the love and the late nights and the sleepless nights, all of the things. Yes, the picking students up to taking students home, home visit, going to jobs to find them because we're into it. I mean, it truly takes a team of dedicated people that just love our students. And we are only just a small piece of that. You know, we before we came here, we were celebrating our teachers
047at the high school and the work that they put in every day is truly incredible. And I say everyone. It's everyone. You know, our office staff, our cafeteria staff, Mr. Lip Trap, I mean, everyone, all the teachers in between. It truly takes that level of team and pull together for all the students. And I can tell you, I speak for all of us when I say we're truly grateful to serve with them. And every day we get closer to that exciting day. And of course, we continue to lead the way. We're opportunity ready. Y'all need a carpenter. I know a few that are graduating on Friday or a nurse. But we appreciate your support, as always, and everything you do for the high school. It is incredible work. We couldn't do it without you two.
048And she kept saying preliminary because it won't be until after graduation we'll have final numbers on everything, but we'll have that report for you as soon as we get those in. But in every category, we try to, like it was a work-based learning today, that's not included in that. So we try to build our numbers. The bigger they get, the better, you know, everyone is. So it's no stopping. But to multiply that, like I said, I'm glad you expanded it that way credit-wise. triple yeah yes and that's with our staff too just really want to applaud this team what they've been doing is they've been coming together this is the class of 2026 they also have a class of 2027 28 29 that are equally working already You'll be the freshman group next year. But
049already working on those cohorts as well. But this is just amazing. Amazing results. There's so many more to just mr. Collins. I mean we just have so many people who just been working on the work So many people and you know I need my own board meeting when you all have me stand here we talk about that So I'm gonna try to not but I could go on forever truly I think I talked to Mr. Collins in the morning sometimes for my own husband to say, all right, we need to make sure this person's here today because she's already texted me. Or he said, you know, this student had a lot of life going on here. We've got to love them differently. I mean, it's that kind of constant, just steady love and support for
050the students and for our teachers. Because it's a balance of all of that that makes it all come together. So, but it really is an incredible team. Look forward to Friday Thank you again Yes Miss Rainey, I don't see citizen comments on the agenda. We don't have I don't see board comments, but I would I would offer the opportunity if anyone wants to say anything before we You know, we celebrate so many things this time of year, and we should celebrate everything we could celebrate. But lots of very important work goes on in the summer, and it's everything from building maintenance to building cleanliness, staffing, curriculum changes. So, you know, we celebrate, and then the next morning get up and roll again. So thank you all for your continuous. attention and it never stops and
051that's joyous too. So, thank you. 2001 and then he was actually one of my first gym teachers when i was at sunderland and people don't stay around where they don't want to stay right and so to have a number of teachers and faculty members when we have like a retirement celebration and you get to hear someone's been here for 50 plus years or they've been here for 60 years whatever it may be when you start to hear those things, it's always really exciting, and that's how you know you're in the right place. Also, welcome to our new phase. We talk about Facebook pretty often, and I was scrolling through Facebook, and I saw some really, really great comments from parents at your former school who were like, you're getting a really great principal coming in.
052and again Facebook isn't really our north star but it can be a pretty telltale sign for how things will be so I'm really excited to have you here and I'm also very excited about the environmental literacy program that's something I'm super passionate about I'm not sure what I meant to ask this before you all had sat back down not sure what the history components look like but I would be thrilled to see that fleshed out is that is not there to talk about like the history that leads to some of the environmental concerns we see. You know questions like why is it that you drive through Petersburg and there aren't trees in certain neighborhoods right? Those are very intentional decisions that are made but yeah very productive meeting so thank you all. Well, that's why
053we have board members like Ms. Pittman and Mr. Brown. They have really said it all. So what can I say? Thank you. An awesome job done this year. And I'm looking forward, as Ms. Pittman said, to celebration. And then on the next day, we get started with the new work because I can see some awesome work coming in for 26 and 27. Thank you. I have to agree that most everything has been said, but thank you all so much for all the hard work you put into everything we heard tonight. It takes a lot of time, a lot of thought, and a lot of people to pull off all of these wonderful things that we got to experience tonight. So thank you. I would just like to say that I find a lot of joy
054in being able to come to work every day because I get to work with some pretty terrific people. And, I mean, we talk about it all the time. We have a lot of fun together, but everybody works really hard, too. And I think tonight is evidence of that. And just looking forward to our new faces and our people in our new places and the contributions that they're going to make. And I'm very excited about the year ahead. I'll just before we adjourn just say this that last presentation probably my favorite presentation of the whole year Because that's the whole reason we do everything else that we do So thank you for putting that together But I and one of the things that I loved about the presentation less than the slides was the people standing
055there It's very clear that you all care and so I appreciate that I would just add that you know sometimes We have an amazing high school staff, but sometimes I think we need to remember that there were people that got the kids to the high school, and so we should just acknowledge. And you guys did a great job acknowledging, but I just want to thank the middle school and elementary school staffs that worked so hard to get those kids to hand off to you. And this, again, is just the culmination of so many years of hard work. And so thank you for that. That presentation kind of made the job worth it, right? So as far as the folks that were introduced earlier. Mr. Page, welcome. We're glad to have you here in Dinwiddie. I
056spoke with you before the meeting, and I kept thinking I've seen this guy before, like in person. And when she read your resume, did I hear that you were on a football field, like a football coach at some point? Okay, that's where I've seen you, on the football field. Okay, so I knew I'd seen you somewhere. I've officiated football for 20 years, and I've seen you out there. That's where it was. So welcome to Dinwiddie. We're glad you're here. And he's a Stillers fan. Am I saying it right? Stillers? He's from Pittsburgh, so a Steelers fan. So we can live with that as long as he's not a Cowboys fan. We're good. And then Mr. Crowder, we'll call you Mr. Crowder for today. I echo what Dr. Wesson said earlier. I'm glad you said yes.
057We're blessed to have you here and knowing you my whole life and just think the world of you. So I appreciate you being here and saying yes. Hearing no objections, though, at this point, this meeting is adjourned. Thank you all for being here.